Johannesburg - Every day 1,500 women die of avoidable complications in pregnancy in childbirth, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a report released Thursday.

The overall figure stood at 10 million women since 1990, with women in Africa south of the Sahara and south Asia most at risk, the report titled The State of the World's Children 2009 said.

Women in these regions were 300 times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than in developed countries.

Johannesburg - Every day 1,500 women die of avoidable complications in pregnancy in childbirth, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a report released Thursday.

The overall figure stood at 10 million women since 1990, with women in Africa south of the Sahara and south Asia most at risk, the report titled The State of the World's Children 2009 said.

Women in these regions were 300 times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than in developed countries.

In no other area of healthcare was the gap between rich and poor as wide, UNICEF said.

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday said he planned to return home for a meeting with regional leaders and President Robert Mugabe on the implementation of a unity government.

Addressing journalists in South Africa, Tsvangirai said he would leave for Zimbabwe on Saturday.

The meeting in Harare was scheduled for next week, but no exact has been set, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported.

Negotiations for power-sharing under a deal signed in mid- September have stalled, with Tsvangirai and Mugabe unable to agree on the distribution of ministries.

Harare/Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a prominent human rights activist being held on charges of recruiting people for insurgency training and terrorist bombings be taken to a private clinic.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku also deemed urgent the case, in which Jestina Mukoko of the Zimbabwe Peace Project was challenging her detention and the charges brought against her.

"The applicant must be afforded medical attention as a matter of urgency," Chidyausiku said.

Johannesburg - The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Saturday presented a socially-orientated election manifesto that promises South Africans jobs, food security, improved education and health services and lower crime levels.

ANC President Jacob Zuma launched the program at a rally in the city of East London attended by around 20,000 party supporters. "We will retain those strategies and practices that have been successful, but will change or improve those that have not delivered optimal results," Zuma said.

Johannesburg - There has been a dramatic increase in rhinoceros-poaching in South Africa, with at least 76 animals recorded killed last year, according to the environment ministry.

The true figure was believed to be far higher, the Saturday Star reported. It said 37 rhinoceros were shot in the Krueger National Park alone, while only ten were shot countrywide the previous year.