POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Independent Daily Adds Retrenchments to Its List of Woes

The chances of Zimbabwe's only privately-owned daily newspaper ever reappearing on newsstands appeared bleaker this week, when its management announced massive retrenchments.

POLITICS-AFRICA: An Underwhelming Response to the Pan-African Parliament

With less than a month to go before the first session of the African parliament, interest in the new legislature appears to be at a low in various parts of the continent.

/UPDATE/ECONOMY-KENYA: Efforts to Improve Lukewarm Prospects of Coffee

Connoisseurs have long appreciated the merits of Kenyan coffee, typically described as having a fruity, acidic flavour. For many years, this renown helped make coffee one of the country's prime exports.

ENVIRONMENT-ZIMBABWE: Wood Sales Eclipse Farming on Resettled Land

As Zimbabwe marks the fourth anniversary of its controversial land redistribution programme, there is widespread concern about the impact this is having on the country's environment.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: A Qualified Welcome for AIDS Budget

South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has received mixed reviews from AIDS activists for the annual budget he announced last week.

POLITICS-LIBERIA: Armed Militias Call for Resignation of Interim Leader

Liberia’s war-wearied civilians fear a return to hostilities as politicians squabble within the transitional government and the United Nations takes its time in deploying peacekeepers around the country.

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Business Reeling Under the Impact of HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS has not been seen as only a medical problem since the 1990s. The disease's negative economic impacts on businesses in Southern Africa are being confirmed by surveys conducted by health and business groups.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Programme to Turn Out Model Citizens Inspires Fear

Deputy Commandant Ndlovu runs one of the camps for Zimbabwe's national youth training programme, which he swears is above political allegiances. Yet, quite unaware of the irony, he's wearing a campaign T-shirt from the last election which is decorated with the face of a ruling party legislator.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Women Candidates Find the Odds Stacked Against Them

Vera Chirwa is a prominent human rights activist in Malawi, a prison rapporteur for the African Union - and someone who was imprisoned for speaking out against authoritarian rule under former head of state Hastings Kamuzu Banda. But this pedigree wasn't enough to earn her a shot at Malawi's presidency during the May elections.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Virginity Testing Strips Girls of Their Dignity – Groups

They form a single file. Some are singing, though their voices have been dwarfed by the hum of the stream. The girls, estimated around 50, are being accompanied home by three middle-aged women from a nearby river.

CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Pressure of AIDS, Economic Decline Spur Ritual Murders

"Ritual murder is a fact in Swaziland. Our only protection is to adopt a defensive attitude," Robert Dube, a businessperson in the capital city, told IPS.

LABOUR-ZAMBIA: Workers Protest Against High Taxes and Salary Freezes

Zambia's labour movement has declared Feb. 18 a day of national protest against government's decision to increase taxes and freeze salaries of the over 120,000 public service workers.

EDUCATION: Zimbabwe’s Miracle Fades

It was once celebrated as a rare African success story, an example of what committed leadership can do.

ECONOMY: Zambian Expatriates Scoff At President Mwanawasa’s Remarks

Low wages and unemployment, coupled with high taxes, have forced thousands of qualified Zambians to flee the country in search of greener pastures - but President Levy Mwanawasa is calling them 'coward failures'.

RIGHTS: Once The Best In Africa, Zimbabwe’s Health System Is Now In Shambles

Zimbabwe's rural health delivery system, once regarded as one of the best in Africa, is now in a state of distress.

HEALTH-AFRICA: A "How To" Manual for Churches Which Help AIDS Orphans

A Baltimore-based aid agency, World Relief, this week issued a guide in Kenya to assist churches with caring for AIDS orphans in Africa.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: AIDS, Plight of San to be Key Issues at CIVICUS Meeting

More than 600 civil society activists from around the world will meet in Botswana's capital, Gaborone, next month to exchange information and ideas about development in Africa and elsewhere.

DEVELOPMENT-NAMIBIA: Revamped Inheritance Law is Put to the Test

Another chapter in one of Namibia's most memorable legal battles will unfold in the coming weeks, when Ruby Eugen Kalomo returns to court to fight for an inheritance he believes is his.

MEDIA-ZAMBIA: Government Accused of Stalling on Information Bill

Media organisations in Zambia are staging a five-day campaign this week to lobby for the proposed Freedom of Information Bill to be brought before the current session of parliament.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Race a Defining Issue in the Upcoming Election

The announcement, Monday, that South Africa will go to the polls on Apr. 14 for its third democratic election has opened the way for political parties to start campaigning in earnest. But, analysts are already predicting that the ruling African National Congress will be returned to power with a sweeping majority.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: The Forgotten Ex-Farm Workers

Mathew Gondo was made homeless at the height of Zimbabwe's chaotic land-reform programme, which began in 2000. He was a foreman at Tate's Farm, about 120 kilometers north of the capital, Harare.