POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Relations Between Monarchy And Bush Regime Worsen

Swaziland may not harbour weapons of mass destruction, but sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy, that rules this kingdom of less than one million people, is becoming increasingly nervous about the doctrine of United States President George W. Bush, which finds little tolerance for unelected regimes.

POLITICS-IRAQ: Activists to Keep Up Vigil at U.S. Embassy until End of War

Opposition to a war in Iraq has gone from low-scale to frenzied in South Africa as a U.S.-led attack was launched Thursday.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: We Will Break the Law to Get Free Drugs – AIDS Activists

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a lobby group fighting to get the South African government to make anti-HIV/AIDS drugs, like anti-retrovirals, freely available in the public health system, is getting ready to launch a civil disobedience campaign in support of their demands.

TRANSPORT-SOUTH AFRICA: Re-establishing a Culture of Obedience on the Road

What should have been a relatively simple bureaucratic exercise - to issue South Africans with a new type of drivers licence - has seemingly turned into a battle of wills between the government and its people.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Activists Heading for Iraq to Serve as Human Shields

Perhaps the only thing in common among the 40 South Africans expected to travel to Iraq to serve as ''human shields'' - to try and protect civilian infrastructure in the event of a U.S.-led attack on the Middle Eastern country - is a belief that individuals can help prevent a war.

CULTURE: Destructive Superstitions Key Part of Political Life in Swaziland

''Ritual murder'' has allegedly long been a dark and secret part of politics in Swaziland, a conservative kingdom where traditions good and bad, including some destructive superstitions, are a key part of life.

CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Tourist Industry Taps Into Apartheid Legacy

This picturesque city has witnessed some of the monumental battles of the apartheid era, as South Africa's white minority government attempted to rid the city of its black and coloured populations. The legacy of these historic struggles is fast becoming a major attraction to international visitors to Cape Town and the post-apartheid tourism authorities are only too happy to show it to the world.

POLITICS-IRAQ: South Africa Plays Down Africa’s Vote in the UN

South Africa is playing down its efforts to get the three African countries - Angola, Cameroon and Guinea - sitting on the United Nations Security Council to vote against a resolution that would clear the way for the United States to launch an attack on Iraq.

RIGHTS-ZAMBIA: Army ‘Reversing’ Decades of Campaign to De-stigmatise AIDS

After more than two decades of campaign to de-stigmatise AIDS, the Zambian government has been stymied by one of its own department. The Ministry of Defence has announced that it would no longer accept HIV-positive recruits.

/INT’L WOMEN’S DAY/HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: AIDS Orphans Turn to Grandmothers

Agnes Thom Mavhuto, 68, wonders why women should ever celebrate the International Women's Day every year.

POLITICS: South African Gangs Target Swazi Motorists

Police have issued a traveller's advisory for Swazi motorists using South African roads to Johannesburg and Durban following a month of murders and shootings by gangs targeting Swazi vehicles for theft.

LABOUR-ZAMBIA: Nationwide Strike Looming

A nationwide strike is looming after Zambia's largest labour movement issued an ultimatum to the government to improve public service wages and conditions of service by the end of March.

POLITICS: African Editors Speak Out on an Impending War in Iraq

African newspaper editors and correspondents have been exchanging their views on an impending war in Iraq in a lively if one-sided debate over the Internet.

LABOUR-SWAZILAND: Bloated Workforce Poised to Bankrupt the Nation

In Swaziland, government is the employer of last resort against sky-high unemployment figures.

ENVIRONMENT: Time Running Out for Swaziland to Sell Elephants to U.S. Zoos

Time is running out for Swaziland to sell eleven ''orphaned'' elephants to zoos in the United States, even if the sale means incurring the wrath of powerful animal rights organisations.

EDUCATION-SOUTH AFRICA: Shattering Gender Stereotyping

If her school blazer is anything to go by, 17-year-old Charmaine Mahaya is an achiever. Her blazer is decorated from the lapel to the bottom seam with a series of badges symbolising academic and sporting success at her Johannesburg semi-public school.

RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: Domestic Violence Still Regarded As Family Matter

To conceal the scars on her face, Rose Brown, not her real name, covers her nose and lip with a plaster. Her face has been disfigured after her boyfriend, enraged by her decision to end their relationship, bit off her upper lip and part of her nose.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Gov’t, AIDS Group Heading for A Winter of Discontent

Government and the AIDS movement are heading for another winter of discontent in South Africa as attempts to forge a national deal on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment fell apart at the weekend.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Anti-War Protesters Join Millions Around the Globe

At least 40,000 protesters in South Africa took to the tarmac in Cape Town and Johannesburg with a ringing anti-war message at the weekend, joining millions around the globe.

ENVIRONMENT: Conservationists Raise Red Warning Flags All over Mozambique

How far will Mozambique go with its promising economic recovery if the price is a damaged environment, nature conservationists are asking?

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: The Kingdom in No Hurry for Change

As King Mswati III delivers his State of the Kingdom speech to define the course of his royal government this week, he seems one of the most secure heads of state in the world.