News and views from Africa
The mayor of Malawi’s commercial capital, Blantyre, has been jailed for three years for theft from the State and corruption… John Chikakwiya, of the ruling United Democratic Front party, was jailed on 18 April by a magistrate court in Blantyre, for stealing a donation of $4,000 given by a state firm to maintain city roads. […]
Continue ReadingNoble prize winner Laureate Wangari Maathai has been awarded a honorary degree during the 32nd graduation ceremony of Kenya’s University of Nairobi… The crowd, including 4,025 graduating students, broke into cheers as the environment assistant minister was honoured with a Doctor of Science degree by the varsity’s Chancellor Dr Joe Wanjui. Maathai, an environmentalist and […]
Continue ReadingVillagers in Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai’s native Nyeri home rolled out the red carpet long before her homecoming party was scheduled… Plans are at an advanced stage to welcome back Nobel Peace prize winner Laureate Wangari Maathai when she returns to her Tetu political constituency in Nyeri district, for the first time since being presented […]
Continue ReadingFraud is one of Africa’s biggest industries, and the anonymity of the web offers hi-tech thieves protection from detection. That is, until they’re caught out by a reporter… Emmanuel is a thief. Not the kind who will come in your house in the middle of the night. Every afternoon, Emmanuel sits in a hot and […]
Continue ReadingA quarter of a million died of hunger in the Sudanese region of Darfur in 1984. Now the UN warns such a catastrophe could happen again if it can’t reach those who need help. The UN World Food Programme’s Marcus Prior has been travelling from the Sudanese capital Khartoum to the embattled region of […]
Continue ReadingGhana’s population of 19 million is being ravaged by HIV/Aids. One reporter spends the day with a doctor there, fighting to get his patients the treatment they need to live. It is estimated that 200 people become infected each day in this West African nation. While Canada is about to become the first industrialised country […]
Continue ReadingA recent assassination attempt on a Nigerian politician is the latest in a series of high-profile hits in a country analysts say is headed towards a civil dictatorship. The attempted assassination of the governor of the central Nigerian state of Benue, Chief George Akume, last Wednesday is suspected by many to be the handiwork of […]
Continue ReadingDurban’s Golden Mile in South Africa is a shark hotspot where swimmers equal lunch, but as one reporter finds, prevention is not always better than cure. Etched into the grey predawn horizon, a small yellow boat weighted with shark nets bounces through the sub-tropical surf of Durban’s Golden Mile. Aboard is a crew of five […]
Continue ReadingNigeria officially welcomed Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip with open arms, but ordinary Nigerians expressed doubts over whether this week’s state visit would have positive implications for them. The Queen of England, Elizabeth II, arrived in Africa’s most populous country on Wednesday, greeted by two twins who had presented flowers to her […]
Continue ReadingJournalists in Uganda have unanimously elected journalist-cum-politician Ahmed Katerega to head the Uganda Journalists Association. Mr Katerega, a former news editor with the leading daily Bukedde, was a former general secretary of the association, which has for the last five years been seen as ineffective. Many working in the media felt the organisation had been […]
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