The 15th plenary assembly of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) parliamentary forum that was held in Lesotho last week has approved the establishment of a regional parliament that would complement the work of the continental African Union parliament.

Another leader of Lesotho's Factory Workers Union (Fawu) was arrested on Wednesday following a strike earlier this week that left two dead and scores of people injured. Police reportedly arrested Willie Matheo, Fawu's deputy secretary-general, at the union's headquarters in the capital Maseru early on Wednesday morning.

One of the world's leading electrical companies, Schneider Electric, has been implicated in a R16 million bribery case in the Lesotho High Court. The alleged bribery relates to the construction of the now-completed Lesotho Highlands Water Project. French-based Schneider calls itself one of the world's leading manufacturers of equipment for electrical distribution, industrial control and automation. It boasts operations in 130 countries.

Although governments have increasingly become aware of the problem of orphans and vulnerable children in Southern Africa, countries still lacked the capacity to effectively deal with the problem, a regional workshop heard on Monday.

A group of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) has accused the Canadian government's export financing agency of sending the wrong signal on corruption for not sanctioning companies that are convicted of illegal acts abroad. This came after Export Development Canada said it would not bar Canadian engineering company Acres International from future contracts. Earlier this year Acres was convicted in Lesotho of paying bribes to obtain contracts from the Highlands Water Project.