NEWS - The African Mirror

Nov

14

2023

IS-allied rebel group commander charged with murder of honeymooning tourists

NEWS

A commander in an Islamic State-allied rebel group was charged with nine offences including the murder of a honeymooning tourist couple and their aide in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park, court papers showed. Kyoto Abdul Rashid, of the militant Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), was captured earlier this month in a night-time operation by the Ugandan military in which six rebels were also killed. Rashid "with malice aforethought caused the murder" of the couple David and Celia Barlow and their Ugandan aide Eric Ayai, according to a charge sheet seen by Reuters. David Barlow was British while his wife was South African. Rashid was also…

Nov

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Islamist militants tie up, kill Congo villagers

NEWS

ISLAMIST militants tied up at least 19 villagers and killed them with machetes and other weapons in a raid in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a civil society leader said. Other villagers fled but may have drowned as they tried to cross the Lamia River into Uganda, Maurice Mabele Musaidi told Reuters. "There are still people missing," he said. Musaidi and a spokesperson for Congo's army said the attack in Beni territory's Watalinga chiefdom was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. The ADF…

Nov

14

2023

By OLUDAYO TADE

‘One-chance’ in Lagos: how criminal gangs rob city commuters

NEWS

“ONE-CHANCE” is the name Nigerians use for a form of robbery that takes place in both public and private vehicles when people accept the offer of a ride. It is an organised crime, perpetrated by people who work together, using a strategy of hailing passengers into their waiting vehicle. They capitalise on the transport needs of passengers, especially during rush hours in the morning and the evenings. In Lagos, an estimated eight million commuters and five million vehicles use the roads and bridges connecting the mainland and the island. OLUDAYO TADE, Sociologist/Criminologist/Victimologist and Media Communication Expert, University of Ibadan At…

Nov

13

2023

By The African Mirror

EU condemns Darfur violence and warns of ‘another genocide’

NEWS

THE European Union (EU) condemned an escalation of violence in Sudan's Darfur region, warning of the danger of "another genocide" after the conflict there between 2003-2008 killed some 300,000 people and displaced more than 2 million. A war since April between Sudan's regular army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary has destabilised the western region and reignited long-simmering feuds there. The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell cited in a statement witness reports that more than 1,000 members of the Masalit community were killed in Ardamta, West Darfur, in just over two days earlier this week during attacks by the RSF and…

Nov

12

2023

By The African Mirror

Saudi crown prince, African leaders call for end to war in Gaza

NEWS

SAUDI Arabia's crown prince on Friday called for an end to the war in Gaza, a stance later echoed in a declaration with African leaders attending a summit in Riyadh. "We condemn what the Gaza Strip is facing from military assault, targeting of civilians, the violations of international law by the Israeli occupation authorities," Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said during the African-Saudi summit in the kingdom's capital. "We stress on the need to stop this war and the forced displacement of Palestinians," he added. Israeli air strikes hit three Gaza hospitals and a school on Friday, killing at least 27 people,…

Nov

14

2023

By DUNCAN MIRIRI

Kenya president urges progress on global treaty against plastic pollution

NEWS

NEGOTIATORS working on the world's first treaty to curb plastic pollution need to hurry up and strike a deal, Kenyan President William Ruto said at the start of talks in Nairobi. The world produces about 400 million metric tonnes of plastic waste annually and less than 10% of it is recycled, according to the U.N. Environment Programme. At least 14 million metric tonnes end up in the ocean every year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says, while more piles up in landfills. International delegates meeting in the Kenyan capital Nairobi for the third round of talks will consider a list…

Nov

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Once-in-a-century flooding swamps Somalia after historic drought -UN

NEWS

THE United Nations has described floods that uprooted hundreds of thousands of people in Somalia and neighbouring countries in East Africa following a historic drought as a once-in-a-century event. Around 1.6 million people in Somalia could be affected by the heavy seasonal downpours, which have been worsened by the combined impact of two climate phenomenons, El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement late on Thursday. The floods, which followed heavy rains that started in early October, have already killed at least 29 people and forced more…

Nov

12

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Interview: Professor Taiwo Lateef Sheikh discusses the movement advocating for the decriminalization of suicide in Africa

NEWS

SUICIDE prevalence rates in Africa are the world's highest, estimated at 11 people per 100,000 per year, against a global average of 9 per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organization's estimates. While African countries have undertaken a range of efforts to provide mental health support, including prioritizing mental health in national and regional health strategies, legislative gaps pose a threat to these efforts. A new campaign that seeks to advance suicide prevention and support is advocating the decriminalization of suicide in at least eleven countries in Africa where attempting suicide remains illegal. In an interview with bird story…

Nov

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Evacuations from Gaza Strip resume through Egypt’s Rafah crossing

NEWS

EVACUATIONS from the Gaza Strip into Egypt for foreign passport holders and Palestinians needing medical treatment resumed through the Rafah crossing after being suspended for a day, Egyptian security and medical sources said. Departures from Rafah, the only crossing to the besieged enclave that does not border Israel, had been paused on Wednesday for a second time following bombardments on the route within Gaza leading to the border. The Red Cross said its convoy escorting medical evacuees on Tuesday had been targeted, prompting it to pause the escorts. On Thursday, two sources said that 695 foreign passport holders and dependents, including Egyptians, were able to cross.…

Nov

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso junta’s conscription of critics rattles civil society and unions

NEWS

BURKINA Faso's military junta is abusing an emergency law to conscript perceived dissidents and critics to join a deadly fight against militants linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State, warned lawyers, journalists and watchdog Human Rights Watch this week. In a series of statements, civil society groups and unions for journalists and lawyers accused the junta of seeking to silence peaceful dissent as it struggled to contain the security crisis as promised when it seized power in a September 2022 coup. "We see that it (the junta) is revealing its true face and that it has not necessarily come to…