Blog - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Reaction to Israel’s military response to Iran’s attack on Israel

ISRAEL carried out an attack on Iranian territory, sources said, days after Iran struck Israel with a barrage of drones and missiles. Here are reactions to the Israeli military response, from official statements and postings on social media: UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES: "It is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East. The Secretary-General condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond." EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN: "It is absolutely necessary…

Apr

2024

By JAMES COURTRIGHT

Ghana accused of expelling Fulani asylum seekers from Burkina Faso

NEWS

WHILE Ghana has welcomed thousands of Burkinabé refugees fleeing escalating jihadist violence across the border, Fulani rights groups allege that it has also been expelling ethnic Fulani asylum seekers, targeting a community unfairly accused of supporting the insurgency. Belko Diallo*, a 45-year-old former herder, is one of thousands of Burkinabé Fulani that the Ghanaian authorities have failed to register as refugees. Instead of being welcomed to Ghana’s Traikom refugee camp, he has had to settle with his family in a hastily erected hut in the dusty scrub land near the northern border. “When we first heard about Tarikom, we thought…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Organisers of Jewish pilgrimage in Tunisia cancel annual celebrations over Gaza

NEWS

AN annual Jewish pilgrimage to Tunisia's Djerba synagogue and celebration has been cancelled due to the war in Gaza, the head of the organising committee, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters. Trabelsi added that the committee has reduced the annual pilgrimage to limited rituals only inside the temple, and expects a very small number to arrive from France due to the tense situation in the Middle East. "How do we celebrate when people die every day?" he said. The southern island of Djerba – a holiday destination – is home to Africa’s oldest synagogue and the annual pilgrimage, attracting thousands of Jews…

Apr

2024

By DJAFFAR AL KATANTY and ERIKAS MWISI KAMBALE

Belgium encourages DRC to file complaint against Rwanda at the ICJ

NEWS

THE Democratic Republic of Congo should file a complaint with the International Court of Justice over Rwanda's failure to respect its border, Belgium's ambassador to Congo said at a meeting to assess the deepening crisis in eastern Congo. Congo has been struggling to push back M23 rebels since they launched a comeback offensive in the already restive east in 2022. The fighting has displaced 738,000 more people in the first three months of this year alone, according to the U.N. aid agency OCHA. The Congolese government, U.N. officials and Western powers including the United States and Belgium have accused Rwanda of providing…

Apr

2024

By PELUMI SALAKO and SADIYA ANSARI

Anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Ghana and Uganda feel the heat from sanctions

NEWS

A ruling this month by Uganda's Constitutional Court to water down a tough anti-LGBTQ+ law may have stemmed from concern to avoid further international sanctions over the controversial legislation, rights activists and analysts say. The court's decision to strike out several of the law's most contentious clauses came weeks after a similar law passed by Ghana appeared to have hit a roadblock amid Finance Ministry warnings it could derail $3.8 billion in international aid. Steven Kabuye, a Ugandan LGBTQ+ activist, said the court's April 3 ruling appeared aimed at appeasing international donors who had raised particular objections about the affected clauses on the grounds that they…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s military chief among 10 people killed in helicopter crash

NEWS

KENYA'S military chief, General Francis Ogolla, was among 10 people killed when their military helicopter crashed shortly after take-off, President William Ruto announced. The aircraft, which had been on a visit to troops deployed in northwest Kenya to combat endemic cattle rustling, came down just minutes after leaving Cheptulel Boys Secondary School in West Pokot County, Ruto said. Two soldiers survived the crash and were in hospital, he said, adding that an air investigation team had been sent to discover the cause. "Our motherland has lost one of her most valiant generals," Ruto told a news conference. "The demise of…

Apr

2024

By IRIS PACHECO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

This popular Brazilian street food is a delicious link to its African heritage

FOOD

LIVELY conversation blends with the rhythmic sizzle of hot oil in Itapuã, a neighbourhood near the coastal city of Salvador in Bahia State, northern Brazil. The golden brown fritters Ivana Muzenza makes at her stall, known locally as Acarajé, represent more than a tasty snack. Muzenza is a “Baiana”, a Portuguese word that describes an exclusive community of Bahian women who sell street food while dressed in traditional attire; typically a white flowing lace dress, beaded necklaces, and jewellery, with colourful headscarves. Muzenza’s great-great-grandmother arrived in the region towards the end of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. She became a "Ganhadeira…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Zando launches international unit to counter Shein and Temu in South Africa

WORLD

SOUTH African online fashion retailer Zando launched an international e-commerce division called Zando Global in the hopes of taking on fast-fashion Chinese e-commerce retailers Shein and Temu at home. The rapid rise of Shein and Temu - driven by robust demand for their low-priced apparel like $10 tops and $5 biker shorts - is putting pressure on local brick-and-mortar and online fashion retailers to find ways to respond to their budget prices. Temu launched in South Africa earlier this year. "With the rise of Shein and Temu, South African consumers have often found themselves hesitant to order internationally due to…

Apr

2024

By MARK SWILLING

South Africa’s electricity crisis: a series of failures over 30 years have left a dim legacy

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN 1994, apartheid ended and the African National Congress (ANC) won South Africa’s first-ever democratic elections, promising “Electricity for All” as part of its Reconstruction and Development Programme. Back then only 36% of all South Africans had electricity in their homes. The development programme promised to double that number by electrifying an additional 2.5 million homes by 2000. This seemed achievable – during the 1980s, the state-owned power utility Eskom’s build programme was so aggressive it had surplus electricity. Some power stations even had to be mothballed. By 1994, South Africa’s coal industry was generating high-quality coal which was exported…

Apr

2024

By GEMMA WARE

South Africans tasted the fruits of freedom and then corruption snatched them away – podcast

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FIVE years after his momentous election as South African president, Nelson Mandela stepped down after one term in office in 1999. Thabo Mbeki, his deputy, took over the mantle of the post-apartheid transition. Mbeki would lead the country for the next nine years, a period of relatively high economic growth which enabled South Africans to begin to taste the fruits of freedom. To mark 30 years since South Africa’s post-apartheid transition began, The Conversation Weekly podcast is running a special three-part podcast series, What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa? In this second episode of the series, we talk to…