July, 2020 - The African Mirror

Jul

2020

Volkswagen’s new T-Roc is here!

MOTORING CORRESPONDENT THE HIGHLY competitive SUV vehicle market in South Africa has just got spicy and interesting. One of the country’s leading manufacturers, VW, has produced a formidable new addition to its impressive SVU range. Say hello to the T-Roc! The T-Roc, a compact crossover, joins the VW SUV family and now a sibling to the T-Cross, the Tiguan, the Tiguan Allspace and the Touareg. VW says its new baby brings fresh impetus to the compact SUV class and sets a new benchmark in the SUV segment with its functionality, dynamic handling and technology. “The T-Roc, which slots above the…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

African beauty Influencers to start following

BEAUTY AND FASHION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE declaration of national lockdowns by governments across the continent, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has restricted the movements of people and increased their online presence on platforms like Youtube, Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook. They flocked by the masses to the digital platforms has led to upcoming black influencers and creatives upping their games considerably and doing new things to attract and keep their followers. As the list of international black artists and influencers continues to grow, AFRICAN MIRROR highlights some of the interesting names who are slaying in the beauty industry. Dimma Umeh…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Best-selling novel exposes life of child slaves in Nigeria

LITERATURE

NELLIE PEYTON WRITER Abi Dare grew up in a part of Lagos, Nigeria where most families, including hers, had maids as young as eight years old who worked all day, were often beaten and did not go to school. It was only as an adult that she realised these so-called "house girls" were essentially slaves. "I did have questions growing up but they weren't questions I necessarily voiced because it was the norm. It still is happening," the 38-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from her home in London. Dare's debut novel, "The Girl with the Louding Voice",…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

The Black Female Visual Artists on Our Radar

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

LERATO MBANGENI BLURRING the lines between disciplines and mediums is what we like and the following women have got it down to a fine art. These creatives are on our radar this week: Lunga Ntila (@lunga_ntila) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TenjFjZkP/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb3BzeEFs3_/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B0yVe0bp1L7/ Puleng Mongale (@pulengmongale) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBKq2_3DaSw/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CADONPlDjf8/ Natalie Paneng (@nataliepaneng_) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Fd0hJj1wJ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CBkczENDXOT/ Azania Forest (@azaniaforest) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBQJtBeDOyz/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_z4z40DZrZ/ Tony Gum (@tony_gum) https://www.instagram.com/p/BdvnyY6FFaI/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcd1yjbgP5D/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BcKP4I_A6fO/

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Does coronavirus aid to news outlets undermine journalistic credibility?

MEDIA FREEDOM

PATRICK LEE PLAISANCE THE NEWS business, like every other, is struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. The economic crisis has forced more than two dozen small-town newsrooms to shut down and has accelerated media job losses – including hundreds of layoffs at outlets as varied as Condé Nast, BuzzFeed, Vice, The Economist, and virtually every newspaper chain. As a result, publishers have been among those in line to apply for loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, an emergency funding package administered by the federal Small Business Administration. News organizations have received millions in coronavirus stimulus aid. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Trump blasts “left-wing cultural revolution” at Mount Rushmore

WORLD

JEFF MASON US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Friday railed against "angry mobs" that tried to tear down statues of Confederate leaders and other historical figures, warning thousands of supporters at Mount Rushmore that protesters were trying to erase U.S. history. On a day when seven U.S. states posted a record number of new COVID-19 cases, the pandemic reached Trump's inner circle. Kimberly Guilfoyle, a senior campaign official and the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., tested positive in South Dakota before the event, according to Sergio Gor, a Trump campaign official. Trump Jr. has tested negative, Gor said. The event drew…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Coronavirus spike: The cities facing a second lockdown

WORLD

SONIA ELKS As people in many cities slowly emerge from months-long lockdowns into something more like normal life, others are facing fresh clampdowns as spikes in new coronavirus cases prompt fears over a second wave of infections. Cities from Beijing to Leicester have announced second lockdowns in response to rises in cases after restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the disease were lifted. More than 10 million people have been infected and 500,000 killed by the virus since it first emerged late last year, with the World Health Organization warning this week that the worst of the pandemic is yet to…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

The media often conflates malicious criticism with genuine critique: why it shouldn’t

MEDIA FREEDOM

JULIE REID, Associate professor, University of South Africa “IF journalism is a force of immense influence – and I think it is, and should be – then it surely deserves scrutiny.” These are the words of Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian in London. News media sector representatives, journalists and editors often respond to criticism of the press with assertions that the freedom and independence of the news media must be protected at all costs. This is often an almost automatic knee-jerk reaction. For many, the freedom of the press is an infallible sacred cow. This line of argument…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Cameroon holds first peace talks with main separatist insurgents

NEWS

REPRESENTATIVES of Cameroon's government held talks this week with the main leaders of an Anglophone separatist insurgency for the first time since the conflict began in 2017, a separatist leader and two security sources have said. Julius Ayuk Tabe, the most prominent separatist leader who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for charges including terrorism, said the meeting took place on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire. Violence broke out in 2017 following a government crackdown on peaceful protests by Anglophone lawyers and teachers who complained of being marginalised by the French-speaking majority. The fighting has…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Suicide car bomber hits checkpoint at Somalia’s Mogadishu port

NEWS

AN explosion shook parts of the Somali capital of Mogadishu early today as a suicide car bomber drove into a checkpoint just outside the port, witnesses said, but police made no immediate comment on casualties. "Metal debris fell all over us inside the port and we heard gunfire," said a port worker who sought anonymity for security reasons. "Security forces have surrounded the area." The blast shook the ground, said Mohammed Ali, a shopkeeper in the area. At the city's Madina hospital, a nurse, Halima Nur, said it had received five people injured in the blast for treatment. Somalia has…