Zim: Informal sector urged to join HIV battle
While the Harare City council is busy engaging in running battles with city vendors, Health Minister has called for authorities to devise ways to formalize the vending sector so as to boost government coffers for efficient health service delivery. Due to the fact that there is donor fatigue, the government alone is not capable of financing the operations…

Elections: Wole Soyinka warns Mugabe, Wade
The Nigerian Nobel Prize winner for literature said heads of states who are trying to cling to power suffer the same fate as the dictators who were swept away by the Arab spring. Nigerian's Wole Soyinka cited the example of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, describing both of them as "irremovable octogenarian" who…

AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi
Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and current and outgoing chairperson, Jean Ping of Gabon, the caucus agreed to meet in Malawi in June for a decider. Attended strictly by the heads of states and government…

Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies
Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade's candidacy after two civilians were killed by paramilitary police in a similar demonstration in Podor situated in the northern part of the country. The angry demonstrator gathered, holding…

Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable - Gono
Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said on Tuesday, adding that the projected stabilisation of international oil prices this year might also help in lessening price pressures. But Gono expressed worries over the state of the balance of payments,…

AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades
The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso. For the first time since 1970, the Sudanese proceeded to the quarter-finals stage of the AFCON. The all-locally-based players that constitute the Sudanese squad beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in their last Group B match to pick up four points that has propelled them to the…

Senegalese opposition to intensify protests
Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid. The pronouncement came after the constitutional Council rejected an appeal filed by the opposition. Senegal's highest court also rejected opposition appeal and confirming President Wade's bid…

Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of women
The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of women wearing trousers and short skirts by male vendors in three major cities in Malawi - Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Blantyre. A statement from the coalition read: “Women’s rights in Malawi are guaranteed…

Kenya to deworm five million children annually
Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million children annually for the next five years. The programme is supported by Deworm the World, a cost-effective initiative treating school children for parasitic worms, which stunt development and impair education.…

Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new chairman
President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. President Yayi Boni elected Sunday at the 18th Ordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) took over the post from Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. He is expected to lead the continental body for a period…