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Southern Africa: Botswana Govt Mulls Scrapping Passport Requirement

Zimbabwe and Botswana citizens will soon be using national identity cards as travel documents amid indications that Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi has hinted on scrapping use of passports between the two nations. Media reports in Botswana say President Mokgweetsi Masisi is planning to meet President Mnangagwa, with whom he enjoys good relations, to deliberate on […]

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Zimbabwe: President to Announce Ministers’ Performance Results

President Mnangagwa is this week expected to announce how Cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of Government agencies and departments performed under contracts they signed last year when he presides over the signing of this year’s contracts on Thursday. The President introduced performance-based contracts as a way of fostering a high-performance culture among office bearers […]

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Malawi: Chakwera Declares State of Disaster in Southern Region As Cyclone Freddy Continues to Wreck Havoc

Malawi President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has declared some parts of Southern Region as state of disaster following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy. The declaration is in response to the devastating impact of Cyclone Freddy on several districts in the region. In a statement issued Monday evening, Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Colleen […]

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Malawi: Speaker Gives Legislators From Southern Region Leave of Absence At Parliament Over Cyclone Freddy

Speaker of the National Assembly Catherine Gotani Hara on Monday gave permission to members of Parliament from the Southern Region to return to their constituencies following the devastating cyclone Freddy induced heavy rains. This is in response to Cyclone Freddy, which has so far killed 11 people, while 16 others are missing in the South. […]

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Kenya: Italian President Mattarella in Kenya for 4-Day Visit

Nairobi — Italian President Sergio Mattarella is in the country for a four-day official visit. Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua says President Mattarella who arrived in the country yesterday is to hold bilateral talks aimed at boosting trade and investment opportunities and promote the development of key sectors such as Water, Agriculture, and Tourism. […]

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Somalia: Suicide Bomb Hits Key Town in Southern Somalia

Bereder — Bardere, a key town near the Kenya border woke up to a devastating attack carried out by a suspected Al-Shabaab bomber in the early hours of Tuesday. A suicide attack struck the guest house in Bardere district of Gedo region, where top local administration officials and the military commanders of the country’s army […]

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South Africa: UN Experts Call On South Africa to Create Torture Prevention Body

South Africa must swiftly set up a watchdog mechanism to examine prisons, detention centres, and other facilities, UN independent experts on torture prevention said on Monday, citing “entrenched” ill treatment. The experts offered several recommendations after observing a range of concerns, from poor detention conditions to allegations of corruption, on the heels of the first […]

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Nigeria: Governorship Election – JAMB Postpones Mock UTME, Announces New Date

“The 2023 Mock-UTME earlier scheduled for Thursday, 16th March 2023, has been shifted to Thursday, 30th March 2023,” he said. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has rescheduled its mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) earlier fixed for 16 March. The examination body has, however, fixed the new date for 30 March. This was […]

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Nigeria: Lagos Runways Repair – Airlines May Incur Additional Costs, Flight Delays

Foreign airlines operating in the nation’s airports will incur additional costs while passengers would experience flight delays as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has shut down international runways, 18R and 36L, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos for two months for repairs. LEADERSHIP reports that FAAN, in a statement yesterday, said that […]

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Nigerian Military Ranked 36th Globally, 4th in Africa

The Nigerian military has been ranked 36th in the world and fourth in the African continent by the recently released global firepower index. The Nigerian military dropped one place in the latest global military ranking but no reasons were provided for the development. Recall that the Global Fire Power had rated the Armed Forces of […]

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Nigeria: Katsina State Govt Bans Volunteer Vigilante Group, Says Their Activities Worsened Banditry

The incessant killings and onslaught on some communities as a result of clashes between bandits and volunteer vigilantes in the southern zone of Katsina State, has been of massive concern. Early this year, more than 100 persons were killed in the Bakori – Kankara axis, during a fight between bandits and local volunteer vigilantes who […]

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South Africa: New Cabinet Minister’s Degree Investigated Amid Fraud Claims – South African News Briefs – March 14, 2023

  Minister Noxolo Kiviet’s Degree Being Investigated Amid Fraud Claims Newly appointed Minister of Public Service and Administration Minister Noxolo Kiviet allegedly received an honours and a master’s degree from Fort Hare University without having a bachelor’s degree, reports The Citizen. Kiviet is facing allegations of fraud, just days after assuming office in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new […]

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South Africa: Essential Service Staff Must Obey Court Ruling and Get Back to Work, Says Health Minister Joe Phaahla

Essential service workers in the health sector who fail to return to work by the morning of Tuesday, 14 March, will be committing an act of misconduct subject to disciplinary action, including possible dismissal, says Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla. This comes in the wake of the Labour Appeal Court ruling interdicting any further strike […]

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South Africa: Strikes Take Terrible Toll At Vosloorus Hospital

Four babies have reportedly lost their lives at the Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus as the ongoing national wage strikes hit vital services around the country. Almost all services at the Gauteng hospital have ground to a halt since last week, leaving many patients without proper care. The lack of proper medical attention led […]

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Zimbabwe: Chiwenga Says Not Moved By U.S. Sanctions – Dismisses Factionalism Claims

Vice president, Constantino Chiwenga says he is not worried by the fact that he remains enlisted on sanctions as he dismissed being embroiled in a nasty rivalry with his principal, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The remarks come shortly after US President Joe Biden extended sanctions against Zimbabwe, saying on-going repression by the country’s government “presents a […]

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South Africa: Former Joburg Mayor Vows to Block Zanu-PF Officials From Entering South Africa – Freeze Assets

South African opposition party leader Herman Mashaba has fired a salvo again at Zanu PF saying his party will push for Zimbabwe’s ruling party officials to be barred from the neighbouring country if his party gets parliamentary seats in 2024. The former Johannesburg mayor has been on a verbal warpath with Zanu PF. He recently […]

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Nigeria: It Is Illegal to Reject Old Naira Notes, Sanwo-Olu Tells Traders, Govt Agencies

Mr Sanwo-Olu urges business owners and government agencies to accept the old naira notes in accordance with the court ruling. Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called on business owners and government agencies in the state to accept the old naira notes. The governor in a press statement signed by the state’s commissioner of information, Gbenga […]

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Nigeria: Oscars 2023 – Tems Slammed for Show-Stopping Outfit

Aside from losing her first Oscar nomination in the ‘Best Original Song’ category to Naatu Naatu”, the soundtrack of Bollywood blockbuster ‘RRR’, Tems’ dramatic outfit has seen her trend in nearly 24 hours. Aside from losing her first Oscar nomination in the ‘Best Original Song’ category to Naatu Naatu”, the soundtrack of Bollywood blockbuster ‘RRR’, […]