G8-SUMMIT: “We Are Making Good Progress, Considering Where We Came From”

Demands for good governance and tough action on corruption could eclipse calls for increased aid to Africa when the Group of Eight (G8) leaders meet this week in Scotland for their annual summit, African academics and civil society groups fear.

ENVIRONMENT: Poaching Declining In Swaziland

In the little kingdom of Swaziland, a tough animal preservation law has cut poaching by 90 percent since its enactment ten years ago, while the bloody extinction of rhino has come entirely to a halt.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: “I’m Ready to Stand in Front of the Gun and be Shot”

A coalition of more than 200 African and international civic groups has called on the United Nations and African Union to press for an end to evictions and demolitions that have left people across Zimbabwe homeless.

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: AIDS Orphans – a Silent Tsunami

Twelve million and counting: that is the number of children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. This figure is expected to double by 2010.

REFUGEES: After the Struggle to Arrive in South Africa, a Struggle for Education

The effort to combine work and studies is taking its toll on Desiré Rwamagana, a Rwandan refugee who lives in South Africa’s commercial hub – Johannesburg.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: A Case of "Not Over Until It’s Over" for Zuma?

The long-running scandal over corruption in South Africa’s five-billion-dollar arms deal passed a milestone Tuesday with the sacking of Deputy President Jacob Zuma. However, it remains uncertain whether this dismissal has sounded the death knell for the official’s future in politics.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Opposition Leaders Press Ahead With More Mass Protests

Another eventful week in Zimbabwe; a two-day stay-at-home strike achieved very limited success that was blamed on poor leadership and mobilisation.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Small Arms That Do Big Damage

A global week of action against the flow of small arms that is fuelling conflicts in Africa and elsewhere kicked off Monday.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Policy for Subsistence Farmers Underwhelms

Subsistence agriculture makes for a hard life, particularly in areas that are badly hit by HIV. Put farming and AIDS together, add drought or disease, and you have a diabolical mixture of circumstances.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: In the Midst of Restoring Order – Chaos

Government calls the operation "Murambatsvina", a Shona word meaning "to drive out rubbish". But, on the city streets where the campaign has been carried out, people describe it as Zimbabwe’s own "tsunami": a razing of informal settlements and markets that has left thousands homeless, and jobless.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: That Elusive Target of 0.7 Percent

The contentious issue of how much national income wealthy countries are setting aside for development assistance came under scrutiny this week.

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV Treatment Just Beginning for Children

Age offers little protection against AIDS; children are often the disease's unwitting victims. Yet for the young ones in Southern Africa, treatment is only just beginning.

FINANCE-SOUTH AFRICA: Rare Insights Into Poor People’s Bank

Xolile Mjobo is a highly respected undertaker, which provides a good business in the midst of one of the world's most severe AIDS epidemics.

HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: Disabled at Greater Risk of HIV Infection

‘'Do you think I can go for an HIV test and be accepted?" Zitha scoffs at the suggestion.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: Press Freedom in the Spotlight

The International Press Institute kicked off its 54th general assembly Sunday, in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Home-Grown Electricity Needed

A media scare in Swaziland about an imminent cut-off of the country's electricity by foreign suppliers has highlighted its near-total dependence on external power sources - and jump-started contingency plans to expand domestic power production.

CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Making a Bull Market for Cows

When is a cow considerably more than the sum of its parts? When the animal happens to live in one of a good many developing countries, probably – not least Swaziland.

TRADE-AFRICA: Debate Over WTO Leadership in the Final Stretch

As the final round of consultations to choose a new director-general for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) wrapped up Thursday, former European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy appeared to be leading in the race to head the body.

ENVIRONMENT: Tsunami Nations Agree to Set Up Early Warning System

Donor nations have agreed to set up a 5.5-million-dollar tsunami early warning system for 27 Indian Ocean countries. The system will start operating within the next six months.

ECONOMY-SWAZILAND: Small and Medium a Recipe for Big Hopes

For a country struggling with a stubborn unemployment rate of over 40 percent, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises seems a welcome solution to joblessness.

RIGHTS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Truckers Contribute to the Spread of AIDS

For years, health surveys in the wake of southern Africa's AIDS pandemic have shown that itinerate occupations like truck drivers and seasonal agricultural workers pose a greater risk for workers of contracting and spreading HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.