South African police investigating an alleged plot by white extremists to topple the government have found a cache of 26 bombs.

A new paper "State of disaster: Causes, consequences & policy lessons from Malawi" finds that, as with other famines, a combination of 'technical' issues and 'political' problems has conspired to create a humanitarian crisis. The paper is available at www.eldis.org, where a wide range of links on the current crisis in Malawi can also be found.

A high-profile anti-torture group in Zimbabwe has closed its doors after threats were made against it in parliament and in a government newspaper. The actions of Robert Mugabe's government are seen as a continuation of its campaign to silence all critical voices within the southern African nation. The Harare-based Amani Trust, which helps victims recover from the psychological and physical effects of torture, has come under fire from the Zimbabwean government several times in the past.

Amnesty International has condemned efforts by the Zimbabwean government to silence human rights defenders. Recent statements by government ministers signal intensified scrutiny and intimidation of NGOs who have spoken out about the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe. "Human rights organisations who expose human rights violations and are perceived to be critical of government policy are coming under increasing attack," Amnesty International said.

The Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has written to the Public Service Commission (PSC), threatening strike action next month if the government does not heed its demands for a salary increment. This could disrupt classes and the writing of forthcoming national examinations.

The UPDF on Monday afternoon killed 28 LRA rebels and injured many others in fierce fighting in Lamon-Ojwir, Parabongo sub-county, Kalongo township in Pader district. A UPDF spokesman in the north, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, said the fight took place at about 2:30pm. Four soldiers were killed and seven injured.

A presidential hopeful was denied clearance this week while another withdrew, leaving only five candidates in the final battle for the State House. Two candidates, Mr Simeon Nyachae of Ford People and Mr James Orengo of the Social Democratic Party were among those cleared by the Electoral Commission. The two will battle it out with National Rainbow Coalition's Mwai Kibaki, Kanu's Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Waweru Ng'ethe of the Chama Cha Umma, who were all cleared on Monday.

The Sudanese government has withdrawn its permission for a Ugandan army offensive against Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in south Sudan. The charge d'affaires at the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, Muhammad Ahmed Dirdeiry, confirmed to IRIN on Wednesday that the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) would not be allowed to continue its 'Operation Iron Fist' against LRA targets on Sudanese territory. "They have been given enough time to do this job," he said.

Ethiopia's emerging crisis can be laid in part at the doorstep of international creditors, argue debt campaigners. The country's over $500 million in debt payments could have been used to strengthen irrigation systems and other drought-prevention strategies.

Vigilante violence, which has already spiraled out of control since the return of civilian rule in Nigeria three years ago, stands to turn increasingly political - and even more dangerous - as the country approaches presidential, state and local elections in April 2003, Amnesty International has warned in a report released this week.

There is widespread belief in South Africa that the number of non-citizens has escalated dramatically since 1990. Is it true that the country is drowning in a 'flood' of aliens? What is likely to best serve its needs in terms of immigration policy?

Fiery anti-war activists under the banner of the Anti-War Protest trudged from the Israel Trade Mission to the American Embassy in Johannesburg last week. “People united shall not be defeated”, “no war against Iraq”, "Freedom for Palestine” and “phansi with US terrorism”, were some of the slogans uttered by the marchers.

Hundreds of people are again arriving in North Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following fierce fighting between two rebel armies for control of Bafwasende and Niania in the neighbouring Orientale Province, World Vision reported on Tuesday.

Former military ruler General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida will contest the 2003 presidential election on the ticket of the newly registered National Democratic Party.

President Thabo Mbeki has launched a damage-control exercise on the application of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) peer-review mechanism, writing at length to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien to allay concern about the difference between how the process was first conceived and how it will be implemented.

An "urgent and rapid response" to emergency needs in the conflict-affected north would be the main focus of humanitarian efforts in Uganda in 2003, the United Nations said on Tuesday as it launched its US $89 million appeal for the country.

The Sudanese government and southern rebels agreed on Monday to extend a cessation of hostilities agreement until next March, but failed to reach full accord on the sharing of power and wealth.

A leading Somali faction leader has walked out of the current reconciliation conference in the Kenyan town of Eldoret, and returned to the capital, Mogadishu. Ali Mahdi Muhammad, who is a member of parliament in the current Transitional National Government (TNG), told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the talks were "a waste of time", and making no progress.

Some residents recently uprooted from their homes by fighting between rebels and forces loyal to the government in the capital have started to return from village refuges along the 80-km road leading north to the town of Boali, an official of the UN Children's Fund told IRIN on Sunday.

The Zimbabwe government has announced sweeping price freezes on everything from food and fuel to farm machinery and light bulbs, in a bid to curb soaring prices in the midst of an economic crisis. The surprise move announced in the state-owned media, came just days after Zimbabwe's finance minister said that the price controls on other goods set two years ago did not work.