POLITICS-MALAWI: Mutharika’s Daunting Task

As Malawi's courts grapple with the electoral challenge lodged by the opposition Mgwirizano coalition to last week's poll, the country's new president, Bingu wa Mutharika, is trying to win hearts and minds with talk of poverty alleviation and corruption busting.

DEVELOPMENT: If the IMF Could Do This to Zambia…

The Zambian economy has collapsed heavily as a result of World Bank and IMF intervention, a major new study reveals.

CULTURE-ZIMBABWE: "Dogs and Pigs" No More?

"Worse than dogs and pigs" is how Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe described homosexuals almost a decade ago, when the gay community attempted to highlight widespread homophobia in the Southern African country.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Elections, at a Time When Malawians Are “Freer But Poorer”

Malawi is scheduled to go to the polls Thursday for general elections - this amidst polling delays, allegations of bias on the part of electoral officials, and deepening poverty.

SUSTAINABILITY: Do ‘Water Wars’ Still Loom in Africa?

When water affairs ministers from countries along the Nile met recently to discuss the fate of the river, Boutros Boutros-Ghali was not in the room with them. But the lingering memory of his comment that future wars would be fought over water probably was.

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.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: "We are everywhere" Says Shadowy Pro-Democracy Group

"When they were interrogating me, they kept asking about ‘Zvakwana!’," says activist Gorden Moyo, describing his recent detention by security officials in Zimbabwe. "I told them I don’t know what it’s about."

EDUCATION-SWAZILAND: School Funds for AIDS orphans So Near – Yet So Far

Swazi school children returned to their hostels Friday (May 7) in preparation for the second term of the academic year. However, a question mark hangs over the fate of thousands of AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children who may not be permitted to continue their schooling this term.

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.

PRESS FREEDOM-ZIMBABWE: “No Oomph and Guts” in the Media?

Even within its own ranks, Zimbabwe's ruling party has shown it is intolerant of ambitions hinting at expansion of the tiny independent press.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Electoral Commission Moves From Referee to Sparring Partner

In 1994, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) was feted for its fair and efficient organisation of a poll that ousted autocratic ruler Hastings Kamuzu Banda. A decade on, however, the lustre has been rubbed off of the organisation.

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.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Making the Law Less of an Ass

As thousands of Zimbabwean women have discovered, the law is a blunt instrument when it comes to domestic disputes that threaten health and well-being.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Anti-corruption Body Exists in Name Only

The government of Swaziland has allocated R2 million (307,692 dollars) in its budget for an anti-corruption office that does not function, but is sorely needed.

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.

/UPDATE/POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: "It’s Now Time for the People to Speak"

Just an hour and a half after polling stations in South Africa closed Wednesday night, results for the country's third democratic election were already starting to roll in.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Strong Currency Undermines Tourism

Swazis tired of hearing their country condemned for having a traditional African monarchy for its governing system are countering that this very culture makes Swaziland a unique place any tourist would want to visit.

/ANNOUNCEMENT/ POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Third Democratic Poll Kicks Off

South Africa's third democratic election got underway at almost 17,000 polling stations across the country Wednesday morning, with reports of isolated problems at certain venues.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Election Campaign Revives Memories of State Brutality

At first glance Lupane seems no different from other rural districts in Zimbabwe. Its tranquillity, coupled with a canopy of luxuriant forest, gives no indication of the recurring droughts that plague the area.

DEVELOPMENT-ZIMBABWE: Decades After Liberation, Landmines Remain Lethal

Rumbidzai Zulu, a woman in her early twenties, stares at the freshly bandaged stump that used to be her leg. A landmine blew off the limb while she was looking for firewood in the bush - also claiming the life of her unborn child - and she is struggling to come to grips with the trauma.