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

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SOUTHERN AFRICA
IRIN-SA Weekly Round-Up 304
16 - 20 October 2006


CONTENTS:

MALAWI: Calls for review of law in wake of Madonna adoption
NAMIBIA: Joblessness, poverty challenge progress, report
SOUTH AFRICA: Faith makes a difference in AIDS care
SOUTH AFRICA: Emergency plan to counter deadly TB stain
SOUTH AFRICA: UN steps in to nudge country towards MDGs
ZIMBABWE: Old wounds inflame political tensions
ZIMBABWE: Govt orders hitman's arrest for killing political opponents



MALAWI: Calls for review of law in wake of Madonna adoption

Madonna's "bending of the rules" in her haste to adopt 13-month-old 
David Banda is sending a message to child traffickers that Malawi is 
open for business, a southern African child welfare organisation said. 
Pop star Madonna, 48, who has an estimated fortune of US$462 million, 
was granted an interim adoption order last week in the High Court in the 
capital, Lilongwe, in contradiction of the country's laws, which state 
that "an adoption order shall not be made to any applicant who is not 
resident in Malawi". The baby was whisked to Madonna's English home on 
the second attempt, after the initial attempt to take him out of Malawi 
failed because he was not in possession of a passport.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55986


NAMIBIA: Joblessness, poverty challenge progress, report

Rising levels of unemployment and poverty are hindering Namibia's 
development, a human rights watchdog said in its annual review, 
published this month. In its 240-page report covering August 2005 to 
July 2006 the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) said respect for 
human rights had deteriorated.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55966


SOUTH AFRICA: Faith makes a difference in AIDS care

When Rev. John Thomas brought churchgoers together to serve people 
living with HIV/AIDS seven years ago, donations came from individual 
pocketbooks. Their work created a buzz, and by 2001 donations were 
pouring in from individual congregations around the world. But few 
orthodox donor agencies took note, reflecting an ambivalence - and 
sometimes scepticism - towards faith-based organisations.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56016


SOUTH AFRICA: Emergency plan to counter deadly TB stain

Cases of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) are being 
diagnosed throughout South Africa and could be going undetected in other 
parts of the region. This emerged at a two-day workshop convened in 
Pretoria this week at the urgent request of the South African Health 
Department, attended by experts from the World Health Organisation 
(WHO), and health ministers and scientists from the Southern African 
Development Community (SADC).

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55998


SOUTH AFRICA: UN steps in to nudge country towards MDGs

Bottlenecks in service delivery are hampering South Africa's efforts to 
meet its Millennium Development Goals of eradicating poverty and halving 
unemployment by 2015, said the UN Development Programme (UNDP), which 
has drawn up a four-year plan to help the country. "Poor service 
delivery is a major constraint preventing South Africa from achieving 
sustainable growth," said Philip Browne, a UNDP programme advisor.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55999


ZIMBABWE: Old wounds inflame political tensions

A government spokesman's remark that he has no regrets over the masscare 
of about 20,000 people by Zimbabwean security forces nearly 20 years ago 
is reopening old wounds and pitting the country's deputy president 
against President Robert Mugabe. ZANU-PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira 
made the comments during a recent workshop in Manicaland Province, 
bordering Mozambique, almost two decades after a five-year reign of 
terror in the southern provinces of Midlands and Matabeleland by 
Zimbabwean soldiers of Five Brigade, who were trained by North Korea.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56011


ZIMBABWE: Govt orders hitman's arrest for killing political opponents

An order by the office of Zimbabwe's attorney-general (AG) for the 
immediate arrest of a government agent implicated in the murder of two 
political opponents six years ago is being met with scepticism by the 
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). In the run-up to the 
2000 parliamentary elections, Joseph Mwale, a Central Intelligence 
Organisation operative, was witnessed by scores of people petrol-bombing 
a car carrying three MDC activists. The driver of MDC leader Morgan 
Tsvangirai, Talent Mabika, and Tichaona Chiminya were burnt to death, 
but Sanderson Makombe managed to escape and has since fled to the United 
Kingdom.

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55967


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