Southern Africa

South Africa, the most affected country by the coronavirus pandemic on the African continent, has received its first batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines. The one million doses will be given to healthcare workers who have been battling the virus in the continent’s worst-hit country but no date has been set …

The British government has announced sanctions against four Zimbabwean security officials, accusing them of human rights abuses, including killing protesters. Owen Ncube, the Minister of State for National Security , as well as the head of the police, the intelligence agency and the former chief of the presidential guard, will …

South African ex-president Jacob Zuma said he will no longer appear before a commission investigating corruption during his presidency, defying last week’s order by the Constitutional Court. The scandal revolves around allegations that the wealthy Gupta family, who are close friends of the former president, used their relationship to unfairly …

According to the authorities, at least 5,500 families in Mozambique’s central Manica province, have been stranded without access to aid after last weekend’s Cyclone Eloise. The National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) has been unable to reach them because of flooding. Manica Governor Francisca Tomás says the …

South Africa’s spy agency has been accused of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on illegal undercover operations to protect former President Jacob Zuma from corruption investigations. The allegations, made by whistle-blowers at a corruption inquiry, include attempts to influence judges and newspapers. The allegations are staggering. Two whistle-blowers, and …

After the 30 days lockdown which has started on January 5, Zimbabwean authorities have extended the lockdown by another two weeks, until 15 February in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who is acting health minister, made the announcement on national television: “The president …

According to state-run Herald Newspaper, a Zimbabwean couple has been arrested for an alleged WhatsApp message that claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa had succumbed to Covid-19. The couple, who are both aged 20, were arrested in the southern border town of Beitbridge, it said. The pair have reportedly appeared before a …

South Africa’s constitutional court has ruled that the former president Jacob Zuma must appear before a judicial panel investigating alleged corruption during his time in office. The court determined that he did not have the right to remain silent before the commission. Read more: Covid-19: German authorities ban travels from …

Pfizer and BioNTech laboratories say their vaccine has been shown to be effective against coronavirus variants that emerged in Britain and South Africa. They said the virus mutations had only a small impact on the effectiveness of antibodies generated by the vaccine. Pfizer said it would continue to monitor its …

According to the South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize,the country will on Monday receive one million Covid-19 vaccine doses from India. The AstraZeneca doses would undergo technical processes on arrival, including quality assurance, he said. “These processes will take a minimum of 10 days and a maximum of 14 days …