STATE DEPARTMENT — The rebel takeover in the Central African Republic has stalled international efforts to track down the outlaw Lord's Resistance Army (LAR) and its leader Joseph Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Rebels who seized power in the Central African Republic (CAR) this year effectively halted efforts to find the LRA there. Ugandan troops and their U.S. advisers suspended the hunt amid uncertainty over how the rebel coalition, known as Seleka, might pursue the group and its leader Joseph Kony.

Robbie Corey-Boulet

May 13, 2013

BOUAKE, IVORY COAST — Officials in Ivory Coast have begun disarming ex-combatants from the country’s decade-long political crisis. But in the former rebel capital of Bouake, unanswered questions about the process have fueled anxiety among former fighters, whose successful reintegration into society is seen as essential for lasting peace.

William Ide
May 11, 2013

SICHUAN, CHINA — The loss of life from China’s 2008 Wenchuan earthquake was tremendous, and many young students were among those killed when schools toppled. Some victims are still trying to recover, with the assistance of volunteers who have taken up residence in the newly rebuilt schools.

Wei Ling recalls she was in chemistry class when the Wenchuan earthquake struck.

Obert Pepukai 09.05.2013

CHIREDZI, MASVINGO — At least 15 schools in Mwenezi and Chiredzi districts in Masvingo Province failed to open for the second term this week following the destruction of sanitary facilities and buildings by a heavy hailstorm which recently swept across the region leaving a trail of destruction.

Education officials in Masvingo say the schools should remain closed to avoid an outbreak of diseases.

Thomas Chiripasi 08.05.2013

HARARE — The European Union (EU) says it is willing to help fund Zimbabwe’s electoral processes as the cash-strapped unity government considers introducing new mining taxes to raises money to pay for this year’s crucial polls.

The EU spoke as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) admitted today that it is reeling under a severe financial crisis to pay for the voter education exercise.

Loirdham Moyo 08.05.2013

MUTARE — The Kambeni family’s fortunes have dramatically changed following their relocation to ARDA Transau Estate in February 2011 from their roots in the diamond-rich Chiadzwa community in Manicaland province.

Life has been tough - promises of a new home and compensation have not been fulfilled.

Tatenda Gumbo

07.05.2013

WASHINGTON — Parents in most parts of the country are fuming after schools sent home hundreds of pupils on the first day of school over unpaid fees.

Some school administrators claimed a ministry memorandum demanded school fees be paid in full before pupils are allowed into classes.

As a result, some parents in Masvingo Province and other areas this afternoon staged demonstrations, complaining the move by headmasters to send their children back home was unfair.

Mugume Davis Rwakaringi

May 07, 2013

JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN — The South Sudanese government has launched a program to teach the country's teachers, fewer than five percent of whom have the necessary skills to teach in the country's schools.

Lucy Charles Jua is one of those teachers. She has been teaching since 1988 in Western Bahr el Ghazal state, in northwestern South Sudan. She traveled to Juba to take part in the four-day training session because, she said, she knows there are areas in which she has room for improvement.

Slyvia Manika

HARARE — The Ministry of Health and its partners in the HIV/AIDS sector in Zimbabwe are worried about the low uptake of the male circumcision program which was introduced as a form of HIV prevention method sometime last year.

The National Cordinator of the HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Response in the Health and Child Welfare Ministry, Dr. Owen Mugurungi, says government is unhappy with the uptake of the male circumcision program in the country.