ENVIRONMENT: A Third of Bird Species At Risk

The plight of birdlife in Africa and other parts of the world is being highlighted at a meeting that is currently underway in the South African port city of Durban.

CULTURE-ZIMBABWE: Bulawayo’s Old Men of Jazz

A white-suited quartet slides onto a small stage in Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. There’s a flash of a smile before the grey-haired men step forward, their songs matching the rhythm of their feet. The Cool Crooners are on their way to charming another audience.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Isolated Violence, Poverty Focus of Election Campaign

Campaigning for South Africa's general elections, to be held next month, has moved into top gear - with politicians scrambling for an endorsement from the country's 20.7 million registered voters.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Reproductive Care a Work in Progress

With the world marking International Women's Day this week, women in South Africa might find themselves asking what benefits 10 years of democracy have brought them - especially in the important area of reproductive health.

HEALTH-ZAMBIA: NGOs in the Hot Seat

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has had an uneasy relationship with civil society from the beginning of his term in office. However, matters worsened recently when he accused AIDS activists of monopolising the funds provided by donors to fight the pandemic.

RIGHTS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: AIDS the Focus of Int’l Women’s Day

"As a woman, I can't bring a condom home. If I do, then I'm not a wife - I'm a prostitute. My husband will ask me whether I have a secret lover. If I say I don't, he will want to know where I had learnt how to use a condom," says Siphiwe Hlophe.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: The Relentless March of the Military Men

A silent revolution, with far-reaching political and social implications, is underway in Zimbabwe. In many divisions of the public service including the judiciary, and state-run companies, military men are on the ascendant.

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: Financial Gains Elusive for Black Majority

Ten years after the demise of apartheid, South African blacks are still waiting for a slice of the economic pie they were denied in the past.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Allegations of Media Bias Plague Election Campaign

Accusations of political bias are piling up against Malawi's state broadcaster in the run-up to general elections scheduled for May 18. In the latest salvo to be fired, a group of religious leaders has asked the courts to ensure equal air time for all political parties.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Haitian Leader’s Plight Fails to Move Opposition

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who fled a rebel onslaught Sunday, is searching for a new home – and it appears that he may take up exile in South Africa.

POLITICS-NAMIBIA: Clear Criteria Needed For Expropriations – Farmers

An umbrella group for Namibian commercial farmers, the Namibia Agricultural Union, says the announcement that farm expropriations will take place in the country has sent has sent shock waves through its agricultural community.

ENVIRONMENT-MALAWI: Villagers Between a Rock and a Hard Place?

A group of villagers in Malawi is taking on the management of a quarry near the commercial centre of Blantyre, because of alleged noise and dust pollution from the quarry.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: "The Situation is Very Grim"

"We are the only country in the world not at war whose economy is shrinking at an alarming rate. Inflation is running at 620 percent. Eighty percent of our people live in poverty," says Tendai Biti of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Independent Daily Adds Retrenchments to Its List of Woes

The chances of Zimbabwe's only privately-owned daily newspaper ever reappearing on newsstands appeared bleaker this week, when its management announced massive retrenchments.

ENVIRONMENT-ZIMBABWE: Wood Sales Eclipse Farming on Resettled Land

As Zimbabwe marks the fourth anniversary of its controversial land redistribution programme, there is widespread concern about the impact this is having on the country's environment.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: A Qualified Welcome for AIDS Budget

South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has received mixed reviews from AIDS activists for the annual budget he announced last week.

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Business Reeling Under the Impact of HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS has not been seen as only a medical problem since the 1990s. The disease's negative economic impacts on businesses in Southern Africa are being confirmed by surveys conducted by health and business groups.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Programme to Turn Out Model Citizens Inspires Fear

Deputy Commandant Ndlovu runs one of the camps for Zimbabwe's national youth training programme, which he swears is above political allegiances. Yet, quite unaware of the irony, he's wearing a campaign T-shirt from the last election which is decorated with the face of a ruling party legislator.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Women Candidates Find the Odds Stacked Against Them

Vera Chirwa is a prominent human rights activist in Malawi, a prison rapporteur for the African Union - and someone who was imprisoned for speaking out against authoritarian rule under former head of state Hastings Kamuzu Banda. But this pedigree wasn't enough to earn her a shot at Malawi's presidency during the May elections.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Virginity Testing Strips Girls of Their Dignity – Groups

They form a single file. Some are singing, though their voices have been dwarfed by the hum of the stream. The girls, estimated around 50, are being accompanied home by three middle-aged women from a nearby river.

CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Pressure of AIDS, Economic Decline Spur Ritual Murders

"Ritual murder is a fact in Swaziland. Our only protection is to adopt a defensive attitude," Robert Dube, a businessperson in the capital city, told IPS.