Tanzania plans to ban the production, importation, sale and use of all single-use plastic bags by July, to help tackle pollution from non-biodegradable waste… which will be a relief to South African expats in the country who have long voiced concern over the mounting plastic bag crisis, with winds blowing thousands of discarded plastic bags […]

A South African court has ruled that Mozambique’s former finance minister Manuel Chang can be extradited to the United States, where he is wanted on charges related to a $2 billion debt scandal, one of Chang’s lawyers said on Monday. The ruling will effectively serve as a recommendation for South Africa’s justice minister, who has […]

HARARE – Zimbabwe is to start paying compensation this year to thousands of white farmers who lost land under former president Robert Mugabe’s land reform nearly two decades ago, the government said, as it seeks to bring closure to a highly divisive issue. Two decades ago Mugabe’s government carried out at times violent evictions of […]

An American tourist and her driver have been rescued unharmed after being kidnapped in a national park in southwestern Uganda last week, the Ugandan authorities said on Sunday. Kimberley Sue Endecott, 35, was abducted by gunmen in Queen Elizabeth National Park, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, on April 4. The kidnappers […]

PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron wants to declare April 7 as a national day of commemoration of the Rwandan genocide, his Elysee office said in a statement on Sunday. The presidency made the announcement as the Rwandan government started commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of the genocide against Tutsi and moderate Hutus, raising the […]

An American woman and her driver are still missing after having been kidnapped at Uganda’s most popular wildlife park by four gunmen demanding a ransom of $500,000, according to local police. (UPDATE: American tourist and driver, kidnapped in Uganda, rescued!) Businesswoman and beautician Kimberley Sue Endecott, 35, and Ugandan driver Jean Paul were on a […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Hundreds of thousands of people are in need of food, water and shelter after Cyclone Idai battered Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. And, as of today (Tues), at least 843 people had been reported killed by the storm, the flooding it caused and heavy rains before it hit. View the factbox at the […]

The 40,000 sq km Serengeti-Mara plain that straddles the border of Kenya and Tanzania is famous for its abundant and diverse wildlife. It is also home to one of the wonders of the world: the Serengeti-Mara wildebeest migration. Each year about two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelles migrate from Tanzania to Kenya’s Maasai Mara in […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Cyclone Idai’s deadly hit has left some 1.85 million people in need of assistance in Mozambique in a catastrophe that United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday rang “yet another alarm bell” about climate change. Guterres described Idai, which flattened homes and caused massive flooding after slamming into Mozambique near the […]

Going on safari in Africa offers tourists the opportunity to see some of the most spectacular wildlife on Earth – including African elephants (Loxodonta africana). Known for their complex social systems, long memory and high intelligence, this species is also threatened by poaching and shrinking habitats, so further disturbance to their precarious existence could have […]

Kenyans have taken to social media to protest against what they claim is illegal sand harvesting off Diani beach, one of the country’s most popular coastal areas. The Conversation Africa’s Moina Spooner spoke to David Obura about why this is an issue. Is sand harvesting a problem on the Kenyan coast? The harvesting of sand […]

Rescue teams in Mozambique moved hundreds of people displaced by Cyclone Idai’s massive and deadly flooding to safer shelters on Monday, while the government made preparations for a cholera outbreak that it says is inevitable amid the devastation. In areas west of the port city of Beira, hundreds of people were trapped for more than […]

Amidst the floods and devastation that Cyclone Idai has left in its wake, there are many South African heroes who are making us proud. SAPeople spoke to one of them, Soweto doctor Qasim Bhorat whose poignant messages from Mozambique make us cry, and smile… Qasim grew up in Stanger, studied at the University of the […]

South Africa booked the last place at the African Cup of Nations finals with a 2-1 away win over Libya thanks to Percy Tau’s double on Sunday to complete the lineup for the 24-team finals being hosted in Egypt in June. The diminutive 24-year-old Bafana Bafana striker, on loan at second-tier Union SG in Belgium […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Mozambique reported scores more deaths on Saturday from a cyclone and floods around southern Africa that have killed at least 732 people and left thousands in desperate need of help, many on rooftops and trees. (Please see bottom of page if you would like to help.) Help is needed swiftly, as evidenced […]

At least 417 people have died in Mozambique after Cyclone Idai led to catastrophic flooding, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday. And hundreds of thousands of children who survived need urgent help. (Updated from 293 deaths to 417.) “We’re going to have to wait until the flood waters […]

LUSAKA – Zambia banned an energy drink, which is also sold in South Africa, on Wednesday after it was shown to have been adulterated with the male sex booster Viagra, according to authorities in Ndola, the city of manufacture. The prohibition followed a complaint from Zambia’s medicine regulator in December suggesting that the drink – […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Rescue workers plucked more survivors from trees and roofs to safety on Thursday, a week after a cyclone ripped through southern Africa and triggered devastating floods that have killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands. A priority for Thursday was pushing into flooded areas that had not yet been surveyed, […]

Brave rescue teams from South Africa have saved 167 people using air support in the Buzi district of Mozambique, an area which was particularly hammered by Cyclone Idai over the weekend. But more help is desperately needed as storm victims are still hanging onto poles and trees in flooded areas, in a desperate bid to […]

MAPUTO/HARARE – Cyclone winds and floods that swept across southeastern Africa affected more than 2.6 million people and could rank as one of the worst weather-related disasters recorded in the southern hemisphere, U.N. officials said on Tuesday. Rescue crews are still struggling to reach victims five days after Cyclone Idai raced in at speeds of […]

HARARE – Cyclone Idai has killed at least 64 people in eastern Zimbabwe and destroyed homes, bridges and roads, making rescue efforts difficult, a government minister said on Sunday. The tropical storm has already pounded neighboring Malawi and Mozambique where at least 111 people died in floods and heavy rains as the cyclone approached. Mozambique […]

Watch this brilliant video filmed in Uganda, showing Dubai dancer Karina Palmira dancing and having fun with the children from Masaka Kids Africana Orphanage. It’s already had over 2 million views! Karina, who is also a choreographer and instructor in the United Arab Emirates, says: “When they say: ‘Mami Karina, teach us some moves’ but […]

A powerful tropical storm made landfall in Mozambique on Thursday evening, battering a coastal city with heavy rain and wind at speeds of up to 170 km an hour and injuring several people. Parts of Mozambique were cut off on Friday because of Cyclone Idai. In Beira, a city of around 500,000 people and a […]

Botswana’s High Court on Thursday postponed its ruling on a case challenging the criminalisation of gay sex, which is being scrutinised by campaigners hoping the law could be overturned. Judge Abednico Tafa told a packed courtroom in Botswana’s capital Gaborone that a decision would be handed down on June 11 after a one-day hearing. George […]

DAKAR – A mosquito-killing drug tested in Burkina Faso reduced malaria cases by a fifth among children and could be an important new tool in the global fight against the disease, researchers said. The drug, ivermectin, is already widely used to treat parasitic infections but had not previously been tested for its effects on malaria […]