Blog - The African Mirror

May

2024

Putin to push growing Moscow-Beijing trade in China’s northeast

AFTER sealing pledges of a "new era" of strategic partnership with China's Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to highlight the growing importance of trade near the Russian border in China's northeast. Putin ends his two-day, red-carpet visit to China in Harbin in Heilongjiang province, which has long-running trade and cultural ties to Russia, touring a Russian-China Expo and a forum on interregional cooperation. Facing political isolation and Western sanctions over Russia's two-year-old invasion of Ukraine, Putin is increasingly turning to China to support its war economy. Amid the pomp of a full state visit, Putin and Xi signed a joint statement on…

May

2024

By ANTHONY DEUTSCH and STEPHANIE VAN DEN BERG

‘Israel must be stopped’, South Africa tells World Court

NEWS

SOUTH Africa urged the U.N.'s top court to order a halt to Israel's offensive on Rafah, saying attacks on the southern Gaza city "must be stopped" to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people. South Africa's Ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged the court to order Israel to "immediately, totally and unconditionally, withdraw the Israeli army from the entirety of the Gaza Strip." The two days of hearings at the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, are part of a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide. Israel, which has denounced South Africa's…

May

2024

By NQOBILE DLUDLA and NELLIE PEYTON

Radical “Ramaphosa Care” bill signed into law in SA

HEALTH

SOUTH Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill that aims to provide universal health coverage, hailing it as a major step towards a more just society two weeks before an election that is expected to be fiercely competitive. The National Health Insurance (NHI) Act takes aim at a two-tier health system, in which a publicly funded sector that serves 84% of the population is overburdened and run down while some people have access to better treatment through private insurance. Opponents have vowed to challenge it in court and described it is a ploy for votes - which the presidency denied…

May

2024

By MARTYN HERMAN

History favours Man City as title race goes to wire

FOOTBALL

ARSENAL have at least taken the Premier League title race to the final day of the season but the omens are not good for Mikel Arteta's team if they are to stop Manchester City from making history. City's nervy 2-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, their eighth league victory in a row, means they arrive at the final day of the campaign with a two-point lead over Arsenal. Victory over West Ham United would seal a fourth successive title for Pep Guardiola's side -- an unprecedented feat in English football. Arsenal, who have barely put a foot wrong since…

May

2024

By The African Mirror

Swiss court jails Gambian ex-minister for crimes against humanity

NEWS

A Swiss court convicted a former government minister from Gambia of crimes against humanity under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh and jailed him for 20 years, in a historic verdict using universal jurisdiction in Europe. The Federal Criminal Court found Ousman Sonko guilty on several counts of intentional homicide, torture and false imprisonment. Sonko, who was dismissed as Gambia's interior minister in 2016, was acquitted of rape. "The trial chamber found Ousman Sonko guilty of multiple counts of intentional homicide, multiple counts of torture and multiple counts of deprivation of liberty, each as a crime against humanity," the court said in a…

May

2024

By JOE BAVIER

South Africa’s ANC walks political tightrope over coal plant shutdowns

NEWS

IN a ward South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) won handily in local elections three years ago, party campaign worker Poppy Vilakazi has been getting a decidedly frosty reception lately. "Mostly they are angry," she told Reuters, speaking in Komati, a village in the shadow of a shuttered power plant in Mpumalanga province, an ANC stronghold in the country's coal belt. "They feel the ANC let them down by allowing this power station to close." South Africa's creaky power sector and the economic fallout from state utility Eskom's struggle to keep the lights on are top issues in a May 29…

May

2024

By DERICK MATSENGARWODZI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Tuku’s legacy: A Zimbabwean artist aims to do right by her famous father

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AT the age of ten, Selmor Mtukudzi accompanied her father to her first studio recording. By then, Oliver Mtukudzi was a household name all over Africa and known fondly worldwide by his fans as 'Tuku'. Today, Oliver Mtukudzi is considered an icon among the continent’s club of artistic heroes; he addressed social issues as a musician and actor and acted as a goodwill ambassador for the UN’s children's fund. He also mentored young musicians, including his own children. His career spanned over four decades until his death in January 2019. Now, Selmor and others in the Mtukudzi family are working…

May

2024

By The African Mirror

FIFA propose mandatory racism sanctions, including match forfeits

FOOTBALL

FIFA will present a proposal to its Congress to implement mandatory sanctions, including match forfeits, for incidents of racist abuse across all its 211 member associations, the secretary general of world soccer's governing body said on Thursday. Mattias Grafstrom, who was formally appointed as the FIFA Secretary General this week, wrote a letter to all member associations outlining the proposal which includes rules and sanctions, action on the field and potential criminal charges. "We... will make racism a specific offence with mandatory inclusion in the individual Disciplinary Codes of all 211 FIFA Member Associations, differentiating racism from other incidents, giving acts of…

May

2024

By DJAFFAR SABITI

Grief and anger as Congo mourners blame Rwanda-backed rebels for attack

NEWS

FAMILIES huddled near the line of small coffins in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, all mourning the children and others killed in a rocket attack, many shouting out accusations against the rebels they said launched the assault. Relatives held up crosses daubed with the names of the dead and kept their angriest words for Rwanda, the country just over the border that they, their government and the U.N. say is backing the M23 insurgents - an accusation denied by Kigali. At least five rockets hit camps that were sheltering displaced people around the city of Goma on May 3, killing mostly…

May

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and EMILY ROSE

Israel moves into north Gaza Hamas stronghold, pounds Rafah without advancing

WORLD

ISRAEL'S tanks pushed into the heart of Jabalia in northern Gaza, facing anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs from militants concentrated there, while in the south, its forces pounded Rafah without advancing, Palestinian residents and militants said. The slow progress of Israel's offensive, more than seven months after it was prompted by Hamas' deadly cross-border raid, highlighted the difficulty of achieving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aim of eradicating the militant group. Armed wings of Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have been able to fight up and down the Gaza Strip, using heavily fortified tunnels to stage attacks in both the north - the…