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21 Feb (TBA) IMF restores Harare voting rights
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to restore Zimbabwe's voting rights after a seven-year suspension for unpaid debts.
But the fund said the country was still ineligible for loans until it had paid off more of the $1.3bn (£841m) it owes to creditors.
In the meantime, Zimbabwe can take part in IMF decision-making.
The move recognises the country's efforts to repair its economy and improve relations with donors.
The IMF said it had taken the decision to restore Zimabawe's voting rights after a request from the county's Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
The fund suspended Zimbabwe's voting rights in 2003 over disagreements with the previous government of Mugabe.
The move comes just days after the European Union renewed targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe for another 12 months, citing lack of progress by the new unity government.
21 Feb(TBA) SA sees hope in AIDS treatment
Anti-retroviral treatments (ARVs) and universal testing could stop the spread of Aids in South Africa within five years, a top scientist says.
Dr Brian Williams says the cost of giving the drugs to almost six million HIV-positive patients in the country would be $2-3bn per year.
Only about 30% get the life-saving drugs, he said, but early detection and treatment would prevent transmission.
This, he said, should be complementary to the search for an Aids vaccine. An effective vaccine, he said, was still a long way away.
Dr Williams, a leading figure in the field of HIV research, is based at the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (Sacema) in Stellenbosch.
Speaking at at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego, he said 30 million people around the world were infected with HIV - with two million dying each year.
"The tragedy is that the disease continues unabated. The only real success story is the development of these extremely effective drugs that keep people alive and reduce their viral load by up to 2,000 times. They become close to non-infectious.
Dr Williams argued that by the time people started ART, they had infected "most of those that they would have infected anyway".
"We've been using drugs to save lives, but not stop the infection," he said. "It's time to look beyond that."
He said that if clinical trials started now, all of the HIV positive people in South Africa could be on ARV treatment within five years.
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 21 Feb (TBA) Niger celebrates army coup of unpopular president
Thousands of people took to the streets of the Niger capital over the weekend in support for Thursday's military takeover.
Opposition politicians and coup leaders addressed a rally celebrating the overthrow of President Mamadou Tandja (pictured) and the dissolution of his government.
Niger has been suspended by the African Union, and the international community has been quick to condemn the coup.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned it and called for calm.
The new ruling military council - the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy - has announced the lifting of a curfew declared hours after the coup and the re-opening of borders.
Ten people are said to have died when the junta seized power.
The coup follows growing discontent with Tandja following a controversial referendum last August to abolish limits on presidential terms of office.
A crowd put at 10,000 turned out on Saturday, with some people carrying signs in support of democracy and the army. Military leaders stood on top of trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.
"We say thank you to the junta for their intervention," an opposition spokesman, Bazoum Mohamed, told the rally. "We are for the restoration of democracy and we are committed to joining the army in this mission."
A military leader, Harouna Djibrilla Adamou, told the crowds: "We thank you for your overwhelming support. What we did was in the best interest of Niger. We ask you to stay calm, we're here for you, we're listening and we assure you that we will never let you down," he said.
Niger's new rulers have promised to turn the country into an example of "democracy and good governance" and save its people from "poverty, deception and corruption".
Troops stormed the presidential palace during a cabinet meeting last Thursday afternoon, seizing Tandja and his ministers before announcing that they were suspending the constitution and dissolving all state institutions.
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