Windhoek

While large parts of southern Africa battle with drought, Namibians, especially those in the north-east of the country, are bracing themselves for floods. Jennifer Moetie, chief meteorological technician at the Windhoek Weather Bureau, said substantial downfalls have been recorded in recent months, even though the rainy season has yet to start properly.

Namibia this weekend is set to commemorate the start of an uprising 100 years ago by the Herero tribe against German colonial rule which was crushed pitilessly and followed by a virtual genocide.

Six representatives from Namibia’s main opposition bloc defected to a breakaway faction of a tribal party over the weekend in what is seen as a major blow for the grouping ahead of elections later this year, press reports said on Monday.

The long-delayed trial of Namibian suspects accused of treason and secession was adjourned on Monday to 19 January next year. This had to be done because the state could not produce three witnesses from Botswana and Zambia in time due to logistical problems, the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation reported.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Wednesday ruled out any official apology for Germany’s ruthless suppression of rebellions when Namibia was a German colony, but indicated Berlin would increase aid once Germany’s economy recovers.

Media freedom institutions in Africa on Friday condemned the killing of a French reporter in Ivory Coast, saying they were distressed by the increasingly dangerous working climate for journalists there.

New customs regulations affecting a corridor which links South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, will be introduced on August 1, giving business in the region easier access to the Atlantic Ocean, an official said on Friday.

Namibia’s San, or Bushmen, have experienced a deterioration in their economic and political rights since independence 12 years ago, according to a report released on Tuesday.

A white lawmaker is trying to reconcile whites and blacks in Namibia by asking whites to apologise for their part in decades of racist colonial rule.

Thousands of Namibian farmers face fines or jail terms for not filling in forms for a government inquiry aimed at discouraging foreign ownership of land, the Namibian newspaper reported Tuesday

The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has given Namibia -million over five years in what could prove to be a turning point in the country’s campaign to fight the three diseases, analysts said.

A four-billion dollar claim against Germany and two firms for alleged atrocities committed against Namibia’s Herero people in colonial times may go to court within two months, The Namibian daily reported on Wednesday.

The trial of 126 alleged Caprivi secessionists facing charges of high treason relating to an attacks on Namibian government installations in August 1999 was postponed to November 2002.

Namibian police have arrested a 22-year-old woman in connection with the rape of an 11-year-old boy at Onailonga village near Ondobe.

Close to 300 Namibian people demonstrated peacefully on Tuesday in protest against the recent killing of a German tourist at Ameib, some 25km from Usakos.

Foreign nationals have exploited shortfalls in Namibian legislation to acquire land in the country, Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Minister Hifikepunye Lukas Pohamba said this week.

Angolans must institute legal action against a host of western multinational companies and banking institutions which enabled that country’s government to commit crimes of humanity against its people, says a Namibian rights group.

Namibian President Sam Nujoma has defended plans to take over foreigners’ land, telling the German newspaper Die Welt in an interview published on Monday: ”I want everyone of realise: every corner of Namibia is the property of the Namibian people.”

Namibian President Sam Nujoma has ordered the state broadcaster to immediately stop playing all foreign television programs, saying they are corrupting the nation’s youth.

A Namibian land official rejected reports on Friday that his government intended seizing about 100 farms owned by South Africans.