SOUTH AFRICA: We Have Land Rights but No Water Rights – Farmers

Thandi Sihadi stands next to a dry tap. As a maize and dairy farmer in one of South Africa’s driest districts, the lack of running water is nothing new to her.

SOUTH AFRICA: New Regulations "Good and Bad" for Black Empowerment

The first decade of South Africa’s black economic empowerment (BEE) policies saw the creation of a predictable list of politically connected beneficiaries, featuring names such as Patrice Motsepe, Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale. Now new regulations may see other companies – including white-owned business – enter the BEE stage.

ZAMBIA: Orphans Learn Life Skills Through Soccer

For 70 minutes, the girls in the distinctive gold-and-green jersey of Brazil shut out the attacks by the visiting team. The bare feet of chubby-faced left back Njavwa Silungwe are lively in defence.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Too Much Water and Not Enough to Drink

Mmankosana Letsoela has been queuing since 5am to collect water. You would think that arriving so early at the bore-hole water pump; she would be the first in line.

TRADE-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Effort Afoot to Save Rickety Customs Union

Southern African countries have buried the hatchet in an effort to preserve the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), one of the few building blocks of regional integration. Its chiefs vehemently denied reports that Pretoria wants to pull out of the customs union.

SANITATION-ZAMBIA: Back Policy With Funding

Water- and sanitation-related diseases cost communities dearly, particularly in rural Zambia.

ZAMBIA: 'Clear Lack of Commitment to HIV'

A United Nations mid-point review of Zambia's efforts towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), released in September, has revealed that HIV/AIDS might prevent the southern African country from meeting the targets.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Neglected Land Washing Away

Damage to wetlands high in Lesotho's Maluti mountains has impacts on the health of the whole of the Orange-Senqu river system.

MALAWI: Surplus Crop, But We Are Starving – Farmers

In a country where maize crop surplus fills the national storehouses to capacity, farmers Ida and Montfort Salijeni and their four children have turned to wild tubers for food.

HEALTH-ANGOLA: "It's Normal Here That Children Die Young"

Angelina Silva doesn’t remember the exact dates when her sons died. She just remembers their ages.

AGRICULTURE: Can South Africa Afford to Export Virtual Water?

Near the banks of the Orange River, farm manager Le Roux Viljoen sends off an SMS to a weather station and receives an almost instantaneous response telling him the temperature, wind direction and estimated evaporation index.

ZIMBABWE: Virgins Forced into Marriage to ‘Appease’ Evil Spirits

Three years after being seized from their families and forced to marry and have sex with adult men in a Shona ritual to appease an avenging spirit, five teenagers are facing a dismal reality.

SOUTH AFRICA: Less Water More Money

South Africans may have to start paying more for water if they do not manage their water resources efficiently.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Orange River Wetlands Need a Lifetime to Recover

Much of the internationally-recognised wetland surrounding the Orange River mouth has lost its rich green colour. Situated close to long-standing diamond mining operations, the river's mouth has been treated with environmental disregard for decades.

MALAWI: Pre-school Education A Luxury

Less than a third of Malawi's children attend pre-school; the others will lag behind their peers for their entire school careers.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Journey of a Working River: the Orange-Senqu

In the steep valleys of Lesotho's Maluti mountains, women carry yellow plastic buckets of water across fields of dark-brown earth; a group of men form a human chain to pass rocks between them to build a small dam wall across a mountain stream; clothes are being washed in rivers; and men draped in blankets ride donkeys or horses along the roadside.

TRADE-AFRICA: Russia “Could be Left Behind”

Russia should reconsider its trade policy towards African states if it wants to keep up with the likes of China, the European Union (EU) and the U.S., say experts.

MALAWI: Non-Voters Denied Farm Subsidies

Gina Champiti, a widowed mother of eight children aged between three and 12 did not register to vote in the May presidential and parliamentary elections. This is going to cost her her livelihood.

WATER-LESOTHO: Compensation Victory for Displaced Villagers

Taelo Motseki had every reason to wear a broad smile despite the afternoon chill. His family along with 21 others displaced by Phase 1B of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project at Ha Mohale had won a decade-long struggle seeking compensation.

ZAMBIA: Malaria Prevention Pays Off

Huge investments in malaria control and prevention have prevented as many as 75,000 child deaths over the past five years.

ZIMBABWE: Board Gives School System Failing Marks

Primary and secondary school education in Zimbabwe has "fallen woefully behind" other southern African countries due to shortages of textbooks and other materials as well as deteriorating working conditions and resultant low morale for teachers.