TRADE-KENYA: East Africans May Be Stripped of the Kikoi

Kenyan activists are fighting to retain cultural designs that have been developed in East Africa but are being patented by companies in rich countries. After losing the kiondo basket trademark to Japan, the popular kikoi fabric design is currently at risk of being patented by a British company.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: A Regional – and National – Embrace for Mugabe

Hopes that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe would be taken to task this week over human rights abuses in his country have been dashed - this after regional leaders reaffirmed their solidarity with Zimbabwe, and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) endorsed Mugabe as its presidential candidate for 2008 elections.

DEVELOPMENT-MOZAMBIQUE: Explosions End But Trauma Continues

Six hours of terrifying explosions and projectiles flying everywhere, killing people indiscriminately, are over but the fear and the trauma live on.

EDUCATION-SOUTH AFRICA: ”Schooling That Hampers Development”

For 16 years, Themba was proud to be a teacher in South Africa but a wave of violence at her school has proven so nerve-wracking that she may leave the profession.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Operation ”Living Well” Also A Disaster

''It is appalling how our government has simply discarded its own people,'' exclaims civic activist Max Mkandla. He is referring to the ruling ZANU-PF's Operation Murambatsvina (''drive out filth'') and its follow-up, Operation Garikai (''living well'').

TRADE-ZAMBIA: Is China Sneaking in Deals Through the Back Door?

The recent state visit by Chinese president Hu Jintao has sparked renewed debates among Zambians about whether their country is receiving real benefits from its close economic relations with the Asian giant.

TRADE-MAURITIUS: EU Assisting in Revamp of Sugar Cane Industry

Sugar cane has been associated with Mauritius for over 367 years, shaping many aspects of the history and culture of the island state. The arrival of renewable energy technologies has made sugar cane even more important to the Mauritian economy.

LESOTHO: Local Elections May Hold the Key to National Success for Women

As Lesotho's newly-elected legislators settle down to the task of governing, activists are expressing disappointment at the low representation of women in the country's parliament.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Renewable Sources the Key to Energy Crisis?

Biofuel and other renewable energy sources may hold the key to Africa's energy crisis. Without intervention, this crisis is set to grow. Southern African cities such as Lusaka in Zambia, Harare in Zimbabwe, Gaborone in Botswana and Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania will be affected.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: “This Dictator Must Be Brought Down”

Zimbabwe's outspoken Catholic archbishop, Pius Ncube, has volunteered to lead peaceful, mass protests to remove President Robert Mugabe from power, as Cardinal Jaime Sin did to unseat dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines more than two decades ago.

TRADE-AFRICA: Liberalisation May Boost Growth But Not Create Jobs

Even if trade openness boosts economic growth, such growth may not create jobs or alleviate poverty. Therefore the much-vaunted Aid for Trade concept should be redesigned so that ‘‘the major focus is shifted from simply creating more trade to the more important objectives of poverty reduction''.

Q&A: “We Want to Take Control of Our Water”

In a State of the Nation address delivered in February, South African President Thabo Mbeki said his country had "already achieved the Millennium Development Goals in respect of basic water supply, with improvement of access from 59 percent in 1994 to 83 percent in 2006."

POLITICS-MALAWI: ”Two Elephants Trampling the Grass”

The African adage that ‘‘when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers'' is currently particularly apt in Malawian politics.

DEVELOPMENT-MOZAMBIQUE: What To Do When a Cyclone Hits

Sandra Alberto (picture) was heavily pregnant when Cyclone Favio struck Mozambique earlier this month on 2 March, ripping the zinc roof off the house she and her two children had taken refuge in.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Forced to Choose ”Which Rights to Violate”

Images of tiny, malnourished African children, some scavenging for leftover food, have continued to grace the covers of brochures, posters and video clips of aid agencies since the devastating famine that claimed more than one million lives in Ethiopia 22 years ago.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Facing AIDS, Malaria Amidst Brain Drain

As though the decimating effects of HIV/AIDS and malaria were not enough to deal with, African countries also have to battle with the continuing exodus of health professionals leaving the continent for greener pastures.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: MDGs Depend on Power Relations Changing

‘‘The people of Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta are poor not because they do not have resources but because they do not have political power. Those who wield power in Nigeria are building skyscrapers in Lagos and Abuja while there is nothing in the Niger Delta. It is the same at the global level.''

POLITICS-AFRICA: Democracy Takes Root in Some Countries, Falters in Others

The progress of democracy in Africa has come under discussion this week at a conference in the South African commercial hub of Johannesburg.

TRADE: Europe Grapples With the Future of ACP Sugar Imports

The European Union (EU) has imported sugar at preferential prices from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries since the 1970s; but, failed sugar reform within the union and the prospect of unlimited imports from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the near future have put a question mark over this arrangement.

INT’L WOMEN’S DAY-SOUTH AFRICA: A Fight Against Cultural Norms on Violence

International Women's Day, commemorated Thursday, is this year focused on bringing those who abuse women and girls to book. The theme is a pertinent one for South Africa, where the twin challenges of tackling domestic violence and ending impunity have topped the agenda of women's groups for years.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Making Policies for AIDS in the Workplace, Commonplace

With AIDS cutting a swathe through Africa's workforce, there is an urgent need for employers to set up policies that support HIV-positive staff - and ensure they are not victims of stigma. But, it's a need that often goes unaddressed.