Could Victoria Falls dry up? That was the question the BBC’s Stephen Sackur asked last week in a HardTalk documentary about Zimbabwe in which the programme claimed “the effects of severe drought and climate change are having an impact on one of the world’s great natural wonders, Victoria Falls.” The show, which was aired less […]

Namibia’s incumbent President Hage Geingob has won the 2019 presidential election – following Wednesday’s vote – with 56.3% of the vote, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) said on Saturday Nov. 30, 2019. Geingob, Namibia’s third leader since the sparsely populated and mostly arid country freed itself from South Africa in 1990, was seeking a […]

World-renowned elephant scientists and conservationists have united in an urgent plea to Zimbabwe, China and other countries considering exporting or importing wild-caught elephants for captive use, to abide by an internationally-agreed near-total ban on such activities that takes effect tomorrow, 26 November 2019. The experts’ plea comes in the wake of Zimbabwe exporting at least […]

HARARE – Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga returned home on Saturday after spending four months in China receiving medical treatment for an unknown illness, state-owned media reported. Chiwenga, the 63-year-old former general who led a coup against the late Robert Mugabe two years ago, has spent a large part of the year away from work, […]

The last remains of 157 people killed aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane in March were interred at the crash site this week, farmers and families told Reuters, but some relatives were upset they had been unable to take part in the ceremony. Nadia Milleron, whose daughter Samya Stumo was killed, said an email was sent […]

Zimbabwe is planning an enforced mass migration of wildlife away from a park in the country’s south, where thousands of animals are at risk of death due to drought-induced starvation. At least 200 elephants have already died at two other parks due to lack of food and water, along with scores of buffalo and antelope, Zimbabwe Parks […]

Heavy rains and floods have killed more than 50 people and forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes across East Africa as researchers warn warming oceans are causing unpredictable weather patterns in the region. South Sudan declared a national emergency last week after 420,000 people fled from the floods, the United Nations said. […]

A record 45 million people across southern Africa face severe food shortages in the next six months, with around a quarter of them currently enduring drought-induced “crisis” food insecurity, three United Nations agencies warned on Thursday. The 16-member Southern African Development Community is in the grips of a severe drought, as climate change wreaks havoc […]

A large ancient wetlands region spanning northern Botswana – once teeming with life but now dominated by desert and salt flats – may represent the ancestral homeland of all of the 7.7 billion people on Earth today, researchers said on Monday. Their study, guided by maternal DNA data from more than 1,200 people indigenous to […]

South Africa’s state-run airports management company said on Thursday it had suspended Zimbabwe’s debt-strapped national airline from using the country’s airports over unpaid landing and parking fees. Air Zimbabwe owes foreign and domestic creditors more than $300 million. The Zimabwe government put the airline under administration last year and later invited bids from potential investors […]

Animal Rights campaigners have expressed outrage and “heartbreak” at the news that today more than 30 wild-caught baby elephants – held captive for nearly a year in Hwange National Park – have been flown out of Zimbabwe, via Victoria Falls Airport, to Chinese zoos. Army trucks allegedly moved in despite campaigners’ legal effort. Humane Society […]

GABORONE – More than 100 elephants have died in Botswana in the past two months partly because of a suspected anthrax outbreak, the government said on Tuesday. “Preliminary investigations suggest the elephants are dying from anthrax whilst some died from drought effects,” a Department of Wildlife and National Parks statement said. “Due to the severe […]

HARARE – At least 55 elephants have died in a game park in western Zimbabwe since September from starvation caused by a severe drought, the wildlife agency said on Monday. Zimparks spokesman Tinashe Farawo said the animals had died near water holes dotted around the Hwange National Park, a sign that they had traveled long […]

Senegalese professional football player, Sadio Mané, who plays for legendary club Liverpool, is making Africa incredibly proud this week with his attitude to fame and fortune. Quotes from the interview are being published around the world and going viral on social media. While so many football stars are notorious for showing off their glamorous jet-set […]

Two of Africa’s largest economies and its two biggest tourist destinations, South Africa and Morocco, put the official stamp on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations this week, when ambassador Youssef Amrani presented his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa. Amrani called it a “watershed.” Morocco’s last ambassador left 15 years ago, and relations have been icy, […]

South Africa won the 2019 Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens tournament, beating Kenya 15-14 in the final match on Sunday in Tunisia. South Africa and Kenya are both now entitled to participate in a qualification tournament for the World Rugby Sevens Series. The day started at 09:30 with South Africa beating Morocco 42-00. South Africa next […]

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA – At least three mortar bombs were fired on Sunday at Mogadishu’s international airport, injuring at least six people in the compound where several embassies are located, a diplomatic source said. The missions of the United Nations and African Union, as well as several embassies, are based inside the perimeter fence. The Horn […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended his warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia on being awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. Prime Minister Ahmed has been recognised by the Nobel Committee “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict […]

Since Zimbabwe’s land reform of 2000 – when around 8 million hectares of formerly large-scale commercial farmland was distributed to about 175,000 households – debates about the consequences for food security have raged. A standard narrative has been that Zimbabwe has turned from “food basket” to “basket case”. This year, following the devastating El Niño […]

Since the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, South Africa and Nigeria have never had an easy relationship. Over the years, as different presidents have come and gone, the two countries have often been at loggerheads for different reasons. But this was predated by Nigeria’s strong solidarity with black people when South Africa […]

OSLO – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his peacemaking efforts with Eritrea. Ethiopia and Eritrea, longtime foes who fought a border war from 1998 to 2000, restored relations in July 2018 after years of hostility. The prize, worth nine million Swedish crowns, or around $900,000, will […]

An elephant that had a tyre around its neck is walking free this week thanks to the brave heroics of a team of conservationists at Victoria Falls. The incident took place at Matetsi Game Reserve in Zimbabwe which was this week voted as one of the Top 30 Resorts in Africa, in the Condé Nast […]

LIWONDE, Malawi – Britain’s Prince Harry appealed on Monday for increased global efforts to protect the environment against human “greed, apathy and selfishness” during a visit to a national park in Malawi. Harry, whose tour of southern Africa has taken him to four countries, observed a simulation of an anti-poaching drill by Malawian rangers and […]

JOHANNESBURG – At a splashy wedding over the weekend, Idols SA judge Somizi Mhlongo and his partner Mohale Tebogo Motaung tied the knot at a traditional wedding, wearing a number of eye-catching outfits by Gert-Johan Coetzee that they changed into throughout the day. The grooms’ outfits ranged from Basotho blankets to bold red floral print […]

JOHANNESBURG – Britain’s Prince Harry followed in his late mother’s footsteps on Friday, wearing a protective vest and visor during a visit to a de-mining project in Angola that echoed a famous series of images taken of Princess Diana more than 20 years ago. Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and sixth in line to the British throne […]