http://www.irinnews.org/Updated everydayen-gbThu, 28 Mar 2013 09:32:41 GMTWed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>HASEPHAPO-TAUNYANE 27 March 2013 (IRIN) - Tsotleho Befole, 24, travelled from the Lesotho highlands village of Hasephapo-Taunyane to neighbouring South Africa twice in the past year, searching for work in the mines. Both times it proved a wasted journey.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97614/Fishing-for-jobs-in-LesothoHASEPHAPO-TAUNYANE 27 March 2013 (IRIN) - Tsotleho Befole, 24, travelled from the Lesotho highlands village of Hasephapo-Taunyane to neighbouring South Africa twice in the past year, searching for work in the mines. Both times it proved a wasted journey.]]>Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa's gold mines are estimated to have the highest number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world, making the disease a leading export to neighbouring countries. IRIN takes a look at the declaration meant to change this situation.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97719/Southern-Africa-cracks-down-on-TB-in-minesJOHANNESBURG 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa's gold mines are estimated to have the highest number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world, making the disease a leading export to neighbouring countries. IRIN takes a look at the declaration meant to change this situation.]]>Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>MBABANE 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - It’s a chilly autumn morning and Ntja Mphale, 62, and his wife, Malehlohonolo, are hoeing a dew-covered field just outside their village of Machache, 43km from Lesotho’s capital, Maseru. They are among thousands of unemployed Basotho who depend on seasonal work weeding smallholder farmers’ fields to earn a little cash.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97720/Mixed-picture-for-Lesotho-apos-s-food-securityMBABANE 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - It’s a chilly autumn morning and Ntja Mphale, 62, and his wife, Malehlohonolo, are hoeing a dew-covered field just outside their village of Machache, 43km from Lesotho’s capital, Maseru. They are among thousands of unemployed Basotho who depend on seasonal work weeding smallholder farmers’ fields to earn a little cash.]]>Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 27 February 2013 (IRIN) - New data from the World Bank has revealed that African migrants pay more to send money home to their families than any other migrant group in the world.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97557/African-migrants-pay-high-prices-to-send-money-homeJOHANNESBURG 27 February 2013 (IRIN) - New data from the World Bank has revealed that African migrants pay more to send money home to their families than any other migrant group in the world.]]>Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 30 January 2013 (IRIN) - Frederik Ngubane was born in South Africa to South African parents 22 years ago but, lacking any proof of his origins or nationality, he lives a shadowy, marginal existence. He cannot travel, study or secure formal employment and has lost count of how many times he has been arrested for being undocumented.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97372/Solving-statelessness-in-Southern-AfricaJOHANNESBURG 30 January 2013 (IRIN) - Frederik Ngubane was born in South Africa to South African parents 22 years ago but, lacking any proof of his origins or nationality, he lives a shadowy, marginal existence. He cannot travel, study or secure formal employment and has lost count of how many times he has been arrested for being undocumented.]]>Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 18 January 2013 (IRIN) - Africa could reduce its poverty levels faster by focusing more on the production of staples rather than export crops, according to a study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97278/In-Brief-Staples-not-export-crops-key-to-tackling-Africa-s-poverty-reportNAIROBI 18 January 2013 (IRIN) - Africa could reduce its poverty levels faster by focusing more on the production of staples rather than export crops, according to a study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).]]>Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 06 December 2012 (IRIN) - Price Watch (Our lives)http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96695/BANGLADESH-KENYA-Our-Lives-A-survivors-apos-guide-to-hard-timesNAIROBI 06 December 2012 (IRIN) - Price Watch (Our lives)]]>Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NAIROBI 06 December 2012 (IRIN) - The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) 2009, also known as the Kampala Convention, came into force on 6 December; it is the world’s first legally binding instrument to cater specifically to people displaced within their own countries.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96984/IDPs-African-IDP-Convention-comes-into-forceNAIROBI 06 December 2012 (IRIN) - The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) 2009, also known as the Kampala Convention, came into force on 6 December; it is the world’s first legally binding instrument to cater specifically to people displaced within their own countries.]]>Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MACHACHE 06 December 2012 (IRIN) - Moloantoa Mokhomphatha is a well-known house builder in his community, 45km from Lesotho’s capital, Maseru. In addition to pay from his construction work, he earns a small income from rearing cows for lease to fellow villagers. He also grows vegetables and maize and raises a few pigs for meat.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96692/LESOTHO-Moloantoa-Mokhomphatha-Builder-LesothoMACHACHE 06 December 2012 (IRIN) - Moloantoa Mokhomphatha is a well-known house builder in his community, 45km from Lesotho’s capital, Maseru. In addition to pay from his construction work, he earns a small income from rearing cows for lease to fellow villagers. He also grows vegetables and maize and raises a few pigs for meat.]]>Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MASERU 06 December 2012 (IRIN) - ‘Mammuso Lebakeng has been making and selling crafts in Maseru, Lesotho's capital, for five decades. But in recent years, sales have been poor and her income from farming has declined due to unfavourable weather.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96896/LESOTHO-Mammuso-Lebakeng-Crafts-trader-LesothoMASERU 06 December 2012 (IRIN) - ‘Mammuso Lebakeng has been making and selling crafts in Maseru, Lesotho's capital, for five decades. But in recent years, sales have been poor and her income from farming has declined due to unfavourable weather.]]>Wed, 31 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 31 October 2012 (IRIN) - Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in southern Africa, but new research reveals that governments’ attempts to address the disease have been inadequate. Access to cervical cancer screening services is minimal, few countries in the region have policies on the disease, and treatment remains a major challenge.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96676/SOUTHERN-AFRICA-Governments-failing-to-address-cervical-cancerJOHANNESBURG 31 October 2012 (IRIN) - Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in southern Africa, but new research reveals that governments’ attempts to address the disease have been inadequate. Access to cervical cancer screening services is minimal, few countries in the region have policies on the disease, and treatment remains a major challenge.]]>Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG/BLANTYRE/MASERU/LUSAKA 07 September 2012 (IRIN) - In the last decade, Asian migrants have fanned out through southern Africa, opening shops in small towns and rural backwaters. While consumers in countries facing increasing economic hardships have come to depend on their low prices, local shop owners complain they are being forced out of business, pressuring governments to introduce restrictions on foreign traders.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96266/SOUTHERN-AFRICA-Increasing-hostility-towards-Chinese-tradersJOHANNESBURG/BLANTYRE/MASERU/LUSAKA 07 September 2012 (IRIN) - In the last decade, Asian migrants have fanned out through southern Africa, opening shops in small towns and rural backwaters. While consumers in countries facing increasing economic hardships have come to depend on their low prices, local shop owners complain they are being forced out of business, pressuring governments to introduce restrictions on foreign traders.]]>Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG/MANZINI 17 July 2012 (IRIN) - The livelihoods of tens of thousands of textile workers in Africa is hanging in the balance amid growing anxiety about whether a key provision of US trade legislation will be renewed before it expires in September.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95883/AFRICA-AGOA-uncertainty-hurts-textile-workersJOHANNESBURG/MANZINI 17 July 2012 (IRIN) - The livelihoods of tens of thousands of textile workers in Africa is hanging in the balance amid growing anxiety about whether a key provision of US trade legislation will be renewed before it expires in September.]]>Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MASERU 16 July 2012 (IRIN) - Mohau Raphoka left his village, about 50km outside Lesotho’s capital, Maseru, with high hopes of striking it rich in South Africa. “I was so unlucky; I should be driving a flashy car by now,” he told IRIN, shortly after being deported from Welkom, a mining town in South Africa’s Free State Province.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95875/LESOTHO-Illegal-migrant-miners-risk-lives-for-richesMASERU 16 July 2012 (IRIN) - Mohau Raphoka left his village, about 50km outside Lesotho’s capital, Maseru, with high hopes of striking it rich in South Africa. “I was so unlucky; I should be driving a flashy car by now,” he told IRIN, shortly after being deported from Welkom, a mining town in South Africa’s Free State Province.]]>Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>QUTHING 28 June 2012 (IRIN) - At the age of 15 and with no money for school shoes or a uniform, Linda* was forced to accept that her education was over and it was time to look for a job. In Lesotho’s southern Quthing District, where she lived, it is accepted wisdom that finding a job means crossing the border into South Africa, which completely surrounds this mountainous kingdom of 1.8 million people and dwarfs its tiny economy.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95756/LESOTHO-Traffickers-prey-on-desperate-job-seekersQUTHING 28 June 2012 (IRIN) - At the age of 15 and with no money for school shoes or a uniform, Linda* was forced to accept that her education was over and it was time to look for a job. In Lesotho’s southern Quthing District, where she lived, it is accepted wisdom that finding a job means crossing the border into South Africa, which completely surrounds this mountainous kingdom of 1.8 million people and dwarfs its tiny economy.]]>Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MOHALE’S HOEK 26 June 2012 (IRIN) - Initial estimates of the damage to Lesotho’s already ailing agricultural sector - caused by a year of too much rain followed by a year of too little - suggest that an unprecedented number of small-scale farmers harvested nothing this year.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95735/LESOTHO-Food-security-goes-from-bad-to-worseMOHALE’S HOEK 26 June 2012 (IRIN) - Initial estimates of the damage to Lesotho’s already ailing agricultural sector - caused by a year of too much rain followed by a year of too little - suggest that an unprecedented number of small-scale farmers harvested nothing this year.]]>Tue, 19 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 19 June 2012 (IRIN) - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has halved food rations to refugees living in camps in at least four African countries citing a funding shortfall.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95597/AFRICA-Donor-fatigue-forces-WFP-to-cut-refugee-rationsJOHANNESBURG 19 June 2012 (IRIN) - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has halved food rations to refugees living in camps in at least four African countries citing a funding shortfall.]]>Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 31 May 2012 (IRIN) - When night falls in the Dadaab refugee complex in eastern Kenya, nearly half a million refugees are plunged into darkness. The lack of light robs schoolchildren of the possibility of studying and provides perfect cover for thieves and rapists.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95558/REFUGEES-Moving-out-of-the-shadowsJOHANNESBURG 31 May 2012 (IRIN) - When night falls in the Dadaab refugee complex in eastern Kenya, nearly half a million refugees are plunged into darkness. The lack of light robs schoolchildren of the possibility of studying and provides perfect cover for thieves and rapists.]]>Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 15 May 2012 (IRIN) - The UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched its first Africa Human Development Report today, stressing food security as a means to a better quality of life for all.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95459/FOOD-Power-to-the-peopleJOHANNESBURG 15 May 2012 (IRIN) - The UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched its first Africa Human Development Report today, stressing food security as a means to a better quality of life for all.]]>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>BANGULA 26 April 2012 (IRIN) - Dorothy Dyton, her husband and seven children used to make a living farming just over a hectare near the town of Bangula in southern Malawi’s Chikhwawa District.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95363/MALAWI-Without-land-reform-small-farmers-become-quot-trespassers-quotBANGULA 26 April 2012 (IRIN) - Dorothy Dyton, her husband and seven children used to make a living farming just over a hectare near the town of Bangula in southern Malawi’s Chikhwawa District.]]>Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 23 March 2012 (IRIN) - Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading killer of HIV-positive people globally. Almost 15 years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS recommended that people living with HIV be given isoniazid preventative TB therapy (IPT), to prevent active TB, but national implementation of IPT has been slow.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95141/SOUTHERN-AFRICA-TB-preventative-therapy-scorecardJOHANNESBURG 23 March 2012 (IRIN) - Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading killer of HIV-positive people globally. Almost 15 years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS recommended that people living with HIV be given isoniazid preventative TB therapy (IPT), to prevent active TB, but national implementation of IPT has been slow.]]>Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>MASERU 24 February 2012 (IRIN) - Lesotho is facing a food security crisis as changing weather patterns and poverty leave some smallholder farmers with no option but to abandon farming and sell their land.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/94947/LESOTHO-Weather-extremes-threaten-food-securityMASERU 24 February 2012 (IRIN) - Lesotho is facing a food security crisis as changing weather patterns and poverty leave some smallholder farmers with no option but to abandon farming and sell their land.]]>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - Several thousand Angolan returnees from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are stranded by floods in northeastern Angola. They are among the first casualties of what promises to be a very wet rainy season in parts of southern Africa.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/94598/SOUTHERN-AFRICA-Floods-leave-Angolan-returnees-strandedJOHANNESBURG 06 January 2012 (IRIN) - Several thousand Angolan returnees from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are stranded by floods in northeastern Angola. They are among the first casualties of what promises to be a very wet rainy season in parts of southern Africa.]]>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:http://www.irinnews.org/Report/94564/SOUTHERN-AFRICA-Pick-of-the-year-2011JOHANNESBURG 29 December 2011 (IRIN) - In 2011 the global economic crisis combined with poor governance, financial mismanagement and unpredictable rainfall to push several southern African countries to the point of crisis. Others responded to rising unemployment and increased pressure on national budgets by hardening their attitude towards immigrants and closing their borders to asylum-seekers. IRIN covered developments from all over the region, but the following stories consistently grabbed headlines:]]>Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 12 December 2011 (IRIN) - At any given time, an estimated 130,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa are engaged in forced labour as a result of trafficking. It is a fraction of the global figure, which the International Labour Organization (ILO) puts at 2.5 million, but this highly lucrative and concealed crime is on the rise in Africa and traffickers usually operate with impunity.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/94445/SOUTHERN-AFRICA-Counter-trafficking-measures-trail-commitmentsJOHANNESBURG 12 December 2011 (IRIN) - At any given time, an estimated 130,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa are engaged in forced labour as a result of trafficking. It is a fraction of the global figure, which the International Labour Organization (ILO) puts at 2.5 million, but this highly lucrative and concealed crime is on the rise in Africa and traffickers usually operate with impunity.]]>