Officials in Botswana have denied allegations of a plot to harm or kill former president Ian Khama, the latest in a series of claims and disputes that date back to 2018 and the rise of current President Mokgweetsi Masisi. “There is no threat by the state on Dr. Khama’s life,”…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Progress in African governance has stalled since 2019 due to security challenges and the economic and health impacts of COVID, as well as “widespread democratic backsliding” that poses a threat to development, according to the just-released annual report from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Data from the Ibrahim Index of African…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
On the whole, communities on the African continent have made greater strides in life expectancy than in any other region of the world, according to a new assessment report from the World Health Organization (WHO). The life expectancy of Africans went up by an average 10 years per person between…
Authorities in Botswana held a Sunday night press conference to discuss the latest information about the B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant first identified there. In the meantime, southern Africans are asking: Where did this variant actually come from? That’s because Botswana’s government said Friday that the four B.1.1.529 cases reported last week…
Botswana confirmed on Thursday that a new COVID-19 variant, one that’s causing great concern in southern Africa and beyond, was detected in four people described as travelers. Botswana’s Presidential COVID-19 Task Force said the four cases of the B.1.1.529 variant were recorded on Monday. All four cases happened in people…
Health officials say a slight overall dip in COVID cases on the African continent is welcome, but it doesn’t reflect the reality in many nations that are seeing a surge. New case numbers were down by 1.8 percent during the week ending July 18, according to numbers cited Friday by…
The government of Botswana issued a travel advisory for South Africa on Tuesday because of violent protests that followed former president Jacob Zuma’s surrender to authorities and subsequent imprisonment. Zuma, long entangled by corruption inquiries and investigations, was sentenced last week to 15 months on contempt of court charges for…
Authorities in Botswana say that toxic cyanobacteria, a kind of algae found in water sources, is behind the mysterious death of elephant herds earlier this year. Dr. Mmadi Reuben, the principal veterinary officer for the Department of Wildlife & National Parks, said Monday that the laboratory samples of water obtained…
Another locust outbreak is threatening southern Africa, this time with the potential to affect some 7 million people in four more countries. Botswana has seen smallholder farmers lose entire crops, with the growing region of Pandamatenga and its key sorghum crops at risk as the country seeks to step up…
Malaria hits hard on the African continent, home to 93 percent of the world’s 228 million cases in 2018 and 94 percent of its fatalities. What scientists at the universities of Leeds and Lincoln in the UK want to know is how Africans might be affected in the climate change…
Nigeria’s war on corruption suffered several body blows this month after Ibrahim Magu, the chief of its Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was suspended on suspicion of malfeasance, including collecting bribes and siphoning funds away from the EFCC. A dozen more staff members within the anti-corruption agency were subsequently…
Ethiopia and Tunisia have been removed, but four African nations are now on a financial crimes watch list issued by the European Union. Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and Zimbabwe are identified as high-risk countries for money laundering and the potential for funding terrorism, according to an EU statement. The additions are…
As fighting between the UN backed GNA and rebel troops increased amid desperate attempts to deal with the coronavirus crisis, the seizure of an illegal fuel shipment to rebel leader General Haftar meant that the country could add yet another item to its already extensive list of problems. Not only…
I am a London-based researcher specialized in security issues and environmental protection. He is currently writing a book about the role lobbying plays in keeping African leaders in power.
WHO held its executive board meeting in Geneva on Monday, with Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, reappointed to her position. Yet much of the meeting focused on the 2019nCov outbreak, which was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on Thursday. China’s latest update…
Botswana on Friday became the latest African nation to announced a suspected – but not confirmed – case of 2019-nCoV, the new coronavirus affecting China and some 20 countries around the world. Malaki Tshipayagae, the director for Botswana’s health service, said the possible patient was aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight…