The South African ambassador to Ukraine fled the capital, Kyiv, as a Russian armored convoy heads for the city and condemned discrimination against black people in the country, the BBC reports. Andre Groenewald said explosions could be heard in the distance as he packed the car to leave on Wednesday …
Read More »South Africa: government split over Ukraine invasion by Russia
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is angry with his Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor after the Foreign Office issued a statement calling for Russia’s immediate withdrawal from Ukraine, local media reported. News 24 reported (paywall) that Ms Pandor “raised the ire” of Mr Ramaphosa after her department issued a statement calling …
Read More »South Africa: bad news for former President Jacob Zuma
A South African judge on Wednesday rejected a bid by former president Jacob Zuma to appeal an earlier ruling rejecting his attempt to have the prosecutor in his arms deal corruption trial taken off the case for alleged bias, Reuters reports. “The application for leave to appeal and all related …
Read More »South Africa: government to formalize cannabis industry
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday his government wants to expand its nascent domestic cannabis industry as it looks to tap global demand and grow local production and exports. Africa’s most industrialized nation plans to streamline the “regulatory processes so that the hemp and cannabis sector can thrive …
Read More »South Africa: President Ramaphosa pledges fundamental economic reform
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday his country needed fundamental change to revive economic growth. Addressing the many troubles that have plagued the country in the past decade in his State of the Nation speech, Ramaphosa singled out its unreliable power supply as one of the biggest threats …
Read More »South Africa: Hospital closed after deadly shooting
Tembisa Hospital in the South African province of Gauteng has been temporarily shut down after a deadly shooting, local media reported. Gauteng health authorities said a nurse was shot dead at the hospital by her partner, a policeman, on Wednesday morning. The officer, who had driven to the facility in …
Read More »COVID-19: South Africa creates its own Moderna vaccine
South African laboratory Afrigen Biologics said on Thursday it had used the publicly available sequence of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to create its own version of the vaccine. According to the Director of the society, Petro Terblanche, the vaccine could be tested in humans before the end of this …
Read More »South Africa: President Ramaphosa gets second report on corruption under Zuma
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has received a second report on corruption during the reign of his predecessor Jacob Zuma. The President should receive a total of three reports. The second part was received behind closed doors unlike the first one which was presented on live TV. The latest volume …
Read More »South Africa: ease of isolation measures for people with covid-19
South Africa will no longer require people who test positive for Covid and don’t show symptoms to isolate, according to new regulations announced by the government. The country has also reduced to seven from 10 the number of days required to isolate for those showing symptoms. This follows a “substantial” …
Read More »Billionaire Soon-Shiong opens new vaccine plant in South Africa
South African-American businessman Patrick Soon-Shiong opened a new vaccine plant in Cape Town on Wednesday, intended to help his local NantSA company make COVID-19 shots in future and address the continent’s lack of manufacturing capacity, Reuters reports. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a global lack of access to life-saving vaccines, …
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