Southern Africa

Schoolchildren over the age of 12 in Angola will be barred from entering classrooms if they do not receive their doses of the covid-19 vaccine, the government warns in a statement. According to the government, these measures are aimed at curbing the spread of the pandemic in the country. “If …

A Tanzanian terrorist leader known as Ali has been arrested in Nangade district in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambican troops said. Ali, 39-year-old was captured with six other Islamic State group-linked insurgents, military officials say. The terrorist’s capture comes amid a deteriorating security situation in the district, with …

Police in Mozambique said a bald man was beheaded by criminal gangs who wanted to sell it to a client from Mali but had to leave it in the central city of Muandiwa when their client disappeared. Some Mozambicans believe bald men’s heads contain gold. The first reports of bald …

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has left powers in the hands of Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga for three weeks, the country’s information ministry said on Friday. This is as the president begins his annual leave on Friday, the ministry has tweeted: HE President @edmnangagwa started his annual leave on 13 …

A 16-year-old schoolboy in South Africa has shot down his classmate and killed himself after an alleged misunderstanding, officials said on Thursday. The shooting took place on Wednesday at Lesiba High School in Daveyton, Gauteng province, as classes resumed for a new school year. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding …

The Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that the country will receive about 10 million doses of covid-vaccine from China, in order to fight the pandemic. President Mnangagwa says Beijing has now pledged four million doses of Sinopharm and six million of Sinovac, in addition to the two million doses received …

The health minister of the South African province of Limpopo, Phophi Ramathuba, is under fire for her sex education message to girls during a school visit. Minister Ramathuba told girls “open your books and close your legs”, in a rather blunt way of encouraging abstinence to prevent HIV/Aids infections. She …

Authorities in Zimbabwe have introduced new prison uniforms in order to get “colonial historical injustices out of our minds”, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has said. Male inmates will move from wearing white shirts and trousers to orange ones. Female prisoners will change their green dresses for pink ones. The minister …

The Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa has sacked the country’s security minister Owen Ncube, the president’s office said on Monday. Mr Mnangagwa’s office said in a statement that the minister had been removed “with immediate effect for conduct inappropriate for a minister of government”. Mr Ncube was placed under US sanctions …

At least five people have died and many others injured after heavy rains accompanied by strong winds, thunderstorms and lightning left a trail of destruction in Mozambique’s southern Gaza province, local media reports. The spokesperson of Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in the area, Bonifacio Cardoso …