In a fresh push to tighten their ties, South Africa and Kenya have signed six new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) designed to broaden cooperation across key sectors, from trade and maritime transport to skills development, gender equality, arts and culture, and sport. The agreements were concluded during Kenyan President William Ruto's State Visit to South Africa, marking another step in what both governments describe as a deepening strategic partnership. The latest set of MoUs brings the total number of bilateral pacts…

With Ebola still flaring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, frontline medics are straining to contain the disease while research teams worldwide sprint to produce a vaccine tailored to the specific strain driving the crisis. The epicentre lies in Ituri province in the country’s northeast, where ongoing conflict, mass displacement, a sizable migrant population, and underfunded clinics create a perfect storm that complicates efforts to halt transmission.

South Africa has begun rolling out a new line of defense against HIV: a six-monthly preventive injection that is now available free of charge at hundreds of public health facilities. The anti-HIV jab, which prevents HIV through sex, is currently stocked at 360 government clinics across six provinces, according to the health department’s list of clinics. The provinces included in the initial rollout are Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape. The Northern Cape, Limpopo and the…

Mali's military junta has announced a significant $3.5 million bounty for information that could lead to the capture or killing of Iyad Ag Ghaly, the leader of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). This move follows a substantial offensive initiated in April in collaboration with Tuareg rebels. The recent assaults mark the most extensive campaign against the Malian government in over a decade, resulting in numerous fatalities, including that of Defence Minister Sadio Camara. Ghaly, a former…

Amid rising political tensions, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has unveiled a new 30-member cabinet, a move that underscores the complexities within his party, Pastef. This reshuffle comes after Pastef initially threatened to withdraw from the process over disputes regarding the cabinet's composition. Led by former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, Pastef announced its intent not to engage with the government formation due to differing views on the lineup. Despite this stance, five members from the party made it onto the final…

A federal high court has handed down the death penalty to four men implicated in the harrowing 2022 assault on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, where forty-one worshippers lost their lives and over a hundred sustained injuries during a Pentecost service. This devastating attack has drawn widespread condemnation across the nation. In a ruling delivered in Abuja, Judge Emeka Nwite emphasized that the prosecution established its case with compelling evidence, including testimonies from survivors who could…

After a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the country’s Ebola outbreak is beginning to turn a corner, even as major hurdles persist in testing, surveillance, vaccine development and winning community trust. What he witnessed on the ground, he added, left him hopeful. Tedros reported a decline in cases. He said 344 infections have been confirmed in the DR Congo, including 60 deaths. At the same time, suspected cases have fallen sharply—from…

Despite dramatic leaps in medical science, Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is still one of the world’s most prevalent birth defects—and it continues to test health systems with stark gaps in care. A new World Heart Federation report estimates CHD affected 2.3 million children in 2023, noting that survival has improved as diagnosis and treatment have advanced, even as deep inequalities persist, especially in low-income countries. According to the report, the specialists and pediatric heart programs required to diagnose and…

In a troubling turn of events, renowned Nollywood actor Emeka Ike has signaled his intention to pursue legal recourse following the unauthorized disclosure of his personal data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal. The situation escalated when a senior aide to the Federal Capital Territory minister faced backlash for disclosing what seemed to be Ike's confidential voter information via an INEC webpage. On the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the aide, Lere Olayinka, scrutinized Ike's…

Venâncio Mondlane insists the 2024 race was his to lose only on paper. Now, as Peter Fabricius writes for Daily Maverick, he is turning his focus to the long game: building a party capable of taking power in 2029. In Mozambique’s 2024 presidential election, Mondlane was officially recorded as finishing second. Yet in his own view — shared by many commentators — he believes he came first. The state electoral authority nevertheless declared Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo the winner, crediting him with 65% of the vote to…