Congo’s political standoff deepened on Sunday after the top court backed the contested presidential election victory of Felix Tshisekedi, then his main rival rejected the ruling, called for protests and declared himself leader. As Tshisekedi’s supporters celebrated the ruling in the streets of Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, runner-up Martin Fayulu said the decision had […]

BAMAKO – Ten U.N. peacekeepers were killed and several were wounded while repelling an attack by armed assailants near a village in northern Mali on Sunday, the West African nation’s U.N. mission said. The identity of the attackers was not immediately clear. U.N. peacekeeping and French forces are stationed in northern Mali to combat well-armed […]

HARARE – A crackdown last week on protests in Zimbabwe is a foretaste of how the government will respond to future unrest, the president’s spokesperson said, fuelling concerns that the country is reverting to authoritarian rule. Police claim three people died during protests over fuel price hikes in Harare’s capital and second city Bulawayo that […]

Author of such books as ‘African Tears’ and ‘Beyond Tears’, Cathy Buckle last night posted a letter on social media to her friends and family… except she couldn’t post it herself because she’s in Zimbabwe. So a friend posted it on her behalf. This is her letter… Dear Family and Friends, This has been one […]

South African grain and red meat farmers are bracing for hard times after dry weather conditions and an outbreak of the highly contagious foot and mouth disease suspended meat exports, officials said on Friday. Maize prices have climbed amid concerns that dry conditions in the main part of South Africa’s maize belt have delayed crop […]

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s biggest mobile operator Econet Wireless said on Friday the government had ordered it to shut down its internet services until further notice following days of deadly protests over steep fuel price hikes. (Please see UPDATE at bottom of page.) Zimbabweans accuse President Emmerson Mnangagwa of failing to live up to pre-election pledges […]

OUAGADOUGOU – A Canadian kidnapped this week in a restive region of Burkina Faso has been found dead, a spokesman for the security ministry told Reuters on Thursday. The man was abducted after nightfall on Tuesday by a dozen gunmen on a mining site owned by Vancouver-based Progress Minerals in the northeast near the border […]

NAIROBI – Gunmen blasted their way into a hotel and office complex in the Kenyan capital on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and sending workers diving under desks from an attack claimed by Somali Islamists al Shabaab. Police warned the “terror attack”, which echoed a 2013 assault on a Nairobi shopping centre, may be […]

HARARE – Soldiers patrolled Zimbabwe city streets on Tuesday and confrontations with angry civilians threatened to boil over, as the government offered public workers more money a day after protests over a disintegrating economy turned deadly. Monday’s unrest, in which several people died, followed sharp hikes in fuel prices decreed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The […]

As South Africa heads for the polls in a few months time in its sixth democratic election, political party electioneering has begun in earnest. President Cyril Ramaphosa kick started the governing African National Congress’s (ANC’s) election campaign in his January 8th Statement celebrating 107 years since the birth of the liberation movement. This campaign continued […]

HARARE – Zimbabwe will introduce a new currency in the next 12 months, the country’s Finance Minister said, as a shortage of U.S. dollars plunges the financial system into disarray, forcing businesses to close and threatening unrest.  The southern African nation abandoned its own hyperinflation-wrecked currency in 2009 at the height of an economic recession, […]

WINDHOEK – Namibia has suspended meat imports from South Africa due to the outbreak of the highly contagious foot and mouth disease, state broadcaster, NBC, said on Wednesday. The disease, which causes lesions and lameness in cattle and sheep, was detected in a northern district of Limpopo province, South Africa’s agriculture department announced this week. […]

DAKAR – Egypt will host the 2019 African Nations Cup finals, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed after a meeting of their executive committee in Dakar on Tuesday. They will stage the expanded 24-team event in June-July after initial hosts Cameroon were stripped of the tournament last month over concerns at the slow pace […]

NAIROBI – Girls in western Kenya returning to school after the Christmas break are undergoing compulsory tests for female genital mutilation in a move to crackdown against the illegal and harmful practice, a senior government official said on Friday. They are also being tested to see if they are pregnant. George Natembeya, commissioner for Narok […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three former Credit Suisse Group AG bankers were arrested in London on Thursday on U.S. charges that they took part in a fraud scheme involving $2 billion in loans to state-owned companies in Mozambique, a spokesman for U.S. prosecutors said. Andrew Pearse, 49; Surjan Singh, 44; and Detelina Subeva, 37 were […]

Due to increased demand, South African Airways (SAA) has expanded its non-stop service between Ghana and the US. In a statement on Wednesday, the national carrier announced that it will increase its frequency on nonstop flights between the Ghanaian capital Accra’s Kotoka International Airport and Washington D.C’s Dulles International Airport to five days a week. […]

The wife of a South African man charged in Mozambique on terror-related activities has scoffed at the charges, and says her husband – Andre Mayer Hanekom – is being framed by influential people who want to get their hands on his beach property. South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has called […]

Turkish Airlines is now flying twice a week between the Zambian capital Lusaka and Istanbul, via Dar es Salaam. The new route was launched on 14 December 2018 and it makes Lusaka the 306th destination serviced globally by Turkish Airlines – more than any other airline. Turkish Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Sales Kerem Sarp […]

The U.S. military said on Monday it had killed 62 militants in six air strikes on Saturday and Sunday in the vicinity of Gandarsh in Somalia’s south-central Banaadir province. The military’s Africa Command (Africom) said four strikes were carried out on Saturday, killing 34 militants, and two more on Sunday, which killed 28. “Africa Command […]

PRETORIA – Andre Kruger’s stand at Africa’s first ever cannabis exposition displayed an indoor growing tent, complete with state-of-the-art lighting imported from the United States and fittings for a high-tech hydroponic irrigation system. What it didn’t have, however, was a cannabis plant. The four-day expo, which opened in South Africa’s capital Pretoria on Thursday, was […]

DAR ES SALAAM – Ten opposition parties in Tanzania say proposed amendments to a law governing political parties would criminalise their activities. Critics of President John Magufuli, who was the darling of social media when he first came to power in 2015, say he is increasingly cracking down on dissent with restrictions on the political […]

Professor Kelly Chibale, founder and director of the Drug Discovery and Development Centre, H3D, at the University of Cape Town, has been awarded the prestigious Gold Medal for 2018 by the South African Chemical Institute (SACI). Chibale said he was deeply honoured by the award, which is made to a person whose scientific contribution in […]

Big Life Foundation has revealed the harrowing rescue of one of Africa’s largest bull elephants this week in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. The incident occurred on Monday when the elephant was reported to be stuck deep in mud, up to his neck, in a swamp. “Our hearts sank,” said Big Life. “Given the size, […]

Paternal care – where fathers care for their children – is rare among mammals (that is, animals which give birth to live young). Scientists have identified more than 6,000 mammal species, but paternal care only occurs in 5 to 10% of them. Humans fall into that category, along with species like mice and lions. There […]

NAIROBI – Perhaps South Africa can learn something from Ethiopia which has overtaken Dubai as the top feeder for long-haul passengers to Africa, highlighting the success of the state airline’s expansion drive and the reforms of its new prime minister… which include allowing visitors to apply for visas online. Travel consultancy ForwardKeys said on Wednesday […]