NEWS - The African Mirror

Jan

15

2024

Comoros holds presidential election, opposition say vote had irregularities

NEWS

VOTING took place in Comoros in an election widely expected to hand a fourth five-year term to President Azali Assoumani, while his five opponents said the vote was tainted by accusations of pre-marked ballots in favour of the incumbent. The polls opened across the Indian Ocean archipelago at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) for the 338,940 registered voters out of its 800,000 population. Voting ended at 6 p.m. Comoros has experienced around 20 coups or attempted coups since winning independence from France in 1975 and is a major source of irregular migration to the nearby French island of Mayotte. Some opposition…

Jan

14

2024

By The African Mirror

Two US Navy sailors reported missing while conducting operations off coast of Somalia

NEWS

TWO U.S. Navy sailors were reported missing at sea while conducting operations off the coast of Somalia, the U.S. military said in a statement, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing to locate them. "The sailors were forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations supporting a wide variety of missions," the U.S. Central Command said. The statement added that additional information would not be made available until the personnel recovery operation was complete.

Jan

15

2024

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

President Tshisekedi’s ruling party leads in Congo legislative election

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi's UDPS party won 66 seats in the December parliamentary election, placing it ahead of 44 other parties that won one or more seats in the 500-member house, provisional results showed on Sunday. The increased number of UDPS seats, up from 35 in the 2018 election, along with gains by allied parties, could enable Tshisekedi to maintain his ruling big tent Sacred Union coalition, giving him the majority needed to name a new government. The coalition controlled over 390 seats in the outgoing legislature. Provisional results announced by Congo's national election commission early on…

Jan

14

2024

By The African Mirror

Ramaphosa targets ‘decisive’ ANC win in South African elections

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that his African National Congress (ANC) party would be seeking a "decisive victory" in this year's national elections, slated to be the most highly contested in the country's democratic history. Ramaphosa is looking to win a second term as president as Africa's most industrialised country prepares to hold its closest poll for three decades. Analysts say the ruling ANC is at risk of losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela's victory in 1994 ushered in a new era of democracy following decades of apartheid rule. "When they look at us and say…

Jan

14

2024

By The African Mirror

Afcon: everything you need to know about a record year for Africa’s biggest football event

NEWS

AFRICA'S biggest football festival – the men’s Africa Cup of Nations 2023 – is being hosted by Côte d'Ivoire in west Africa and will culminate in its final match on 11 February 2024. CHUKA ONWUMECHILI, Professor of Communications, Howard University More than ever before, the world will be watching the action at the 34th edition of the cup, given that some of football’s greatest athletes will be participating. Add to this the fact that the tournament takes place in the European winter and so it doesn’t face competition from any other major international tournaments except the AFC Asian Cup. The…

Jan

13

2024

By HENRIETTE CHACAR and MOHAMMAD TOROKMAN

For Palestinians, ICJ genocide case against Israel is ‘test for humanity’

NEWS

PALESTINIANS in the occupied West Bank welcomed the case brought by South Africa in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, saying the proceedings were an opportunity to hold Israel to account for its military assault in Gaza. Israel has reacted with outrage at the charges brought against it, describing the accusation as "profoundly distorted" and saying South Africa's bid to make it halt its offensive against the Hamas movement in Gaza would leave it defenceless. But for many Palestinians, the charges represent a chance to bring world attention to what they see as Israel's historic suppression of…

Jan

13

2024

By OKWI OKOH, BIRD STORY AGENCY

bird TenX: Top 10 African Trends & Developments to Watch in 2024

NEWS

THERE are 54 countries and over 1.4 billion people in Africa, which means a lot is happening at any given time - and a great deal more, over 365 days. Here are the 10 topics and themes that we think will play a key role in shifting the focus away from destructive narratives and onto progress and innovation, around the continent in 2024. 1. Getting Together OnlineThe International Trade Administration has released projections that Africa's e-commerce market will grow to over half a billion users over the next year. The continent’s population is estimated at 1.3 billion people. Industry leaders…

Jan

14

2024

By The African Mirror

UN says 2,000 peacekeepers to leave eastern Congo in withdrawal’s first phase

NEWS

ABOUT 2,000 U.N. troops will leave restive eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of April in the first phase of the peacekeeping mission's planned withdrawal from the country, the head of mission said on Saturday. The U.N. Security Council approved the end of the mission in December following a request by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi in September to fast-track the withdrawal of the peacekeepers. The currently 13,500-strong force, known as MONUSCO, took over from an earlier U.N. operation in 2010 to help quell insecurity in the east of the Central African country, where armed groups fight over territory and…

Jan

14

2024

By The African Mirror

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to travel to Africa in Jan

NEWS

CHINA'S foreign minister Wang Yi will travel to Africa and visit Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Cote d'Ivoire from January 13-18, China's foreign ministry said. The visit will mark the 34th consecutive year in which the foreign minister has gone to Africa for their first overseas trip of the year, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference. Wang will also visit Brazil and Jamaica from January 18-22, Mao added.

Jan

13

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Visa-free regimes to bolster African tourism growth in 2024

NEWS

AFRICAN countries are set to record an increase in tourism numbers in 2024, as more countries continue to open their borders to other African countries by abolishing visa requirements. In 2023, most African countries made significant strides to liberalize their visa regimes, with Rwanda and Kenya being the latest to completely remove visa requirements for all African travellers, joining Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles. Kenya's transition towards a visa-free regime saw the country’s Immigration Department receive almost ten thousand applications for the new Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) allowing foreign nationals to visit or transit through the country by air, in the…