Southern Africa

A South African court has halted oil giant Shell’s seismic testing for oil and gas along the country’s eastern coastline, pending a final ruling. In his ruling, High Court Judge Gerald Bloem said that Shell’s right to explore the waters near the Wild Coast “was awarded on the basis of …

Leaders all around the world paid tribute to Desmond Tutu, Anglican archbishop and one of the anti-apartheid heroes, who died Sunday at the age of 90. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement that Tutu had helped bring about “a liberated South Africa”. President Biden said he was …

A South African court on Tuesday granted former president Jacob Zuma, leave to appeal a ruling that he return to prison after being released in September on medical parole. The new decision means that the former president will be able to spend Christmas at home. President Zuma, 79, had been …

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has returned to work on Monday, a week after testing positive for COVID-19, his office said. President Ramaphos tested positive for COVID-19 on December 12 and received treatment for mild symptoms. “The President has returned to duty and will chair the final cabinet meeting for …

South African government said it is donating nearly two million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine to other African countries through African Vaccination Acquisition Trust (AVAT), to curb the spread of the virus. According to president Cyril Ramaphosa, the donation is a sign of solidarity to other African countries. “This …

Islamist militants are blamed of beheading a church leader in the Macomia district of the gas-rich northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, local media reported. Last Wednesday, a resident of Nova Zambézia village went to the district police command, carrying a bag that contained a human head belonging to her …

Fewer people infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus appear to die or require hospital treatment than in earlier waves of the disease, South African health officials as confirmed. The South African health Minister Joe Phaahla said the data did not mean that Omicron was less virulent, but rather that …

A statement from the Malawian health ministry said all health workers and journalists should be vaccinated against covid-19 from January, as the government tries to boost its vaccination campaign amid a spike in cases. Official statistics show that about 641,000 people are fully vaccinated in Malawi. This amounts to just …

Zimbabwe has been hit by a huge exodus of health professionals amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 2,200 leaving to take jobs in the US, UK, Australia and neighbouring states, according to the government’s Health Service Board, the BBC reports. This is more than double the number of doctors, …

A South African court ruled that the country’s former president, Jacob Zuma, must return to prison, saying his medical parole was “illegal”. Zuma had been jailed for failing to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency but was released on 5 September for an undisclosed medical condition. “The time …