Myanmar’s military junta, one of the world’s most oppressive regimes, must be pleased with its weekend’s work at the 39-nation Asia-Europe (Asem) meeting in Hanoi. Asem expressed a vague hope that the regime’s spurious ”national reconciliation process” would succeed and ”looked forward to the early lifting of restrictions on political parties”.

It has won just about every award in television, and an audience of millions around the world. But The Sopranos, the gritty chronicle of modern-day mobsters in New Jersey, continues to raise hackles among Italians and those of Italian descent.

The Israeli army has begun investigating the death of a 13-year-old Palestinian girl said to have been shot dead by soldiers then riddled with bullets by their commander. On television and in newspapers soldiers claimed that the officer shot her in the head and emptied a magazine of bullets into her body.

One of the United States’s biggest television companies has announced plans to broadcast a film days before the presidential election that portrays the Democratic candidate John Kerry as betraying his fellow soldiers in Vietnam. The conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group will reportedly present the film as news on the 62 local channels it owns nationwide.

Andile Ngcaba, former Department of Communications Director-General and new Dimension Data chairperson designate has declined his nomination for the African ICT Achievers Awards. Ngcaba was nominated a number of times for the top black individual of the year award and was short-listed as one of the finalists.

<b>Community-based Natural Resource Management Expert at German Technical Cooperation</b>

Jabu believes in South Africa and the communities around her. She works to ensure that the country’s wealth of natural resources will be protected for the benefit of future generations. This can only be achieved by raising the awareness of communities about their local resources, she says.

<b>Executive Director: Planning, Transport and Environment, City of Johannesburg</b>

When sitting in traffic in the morning, Amanda’s job has already started. She is responsible for everything that happens in Johannesburg’s urban environment, so vehicle emissions are high on her agenda. Among her projects is the creation of a sustainable public transport system.

<b>Programme Manager: Seabird Conservation, BirdLife South Africa</b>

Out of 21 albatross species, 19 face the threat of going extinct because of longline fishing operations. “But not if I have anything to do with it,” Samantha declares. This sea-girl from Cape Town will go to any length to save her birds, and not even the roughest seas will deter her from her mission.

<b>Networking Programmes Administrator: Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (Plaas), University of the Western Cape</b>

When researchers reveal stunning new facts during impressive presentations, most people give little thought to the organisers, without whom there would be no such events. Lulekwa’s job proves that, behind every successful workshop, there is a dedicated and efficient administrator.