DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Unlocking the Mysteries of Social Mobility

From sprawling shack settlements to the presence of destitute people begging for small change at traffic lights, there is ample evidence that poverty is a pervasive and destructive force in South African life. Less clear is why some manage to beat the odds to escape poverty, and others not.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Malawi Struggles With Environment MDG

Chicken was once considered a delicacy which rarely graced tables in Malawi. Now fish has taken over this position, despite Malawi being famous for its lake - which is the fifth largest in the world by volume and contains an estimated 1,000 fish species.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Angola’s Oil Not Flowing for Safer Water

The cholera epidemic which has been plaguing Angola for nearly a year has placed the spotlight on the continuing lack of safe drinking water in that country.

HEALTH-MOZAMBIQUE: Healers’ Practices Under the HIV Spotlight

A motley group of about 20 men and women eyed each other tentatively as they met for the first time to discuss how they could jointly fight HIV/AIDS.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Squatters Make Communities Out Of Chaos

Swaziland's civic and national authorities are tackling the growing blight of informal settlements with plans to make squatters the owners of their own properties, and allow them access to sanitary and other city services.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Lesotho Edging Towards Education MDG

Lineo* lost her father when she was about to start school and just after her unemployed mother had become blind. When friends of the 15-year-old went to their first classes in 1999, she had to cope with grief at the death of her father while also having to take care of her blind mother.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Malawi On Track to Meet Child Mortality MDG

Looking at Patience Ziyenda, 37, one would say that she is a jovial woman. But deep inside, Patience is sad. She is among the many women in Malawi who have been struck by the catastrophe of child mortality.

DEVELOPMENT-MAURITIUS: “MDGs Are Only for Poor Africans”

Six years after the launch of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), many Mauritians still know nothing about them. Some have heard about the goals but are unsure of their significance. Others believe such initiatives concern only poor countries in Africa because "things are different on the small island state".

RIGHTS-ZAMBIA: Olden Years Not Proving Golden Years

For thousands of Zambia's former civil servants, retirement is beginning to seem less like the reward for a lifetime of work than a battle to survive, as they wait in vain for the lump sum and monthly pension payouts to which government workers are entitled.

DEVELOPMENT: World Bank Predicts Betterment, In a Way

By 2030, 1.2 billion people in developing countries will belong to a global middle class, up from 400 million today. The increase in wealth will make income inequality and environmental pressures more acute, predicts the World Bank in a report on 'Managing the Next Wave of Globalisation'.

ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Concerns Over Nuclear Plans Unheeded

Despite recent controversies over the Koeberg nuclear power plant near Cape Town, locals in the coastal city have shown little resistance to the South African government's plan to build another nuclear reactor on their doorstep.

DEVELOPMENT: ACP Nations Opt for Trade on Their Terms

Leaders of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States wrapped up their fifth summit Friday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum - this after two days of debate over trade relations between the ACP, a 79-member grouping that includes some of the world's poorest nations - and the European Union (EU).

DEVELOPMENT: Trade Agreements, Darfur in the Spotlight at ACP Gathering

The fifth summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States is taking place under the theme 'United for Peace, Solidarity and Sustainability'; however, negotiations at the meeting may have a somewhat less harmonious tone.

DEVELOPMENT: ACP States Feeling the Pinch of 2007 Trade Deadline

The fifth summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States will kick off on Thursday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, amidst fierce speculation over the fate of trade agreements between the European Union (EU) and ACP nations.

RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: Marital Bliss Amidst Anti-Gay Prejudice

Bongani*, resplendent in a tailored suit in brilliant white, alighted from a white Mercedes Benz adorned with golden ribbons. By his side appeared Sipho* in a black suit and elegant yellow silk necktie. It was their wedding day.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Zambezi Plan’s Problems Not Unique

While the recent stakeholders' conference on the Zambezi River Basin saw many good intentions expressed, it also served as a reminder of the persistent challenge posed by weak co-operation between Southern African states.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Mozambican Children Carrying the Burden of HIV and Stigma

Dressed in jeans and a sweater, Julia* watches cautiously as her mother talks on her behalf. But as the interview proceeds, she gains confidence and begins to speak for herself.

HEALTH-AFRICA: The Promise and Problems of Telemedicine

As the 11th annual conference of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth drew to a close Wednesday in Cape Town, South Africa, the ability of Africa to adopt and sustain telemedicine to improve delivery of health care in under-serviced rural areas came under discussion.

AFRICA: For Good Health, Think eHealth

The 11th conference of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH) kicked off Monday at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, where delegates from around the globe gathered to discuss the benefits and challenges that eHealth (electronic health) offers to both the developed and developing world.

ECONOMY-MAURITIUS: Resistance as Foreign Workers Demand Rights

Fifteen years after they first came to Mauritius, "guest workers" from China, India and Bangladesh still face resistance to their efforts to improve the difficult conditions they live and work under.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: States Against Zambezi Current

Seventy percent of the Zambezi river's hydropower potential remains untapped because stakeholder countries have failed to ratify an agreement as the first step towards activating this potential.