U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Southern Africa

Tel: +27 11 880 4633
Fax: +27 11 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za


SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 273
4 - 10 March 2006


CONTENTS:

ZIMBABWE: Govt vows to "eliminate" plotters
INDIAN OCEAN: Rain slows Chikungunya temporarily
MALAWI: Floods cause havoc
ZAMBIA: Angolan refugee repatriation set to continue
ANGOLA: Cabindan separatists pin hopes on international law
SOUTH AFRICA: Foetal Alcohol Syndrome hits crisis proportions
MOZAMBIQUE: Muslims wrestle with identity in wake of cartoon outrage
LESOTHO: Job-hungry Basotho risk exploitation in South Africa
SWAZILAND: Lack of inputs, drought, driving rural poverty
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Gender imbalances in the media need to be addressed


ZIMBABWE: Govt vows to "eliminate" plotters

Sixteen people were arrested, including some members of the opposition 
Movement for Democratic Change, following the discovery of an arms cache 
in eastern Zimbabwe. The authorities' claim, that the cache was linked 
to a plot to unseat the ZANU-PF government, was dismissed by analysts as 
yet another attempt to discredit the opposition.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52121


University students protest fees hike

Students at Zimbabwe's state-run tertiary institutions started rioting 
and boycotting lessons this week, in protest against a 1,000 percent 
increase in tuition fees. The increases have come at a time of record 
inflation in the country, currently at 782 percent.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52138


Wheat supplies dwindle, as do hopes for decent maize crop

Inadequate inputs and uncertainty about land rights have impacted on the 
country's agricultural output again this year. The country has 
experienced food shortages over the last four years, mainly due to 
erratic weather conditions, the impact of the chaotic fast-track land 
reform programme on the agricultural sector and a lack of foreign 
currency to import inputs, such as fuel and fertiliser.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52091


Child labour on farms must be stopped, say unions

As socioeconomic conditions in Zimbabwe continue to deteriorate the use 
of child labour on farms has risen sharply, with over 10,000 children 
estimated to be working in the agricultural sector.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52136


Caution urged in plan to grab mining assets

Mining company Implat, which has significant interests in Zimbabwe, said 
this week that government's plans to become the majority shareholder in 
the country's estimated US $20 billion mining sector was not in the 
industry's "best interests".

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52073


Activists demand GBV law

An escalating incidence of gender-based violence drew rights activists 
in Zimbabwe to the streets this week with calls to hasten the enactment 
of the seven-year-old Prevention of Domestic Violence bill.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52075


INDIAN OCEAN: Rain slows Chikungunya temporarily

Heavy rains have helped slow an outbreak of the mosquito-borne 
Chikungunya virus on the islands of Reunion and Mauritius, but relief 
agencies said the containment of the crippling disease depended on the 
effectiveness of recent public health campaigns. Chikungunya has made 
its way across the Indian Ocean, arriving in Reunion, Seychelles, 
Mayotte, Mauritius and, recently, Madagascar. Although not officially 
acknowledged, it is believed that Comoros has also been infected.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52094


MALAWI: Floods cause havoc

About 8,000 people were reportedly left homeless this week after floods 
hit central and southern Malawi, recovering from one of its worst 
droughts last year. Heavy rain at the weekend also left 6,000 homeless 
in the southern Mangochi region, cutting off access to Monkey Bay, 
Malawi's best-known resort. Another heavy spell later in the week caused 
a number of rivers to burst their banks in the central Salima district, 
leaving 2,000 homeless.


Poor business climate hampers progress, says new report

A survey by the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and 
Industry conducted among 100 of its members concluded that despite 
recent improvements on a number of fronts, "Malawi's business climate 
remains unfriendly" because of currency fluctuations, the high cost of 
transport, the cost and difficulty of accessing finance, and a large 
number of tariffs and taxes.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52119


ZAMBIA: Angolan refugee repatriation set to continue

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, announced that the repatriation of 26,000 
Angolans in refugee camps in Zambia would continue. About 63,000 Angolan 
refugees have been repatriated from Zambia since the end of the civil 
war in 2002.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52030


Law-breaking refugees pose challenge

A large number of asylum seekers, who are flouting Zambia's laws by 
living outside settlement camps, pose a challenge to the UN's 
repatriation efforts. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that at 
least 30,000 of the more than 100,000 refugees in Zambia are living 
illegally outside of the five settlement camps in the country.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52135


ANGOLA: Cabindan separatists pin hopes on international law

A group of pro-separatist Cabindan organisations have threatened to file 
charges against Angola at the International Criminal Court for alleged 
human rights abuses in the oil-rich enclave. Cabinda, a sliver of land 
sandwiched between Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is 
internationally recognised as part of Angola, but since independence in 
1975, Luanda's control has been resisted by the Front for the Liberation 
of Cabinda and its various offshoots.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52038


SOUTH AFRICA: Foetal Alcohol Syndrome hits crisis proportions

A survey has revealed the world's highest prevalence of Foetal Alcohol 
Syndrome (FAS), the group of physical and mental defects caused by 
alcohol consumption during pregnancy, in a town in South Africa's 
Northern Cape province. More than one in 10 babies in the town of De Aar 
aged up to 12 months suffered from a severe form of FAS. Just as 
worrying was the finding that up to 50 percent of children were in some 
way afflicted by FAS, which is characterised by brain damage, facial 
deformities and growth deficits.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52069



MOZAMBIQUE: Muslims wrestle with identity in wake of cartoon outrage

A controversy over how to respond to the controversial cartoons 
depicting the Prophet Muhammad published by a local newspaper has put 
the spotlight on differences in Mozambique's Muslim community, an 
influential section of the society accounting for over 18 percent of the 
18 million population. The majority of the community lives in the 
northern provinces of Nampula, Zambezia and Cabo Delgado, but there has 
also been a more recent influx of Muslims from south Asia, who dominate 
the retail trade in Maputo.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52043


LESOTHO: Job-hungry Basotho risk exploitation in South Africa

Desperate Basotho are risking exploitation in neighbouring South Africa 
as they search for employment outside the borders of Lesotho, one of the 
least developed countries in the world. About half the Basotho live 
below the poverty line and according to official statistics 31 percent 
of people of working age are unemployed.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52116


SWAZILAND: Lack of inputs, drought, driving rural poverty

Small-scale farmers continue to be caught in a cycle of drought, 
under-production, and the trap of rural poverty as they contend with yet 
another year of failed rains.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52125


SOUTHERN AFRICA: Gender imbalances in the media need to be addressed

Fewer women are used as news sources because men shape decisions on 
coverage in most media organisations, according to a survey of 76 
countries, including 13 in Southern Africa, conducted by various NGOs 
participating in the Global Media Monitoring Project.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52110


IRIN-SA
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Fax: +27 11 784-6759
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za


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