A large plume of ash over Mount Nyimuragira, which erupted last Thursday, poses no immediate danger to man, but may hurt animals in the Masisi area, west of the volcano, Dario Tedesco, the resident volcanologist of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on Sunday.

Namibia's fight to conserve its endangered Cheetah population has been boosted by support from internationally acclaimed conservationist, Kuki Gallman. The Italian-born poet, conservationist and founder of the Gallman Memorial Foundation (GMF) pledged botanical expertise to help protect the cheetah during a gala dinner and auction in Windhoek aimed at raising N$100 000 for the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF).

Three white police officers have been kicked off a course at the Paarl Detective Academy in the Western Cape after being blamed for putting six black colleagues in hospital by allegedly feeding them horse laxatives. Assault charges have been laid against the three Johannesburg-based police officers, who were sent back to their unit last Friday as allegations emerged of racial conflict at the course.

Kalahari Conservation Society, a Botswana based environmental watchdog, leapt to support government's proposal to the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, aimed at selling the country's huge stockpile of elephant ivory, the organisation said on Thursday.

The NGO Environmental Rights Action (ERA) has called on the Federal Government to withdraw soldiers deployed to guard oil flow stations in the Niger Delta and seek dialogue with aggrieved communities. ERA, in a statement by its programme director, Mr. Godwin Ojo said oil companies should halt their reckless environmental practices, which were at the root of the problems facing the environment and people of the Niger Delta.

The African Conservation Foundation is dedicated to supporting and linking African conservation initiatives, groups and NGOs, with the aim of strengthening their capacity, building partnerships and promoting effective communication and co-ordination of conservation efforts. Their goal is to help conserve the wildlife and flora of Africa through capacity-building, training and education.

Seemingly oblivious to the large group of crocodiles resting on a nearby sandbank, four rare black storks sun themselves in South Africa's Kruger National Park. But the real danger to these birds is not the teeth of the crocodiles, but the teeth of chainsaws thousands of miles to the north, where old growth forests are being mowed down.

The harbour at Walvis Bay is experiencing its worst oil pollution in about five years. Fish meal factories have been pumping fish oil into the harbour since late last week, which has resulted in a huge oil slick which has spread into the ecologically sensitive lagoon area.

A Liberian conservationist, Silas Siakor, says the forests in the country risk future disaster if nothing is done to curb "indiscriminate" tapping.

Tanzania's land laws and ownership rights will have to be reformed if the country is to succeed in encouraging investment in agriculture, the presidents of the World Bank and Tanzania agreed last week.

Central Africa is rich in oil and other natural resources but its people are among the world's poorest, say Catholic bishops who have appealed to petroleum companies, governments, international bodies and churches in western countries to help end the inequities linked to the oil industry in the region.

The Environmental Health Project's library latest Hygiene Bulletin contains information on hygiene education in Ghana, diarrheal disease outbreaks in Afghanistan and Uganda, and an update to the online hygiene library.

A row over genetically modified food is threatening to derail efforts to help the 12 million people across southern Africa who are facing a critical food shortage.

Nearly two decades after one of the world's most devastating famines in Africa, scientists are pointing a finger at pollution from industrial nations as one of the possible causes.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has suspended wildlife exports following international and local pressure after suspected irregularities in the trade were exposed.

The Botswana, Zimbabwe and South African governments are discussing the establishment of a transfrontier park along the Shashe/Limpopo (Shalimpo) rivers confluence and the Truli block area.

Former energy minister Richard Kaijuka has said a US$10,000 amount deposited into his London bank account, said to have been a bribe,was his son's.

One of the hot issues up for discussion at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, starting next month in Johannesburg, is that of biodiversity, or the number of different species on earth. A report on the biodiversity of SA, released by The Green Trust and the Endangered Wildlife Trust, points to the urgency of the issue for SA.

Seizures of African ivory by Thai officials increased hundredfold last year. Traders buy illegal African tusks, often smuggled by hand through Bangkok airport, and carve them into trinkets to feed Asia's voracious demand for ivory.

Roman Catholic bishops in the Republic of Congo (RoC) have called upon President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the newly-elected National Assembly representatives and senators, and other leaders of public affairs to manage the nation's oil revenues properly for the common good.
Observers of the country believe that a number of the country's problems - such as war, poverty, corruption, environmental damage, and public debt - have resulted from the improper management of oil revenues.