In America the more things change, the more they stay the same

When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently sent good wishes to hospitalised trombonist/composer Jonas Gwangwa, it represented far more than a routine official courtesy.

In his weekly letter to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa says the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine will be the most ambitious and extensive in the country's history.

The death of Jackson Mphikwa Mthembu, Minister in the Office of the President of South Africa, has been met with sorrow across the country. Tributes have come from across the political spectrum for the country’s first government minister to succumb to COVID-19.

Late last year the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) led by the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) identified a rapidly spreading new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The new variant, called 501Y.V2, raises critical questions – including whether current vaccines and treatments will still be effective.

The issue of vaccine production has become a topic of hot debate following the approval of treatments for COVID-19. In South Africa, angry exchanges have been spurred by the country’s lagging access to COVID-19 vaccines.

SABC News' Abbey Makoe looks at the situation of two nations, Russian-speaking Crimea and Western Sahara, seeking self-determination.

On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa released his first letter of 2021 to the nation, detailing the challenges that face the country as a result of the COVID -19  pandemic and the hopes he has for the country in the year ahead.

As countries across the world begin to purchase and roll out COVID-19 vaccines, a key question is how far the vaccine is from reaching Africa and how accessible it will be for the continent. Moina Spooner, Commissioning Editor with The Conversation Africa, asked Mosoka Fallah, an expert on infectious diseases, to provide his insights.

For months, Ugandans have witnessed a vicious presidential election campaign without precedent. While the incumbent, Yoweri Museveni, has enjoyed free rein on the campaign trail, his youthful main opponent Robert Kyagulanyi and his supporters have faced numerous obstacles – and physical assault.

Political analyst Sanusha Naidu says South Africans must come to terms with avoiding funerals during the coronavirus pandemic.

The introduction of antiretroviral drugs has resulted in a remarkable decline in mother-to-child transmission of HIV. New infections among children declined by 52% worldwide and 55% in sub-Saharan Africa between 2010 and 2019.

The race is on to secure vaccines that will protect people from COVID-19.

Supporters of President Donald Trump, following his encouragement, stormed the US Capitol building on January 6, disrupting the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory. Waving Trump banners, hundreds of people broke through barricades and smashed windows to enter the building where Congress convenes.

The recent political turmoil that engulfed the US has been a long time coming. For the close followers of the US politics, it is perhaps easy to even opine that the chickens have, in a way, come home to roost.

South Africa’s vaccine rollout plan which was launched by Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize is nothing but an aspirational goal, according to Professor of Vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand Dr. Shabir Madhi. 

Joe Biden has been officially certified as the next President of the United States. This is despite violent protests by outgoing president Donald Trump's supporters who stormed the US Capitol, forcing a delay in the electoral vote certification.

The Progressive Health Forum of South Africa has on the other hand slammed the government's plan to procure vaccines in about a month's time, saying it is both inexcusable and unforgivable and will have far-reaching repercussions.

If it were not self-restrictive, I would describe the late Jon Qwelane as a “doyen of black journalism”. But to do so would undermine his immense contribution to the advancement, protection and promotion of the craft, writes Abbey Makoe.

From wildfires in California and locust attacks in Ethiopia to job losses caused by pandemic lockdowns in Italy and Myanmar, climate change and COVID-19 disrupted food production and tipped millions more people into hunger in 2020.

Europe rolled out a huge COVID-19 vaccination drive on Sunday to try to rein in the coronavirus pandemic but many Europeans are sceptical about the speed at which the vaccines have been tested and approved and reluctant to have the shot.

Several countries closed their borders to Britain on Monday over fears of a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages just days before the UK is set to leave the European Union.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed stark inequalities and fissures in societies around the world. One of these ruptures has been the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women. In South Africa, women have suffered severe economic and social impacts from the lockdown that was imposed to curb the spread of the virus.

It has been 26 years since the official fall of apartheid and the birth of democracy. So where are we now?

Solomon T. Plaatje was born in 1876 and was one of the founding members of South Africa’s current ruling party, the African National Congress.

In response to the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, most sub-Saharan governments are developing economic recovery plans. These will require some different thinking, particularly when it comes to agriculture. Wandile Sihlobo, the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, explains to Michael Aliber, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Fort Hare, what that new thinking might look like.

I was recently sent a photo that featured on the popular #ImStaying Facebook thread.

Political analyst Lesiba Teffo says it is clear that the so-called South African Revenue Service (SARS) rogue unit was established to ensure that revenue was collected from those who sought to evade paying tax.

BACSA launched an initiative that combines the efforts of security companies and the SAPS in combating crime across the country.

For people working in South Africa’s live music sector, 2020 has been “devastating”. That was the term that researchers read most frequently in responses to the country’s largest-ever live music and COVID-19 survey, published in November.

Dr Semane Molotlegi, the Queen Mother of the Royal Bafokeng Nation outside Rustenburg in the North West, was an epitome of resilience and togetherness in both good times and bad times.