SOUTHERN AFRICA: “Make the Issue of Water Attractive to the Authorities”

To tackle droughts in Southern Africa, one needs to think out of the box instead of pointing fingers at obvious causes such as lack of rainfall, experts said this week during the third Zambezi Basinwide Stakeholders Forum, held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

HELSINKI PROCESS: Farewell to a Unique Forum for Dialogue

The Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy was launched five years ago by Finland and Tanzania with the aim of addressing international divisions, to achieve an inclusive globalisation process based on human and environmental security.

HELSINKI PROCESS: Pushing For Progress in the Great Lakes Region

Continued strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has dealt a blow to those hoping for peace in Central Africa. However, Liberata Mulamula, executive director of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), remains optimistic about the future of this part of the continent.

SOUTH AFRICA: A Tale of Ongoing Water and Sanitation Woes

When the number of people reported with diarrhoea began to increase alarmingly in the town of Delmas in Mpumalanga Province towards the end of October, residents had flashbacks to an outbreak of diarrhoea and typhoid that took place in August and September, 2005. They feared the worst as the number of cases grew in the community of about 45,000 people - 60 kilometres east of South Africa's financial centre, Johannesburg.

HELSINKI PROCESS: Democracy as an Antidote to Extremism

The director of Panorama - the Palestinian Center for the Dissemination of Democracy and Community Development - has condemned those who carry out terrorist acts in the name of Islam, saying they are not representative of the global Muslim community.

HELSINKI PROCESS: Globalisation in the Dock

The latest conference to be held under the Helsinki Process opened in Tanzania's commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, Tuesday, with calls for the gains of globalisation to be shared fairly amongst nations.

HELSINKI PROCESS: More Development and Security in Exchange For Small Arms

Increasing international co-operation in exchange for guns and improving the sense of domestic security are promising strategies for reducing the number of small weapons in the hands of civilians in developing countries, a leading expert on the matter says.

COMMONWEALTH: Waiting on Pakistan, Acting on Climate Change

The latest Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) came to a close Sunday with leaders and government representatives reiterating the need for restoration of democratic rule in Pakistan, while calling on Islamabad to maintain lines of communication with the 53 member organisation.

Q&A: "A Threat to One Is a Threat to All"

The past year has marked the half-way point for realisation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The eight goals were agreed on by global leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, with 2015 set as the deadline for achieving the MDGs.

COMMONWEALTH: Poverty and Climate Change in the Spotlight

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) has opened with calls for the gap between rich and poor countries in the 53-member grouping to be addressed.

MOZAMBIQUE: Committees for Water – But Sometimes in Name Only

Impoverished residents in the suburb of Carrupeia in Nampula, Mozambique's third largest city, do not have access to potable water because their water committee has effectively ceased to function.

COMMONWEALTH: "Get Rid of Your Agricultural Subsidies" – McKinnon

The political crisis in Pakistan and global trade negotiations are amongst issues set to dominate the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that starts Friday in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Q&A: "TB and XDR-TB Are Not an African Problem Only"

In a world where countless humanitarian causes clamour for action and funding, raising money to combat tuberculosis (TB) can prove a challenge.

HEALTH-AFRICA: TB and AIDS Campaigns Urged to Co-operate

Tuberculosis (TB) in Africa cannot be dealt with while TB and HIV/AIDS organisations refuse to set aside their differences, health experts said Friday during the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Prevalence of Extensive Drug-Resistant TB Unclear

What is known so far about the scope and prevalence of extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in sub-Saharan Africa may only be the tip of the iceberg, said TB experts Thursday during the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health, in the South African coastal city of Cape Town.

HEALTH-AFRICA: HIV and TB – An Ever Deadlier Combination

The prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) amongst people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa has reached crisis levels and will escalate further if decisive steps are not taken, says a new report by the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research - 'HIV-TB Co-Infection: Meeting the Challenge'.

RIGHTS-RWANDA: UN Tribunal’s Most Wanted Remains Elusive

Félicien Kabuga has a reward of several million dollars on his head, and tops the list of fugitives of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Yet, he's managed to escape justice for years.

Q&A: "Wetlands Have Had a Pretty Raw Deal, Historically"

Environmental organisations can work with developers to manage wetlands in urban areas, says John Dini: programme manager at Working for Wetlands, a state organisation that tries to ensure the long term viability of wetlands in South Africa.

DEVELOPMENT-NAMIBIA: Interest in Uranium Powers Desalination Plans

Efforts to build Namibia's first large-scale desalination plant are gaining momentum. The project is a joint undertaking of the Namibian Water Corporation (NamWater), a government owned utility, and mining company UraMin Inc.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Power Cuts Lead to Sewage Spills

Sewage plants in South Africa’s northern Gauteng Province poured millions of litres of untreated waste into three rivers between the capital, Pretoria, and the commercial centre of Johannesburg earlier this month. National power utility Eskom cut electricity to the treatment plants, which were then unable to process the waste water before it was released into the rivers.

SOUTH AFRICA: Flush Still Considered Flash When it Comes to Toilets

Waterless or composting toilets are being touted as a promising solution to many of South Africa's sanitation woes.