DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – More than 100 bodies have been retrieved after a ferry sank on Lake Victoria, Tanzanian state radio reported on Friday, and hundreds more were still feared missing as rescuers searched for survivors from daybreak on the morning after the disaster. Radio TBC Taifa reported the latest toll from the sinking […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s highest court on Tuesday allowed the private use of marijuana, upholding a lower court’s ruling that found the criminalization of cannabis was unconstitutional. Activists who include members of the Rastafarian movement and traditional healers greeted the ruling with loud applause. They have held marches over the years to demand that […]

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Tuesday revealed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures fell by 0,7% in the second quarter of the year 2018… and, judging from the comments on Twitter, South Africans realised they can no longer blame former President Jacob Zuma. These latest figures have pushed the country into a recession – […]

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Two South African peacekeepers were wounded in a rebel ambush near the epicentre of an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, their U.N. mission said on Tuesday. The attack on Monday, on the outskirts of the city of Beni, underscored the challenges authorities face in tackling […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Britain supports South Africa’s land reform programme provided it is carried out legally, Prime Minister Theresa May said in Cape Town on Tuesday, adding that she would discuss the issue with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. “The UK has for some time now supported land reform. Land reform that is legal, […]

Final touches are being made to an all-women 50-day conservation adventure from South Africa into Southern Africa. The Journeys with Purpose: Rise of the Matriarch expedition brings together 12 women from around the world who will travel 9 000km across four countries to raise awareness about the contentious human-wildlife conflict. Headed by Carla Geyser, a […]

WINDHOEK (Reuters) – Namibia will hold countrywide land expropriation talks for the first time since independence as the small southern African nation grapples with political and ethnic tensions over the transfer of wealth to its majority black population. President Hage Gottfried Geingob, speaking at a Heroes’ Day commemoration event in Rundu, about 700 kms (440 […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Vodacom launched what it said was Africa’s first commercial 5G internet service in Lesotho on Saturday, but said it would only be able to provide a similar service in its home market once spectrum was made available. Vodacom, South Africa’s biggest mobile operator by market value, said the rollout of the […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s state-owned Land Bank said on Monday a plan to allow the state to seize land without compensation could trigger defaults that could cost the government R41-billion ($2.8 billion) if the bank’s rights as a creditor are not protected. Land Bank is a specialist bank providing financial services to the commercial farming […]

The ANC has responded to reports of Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s comments – made at his 90th birthday celebrations in Durban yesterday – where he allegedly indicated that he wishes his membership of the ANC could finally be renewed before he dies. The ANC said it acknowledges Buthelezi’s participation amongst the founding members of the ANC Youth […]

Namibians are celebrating tonight as its national rugby team – the Welwitschias – secured a coveted spot in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan! They will join South Africa in Pool B. The team played Kenya in Windhoek on Saturday during their final 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup clash… which was also a qualifier […]

South Africans have paid tribute to former United Nations Secretary General and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Kofi Annan, who passed away today following a short illness. The African National Congress (ANC) said it received the news with “profound sadness”. In a statement issued Saturday, the ANC said: An eminent and distinguished son of Africa, Mr. […]

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has passed away at the age of 80. The Kofi Annan Foundation released the following statement about Ghana’s world famous and much-loved humanitarian: It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and […]

The Queen of Pop celebrated her 60th birthday on Thursday 16 August by proving she’s no longer a ‘Material Girl’. Instead of asking for gifts, Madonna asked friends and fans to rather donate to her Facebook fundraiser which is benefiting her Raising Malawi foundation. The non-profit Foundation aims to benefit vulnerable children in the southern African […]

NAIROBI – A hippopotamus attacked and killed a Taiwanese tourist who was taking photographs on the shore of Lake Naivasha in Kenya, on Saturday evening. The male tourist was sadly pronounced dead on arrival at the Naivasha District Hospital. His colleague, who suffered minor bruises, survived the attack over the weekend, according to the Kenya […]

Kenya’s former 400m hurdles world champion Nicholas Bett has died in a road accident aged 28, the country’s ministry of sports and heritage said on Wednesday. Bett died in Nandi county, north west Kenya after his car hit bumps and rolled into a ditch. He was on his way to visit a friend, less than […]

Hell hath no fury like a vested interest threatened… writes Magnus Heystek. It’s a common lament that when an investment scheme collapses the victims always try to find someone to blame. How often have we heard the mournful cry of thousands of investors, now badly out of pocket and in some cases penniless, that “someone should […]

The sole survivor of the disastrous relocation of 11 black rhino to Tsavo East National Park in Kenya has sadly passed away. There has been no official statement from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), but several commenters on its page have cited “reliable sources” saying the last rhino – which KWS claimed was attacked by four […]

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwean riot police chased away journalists waiting for a news conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on Friday, shouting “out, out,” a Reuters witness said. Chamisa has questioned the outcome of Monday’s presidential election, in which he lost out to President Emmerson Mnangagwa (75) from the ruling Zanu-PF party. According to Reuters, […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has on Friday urged all Zimbabweans to accept the election of Emmerson Mnangagwa (75) as president, after polls – which began peacefully – turned to violence in the aftermath, and led to the tragic death of six people. The South African Presidency said in a statement: “President Ramaphosa has appealed […]

HARARE – Both leading contestants in Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential election indicated they had won on Thursday as a tense nation awaited official results three days after voting… however by Thursday evening current President Emmerson Mnangagwa was well ahead. International observers urged the electoral commission to release the tally as soon as possible to avoid further […]

HARARE – At least one person was killed in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare on Wednesday as soldiers stepped in to disperse stone-throwing opposition supporters who accused the ruling party of trying to rig Monday’s presidential election, witnesses said. Gunfire crackled in the streets while troops, backed by armoured vehicles and a military helicopter and some with […]

If you have a travel bucket list, it should probably include at least two – if not all six – of South Africa’s neighbouring countries. And judging by the breathtaking photos on this page – taken by British traveller Deborah Mathews – Botswana and Namibia should feature high on that list! (The other four of course […]

(Reuters) – NBA players with direct ties to Africa will play a world team in the third NBA Africa Game next month in Pretoria, South Africa, the National Basketball Association and National Basketball Players Association announced on Friday. In honour of the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, it will be played in support […]

The voting polls in Zimbabwe are now officially opened for voters. This is a historic moment for the Zimbabwean people, who will cast their vote without former President, Robert Mugabe’s name on the ballot paper for the first time in decades. The people have been queuing since early morning in the hope of casting their […]