"Development needs peace"

Mexico City Mayor Cleared of Wrongdoing

Mexico detains U.S. Border Patrol agents

Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Africa

Development needs peace - Aziz
South Africa and Nigeria could not successfully tackle issues of development and providing quality of life for Africans without ensuring peace and stability on the continent, foreign affairs deputy minister Azis Pahad said in Pretoria on Thursday.

S.Africa criticises WHO target on AIDS treatment

S.Africa's Aids plan 'vindicated' - Manto
South Africa had been proved right by its plan to aggressively engage nutrition as a means of combating HIV/Aids, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said in Pretoria on Thursday. "As a country and as South Africans we really have been vindicated in this regard. We are what we eat, and we are what we drink," she said at a parliamentary monitoring and evaluation briefing focusing on the social cluster.

Former E Cape MECs' assets frozen
The Assets Forfeiture Unit on Thursday attached assets worth over R15-million belonging to former Eastern Cape MECs Max and Neo Mamase, the National Prosecuting Authority said. The unit also froze the belongings of their former business associates Norman Benjamin and his accountant Emilia Peneva.

Africa-to-Africa Links to Be Built for Enhanced Internet Services
EFFORTS to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of Africa's internet services have seen local company Transtel win part of a deal to provide a satellite network to carry data traffic across the continent.

Minister sounds climate alarm
Climate change in South Africa could see provinces such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng becoming malaria zones in the near future, Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday.

350-500 million people suffer from malaria every year
An estimated 350-500 million people suffer from malaria every year. Describing the situation, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said: "Malaria is a disease that that kills one child in sub-Saharan Africa every 30 seconds. The numbers are astounding, and unacceptable. Globally, more than 1 million people die due to malaria every year, the vast majority of them young children under the age of five."

Burden of Malaria Still Worsen in Africa
More people are accessing prevention and treatment services for malaria, sparking hope that the number of people who become sick and die from malaria will begin to decline.

Diamond Production up 24% in South Africa
South Africa's rough diamond production in February 2005 reached 1.36 million carats, an increase of 24 percent compared with February 2004. For the two month period ending February 28, South Africa's rough diamond production increased 27 percent to 2.58 million carats compared with 2.03 million carats in the first two months of 2004, according to figures released by South Africa's department of mines and minerals.