Over 10 000 cattle affected by Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) have been vaccinated to eliminate the spread of the outbreak. This follows confirmed FMD in cattle in the Vhembe District of Limpopo early this year. Updating the media on the status of FMD in Pretoria on Monday, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana said […]

World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director Dr Matshidiso Moeti says thousands of lives can be saved in Africa with proper cancer prevention, early detection, access to proper treatment and care. Moeti made the remarks on Monday as the world commemorates World Cancer Day. This year’s World Cancer Day is observed under the theme “I am […]

Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang, arrested in South Africa in connection with $2 billion in fraudulent loans, submitted an urgent bail application last week, one of his lawyers told Reuters on Monday. Chang, who has been in custody in South Africa since Dec. 29 and denies wrongdoing, had previously dropped plans to apply for […]

Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is receiving treatment in South Africa, the second time in four months, after falling ill last week, a privately owned newspaper reported on Monday. The health of Chiwenga, 62, is closely followed in Zimbabwe because he is widely seen as the power behind President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the front-runner to […]

The National Press Club has named President Cyril Ramaphosa as the 2018 Newsmaker of the Year. This annual award, hosted by the National Press Club since 1980, awards a newsmaker in a calendar year based on the amount of media coverage received as well as the impact thereof. Nominations and motivations are received from members […]

UPDATE: For South Africans abroad there will be a special overseas voter registration weekend from the 1 – 4 February at all SA foreign missions. Don’t miss this opportunity to register to vote! The 2019 National Election is going to be one of the most important that South Africa faces since 1994. All South Africans living abroad can […]

The nationwide shutdown in Zimbabwe last month hit hospitals hard. Nyasha (not his real name) tells how his dying mother was treated… Following a call by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, much of Zimbabwe closed down from 14 to 18 January. Demonstrators took to the streets in protest against a sudden steep hike in […]

Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader, Mmusi Maimane, will tomorrow announce a set of immediate interventions the DA will pursue in order, it says, to resolve the current crisis occurring in Zimbabwe… because, they say, so far South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government have failed to show leadership and intervene in what has now become […]

It’s dawn. I’m in a reflective mood. So many thoughts & emotions to consider. I’m not a night owl, although the moon has held me captive on many occasions. It’s still up there. Far away. But this is the sun’s turn to rise. The light is still soft. It’s bathing our garden in gentle pastel […]

Zimbabwe’s army claimed on Thursday that soldiers accused of beating residents in townships following protests over fuel price hikes were impostors who tarnished the name of the military. Security forces have been cracking down on violent demonstrations that erupted last week after President Emmerson Mnangagwa decreed a sharp increase in the price of fuel. Rights […]

More than half of South Africa’s farmers are suffering depression and anxiety as SA’s farms lost R7 billion ($510 million) in potential revenue and 31,000 jobs were cut since January 2018 because of the severe drought ravaging parts of South Africa, according to a survey of farmers. The figures were released by Agri SA on […]

The impact of Kenya’s recent terrorist attack will be felt greatly by its tourism industry. Terrorism, and insecurity generally, is largely responsible for the sector’s poor performance over the last decade. Between 2011 and 2017, there were on average 60 attacks each year carried out by different groups, each varying in magnitude. Over half of […]

HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared Zimbabwe’s internationally renowned musician Oliver Mtukudzi a national hero on Thursday, granting him a status following his death yesterday this is normally reserved for ruling party elites and independence veterans only. Mtukudzi (66) – affectionately known as “Tuku” – died at a local clinic on Wednesday from diabetes, ending […]

Zimbabwe’s most successful and internationally renowned musician Oliver Mtukudzi died on Wednesday after suffering from diabetes, ending a career that spanned four decades and 67 albums. Zimbabwean publisher of Africapedia, Charles Onyango-Obbo also pointed out that the legendary Mtukudzi has passed away on the same date as South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela, who died […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on Tuesday for sanctions against Zimbabwe to be lifted and said the South African government was in discussions with Harare about how best to help. He said Zimbabwe’s situation was a challenge for the whole of Africa and he planned to meet its President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a later […]

Legal challenges to a brutal clampdown on dissent by Zimbabwe’s government were set in motion on Monday, as fears that the country is veering back towards authoritarian rule drove some leaders of the main opposition party into hiding. The fragile state of Zimbabwe’s economy was also in focus as President Emmerson Mnangagwa headed home early […]

South Africa turned down a request from its southern African neighbour Zimbabwe for a $1.2 billion loan in December, a spokesman for the finance ministry said on Monday. “South Africa doesn’t have that kind of money,” National Treasury spokesman Jabulani Sikhakhane said. Zimbabwean officials were not immediately available for comment. Zimbabwe was hit by anti-government […]

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 […]