NEWS - The African Mirror

Feb

11

2024

Egypt steps up security on border as Israeli offensive in Gaza nears

NEWS

EGYPT has sent about 40 tanks and armoured personnel carriers to northeastern Sinai within the past two weeks as part of a series of measures to bolster security on its border with Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said. The deployment took place ahead of the expansion of Israeli military operations around Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where much of its population has sought safety, sharpening Egyptian fears that Palestinians could be forced en masse out of the enclave. Israeli warplanes struck Rafah, which adjoins the border, on Friday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to prepare to evacuate the displaced…

Feb

10

2024

By JOSIAH TARU

The rise of African prophets: the unchecked power of the leaders of Pentecostal churches

NEWS

OVER the last 20 years, there’s been an unprecedented increase in charismatic Pentecostal prophets – or men of God as they’re called in Pentecostal parlance. Across Africa, their unchecked influence has spread into social, economic and political institutions. Pentecostalism is one of the fastest-growing strands of Christianity on the continent. In Zimbabwe, for example, the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministry claims its membership rose from 45 to over a million in just five years. This is a significant number in a country with a population of 16 million. Zimbabwe’s United Family International Church boasts that over 70,000 attend its Sunday…

Feb

11

2024

By The African Mirror

Student killed in Senegal at Friday’s vote-delay protests, ministry says

NEWS

A student was killed in the Senegalese city of Saint-Louis amid violent protests against the postponement of the presidential election, the interior ministry said. Clashes between security forces and protesters gripped Senegal's capital and other cities on Friday, the first widespread unrest over the delay of a vote that many fear could lead to protracted instability. In a statement, the ministry said it had been informed of the death of student Alpha Yero Tounkara and that it would be investigated, but denied its forces were to blame. "The Defence and Security Forces did not intervene to maintain order on the university campus…

Feb

10

2024

By DJAFFAR AL KATANTY and SONIA ROLLEY

Congolese city Goma under threat as thousands flee rebel advance

NEWS

A rocket landed near a university in the Congolese city of Goma as thousands of civilians fled a fresh advance by M23 rebels that threatens to isolate the city of around two million people. There were no casualties from the strike, which blasted a crater into open ground in the Lac Vert neighbourhood, but it underscored the potential threat to Goma, a strategic urban hub in the Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict-ridden east. "This shows that M23 is targeting Goma now. The government has to do something to stop M23's progress," 25-year student Sophonie Bayonga said at the scene. The…

Feb

11

2024

By NGOUDA DIONE and COOPER INVEEN

Senegal battles first major wave of unrest over vote delay

NEWS

CLASHES between security forces and protesters gripped Senegal's capital and other cities, the first widespread unrest over the delay of a presidential election that many fear could lead to protracted instability. Less than three weeks before the February 25 vote, parliament voted to push it back to December, sealing an extension of President Macky Sall's mandate that has raised concerns that one of the remaining democracies in coup-hit West Africa is under threat. In the capital Dakar, police in riot gear fired tear gas, stun grenades and what appeared to be rubber bullets at large crowds of protesters who were burning tyres…

Feb

10

2024

By The African Mirror

Algeria’s Sonatrach to supply Germany with pipeline gas for first time

NEWS

Germany will receive its first supplies of pipeline natural gas from Algeria under a medium-term contract signed between a subsidiary of trader VNG AG and state-owned oil and gas firm Sonatrach, the companies said on Thursday. "We are happy to strengthen our energy business partnerships with Europe through this landmark agreement with the company VNG," Sonatrach CEO Rachid Hachichi said in a statement. This makes VNG the first German company to purchase pipeline gas from Algeria, the statement cited VNG's CEO as saying. The agreement is with Leipzig-based VNG Handel & Vertrieb GmbH (VNG), a wholly owned subsidiary of VNG…

Feb

09

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

‘Made in Africa’ gets a boost as cross-border trade gathers pace

NEWS

AFRICAN leaders are beginning a push for increased consumer consciousness of ‘Made in Africa’ products as cross-border trade opens new opportunities for economic growth. Inaugurating South Africa’s first trade shipments under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), President Cyril Ramaphosa urged over 12 African trade ministers attending the 13th AfCFTA Council of Ministers meeting in Durban, to bolden their push for trade in African goods. President Ramaphosa personally emphasized his interest in knowing where everything he uses is made. "I have started looking at everything that I either wear or pick up, I always want to know where it…

Feb

09

2024

By The African Mirror

MultiChoice will pay settlement of $37.3 mln to Nigerian tax authorities

NEWS

AFRICA'S biggest pay TV company MultiChoice Group said that its subsidiaries have reached a settlement with Nigerian tax authorities and agreed to pay a total tax amount of about $37.3 million. Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) froze MultiChoice Nigeria's accounts in 2022 and served MultiChoice Group with a 1.8 trillion naira ($1.27 billion) tax claim for its Nigeria operation and a $342 million claim for value-added taxes. The group said in a statement the total tax amount of 35.4 billion naira to be paid by MultiChoice Nigeria and MultiChoice Africa Holdings will be offset against the security deposits and good…

Feb

09

2024

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe cabinet scraps colonial-era death penalty law

NEWS

ZIMBABWE'S cabinet agreed to abolish the death penalty following months of debate in parliament, choosing instead to impose lengthy prison sentences for the worst offences. The cabinet passed a private member's bill introduced last year in the National Assembly to abolish the death penalty inherited from British colonial rule. "In view of the need to retain the deterrent element in sentencing murderers, it is expected that the new law will impose lengthy sentences without violating the right to life," the cabinet said in a statement. "The existence of aggravating circumstances may attract life sentences." Zimbabwe carried out its last execution…

Feb

10

2024

By NELLIE PEYTON and BHARGAV ACHARYA

South Africa’s Ramaphosa touts ANC history in State of Nation address

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa used a major speech in parliament to play up his party's achievements over the last 30 years but gave little detail about his plans to address the country's current major challenges. Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party, which has governed since Nelson Mandela led it to victory in the first post-apartheid democratic election in 1994, is heading into its most competitive campaign yet. Many polls indicate it will lose its absolute parliamentary majority in a vote expected to be held between May and August, forcing it to choose a coalition party to hold onto power.…