News
Daily news and weekly updates from Africa
- Tuesday 19 August 2014
Southern Africa: SADC Pins Hope For Growth On South Africa
President Mugabe took over SADC chairmanship on Sunday August 17 following his election as chairman at the 2013 Summit in Lilongwe, Malawi and will over the next year lead the bloc under the theme: SADC Strategy for Economic Transformation, Leveraging the Region’s Diverse Resources for Sustainable Economic and Social Development through Beneficiation and Value Addition. - Monday 18 August 2014
Somalia: Journalists Accused Of Incitement To Go On Trial
Somalia has been under the spotlight for being one of the countries where impunity rates for the perpetrators of crimes against journalists is high, with 12 Somali journalists having been killed in 2007 alone and over 70 journalists have fled the country since. - Monday 18 August 2014
Uganda: Rate Of Mother-To-Child HIV Infections Drop Significantly
The number of Ugandan HIV-positive mothers who pass on the virus to their unborn babies has reportedly dropped from 40% to 2% within a very short time, with 10% of the patients admitted to Baylor being diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), of which 60% of TB patients are HIV positive, with TB being the number one killer among the patients. - Friday 15 August 2014
South Africa: Racial Mistrust Rife, Says Survey
The number of Blacks saying they would never trust whites increased from 68% in 2009 to 73% in 2013, at which over the same period, the perception by whites had also increased from 40% in 2009 to 44% in 2013. 55% Colored’s and 61% Indians also agreed. - Friday 15 August 2014
Zimbabwe: ZANU-PF Begs EU Member States To Invest
Zanu PF and the EU have had frosty relationship since 2002 when the latter imposed travel and economic sanctions on President Robert Mugabe’s government point out gross human rights violations and in protest, Harare launched its ‘Look East Policy’ to compensate for the exit of Western investment in the country. - Thursday 14 August 2014
Mozambique: New Eye Clinic To Serve Two Million
Groundbreaking ceremony for new eye clinic of LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, a European confederation of development NGOs, took place in the provincial capital Beira - Wednesday 13 August 2014
Africa’s Technology Influence In Europe
In Kenya, the M-PESA Mobile-money system has become a part of daily life, with more than 18 million customers, and is used by almost two-thirds of the population with more than eight million transactions daily, while it is targeting seven million potential Romanian customers who operate in cash alone, and the company aims to reach 300,000 customers by the year's end. - Wednesday 13 August 2014
Uganda: Is GMO the Way to Go? Scientists Disagree On Bill
GMOs are animal or plant organisms in which the genetic material DNA has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. The process of making GMOs is called modern biotechnology or genetic engineering. - Wednesday 13 August 2014
Kenya: Four Conservancies Nominated For Global Awards In London
In the recent past Africa’s tourism sector has been hit by tough times with the emergence of terror groups, targeting visitors by killing and kidnapping for ransom, hence leading to loses and mass job lay-offs for communities that relay on the industry. - Tuesday 12 August 2014
African Business Reflects a Crisis Mentality-Survey
Survey indicates that 45% of respondents in Africa reported a loss of confidence, up from 36% in early 2014. - Tuesday 12 August 2014
Nigeria: Boko Haram Clash Leave Over 100 People Dead
Boko Haram militia group launched attacks targeting Christians in 2009 and has since killed more than 3 000 people in Nigeria's north in 2014 alone. - Tuesday 12 August 2014
African Leaders Pledge To Eradicate Hunger, Poverty By 2025
Agriculture is Africa’s solution to long term social and economic development issues including food security, youth unemployment, gender inequality and climate change, say Dlamini-Zuma. - Tuesday 12 August 2014
South Africa: Ban Unsterile Traditional Circumcisions, Say Scientists
The scientists called on traditional leaders to follow the example of King Goodwill Zwelithini, who, in 2010, said Zulu initiates should be medically circumcised. - Tuesday 12 August 2014
Tanzania: Youth Group Records 80 Million Turnover In Tobacco Farming Initiative
The group made up of at least 100 youth works in what is referred to as an ‘investment village’ dubbed the ‘Maisha Plus initiative’ that was launched a year ago. - Monday 11 August 2014
Uganda: Dairy Farming Receives Boost From Turkish Farmers
Study by Dairy Development Authority carried out in 2010 indicates that Uganda loses $23 million (Shs60 billion) annually because of milk spillage due to contamination.