NEWS - The African Mirror

Jan

27

2024

Ethiopia’s deputy PM Demeke to be replaced by spy chief Temesgen

NEWS

ETHIOPIA'S deputy prime minister Demeke Mekonnen, who has occupied the post for over 11 years under three successive prime ministers, will be replaced by spy chief Temesgen Tiruneh, a senior government official told Reuters on Friday. Temesgen was elected to succeed Demeke as a vice president of the ruling Prosperity Party, state-run media reported. A vice president of the party typically serves as deputy prime minister. Demeke has been a face of continuity during a turbulent period in Ethiopian politics. He was appointed to the post after the death of longtime prime minister Meles Zenawi in 2012 and survived a…

Jan

26

2024

By GIULIA PARAVICINI

How Ethiopia’s quarrel with Somalia could destabilise Horn of Africa

NEWS

ETHIOPIA'S deal to lease a port in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has infuriated the government in Mogadishu and prompted concern it will further destabilise the Horn of Africa region. Under a memorandum of understanding signed on January 1, landlocked Ethiopia would lease 20 km (12 miles) around Somaliland's port of Berbera for 50 years, in exchange for stakes in Ethiopian state-run companies and possible recognition as an independent nation. Somalia has responded by calling the deal an act of aggression and says it will block it. Ethiopia says it is merely striking a commercial arrangement to address a need for access to…

Jan

26

2024

By AHMED KINGIMI

Attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau state leave at least 30 dead

NEWS

AT least 30 people have been killed and several others injured in Nigeria's central Plateau state in a series of attacks around Mangu town, despite a curfew imposed by the state government, a community spokesperson said. Farmer-herder attacks and communal conflicts are rife in central Nigeria, an ethnically and religiously diverse hinterland known as the 'Middle Belt' where a circle of violence has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years. The latest violence on Tuesday and Wednesday came after a Christmas Day attack in the area which left at least 140 people dead. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed on January 23. The…

Jan

26

2024

By MICHAEL HOLDEN

European court chief says UK must comply with any Rwanda injunctions

NEWS

THE president of Europe's Court of Human Rights said that Britain had a legal obligation to comply with its injunctions after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would ignore such orders over his plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda. Under the scheme, asylum seekers who reach England's southern coast in small boats would be sent to the East African nation. However, in June 2022, the ECHR issued a last-minute injunction - known as interim measures under Rule 39 - to prevent the first deportations. Last November, the UK Supreme Court also ruled that the policy was unlawful because of…

Jan

26

2024

By NADINE AWADALLA and FARAH SAAFAN

Sisi tells Egyptians to bear with economic pain, says mega-projects provide jobs

NEWS

PRESIDENT Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Egyptians that they were still able to eat and drink despite soaring prices as he defended mega-projects he said provided millions of jobs. Egypt's long-running foreign currency shortage risks deepening because of lost revenues from the Suez Canal, and this month has triggered store closures and new restrictions on credit card withdrawals. Inflation has eased slightly from record highs last year but is still running at over 30%. Sisi blamed the lack of foreign currency on Egypt's decades-old import dependency, which he said required spending of $1 billion a month on staples like wheat and vegetable oils and another $1 billion on fuel.…

Jan

25

2024

By DAVIDE LEMMI, MARCO VALENZA, OUMAR SALL and MARCO SIMONELLI

Rather than looking for scapegoats, Morocco is cashing in on South-South migration

NEWS

WHILE the rest of the Maghreb is often in the spotlight over its aggressive approach to African migrants and asylum seekers, Morocco has officially chosen a more tolerant path and is reaping political and economic benefits from that more liberal attitude. Khady Hair, a beauty salon in a neat neighbourhood on the outskirts of the southern city of Agadir, welcomes clients of all nationalities and hair types. Its Senegalese owner, 38-year-old Khady Wade Baldé, has worked hard to build a chain of three salons that employ a dozen workers from Morocco, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. “At the beginning, it wasn’t easy,”…

Jan

25

2024

By The African Mirror

More than 40 killed in artisanal mine collapse in southwest Mali – mines ministry

NEWS

MORE than 40 artisanal gold miners were killed in southwest Mali last week after the shaft they were working in collapsed, Mali's mines ministry said. Artisanal mining is a common activity across much of West Africa and has risen in recent years due to growing demand for metals and rising prices. Deadly accidents are frequent as artisanal miners often use old-fashioned and unregulated methods of digging. The incident in Mali occurred on Friday on a site in the Kangaba Cercle in the south-western Koulikoro Region, the mines ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that did not specify the number…

Jan

25

2024

By The African Mirror

Putin meets Chad junta leader as Russia competes with France in Africa

NEWS

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin met Chadian leader Mahamat Idriss Deby in the Kremlin, courting a country that had previously maintained a pro-Western policy and spurned Russia's recent outreach in Africa's Sahel region. Russia has been moving to edge out the influence of France, the former colonial power in West Africa and the Sahel, and build ties with countries that have been roiled by a wave of coups since 2020. Deby has led Chad since 2021, when he took power in a coup shortly after his father, long-serving president Idriss Deby, was killed in battle fighting anti-government rebels. The junta initially…

Jan

24

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Rwanda pushes Africa towards universal smartphone access

NEWS

PROGRESSIVE policy reforms and the influx of budget-friendly smartphones are steering Africa towards complete digital connectivity in just over a decade. Rwanda's recently-announced, three-year target is the most ambitious on the continent, although statistics show that other nations are also rapidly closing in on similar milestones. As part of Kigali's innovative funding scheme, citizens can obtain handsets at the subsidised price of US$16, complemented by a data plan costing just US$1 for 1GB, valid for 30 days and inclusive of unlimited text messaging. "We are optimistic that in the next three years, at least every citizen will have this level…

Jan

24

2024

By The African Mirror

One million euro bonus for Equatorial Guinea after AFCON heroics

NEWS

EQUATORIAL Guinea's team at the Africa Cup of Nations have been promised a one million euro ($1.08 million) bonus after their upset 4-0 win over hosts Ivory Coast that ensured them top place in Group A, the country's president said. A public holiday was also declared after unfancied Equatorial Guinea humiliated the Ivorians in Abidjan to finish ahead of heavyweight contenders Nigeria and the host nation. A government statement said Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the world's longest-standing ruler, had watched excitedly as the team won. His son Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue promised a further 50,000 euros to…