Environmentalists in Zimbabwe are celebrating after the government banned coalmining in all the country’s national parks. Two Chinese firms had previously been given a licence to explore for coal in Hwange, Zimbabwe’s largest reserve, which is a hub of biodiversity and home to more than 40,000 elephants and other species, including the endangered black rhino. The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association filed an urgent High Court application, forcing the government to act. It intends to keep up the pressure and secure legislative changes that protect parks from future incursions.
After a decade of strikes, protests and a mass boycott, cleaners at the University of London have finally won their fight to be recognized as direct employees of the university.
