TRADE: Caution in South Africa About Sudanese Investment Opportunities

Officials in south Sudan are looking for foreign investment to develop the impoverished but oil-rich region that has been devastated by a 21-year conflict which ended last year.

POLITICS: Showing Former African Leaders the Carrot, Rather Than the Stick

With eleven former African heads of state gathered at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa (Wits) for the fourth African Presidential Roundtable, questions are being asked as to what they can achieve after leaving office.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Border Post Scuffles Highlight a Democratic Shortfall

Activists lobbying for democratic reform in Swaziland have vowed to push ahead with their campaign, even though several of them were temporarily detained this week for blocking the five border posts between South Africa and Swaziland.

HEALTH-AFRICA: “An Opportunity to Change the Course of History”

An Africa-wide campaign has been launched to halt HIV infections, this as the continent continues to be the worst affected by AIDS globally.

SOUTH AFRICA: The Shower That Washed Anti-AIDS Efforts Down the Drain

AIDS activists have expressed concern about a remark by former South African deputy president Jacob Zuma that he minimised his risk of contracting the AIDS virus during unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman, by taking a shower afterwards.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Aid Initiatives Not to Be Taken on Faith

Faith-based organisations that wish to succeed with humanitarian projects in Swaziland have been advised to take into consideration the views and sensibilities of indigenous populations, even if the benefactors believe they are on a mission from God and know what is best for the local people.

EDUCATION-AFRICA: Spare the Plough, and School the Child

Delegates to a workshop held recently in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, have highlighted concerns about how child labour is undermining efforts to achieve universal primary education.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: Medical Brain Drain Puts Southern Africa in a Quandary

The figures tell it all. In South Africa, 37 percent of the country's doctors and seven percent of its nurses have migrated to Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Britain and the United States.

RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: Leaving Prostitution – Easier Said Than Done

"Everything revolves around money and without work there is no money," says 33-year-old Maria Xoagub*, a mother of three who earns her living as a prostitute. "Sometimes we try stopping going to sell our bodies in the streets, but when poverty takes over we are back there."

HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: Bleak Future for Children With a Double Burden

The child squirms drowsily as it struggles to roll over on the bunk bed, eventually succumbing to sleep. The skin on its face is too taught. Wisps of hair look as if they could fall out at any minute.

AFRICA: Resources for Development “Scarce and Grossly Mismanaged”

The first United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) could arguably be seen as the mother of MDGs, as a country's ability to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty will be a determining factor in whether it attains the other seven goals.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: Mozambican Nurses to the Fore with ARV Distribution

With World Health Day (Apr. 7) rapidly approaching, public attention is being directed this week to the widespread shortage of health workers. The theme for World Health Day 2006, 'Working together for health', was chosen to add momentum to efforts at resolving the crisis - something that is nowhere more evident than in Mozambique.

ECONOMY-AFRICA: Admiration and Wariness Towards China

Five years ago, Martyn Davies used to give talks on China a couple of times a year, if he was lucky. "Now I get invited twice a week," he says, highlighting how interest in China's booming economy has grown.

CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

The braiding of black hair is a slow process, typically starting at an early hour, and continuing well into the evening. For the uninitiated, it is easy to imagine that hours of socialising in bustling salons are involved.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Making Downtown Up-market

"Living and playing in the city," as he puts it, was such an appealing idea that two years ago Khabo Baloyi decided to buy an apartment in downtown Johannesburg.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Different Continents, Similar Problems

There is much that separates Africa and Asia, not least ethnicity, culture and language. But, as the third and final leg of this year’s World Social Forum (WSF) gathers momentum in the Pakistani financial centre of Karachi, the hope is that civic groups will build on common aspirations for the two continents.

HEALTH-AFRICA: A Somber Outlook on AIDS

A former director of the United Nations Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa has painted a gloomy picture of efforts to bring the pandemic under control across the continent.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Anti-Abortion Laws a “Silent War Waged Against Women”

Calls for abortion laws across Africa to be revised have dominated the first days of a meeting in Ethiopia – the ‘Regional Consultation on Unsafe Abortion in Africa’.

WATER: Local Customs the Way of the Future – or a Thing of the Past?

For generations, African farmers have relied on local knowledge to manage and conserve water.

RIGHTS-NAMIBIA: No Rest – and Limited Government Support – for the Aged

The sight of an elderly person caring for children with AIDS-related illnesses – and grandchildren who may have been orphaned by the pandemic - has become a common one in Namibia, and the Southern African region as a whole.

ENVIRONMENT: Taking Aim at MDG Targets

Halving the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation, improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers...The targets for the seventh United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) sound impressive.