Scientists have discovered a compound found in mushroom that can prevent prostate cancer tumours from developing as well as stop the disease from progressing. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed disease among men in many regions of the world, representing a major disease burden for men around the world. - A team of scientists from Hong Kong and Australia say an active compound found in a certain kind of mushroom is the first chemopreventive therapy (The use of chemical agents, drugs or food supplements to prevent cancer) that can suppress prostate cancer cells from developing without any side effects. The compound called polysaccharopeptide (PSP) is prevalent in commonly edibl…

Zambia has been hit by an energy crisis that is threatening economic activities, about two months after the southern African state donated five million litres of fuel to its eastern neighbour, Malawi. Over the past week, Africa's top copper miner has been failing to meet increasing demand for both fuel and electricity, which has resulted in some industries and mines to down scale their daily production. - Experts warn that if central government delays to take action, the energy crisis might spiral into an economic disaster for the mineral rich African state. “There is no fuel at many gas stations not only in Lusaka… Zesco [power utility firm] has also increased their load…

The move to allow South Africa and eight of its partner African countries to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope has excited the continent infamously known for poverty, disease and civil conflicts. South Africa with Australia and New Zealand were declared successful bidders to host the world's biggest radio telescope ever built at a meeting held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. - “We have always said that we are ready to host the SKA, and the world has listened to us,” said Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister for science and technology. Pandor commended the South African government, the local SKA team, partners across Africa, participating scienti…

Africa's growth and development trajectory remains positive with sub-Saharan Africa set to grow at more than 5% despite the global economic crisis, an investment expert said. - "Africans have not defined their economies and growth prospects to the world but have allowed international bankers, political analysts and credit ratings agencies to take the initiative and write up, or sometimes even belittle, the African growth story," Brand South Africa chief executive, Miller Matola, said at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa. International investors, business and political leaders have gathered in Addis Ababa this week to debate Africa’s remarkable transformati…

For three years, Kossi Serge has been buying various items in Hong Kong and China for resale in his native African country of Togo. Serge - who supports a family of six back in Africa - runs a small business which supplies electronic gadgets and clothing to Togolese. Although he is based out of Hong Kong, where he sources his products, he normally travels to Togo at least twice in a month. - “It is costly for me to fly in and out of Hong Kong to ferry these lap tops, LCD TVs or phones to Togo,” he said. “I am now based here but my goods are shipped in containers, which is very risky sometimes” Serge’s problem is not unique. There are many other cases where s…

Mobile phones are transforming the way HIV test results are being transmitted to AIDS patients in Africa, a study has shown. AIDS is one of the biggest diseases affecting the continent due to limited access to antiretroviral treatment and heath care. - AIDS related deaths account for close to 60% of all total deaths annually and mobile phone penetration has doubled over the last 10 years. It is for these reasons that the World Health Organisation (WHO) embarked on an investigation to determine whether mobile phone technology could be used to transform the delivery of health care services to AIDS patients in Africa. A WHO backed study published in the agency’s Bulletin, said the …

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is significantly under-treated in Africa and India according to the preliminary findings of a new global study presented at the World Congress of Cardiology in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. - Across the African and Indian regions included in the study it was revealed that patients were not receiving the surgery they needed - secondary prevention with penicillin - to prevent further attacks of rheumatic fever. Surgery is being under-utilized and many patients are unaware of their target anti-coagulation levels. Only 41 per cent of patients enrolled in the study had received surgery. “As the pilot results included a large tertiary academic centre, this…

About 30 African ministers are among representatives from developing nations meeting with international development agencies in the United States to discuss the speeding up of global access to water and sanitation. - The meeting is taking place Washington DC ahead of the World Bank’s spring meetings where representatives from over 40 developing countries interacted with UNICEF executive director, Anthony Lake, UK’s International Development secretary of state, Andrew Mitchell, and major partners in the water and sanitation sector. The April 20 Sanitation and Water for All gathering brought together a horde of donors and agencies with 69 ministers responsible for finance, sanit…

Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika has died after a heart attack, close to 24 hours after being rushed to that country's public medical centre. Social networking sites went ablaze as soon as it was reported that the 78-year-old leader had been rushed to Kamuzu Hospital in Lilongwe after collapsing at his home around mid morning on Thursday. - Reuters news agency reported that medical and government officials said on Friday, although few of his countrymen mourned a leader widely seen as an autocrat responsible for a stunning economic collapse. State media said he had been flown to South Africa for treatment although his immediate whereabouts remained unclear. Reports suggest th…

Traditional leaders in western Zambia have called for the immediate establishment of an independent state - Barotseland. The western region - which partially borders Namibia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo - has been pressing for a breakaway state from Zambia, in a struggle that left at least two killed and many others arrested. - Leaders of the Barotse National Council have requested for independence on grounds that the union between Zambia and Barotseland did not conform to the Barotse Agreement of 1964 – an agreement which unified the two regions at the time of Zambia’s independence from Britain in October 1964. Officials from the region’s seven district…

Zambia's former head of state Rupiah Banda has left his native southern Africa state to take up a new job as African President-in-Residence at Boston University in the United States. Banda, 75, announced his retirement from politics, a day after his party, the Movement for Multiparty for Democracy was stripped off its legal status by the registrar of societies for failing to settle a debt. - The former president said he would briefly leave Zambia to take up a new role in the U.S after he accepted an appointment as the African President-in-Residence at Boston University. Banda served as Zambia's ambassador to the U.S., then vice president under President Levy Mwanawasa, taking ov…

As Africa grapples with acute food shortages and starvation, leading thinkers in agriculture, climate change and the environment are to gather in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, this April to review innovative ways to tackle the continent's unending cycle of drought and food insecurity. - The “Beating Famine conference” comes closely with yet another food crisis that has swept across Africa’s Sahel region - Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania. Zimbabwe in southern Africa is currently threatened with famine while last year’s famine in the Horn of Africa left millions in need of emergency food aid. "The world watched as millions suffered from f…

Municipal authorities in the South African town of Stellenbosch have announced plans to offer free Wi-Fi internet access to its residents, making the town Africa's first ever tech capital. Conrad Sidego, Stellenbosch mayor, said his municipality is planning to provide free Wi-Fi Internet access to everyone in the town, local media reported. - Sidego said that they are planning to make Stellenbosch a Wi-Fi town– an initiative by Stellenbosch, Mxit and the University of Stellenbosch. The service will be offered free of charge to anyone, and no registration for the service will be needed. Large downloads will be prohibited, but all other services (like web surfing, messaging an…

Over 40 casualty cases were recorded Wednesday night at Zambia's University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after post-match celebrations turned violent and unruly, hospital authorities said. UTH said it had treated 46 casualties who were injured after Zambia national soccer team - "Chipolopolo" - beat Ghana's "Black Stars" to advance to the finals of the on-going African Nations Cup tournament co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. - “Out of these 13 are assault cases while 33 are Road Traffic Accidents,” hospital officials said. And residents of a high density suburb south west of the capital Lusaka torched a motor vehicle after it run over a person …

An unverified alteration on Wikipedia that Zambian President Michael Sata had died in an assassination Sunday morning prompted the presidency to strongly criticize online media and suspects facing corruption charges. Wikipedia - a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit- allowed the publication of over the wire of an edited biography of President Sata claiming that the Zambian head of state had been killed. - “Michael Sata was assassinated in the early hours of the 22nd of January. He was killed through a single shot to the chest, which proved to be fatal,” read the falsified Wikipedia alteration which has since been deleted. Source The alteration appears to have been…

Equatorial Guinea stunned Libya and Zambia upset Senegal as the African Nations Cup began with surprises as well as tear gas outside the stadium in Bata on Saturday. Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, whose starting line-up consisted entirely of players born abroad, beat Libya 1-0 thanks to a late strike by former Real Madrid player Javier Balboa in the first-half of a double bill. - Zambia then scored twice in the first quarter of the game on their way to a 2-1 win over Senegal, back in the tournament after astonishingly missing out in 2010. The tournament is already without defending champions Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa, who all failed to qualify. Off the field, it was a less…

Authorities heading Africa's newest state - South Sudan - have been asked to curb the escalating hostilities that have displaced thousands and left more others in fear of militia. A violent wave of unrest has gripped South Sudan's remote town of Pipor in Jonglei state and humanitarian agencies fear for the worst if the situation was not brought under control. - Thousands of civilians are reported to have been displaced or left homeless after they left Pipor for safer sanctuaries. Christian Aid - an international aid group - has begun assisting civilians displaced by the recent spate of inter-communal violence in Pipor and has called for a swift end to escalating hostilities. …

Africa's biggest airliner, South African Airways (SAA) is this month-end expected to launch its inaugural non-stop flight into Beijing, China. "The inaugural flight is scheduled to depart on Tuesday 31 January 2012 from Johannesburg to arrive in Beijing, on Wednesday 1 February 2012," according to an announcement to its Voyagers members. - SAA’s plan to introduce a non-stop flight into Beijing is expected to boost economic and trade links between Africa and China. China is one of the four largest foreign investors in Africa. Its engagement in Africa has been bashed by critics as a new form of colonialism while pro-China commentators contend that no single economy can …

Guinea Bissau's President Malam Bacai Sanha has died in hospital in France where he was being treated. Sanha, who has been dogged by poor health since coming to power in 2009, left Bissau in late November for treatment abroad, raising worries about a possible military takeover in a West African state that has suffered repeated coups. - A statement from his office read over local radio on Monday confirmed his death and minutes later tweets of his demised flooded Twitter and other social media networking sites. Mr Sanha was a veteran of Guinea-Bissau's independence war and had long-standing ties to the ruling party, the left-wing African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Ca…

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and German sports apparel manufacturer, Adidas, have unveiled the official match ball for the 2012 African Cup of Nations championship. The new official match ball called "Comoequa" will replace "Jabulani" which was used in 2010 for the African Cup of Nations in Angola and FIFA World Cup in South Africa. - The name “Comoequa” was adopted from Como River which runs through this year’s host nations of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. “The name takes its inspiration from the Como River which runs through both host nations - Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and the Equator which runs throughout Africa and units bo…

With only weeks before the kickoff of the 28th edition of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by west African states of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea some football craze fans across the continent have taken to social media networking sites to cheer and rally behind their national teams. The social media explosion has cut across all spheres of society - politics, economics and social aspects of life. - During the last edition of the continental tournament hosted in the southern African state of Angola, there was less social media usage to cheer football, discus and debate the games. There was also limited usage of social media during the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa. T…

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named Ivorian Yaya Toure as African Player of the Year 2011, beating his two closest shortlists, Ghana's Andre Ayew and Mali's Seydou Keita. Toure who plays for English side Manchester City is was declared winner after amassing the largest votes from a composition of head coaches and technical directors of the national associations affiliated to CAF at a ceremony held in Accra, Ghana. - The African football governing body also named Tunisia’s Oussama Darragi as African based Player of the Year 2011. Below is a detailed outline of the 2011 CAF winners. African Player of the Year 2011 Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Cote d&…

The Zambian Government has with immediate effect suspended former president Rupiah Banda's entitlement and retirement benefits. This comes after his party's decision to have Banda retain the party presidency of the now opposition party. The Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) lost power to Michael Sata's Patriotic Front (PF) in the September 20 polls. - “Immediately they [MMD] made the announcement to the effect that RB [Rupiah Banda] is still the acting president, he is also disqualified from receiving any emoluments due to a former president because it means that he is still in active politics,” said Given Lubinda, Zambian Government spokesperson. The MMD …

A group of African states has agreed to root out rebellious movements that are operating in some war-torn parts of the continent. Representatives from the Great Lakes Region bloc unanimously agreed - during a caucus in Uganda - to pursue rebel groups operating within the group's jurisdiction. "The the presence of negative forces in one country poses a risk to the whole region," Liberata Mulamula, group's outgoing executive secretary said. - Mulamula said the decision was arrived at during an Inter-Ministerial meeting of ministers of defence, gender and foreign affairs from the 11 member countries that make up the International Conference of the Great Lakes region (ICGLR).…

Former Ghanaian president, John Agyekum Kufuor, has been named head of the world water body - Sanitation and Water for All partnership. Kufuor, who ruled the West African state 2001 to 2009 and former Chairperson of the African Union from will be the first high-level Chair of the Sanitation and Water for All partnership. - He is said to be a passionate global advocate for leadership, governance and development and widely regarded for his African and international statesmanship and his contributions have been recognized through awards such as the 2011 World Food Prize, said Geneva based Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. “The dream of sanitation and water for every p…

Cambridge Broadband Networks (CBNL), a multipoint microwave network specialist for 3G and LTE backhaul, has opened a new Centre of Excellence in Lagos, Nigeria as the company expands its operations and investment in the African continent. The centre, fully equipped with workshops, labs and training facilities, will provide local telecoms engineers with dedicated training and resources to become a VectaStar Certified Engineer, enabling them to plan and install CBNL microwave transmission equipment and networks. - CBNL also plans to reach out to the local community further, building relations with educational institutes, for example, and using the new facilities in other ways within the local…

A grenade attack on a nightclub in the centre of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has injured 14 people. The grenade was thrown in the club early on Monday morning - the motive was not immediately clear. Kenyan multimedia journalist, Claire Mitchell tweeted minutes after the attack from Nairobi, "#Grenade attack leaves 14 people injured at #Pub in Nairobi #Kenya. Anti-terror police at scene. Police yet establish anyone responsible." - The attack comes a week after Kenya sent troops into Somalia to track down members of the militant group al-Shabab, which Nairobi blames for a series of kidnappings in recent weeks. Al-Shabab had threatened reprisal attacks if the troops did not leave…

Robert Mugabe's information and publicity minister Webster Shamu has issued a two paragraph media statement rejecting the killing of ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as a legitimate means for correcting Africa's undemocratic regimes. "Government has closely followed developments unfolding in Libya, especially in the last twenty four hours. - Zimbabwe just cannot accept what has happened in that African country as a legitimate way of correcting systems on the African continent,” read the brief statement issued by Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information and Publicity Webster Shamu's office late Friday afternoon. Muammar Gaddafi was killed Thursday after he attempt…

The death of disposed ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi Thursday in his home town of Sirte heated up reactions among African internet users across various social networking channels. Africans on Facebook, Twitters and other social networking sites shared a timeline of events as they unfolded out of Libya. - Internet users across Africa exchanged links, tweets and posts starting from reports of Gaddafi’s attempted escape, his wounded legs, his reported capture and subsequent confirmation that he had been killed while trying to flee from Sirte where he had been hiding since the start of a people-driven revolt against rule. Brian Mwale, Head of Business News at Zambia’s Muvi Telev…

Zambia has re-adopted the zero-tolerance stance against corruption, the country's leader Michael Sata said Monday. Late president Levy Mwanawasa and the country's third, was the first Zambian head of state to launch one of the biggest anti-corruption drives since the country's independence from Britain in 1964. - The move by Mwanawasa attracted widespread praise from the international community but his critics perceived the crusade as a political manoeuvre aimed at investigating late second president Fredrick Chiluba and officers that served in his 10-year administration. Zambia’s newly elected leader, Michael Sata said the zero-tolerance stance against corruption ado…

Germany Chancellor Angela Merkal has sent her Personal Representative for Africa on a three day visit to Zambia. Guenter Nooke will be in Lusaka from October 13 to 15 and is scheduled to meet Zambia's newly elected leader Michael Sata. Nooke will hold talks with Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda on Friday. - The purpose of Nooke's visit to Zambia is to convey Chancellor Merkel’s congratulatory message to President Sata on his election and seek the new administration’s political objectives. Nooke is also expected to attend the opening session of Parliament Friday after which he will hold discussions with Civil Society Organisations representatives on various issues…

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation will on Monday launch the fifth Index of African Governance and announce this year's Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. Zambia's ousted leader, Rupiah Banda is rumoured to receive this year's Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership after he honourably ceded power to Michael Sata, then opposition leader who won last September's presidential vote in the southern Africa country. - Banda has received widespread praise for conceding defeat and stepping down at the time when some African leaders were refusing to step aside for legitimately elected leaders. This year’s event also marks the fifth anniversary of the …

The number of Zambian women being arrested and facing possible death sentences for drug related offenses in Asia has continued to rise in recent past. Although, exact statistics are hard to come by, it has been established that the number of female Zambian drug traffickers into different Asia countries has continued to rise despite several cautions and bursts from Zambia's Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC). - In 2010 alone, the country’s drugs and narcotics agency said it had arrested close to 15 women for drug related offences around the world and at Zambia’s various entry and exit points. It is believed that most of the women traffickers that are arrested in Asian coun…

Violent and bloody clashes erupted in Zambia's capital, Lusaka less than two weeks before Zambians elect a new president. Supporters of the governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) clashed Friday within Lusaka's Central Business District, disrupting business for close to two hours. - Main city central highways like Lumumba, Freedom Way, Ben Bella and Chachacha Roads were blocked as they turned into battle ground. The clashes in Lusaka erupted over the removal of rival campaign posters by the cadres of the two political parties. Unconfirmed reports say one person has been killed in the election standoff that has tensed up the mo…

A large explosion has struck a United Nations building in Nigeria's capital of Abuja, with one complete wing of the building levelled by the blast. Media reports and tweets out of Nigeria quoted a U.N. official in Geneva as saying "it's a bomb attack." - The blast whose casualties are yet to be known happened just before 11 a.m. in the same neighbourhood as the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic posts in Nigeria's capital. Reports say emergency staff is still removing bodies and the wounded from the rubble. Initial reports indicate that many are feared dead. Police and the wounded thronged the three-story building as people began to search for victims. Local…

Seventeen Zambians have shown interest in contesting the country's forthcoming presidential elections. The southern Africa country goes to the polls on September 20, 2011 and the political situation in the copper-rich nation is tensing up as allegations of corruption and bribery emerge in the run-up to the voting day. - Several political parties are contesting this year’s polls, including three “heavy weights.” According to the country’s electoral body, seven aspiring presidential candidates are to push in their nominations within the coming weeks. Electoral Commission of Zambia spokesperson, Chris Akufuna said in Lusaka, Thursday, “The filing of preside…

Reliable Internet access and connectivity has for decades been a hindrance to Africa's development agenda. Several attempts to enhance connectivity and reliability for Africa's Internet are currently underway and huge investments have so far been poured into these gigantic continental initiatives. - The African Union (AU) together with private investors are working in different projects that aim to enhance the continent’s unreliable Internet connectivity and accessibility. In this regard, South Africa, the continent’s largest economy has demonstrated its prowess at the cutting edge of technology with the successful trial of an ultra-fast 500 Gigabits-per-second data …

Zambia's President Rupiah Banda has put this year's general vote on Tuesday September 20, this year. Zambia is expected to organize presidential, parliamentary and local government votes this fall, three years after the death of then head of state Levy Mwanawasa who died of ill health while in office in August 2008. - Incumbent Zambian President and top contender under the governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) stable, Rupiah Banda announced the Election Day Thursday during a live broadcast to the nation. “I have today 28th July, 2011 signed the Electoral General Elections Date of Poll Declaration Order – Statutory Instrument no. 76 of 2011. Further, I hav…

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is to pay homage to African youths for the role they have played in ousting authoritarian regimes across the continent. Youths from the Arabic-speaking African countries have in the recent times mounted rigorous campaigns using social media tools to ouster authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt. - The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which works to promote governance and political reform in Africa, has announced it will host its annual gathering in the Tunisian capital Tunis, where it will pay homage to the youths for the role played in fostering good governance and political reforms. The decision to host a series of events including a public concert, cultural celebra…

Hundreds of protestors in Malawi have fought running battles with the police after an attempt to hold a peaceful demonstration was quelled by the law enforcers Wednesday. Reports from the southern African country say some protestors have been detained while others rushed to health centres after a row with riot police in different parts of the country. - Malawi’s opposition and civil society had planned to demonstrate in an effort to press President Bingu wa Mutharika's administration to better Malawi’s dwindling economic and political standards. Among the major factors that hashed Wednesday’s demonstration involves a wide range of issues including repressive media l…

The newly unveiled social networking site by internet search giant, Google has hit Africa with a bang of severe mixed cocktails, promising much popular and archrival Facebook a run for their money. Google Inc. has launched a social networking site called Google Plus (Google+ or G+) with similar or even better features than Facebook but the race for supremacy in the social networking business is yet to be highlighted clearly. - Although exact user figures are yet to come by, it is a known fact that in a very short span of time, Google+ has attracted many users worldwide. Interim reports have it that 10 million Google+ users have been recorded worldwide and 1 billion shares per day on the netw…

The fast-paced emergence and growth of social media as a tool for communication, revolution and democratic change has inspired Zambian President, Rupiah Banda, to join Facebook. Prominent leaders like US President Barrack Obama, Kenya's Mwai Kibaki and Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan have used social media tools to reach-out to their supporters. - Banda has decided to hit the keyboard and sign-up a Facebook fan page ahead of this year’s polls in which he is re-contesting the presidency. His main rivals in the poll, Patriotic Front’s Michael Sata and United Party for National Development’s Hakainde Hichilema already have Facebook presence. According to a release iss…

Germany's charismatic chancellor Angela Merkel is in two weeks time set to make state visits to three African countries. Merkel is set to visit Nigeria, Kenya and Angola when she makes her second visit to Africa, with her maiden visit being in 2007. - Merkel took over as Chancellor in 2005 before being re-elected in 2009. She made her first four-day visit to Africa in 2007 where she spoke about ways to fight disease and poverty and to improve human rights. She toured Ethiopia, South Africa and Liberia. At the time she visited she was wearing the hats of a humanitarian, a corruption-fighter and a peace-maker as well as the head of the Group of Eight industrialised nations, aiming t…

The death of Zambia's ex-president, Fredrick Chiluba, Saturday has sparked a blitz mixed commentary on social networks. Zambians and social media freaks abroad and in Zambia are reacting with mixed feelings at the death of Chiluba who died after a bitter battle with a heart condition. - Chiluba’s exact cause of death is unknown, but it is believed that he died as a result of a prolonged heart problem which saw him in and out of Zambia for medical attention in South Africa. He passed on four years after his successor, Levy Mwanawasa died while in office at a French hospital on August 19, 2008. Chiluba’s political history had its ups and downs, he was hailed as a liberat…

Five football administrators from southern Africa have exhibited their intentions to vie for FIFA and CAF posts. The five, Danny Jordaan of South Africa, Kalusha Bwalya of Zambia, Cuthbert Dube of Zimbabwe, John Muinjo of Namibia and Adam Mthethwa of Swaziland will be vying for the vacant FIFA executive committee and CAF committee post in Sudan 2011. - They would be seeking to replace South African administrator Molefi Oliphant on February 23. Oliphant has said he would not be seeking re-election. The vacant position is to be contested only by football administrators from the Southern African region who would have been nominated by their respective national football associations. Sou…

Zambia's frontline opposition leader Michael Sata has been questioned for the second time on charges of money laundering involving $100, 000. Investigators from the Drug Enforcement Commission's Anti-Money Laundering Unit recorded a second statement from Sata after failing to get a satisfactory response during last week's session. - Sata, a staunch critic of President Rupiah Banda’s administration was last week tear-gassed after his supporters fought running battles with riot police. Investigators, who last week questioned Sata over allegations surrounding a $100,000 bank transfer, summoned him to their offices on Tuesday morning. Police fired tear gas canisters to…

A new UNAIDS report has shown the AIDS epidemic has been halted and the world is beginning to reverse the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. UNAIDS, the joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS reports at least 56 countries have stabilized or achieved significant declines in rates of new HIV infections. - UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibe, loses no time in announcing the good news. "Today, we can say with confidence and conviction, that we have broken the trajectory of the AIDS pandemic," Sidibe said. "Less people are becoming infected. Less people are dying. New infections have fallen by nearly 20 percent in the last 10 years." Data from the UNAIDS report sh…

After months of uncertainty the Southern African Development Community (SADC) digital task force has selected DVB-T2 with MPEG-4 compression as the terrestrial transmission standard for the region. - Announcing the decision committee chairman Joel Kaapanda pointed to the region’s international obligations under the ITU Region 1 Geneva ITU GE06 Agreement and the ITU’s 2015 deadline for the migration from analogue to digital television. Under consideration were ISDB, supported by Brazil and Japan, and the two DVB terrestrial standards, DVB-T and its successor DVB-T2. South Africa in particular had been heavily lobbied by Brazil, and its variation of the Japanese ISDB standar…

Five Southern African countries are set to have climate change adaptation centres by 2011. The centres will also ensure sustainable use of soil and forest management. The future centres research centres will focus on the sectors of waters, use of soils, biodiversity, climatic changes, training, information and services, with a view to regional integration. - The group of researchers will include technicians from the ministries of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Environment, Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries from the five mentioned countries, already working on the project since 2009. Of the total of the funding, 75 percent (37.5 million Euros) will be channelled to ca…

One person has been severely injured when Zambian police fired teargas canisters Thursday to disperse a mob of opposition Patriotic Front supporters who accompanied their leader, Michael Sata to the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) offices to answer charges of money laundering - Sata was summoned by the Anti-Money Laundering Unit of DEC over a financial transaction involving $100,000 at a local bank, Finance Bank. Authorities are yet to give the exact number of people who have been seriously injured in the fracas. The outspoken opposition leader was also caught up in the confusion but police managed to whisk him into their offices where he was interrogated. DEC has earlier refused…

A team of Inspectors from the Global Fund have arrived in the Zambia to question and investigate the embezzlement of its aid funds. Sweden withdraw its annual $85 million contribution to the 2011 Global Fund budget citing failure of accountability in Zambia, Cameroon, Mali and Mauritania totalling $25 million. - Zambia alone, through its principal recipients misappropriated $13 million which the government has been ordered to pay back. Inspectors from the Global Fund are in Zambia to investigate further how the $13 million was spent by recipients’ organisations. The officials from Global Fund are expected to hold a series of heated meetings with stakeholders who include Global Fu…

South Africa's national police chief said a second suspect has been arrested in connection with the weekend death of a British tourist who was honeymooning in Cape Town. On Thursday, the first suspect arrested, a 26-year-old man, appeared in court on charges of murder and hijacking. - Police Chief Bheki Cele said during a televised news conference the murder of the foreigner has drawn worldwide attention. Gunmen forced Anni Dewani's husband and a driver from their vehicle Saturday night as they drove through an impoverished township. Her body was found the next morning. The Dewanis, married for two weeks, were honeymooning in South Africa.

FIFA executive committee members Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii have been suspended from all football-related activity for three years and one year respectively in relation to allegations of corruption regarding World Cup votes due December 2010. - The pair were implicated in a Sunday Times investigation which accused the duo of accepting money in return for their vote in the bidding for the World Cup, with reporters from the newspaper posing as representatives of the United States' 2022 World Cup bid. Adamu has already indicated his intention to appeal against the verdict delivered on Thursday by the chairman of Fifa's ethics committee, Claudio Sulser, according to a report in …

A colonel with the Madagascan military has said he and almost two dozen other top-ranking officers have taken over the Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar. Colonel Charles Andrianasoavina, one of the main backers of a power-grab last March by Andry Rajoelina, made the declaration on Wednesday at a military base near the airport. - He was joined by the president's head of security. The two gave no word on the whereabouts of Rajoelina, who is believed to be in the capital, according to reports out of the Island nation. The supposed coup comes in the midst of a referendum to accept or reject a new constitution that calls for keeping Rajoelina in power indefinitely. Members of th…

Former Zambian president Fredrick Chiluba's Public Relations aide Emmanuel Mwamba has been arrested for allegedly authoring and publishing contemptuous articles on the online publication Zambia Watchdog. But Mwamba's lawyers have objected to his being detained saying this would be outside the court order. - Mwamba was charged by police at Woodlands police station for allegedly authoring contemptuous articles and being the publisher of the Zambia Watchdog. Mwamba denied the charges but police said they would detain him until November 29, when he will appear in court. His lawyer John Sangwa argued that the court order required the police to take the suspects before the court an…

Mobile phone giants, Zain Zambia has announced that it is planning to set up over 600 new base stations over the next two years in order to double its network capacity. According to Commercial Director Mark Ocitti, the two-year investment projection would increase the capacity of the telecommunication company. - Before the start of this programme, the company had 624 base stations across the country, and so far they have spent US$8 million to put up 32 sites in the past three months. Zain will be doubling current base station numbers within the next one and half years; that is over a thousand base stations across the country. Ocitti however noted that some parts of the country which h…

British Petroleum PLC has agreed to sell its fuel marketing businesses in southern African countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zambia to Puma Energy, as well as 50 percent interests in BP Malawi and BP Tanzania. The assets would cost $296 million, the London-based company said in a statement. - Puma Energy is a subsidiary of Amsterdam-based commodities trader Trafigura Beheer B.V. BP said the sales do not include refining and marketing operations in Mozambique or South Africa. The oil company is seeking to conserve capital and avoid risk after the spill at its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico left it facing a bill projected to reach $40 billion. The southern African businesses supply…

Trial opened Friday in Kinshasa for eight police officers accused of the murder of leading Congolese human rights activist Floribert Chebeya last June. Chebeya, who headed the prominent human rights organisation La Voix des Sans Voix (VSV - The Voice of the Voiceless), disappeared on June 1 after going to police headquarters in Kinshasa. - He was found dead the following day, tied up on the back seat of his car on the outskirts of the capital. His driver, Fidele Bazana, was never found. VSV staff believe that both men were murdered. Five of the eight accused, who are standing trial include head of special services Colonel Daniel Mukalay, with Major Georges Kitungwa and Lieutenant Fran…

The International Criminal Court has ruled that a trial of an alleged Congolese warlord should resume again after a three-month suspension. The decision clears the way for the renewal of Thomas Lubanga's trial on charges of using child soldiers in a brutal conflict in eastern Congo in 2002-2003. - Friday’s ruling overturned a judge's order to halt the tribunal's first trial and release Lubanga, after Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo had refused to disclose the identity of an intermediary used by investigators to work with witnesses. While reversing the lower court's decision to end the trial, President Sang-hyun Song also rebuked Moreno Ocampo for flouting court ord…

A team of technocrats tasked to review the 2006 Electoral Code of Condcut in Zambia have adopted a revised Code of Codunct less than 12 months before that country heads for a elections. Critics had blamed the 2006 Electoral Code of Conduct of containing a number of flaws which had resulted in unfair electoral practices. - Zambia is set to got a general vote in which the electorate will elect a president and parliamentarians. The technical team comprising various stakeholders with support from Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has adopted the revised Electoral Code of Conduct which has barred traditional leaders from exerting undue influence on their subjects to support a particular pol…

Authorities in Zambia and Bostwana signed a deal to connect the two countries with a universal optic cable that will enhance internet connectivity and telecommunication services. The joint telecommunications project will cost US$258, 000.00 and is expected take between three to four months to be built. - Zambia’s Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) and Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) signed the MOU to connect a fibre optic cable network through Kazungula border post. Zamtel CEO, Amon Jere said in Lusaka that once effected, the project would make Zambia a telecommunications hub in the southern African region. Jere said the project would help reduce the cost of inter…

British telecom giants, Vodacom has pledged to pump in US$75 million in Zambia's communication sector. The amount is to be invested in setting up a submarine optic fibre system in the southern African country. Vodacom CEO Wally Beelders said the optic fibre will expand Internet service provision across Africa. - He praised the Zambian government for allowing Vodacom to establish its firm in the country, through the acquisition of 100 percent shares in Africonnect. Zambia’s Communications Deputy Minister, Mubika Mubika appealed to Vodacom to expand its Internet services to the country’s rural areas The Managing Director of Africonnect, Mark Bennett, said his company wa…

Tanzania will next year host a pan-African conference and exhibition that will showcase latest innovations and inventions in using Information Communication Technology as a tool for develop education across the continent. - The 6th eLearning Africa Conference will run from May 25-27, 2011, focusing on Africa’s youth. “Africa has the highest percentage of young people anywhere in the world. How can it unlock the vast reservoir of talent? How can technology support education and training,” said a news statement from the organizers. The next expo organizers added that this year's conference will take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and that the event in the series …

Intelligence chiefs from four North African countries have set up a centre for joint operations against Al Qaeda in the Sahel region. The centre will be run by a coalition of high-ranking officers from Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Algeria who would share information on the activities of terrorist groups in the region, their movements and the identities of members. - The centre will have a rotating leadership, like the regional military post in Tamanrasset, Algeria, where the meeting took place and which was set up to coordinate activities with the armies of Mauritania, Mali and Niger. Media reports out of Algiers said Thursday the suggestion to include Morocco in the group had been rejecte…

Ten million people across West Africa are at risk of suffering from severe hunger if no immediate response is sanctioned. This has prompted a 10-member consortium of aid agencies to join calls for an end to one of Africa's biggest humanitarian challenges. They call for a 'surge' in the humanitarian effort. - They said the imminent crisis could hit the Sahel region of West and Central Africa. The centre of the crisis is Niger, where seven million people, almost half the population do not have enough food. A further two million people in Chad, and hundreds of thousands more in Mali, Mauritania, parts of Burkina Faso and the extreme north of Nigeria are also suffering as a re…

Algeria's "Desert Foxes" will this evening be the centre of African attraction at the ongoing 2010 FIFA World Cup when they take on determined England at Cape Town's Green Point Stadium. Algeria is among six African countries that are representing the continent at the World Cup hosted in Africa for the first time since its inception. - The North African stars will be banking at placing behind the disappointment they faced during their opening match against Slovenia in which they lost by a goal. As the match kicks-off this evening at 8.30 pm, football fanatics across Africa will be looking forward to a more inspiring and determined Algeria compared the performance exhib…

US based computer giants; Intel Corporation has unveiled a child-friendly Intel powered computer that is designed for school going children in Africa's most harsh learning condition. The rugged convertible classmate PC offers a durable and flexible design that is compatible with school children in Africa. - The new classmate PC combines ruggedness and full PC functionalities with enhanced e-learning capabilities, enhanced performance and energy efficiency. The latest Intel-powered convertible classmate PC has tailor made features such as Intel Atom processor, 10.1 LCD monitor, increased memory and storage to run various education applications. It also has the ability to change fro…

Microsoft is to invest half a billion rands in small black-owned software development firms in South Africa. The deal falls under South Africa's black economic empowerment policies introduced in 2003, to redress apartheid-era laws which barred most black people from any meaningful economic activity. - "We want to create a new model for entrepreneurship and set a new benchmark for developing talent in the local software industry," Microsoft South Africa managing director Mteto Nyati said. "We want (black economic empowerment) to be associated with real development, job creation, business development and skills enhancement. "We came up with something unique and hop…

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began a visit to Zimbabwe on Thursday condemned by President Robert Mugabe's opponents as a meeting of despots which could further isolate Harare. The Iranian leader is in the southern African country to open an annual trade fair. - Ahmadinejad, whose government is pursuing a nuclear programme despite threats of more United Nations sanctions, was described by the opposition as a "war-monger, a trampler of human rights [and] an executioner". There was no official indication of any link between the two-day visit and Iran's nuclear programme, but Zimbabwe does hold uranium deposits which have yet to be exploited. Reports out of Har…

Rwandan opposition leader and presidential hopeful, Victoire Ingabire, has been arrested. An anonymous judicial official said, "She was arrested in Kigali. She is accused of collaborating with a terrorist organisation, dividing the population, denying and downplaying the genocide" in that country. - Ingabire, who is to challenge President Paul Kagame in an August election, is the head of the United Democratic Forces (FDU), a party formed in exile but not yet registered. Last month she was prevented from leaving the country because she was under police investigation. "We are suspecting her of having committed serious crimes. We have sufficient evidence to begin prosecutio…

Authorities in Ethiopia say they will go ahead with a new deal with six other countries on sharing the waters of the Nile and accused Egypt of "dragging its feet" on a more equitable treaty. The new agreement replaces a 1929 colonial-era treaty between Egypt and Britain, which gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects. - Egypt also has access to most of the water from one of the world's longest rivers. Ethiopian government spokesperson, Shimelis Kemal told reporters, "Ethiopia and six other countries in east and central Africa will sign on May 14 a framework agreement on the equitable utilisation of the Nile River. It's a deal based on international customary l…

Four countries in the Sahara desert are opening a joint military headquarters in a united effort to combat terrorism and kidnapping in northwestern Africa. The Algerian Defense Ministry said the headquarters is based in Tamanrasset, 2,800 kilometers, south of the nation's capital deep in the desert. - The four countries directing the operation are Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, according to reports out of Algiers. The countries are hoping to establish a collective security response to threats from drug traffickers and al-Qaida operatives in the area. The opening comes a week after a security and terrorism conference among seven Saharan countries.

Zambia's copper output is to increase significantly following the commissioning of the Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP) in the country's mining region of Copperbelt. Zambian President, Rupiah Banda has indicated that the commissioning of the KDMP will increase metal production in Africa's largest copper producer. - Banda said in Chilabombwe region of the Copperbelt that the KDMP will also create thousands of jobs for Zambians. Indian High Commissioner to Zambia, Ashok Kumar challenged more Indian firms to emulate Vendanta Resources Plc to invest in the southern African country and double up Vedanta's US$1.6 million greenfield investment in Zambia. The Vedanta Reso…

2010 FIFA World Cup hosts South Africa's Bafana Bafana have arrived in Germany for a two-week training camp as they step up their preparations for the 2010 football showpiece. Head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira named a 25-man squad for the camp, which will run until April 30. - None of the Bafana Bafana foreign-based players are with the team except for Ajax youngster Daylon Claassen. "The Germany camp is getting closer to the World Cup, so we have to show some improvements as a team, we can't afford any regression, and as a result we have to improve further from our previous gains," Parreira said at a press conference in Johannesburg prior to departing for Germany. …

The UNHCR has put up a protest against Zambia's move to deport dozens of refugees from the DRC after they took part in a demonstration. Spokesperson Melissa Fleming, "A note verbally sent to Zambian authorities expressed alarm at the developments, which have affected some 36 individuals from the Meheba refugee settlement in the country's northwest." - The first six people that included a pregnant woman were forcibly returned to DRC in February. The remaining 30 were sent back over April 3 and 4, some of whom were separated from their spouses and children in the process, said Fleming. Zambian authorities had expelled the refugees after they demonstrated over the remo…

Manchester City and Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor has with immediate effect retired from international football. The super star announced on Manchester City website that he was "still haunted" by the attack on his country's team bus at the African Nations Cup in Angola. - Adebayor looked on in horror as bullets riddled the bus in an attack that killed an assistant coach and the squad's spokesman and led Togo to pull out of the tournament in January. The former Arsenal star later admitted he feared his life was about to end during the assault in the northern Angolan province of Cabinda and he has been unable to shake off the mental scars of the incident. "Follo…

Central African Republic's President, Francois Bozize has postponed that country presidential and legislative election to May 16 from the scheduled April 25, amid delays in preparations for the vote. "The Central African Republic's electoral body is convoked on 16 May 2010 for legislative and presidential elections." - The postponement was largely expected by the ruling party, the opposition, the United Nations and the European Union following the delay in preparations for the ballot in this dirt poor African nation, according to a presidential decree read out on national radio. Bozize, in power since he ousted President Ange-Felix Patasse in 2003, has announced he wi…

Ten former ministers and officials loyal to overthrown ex-President of Niger, Mamadou Tandja, have been arrested in Niamey, the capital of that country. Among those detained were the former ministers of finance and justice, and the heads of the national electricity and water companies. - Interior Minister Cisse Ousmane said they were accused of carrying out subversive activities. Tandja was overthrown in February, in a coup and replaced by a military junta led by Maj Salou Djibo. The junta, which calls itself the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, has said it wants to make Niger an example of "democracy and good governance". After the coup, the largely arid …

Libyan leader Muamar al-Ghadaffi, who enraged Abuja after suggesting Nigeria be partitioned between Muslims and Christians, has now proposed the country is carved into "many" ethnic states. He said: "In fact, Nigeria's problems cannot be resolved by dividing the country into two states, Christian and Muslim." - That country’s Jana news agency reported Monday, that Kadhafi said, like the former Yugoslavia, Nigeria comprises "other populations who want independence" without religious considerations. He cited "the Yoruba people in the east and south who demand independence, the Ibo people in the west and south" as well as the Ijaws. &quot…

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has returned home after surgery in Germany to remove his gall bladder and a growth from his small intestine. Mubarak's arrival was broadcast live on television with government officials and military leaders on hand to greet him. - Mubarak, 81, had been recuperating in Germany following the operation at Heidelberg University Hospital. His chief doctor there said he had "fully recovered". "I have recommended however that the president continues his convalescence back home during the coming two weeks before he gradually returns to full and normal activity," Markus Buechler added in his statement. Government-run mosques across Eg…

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has been named as coach of West African and World Cup bound Ivory Coast for the summer football fiesta in South Africa, a statement from the football federation (FIF) said. The 62-year-old Swede guided England to the quarter-finals of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. - "Sven-Goran Eriksson is the new coach of Ivory Coast. He will lead the team at the World Cup where his objective is to ensure an honourable participation," said a statement released by the country's football federation (FIF). Eriksson takes over from Vahid Halilhodzic who was sacked after Ivory Coast were knocked out by Algeria in the quarter-finals of the African Cup o…

Eight hundred people displaced by excessive flooding and intense rains in Lusaka, the capital of southern African country Zambia. More than 60 families evacuated from their waterlogged shacks to a temporal resettlement campsite on higher grounds out of the Independence Stadium in Lusaka North. - According to data from a combined team of humanitarian workers, a total of 200 families have succumbed to the heavy pour and have since been relocated to the Independence Stadium grounds, spurring an upswing in the number of people housed in tents from 720 early this week to 800. Lusaka, once southern Africa’s sun shine city has been shrouded in floods which have left hundreds homeless and i…

Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti escaped death after the vehicle he was travelling in collided with a lorry truck west of the capital Harare. MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said Biti's car collided with a lorry about 100km west of Harare in Chegutu and that Police are investigating the accident. - According to the iol.co.za news website Biti doubles as Finance Minister in Zimbabwe's power-sharing government and Secretary General of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was left with injuries. He is receiving treatment at the Avenues Clinic in Harare. His driver also miraculously escaped with minor injuries but the vehicle is now a…

A Nigerian Islamic Sharia court in the northern city of Kaduna has banned online debates on social networks - Twitter and Facebook - on the country's first wrist amputation for theft, according to court papers. The court ordered the Civil Rights Congress to suspend its online debates on the case. - The court granted an interim injunction "restraining the respondents either by themselves or their agents from opening a chat forum on Facebook, Twitter or any blog for the purpose of the debate on the amputation of Malam Buba Bello Jangebe," said the order. Jangebe was the first person to have had his right wrist amputated on the orders of a Sharia court in Zamfara State, a yea…

FIFA will hold a hearing into alleged attacks by Egyptian fans on the visiting Algeria team before a World Cup qualifier in Cairo, the capital of Egypt on 15 April. FIFA said that its disciplinary panel will hear the case at its headquarters in Zurich. - FIFA's disciplinary code makes host nations responsible for the safety of their opponent's travelling party. Associations failing that duty can be fined and, in serious cases, ordered to play international matches in an empty stadium or neutral country. Algeria players and officials said they were showered with broken glasses when Egypt fans hurled rocks at their team bus two days before the match last November. Egypt won …

Eight members of Namibia's main opposition party, Rally for Democracy and Development (RDP) have snubbed President Hifikepunye Pohamba's swearing-in ceremony held in that country's capital Windhoek. The RDP took the decision following last November's disputed vote in which Pohamba was declared winner. - Namibian Journalist, Chengetai Kusemoh said by telephone from Windhoek that the eight MPs from the opposition RDP who won parliamentary seats in the disputed vote boycotted the swearing-in ceremony pending a court appeal against the disputed vote. RDP Secretary General Jesaya Nyamu cautioned, "Our members will stay away from the swearing-in ceremony due on Friday b…

Zambian health experts recently shared their successes in the fight against malaria with colleagues from across the continent during a three-day brainstorming session held in the Ghanaian capital Accra. During the United Against Malaria (UAM) conference, Zambia was hailed as a global leader in malaria control. - Zambia’s National Malaria Control Centre principal information, education and communication officer Pauline Wamulume, who led the local delegation, vowed that the nation would not become complacent in its efforts to control malaria. “Now is not the time to back down but to keep the pressure on. By doing so we are confident that we will win the fight against malaria,…

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said he is prepared to order jamming of Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts in Amharic, the country's main official language. Meles compared VOA Amharic to the hate media that incited the Rwanda genocide in 1994. - He denies having authorized the interference VOA Amharic listeners have been experiencing since February 22. But speaking to reporters on Thursday, he acknowledged ordering preparations for jamming and said as soon as the equipment is working properly, he would give the go ahead. He said: "We have to know before we make the decision to jam, whether we have the capacity to do it. But I assure you if they assure me at so…

A woman who concealed over 300 grammes of cocaine in her private parts with intent of offloading it on the country's illicit drug market has been jailed. The Lusaka Magistrates Court slapped a five-year jail term on Alice Mulonda Sandi on Thursday. - She was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) at the Lusaka International Airport on her arrival from Pakistan last week. Sandi was charged with trafficking and importing narcotic drugs, contrary to sections 6 and 7 of the Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances Act Cap 96 of the Laws of Zambia. Magistrate Lameck Ng'ambi noted although Sandi was a first offender, the offence she committed and the drugs she carried were …

Nigeria's acting president Goodluck Jonathan has with immediate effect dissolved the West African country's cabinet, a move analysts say is an attempt to consolidate power in the absence of ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua. He became acting president in February amid the continuing illness of Yar'Adua. - Yar’Adua has been seeking medical attention since November 2009 and was recently sneaked into Africa’s most populous nation but he is yet to make a public appearance. Authorities in Nigeria have denied there was a power vacuum in that country following a protracted illness of Yar’ Adua. The dissolved cabinet was assembled by Yar'Adua and report…

The African Union has officially imposed sanctions on Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina's headed administration for failing to implement a power sharing government by March 17, 2010. The AU Peace and Security Council slapped harsh penalties on 108 other senior government officials. - The sanctions include a call for Madagascar's diplomatic isolation until the government returns to internationally mediated power-sharing talks, according to a notice issued by Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra. Commissioner Lamamra said the sanctions are designed to get the attention of those who have turned their back on mediation efforts led by former Mozambican President Joaquim C…

Ugandan soldiers and police have clashed with rioters in the capital after fire gutted the site of the burial grounds of the former kings of the country's largest historic kingdom. Security forces used tear gas to disperse members of the Baganda ethnic group angry at the destruction of the tombs at Kasubi on the outskirts of Kampala. - "Last night the tomb of their kings - 200 hundred years basically of their cultural heritage - was burnt to the ground. They suspect it was arson. I've seen four people who were injured - some of them may be dead. But the crowd has been largely chased away. A lot of them were marched out of the tombs compound with their hands up and sent dow…

There are slight hopes for millions of Africans infected with HIV or affected by AIDS as latest research has shown that bananas may hold the key to powerful new treatments that protect against the AIDS virus. Africa has the highest number of AIDS patients in the world and it is estimated that close to a half of the continent's population is either infected or affected by AIDS. - Reports say scientists in laboratory tests have found that a banana ingredient called BanLec was as potent as two existing anti-HIV drugs. The scientists believe cheap therapies based on BanLec have the potential to save millions of lives. The ingredient is a lectin, a naturally occurring chemical in plants w…

Over 85 million children under five years old will be immunized against polio in 19 countries across West and Central Africa in a massive example of cross-border cooperation aimed at stopping a year-long polio epidemic. Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone are considered to have active outbreaks of polio within the last six months. - The campaign kicked off on March 6 in these countries as well as Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Central African Republic, Gambia, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau. Niger, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire will join at a later date due to political transitions or elections. Campaign Over 400,000 volunteers and health work…

More than 100 people have been killed in a landslide in the mountainous eastern region of Bududa in Uganda. Uganda's Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Musa Ecweru who confirmed the deaths, has since gone to the remote areas to assess what help is needed. Rescuers are digging through the mud with handheld tools, looking for survivors and bodies. - Up to 60 children are missing. They took shelter in a health centre which reports say was destroyed overnight. Ecweru said he had counted 58 bodies himself but local officials had told him at least 106 people have died. More than 300 people are reported to be missing after their homes were buried in the area on Monday night after recent…

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has called for a jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland, as an ongoing diplomatic row between the two nations heats up. He criticised a recent Swiss vote against the building of minarets and said Muslims must boycott the country. A Swiss foreign ministry spokesman declined to comment on the jihad call. - There have been tensions between the nations since 2008, when one of Gaddafi's sons was arrested in Geneva, accused of assaulting two servants. The Libyan leader made his comments while speaking at a meeting to mark the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. "Let us wage jihad against Switzerland, Zionism and foreign aggression," he said. &quot…

A multibillion dollar hydropower project between five African countries in the DR Congo has collapsed as the country weighs another offer from BHP Billiton Ltd. The Western Power Corridor venture was to deliver 5,000 megawatts of power to Congo, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Angola. - Reports out of Kinshasa say the venture will instead be dissolved. Congo’s National Electricity Society (SNEL) chief executive officer, Yengo Massampu said, “It was a big decision. It would be good for Congo to retain more of the project’s electricity for its own use.” Western Power, known as Westcor, planned to develop the Inga 3 project on the Congo river, the world’s…

South African trade unions are threatening strikes after the country's government allowed state-owned power firm Eskom to raise prices by 24.8%. Both consumers and businesses will struggle with significantly higher electricity bills, the unions argue. They said the cost were a "double whammy". - The Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry said firms were already struggling to cope with the fallout of recession and slow economic recovery. Chamber president, Mark Nowitz, said, "In this climate, with the economy where it is, obviously it has a huge impact, it is not good for recovery". Patrick Craven from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) s…

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua arrived back home after three months in a Saudi Arabian hospital, government sources said, renewing uncertainty over the leadership of Africa's most populous nation. There was no immediate word on the condition of the 58-year-old leader and it was unclear whether he would be fit enough to resume office. - Yar'Adua's absence brought sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy to the brink of constitutional crisis and threatened to paralyze the business of government, until Jonathan was sworn in as acting leader two weeks ago. Jonathan has since adopted the mantle of leadership, reshuffling ministers, pledging to tackle chronic powe…

The brunt of the global economic crisis in southern Africa is expected to take centre stage as the region's ministers meet in the DRC this week. The two-day SADC council meeting which starts on Thursday this week will look at developmental issues affecting the region and spill-over effects on the rest of the continent. - Other matters expected to be under discussion include the political situation in the region, food security situation, the establishment of the Centre for Co-ordination of Agricultural Research and Development and the Zambezi Watercourse Commission. SADC, as one of the regional economic communities on the continent, is regarded as a building block in the consolidation…

Nine people have died in northern Zambia after a cliff on the Lake Tanganyika coast collapsed and buried their fishing camps. Area legislator for Mpulungu in Northern Zambia, Lameck Chibombamilimo, said seven bodies have been retrieved but two were believed still buried in the debris after landslide late Sunday. - "Nine people have died and 30 families have been left homeless after the mountain collapsed on them because of the heavy rains experienced in the area," Chibombamilimo said. Chibombamilimo said he has donated 30 bags of maize meal, the staple grain, to the affected families but appealed to government to send relief food to the affected areas. Zambia has seen unusual…

China has told the Zimbabwean coalition government not to expect further loans from Beijing until it pays its existing debts. Chinese authorities have cautioned that China will not lend out any further money to Harare until after it has cleared an outstanding debt amounting to billions of dollars. - Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara was quoted as saying that Chinese President Hu Jintao considers Beijing and Zimbabwe as "business partners" and not "friends". Mutambara, who heads his own faction of the junior coalition partner, the Movement for Democratic Change, said he had met Hu on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier in February…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to determine whether or not Zimbabwe's voting rights might be restored. Harare's voting rights in the Bretton Woods Institution were suspended nearly seven years over financial arrears. The IMF is hopeful that a resolution would wage in favour of Zimbabwe once a vote is decided. - "The executive board is scheduled to discuss a request for the restoration of the voting rights and thus the eligibility to use general resources, ordinary resources, tomorrow Friday," IMF spokesman David Hawley said. Zimbabwe, whose economy was devastated under the administration of President Robert Mugabe, was nearly thrown out of the IMF i…

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution in which it has warned that the European Union will not support the legislative elections Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has unilaterally planned for March. In a resolution, it reiterated its condemnation of the way Rajoelina seized power. - The resolution said seizing power with the army’s support is a blatant violation of the provisions of the Malagasy constitution. According to the European Parliament, this power grab constitutes, without the slightest doubt, a coup d'etat. The resolution condemned Rajoelina's decision to cancel the appointment of Eugene Mangalaza as Prime Minister-designate as per the terms of a…

After weeks of speculations and a mildly media frenzy, the Egyptian Football Federation has finally decided to allow its football kingpin Hassan Shehata to steer Nigeria's Super Eagles at the World Cup billed for South Africa this June. The Super Eagles failed to soar at the just ended Nations Cup. - "The FA's general assembly gave Shehata the thumbs up to coach Nigeria during the World Cup should a tangible offer be made," said Salah Hosni, an executive in the Egyptian football governing body. Shehata had indicated that he had great interest in coaching Nigeria when he was linked with them after leading Egypt to their third straight Africa Cup of Nations triumph but a…

Manuel Jose has decided to step down as Angola coach with immediate effect. The highly rated manager who steered the affairs of the national team at the just ended AFCON did not reveal a direct reason for his decision, but indicated that age played a role in his resignation. - "Everybody expressed their satisfaction with my work here but at the age of 64 what is left of my coaching career is short," said Jose. He added: "I would like to thank the president of the Republic, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the journalists and the humble people of this country, who have all been very supportive." Jose has been in charge of Angola for only eight months and helped them to the q…

The world's football governing body, FIFA has shortlisted four African referees and eight assistant referees to officiate matches in groups of three during next summer World Cup in South Africa. The four groups are: Mohamed Benouza (Algeria), Nasser Abdel Nadi (Egypt), Maamar Chabane (Algeria). - Koman Coulibaly (Mali), Redouane Achik (Morocco), Manuel Candido (Angola) Jerome Damon (South Africa), Celestin Ntagungira (Rwanda), Enock Molefe (South Africa) Eddy Allen Maillet (Seychelles), Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon), Bechir Hassani (Tunisia) The four referees are Malian Koman Coulibaly, Seychellois’ Eddy Maillet, South African Jerome Damon and Algerian Mohamed Benouza. …

Five African firms are among nine international companies that are pushing and advocating for the development of mobile television-ready handset globally. Africa, the world's least developed in terms of new media is hoping the new initiative would increase access and new media penetration. - The five African firms are DStv Mobile from Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia, Kenya and Safaricom Kenya. The five have joined a global crusade that aims t develop mobile phones handsets that are television-ready. The initiative was launched at the Broadcast Mobile Convergence Forum held in Berlin, Germany. The 14 companies jointly signed a letter requesting the update of mobile phone roadmaps and an…

The World Health Organisation has called for joint efforts in preventing cancer related diseases which account for 30% of deaths worldwide every year. WHO Regional Director for Africa Luis Sambo has expressed disapproval at the rate at which cancer related ailments are affecting the global populace. - Sambo noted that there were many factors contributing to cancers and the disease process differs according to different sites. He indicated that tobacco was the single most important preventable cause of cancer known to man, accounting for almost 30% of cancer-related deaths worldwide. It is estimated that about 30% to 40% of all cancers globally are related to unhealthy diet, physical inac…

African leaders attending the 14 annual summit of the AU have approved the establishment of the Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) and dissolution of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The NPCA will act as a technical body of the African Union, replacing the South African based NEPAD secretariat. - The Agency is mandated to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of continental and regional programmes and projects as well as mobilize resources in support of their implementation. The heads of states and government in attendance at the AU Summit have also directed NPCA to coordinate research, monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes in line wit…

For several years, countries around the Great Lakes region have been under the gush of civil conflicts that have left tens of thousands of people homeless or displaced as refugees. The instability in the region has been centered on countries such as DRC, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo Brazzaville and the Central African Republic. - It is for this reason that the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGRL) has posted an appeal to the African Union, asking the continental body to assist in finding a lasting solution to the sporadic instability that has shrouded the region for decades. ICGRL chairperson, Rupiah Banda has told a gathering of the region’s heads of state and…

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and global computer giant, Microsoft Corporation have sealed a partnership memorandum of understanding that aims to foster regional cooperation and economic growth in Africa through the use of Information and Communication Technologies' (ICTs). - ECA executive secretary Abdoulie Janneh said, “We believe this is an agenda that will drive economic growth in Africa. Indeed, Africa stands to gain given Microsoft’s credibility”. Microsoft chairman, for Middle East and Africa, Cheick Modibo Diarra noted that poor connectivity in Africa prompted the US based computer giant to pursue accessibility as a legacy. Diarra sa…

An unidentified Tunisian man has been arrested in South Africa on terrorism suspicions after he travelled to that country using a U.K passport. South African police said they arrested the Tunisian man travelling on a U.K. passport because of a 'terror' alert from International Police (Interpol). - The man is reported to have been arrested on January 24 when he arrived from London at Johannesburg’s international airport. South Africa’s Hawks Police Unit spokesperson Musa Zondi said, “He has a heart condition. So he is in hospital, under our guard.” According to Zondi, the unidentified man had charges against him in Tunisia and that he was in South Afric…

Lusaka city is abuzz with pomp and excitement as Zambia takes on Nigeria in the quarter-finals of the on-going Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. Zambia, perceived as one of the underdogs will this evening relive the memories of the 1994 AFCON finals in which the Super Eagles thumped the Chipolopolo Boys by two goals to one. - The Zambian capital woke up Monday with a wave of soccer fans dawned in Zambia’s national colours while the locally famous “Chipolopolo Anthem” has jammed a number of FM broadcast radio stations. The memories of the 1994 AFCON finals are likely to be replayed this evening when the Super Eagles face Chipolopolo in the 2010 AFCON quarter-finals in Luba…

The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) is to invest US$4 million in Zimbabwe's rural financial services and agribusiness sectors. Fund director, Hugh Scott, said more than 250 local companies in the Southern African country had applied for the grants that range from US$250 000 to US$1.5 million. - He said the AECF Zimbabwe window was targeting rural financial services and agribusiness sectors because "these sectors were selected on the premise that growth in them will have the biggest impact on poorer people in Zimbabwe, the majority of whom live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for livelihood". In Zimbabwe, AECF is keen on applications from new or existing finan…

Authorities in Zimbabwe have suspended its public outreach efforts to gather views on a new constitution for the country, throwing another obstacle on the path toward fresh elections. Funding problems caused the latest hitch in the process, which began in July but has been repeatedly delayed. - "All constitutional programmes have been suspended by the management committee," Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, a chairman of the committee, said the state-run Herald newspaper. Teams of rapporteurs were meant to travel around the country to collect opinions on the charter. "There are still disagreements on the composition of the rapporteurs, but there are other more pressing issues wh…

Four-time African champion, Cameroon, last night beat Zambia 3-2 to revive its hopes of reaching the quarterfinals of the on-going African Cup of Nations in Angola. Gabon and Tunisia played to a scoreless draw. Cameroon moved into second place in Group D with three points, one behind Gabon. - The country will advance with a win over Tunisia in the final group game. "The players gave the response we needed," Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen. Substitute Mohamadou Idrissou scored the winner for Cameroon with a looping header with four minutes left. Jacob Mulenga opened the scoring for Zambia in the eighth minute, converting a rebound after a misplayed clearance by Rigobert Song. …

South Africa's World Cup organizing chief, Danny Jordaan, has dismissed security concerns for this year's tournament following the attack on the Togo national team bus in Angola. He said it was "illogical" to draw any connections between that attack and security in South Africa. - South Africa should be judged by its own record, not events more than a four-hour flight away. No one in Europe would think of connecting an incident in Finland with the situation in England, he said. Jordaan added that since 1994 South Africa had held more than 100 large sporting events without any violence, and would hold an “efficient, professional and secure” tournament in Ju…

Three human rights workers involved in the defense of the famous Malawi gay couple have been arrested, according to a release from the UK-based Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality group, OutRage! The couple are in police custody and face a maximum imprisonment of 14 years. - The released added: "All have been associated with the campaign to defend Steven Monjeza (26) and Tiwonge Chimbalanga (20), who held a same-sex engagement ceremony in Malawi two weeks ago." The leader of OutRage! Peter Tatchell, described the couple as "the first same-sex couple to begin the process of getting married in Malawi," and reported that, "Both men are being held o…

Nigeria and South Africa are Africa's leading mobile telephony powerhouses accounting for an amalgamated total of 45% of the continent's industry, according to the latest International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Kenya mobile telephony industry now accounts for 7% of mobile phone subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa. - Kenya had 17.4 million mobile phone subscribers by end of June 2009, translating to 45.7% penetration. The ITU says Kenya has the third highest number of subscribers, after Nigeria and South Africa that respectively account for 26% and 19% of mobile cellular subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa. According to another report by Pyramid Research, mobile penetratio…

The African Union will this month hold an ICT exhibition which intends to showcase the role of ICTs in the continent's socio-economic development. The AU ICT for Africa Exhibition will run alongside the 2010 Summit of Heads of States and Government to be held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Abba, from January 23 to February 2nd 2010. - The exhibition to debut under the theme “The challenges of Information Communication Technologies for Africa” will showcase various innovative ICT projects in Africa and demonstrate the role that ICT can play in Africa’s socio-economic development. For the African Union, Information Communication Technology has fundamentally changed t…

A bizarre story involving a sighting of the ghost of deceased singer, Michael Jackson, has terrified some Zimbabwean students in the Southern African country. The sighting of Jackson's ghost occurred at the St Mary's Mission School, a Catholic institution, in Zimbabwe's capital of Harare. - Allegedly a group of students aged from twelve to fourteen years were sitting along with some of the nuns that work at St Mary's and watching a nativity play that was organised after school hours. Children dressed as Mary, Joseph and the Wise Men were on stage when suddenly the lights went out. Then ghost-like being appeared on stage waving a white-gloved hand. The terrified student…

As preparations to next week's Africa Cup of Nations heats up, Nigeria may play Zambia on Tuesday in a friendly as part of their preparations for the prestigious continental showpiece to be hosted by Angola. Super Eagles Media Coordinator Idah Peterside, said the Zambian Football Association has been in contact and details of the proposed friendly are being finalized. - "Zambian FA President Kalusha Bwalya got in touch with us when the team landed in South Africa about a friendly match. Discussions are taking place between both parties and we expect things to be finalised by Tuesday." Peterside said the proposed game will be played in Johannesburg, rather than in Durban whe…

A Zambian traditional leader has fumed over reports that a number of his female subjects who underwent a microbicide gel clinical trials have contracted HIV, the virus that cause AIDS. Close to a quarter of volunteers that took part in a microbicide gel clinical trials in Southern Zambia contracted HIV, 12 months after the commencement of the trial. - Zambian authorities have remained mute over the development while officials from the Microbicide Development Programme in Zambia and United Kingdom have pains to explain what went wrong during the clinical trials. Chief Mwanachingwala who presides over the affected site in Mazabuka of southern Zambia has expressed regret at the leaked result…

A day long Zulu traditional wedding ceremony is currently underway in South Africa where President Jacob Zuma is to marry Thobeka Madiba. She will be his third wife. Zuma is a Zulu traditionalist who practices polygamy and has married five times. The 68-year-old has 19 children. - The Zulu traditional ceremony will run the whole day in Zuma’s home village and the media have been asked to stay at bay by the office of the president, as the wedding is a private event. Zuma was previously married to Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, whom he divorced in 1998 and Kate Zuma, who committed suicide in 2000.

The shocking incident in which a 23 year-old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (photo), wanted to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas Day has received mix reactions from Africans living in the diaspora. A blitz of posting on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter portrays mixed feelings that the unfortunate event has created among Africans, mainly in the diaspora. - Here is just a snippet of what Africans, including Nigerians, across the globe are saying: Onche Bishop Odeh posted this on his social network hours after he received the shocking development, “This sad 'Mutallab' event also has its good side as well. At least it has also helped to str…

Malawian authorities are appealing to the international community to come to its aid following a powerful earthquake which left at least three people dead and several houses damaged. Malawi is said to be prone to earthquakes and government has proposed to reallocate displaced people to other less prone areas. - Lilian Ng'oma, the Commissioner for Disaster Management Affairs said from northern Malawi that the situation was "pathetic and sad," with thousands of homes uninhabitable following Sunday's 6.0-magnitude quake in the Karonga district. The Malawi Red Cross Society and Ng'oma's department have provided some tents, but local official Gasten Macheka say ma…

Controversial retired Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Lusaka, Zambia Emmanuel Milingo, who attracted the world's attention in 2001 when he attempted to marry a Korean acupuncturist during a ceremony of Sun Myung Moon's Unificationist Church, has been dismissed from the clerical state. - According to communiqué issued by the Vatican press office notes that the "dismissal of a bishop from the clerical state is most extraordinary," and adds that the Church "hopes that Archbishop Milingo will see the error of his way." Although the scandal of Milingo's attempted marriage -- so noted because the Church doesn't recognize its validity -- garnered much…

Nambia's losing opposition political parties have filed a legal suit challenging the results of the recent general elections won by Hifikepunye Pohamba's South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). At least nine out of the country's 14 opposition parties are calling for a recount of the ballot. - Activists have claimed that 180,000 voters were officially registered who did not actually exist. Namibian journalist Chengetai Kusemoh has told Africa News by telephone from Windhoek, that a consortium of losing political parties have filed a joint legal suit in a Namibian court, asking the Electoral Commission of Namibia to carry out a recount of the ballots. …

Namibians are still waiting for the final results of last week's presidential and parliamentary vote more than 48 hours after that country went to the polls. The results of the poll, highly contested by SWAPO leader, Hifikepunye Pohamba and ex-foreign minister, Hidipo Hamutenya's RDP were due on Sunday. - However no official results had been released by Electoral Commission of Namibia on Monday November 30, 2009. Claims of electoral malpractices and irregularities have already emerged with some opposition parties claiming the delay to announce the final results is ploy by the electoral body to manipulate the vote. Nchengetai Kusemoh, a Windhoek based journalist and radio pers…

A top Rwandan prosecutor has accused Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique of shielding genocide suspects that fled into these countries after the 1994 genocide. Martin Ngoga, Rwanda's Prosecutor General claimed that these countries have done nothing to arrest genocide suspects living on their territory. - “Despite reiterated requests for legal procedures to be engaged, nothing has been done”, alleged Ngoga. Ngoga underlined that the three countries that shelter many genocidaires” did not react to the indictments transmitted by the Rwandan prosecution. He regretted “such inaction from African countries at a time when Western countries seem to be finally willing to …

Voting is currently underway in Namibia,s several polling centres. Namibians vote in a top raced battle between incumbent President, Hifikepunye Pohamba of the governing South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) and former foreign minister, Hidipo Hamatenya, now leader of a break away party, Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP). - Voting started as early as 7:00am on Friday and political analysts say Pohamba is likely to secure his second term in office after he launched a massive campaign supported by state resources. Hordes of registered voters lined up at selected polling stations as early as 5:00am with hopes of casting their ballot as soon as the polling stations opened.…

South African airlines will for the first time face direct competition from Air Namibia on certain African routes after it was granted fifth-freedom rights by the respective governments. The rights allow Air Namibia to pick up passengers and cargo in Johannesburg before proceeding to a third destination. - The granting of fifth-freedom rights is a significant step towards liberalisation of Africa's airline industry and gives consumers greater choice. The launch of the Air Namibia flights also provides a further challenge to South African Airways' (SAA's) Africa strategy. The South African carrier already faces stiff competition from Arik Air on the Lagos-Johannesburg ro…

Latest data from UNAIDS and WHO has shown a reduction of 15% of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest HIV prevalence in the entire world and the latest data say the reduction in new infections by 15% is remarkable for the region that is battling to contain the AIDS pandemic. - The 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update says new HIV infections have been reduced by 17% over the past eight years globally and that since 2001, when the United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was signed, the number of new infections in sub-Saharan Africa is approximately 15% lower, which is about 400,000 fewer infections in 2008. The report, released UNAIDS and WHO, highl…

Former Zambian president, Frederick Chiluba, has been cleared of corruption charges after a long-running trial. He was accused of embezzling $500,000 during his 10-year presidency, but a judge ruled the funds could not be traced to government money. - According to media reports, the Lusaka court delivered its verdict following a six-year trial prolonged by the 63-year-old's health problems. Chiluba's immunity from prosecuion was lifted in 2003 by his successor, Levy Mwanawasa, who died last year. Chiluba - who was president of the impoverished southern African nation from 1991 to 2001 - had argued that he was targeted in a political witch hunt backed by the British, Zambia…

Fourteen southern African soccer teams are gearing up for the region's most prestigious tournament to take place in Zimbabwe this October. Zimbabwe is hosting the Southern African Football Federation (COSAFA) championship which enters its 12th edition in 2009. - The senior challenge cup was earlier threatened with a deferment when a promise to host the event by South Africa was reneged upon by the Mpumalanga provincial government. Mpumalanga staged the 14-team event in July and August last year at the start of a three-year deal with Cosafa but there was a change in the Mpumalanga provincial leadership. Cosafa president Suketu Patel said the event, which has been part of the African …

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed a combined total amount of US$ 13.5 billion for infrastructure development in three of the continent's economic blocs. "The bank group has committed US$ 3.3 billion towards infrastructure development in the East African Community - EAC." - “US$ 6.2 billion in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa – COMESA and US$ 4 billion in the Southern Africa Community- SADC”, Ashie Makungu, senior country economist in the AfDB Zambia office said. Makungu said, after Africa’s largest economy - South Africa - officially went into recession; the global economic crunch had made it even more urgent for Afri…

Deaths of children aged under five years have dropped by 27% globally since 1990, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. But in WHO's first progress report on the health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released in the World Health Statistics 2009, other results are mixed. - An estimated nine million children aged under five years died in 2007, significantly fewer than the 12.5 million estimated to have died in 1990, the baseline year against which progress towards the goals is measured. However, in many African countries and in low-income countries generally, progress has been insufficient to reach the MDG target that aims for a two thirds reduction i…

Africa's supreme sports body has said it would not impose sanctions on Zambia for withdrawing from hosting the 2011 All-Africa Games. The Supreme Council for Sports in Africa said Zambia would escape sanctions because its constitution had no provision for defaulting or non-complying members. - The quadrennial games will be shifted to Mozambique after Zambia pull-out citing financial hitches. The SCSA made the decision on Friday at its extraordinary session last Friday held in Cameroun. The executive committee has since mandated the SCSA secretary general to engage in negotiations with Zambia on the issue of compensation for costs incurred following the country's default. Za…

Wife of Zambia's former president Fredrick Chiluba, Regina Chiluba, has been jailed to three and half years imprisonment. She is alleged to have received stolen goods and funds suspected to have been diverged from the state into her private custody by the former head of state. - She faced six counts of receiving stolen goods. Regina was in the company of her husband, Fredrick Chiluba as she was led out of the court premises amid tight security and curious on-lookers. However a Lusaka magistrate drop one count on grounds that the prosecution failed to prove that the vehicle she is alleged to have received was stolen from the state. She was however, simultaneously sentenced two and…

A scientific breakthrough is about to be made in HIV/AIDS nutritional food supplement in Africa. The Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation will this week begin series of tests with a team of independent doctors to review its research on nutritional supplements for people living with HIV. - The nutritional supplements will help HIV patients to replenish their CD4 count and halt the spread of the disease within the body. The foundation’s research has been assessed over a period of 3-4 years and the medicinal product has been observed to be effective at any stage of the HIV/AIDS disease. KKCAF country coordinator, Dr. Waza Kaunda stated that during the trial research, treatment …

The Zain Group has partnered with Oberthur Technologies to provide end-to-end security solutions for Mobile Commerce Services, including security platform and SIM application for secure payment transactions. - The solution was commercially launched by Zain under the name Zap to East Africa. The service is immediately available to Zain customers in Kenya and Tanzania. Zap will be rolled across Africa and the Middle East throughout 2009 including Zambia and Ghana. The Zain- Oberthur Technologies is partnering with leading international and regional banks to launch Zap, which will allow Zain customers to use their mobile phone to pay bills and pay for goods and services. This will also al…

Zambia's Supreme Court has set March 11 as the date for ruling in a case in which defeated Patriotic Front President, Michael Sata, is seeking for a recount of votes cast in the October 30 presidential elections. The court was expected to rule on the matter on Tuesday but had to adjourn to a later date. - Sata’s lawyers Bonaventure Mutale and Winter Kabimba have argued that the presidential vote to replace late president Levy Mwanawasa who died in a French hospital were married by a number of anomalies which raises serious doubts of the election results. Kabimba has urged the court to order a recount as pleaded by Sata, “Because failure to do so will render the presidenti…

IFC and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa have joined forces to unlock credit and financing for small-scale farmers and agribusinesses across sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural lending in Africa is very low, one of the reasons hindering farmers' ability to achieve their full potential. - The partners’ collaboration will help expand or scale up AGRA’s existing innovative financing projects to reach more countries and key stakeholders in the African agricultural value chain. AGRA and IFC both pursue practical solutions to help alleviate poverty. Specifically, the partnership between IFC and AGRA focuses on developing market-based incentives and tools to increase agri…

110 of the 260 workforce of Australia's metal explorer, Albidon Limited in Zambia have been sacked at its Munali nickel mine in Southern Zambia after prices for the steel making metal slumped. A statement to the Australian Stock Exchange said the exploration office in Cape Town and Lusaka are closed. - The Statement said the Perth office is relocating to shared premises and that most exploration projects have been suspended. Copper prices have tumbled to their lowest points for more than three years, driven lower by weak demand from automakers and mounting concern about a worldwide recession, AFP reported. Copper for delivery in three months was selling on the London Metal Exchang…

Zambian authorities have ruled out any possible military intervention in economically and politically troubled Zimbabwe. A deadly outbreak of cholera that has left close to 500 people dead in Zimbabwe has sparked suggestions that Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe be overthrown by military force. - But the Zambian government has stated that such suggestions are not in the best interest of Zimbabwe or the region. Zambia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande said: “there is no need to use military force to tackle Zimbabwe’s economic decline and political instability”. Pande has maintained that Zambia will continue to use dialogue and the Southern Africa Developmen…

Zambia has been placed under health alert following the outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe. The country has with immediate effect sealed off its borderline with Zimbabwe following a cholera outbreak that has killed close to 500 people in that country. Cholera is endemic in the Southern African state. - Zambia’s Deputy Minister for Health Mwendoi Akakandelwa said the cholera outbreak in the troubled Southern African state has spilled over into Zambia after a Zimbabwean national died at the resort border town of Siavonga, about 600 kilometers south of the capital city Lusaka. Zambia has in the recent past recorded a significant number of cholera cases in selected parts of the country and…

Zambia's former intelligence Chief Xavier Franklin Chungu has handed himself to the security authorities in the capital Lusaka, Zambia after being on the run for close to five years. He absconded in mid 2003 after a protracted legal battle with then president Levy Mwanawasa, who died late August. - Chungu was being investigated with former president Fredrick Chiluba for abuse of authority of office. After his controversial election victory in 2001, Mwanawasa launched Zambia’s biggest ant-corruption crusade which saw the arrest or investigation of Chiluba and some of senior officers that served under his 10-year regime. Chungu, who headed Zambia’s intelligence wing, sec…

The fight against HIV/AIDS would be effective if leaders at different levels of society put in their concerted efforts, UN Secretary-General Special Envoy Elizabeth Mataka has said. Today marks World AIDS Day and the whole world is celebrating it to raise awareness for people with the disease. - Mataka noted that all leaders in the country regardless of political affiliation need to pull together to mitigate and halt the spread of the pandemic. Speaking in the Zambia capital of Lusaka, Mataka said that if meaningful impact is to be made in the fight against the disease leaders at community and national level need to spearhead the fight against the pandemic. She stated it is essential for …

Zambian President, Rupiah Banda, has requested Nigeria's assistance to tackle the effect of the global financial crisis on his country. He said the global crisis has hit Zambia's economy to the extent that the price of its main commodity which is copper had come down to $3,300 from $8000 per tonne. - The Zambian President was on his first foreign trip to Nigeria since he came to power in October this year Banda said, “it has certainly affected us (global economic crisis) and that is why I am standing here with my brother (Yar’Adua), because I believe together we are stronger, on our own it may be difficult to withstand the impact of the melt down, particularly the pr…

About 38 rioters have been arrested in the town of Kitwe after they went amok destroying public property and demanding for the release of a catholic priest, Rev. Father Frank Bwalya. He was arrested for conduct likely to cause a breach of peace. He has been released on a 10 million Kwacha ($2,350) bail. - The unruly crowd looted milling plant, where they ransacked mealie meal bags and left a trail of damage to nearby stores. Police Commissioner Francis Kabonde has with immediate effect suspended all political and social function as the situation on the Copper belt is still perceived as “fragile and delicate”. Kabonde told reporters in Kitwe that, “it’s unfortuna…

Zambia's losing presidential hopeful Michael Sata has demanded for a recount of the results after losing to Banda who has since been sworn in as president. The Patriotic Front has claimed the election was rigged and marred by electoral irregularities that can only be corrected through a ballot recount. - Party Vice President Guy Scott has disclosed that the party will seek judicial guidance on the matter after the Electoral Commission of Zambia rejected to hear the patriotic front’s preliminary request to suspend the announcement of the results. Scott says the party’s legal committee is in the process of filing court documents to compel the electoral commission to recoun…

Zambia's acting head of state, Rupiah Banda, has been sworn in as president, just hours after officials said he had narrowly won Thursday's election. The ruling party beat three other contenders. According to final results, Banda beat the main opposition candidate, Michael Sata, by 40.1% to 38.1%. - Sata has vowed that he will challenge the outcome of the elections claiming they have been rigged. Banda now succeeds the late president levy Mwanawasa who died of a stroke in France in August. He will serve until 2011, when Mwanawasa's term would have ended. Preliminary results showed Banda with 708,683 votes versus 682,171 for Sata. The count was based on results from 148 o…

Zambia's presidential by-election has been declared as free, fair, credible and transparent. SADC head of election observer mission John Kunene said, "the mission is pleased to note that the people of Zambia have been able to express their will in an impressively instructive manner." - The Southern African Development Community chief said, “that would go a long way in contributing to the consolidation of democracy and political stability, not only in Zambia but the SADC region and the African continent.” Kunene urged all political parties and candidates that participated in last Thursday’s vote to accept the will of the people and that any grievances they…

The opposition in Zambia has taken an early lead in the latest results from Thursday's presidential by-election. Michael Sata has won 63.5 percent of the votes cast in 15 out of 150 constituencies, according to the Electoral Commission. Acting president Rupiah Banda is trailing with 29.5 percent. - Sata, 71, was defeated by late President Levy Mwanawasa in the 2006 election, after also leading in early poll results. The opposition leader said yesterday voting was being rigged in favor of Banda, and vowed not to accept the results if his rival won. Sata had 187,863 votes versus 96,325 votes for Banda, election officials announced, Reuters news agency stated. Only constituencies fr…

African leaders are planning to establish a continental hydro power station to harness its huge energy potential. Country representatives attending the 20th Session of the African Hydro Symposium in Zambia said hydro energy is the cheapest and cleanest for the continent. - According to sadc.net Lawrence Musaba, the Centre Co-ordination Manager for the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), Africa has a combined feasible hydro-capacity of more than 1 750 000 gigawatts (GW) per year, enough to power the whole continent but unfortunately, only 4.3 percent of this has been exploited. The symposium heard from SAPP and the Regional Electricity Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (RER…

Voting is underway in Zambia's highly contested presidential by-elections to elect a successor to the late President Mwanawasa. Voting in various polling centres across the country opened at 6am in the morning and is expected to close at 6pm today. It is a fierce battle between four contenders. - They include acting President, Rupiah Banda, of the governing MMD and frontline opposition Patriotic Front leader, Michael Sata. Others are UPND’s, Hakainde Hichilema and Heritage Party’s Godfrey Miyanda. The electoral authorities in Lusaka have said that they will start announcing the presidential election results from across the country by Friday morning. Electoral Commissi…

The United Nations is dolling out US$11.5 million to Zambia's electoral body to conduct the October 30 by-presidential election. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) would be signing a memorandum of understanding this week. The poll follows the death of late president Mwanawasa. - UNDP country representative Macleod Nyirongo told reporters in Lusaka that the money is being raised through the UNDP trust fund. He said: “I am hopeful that this week we shall sign the documents for the release of US$11.5 million to ECZ.” Electoral Commission Director Dan Kalale recently said the commission was hopeful that cooperating partners would fulfill the US$11.5 million pledg…

$168.7 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been made available to develop vaccines for malaria - a disease that kills thousands of African children every day. PATH has been tasked to use the money through its initiative to bring down malaria reported cases on the continent. - The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) is working with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals to develop a first-generation vaccine candidate, known as RTS,S, which could become the first-ever approved malaria vaccine. With the new grant announced on Monday, MVI will support the development of next-generation vaccines that could provide even greater and longer-lasting protection. “I’m very hope…

Zambia has moved a step higher in its democratic system by introducing the use of biometric data to identify missing voter registration cards for the upcoming presidential elections in October 30th. The election follows the death of president Levy Mwanawasa at Percy Military Hospital in Paris. - The electoral commission of Zambia (ECZ) has already established a permanent register, capturing biometric data from voters in the form of fingerprints, the ECZ’s deputy director of IT, Brown Kasaro, said in an interview. Fingerprints were collected prior to the 2006 general election, uncovering thousands of duplicate registrations, Kasaro said. Individuals were using multiple National Regi…

The attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals would be derailed due to changes in weather patterns around the world, experts warned. Scientific research and medical journals say it will affect food production and economic growth in many countries especially developing ones. - Experts say those factors and others will make it harder to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, which seek to respond to the world’s main development challenges. The MDGs, include efforts to improve health, cut child mortality and reduce poverty and the spread of HIV/AIDS. A Zambian non-governmental organization, the Civil Society MDG Campaign, says in order to reach the goals, the go…

Zambia has made remarkable progress in the public sector reforms and doing business index according to a latest World Bank report released early September. The Southern African country ranked 100th out of 181 countries globally. It has now moved 16 steps up as against last year's 116th position. - The World Bank representative Kapil Kapool attributed the improvement to the streamlining of the Patents and Companies Registration Office and the computerization of various institutions that facilitate businesses in the country. He noted that most institutions have improved and reduced their time of operations such as issuing of licenses and registration of companies despite their system …

Hundreds of Zambian men are enthusiastically queuing to be circumcised as part of measures to curb HIV/AIDS in that country. Reports say men are put on waiting lists for close to four months or more and are sometimes turned away due to lack of doctors and inadequate health centers for such cases. - A Zambian heath care organization has also launched an initiative aimed at increasing male circumcision services in the Southern African country. The initiative follows recent recommendations by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS that the practice be used in the fight against HIV. In March 2007, the two organizations recommended male circumcision as an HIV prevention measure provided it is u…

The Bank of Zambia has assured investors that the illness of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa will not affect the country's investment perception. Mwanawasa was evacuated to Percy Military Hospital in France after he suffered a stroke on the sidelines of the AU Summit. - He has remained in France and authorities in Lusaka say his condition is “stable” and his doctors are happy with his recovery process. Bank of Zambia Governor Caleb Fundanga told reporters at a quarterly news briefing in Lusaka that despite the serious illness of Mwanawasa, Zambia’s economy and investment in-flows will not be affected in any way. Fundanga explained that the Lusaka government has …

Zambia is feeling the effects of global warming and experts warn that urgent measures are needed to avoid critical food shortages. Scientific research has shown that rising temperatures around the world are in part to blame for the floods and drought facing some regions today. - Several stakeholders in are now looking at how smallholder farmers are changing their methods in order to continue producing under conditions created by climate change. National Association for Peasant and Small Scale Farmers of Zambia President Rodger Phiri wants farmers to change the way they farm and the crops they grow. The association has about 300,000 members. “We want our farmers to grow severa…

South Africa's Standard Bank has been named the Best Bank on the African Continent, Best Bank in South Africa for 2008 while its Ngierian chapter Stanbic IBTC has been awarded Best Bond House by Euromoney, one of the world's most prestigious financial sector publications. - The announcement that Standard Bank had won the Euromoney “Best Bank in South Africa”, “Best Bank on the African Continent” and also that Stanbic IBTC scooped the “Best Bond House” awards was made on July 10 at a gala awards dinner held in London. “The awards, which acknowledge excellence in banking, are presented on an annual basis. We are proud to be named winners o…

Starting from August, handsets for Malaysian cell phone manufacturer, M.Mobile will be produced in Zambia. An official told Network World that M.Mobile would be investing more than $3 million in the plant, which will assemble units for local and regional markets. - The first targeted market is the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). The Zambian M.Mobile plant will be capable of producing 50,000 and 70,000 mobile phones per month.The announcement is huge news for Zambia as it will mean the country’s first mobile phone manufacturing plant. Aside from that, M.Mobile was also the first plant in Malaysia and the …

Zambia government spokesperson Mike Mulongoti has dismissed reports announcing the death of president Levy Mwanawasa, saying that his condition in the intensive care of a Paris hospital was stable. Earlier reports were quoting the country's embassy in South Africa. - In a statement aired on national TV and radio at 12:00 Zambia time, Mulongoti, who is also information minister, said that the president was suffering from hypertension and would keep the nation updated as to his state. Earlier this week, 59-year old Mwanawasa was urgently evacuated to Paris, France from Sharm el-Sheikh, Eygypt, where he was expected to attend the African Union summit. Read earlier report

Zain's Zambian subsidiary Celtel Zambia has raised close to $200 million (K665.5 billion) in the country's biggest initial public offering. Celtel Zambia, which sold 20 percent of its shares, for K640 each, climbed to close at K725, according to Lusaka Stock Exchange. - Zain’s Zambian subsidiary Celtel Zambia has raised close to $200 million (K665.5 billion) in the country's biggest initial public offering Celtel Zambia, which sold 1.04 billion shares, or 20 percent of its stock, for 640 kwacha each, climbed 85 kwacha to close at 725 kwacha, according to Lusaka Stock Exchange data. Celtel Zambia, the southern African nation's biggest mobile- phone company and…