AFRICA

South African defence minister’s pay docked over use of air force plane

South Africa’s president has docked three months of the defence minister’s pay after she allowed governing party officials to fly on an air force plane to Zimbabwe with her on 9 September. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was accused of misusing state resources for party political business. The defence force had argued she …

Read More »

No bail for man, 25, after brutal attack on 18-year-old woman

A man was denied bail in the Alexandria Magistrate’s Court after he severely beat an 18-year-old woman. The woman is in a critical condition in hospital. Sean Nicolas Hendricks, 25, was arrested on Thursday evening and faces a charge of attempted murder. A member of the public reported a suspicious noise …

Read More »

Togo’s Prime Minister, others resign

Togolese Prime Minister Komi Selom Klassou and his government have resigned, in an expected political reshuffle delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The move late on Friday was anticipated since President Faure Gnassingbe was re-elected in February for a fourth term in office after a constitutional change allowed him to run …

Read More »

KZN man killed in head-on collision with taxi

A motorist died in his Mercedes-Benz after colliding head-on with a minibus-taxi in Hammersdale, KwaZulu-Natal, on Friday night. Life Response spokesperson Leon Fourie said the collision took place at about 10.20pm. “On arrival paramedics found that a taxi had collided head-on with a Mercedes and then hit into another vehicle.” …

Read More »

Mali coup: Bah Ndaw sworn in as civilian leader

Mali’s new president has been sworn into office, five weeks after the overthrow of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. Former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw, 70, was picked by the coup leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, to head a transitional government until elections, which are expected in 18 months. Col Goita is vice-president. The …

Read More »

Ethiopia tells U.N. ‘no intention’ of using dam to harm Egypt, Sudan

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, told the United Nations on Friday that his country has “no intention” of harming Sudan and Egypt with a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile that has caused a bitter water dispute between the three countries. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan failed to strike a …

Read More »

Ten migrants drown trying to reach Mayotte

Ten migrants from the Comoros, including a seven-year-old child, have drowned while trying to make their way to the island of Mayotte – a French territory in the Indian Ocean. Police said their bodies were found washed up on the beach, with their boat appearing to have capsized in a …

Read More »

US mulls two-year limit for many African student visas

Proposed new US immigration measures could leave many African students in the country having to reapply for visas in the middle of their degree courses. A plan issued by the Department for Homeland Security (DHS), that is now up for discussion, outlines changes to student visas that have previously been …

Read More »

4 family members killed at home in shooting incident

Four family members have been killed and another was injured by unknown gunmen in Browns Farm, Cape Town on Thursday. According to police, preliminary reports revealed that the gunmen forcefully entered a home in Makhosi Street and shot and killed three women aged 18, 30 and 69. “An 11-year-old boy …

Read More »

‘Vast areas under water’ in South Sudan

“Vast areas of [South Sudan] along the River Nile are now under water” according to the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the country Alain Noudéhou. The UN estimates that 600,000 people in the country have been forced to leave their homes. Returning from a visit to some of the flooded areas, …

Read More »