ABUJA – Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan wants the government to borrow $1bn (£580m) to strengthen the military’s capability to fight militant Islamists. Mr Jonathan wrote to parliament, asking for the expenditure to be approved. Nigeria has a military budget of about $6.3bn a year but large sums are lost to corruption, critics say. Mr Jonathan…
JOHANNESBURG – The items include a chess set of figures from either side of the apartheid battle, and salt and pepper shakers of Mr Mandela and FW de Klerk. The sale is expected to raise around $450,000 for charity. Mr Mandela, who died in December aged 95, was revered around the world for fighting minority…
EDITOR – Africa, despite it being rich in resources remains the poorest continent in the world. The land issue is a major problem in Africa, with many African countries having confused land ownership such that vast useful land remains underutilised or unused — and in some African countries where rainfall is unreliable, there is still…
HARARE – Zimbabwe has become an insignificant destination in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sub-Saharan Africa due to the quality of its governance, an American think tank said. According to its report, Brookings Institute (Brookings) — a private non-profit organisation involved in independent research and innovative policy solutions — says the investment-starved Zimbabwe’s…
HARARE – Rio Tinto’s Zimbabwe-based Murowa Diamonds (Murowa) registered a four percent increase in gem production to 152 000 carats in the first half of 2014. The miner said the performance was on the back of improved throughput and processing of previously stockpiled material. Murowa — 77,8 percent owned by Rio Tinto — also recorded…
HARARE – German-Nigerian hip-hop/soul singer Nneka Lucia Egbuna and South Africa’s leading stand-up comedian Loyiso Gola are part of a high-profile cast of international stars who will perform at the Shoko Festival in September. The popular pair will be joined at one of Zimbabwe’s leading festivals by United Kingdom House band, The Layabouts, two-time Individual…
BULAWAYO – Zimbabwean author Tendai Huchu was beaten to the £10 000 Caine Prize for African Writing by Kenyan writer Okwiri Oduor. Huchu, who was hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Zimbabweans NoViolet Bulawayo who won the award in 2011 and Brian Chikwava who came out tops in 2004, walked away with £500 prize…
HARARE – President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF yesterday extended a gesture of goodwill towards China, offering thanks for the help in last year’s controversial poll victory. China’s ties with Zimbabwe have long been cordial, with the Asian giant providing handouts such as food, fertiliser, and machinery worth millions of United States dollars to the southern…
HARARE – President Robert Mugabe is assuming the chairmanship of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (Sadc) next month, at a summit to be hosted in Victoria Falls, Foreign Affairs minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi has said. Mumbengegwi told a news conference yesterday that all was set for the August 17 and 18 heads of State meeting….
HARARE – Rosemary Margaret Khumalo, a female death row inmate, died of natural causes on Tuesday at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Khumalo, 59, was on death row for the past 15 years. Chief superintendent Elizabeth Banda, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services spokesperson, confirmed the death to the Daily News yesterday. “She died of natural…
