AFRICA: Across the Continent, Gays Face Jail Terms, Discrimination

"We are here in Africa: we live in the mainstream, we pay taxes like everybody else in the mainstream, we relate with people in the mainstream. We are a naturally-occurring phenomenon in the universe," said activist Donna Smith of gay persons in Africa.

TRANSPORT-SOUTH AFRICA: Putting the Brake on “Mobile Coffins”

South Africa is phasing out ageing and ill-maintained minibus taxis to pave the way for new, and hopefully safer, vehicles. Minibuses are a common means of transport in the country, where they serve between seven and nine million passengers a day, according to the Department of Transport.

RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: All (Reasonably) Quiet on the NGO Front – For Now

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) played a key role in fighting South Africa's apartheid system of government, and have remained vocal during the first decade of democracy in the country.

HEALTH-NAMIBIA: Door to Door and Farm to Farm in the Battle Against Polio

A national polio immunisation campaign is scheduled to take place in Namibia during the next few days - this as the country grapples with its first outbreak of the disease in more than a decade.

WORLD REFUGEE DAY-SOUTH AFRICA: Hope in a Suitcase

Conflict in Rachael Mukoma's country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), made it impossible for her to stay there. At the same time, it was very difficult for her to leave.

RIGHTS: “War on Terror Is Sending People Into the Hands of Terrorists”

Political repression and the war on terror are expected to be amongst issues discussed at the five-day CIVICUS World Assembly that begins in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Jun. 21.

DEATH PENALTY: Calls for the Return of Capital Punishment in South Africa

Frustrated with what they see as increasing lawlessness in South Africa, leaders from political parties such as the Freedom Front Plus, the Christian Democratic Party and the Pro-Death Penalty Party are united in one cause: that capital punishment needs to be reinstated.

SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Gathering Highlights Tensions Between Government, NGOs

The recent United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) has tested relations between government and civil society in South Africa.

DEATH PENALTY: Freed From Death Row, Botswana Man Recounts His Tale

Maokaneng Makolong has witnessed much in his 75 years of life, but two events will stay in his mind forever.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: A Burden That Will Only Become Heavier

Researchers say they are bracing for a sharp rise in the cost of public health services in South Africa within the next few years, due to HIV/AIDS. And, they warn that the country's health department might not be able to cope with its ever-growing responsibilities if government fails to increase the department's budget substantially.

DEATH PENALTY: Five Years after Bosch, Nothing Changed in Botswana

Botswana was in the international spotlight in 2001 after it hurriedly sentenced and secretly hanged Marriette Sonjaleen Bosch, a white South African woman convicted of murder.

CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: What’s in a Name?

A proposal to change the name of South Africa's capital from Pretoria to Tshwane has sparked controversy.

SCIENCE-SOUTH AFRICA: From "Publish or Perish" to "Publish and Vanish"

"Publish or perish" is the warning given many academics at the start of their careers. But it's publication of a very particular kind that scholarly researchers crave.

POLITICS: Legislators Debate Whether Democracy Fits the Bill in Africa

A meeting of parliamentarians may seem an odd place to hear the virtues of regular elections questioned. But discussion on this, and a variety of other issues, has taken place with IPS over the past few days at a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Kenya's capital - Nairobi.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: The Mystery of Discordance

Silas Masindi* was not entirely surprised by his HIV test results. The dapper garment trader, who discovered earlier this year that he was infected with the AIDS virus, admits to using condoms somewhat erratically before he remarried three years ago.

RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma Acquitted – but “The Struggle Continues”

As the rape trial of former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma wrapped up Monday with an acquittal for the defendant, calls were sounded for the verdict not to be seen as undermining the fight to curtail rape.

DEVELOPMENT-ZIMBABWE: To Farm, or Not to Farm?

Recent moves by the Zimbabwean government to allow white farmers whose land was confiscated to resume farming, have drawn a variety of responses.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Cause for Hope and Concern in Southern Africa

As countries around the world commemorate World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, a mixed picture has emerged of the state of media freedom in Southern Africa.

HEALTH: A Weapon Against AIDS That Looks Just Like Hair Gel

"Mafuta" is the word used by Kennedy Mundia to describe the colourless, odourless gel that he wants 1,500 women in the Southern African country of Zambia to try out, starting next month.

RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: Bushmen Survive Millennia – But Perhaps Not Modernity

"They have no voice, no jobs; poverty is excruciating, slavery is there - because they work for others for nothing, like in only getting a plate of food or tombo (traditional beer). They are just suffering."

POLITICS-AFRICA: Tough Questions for Former Heads of State

A public discussion with eleven former African leaders attending an African Presidential Roundtable, crowned the two-day event held at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg recently.