LUSAKA, 23 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - The mysterious death of wild birds this week has panicked Zambians, fearing the arrival of avian influenza in a country long-recognised as vulnerable to the deadly H5N1 virus.Full report

BUJUMBURA, 23 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - The European Union, a major donor to Burundi, has asked the government to investigate claims of corruption and forgery in a EU-funded programme that was set up in 2001 to rehabilitate infrastructure in the country that is emerging from 12 years of civil war.Full report

HARARE, 22 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - Just when it seems life could not conceivably get any tougher for Zimbabweans, it invariably does. Full report

NIAMEY, 22 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - Quiet fell over the Niger capital of Niamey on Thursday as labour unions called a national strike over the high cost of living.Full report

JOHANNESBURG, 22 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - A probe into more than 30 senior former public officials accused of corruption is proof of the new Comoran government's commitment to tackling graft, Vice-President Idi Nadhoim told IRIN.Full report

CONAKRY, 22 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - The number of cholera deaths continues to rise in Guinea this year as state radio reported a new flood of cases in the Forest Region of the southeast.Full report

MONROVIA, 21 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - The UN Security Council has lifted a ban on Liberian timber exports and the government has promised to harness earnings from the multi-million dollar trade for reconstruction and development of the war-wearied country.Full report

BISSAU, 21 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - The regional economic group ECOWAS has promised to finance the payment of three months of unpaid teachers, doctors and other government worker salaries after unions called a national strike. Full report

PORT HARCOURT, 21 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - Gunmen in a speed boat seized two Filipino oil workers in the latest in a spate of attacks targeting oil installations and workers in Nigeria’s oil rich but impoverished Niger delta.Full report

NIAMEY, 20 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - Thousands of students, teachers and disgruntled citizens took to the streets of the capital Niamey on Tuesday to denounce mismanagement and lack of funding for the country’s main university, currently closed due to protests.Full report

TANZANIA: Year in Brief 2005 - A chronology of key events

TANZANIA: Year in Review 2005 - Mkapa's pursuit of economic recovery pays off

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Migrants find sex trade a dead end street

AFRICA: Economies worst placed to cope with knock-on effects of drought

GUINEA-BISSAU: As rains fall, cholera threat returns

NAMIBIA: Crackdown on informal bars sparks protest

WEST AFRICA: Children in danger: Begging for teachers

WEST AFRICA: Children in danger: Traditional adoption can be “living hell”