AU Joins Calls Against Discriminating Southern Africa
The measures act “as a disincentive for information sharing in the future, potentially posing a threat to health security on the continent and globally”, the AU said in a statement. SA researchers were the first to discover the highly mutated Omicron coronavirus variant in late-November. EU states, the US and Britain, among other nations such as Israel and […]
Tennis Queen Runs Successful Take-away
Before Natasha Siku first picked up a racket at nine years old as a part of her primary school’s compulsory sports programme, no one could have predicted that she would be playing for the national team by the time she was a teenager. iku was scouted by a tennis coach who happened to be hosting […]
Latest Arrest in Lilongwe’s Quest to Stop Graft
Police in Malawi have arrested two former cabinet ministers and a former reserve bank governor over the sale of a state-owned bank. The government says the arrests are aimed at cleaning up corruption but the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) says the arrests are a form of political persecution. Former finance minister Joseph Mwanamveka was […]
Tunisians Took On the Government and Won
Work has begun to clear 30,000 tonnes of household rubbish from the streets of Tunisia’s “second city” of Sfax after the government backed down in a long-running dispute over a landfill site. Residents and activists in Agareb, where the current dump is located, said the site, opened in 2008 near the El Gonna national park, […]
How a Small Team Hopes to make a Big Change in Nigeria’s Legal System
Oluyemi Adetiba-Orija leads an all-women Nigerian law firm, the Headfort Foundation. The group offers free legal services to poor people and those who are unable to get bail, as well as people facing long pre-trial detentions. In its first year of formally being set up, the Headfort Foundation has been able to facilitate the release […]
Trial to Punish Those Behind an Attempted Coup
Twenty people including two Frenchmen went on trial in Madagascar on Monday accused of a plot to stage a coup and assassinate President Andry Rajoelina. The defendants face charges ranging from criminal association to compromising state security and planning to kill the head of state. The alleged operation has been called the “Apollo 21” plot, […]
Juba Struggles with Twin Problem of Drought followed by Extreme Rainfall
Many of the main roads running through Unity State are now completely submerged, yet the traffic remains. There are no cars, just people, some of whom swim, others wade, pushing their way through the heavy silt-laden water. This deluge, which is the worst in 60 years according to the UN, has swallowed not only the […]
The Marbles Never Lie
The Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has been declared winner of the election held on 4 December. Barrow received around 53% of the vote cast while his closest rival at the polls, Oussainou Darboe, got 28%. The country has a unique system of voting that does not involve the use of paper ballots in casting votes. […]
MTN’s Plans for the New Year
A call by Africa’s biggest mobile operator MTN, for all employees to get vaccinated or risk dismissal from work beginning next year signals a shift in how the continent’s largest companies are dealing with the pandemic. Headquarted in South Africa—which is feeling the effects of the protracted pandemic and the undeserved global backlash after the […]
Ethiopia’s PM is Back from War
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says he is returning to the capital Addis Ababa from the battlefront after pro-government forces claimed major advances in recent days against Tigrayan forces. After the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) reported significant territorial gains as part of a march towards Addis Ababa, amid a conflict that has been raging […]
