HEALTH: SARS May Hog Headlines But Malaria Still Major Killer in Africa

-Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) may have captured the world's headlines as the most alarming worldwide health problem, displacing AIDS in the news of Africa.

POLITICS: Saddam’s Departure Makes African Tyrants Nervous

-With the fall of one tyrant from the world scene, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, how are some African heads of state who are accused of violating democratic principals faring?

MEDIA: African Editors Confront their Priorities

Top African journalists confronted their priorities this week, asking themselves whether their loyalty is with the unvarnished truth or the development of the continent, or whether both goals can be achieved compatibly.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: More Money Needed to Achieve Free Education

2015 is the date set for universal, free primary education for all children of Africa, a goal now 12 years in the future that has been agreed upon by the world's finance and development ministers.

FINANCE-SOUTH AFRICA: Rand Goes Up, as the Value of the Dollar Plunges

The steady, sturdy rise in the value of the South Africa rand, which is used throughout the 14 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) officially and unofficially, has brought surprising little cheer amongst economists and the public.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Lawmakers Engage the King in Constitutional Reforms

Country maps of this small Southern Africa kingdom show Mbabane as Swaziland's capital. But just as the single-tribe nation is ruled by a dual monarchy, with King Mswati from his royal village Engabezweni and Queen Mother Ntombi from her royal village Ludzidzini, Swaziland has a traditional capital 20 kilometres outside the ministerial high-rises of Mbabane. This is Lobamba, where long-reigning King Sobhuza, Mswati's father, had his royal village.

IRAQ: The War As Seen Through The African Lens

With the opinion of the African public and media community both almost unanimously opposed to the US-British led war in Iraq - indeed, it is hard to find a pro-war voice on the continent - many media organisations find it hard to achieve journalist objectivity. Some do not even try.

POPULATION-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Society Reconsiders Polygamy

Polygamy is an age-old African custom that is being reconsidered throughout the traditional and largely impoverished nations of the southern Africa, but current times of poor economies and social uncertainties have kept the practice of multiple-wives a reality for millions of largely rural women.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Relations Between Monarchy And Bush Regime Worsen

Swaziland may not harbour weapons of mass destruction, but sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy, that rules this kingdom of less than one million people, is becoming increasingly nervous about the doctrine of United States President George W. Bush, which finds little tolerance for unelected regimes.

CULTURE: Destructive Superstitions Key Part of Political Life in Swaziland

''Ritual murder'' has allegedly long been a dark and secret part of politics in Swaziland, a conservative kingdom where traditions good and bad, including some destructive superstitions, are a key part of life.

/ARTS WEEKLY/SWAZILAND: Popularity of Beauty Pageants Grows

The riotous protests against beauty pageants in West Africa have barely been noticed, much less influenced, the popularity of pageants promoting the attractions of Swazi women and even men in this small Southern African kingdom. Beauty pageants are more popular than ever, and their supporters say they are necessary both as entertainment events in a country where entertainments are few, and as a way to showcase local talent.

POLITICS: South African Gangs Target Swazi Motorists

Police have issued a traveller's advisory for Swazi motorists using South African roads to Johannesburg and Durban following a month of murders and shootings by gangs targeting Swazi vehicles for theft.

POLITICS: African Editors Speak Out on an Impending War in Iraq

African newspaper editors and correspondents have been exchanging their views on an impending war in Iraq in a lively if one-sided debate over the Internet.

LABOUR-SWAZILAND: Bloated Workforce Poised to Bankrupt the Nation

In Swaziland, government is the employer of last resort against sky-high unemployment figures.

ENVIRONMENT: Time Running Out for Swaziland to Sell Elephants to U.S. Zoos

Time is running out for Swaziland to sell eleven ''orphaned'' elephants to zoos in the United States, even if the sale means incurring the wrath of powerful animal rights organisations.

ENVIRONMENT: Conservationists Raise Red Warning Flags All over Mozambique

How far will Mozambique go with its promising economic recovery if the price is a damaged environment, nature conservationists are asking?

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: The Kingdom in No Hurry for Change

As King Mswati III delivers his State of the Kingdom speech to define the course of his royal government this week, he seems one of the most secure heads of state in the world.

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Experts Predict a Surge in Malaria Incidence

When summer rains returned to Southern Africa in 2003, following a year of drought, malaria experts predicted incidences of the disease would surge.

ECONOMY-MOZAMBIQUE: South Africa’s Top African Trading Partner

Mozambique is strengthening its neighbourly ties with South Africa, while the other country has found in Mozambique its top African trading partner, a spot held until a few months ago by Zimbabwe.

POPULATION: Unskilled Illegal Immigrants Cross into South Africa

Sipho Mahlalela, a primary school teacher, left his home in Swaziland, where unemployment had reached 45 percent of the adult workforce, and crossed the border into neighbour South Africa, the regional economic giant.

POLITICS: Small Arms Flood Southern Africa

The 14 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have a mutual security pact as the centerpiece of their organisation, and if for no other reason than the tide of destabilising illegal arms that passes through their countries.