The African Mirror - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Moroccan man guilty of murdering man in UK in revenge for Gaza

A Moroccan man who stabbed to death a passer-by in the street in northeast England in what he later told police was revenge for Israeli action in Gaza was found guilty of murder. Ahmed Alid, 45, who had sought asylum in Britain, killed his 70-year-old victim after approaching him from behind on a road in Hartlepool in the early hours of October 15 last year, having previously attacked his housemate with two knives, prosecutors said. After his arrest, he told detectives he had committed the acts because of the conflict in Gaza, and in revenge for Israel killing innocent children,…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Kenyan military deployed as East Africa floods kill dozens

NEWS

KENYA'S military was deployed to rescue victims of heavy rains that have killed dozens of people across East Africa over the past month. At least 45 people have died in the floods in Kenya since March, including 10 since Monday, the Kenya Red Cross said. Large parts of the capital Nairobi and other major towns are underwater, forcing thousands of residents to leave their homes. Collins Obondo, 38, lost at least four relatives in the flooding on Wednesday in Nairobi's densely-populated Mathare neighbourhood, which lies along the Nairobi River. "The body of my mother's neighbour was trapped right across here…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

South Africa extends troop deployment in Mozambique and Congo

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's military will extend the deployment of its troops in conflict-hit Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement. The extension, for an unspecified amount of time, will keep 1,198 personnel of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo, where they are part of a U.N. peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups. The statement also said that 1,495 SANDF members would continue their operations in Mozambique, where they have been supporting the government's fight against violent extremism in northern areas since 2021. South Africa's military deployments abroad have come…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Hamas issues video showing Israeli-American hostage Goldberg-Polin

WORLD

THE Islamist movement Hamas published a video apparently showing Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American seized during Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel and taken into Gaza, alive. The short, undated video showed the 23-year-old missing a lower arm, but otherwise apparently healthy. He was shown saying he had sustained serious injuries during the Oct. 7 attack "after I tried using my body as a shield to protect myself and other fearful civilians". His mother Rachel Goldberg-Polin has been campaigning for the release of her son, who was abducted at the Nova music festival and is one of 133 Israeli hostages still in captivity…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Congo Republic declares mpox epidemic

HEALTH

THE Republic of the Congo has declared an epidemic of mpox after 19 cases were confirmed across five departments, including the capital Brazzaville. No deaths have yet been recorded, Health Minister Gilbert Mokoki said in a statement on Tuesday. He called on the public to take precautions including avoiding close contact with suspected cases, avoiding contact with animals and avoiding handling game meat with bare hands. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named the virus mpox to replace the older term monkeypox, citing concerns of stigma and racism associated with the name. Mpox was first detected in humans in the…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Malian group asks Supreme Court to annul junta’s ban on political activities

NEWS

THE Malian Supreme Court should annul the ruling junta's order to suspend political activities, a group of Malian political parties and civil society organisations said in an appeal. The West African country has been under military rule since a coup in 2020. Tensions have risen in recent weeks over the authorities' failure to organise promised elections and their subsequent decree that limits political life in the name of maintaining public order. The allied political and civil society groups opposed to the April 10 order said they had turned jointly to Mali's top court "with the aim of annulling the decree which they consider…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

US sanctions militant leaders over hostages in West Africa

NEWS

THE U.S. imposed sanctions on leaders of militant groups over the taking of hostages, including Americans, in West Africa, the Treasury and State departments said. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The sanctions on leaders of the West African branch of al Qaeda, called Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), and Islamist militant group Al-Mourabitoun come as Washington has sought to deter and punish detentions of U.S. citizens abroad. West African countries have been destabilized in recent years by Islamist insurgencies that took root in Mali in 2012 and spread across the Sahel region despite costly, international backed-military efforts. KEY QUOTES "We will not hesitate…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Twenty-one dead, 23 missing after boat capsizes off Djibouti coast, UN agency official says

NEWS

TWENTY-ONE migrants died and another 23 are missing after a boat carrying 77 people capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the second such incident in two weeks, the United Nations migration agency said. The boat's occupants included children, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a post on social media platform X. Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa, especially from Ethiopia and Somalia, leave the continent through Djibouti, aiming to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations to find work, according to IOM. Many fail, and thousands are stranded in Yemen where they live in…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Top UN officials call on UK to reconsider plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda

NEWS

TWO United Nations top officials called on the UK to reconsider its plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda, warning the move would have a harmful impact on human rights and refugee protection. In a joint statement, Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the UK to instead take practical measures to address irregular flows of migrants and refugees. "The new legislation marks a further step away from the UK's long tradition of providing refuge to those in need, in breach of the Refugee Convention," said Grandi.…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Contaminated cough syrup in Africa no longer available – WHO

NEWS

A contaminated batch of Benylin Paediatric Syrup is no longer available in the African countries where it was sold, the World Health Organization said. Earlier this month, Nigeria recalled a batch of the children's cough and allergy medicine after tests found that it contained unacceptable levels of the toxin, diethylene glycol. Five other African countries have also pulled the product from shelves - Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa, where the drug was made. The recalled batch of Benylin syrup was made by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) in South Africa in May 2021, although Kenvue (KVUE.N) now owns the brand after…