Africa South Africa Southern Africa World 

South Africa closes border as Covid-19 cases rise

– – South Africa’s has announced the closure of its borders till February 15 to curb the spread of coronavirus. In a televised address, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the number of infections has exceeded the peak experienced in the first wave. There have been nearly 190,000 reported infections since New Year’s Day, and there are currently more than 15,000 people in hospital with Covid-19. The… Read More
Africa Featured Southern Africa World Zambia 

Zambians angry over supply of faulty condoms and gloves

– – Zambians have expressed outrage over the supply of defective condoms and sterile gloves. A parliamentary committee has heard how a local company Honey Bee supplied the sub-standard products after it secured a $17m contract. The audit flagged the award of the contract on an official working day to a company without a physical address. There are fears that the… Read More
Africa Southern Africa US World Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe’s President questions US democratic credentials after riots

– – Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has questioned the democratic credentials of the US following the violent protests which killed at least four people. The riots occurred after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Building which is the seat of the legislature. They were acting on the advice of Mr Trump to scuttle a process to confirm the election of… Read More
Africa Southern Africa World 

South Africa: Covid-19 vaccinations to begin in February

– – South Africa, which has been hard hit by a second wave of Covid-19 cases, hopes to obtain its first vaccine doses for the disease next month, the country’s health minister announced Sunday. In recent weeks, the South African government has come in for criticism, particularly from health experts, over the delay in starting a programme of inoculation against… Read More
Africa Southern Africa World Zimbabwe 

Covid-19: Zimbabwe reimposes nationwide lockdown

– – The government of Zimbabwe has reimposed a national lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. There has been a surge in cases in the past weeks and the government hopes the latest move will contain the spread. Only essential services, such as hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets will be exempted from the lockdown to be operational for the… Read More
Africa Southern Africa World Zambia 

Zambia: Two police officers sacked for killing demonstrators

– – Two police officers in Zambia have been dismissed for killing some demonstrators. They have been sacked on the orders of Zambian President Edgar Lungu following investigations into the deaths of two opposition demonstrators last week in Lusaka. The protesters were killed when riot police broke up a rally outside the police headquarters where the opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was being… Read More
Africa South Africa Southern Africa World 

South Africa Covid-19 cases hit 1 million mark

– – South Africa has recorded more than one million Covid-19 infections following the discovery of new variant of the virus. The country has now confirmed 1,004,413 Covid-19 infections and 26,735 deaths since the outbreak began in March. There has been a spike in cases at hospitals and medical centres as the country becomes the first in Africa to hit the one… Read More
Africa South Africa Southern Africa World 

Flights from South Africa banned over Covid-19 variant

– – Flights from South Africa have been banned by five countries following news of the discovery of a new variant of coronavirus which has sparked high cases. Germany, Turkey, Israel, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have banned flights from South Africa. Germany was one of the first nations to announce the ban with officials justifying… Read More
Africa South Africa Southern Africa World 

South African scientists probe new variant of Covid-19

– – South African scientists are getting support from the World Health Organization in investigating a new variant of coronavirus. Scientists have detected the new variant of the coronavirus which is sparking increase in cases across the country. The new variant was first found in the Eastern Cape province and has since spread to the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The… Read More
Africa Eswatini Southern Africa World 

Prime Minister of Eswatini dies after testing positive for Covid-19

King Mswati III was crowned in 1986 at the age of 18, succeeding his long-serving father King Sobhuza II, who died at the age of 82. The king rules by decree and has been criticised for the heavy-handed treatment of opponents and for requesting public money to pay for new palaces and luxury cars. Eswatini, located in southern Africa is… Read More