Marshall Patsanza interviews THEMBENI MADLOPHA-MTHETHWA, the female mayor of a rural town in northern KwaZulu Natal.

Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa, the IFP mayor of Jozini, says gender is not a limiting factor when it comes to leadership. / Marshall Patsanza/IPS

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 4 (IPS) – In the rural KwaZulu Natal town of Jozini, Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa has been the [...]

By Antoaneta Becker
LONDON, Sep 27 (IPS) – Irked by accusations that it is the new coloniser of Africa, China is looking to use soft power and historical evidence of its ancient links to the continent to justify its economic embrace of Africa.

Chinese archaeologists have been sent to hunt for a long-lost shipwreck off the Kenya [...]

By Marcela Valente
BUENOS AIRES, Sep 8 (IPS) – Damián López, of Argentina, has been riding his bicycle the length of the Americas for the past three years. His mission? In addition to completing the long journey, he wants to shine the spotlight on children who are at risk due to violence or abandonment.

"The bicycle is [...]

By MBALE, Uganda

Salim Kato escorts his wife to all her her antenatal visits. / Wambi Michael

Wambi Michael, Aug 26 (IPS) – Irene Wangolo was advised to take an HIV test during her antenatal visit and to return to the clinic with her husband so they could be counselled on preventing HIV transmission to their [...]

By Susan Anyangu-Amu

Ayub Alulu entertains the crowd after young initiates were circumcised in Kakamega in Kenya’s Western Province on Aug. 19. / Benjamin Sakwa/IPS

NAIROBI, Aug 24 (IPS) – During every year that ends in an even number, the month of August is a special occasion for young men in Kenya’s Western Province. During this [...]

By Kristin Palitza

Tracey Derrick: 'My images aim to offer a balance to the images of women we see in the media. I bring in reality and take away blame and judgement.' / Tracey Derrick

CAPE TOWN, Aug 18 (IPS) – "I had a lump in my breast for a few years that I ignored [mainly [...]

By Davison Mudzingwa

At the final day of the Poor People's World Cup. / Davison Mudzingwa/IPS

CAPE TOWN, Aug 10 (IPS) – Weak floodlights barely held back gathering darkness as Somalia met Serbia in the finals of the Poor People's World Cup. A small band of supporters were on hand to see an African side lift [...]

By Isaiah Esipisu
NAIROBI, Aug 2 (IPS) – In a tiny village near Kisumu city in Kenya, scientific researcher Mary Anyango Oyunga spends most of her time educating women about something they have always done – grow sweet potatoes.

But Oyunga’s message to the female farmers in Kisian village is new, even though it is based on [...]

By Zukiswa Zimela and Kelvin Kachingwe
JOHANNESBURG and LUSAKA, Jul 23 (IPS) – James Banda, 27, is an unemployed youth although he occasionally is hired to act as a bus conductor at Lusaka’s Kulima Tower Bus Station. He may not have a permanent job, but it is easy to find him. Anyone looking for him just [...]

By Claire Ngozo

Women contestants cannot afford to meet the material demands of the voters on their own. / Claire Ngozo/IPS

LILONGWE, Jul 13 (IPS) – Mable Malinda wants to contest the local government elections but the independent candidate who is using her life savings to fund her campaign only has 500 dollars left in [...]

By Patience Nyangove
WINDHOEK, Jul 11 (IPS) – Throughout the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, organisers have insisted that the legacy of the event goes far beyond the sporting spectacle. In the dusty streets of a Windhoek township, Deon Namiseb believes this is true.

Katutura is one of 20 sites where a Football for Hope Centre [...]

By Mantoe Phakathi

Swazi women about to receive food rations. / Mantoe Phakathi/IPS

MBABANE, Jul 8 (IPS) – Minah Ndzinisa spends every day selling fruit and vegetables at the outdoor Mbabane Market, braving the rain, wind and cold for almost 20 years. "I was in the same cold even in the 1990s when we used to [...]

By Evelyn Matsamura Kiapi

Primary school sex education only teaches content regarded suitable for children aged between six and 12 years. / Evelyn Matsamura Kiapi/IPS

KAMPALA, Jun 28 (IPS) – Thirteen-year-old Jacinta Okello and her fellow primary school classmates call it "doing bad manners". But when you ask her what she knows about sex, she [...]

By Mantoe Phakathi

Nonhlanhla Mabuza with her baby, Thabiso Dlamini, after the circumcision. / Mantoe Phakathi/IPS

MANZINI, Swaziland, Jun 19 (IPS) – A proud mother, Nonhlanhla Mabuza cuddles her one-day-old baby boy, at the circumcision clinic of Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital. A day after delivering her second son, Thabiso Dlamini, the 20-year-old mother is [...]

By Abdurrahman Warsameh

Threats from Islamist groups have not quenched the passion for football in Somalia. / Abdurrahman Warsameh/IPS

MOGADISHU, Jun 16 (IPS) – "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that," former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said. Uncomfortably close to a bald [...]