December, 2020 - The African Mirror

Dec

2020

Coronavirus claims 1.5 million lives globally with 10,000 dying each day

SHAINA AHLUWALIA and SANGAMESWARAN S OVER 1.5-million people have lost their lives due to COVID-19 with one death reported every nine seconds on a weekly average, as vaccinations are set to begin in December in a handful of developed nations. Half a million deaths occurred in just the last two months, indicating that the severity of the pandemic is far from over. Nearly 65-million people globally have been infected by the disease and the worst affected country, United States, is currently battling a third wave of coronavirus infections. In the last week alone, more than 10,000 people in the world…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

FACTBOX – Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

COVID-19

U.S. leaders urgently called on Americans to wear masks and threatened even more drastic stay-at-home orders after deaths from the coronavirus set a single-day record, with two people dying every minute, while worldwide deaths crossed 1.5- million. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19. * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of news. EUROPE * More than half of Spaniards are not willing to get COVID-19 vaccinations as soon as they are available, a survey showed as the government announced a target of 15 million to 20 million…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Six killed in building collapse in northern Egypt

NEWS

At least six people died when an old four-storey building collapsed in the coastal city of Alexandria in northern Egypt, according to local officials. Authorities had issued several restoration orders for the old building, which collapsed on Wednesday evening, but they had been ignored, Alexandria province Governor Mohamed el-Sherief told reporters at the scene. Two families were living in the building and those killed included three men and three women, officials said. Authorities have evacuated the building next to the one that collapsed after cracks appeared, according to residents. Building collapses are common in Egypt because of lax building standards…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Central African Republic court rejects ex-president Bozize’s candidacy

NEWS

THE top court in the Central African Republic (CAR) has rejected the candidacy of former President Francois Bozize in a December 27 election, in which he planned to run against incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadera. The court said in its ruling that Bozize, 74, did not satisfy the "good morality" requirement for candidates because of an international warrant and U.N. sanctions against him for alleged assassinations, torture and kidnapping. Bozize, a former general and army chief, was overthrown in a 2013 rebellion by a coalition of mainly Muslim rebels from the north, plunging the majority Christian nation into a violent civil war…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Namibia to auction 170 elephants over drought, increased population

NEWS

NAMIBIA has put 170 "high value" wild elephants up for sale due to drought and an increase in elephant numbers, the southern African country's environmental ministry said on Wednesday. An advertisement carried by state-owned daily New Era said an increase in incidents of human-elephant conflict motivated the sale of the large mammal that is at risk of extinction due to poaching and ecological factors. The Ministry of Environment Forestry and Tourism said it would auction the animals to anyone in Namibia or abroad who could meet the strict criteria, which include quarantine facilities and a game-proof fence certificate for the…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Fleeing Tigray war, Ethiopian children at risk of trafficking in Sudan

HUMAN RIGHTS

EMELINE WUILBERCQ HUNDREDS of Ethiopian children who have fled war in the northern Tigray region and arrived in neighbouring Sudan alone are at risk of human trafficking, according to several aid agencies. More than 45,000 Ethiopian refugees have crossed into Sudan, about half of whom are children, since conflict erupted at the start of November between federal troops and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Thousands of people are feared killed. Aid agencies said hundreds of children were turning up at camps and registration centres in Sudan without their parents or caregivers, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

The seismic impact of Machesa and Eric Ramco

LITERATURE

In the chaos of Mahikeng’s biggest taxi rank, the distinct voice of a woman announcing the availability of Botswana’s pula stands out. Mmamoreki, as she’s known, sits behind a counter of old fruit boxes. The counter also serves as a front to what is effectively a foreign exchange office that has come to be just as important as a cultural office. On top of the counter is a variety of products, from sweets to home-wrapped chips. But it is a stack of CDs that draws the most attention. On top of these is Botswana’s legendary traditional music group Machesa’s critically…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

U.S. Supreme Court sides with challenge to California’s COVID-19 religious service curbs

RELIGION

LAWRENCE HURLEY THE U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a blow to California Governor Gavin Newsom's pandemic-related ban on indoor religious services, siding with a church that defied the policy and challenged it as unconstitutional religious discrimination. The decision followed a similar action by the justices on November 25 that backed Christian and Jewish houses of worship that challenged New York state restrictions in coronavirus hot spots. California Governor Gavin Newsom The justices, with no noted dissents, set aside a lower court ruling that rejected a challenge to Newsom's policy by Harvest Rock Church Inc, which has several campuses in the…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Seven injured after massive explosion at South African oil refinery in Durban

NEWS

AT least seven workers were injured and damage expected to run into millions of rands incurred, after a massive explosion rocked South Africa's second-largest crude oil refinery in Durban today. Emergency personnel rushed to the scene and workers at the refinery were ordered off the premises as firefighters battled to control the blaze. Residents in the suburbs near the refinery said they heard loud explosions and saw flames and smoke. A Reuters photographer saw several fire engines spraying foam onto the affected part of the refinery, which is operated by African energy company Engen. Ambulances, metropolitan police and national police…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Musicians from every country form Earth Orchestra to record unique song

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MINDY BURROWS FOR the first time in music history, 197 musicians – one from each country – have formed an orchestra, hoping to exemplify how people can transcend physical and cultural borders to come together. The Earth Orchestra's song "Together is Beautiful" - recorded in different locations then mixed together - and a documentary telling the stories of some of the musicians were released on Friday. Earth Orchestra member Olgha Nk, from Cameroon, said she saw the project, which was three years in the making, as "the whole world holding hands". Other musicians were also struck by the unifying element…