Newsroom

Rwanda has taken a significant step to widen access to surgery with the overhaul of the surgical department at Kibungo Level Two Teaching Hospital, a project delivered through a collaboration involving the Ministry of Health, the University of Rwanda, and the medical nonprofit Operation Smile. The revamped facility includes modern operating theatres, an intensive care unit, a high-dependency unit, and dedicated training areas. Built on a hub-and-spoke model to bring services closer to communities, the approach upgrades…

Years after the Fishrot fraud and corruption scandal first rattled Namibia, government-appointed curators say their bid to trace, seize and administer assets tied to the case is being stalled on multiple fronts. Appointed in 2024, the curators report running into legal and institutional obstacles at home and abroad, while also voicing frustration over local banks’ slow or absent replies, cancelled engagements with the accused, and gaps in critical records — all of which have dragged out their work. Back in 2020, The…

Four men appeared in a Harare courtroom accused of running a trafficking ring that sent Zimbabweans to Russia, where victims were allegedly coerced into fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war. Prosecutors say the suspects worked with a Russian national to recruit five people by advertising bogus firefighting jobs. Authorities allege the group targeted recruits on Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp, arranging travel to Russia before confiscating the victims’ documents on arrival. Instead of the promised emergency work, the…

South Africans face the prospect of record pump prices, even as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana moves to trim the fuel tax by R3.00 a litre on both petrol and diesel. The step comes after crude prices surged by nearly 50% following attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran on  February 28. 

With a coordinated show of strength, Zanu-PF packed public hearings on a Constitutional Amendment Bill that seeks to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure to 2030. Supporters were ferried from towns such as Beatrice to sessions in Dema and Chitungwiza, where some filed written affidavits endorsing the proposal. The hearings again laid bare the opposition’s disarray, with its leaders struggling to mobilize a counter-presence. Opposition figures, meanwhile, accused the Parliamentary Committee running the hearings of…

Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, backed by the national government, has appealed for calm after violent unrest erupted in KuGompo over an alleged coronation of a Nigerian “Igbo king.” Protesters clashed with police amid looting and arson, leaving multiple businesses in ruins—most of them owned by foreign nationals. The upheaval followed a viral video purporting to show the coronation, which local traditional leaders denounced as an affront to their authority. The Nigerian government called the act illegal,…

Mozambique’s navy is under scrutiny after personnel were accused of unlawfully killing and injuring fishermen in Cabo Delgado on March 15, 2026, allegations detailed by Human Rights Watch that sharpen concerns over security conduct along the troubled coast. Amid ongoing security threats linked to the conflict in the region, Mozambique’s Defense and Security Forces have tightened controls on coastal movement and fishing in parts of Mocímboa da Praia and neighboring Macomia. Authorities say the restrictions are meant to curb…

Algeria declared three days of national mourning after announcing the death of former president Liamine Zeroual, who died at 84 following a serious illness. Born in Batna in 1941, Zeroual fought with the National Liberation Army during Algeria’s struggle for independence from France. He later steered a transitional government through the country's brutal civil war and organised the first multi-party presidential election in 1995, emerging as its victor. In 1998 he left office before his term concluded, clearing the way for…

Visiting the flood-swamped Zambezi region, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah urged displaced residents to accept government-distributed rice and to cooperate with relocation plans. She delivered the appeal while assessing the unfolding disaster on the ground. Weeks of heavy rain since January have submerged villages in the Kabbe South and Kabbe North constituencies. The rice, donated by South Korea, has drawn pushback from some residents who prefer maize meal and say they are unfamiliar with how to prepare it.…

In a decisive move to reshape the apparel market, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has enacted a formal ban on importing second-hand clothing, tightening entry rules for these goods with permits now issued only under stringent conditions. The step comes amid ongoing concerns about the country’s fragile clothing value chain and the pressure it faces from cheaper, imported stock. Marketers have questioned the timing, warning that while the policy is billed as a lifeline for local manufacturers, it should be calibrated to…