All articles tagged with #lesotho
Lesotho's Famo music, once a pastoral and expressive genre led by figures like Queen of Famo Puseletso Seema, has evolved from shepherd songs to a symbol intertwined with gang violence and political issues, prompting government crackdowns amid concerns over its influence on social stability.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on imports from multiple countries, including several African nations such as Lesotho, South Africa, and Nigeria, affecting their economies and trade relations.
The threat of a 50% U.S. tariff on Lesotho's textiles led to factory shutdowns and job losses, severely impacting the country's economy and workers, despite the final tariff being reduced to 15%, illustrating the damaging effects of trade threats on vulnerable nations.
At least 31 people, believed to be illegal gold miners from Lesotho, have died in a methane explosion at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa. The mine was previously owned by Harmony Gold but has been abandoned since the 1990s. The mine's ventilation shaft had abnormally high methane levels, making it too risky to dispatch a search team. Lesotho has called for the bodies to be repatriated.
At least 31 people, believed to be illegal miners from Lesotho, are suspected to have died in an abandoned South African gold mine in mid-May. The cause of death is unknown, and 28 bodies are still believed to be underground due to high levels of methane. The mine was previously owned by Harmony Gold Mining Company and stopped operations in the 1990s. Thousands of unregistered miners, known as "zama zamas," operate in South Africa, scavenging obsolete mines for gold.
Lesotho has imposed an indefinite nationwide curfew after the killing of a prominent radio presenter, Ralikonelo “Leqhashasha” Joki, who worked for Ts’enolo FM radio station. The police commissioner, Holomo Molibeli, said anyone travelling between 10pm and 4am without a police permit would face a fine or up to two years in prison. Lesotho has the third-highest homicide rate in the world, behind El Salvador and Jamaica, according to the latest World Population Review report, with 43.5 murders for every 100,000 people.