NEWS - The African Mirror

Mar

16

2024

No smartphone or internet? No problem; AI-backed phone has the answers

NEWS

VISUALLY-IMPAIRED Nigerian Kehinde Olutubosun is a geography and animal enthusiast who struggled to find information because he has no smartphone. But that is changing, thanks to an Artificial Intelligence-powered mobile phone that works offline. The service, launched by Canada-based Viamo in Nigeria last month, allows anyone – even in the middle of nowhere without the internet - to access AI technology. Viamo uses a traditional handset to tap into local mobile phone networks to send commands or requests for information through SMS or voice calls. It works like other AI chatbots and can be used by illiterate persons since it…

Mar

16

2024

By OLIVIA KUMWENDA-MTAMBO and NELLIE PEYTON

South Africa’s ANC wary of post-election coalition, says it ‘won’t work’

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party is betting on retaining its parliamentary majority in a May election and is not in talks with other parties on a possible coalition government, the party's deputy secretary general said. South Africans will go to polls on May 29 to elect a new National Assembly, which will then choose the next president. "We will not go to war having accepted defeat. We are going to war to win," ANC veteran Nomvula Mokonyane told Reuters in an interview, adding that the party was aware that "stakes are high because not everybody is comfortable…

Mar

16

2024

By BATE FELIX and NGOUDA DIONE

Thousands celebrate release of jailed Senegal opposition leaders

NEWS

SENEGALESE opposition firebrand Ousmane Sonko and the presidential candidate he is backing in the March 24 election, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, were released from prison, state broadcaster RTS said on its website. Their release had been expected after parliament passed an amnesty law on March 6 as the authorities sought to ease tensions following their thwarted bid to postpone the vote by 10 months. RTS did not give further details, and it was not immediately clear where the pair were after their release. Thousands of supporters massed in Dakar, the capital, to celebrate the news, chanting Sonko's name on the gridlocked street where…

Mar

15

2024

By SONIA ROLLEY

Smudged ID cards, missing names blemish Congo’s $1 billion election

NEWS

CONGOLESE law student Stephanie Mbafumoja was exhilarated to sit for the photo for a voter identity card that would allow her, for the first time, to have a say in the future of her nation. The 23-year-old’s enthusiasm soured when she was handed a card bearing a distorted image she said looked nothing like her. Within a few weeks, the printed text on the card began to fade. "On election day, the card was completely illegible," she said, speaking in the city of Butembo, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a month after the December 20 election.…

Mar

15

2024

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

bird TenX: 10 major horticultural exports from Africa

NEWS

AGRICULTURE is a central part of Africa’s economy, accounting for up to 35% of the continent’s GDP. Apart from trade in cash crops, the horticulture subsector is witnessing growth in a range of horticultural products, filling supply gaps in global markets. Here are some of the 10 major horticultural export products Africa supplies to global markets. 1. Cut flowersThe global cut flower trade is a crucial export sector for several African nations. Kenya and Ethiopia stand out, ranking in the top 10 global exporters, according to the World Atlas. Last year, individual government reports showed the two exported 134,000 and…

Mar

14

2024

By PELUMI SALAKO

Could Ghana’s tough anti-LGBTQ+ bill be blocked over economic fears?

NEWS, LGBTQIA+

PARLIAMENT'S approval of a bill cracking down on LGBTQ+ people in Ghana has raised fears in the government that the country could lose international aid vital to help its economy recover from a deep crisis. If President Nana Akufo-Addo ignores Finance Ministry advice and signs the bill into law, penalties for gay sex would be toughened and new offences introduced. Akufo-Addo has said he will wait for the outcome of a Supreme Court challenge over the constitutionality of the bill, which the Finance Ministry has warned could jeopardise nearly $4 billion in World Bank financing. Here's what you need to know.…

Mar

15

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Locally assembled handsets begin to drive Africa’s low-end smartphone shipments

NEWS

AS Africa’s major currencies weaken against the US dollar, consumers are opting for more affordable smartphones with ‘premium features’ that are either locally assembled or made in China. According to two mobile phone tracking reports, local assembly initiatives for low-end smartphones have contributed to strong growth, particularly in Kenya. The International Data Corporation (IDC) has also listed the East African economy as the African market with the fastest shipment growth in 2023. The research firm also noted that Chinese brands have made a strong push in Nigeria - the economy with the continent's second-fastest shipment growth - helping consumers overcome…

Mar

15

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Nigeria is the second fastest-growing country in the world for software developers, Egypt seventh

NEWS

THE latest data from GitHub, a global hub for software development, has listed the two African economies - Nigeria and Egypt - as among the world’s 10 fastest-growing countries for software development in 2023. It may come as no surprise that software development is on the rise in Africa. Vibrant startup hubs across the continent have become famous, with Silicon Cape, Silicon Savannah and Silicon Valley (South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, respectively) all known across the tech ecosystem. Over the last five years, Nigeria has flexed its continental muscle in terms of tech startup funding and development, while Egypt has…

Mar

15

2024

By The African Mirror

West, Central Africa see major internet outage with undersea cables down

NEWS

A major internet outage affected West and Central Africa, the internet observatory Netblocks said, as operators of multiple subsea cables reported failures. The cause of the cable failures was not immediately clear. African subsea cable operator SEACOM confirmed that services on its West African Cable System were down and that customers who relied on that cable were redirected to the Google Equiano cable, which SEACOM uses. "The redirection happens automatically when a route is impacted," it said via email. Ivory Coast was experiencing a severe outage, while Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso were seeing a high impact, Netblocks's data…

Mar

14

2024

By The African Mirror

Nigerian kidnappers demand $620,000 for release of school hostages

NEWS

GUNMEN who kidnapped 286 students and staff from a school in northern Nigeria last week have demanded a total of 1 billion naira ($620,432) for their release, a spokesman for the families of the hostages and a local councillor told Reuters. The school children, some older students and members of the school staff were abducted on March 7 in the town of Kuriga, in Nigeria's northwestern Kaduna State, in the first mass kidnapping in the country since 2021. Jubril Aminu, a community leader who acts as a spokesman for the families of the hostages, said he had received a call on his…