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/ 9 February 2008
All Blacks coach Graham Henry said he thought his international career was over after his team’s shock elimination from the Rugby World Cup last year, a newspaper reported on Saturday. In his first interview since being reappointed in December, Henry said he only stood for re-selection because of the public support he had received.
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/ 6 February 2008
Zimbabwe’s ruling party on Wednesday formally expelled a former ally of President Robert Mugabe for launching a challenge to the veteran leader in next month’s elections, a Zanu-PF official said. Veterans of the country’s liberation war have branded former finance minister Simba Makoni a traitor after he entered the race on Tuesday.
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/ 25 January 2008
The realisation of promises by the government of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe of a record crop yield during this summer’s farming season will not be met, the country’s agriculture minister admitted on Friday. In October, the government declared that the summer would result in ”the mother of all agricultural seasons”.
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/ 22 January 2008
Researchers from the University of Cape Town have developed two test HIV vaccines — the first wholly South African-developed products to enter the human clinical-trials phase, the Herald Online reported on Tuesday. The vaccines are just months away from being assessed in human clinical trials, the report said.
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/ 21 January 2008
Four skydivers had to bail out of a light plane over Grahamstown after the engine failed, a media report said on Monday. Commercial pilot Alexander Hammerschmidt (42) was the toast of the EP Skydiving Club after he was forced to perform an emergency landing on a dirt road at about 11am on Sunday.
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/ 20 January 2008
Zimbabwean authorities have passed changes to the country’s tough security laws after veteran President Robert Mugabe gave his final seal of approval, a state daily reported on Saturday. The government also passed revised electoral laws ahead of Zimbabwe’s upcoming presidential and legislative polls expected in March.
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/ 16 January 2008
Zimbabwe’s civil-protection unit issued new warnings of floods expected to further harm the stricken economy as fears grew in neighbouring Mozambique that floods there would be worse than in 2001, when 800 people died. Zimbabwe state radio said on Wednesday that flooding risks were on the increase.
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/ 14 January 2008
South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique have reported an upsurge in the number of Zimbabweans crossing the borders for Christmas shopping, as basic commodities remain in short supply in most shops, the state-controlled Zimbabwe Herald reported on Monday.
At least 50% of medical drugs are out of stock in Zimbabwe’s pharmacies because of critical shortages of foreign currency, making life harder for struggling Zimbabweans, it emerged on this week. The few available drugs have shot up in price, putting them well out of the reach of most white-collar workers.
Zimbabwe’s state-run power company, Zesa Holdings, says it will step up efforts to revive operations of its three small thermal power stations in light of the diminishing electricity imports from conventional suppliers, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday. Zesa spokesperson Ben Rafemoyo said nearly Z-trillion has been set aside.
Nationwide Airlines has resumed all flights in the Eastern and southern Cape after it was grounded for safety reasons last year, a media report said on Monday. Nationwide corporate quality director Rodger Whittle said it was safe to say the airline was ”back to normal”.
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/ 31 December 2007
President Robert Mugabe’s spokesperson has accused former colonial power Britain and other Western countries of sabotaging Zimbabwe’s efforts to turn around its economy by offering a safe haven to criminals. The comments came after an MP from Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF party, David Butau, fled to Britain last week.
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/ 28 December 2007
Comedian Barry Hilton threw a tantrum inside a Port Elizabeth art gallery before allegedly making off with paintings worth more than R10 000 to settle an unclaimed debt, it was reported on Friday. According to the report, this information emerged when Hilton appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of robbery and crimen injuria.
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/ 28 December 2007
Two sons of a former ruling party MP have been arrested on charges of siphoning about -million out of Zimbabwe as police in the country start targeting people linked to President Robert Mugabe’s powerful Zanu-PF, reports said on Friday. Police have also placed the head of the parliamentary finance committee on their wanted list.
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/ 17 December 2007
Zimbabwe has struck a deal to import crude oil from Equatorial Guinea and is planning to reopen a refinery to process fuel and ease acute shortages, state media reported on Monday. Crunch shortages of fuel, foreign currency and food are a sign of the Southern African nation’s deep economic crisis.
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/ 7 December 2007
His arrival may have been low-key, but veteran Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is likely to steal the spotlight at this weekend’s European Union-Africa summit with his first trip to Europe in more than two years. Usually the subject of a travel ban from the EU, Mugabe touched down in Lisbon late on Thursday.
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/ 6 December 2007
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Thursday defended inviting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to attend a European Union-Africa summit this weekend and vowed to make human rights the first point on the agenda. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is boycotting the Lisbon summit.
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/ 4 December 2007
South Africa has abolished the use of border passes which were being used by Beitbridge residents to travel to Musina as part of their new immigration regulations. The use of the temporary travel document was scrapped with immediate effect from November 15 this year, a media report said.
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/ 3 December 2007
Passport fees in Zimbabwe have been increased, Zimbabwe’s government mouthpiece Herald newspaper reported on Monday. The fees were last reviewed in May this year. According to a notice at the registrar-general’s office in Harare, an ordinary passport for an adult now costs Z-million, up from Z 000, the report said.
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/ 28 November 2007
A plant found only in the Eastern Cape has been hailed as a new miracle cure for diabetes, the Herald Online reported on Wednesday. Researchers said ”astounding results” had been obtained from the effect of extracts of the Karoo plant Sutherlandia Frutescens in stabilising blood sugar in diabetes one and two.
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/ 27 November 2007
Cross-border traders from Zimbabwe intending to travel to South Africa for business may now be eligible for a 12-month multiple entry permit, the Herald reported on Tuesday. A permit would be granted as long as they belonged to a bona fide association or a body representing small and medium-scale enterprises.
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/ 26 November 2007
A Port Elizabeth doctor may sue Comair after he suffered burns to his back and buttocks when hot water from a snacks trolley fell on him during turbulence, a media report said on Monday. Dr Abry Ntliziyo said he then had to sit on the wet seat for the duration of the flight.
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/ 23 November 2007
Zimbabwe prepared on Friday to slash three more zeros from its currency for the second time in a year, as inflation soars in the crippled economy. Central bank Governor Gideon Gono said after months of planning, the issue of new currency bills was ”imminent”, state television and radio reported. The television showed a sample of a new Z note.
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/ 20 November 2007
Strict visa requirements for Zimbabweans intending to travel to South Africa are set to be reviewed following talks between the two countries, a media report said on Tuesday. The talks were held under the joint permanent commission on defence and security in South Africa last week, the report said.
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/ 5 November 2007
A television exposé of horrific conditions in South Africa’s prisons has earned Hazel Friedman this year’s prestigious Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award. The national winners in various categories were announced at a ceremony held at Vodaworld in Midrand on Sunday evening.
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/ 30 October 2007
A top Zimbabwean banking executive, arrested after three years on the police wanted list, has appeared in court charged with breaching exchange controls and immigration laws, reports said on Tuesday. James Mushore, a former deputy managing director for NMB Bank, appeared before a Harare magistrate on Monday.
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/ 27 October 2007
President Robert Mugabe has dismissed claims by the Zimbabwe opposition that its supporters are victims of politically motivated violence, state media reported on Saturday. Mugabe challenged the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to substantiate allegations of attacks on its followers, the state-run Herald newspaper reported.
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/ 26 October 2007
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has launched an intelligence academy named after him, saying it would produce officers able to counter growing threats from Western powers. Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980, is fighting isolation from the West, which accuses him of human rights abuses.
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/ 25 October 2007
Zimbabwe’s home affairs minister has dismissed as hearsay claims by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that MDC members are being targeted in violent attacks by ruling party supporters, state media said on Thursday. A delegation from the MDC was on Wednesday summoned to meet Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi.
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/ 18 October 2007
A South African businessman appeared in a Zimbabwean court to face charges of attempting to smuggle three rifles and 108 rounds of ammunition, a state-run daily reported on Thursday. McCallum Douglas Wayne was arrested at Harare International Airport after he was found with the firearms and ammunition without a certificate, the Herald reported.
The Zimbabwe government said it is pressing ahead with legislation to seize a controlling share of foreign-owned mining interests in the country, the official media reported on Friday. Police also said a total of 23 585 corporate executives, store managers, traders, street vendors and bus drivers were arrested for overcharging since a prize freeze was ordered.
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/ 23 September 2007
”Mugabe stands very tall and black,” boasted Herald columnist Nathaniel Manheru in Zimbabwe on Saturday. ”Brown stands white and colonial.” It was a reminder of the intensity of the diplomatic row that has erupted over British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s decision to boycott a Europe-Africa summit if Mugabe shows up.