Southern Africa news stories on Newser

First Lady’s Africa Trip Re-Ignites Criticism

Mark Russell — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 07:28:22 CDT

Michelle Obama's trip to southern Africa this week is giving new life to criticism that the Obama administration is overlooking the troubled continent, reports the Washington Post . The president has been to sub-Saharan Africa only once since taking office— a 24-hour trip to Ghana in 2009 —and critics say the...

AIDS Top Killer of Women Worldwide: UN

Jane Yager — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:56:48 CST

HIV/AIDS is the top cause of death and disease among women and girls, says the UNAids program, which yesterday launched a 5-year plan to tackle the problems that put women especially at risk from the disease. Part of the problem is that up to 70% of women worldwide have been...

Tsvangirai Barred From Mbeki Meet

Jason Farago — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:37:09 CDT

Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's opposition, was detained at the airport in Harare today and prevented from flying to South Africa. Authorities confiscated his passport, as well as the travel documents of fellow members of the Movement for Democratic Change, before letting him leave. Tsvangirai was to attend a...

Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Talks Stall; Mbeki Leaves

Jason Farago — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:42:52 CDT

South African president Thabo Mbeki today left Zimbabwe without a power-sharing deal, as official media reported that Robert Mugabe had struck an agreement with a breakaway leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, sidelining its leader Morgan Tsvangirai. A spokesman for the MDC splinter group told Bloomberg there was no...

Zambia Denies Reports That Prez Is Dead

Jason Farago — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:35:25 CDT

Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa is resting comfortably in a Paris hospital, said a government spokesman today, denying "malicious" widespread reports that the leader had died after suffering his second stroke in 2 years ahead of an African Union summit. Mwanawasa "is responding well to treatment. He has made steady progress,...

African Union Pushes Unity Government in Zimbabwe

Nick McMaster — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:44:45 CDT

The African Union adopted a resolution today calling for President Robert Mugabe to begin negotiations with the Zimbabwean opposition on forming a unity government, Reuters reports. The action marks the first time the AU has censured Mugabe, who once enjoyed a strong reputation as Zimbabwe’s liberator, for his undemocratic practices.

Tsvangirai: Africa, UN Must Broker Deal

Kevin Spak — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:02:00 CDT

Morgan Tsvangirai is calling for a “negotiated political settlement” to begin a period of “healing” for Zimbabwe, the BBC reports. Speaking at his home after leaving the Dutch embassy, the opposition leader called Friday’s election a sham, and asked the African Union and Southern African Development Community to lead a...

Climate Change May Trigger Crop Failures

Robin Frost — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 09:21:00 CST

Climate change could cause severe food shortages in South Asia and southern Africa, two of the poorest regions in the world, by 2030, National Geographic reports. "We were surprised by how much, and how soon, these regions could suffer if we don't adapt," said one of the study's authors. Decreased...

Africans OK Nine-Year Ivory Ban

Sarah Levy — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:30:00 CDT

Four southern African countries will hold a one-time sale of 200 tons of stockpiled ivory before the start of a nine-year moratorium, in a hard-fought conservation compromise. Proceeds from the blowout will be used in elephant conservation efforts in the future. "It's the best we could achieve for the African...