CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Kenya’s New Constitution in Limbo

To the majority of Kenyans, it's becoming clearer that President Mwai Kibaki's three-year-old government is dragging its feet over a new constitution for the East African country.

POLITICS-KENYA: Out With the Old, In With the (Mostly) Old

Kenya's new cabinet is scheduled to be sworn in at 10.00 local time (07.00 GMT) Friday. It promises to be a shorter ceremony than usual: two ministers and 17 assistant ministers have already declined invitations to join the cabinet.

ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Is “Cull” a Four-Letter Word?

Lawrence Anthony is known for rescuing animals, including lions, from former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein's palaces after Baghdad fell to U.S. forces in April 2003.

WTO-SPECIAL: Does Foreign Equal Cheaper, Better, More?

"Look at how we live here: the garbage heaps, the sewers, the polythene bags with human waste littered all over the area! There is no adequate running water. This is harmful for our children and us," complains James Isaye, a resident of Kibera.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Food on the Table Helps “Keep the Promise” in Kenya

With only a quarter of Kenyans who need anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) receiving them from government, the race is on to ensure that many more people get treatment to fend off AIDS-related diseases.

POLITICS-KENYA: Cabinet Sacked, Parliament Postponed

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has sacked his entire cabinet and postponed the re-opening of parliament, this after Monday's referendum in which voters rejected a proposed constitution even though Kibaki had lobbied heavily for its approval.

POLITICS-KENYA: A Resounding “No”

Kenyans have decisively rejected a proposed constitution that was put to a referendum on Monday.

POLITICS-KENYA: It’s Bananas Versus Oranges in the Constitutional Referendum

The campaign for Kenya's constitutional referendum entered its home stretch this weekend, with supporters and opponents of the draft constitution holding a final round of rallies ahead of voting on Monday.

RIGHTS-KENYA: “Unstoppable Determination” Fuels Quest for Compensation

If Naomi Kerongo could turn back the hands of time, she would make sure that the morning of Aug. 7, 1998 did not find her near the American embassy in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: So Much for Promises

They thought that, by this time, things would be different. But little seems to have changed for the inhabitants of the Kenyan slum of Kibera since last year’s pledge by government and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) to improve their living conditions.

ECONOMY-KENYA: Microfinance, Major Problems

The power of microcredit to pull people out of destitution has been celebrated around the world during 2005, designated the 'International Year of Microcredit' by the United Nations. In Kenya, however, the concept of microcredit risks losing its bloom.

DEVELOPMENT-RWANDA: Observations on an “Air Conditioned Country”

More than ten years have passed since Rwanda was shaken to its core by the genocide that claimed upwards of 800,000 lives. But as IPS discovered during a recent visit to the country, the spectre of the killings still casts a shadow over Rwanda - even as the nation makes progress on other fronts.

RIGHTS-KENYA: Ensuring that Justice Delayed Is Not Justice Denied

The hills above Nyeri in central Kenya are a vista of emerald coffee groves. As lustrous morning sunlight splashes gold amongst the green, an old man instructs his grandson in the art of cultivation.

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: “We Either Take This, or Die of Thirst”

Wiping perspiration from their faces, the women direct donkeys heavily laden with jerry cans towards the sandy riverbed.

ENVIRONMENT-KENYA: Sustainability Collides With Poverty

Visitors to Mbeere district in Kenya’s Central Province can hardly miss them: bags of charcoal laid on either side of the road. Those who sell the bags are far less visible, however. They hide in the surrounding dense vegetation, only appearing to make hurried sales.

HEALTH-DRC: An Epidemic Waiting to Happen

A vast forested valley stretches out below the office of Jose Mpindi, an ornithologist at the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: Scorching Sun, Dust, Famine

Frail Musyimi Mbiti lies on a bed that is almost bare, in Mwingi District Hospital. His little arms are tied to the bed rail with a dirty piece of cloth as a precautionary measure, failing which he would probably start gnawing on himself.

POLITICS-TANZANIA: Tensions Ahead of Zanzibari Poll

"It's more than politics - it's chaos. Most of these international observers are really terrified by what is going to be the situation in Zanzibar," says rights worker Deus Kabamba of the upcoming general election in Tanzania's semi-independent archipelago.

ENVIRONMENT-KENYA: Amboseli at a Crossroads

It's a move which some say has created a "disaster in waiting". However, Kenya's government is refusing to alter its decision to downgrade Amboseli, a globally-renowned national park, to game reserve status.

EUROPE-AFRICA: Blocs Urged to Respect Darfur Commitments

The security situation in Darfur will continue to worsen and the political process will remain at a stalemate unless the European Union and the African Union "radically change behaviour and respect their commitments", a leading conflict prevention think-tank warns.

TECHNOLOGY: Welcome to Ruralkenya.com

A generator rumbles behind the two-roomed building, which looks like one of the maize mills that dot Kenya's rural landscape. But, you're not likely to find a harvest of any sort in here - rather, food for thought.