The Malawi Under-20 national team have solved their financial crisis and begun their journey to Kimberley to participate in the Metropolitan Cosafa Youth Championship at the weekend.

Malawi's education system (primary, secondary and tertiary) has experienced a number of changes and faced challenges prompting those concerned to ask whether standards are going down or not.

The President of Malawi, Bingu wa Mutharika, has been honoured by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for his efforts in achieving food security and in transforming the economy of his nation, among the poorest in Africa.

The National Credit Regulator's (NCR) Credit Bureau Monitor reported 17.17 million credit active consumers for the quarter ending June 2008, of which 10.38 million consumers were in good standing, while 6.79 million consumers had 'impaired records'.

Despite the ongoing financial crisis, Ohlthaver and List (O&L) Group of Companies has beaten the odds against it, declaring profits of over N$176 million after tax, thanks to its "100/7" plan.

While the year 2008 "will be remembered for uncontrollable price increases for fuel, fodder and lick, which has put enormous pressure on the real returns and profitability of farmers", Agra reported a record turnover of N$1,2 billion and its highest

A bout 70 per cent of the Namibian population directly or indirectly depends on agricultural activities for their livelihood, although the sector only contributes to about 6 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

THE Kingdom Meikles Africa Ltd (KMAL) saga has deepened after an investigation team probing allegations of externalising foreign currency hit a brick wall during a high-powered mission to South Africa recently.

WHILE global markets are selling their shares because of the financial crisis, a buying fever has gripped the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange following the "riot act" read by the Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono last Thursday, Imara Edwards financial services said.

Developments at Weatherly Mining Namibia have taken a turn for the worse, with the copper miner retrenching more than half of its workforce in Tsumeb and closing all its producing mines, the Economist can reveal.

When the markets plunge, it scares me but when they surge like this week, it scares me even more.

The gains that have been achieved by the Namibia Stock Exchange-listed Namibia Breweries Ltd. may be reversed if government goes ahead with its plans to award a bottling licence to SAB Miller's front in the country, Castle Brewing Namibia.

THE delay in forming a government of national unity by the country's three main political parties aimed at solving the political crisis and the adjournment of parliament is likely to affect the announcement of the national budget.

ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe's use of an outdated software resulted in contract line subscribers being migrated to the "Business Partna" package.

THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for nationwide protests next week against the low maximum bank cash withdrawal limits imposed by the Reserve Bank.

RE-APPOINTED Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono might not meet the next January's deadline that brings an end to the bank's involvement in quasi-fiscal activities despite promising an end to the supra-ministerial interventions, analysts have said.

The company Procana, established to produce ethanol from sugar cane in the southern Mozambican district of Massingir, says it wants to use Mozambican labour, including Mozambican engineers, in constructing this factory.

THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange has been on a tailspin, plummeting by over 82% since Monday last week to Wednesday this week.

THE Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has turned up the heat on the Congress of the People (COPE), issuing a stiff warning yesterday that its leaders were stoking violence and lambasting them for failing to deliver when they

ONE of the most encouraging aspects of the latest consumer price index figures is the evidence that the theory works - that when demand falls, prices really do respond.