Johannesburg | Wednesday SOUTHERN Africa is expected to face an overall cereal deficit this year with only Malawi and South Africa forecast to produce a small surplus, a regional early warning unit said in its latest report. Cereal production, which includes the regional staple maize, is expected to be down by 17%, the Famine Early […]

EIGHT pro-democracy groups under the umbrella of the Swaziland Democratic Alliance (SDA) asked King Mswati III on Wednesday to revoke a controversial decree which reinforces his powers over the judiciary. The groups charged that the decree, promulgated on June 23, infringes basic freedoms and liberties. “We urge you, Your Majesty, to revoke the decree together […]

A United Nations panel of experts on Monday ended a week-long visit to Liberia aimed at reviewing sanctions imposed by the international body for Monrovia’s perceived support to Sierra Leonean rebels. Martin Chungong Ayafor, who headed the five-member team, told journalists that the panel had held discussions with government officials and private groups. Ayafor said […]

A FIVE -minute power outage at the closing ceremony of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit during an address by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi sent his security corps into a panic. Minutes before the end of his speech, a power cut plunged the Mulungushi conference centre into total darkness, prompting at least half a […]

THE World Bank announced Monday it has approved a $90,3-million interest-free loan to Nigeria to support the government’s three-year HIV/Aids action plan. The loan, which will also assist in the development of a long-term strategy, is to be repaid over 35 years, starting with a 10-year grace period. Nigeria has the fourth worst HIV/Aids infection […]

KENYAN Muslim clerics on Wednesday condemned the government’s plans to import and freely distribute hundreds of millions of condoms. “This is a wrong signal the authorities are sending to our youth about promiscuous sex and it proves that sex, any kind of sex, is cool and tolerable,” Kenya’s National Council of Imams chairman Sheikh Ali […]

STUDENTS at Zimbabwe’s government universities and technical colleges face skyrocketing school fees, which are to be multiplied by as much as 40 times, the state-owned Herald newspaper reported on Thursday. The increases, which will go into effect next month, follow two months of rumbling protests by students against the government over inadequate allowances. University students […]

A NORTHERN Province hospital patient disappeared from his bed on Saturday only to be found dead behind the hospital four days later. Motshine Pheeha (31) of Inveran village was found dead in a trench near the perimeter fence behind Helena Frans Hospital in Bochum on Wednesday morning. Pheeha had been admitted to the hospital with […]