U.S. ELECTION: Africa Barely on the Candidates’ Radars

With U.S. voters anxiously contemplating the body count arising from the United States' deployment in Iraq - as well as the associated threat of terrorism - it was probably to be expected that Africa would get little "face time" in the presidential election.

POLITICS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Electoral Code to Make Its Debut

Voters in Botswana go to the polls this week to elect a new parliament and local government. The diamond-rich nation will become the first to test a new electoral code of conduct adopted by the Southern African Development Community in August.

DEVELOPMENT: An Ambitious Agenda for the Helsinki Process

Their typical day starts at five in the morning or earlier. Balancing a pot on their heads – and sometimes with a baby strapped to their backs – women in rural Africa may walk up to 12 kilometres a day to fetch water.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Deputy President Not on Trial. Really?

A high-profile court case in South Africa is putting the deputy president firmly in the spotlight - even though he is not the one on trial.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: No Respite for Ostrich Product Exporters

The European Union's decision this week to extend the ban on ostrich imports from South Africa because of an avian influenza scare in the country has caught the local ostrich sector by surprise, industry representatives say.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Persistent Insecurity in Darfur, Despite Global Pressure

Saleh Mahmood Osman chooses his words carefully. The human rights lawyer makes it clear that, although he comes from strife-torn Darfur, he does not bear ill will towards the Sudanese diplomats who have come to listen to his address in the South African capital, Pretoria.

ECONOMY: Businesses in Southern Africa Run an Obstacle Course

It was a case of ideals clashing with reality this week, as far as doing business in the Southern African Development Community was concerned.

ENVIRONMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Ivory Debate Again Takes Centre Stage

Certain conservationists in Africa say they will oppose any move to revive commercial exploitation of elephants, at the 13th Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which opens in the Thai capital, Bangkok, in the first week of October.

POLITICS-AFRICA: The Continental Legislature Puts Down Roots

It was a telling incident. While several religious leaders were invited to say a prayer at Thursday's opening of the Pan-African Parliament's second sitting, an imam was not amongst them.

POLITICS: Soldiers of Fortune Likely to Roam Africa for Some Time

Debate about the role played by mercenaries in Africa has been revived in recent months, following the arrest and subsequent sentencing of 68 men accused of plotting to overthrow Teodoro Obiang Nguema: president of the tiny, oil-rich state of Equatorial Guinea.

ECONOMY-AFRICA: IMF Chief Sees a Glimmer of Hope

For Africa to outgrow its economic woes, it will need a heavy dose of financial assistance from the world’s richest countries, says Rodrigo de Rato – managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: To Cull, or Not to Cull?

In recent years, much attention has been given to elephant poaching – and the catastrophic effects of this on herds throughout Africa. Successful conservation of elephants presents its own challenge, however, in the form of overpopulation.

ECONOMY-ANGOLA: Search for Business Opportunities in a Murky Environment

A high-level South African delegation is in Angola this week to explore economic opportunities there, in the aftermath of that country's civil war.

ECONOMY-ANGOLA: Search for Business Opportunities in a Murky Environment

A high-level South African delegation is in Angola this week to explore economic opportunities there, in the aftermath of that country’s civil war.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Media Monopoly Said to Underpin Mugabe’s Popularity

An opinion poll published this week indicates that trust in Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has more than doubled since 1999. Researchers says certain Zimbabweans have benefited from ruling party patronage, but that Mugabe’s higher approval rating can mostly be ascribed to state propaganda.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: Helping the Continent to Grow Old Gracefully

"If only I can stop sewing for a month, my cough will come down...I spend the money from my sewing for buying food and making sandwiches for my grandchildren to take to school," says an old South African woman captured on video while working at an archaic sewing machine.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Foreign Troops Run Gauntlet of Government Displeasure

Television footage aired over the weekend showed a group of Rwandan soldiers dancing and clapping their hands. With AK-47 assault rifles firmly strapped across their shoulders, the 150 troops sported green berets adorned with African Union badges as they waited to hear a speech from President Paul Kagame.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Avian Flu Clips Wings of Poultry Sector

Mozambique has become the latest country to impose a ban on imports of poultry products from South Africa following an outbreak of avian influenza virus in the Eastern Cape Province.

ECONOMY-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cross-Border Traders No Longer Small Fry

Stand at any border post in Southern Africa and watch who goes through it: women with heads and arms laden, people on bicycles and cars that have teetering piles of goods, mini-bus taxis with stacked roofs, dragging trailers.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Media Environment Bodes Ill for 2005 Poll

When two reporters and a lawyer traveled to Zimbabwe recently on a fact-finding mission, they found it a journey of the most arduous kind.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Media Environment Bodes Ill for 2005 Poll

When two reporters and a lawyer traveled to Zimbabwe recently on a fact-finding mission, they found it a journey of the most arduous kind.