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May
12
2021
By The African Mirror
Afghan girls torn between fears and ambitions after school attack

Afghan girls torn between fears and ambitions after school attack

WORLD
AMINA was one of the hardest-working girls in her class at Sayed Ul-Shuhada High School in west Kabul, her best friend remembers, determined to become a doctor to treat Afghanistan's thousands of war victims. Amina became a victim herself on Saturday, killed in a massive bomb blast as she and dozens of girls left school in the minority Hazara neighbourhood that has repeatedly been targeted by militants. Masooma, 17, who was holding back at school with friends, narrowly missed the blast. "It was like the sky was falling in," she said. Mourning her friend, Masooma is now torn between fear…
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May
12
2021
By The African Mirror
Futuristic computer game hopes to be tonic for climate change anxiety

Futuristic computer game hopes to be tonic for climate change anxiety

ENVIRONMENT
KIM HARRISBERG IT is the year 2050, the planet is warming up, meals come from nutritional food packs and dozens of new zoonotic viruses are spreading. As the editor of an influential newspaper, how would you try to shape public opinion? This is one of the scenarios encountered by players of an online game launched on Monday, which uses humour and interactive decision-making to encourage people to think about the future of climate change, and what they can do about it. Survive the Century is the work of scientists, economists and writers around the world brought together by U.S.-based research group…
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May
12
2021
By The African Mirror
African countries must embrace the concept of good food as good medicine

African countries must embrace the concept of good food as good medicine

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION
FRESH impetus is being directed into identifying and advocating for scientific priorities in the area of food security and nutrition across Africa, with a particular focus on health implications. CHARLES WAMBEBE, Professor Extraordinaire, Tshwane University of Technology At the centre of these efforts is a five-year project initiated by the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Africa, a partnership between the African Academy of Sciences and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD. This project aims to identify the continent’s most urgent research and development questions, and to advocate for investments in these areas. This will go a long way in helping the…
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May
12
2021
By The African Mirror
It’s time to stop ignoring paid childcare in urban Africa

It’s time to stop ignoring paid childcare in urban Africa

EDUCATION
EARLYMOMENTSMATTER is the hashtag that UNICEF and many others use when advocating for the importance of early childhood development. And it makes sense. The early years – when brain development is at its most rapid – set the course for a lot of what follows. This includes learning, earning and happiness. ROBERT HUGHES, Clinical Research Fellow, Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine PATRICIA KITSAO-WEKULO, Associate Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center There are, however, two ways to look at this “critical period”. Firstly, a risky period of vulnerability. The rapidly developing infant brain…
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May
12
2021
By The African Mirror
Africa Goes Digital

Africa Goes Digital

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
CRISTINA DUARTE IN rebuilding after COVID-19, policymakers must invest in innovative technology to leapfrog obstacles to inclusive development. Africa has enjoyed strong economic growth for most of the 21st century, mainly because of robust global demand for primary commodities. But the “Africa Rising” narrative that accompanied this growth is mostly a story of rising GDP, which is overly one-dimensional. In fact, Africa’s economic growth has failed to generate many good jobs—postponing, once again, the benefits of the demographic dividend of a large working-age population. Because there are fewer old and young people that require support than people of working age,…
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May
12
2021
By The African Mirror
Equipped by US & Israeli firms, police in Botswana search phones for sources

Equipped by US & Israeli firms, police in Botswana search phones for sources

MEDIA FREEDOM
ORATILE Dikologang was naked when police officers pulled black plastic over his head during his detention in April 2020. It was difficult to breathe, but the interrogation continued, he told CPJ in a recent phone interview. “What are your sources, where do you get information,” he recalled them asking repeatedly. “It was the most painful experience,” he said. Dikologang, the digital editor and co-founder of the Botswana People’s Daily News website, and two others still face jail time in relation to Facebook posts that police were investigating when they hauled the three in for questioning. CPJ documented the incidents, and made several attempts to…
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May
11
2021
By The African Mirror
Seven children killed, many wounded in Russian school shooting

Seven children killed, many wounded in Russian school shooting

WORLD
MAXIM RODIONOV and ALEXANDER MARROW SEVEN school children were killed on Tuesday and many more wounded after a lone teenage gunman opened fire in a school in the Russian city of Kazan, the head of the region said. Two children could be seen leaping from the third floor of the four-storey School Number 175 to escape as gunshots rang out, in a video filmed by an onlooker that was circulated by Russia's RIA news agency. Calling the attack a big tragedy for the whole country, Rustam Minnikhanov, the head of the wider Tatarstan region, said there was no evidence that…
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May
11
2021
By The African Mirror
‘Innovation helped our business to survive COVID-19’

‘Innovation helped our business to survive COVID-19’

BUSINESS
MOST entrepreneurs battled to find alternative solutions to keep their business operations going after the COVID-19 pandemic hit South Africans in March 2020, with devastating effects to people’s lives and the economy. Over 50 000 people lost their lives and thousands of businesses suffered massive financial losses as a result of the lockdown and many did not survive. For others, however, this crisis presented a test to adjust accordingly to keep their doors open.  Among them was James Matshubeng, managing director of Matoto Technologies, an Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Consultancy firm.  Said Matshubeing: “One of the difficult adjustments the…
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May
11
2021
By The African Mirror
Magashule given 48 hours to apologise or face DC

Magashule given 48 hours to apologise or face DC

NEWS
SOUTH Africa's ruling African National Congress has given suspended top official Ace Magashule 48 hours to apologise for trying to retaliate against President Cyril Ramaphosa for his suspension. The deadline for Magashule was announced by ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte at a press conference today. Magashule, one of Ramaphosa's main ANC rivals, is currently suspended as secretary-general of the party over corruption charges. In a letter last week, Magashule tried to retaliate by suspending Ramaphosa, claiming he had the authority to do so as secretary-general. His attempt failed. The public spat has exposed a bitter power struggle in the party…
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May
11
2021
By The African Mirror
WHO classifies India variant as being of global concern

WHO classifies India variant as being of global concern

NEWS
STEPHANIE NEBEHAY and EMMA FARGE The World Health Organization announced yesterday that the coronavirus variant first identified in India last year was being classified as a variant of global concern, with some preliminary studies showing that it spreads more easily. The B.1.617 variant is the fourth variant to be designated as being of global concern and requiring heightened tracking and analysis. The others are those first detected in Britain, South Africa and Brazil. "We are classifying this as a variant of concern at a global level," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, told a briefing. "There is some…
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