July, 2020 - The African Mirror

Jul

2020

Kenya’s flower industry rebounds as lockdowns ease

OMAR MOHAMMED DEMAND for Kenya's flowers has recovered to around 85% of pre-coronavirus levels as European markets open up after lockdowns, an industry body said, spurring hope that the industry could see a full rebound by next year. Kenyan farmers were forced to throw away millions of roses in March as Europe sealed borders and residents put weddings and funerals on hold. But demand is coming back as restrictions ease and growers are hoping it will recover fully by next year, said Clement Tulezi, chief executive of the Kenya Flower Council. "We are better than we were two months ago,…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Rich Mnisi and Karabo Poppy release everyday capsule collection

BEAUTY AND FASHION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER TWO of South Africa’s world-class creatives have collaborated and produced a stunning collection during the COVID-19 lockdown. Designer Richard Mnisi and illustrator Karabo Poppy Moletsane have released a capsule collection. Titled “Running Errands”, the collection was officially released on July 20th and features a number of casual clothing pieces featuring signature illustrations by Moletsane as well as some of Mnisi’s signature clothing items, such as his scarf. Both Mnisi and Moletsane wanted fashion-lovers to see their first errand-wear capsule collection as a combination of different artistic styles intersecting multiple identities just as complex as South Africa’s diverse…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Greta Thunberg plans to donate 1 million-euro prize to green causes

WORLD

THIN LEI WIN SWEDISH teen activist Greta Thunberg plans to donate 1 million euros ($1.14 million) from a new prize she has won to groups tackling climate change and defending nature. The first projects to benefit from Thunberg receiving the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity are medical aid for indigenous communities in the Amazon battling the coronavirus pandemic and a push to make "ecocide" an international crime. The 17-year-old said in a video posted on Instagram that the award was "more money than I can even begin to imagine" and she hoped it would help her "do more good in…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Rapper Nicki Minaj expecting her first child

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER TRINIDADIAN rapper Nicki Minaj is expecting her first child. Minaj announced her pregnancy on Instagram. She is expecting her first child with her husband Kenneth Petty. The ‘Yikes’ singer posted four pictures of herself cradling her expectant belly taken by American photographer Dave LaChapelle, with the first caption written “#Preggers”, while wearing a two-piece with a jewelled bra and cradling her prominent baby bump. https://www.instagram.com/p/CC3ffwbDEM5/ In her second post, Minaj wore the same bra and wrote: “Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement and gratitude. Thank you for all the well wishes”. Minaj married Kenneth Petty, a…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Meet Nigerian COVID-19 tracers

AFRICITIES

LIBBY GEORGE, PAUL GEORGE, PAUL CARSTEN and ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM EARLY one evening, Folasade Fadare and her team of four disease hunters piled into a van and headed for Okegun, a rural community down a narrow potholed road in eastern Lagos state. A coronavirus patient had visited the area, and it was their task to find anyone exposed, isolate them and trace their contacts. The team quickly realised the job was too big: more than 100 people needed to be interviewed and tested. Ultimately, only the two sickest people, feverish and gasping for air, were sent to hospital to be isolated…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Test Drive: Ford Everest, a smooth family ride

MOTORING

JOVIAL RANTAO BUYING a car is a major decision. Accordingly, there are key questions that we ask ourselves before settling on the purchase of a vehicle. The first of these questions is, what attracts you to the car? The second question is the functionality of the car, from the way it drives to its interface with new technology. The third question to be answered is the important and monumental issue of safety. What are the safety features that will make you buy this car. The last, and perhaps the most important question, is how the vehicle fits into your lifestyle…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Could genealogy websites help catch aid worker sex abusers

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

EMMA BATHA TECHNOLOGY that helped catch a U.S. serial murderer, dubbed the Golden State Killer, could be used to track down aid workers who sexually abuse girls and women overseas, according to the team behind a groundbreaking project in the Philippines. In abuse cases which result in pregnancy, scientists say DNA could be taken from the child with the mother's consent and uploaded to a genealogy database to trace the father. The technology has been made possible by the popularity of commercial genealogy services which now hold DNA data on millions of people keen to explore their ancestry. "I'm really…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenyan emerges as one of early WTO frontrunners

BUSINESS

EMMA FARGE KENYA's candidate to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) top post said she is seeking Washington's backing and expressed some sympathy with its criticism of the global body as she emerges as one of two reform-minded African female frontrunners. Amina Mohamed told Reuters a closed-door vetting session last week went "really well" as she outlined her platform to steer the body out of crises from global trade tensions and rising protectionism to a COVID-induced dive in business. Delegates say Mohamed, a 58-year-old minister and former WTO chair, is one of the favourites alongside Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to replace Brazil's…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Floods kill scores in India, nine rhinos drown

WORLD

ZARIR HUSSAIN INTENSE rain and floods in the Indian state of Assam have killed at least 84 people and displaced more than 2.75 million since May, authorities have said , as they tried to collect the bodies of nine rare rhinos drowned in the past 10 days. Rescue teams were facing a double challenge of rising floodwaters amid the novel coronavirus as villagers driven from their homes huddled in shelters. "It's hard to enforce social distancing when people are being ordered to move away from the rising waters," said Sanghamitra Sanyal, a member of the northeastern state's flood management force.…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

First human trial of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shows promise

COVID-19

ASTRAZENECA's experimental COVID-19 vaccine was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials in healthy volunteers, data has shown, with the strongest response seen in people who received two doses. The vaccine, called AZD1222 and being developed by AstraZeneca and scientists at Britain's University of Oxford, did not prompt any serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses, according to trial results published in The Lancet medical journal. "There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the COVID-19 pandemic, but these early results hold promise," vaccine…