POLITICS-SUDAN: Peacekeepers a "Drop in the Ocean" – But Welcome Nonetheless

Rebels in south Sudan have welcomed the United Nations’ weekend decision to send a peacekeeping mission to the country to monitor agreements that would end Africa’s longest running civil war.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Arab Leaders Steal the Show At G8 Summit

Kenyan civil society activist Edward Oyugi says Africa's relations with the developed world amount to the continent holding out a begging bowl. But, African leaders insist they have a partnership with wealthy nations - one based on investment in return for good governance.

ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Limpopo Steps Out of the Shadows

Tourism has long been viewed as one of the holy grails of job creation in South Africa, which is burdened by an unemployment rate of more than 30 percent. Certain parts of the country - Cape Town, and its surrounds for example - have become firm favourites with local and international visitors. Now the lesser known province of Limpopo is also hoping to take its place at the table.

ENVIRONMENT DAY-SOUTH AFRICA: Taking the Sting Out of Beekeeping

While much of this year's World Environment Day (Jun. 5) will be spent discussing the fate of the oceans (the theme of the day is 'Wanted! Seas and Oceans: Dead or Alive?'), something altogether smaller is also receiving attention in South Africa: the bee.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Efforts to Get ARVs For Kids Are Still in Their Infancy

When AIDS activists have locked horns with the South African government in recent years, it has often been over the provision of anti-retroviral drugs to pregnant women - or adults living with AIDS. The challenges of supplying the medicines to HIV-positive children appear to have received less attention.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: New Black Farmers Carve a Niche for Themselves

A bevy of girls emerges from a group of farmhouses, three of them giggling after they spot rare visitors to this part of the world: two Chinese nationals. The men are part of a group of journalists that has been invited to tour various farms, to inspect South Africa's land reform programme.

SUSTAINABILITY: More Rehabilitated Wetlands in South Africa, More Water Supply

As South Africa's new government braces itself for the task of extending clean water supplies to more people, environmentalists are warning there may soon be little water to distribute if conservation efforts are not stepped up.

DEVELOPMENT: Inequality Remains a Thorn in South Africa’s Side

South Africa will not succeed in reducing unemployment and poverty if it fails to carry out drastic economic and social reforms, a leading trade unionist in the country has warned.

POLITICS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Putting the Region Into Clearer Perspective

When compared with other parts of the continent, Southern Africa can seem relatively wealthy and peaceful - the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe, and ongoing conflict in certain areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo notwithstanding.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Dreaming of a White(r) Christmas

It is 10:00 am, and the organisers are getting impatient. They have sent out invitations to over 200 journalists, most of them foreign correspondents. To their dismay, however, only a handful arrive at the Apr. 26 news briefing organised by the 'Volksversetaksie' - a pressure group which claims to articulate the grievances of Afrikaans-speaking whites, or Afrikaners.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: All Over – Bar the Shouting

The third straight victory for South Africa's ruling African National Congress raises questions about the effectiveness of the country's political opposition and civil society, and about how long the ANC's "honeymoon" can last.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Campaign Financing in the Spotlight

Mention disputes over party funding, and the image that might first come to mind is that of Republicans and Democrats in the United States, trading allegations about reliance on special interest groups. However, the matter has also sparked controversy in South Africa recently, as the country prepares for its third democratic election.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Casts Shadow on Upcoming Election

As the countdown to South Africa’s Apr. 14 general elections entered its final week, researchers warned that the AIDS pandemic could undermine efforts to entrench democracy in the country.

SUDAN: Coup Plot Threatens Peace Talks

The arrests of army officers for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government of President Omar Hassan al Bashir in Sudan have caused a wave of panic over the future of peace talks underway in neighbouring Kenya.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Coup Plot Threatens Peace Talks

The arrests of army officers for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government of President Omar Hassan al Bashir in Sudan have caused a wave of panic over the future of peace talks underway in neighbouring Kenya.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Addressing Apartheid’s Legacy of Homelessness

Of all the achievements chalked up by South Africa's ruling African National Congress over the past 10 years, none seems to match its gains in providing housing for the poor.

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: Land and Jobs Still Scarce for Blacks

As a group of visiting academics discovered, it takes just a quick trip to Soweto - a sprawling black township on the outskirts of Johannesburg - to be confronted with the problems that still plague South Africa, 10 years after the advent of democracy.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Examining a Decade of Democracy

Academics and political analysts from around the world have gathered in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, for a conference on the achievements of the first decade of democracy in the country.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: A Polarised, Muddy Election Campaign

As the date of South Africa's general election grows closer, the gloves are coming off in campaigning amongst political parties - even though the outcome of the poll is expected to hold few surprises.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: A Former President Looks Back

"For many black South Africans very little has changed: the same people still own the big houses, they still hold down the best jobs, they still drive the fancy cars that speed - unseeing - past the black informal settlements that line our first-world highways," says F.W. de Klerk, the country’s last apartheid-era president.

HEALTH-AFRICA: A Church Group Makes Strides in Supplying ARVs

The case for providing anti-retroviral drugs to as many HIV-positive Africans as possible was made again this week in South Africa, by the Community of Sant' Egidio, a Catholic organisation.