NEWS - The African Mirror

Mar

23

2024

Senegal’s fishermen head for Spain as fish stocks dwindle at home

NEWS

FISHERMAN Khalifa Ndour says Senegalese President Macky Sall is responsible for the plunge in his country's fish stocks that forced him to risk his life to seek work as a farmhand in northeastern Spain. Back home in Senegal, his wife Mariatou Mbodj misses her husband. She can't find work as a fish processor, and she and Ndour's three children wait anxiously in Bargny, on the coast south of the capital Dakar, for news of his progress in getting legalised in Spain. Ndour, 42, is one of tens of thousands of Africans, many former fishermen, making a perilous journey to Spain…

Mar

22

2024

By The African Mirror

Idris Elba plans to build an eco-friendly ‘smart city’ on a remote island off the coast of Sierra Leone

NEWS

BRITISH actor Idris Elba has revealed plans to develop Sherbro Island, a remote island off the coast of Sierra Leone, into an eco-friendly 'smart city'. The initiative aims to create an 'afro-dynamic eco-city' that prioritizes sustainability, community, and economic growth were reported by the British tabloid Daily Mail in an exclusive report. According to the Mail, Sherbro Alliance Partners (SAP), the development team behind the project, is committed to preserving the island's delicate ecosystem, which spans 230 square miles and includes mangrove forests and sea turtle nesting sites. With a population of approximately 40,000 people, most of whom are engaged…

Mar

22

2024

By DUNCAN MIRIRI

Kenya tells TikTok to show it is complying with privacy laws

NEWS

KENYA has demanded that TikTok show it is adhering to local privacy and user verification laws, the interior minister said, saying the platform has been used to spread propaganda, carry out fraud and distribute sexual content. TikTok and other social media companies are under pressure from regulators around the world to shield users from harmful content and criminals who take advantage of the sites. "The government, through the office of the Data Protection Commissioner, has contacted TikTok and raised concerns relating to its processing activities," Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki told a parliamentary committee. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company…

Mar

22

2024

By The African Mirror

UK’s Rwanda asylum legislation to return to parliament after Easter

NEWS

LEGISLATION that seeks to block further court challenges to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda will next be debated in parliament on April 15. The government wants to relocate thousands of asylum seekers who arrive in Britain on small, inflatable boats each year to live in Rwanda, but legal challenges have so far prevented anyone being sent to the East African country yet. To overcome objections by the court, Sunak's government is passing the bill that declares Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers and disapplies parts of human rights law in an attempt…

Mar

22

2024

By The African Mirror

Disgraced financial executive Markus Jooste found dead in apparent suicide ahead of court appearance

NEWS

IN a shocking turn of events, disgraced financial executive Markus Jooste, former chief executive of Steinhoff, was found dead from an apparent suicide in Hermanus, South Africa, on Wednesday. Jooste's death occurred just a day before he was scheduled to hand himself over to the police to face charges of fraud and corruption, among others. The suicide follows the publication of a story revealing that Jooste had been fined 475 million rand ($25.15 million) by South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) for publishing false and misleading financial statements. Steinhoff, the retail group majority-owned by Jooste, has faced significant losses…

Mar

22

2024

By AIDAN LEWIS

US pushes peace talks to avert ‘point of no return’ in Sudan

NEWS

The United States hopes for a relaunch of talks aimed at ending the conflict in Sudan and opening up humanitarian access soon after Ramadan ends in mid-April, Washington's newly appointed envoy said on Thursday. Saudi Arabia and the United States led talks in Jeddah last year to try to reach a truce between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but the negotiations faltered amid competing international peace initiatives. "We need to restart formal talks. We hope that will happen as soon as Ramadan is over," Tom Perriello, who took up his role as U.S. special envoy to…

Mar

21

2024

By The African Mirror

Nigerian rights body ends probe into abortion allegations against military

NEWS

NIGERIA'S human rights commission said on Tuesday it had concluded hearings into an investigation of a Reuters report that the military ran a secret abortion programme in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the northeast. The Nigerian military has previously said that the report was not true. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which is appointed by the government, established a special panel in February 2023 to investigate the allegations and has been conducting hearings in the capital Abuja and in northeastern Borno state. NHRC said the hearings had ended, with Borno's attorney general and the military addressing the panel on Tuesday. The commission…

Mar

21

2024

By The African Mirror

New flare-up of local violence in S. Sudan kills 15

NEWS

YOUNG men shot dead 15 people in South Sudan's eastern Pibor region, including a county commissioner, a senior official said, amid a rise in local conflict ahead of a national election due at the end of the year. A civil war that erupted two years after the country won independence from Sudan caused hundreds of thousands of deaths between 2013 and 2018. A tenuous peace has held between the main belligerents since then, but clashes continue among a patchwork of armed groups. Some activists say they believe a recent rise in killings is at least partly connected to the vote,…

Mar

20

2024

By The African Mirror

Gambian parliament debates bill to reverse ban on female genital mutilation

NEWS

GAMBIAN lawmakers debated whether to repeal a ban on female genital mutilation, which has been on the rise in recent years despite activist campaigns to end the practice. The small West African nation imposed steep fines and jail sentences in 2015 for those who carry out female circumcision, known by the acronym FGM. The World Health Organization says the practice has no health benefits and can lead to excessive bleeding, shock, psychological problems and even death. Lawmaker Almameh Gibba presented the repeal bill earlier this month, arguing the ban violates citizens' rights to practice their culture and religion. Gambia is…

Mar

21

2024

By The African Mirror

South African parliament speaker’s home raided in corruption probe

NEWS

SOUTH African investigators raided the home of National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as part of a corruption inquiry against her, the parliament said. The operation by the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) Investigating Directorate was linked to a probe into alleged corruption during the speaker's time as defence minister, parliament said in a statement. South Africa's state-owned broadcaster SABC reported that Mapisa-Nqakula, who lives in Johannesburg, is suspected of receiving millions of rands in cash as bribes from a former military contractor when she was defence minister. "The Speaker steadfastly upholds her strong conviction of innocence, and reaffirms that she has…