RAMPANT smuggling of tea into Ethiopia has threatened thousands of jobs and prevented the sale of millions of dollars’ worth of the leaf, authorities said on Monday. “The huge amount of tea produce smuggled into Ethiopia from the neighbouring countries has reportedly caused 30m birr ($3.57m) worth of locally produced tea to be accumulated in […]
A MALE “hitchhiker” disguised as a woman – with a baby on his back – robbed a motorist of his vehicle and cash in eastern South Africa, police said on Tuesday. The 27-year-old victim, Thulani Khumalo, said he stopped to pick up the assailant, who produced a gun and forced him out of his four-wheel-drive […]
UGANDA loses up to $115m through corruption in the government each year, an NGO report released on Monday said. The Uganda Debt Network (UDN), which is campaigning for a reduction of the country’s foreign debt, said its report was compiled from careful scrutiny of official reports of the Auditor General, which it said exposed “just […]
A TANZANITE processing plant belonging to South African gemstone company (Afgem) was bombed in Mererani in Tanzania’s northern Arusha region at the weekend, said Arusha Regional Police Commander Alfred Tibaigana on Tuesday. He said no one was injured in the blast, but that the plant was extensively damaged. Tibaigana said that about 20 people had […]
THE death toll on South Africa’s roads over the Easter weekend surpassed the 100 mark although it was still lower than the figure for the previous year. Arrive Alive said that 100 people had been killed since Thursday. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest death toll with 36 followed by the Western Cape with 14 and the […]
EMMANUEL DEFOULOY, Brussels | Wednesday FOUR Rwandans, including two Roman Catholic nuns, have gone on trial in Belgium for their part in the 1994 massacre of an estimated 800_000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the central African state. Vincent Ntezimana, 39, Alphonse Higaniro, 51, and nuns Consolata Mukangango, 42, and Julienne Mukabutera, 36, are charged […]
THE deputy governor of Kano, northern Nigeria’s largest state, has led a series of raids on hotels to crack down on prostitution in line with the Islamic law, his office said on Tuesday. The strict law, known as the Sharia, bans gambling, prostitution, alcohol, stealing and other social vices. “The objective is to rid the […]
CRIS CHINAKA, Harare | Wednesday ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe says he will stand in the countrys 2002 presidential election, saying he was the best hope for his ruling Zanu-PF party. “Yes of course I am going to stand. I would like to see my party – which shall win – win,” Mugabe, 77, told Zimbabwean […]
THE International Monetary Fund on Tuesday approved a credit disbursement of $126m for Zambia to support the country’s efforts to sustain economic stability and reduce poverty. An IMF statement said Zambian authorities would be able to draw on $32m immediately. The assistance is part of a three-year loan package worth $322m approved by the Fund […]
MORE than 200 peasant farmers in Kenya’s Tana River district are to be relocated from their ancestral land to create room for the Red Colubus and Crested Mangabey monkeys, the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) announced at the weekend. In return, 247 of 330 families moved out of the 166-square kilometre Tana River Primate National Reserve, […]