POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: A Gloomy Election Countdown Begins

And so, another year in Zimbabwe – and in less than three months time, another election. It is a prospect that few seem to welcome.

POLITICS-SUDAN: A Final Peace Accord Within Grasp

Sudan ended 2004 on a high note, with government and rebel representatives signing a permanent ceasefire and an accord that maps out the implementation of several peace protocols already concluded.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Conflict and Trade on the Agenda of Talks with South Africa

South African President Thabo Mbeki begins a three-day visit to Sudan, Thursday, during which initiatives to end the various conflicts in the East African country will come under discussion.

CHALLENGES 2004-2005: For Zambia’s Street Kids, the Outlook is Bleak

The festive season is traditionally a time of giving in Zambia, where the streets of the capital – Lusaka – are awash with people caught up in the buying frenzy that characterizes the end of the year. Accordingly, the city’s street children are tracking the mood of consumers as carefully as any economist.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Lack of Political Interests Hurting Agriculture

When African leaders met at an African Union summit in the Mozambique capital, Maputo last year, their pledges to improve agriculture in their countries rang sincere, but ran up against the immensity - some realists thought the impracticality - of their goals.

CHALLENGES 2004-2005: Drugs Make a Good Christmas Gift

On Christmas Day in South Africa, who will get the most precious present of all – the gift of life?

DEVELOPMENT: Donor Fatigue Leaves 2.8m People Hungrier in Southern Africa

2004 is ending on a grim note for many in Southern Africa, where emergency food supplies cannot meet their needs.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: A Different Sort of Revolution

As the year hurtles to a close, a good many inhabitants of South Africa's commercial hub, Johannesburg, have deserted their home town for coastal resorts.

CULTURE-AFRICA: Weak Dollar, Civil Wars Hurting Arts Business

Foundiku Ousman started his arts business with three friends, after raising a small capital of about 700 dollars, at Founmban in western Cameroon, in 1997. Today he is regarded as a wealthy man in a trade where only hard work opens the door to success.

POLITICS: Kofi Annan Receives a Vote of Confidence From His Home Continent

In recent weeks, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been the subject of heated debate in the United States and Europe – this after he was accused of oversight in his handling of the Iraq oil-for-food programme between 1996 and 2003. Allegations of conflict of interest in the Annan family concerning the initiative have also been made.

POLITICS-MOZAMBIQUE: Electoral Victory at Hand for Frelimo – But Apathy Rules

It would come as no surprise to find that Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo party has put champagne bottles on ice. Preliminary results from general elections held earlier this month (Dec. 1 and 2) show that its presidential candidate, Armando Guebuza, has taken a comfortable lead in the poll.

RIGHTS: Chinese Migration to South Africa Presents Challenges

Two months after the murder of a prominent Chinese businessman together with his family in South Africa, the small but growing number of Chinese immigrants here remains tight-lipped about the incident.

CORRUPTION: Graft Trial Reaches High Into South African Government

International Anti-Corruption Day, held Thursday, may well have struck a particular chord with South Africans this year. The country is currently witnessing a high-profile corruption case, which is being held in the eastern port city of Durban.

ECONOMY-MAURITIUS: Officials Try to Sweeten a Sugar Price Reduction

Mauritius is bracing itself for upheaval in the national sugar industry, this as a 37 percent drop in the price of sugar exports looms. The price decrease, expected at the beginning of next year, will result from reduced trade preferences under the Sugar Protocol that was signed with the European Union (EU) in 1974.

POLITICS: China and Africa in an Ever-Closer – Sometimes Thornier – Embrace

Wang Ke gets agitated when asked about the arrival of the first Chinese visitors to Africa. As legend has it, the explorers were not overly impressed by what they discovered on the continent. After capturing a few giraffe, they boarded their ship and returned to China.

DEVELOPMENT: After Mines Conference, It’s Business as Usual at Lopiding

Rough bits of plastic, wood and metal become - instruments of new life" in Edward Wafula's hands.

HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: Risky Sex and the Law – Incompatible Bedfellows?

For teenagers in the eastern Zimbabwean town of Mutare, a popular disc jockey who goes by the name of Kaiboni has long epitomized the glamorous life. But now, his future is anything but enviable.

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: AIDS Initiative Focuses on Women

"HIV is just a virus...If we change our attitudes, HIV will die. It will have no space and capacity to spread," says Musa Njoko, a young South African woman who has been living with the virus for the past decade.

EDUCATION-AFRICA: Universal Schooling an Elusive Goal

A new report by the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) has highlighted the challenges and constraints facing education in Africa.

POLITICS-NAMIBIA: "Decentralisation Is a Process and Not an Event"

The term decentralisation has become a buzzword in Namibian political and economic circles during recent years. In 2000, the Decentralisation Enabling Act was passed in a bid to give regions a bigger say in the policies implemented there.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cassava – the New Flavour of the Month?

Cassava, a traditional West African crop, looks set to take root in Southern Africa.