Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
sadclatest news & developments
Landscape: Stretching across a vast arid landscape of red dunes, fossil riverbeds and open savannahs, the park protects one of southern Africa’s most intact desert ecosystems. Photos: African Parks

Conservation drive crosses borders

An EU-funded initiative has been launched in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, shared by South Africa and Botswana and one of southern Africa’s most important ecosystems

Championing tourism: President Cyril Ramaphosa and Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille. Photo: GCIS

Africa’s Travel Indaba boosts Durban economy and drives African tourism growth

Africa’s Travel Indaba is expected to generate millions for Durban’s economy while showcasing African tourism growth, conservation and regional travel opportunities

The presidency has defended President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent working visit to Zimbabwe. (@ZimLive/X)

‘Just a meeting, nothing else,’ says the presidency of Ramaphosa’s Zimbabwe visit

The presidency has rejected DA criticism over President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Zimbabwe visit

In recent years, research Wright and colleagues led has highlighted how prolonged heat exposure places outdoor workers, children, older people and low-income communities at increased risk of dehydration, heat stress, respiratory illness and other adverse health outcomes. The risks are expected to intensify as temperatures continue to rise. (Envato Elements)

Extreme heat is becoming Southern Africa’s defining climate and health threat, report warns

Extreme heat is no longer a future problem. A major new report warns it is intensifying inequality, illness and climate vulnerability across Southern Africa and the worst-hit are…

Southern and East Africa plug into shared power future

Zambia and Zimbabwe have each committed US$220 million to restarting the long-delayed $4.2 billion Batoka Gorge Hydropower Station near Victoria Falls

Across festivals, indigenous knowledge exchanges, and cross-border tourism, Southern Africans are integrating themselves long before policymakers catch up. Photo: Lake of Stars

How culture, not politics, is quietly uniting Southern Africa

Member States creating a regional identity built from lived experience rather than official agreements

Mosotho Moepya, chairperson of IEC South Africa. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

South Africa’s future depends on electoral integrity

The next election will be for the survival and credibility of the country’s democracy

If the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is to translate into real commercial activity, this financial architecture has to grow with it.

East Africa trade soars to $38bn in second quarter, narrowing deficit

The increase was largely driven by exports, which surged 40.5% to $18.6 billion, reflecting rising global demand

Malawi president Peter Mutharika

Mutharika set for political encore as Malawi prepares for historic inauguration

The 85-year-old’s victory last month was a referendum on the cost of living in a country where inflation hovers near 30%, fuel and foreign currency are scarce and poverty is…

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina is teh chair of the Southern African Development Community. (AFP)

No, the SADC chair is not a ‘European citizen’ – the law is clear

President Andry Rajoelina remains Malagasy, and he assumed the Southern African Development Community chair legitimately, as elected by his peers

Former DRC president Joseph Kabila.

Ramaphosa, Mnangagwa urge DRC’s Tshisekedi to drop Kabila charges

Sources said Mnangagwa and Ramaphosa discussed Kabila’s predicament in Zimbabwe in August and agreed that the treason charges were not fair

Comeback kid: Peter Mutharika is back in the presidential seat, taking 56.8% of the vote. Photo: File

At 85, Mutharika returns as Malawi president, SADC’s oldest leader

His return as president highlights the country’s deep political divides, rooted in regional loyalties

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera. (@LazarusChakwera/X)

Malawi court rejects Chakwera’s bid to block release of election results

However, a high court judge said the president and his Malawi Congress Party can proceed with a judicial review of alleged irregularities

Malawi president Peter Mutharika

Hours away from final result, Peter Mutharika leads Malawian elections

Victory very unlikely for the incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera. (@LazarusChakwera/X)

Turmoil in Malawi as both presidential candidates claim election victory

The country’s high-stakes vote has been plagued by allegations of cheating, rivalry and arrests, leading to a demand for transparency

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the SANDF deployment in his 12 February State of the Nation Address.

SANDF repatriates more troops from the DRC

Personnel and equipment have been airlifted from Lubumbashi and Kinshasa to Pretoria, amid tension over unpaid allowances for soldiers

The M23 rebels have said they support the withdrawal of the South African National Defence Force from the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
 Photo: Wikipedia

Mbeki throws diplomatic hot potato at government over M23 invitation

The international relations department was not aware of the rebels’ presence in South Africa

M23 representatives are in South Africa on a non-governmental programme and say they have shown willingness to find a lasting solution to the conflict, accusing Kinshasa of sabotaging peace processes.

M23 to attend peace conference, but DRC government boycotting

Opposition officials in the DRC have accused the government of blocking their attempts to travel to the forum hosted by the Thabo Mbeki Foundation

Thetsane industrial area in Maseru is home to many garment factories. Archive photo: Sechaba Mokhethi

Lesotho aims for 10% tariff on exports to US

The government is relieved by the reduction in the tariffs from the threatened 50% to 15%

The number of people facing severe food insecurity has increased for a sixth consecutive year, according to the latest Global Report on Food Crisis, with an estimated 15  million more people across sub-Saharan Africa that experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2024 than in 2023.  (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)

Climate crisis drives SADC food insecurity

There is a yawing gap between countries acknowledging the risks and them implementing actions that that are effective