After dark, in a residential neighbourhood in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, dozens of civilian volunteers were busy patrolling their streets one night last week, stopping and searching cars and checking documents. “Our neighbourhood committee includes about 180 people. We’ve apprehended many people. And we’ve found a lot of suspicious materials, including guns and explosive devices,”…
South Africa’s president has condemned travel bans enacted against his country and its neighbours over the new coronavirus variant Omicron. Cyril Ramaphosa said he was “deeply disappointed” by the action, which he described as unjustified, and called for the bans to be urgently lifted. The UK, EU and US are among those who have imposed…
The summit Africa-China opened on Sunday in Senegal’s capital, Dakar. Trade and security are the main topics in discussion. During the opening, the senegalese minister of foreign affairs appealed to China for help in bringing peace to the Sahel region. “We would like China’s influence to be a strong voice in support of Senegal and…
ABUJA, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s 2022 budget does not have a provision for a 2.4 trillion naira ($6 billion) transport subsidy, the Senate Committee Chairman on Finance said on Thursday. Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed this week said the government planned to remove the country’s longstanding fuel subsidy by the middle of next year and…
Southern and central Africa to receive normal to above-normal rains, raising the possibility of a bumper harvest. But a dry spell is set to continue into December and late rains could affect maize maturity. Madagascar, hardest hit by climate change, to get below-average rains. Despite a delayed start to the rainy season, southern Africa and…
The number of democracies in Africa decreased from 22 to 18 between 2015 and 2020. Thirteen African countries amended their constitutions to extend presidential term limits of incumbents. Africa‘s youthful population and vibrant civil society are key for democratic development. Only four African countries – South Africa, Ghana, Senegal and the island of Cabo Verde –…
South Africa announced it will end a more than decade-old programme that allowed about 200 000 Zimbabweans to live and work in the country, weeks after a new anti-immigrant party scored spectacular electoral gains. The Zimbabwean Exemption Permit will lapse at the end of the year and their holders will then need to apply for…
Travellers arriving in England from several southern African countries will have to quarantine amid warnings over a new coronavirus variant. UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said from 12:00 GMT on Friday six countries would be added to the red list, with flights being temporarily banned. One expert described the variant, known as B.1.1.529, as “the…
With a critical mass of thousands of educated graduates and rising unemployment, amid the wide exposure to the ideas of liberal democracy, it is becoming an uphill task to maintain absolute monarchism in Eswatini, writes Hlengiwe Portia Dlamini. The Kingdom of Eswatini, the small, landlocked southern African country that shares borders with South Africa and Mozambique,…
China’s international Covid-19 vaccine programme is a form of aid to cement diplomatic ties with recipients, a new report claims. 50% of global vaccine exports are from China. South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal and Rwanda are set to increase their Covid-19 vaccine rollout campaign because of production capacity. China has won the Covid-19 vaccine diplomacy…