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Zimbabwe: 11 Zim Men, 10-Car Cigarette Smuggling Convoy Intercepted in South Africa

South African police have intensified their crackdown on the smuggling of cigarettes from Zimbabwe via Beitbridge and illegal crossing points along the Limpopo River, seizing five vehicles and cigarettes worth more than R400 000 on Thursday, arresting 11 of the suspected Zimbabwean smugglers. Police cornered the five vehicles after a high-speed car chase with the […]

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Zimbabwe: Traditional Healers’ Demand for Vulture Parts Threatens Birds’ Survival – – and Zimbabwe’s Ecosystem

Harare — Alarmed by declining numbers, conservationists are raising awareness of the critical environmental role these efficient scavengers play. Early this year, Sekuru Shumba, a traditional healer, had an altercation with a client that led to a fistfight. Shumba, who has been practicing his trade for over five years, says the client owed him about […]

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South Africa: NSFAS Blames Universities for Failing to Pay Students’ Allowances

Harare — Nearly 100,000 students have not yet received their November allowances, according to the State’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), since their schools have not yet submitted the necessary paperwork, Sunday Times reports. According to NSFAS, the data is necessary and needs to be confirmed before any money is disbursed. The end of […]

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Malawi: President Chakwera Launches Cholera Campaign After 1,316 People Die

President Lazarus Chakwera Monday launched a cholera campaign after about 1, 316 people died from the deadly disease. Malawi is recording 500 new cases on a daily basis with an average of 15 deaths everyday. Malawi is facing its worst cholera outbreak in two decades, with 42 422 cases and 1384 deaths as of 12 […]

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Zimbabwe: UN Warns Mnangagwa Against PVO Bill – Urge Him to Turn It Down

United Nations (UN) experts have warned President Emmerson Mnangagwa against signing the Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO) Bill into law saying it will infringe the fundamentals of human rights. By enacting this legislation, authorities would close an already shrinking civic space, according to the experts, which will likely be detrimental to the nation’s engagement and re-engagement […]

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South Africa: Ubuntu Offers Lessons in How to Treat People With Disabilities – a Study of Bomvana Rituals

Research shows that people with disabilities have always been largely excluded and marginalised in societies across the world. Over time, the language used to describe disability has generally become more positive and inclusive. Many activists advocate for the use of “people/persons with disabilities” and not the “handicapped” or “disabled”. But this language remains negative for […]

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Angola: President of the Republic Opens New Luanda International Airport

Luanda — The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, on Friday, November 10, inaugurated the Dr. António Agostinho Neto (AIAAN) International Airport, located in the urban district of Bom Jesus, municipality of Icolo e Bengo, province of Luanda. The inauguration ceremony of the infrastructure, which takes place on the eve of the celebration of 48 […]

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Africa: Installing a Backup Power Supply – Electrical Engineers Answer Your Questions

South Africa’s electricity utility Eskom has made it clear that “loadshedding” – rolling scheduled power cuts – isn’t going to end any time soon. This reality, and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement during his annual state of the nation speech on 9 February 2023 that tax incentives for solar power use are imminent, mean that many […]

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South Africa: Security Must Be Part of South Africa’s Energy Rescue Plan

A successful energy mix requires not just technology and finance but heightened security around energy infrastructure, especially nuclear. South Africa’s energy situation is dire, and a timeous rescue plan is all that stands between citizens and catastrophe. A key part of that plan is moving away from the current state monopoly towards a wider variety […]

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South Africa: Mandela Park Shacks Petrol-Bombed

This is the latest in a series of attacks on this group of land occupiers since August People who occupied land earmarked for a housing project in Mandela Park, Khayelitsha, have been subject to a series of violent attacks. The attacks are believed to be orchestrated by backyarders in Mandela Park who expected to benefit […]

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Zimbabwe: Border Authorities On High Alert Over Cholera

Thupeyo Muleya — The screening of travellers at Beitbridge Border Post has been intensified following the death of one person due to cholera in South Africa. Internally, Zimbabwe recently confirmed two cholera cases in Chegutu, Mashonaland West Province, but the people were treated and fully recovered. Beitbridge Border, one of the busiest land ports in […]

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South Africa: What Next After Shortened TB Treatment Fails in Key Trial?

The current treatment for drug-susceptible tuberculosis (TB) used in South Africa involves a combination of four antibiotics, last for six months, effectively cures TB, and is dirt cheap. Some people, however, find it hard to complete the full six months of treatment – in some cases due to side effects and in other cases because […]

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Namibia: Is a Smart City the Best Solution to Windhoek’s Urban Development?

ARE SMART CITIES the best urban development models for cities in developing countries? Can Namibia afford to create a smart city, particularly when the national broadband policy has not been implemented, nor is there equitable internet access and quality in Windhoek? Smart cities have been key drivers of inequality and environmental degradation. More and more […]

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Africa: Memory Banda from Malawi Tells Her Child Marriage Story

Cape Town — Thank you so much and thank you so much for joining us today. My name is Memory Banda from Malawi. Sawubona wena. It is a great honour to stand in front of all of your great leaders coming from different organisations and to be here today to share different of the global […]

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South Africa: Long in the Tooth – Ancient Proteins Illuminate Deep-Time Species Evolution

Standing up to 3 m tall and weighing up to 600 kg, illustrations of the massive primate Gigantopithecus blacki call to mind the mythical Himalayan Yeti. Dental remains of the prehistoric ape, which lived in the tropical forests of south China, have been dated to 1.8 million years ago, and scientists now know they were […]

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South Africa: Letter To The President – South Africa Eco-Warriors Call Out Government Hypocrisy

In a letter to President Ramaphosa, the country’s five (5) Goldman Environmental Prize winners – Liziwe McDaid and Makoma Lekalakala (2018), Desmond D’Sa (2014), Jonathan Deal (2013), and  Bobby Peek (1998) call on the government to immediately withdraw the  National Petroleum Company Bill , in addition to stopping all oil and gas exploration off South Africa’s coastline. […]

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Malawi: Unlicensed Scrap Metal Dealers Fuelling Rampant Vandalism of Government Infrastructure

Following the arrest of a 26-year-old Nevas Chimphanje for allegedly vandalising Electricity Supply Corporation (ESCOM) overhead power transmission line in Dzalanyama Forest in Lilongwe last week worth K9.8 million, the public attributed the rampant vandalism of government infrastructure is due to unlicensed scrap metal dealers. Soon after the incident on Friday, ESCOM management issued a […]

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South Africa: POPCRU On the Current Impasse Within the Public Service

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) has noted recent developments regarding the outstanding impasse in relation to public servants’ demands around the government’s unilateral implementation of a 3% against the inflation rate of 6,7%, leading to further hostilities that have resulted in the latter intimidating workers through court interdicts, with the sole aim […]