Q&A: ‘True African Leaders Have Nothing to Fear From ICC’

As the first Review Conference of the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court takes stock of the ICC's achievements and considers amendments to strengthen the pursuit of justice around the world, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize is one of its strongest defenders.

ZIMBABWE: Learning to Survive the Mean Streets

Twelve-year-old Tapuwa Bakare* darts through the traffic as irate motorists hoot at him and the tyres of speeding vehicles screech to a halt to avoid hitting him. Miraculously, the box filled with sweets and chewing gum that he carries does not fall from his grasp.

AFRICA: Less Funds Will Cause Unnecessary AIDS Deaths

Backtracking by international donors in funding the fight against HIV/AIDS risks widening the treatment gap in Africa, undermining years of positive achievements in the field, warns a new Medecins Sans Frontières report. And many more unnecessary HIV-related deaths will be caused by these shifts in international donor funding

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Community Mobilisation Key to Fight TB

African medical experts have realised they need to make a much bigger effort to educate rural communities if they want to effectively contain the continent’s tuberculosis (TB) epidemic.

EAST AFRICA: New Arsenal Against Armyworms

Farmers across Eastern and Southern Africa will soon have a new organic insecticide effective enough to kill one of their most deadly foes – the armyworm.

SOUTH AFRICA: Tuberculosis in Children Neglected

Even though tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause for illness and mortality in children, South Africa lacks the political will to tackle the disease, health experts say.

Windfall for Botswana Farmers

Two of Botswana's biggest breweries are putting smiles on the faces of farmers. No, they are not giving beer away: the breweries are planning to buy sorghum from small-scale farmers at prices far higher than the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB) is offering.

Are Namibian Women Being Forcibly Sterilised?*

A landmark court case, alleging that HIV-positive women were forcibly sterilised in Namibian state hospitals begins in Windhoek's High Court on Jun. 1. Human rights groups claim the practice has continued long after the authorities were notified.

MALAWI: Gay Couple Released After Presidential Pardon

Five months and a day after their arrest, the gay Malawian couple who dared to publicly declare their union with a traditional engagement party were pardoned by the president and released without conditions.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Developing a Pristine River: The Okavango Basin

The welcome end to wars in the upper reaches of the Okavango River brings new pressures for development and the risk of unwelcome changes to the health of the river. A joint commission to manage the basin is developing tools to avoid this.

AFRICA: Small Scale Farmers Vulnerable to New Wheat Fungus

Smallholder wheat farmers are at risk as new mutations of a wheat-killing fungus have recently been discovered.

SOUTH AFRICA: Lack of Quality Health Care Causes Rise in Orphans

Two small boys play quietly on a jungle gym, some distance away from other children. The six-year-old twins, who live at the Masigcine children's centre in Mfuleni township, 35 kilometres out of Cape Town, are severely traumatised from being orphaned at the age of one and have difficulty relating to their peers.

Q&A: “Militarisation of Zimbabwe’s Diamond Fields Continues”

Almost a year after a review mission of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) found Zimbabwe guilty of "serious non-compliance" with the scheme’s minimum criteria on conflict diamonds, the militarisation of the southern African country’s diamond mining operations continues.

Malawi Gays Had No Chance


Rejecting the argument that the arrest and trial of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga amounted to a violation of their rights to freedom of conscience and expression as protected by Malawi's constitution, Blantyre chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa sentenced the two men to 14 years hard labour for "unnatural acts" and "gross indecency".

Q&A: National Study on Child Grant to Start

The department of social development hopes government will increase the child support grant based on the outcome of a rigorous nationwide study on the positive effects the grant has on South African society.

Urban Renewal Reduces Crime in South African Township

Neatly paved walkways, regularly spaced streetlamps, well-designed public squares and multi-functional, modern public buildings: this kind of thoughtful town planning is rarely found in South African townships and informal settlements.

MALAWI: “Commotion About Anti-Counterfeit Bill Is Unnecessary”

The Malawian government intends to pass a new bill against counterfeit goods by October which will also cover medicines. This step is being taken despite fears that such a law may cause more stock-outs in a country that is already riddled with drug shortages in medical facilities.

Malawi Gay Couple Found Guilty of Love

On May 18, Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, the two men arrested in December after their traditional engagement party, were convicted of "unnatural acts" and "gross indecency" under colonial-era laws that remain in Malawi's penal code.

NAMIBIA: Will Farm Project Mean the River Runs Dry?

A proposed irrigation scheme promises greater food security for Namibia, but should the 10,000 hectare Katondo Farm Project be completed, it could threaten the health of the Okavango River.

SWAZILAND: Activist’s Funeral Postponed As Police ‘Suppress Terrorism’

The Swazi government is determined that neither in life nor death will Sipho Jele's political colours be flown publicly.

San Fight Land Grab in Namibian Park

Pensioner Makena Makanga slowly savours a piece of manketti fruit unaware that the tree it came from will soon be chopped down and mulched along with the rest of her forest to make way for a massive agribusiness project.