http://www.irinnews.org/Updated everydayen-gbMon, 25 Mar 2013 07:33:46 GMTMon, 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, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT]]>HARARE 04 March 2013 (IRIN) - A major shortage of maize has sent the price of maize meal, used for porridge and poultry feed, spiralling in Zimbabwe, prompting traders to lobby the government to consider importing genetically modified (GM) maize.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97588/Maize-shortage-renews-debate-over-GM-in-ZimbabweHARARE 04 March 2013 (IRIN) - A major shortage of maize has sent the price of maize meal, used for porridge and poultry feed, spiralling in Zimbabwe, prompting traders to lobby the government to consider importing genetically modified (GM) maize.]]>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, 13 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 13 December 2012 (IRIN) - Over the past five weeks, almost 1,000 people have fled into Zambia to escape fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), forcing the Zambian government to consider re-opening a refugee camp it closed two years ago.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97043/ZAMBIA-Housing-the-DRC-refugeesJOHANNESBURG 13 December 2012 (IRIN) - Over the past five weeks, almost 1,000 people have fled into Zambia to escape fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), forcing the Zambian government to consider re-opening a refugee camp it closed two years ago.]]>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.]]>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.]]>Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 24 October 2012 (IRIN) - Researchers in Africa are identifying ways to improve domestic wheat production in the face of sub-optimal conditions and stiff international competition.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96622/FOOD-The-state-of-African-wheat-researchJOHANNESBURG 24 October 2012 (IRIN) - Researchers in Africa are identifying ways to improve domestic wheat production in the face of sub-optimal conditions and stiff international competition.]]>Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>ADDIS ABABA 16 October 2012 (IRIN) - To keep its mostly maize-growing small farms productive through cycles of drought, Malawi spends 60 percent of its agricultural budget subsidizing fertilizers. But the findings of a 12-year study, released today, suggest farmers in Malawi and elsewhere could increase yields consistently without applying fertilizers, using instead 'fertilizer trees'.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96565/FOOD-No-more-fertilizers-but-treesADDIS ABABA 16 October 2012 (IRIN) - To keep its mostly maize-growing small farms productive through cycles of drought, Malawi spends 60 percent of its agricultural budget subsidizing fertilizers. But the findings of a 12-year study, released today, suggest farmers in Malawi and elsewhere could increase yields consistently without applying fertilizers, using instead 'fertilizer trees'.]]>Mon, 15 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>ADDIS ABABA 15 October 2012 (IRIN) - Whether Africa can scale-up wheat production to meet growing demand will depend on governments’ support of local producers. A key test is whether they are willing to take on wheat import subsidies, which keep bread prices low and urban consumers happy, said experts at a recent five-day conference on African wheat production.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96546/FOOD-African-wheat-balancing-consumer-and-farmer-demandsADDIS ABABA 15 October 2012 (IRIN) - Whether Africa can scale-up wheat production to meet growing demand will depend on governments’ support of local producers. A key test is whether they are willing to take on wheat import subsidies, which keep bread prices low and urban consumers happy, said experts at a recent five-day conference on African wheat production.]]>Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>LUSAKA 09 October 2012 (IRIN) - It was early when police arrived at the home of Emmeldah Mutale, a widowed mother of five, in the capital, Lusaka, to demolish her two-bedroom house.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96486/ZAMBIA-Government-clamps-down-on-apos-illegal-apos-housingLUSAKA 09 October 2012 (IRIN) - It was early when police arrived at the home of Emmeldah Mutale, a widowed mother of five, in the capital, Lusaka, to demolish her two-bedroom house.]]>Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>LUSAKA 27 September 2012 (IRIN) - The euphoria that greeted the government’s imposition of minimum wage increases has quickly soured, with prices of food and other essential commodities escalating as higher wage costs are passed onto consumers.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96398/ZAMBIA-Minimum-wage-leads-to-steep-food-price-risesLUSAKA 27 September 2012 (IRIN) - The euphoria that greeted the government’s imposition of minimum wage increases has quickly soured, with prices of food and other essential commodities escalating as higher wage costs are passed onto consumers.]]>Wed, 26 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 26 September 2012 (IRIN) - The massive hydropower dams built on the Zambezi River, the largest river system in Southern Africa, not only supply power to major economies in the region but also help mitigate annual floods. But as electricity demands grow and rising global temperatures affect rainfall patterns, the dams will be unable to meet energy needs or control floods, warns a new study.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96393/CLIMATE-CHANGE-New-urgency-to-rethink-dam-projectsJOHANNESBURG 26 September 2012 (IRIN) - The massive hydropower dams built on the Zambezi River, the largest river system in Southern Africa, not only supply power to major economies in the region but also help mitigate annual floods. But as electricity demands grow and rising global temperatures affect rainfall patterns, the dams will be unable to meet energy needs or control floods, warns a new study.]]>Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 18 September 2012 (IRIN) - High cereal prices have bloated countries' food import bills in the past decade, partly because of export restrictions imposed by some governments that have squeezed supply. As cereal prices begin to again climb, a new study has called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to take action to exempt poor countries from other nations’ export restrictions.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96333/FOOD-Poor-importing-countries-need-helpJOHANNESBURG 18 September 2012 (IRIN) - High cereal prices have bloated countries' food import bills in the past decade, partly because of export restrictions imposed by some governments that have squeezed supply. As cereal prices begin to again climb, a new study has called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to take action to exempt poor countries from other nations’ export restrictions.]]>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.]]>Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>LUSAKA 10 August 2012 (IRIN) - “This is like a prayer answered for me. Our government has really done well to remember us, to think about us,” Priscilla Mwemba, a domestic worker in the Zambian capital Lusaka, told IRIN after the government imposed non-negotiable minimum wage scales that will more than triple the 22 year old’s monthly salary.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96073/ZAMBIA-Dreaming-of-a-minimum-wageLUSAKA 10 August 2012 (IRIN) - “This is like a prayer answered for me. Our government has really done well to remember us, to think about us,” Priscilla Mwemba, a domestic worker in the Zambian capital Lusaka, told IRIN after the government imposed non-negotiable minimum wage scales that will more than triple the 22 year old’s monthly salary.]]>Mon, 09 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>JOHANNESBURG 09 July 2012 (IRIN) - As a gay man living in Tanzania, Cassim Mustapha could have faced imprisonment, but prosecutions under the country's Sexual Offences Act are rare, and the bigger threat came from his own community. After one of his neighbours attacked him with an axe leaving a deep wound in his head, Mustapha fled and applied for asylum in Malawi, the first country he reached.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95829/AFRICA-Sexual-refugees-struggle-to-access-asylumJOHANNESBURG 09 July 2012 (IRIN) - As a gay man living in Tanzania, Cassim Mustapha could have faced imprisonment, but prosecutions under the country's Sexual Offences Act are rare, and the bigger threat came from his own community. After one of his neighbours attacked him with an axe leaving a deep wound in his head, Mustapha fled and applied for asylum in Malawi, the first country he reached.]]>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.]]>Mon, 18 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>RIO DE JANEIRO 18 June 2012 (IRIN) - A new and awkward term is doing the rounds at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is "landscape science/ agriculture/ approach", which now embraces "eco-agriculture", "forest landscape restoration", "territorial development", "model forests", "foodsheds", "participatory watershed management", "community-based natural resource management", "biological corridors", and many other connected concepts.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95670/RIO-20-The-quot-landscape-approach-quotRIO DE JANEIRO 18 June 2012 (IRIN) - A new and awkward term is doing the rounds at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is "landscape science/ agriculture/ approach", which now embraces "eco-agriculture", "forest landscape restoration", "territorial development", "model forests", "foodsheds", "participatory watershed management", "community-based natural resource management", "biological corridors", and many other connected concepts.]]>Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NOUAKCHOTT/JOHANNESBURG 12 June 2012 (IRIN) - Soaring temperatures and the severity of this year’s drought have taken some by surprise in southeastern and eastern Mauritania. When rains are normal people only dip into their cereal reserves from June/July in the following year, but in mid-2012 people have already been without food for more than three months, and many pastoralists in the region have lost the animals on which they depend for a living.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95624/DISASTERS-Insuring-against-dry-days-in-AfricaNOUAKCHOTT/JOHANNESBURG 12 June 2012 (IRIN) - Soaring temperatures and the severity of this year’s drought have taken some by surprise in southeastern and eastern Mauritania. When rains are normal people only dip into their cereal reserves from June/July in the following year, but in mid-2012 people have already been without food for more than three months, and many pastoralists in the region have lost the animals on which they depend for a living.]]>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, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT]]>NSANJE 10 May 2012 (IRIN) - Visitors arriving in Nsanje, the sleepy capital of Malawi’s southernmost district, are greeted by a large yellowing billboard announcing: “The dream becomes reality. Nsanje Port opens October 2010.” But those who go to the port will find little more than a concrete quay with a couple of dozen mooring posts, and a few fishermen manoeuvring crude dug-out canoes through the murky brown waters of the Shire River.http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95438/MALAWI-Dream-fades-for-inland-port-projectNSANJE 10 May 2012 (IRIN) - Visitors arriving in Nsanje, the sleepy capital of Malawi’s southernmost district, are greeted by a large yellowing billboard announcing: “The dream becomes reality. Nsanje Port opens October 2010.” But those who go to the port will find little more than a concrete quay with a couple of dozen mooring posts, and a few fishermen manoeuvring crude dug-out canoes through the murky brown waters of the Shire River.]]>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.]]>