Tag Archives: SAfrica

Paris, France | AFP |  South Africa’s first all-race vote 25 years ago turned the page on an oppressive system of racial segregation called apartheid that for roughly 50 years privileged whites over blacks. Here is a reminder. – Races apart – Apartheid — an Afrikaans-language word meaning the state …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A large portrait of a bright-eyed young woman draped in a black graduation robe looms over a spotless, tiled lounge in Protea Glen, a suburb of Johannesburg’s Soweto township. It is a constant and gnawing reminder of potential that has gone unrealised for 10 …

Alexandra/Welkom, South Africa | AFP | “In 1994 we voted for Nelson Mandela, then for Thabo Mbeki, then again for Jacob Zuma. But nothing has changed,” sighed Aubrey Kutlawano after attending an election rally by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Aged 42, Kutlawano has no job and lives in a …

Southern Africa leaders back Western Sahara at ‘historic’ talks Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Several southern African leaders on Tuesday threw their support behind Western Sahara, with one calling the disputed territory the “last colony” on the African continent. Also attending is Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni. President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South African surgeons have successfully performed the world’s first transplant of middle-ear bones that uses 3-D printed components, a research university said. The technique “may be the answer to conductive hearing loss — a middle ear problem caused by congenital birth defects, infection, trauma …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African telecommunications giant MTN on Thursday said its subscriber base grew by 16 million customers last year to 233 million, good news for the embattled mobile operator. MTN faces regulatory issues in some of the countries it operates in, including the largest, Nigeria. A …

Kampala expels boss of MTN’s Uganda arm, citing ‘national security’ Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Compromising national security has been cited as one of the reasons Kampala has deported the Belgian CEO of the Ugandan branch of MTN Wim Vanhelleputte. It is the fourth such expulsion targeting the South African telecoms …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa on Sunday congratulated Felix Tshisekedi on becoming president-elect of DR Congo following a Constitutional Court ruling, despite the African Union and EU warning of doubts over the country’s disputed election result. “President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated Mr Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo,” the presidency …

Durban, South Africa | AFP | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to unveil the ruling ANC party’s election manifesto on Saturday in front of tens of thousands of supporters, marking the start of four months of hectic campaigning. The African National Congress (ANC), which has ruled since the …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Zambian counterpart Edgar Lungu on Wednesday called on electoral officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo to quickly wrap up the vote collation and release the presidential election results. The two leaders held emergency talks in Pretoria …