NEWS - The African Mirror

Oct

27

2023

Nigeria burns pangolin scales and animal skins in a historic step

NEWS

IN a ground-breaking move, Nigeria has publicly destroyed tons of seized wildlife products, including pangolin scales and leopard, python and crocodile skins. The public display echoes similar events in Kenya and elsewhere on the continent and marks Nigeria's renewed commitment to combatting wildlife trafficking and safeguarding the nation's biodiversity. The event was the first of its kind in Nigeria and was intended to send a strong message to traffickers and consumers of the illegal trade and also to safeguard the nation's biodiversity, according to conservation officials. “By destroying these pangolin scales and skins, we're crushing the illegal trade that preys…

Oct

26

2023

By NYASHA NYAUNGWA

Namibia orders police to stop Chinese firm’s lithium exports

NEWS

NAMIBIA'S government has ordered police to stop Xinfeng Investments from transporting lithium ore inside the country and from exporting it, accusing the Chinese miner of violating the country’s ban on critical raw mineral exports. In a letter dated October 19 and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, Namibia’s Mining Commissioner Isabella Chirchir instructed the country’s police chief Joseph Shikongo to stop any trucks carrying raw lithium ore from Xinfeng’s Kohero mine, about 250 km northwest of Windhoek. “They are not allowed to remove any material from their mine to anywhere within Namibia or outside,” Chirchir wrote. She directed that all trucks…

Oct

26

2023

By The African Mirror

More than 100 detained in Egypt after pro-Palestinian protests

NEWS

AT least 100 people were arrested in Egypt after taking part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations late last week, though some have subsequently been released, lawyers working on the cases said. State-approved protests against Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip were held at several locations in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt on Friday. However, some protesters in Cairo walked to Tahrir Square - the centre of Egypt's 2011 uprising - which was not among the sites approved for the pro-Palestinian demonstration. The protesters were quickly dispersed by security personnel. Unauthorised public protests are banned in Egypt, and Tahrir Square, which was redesigned several…

Oct

26

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

African Football League’s grand debut marks a new era of football excellence

NEWS

THE African Football League (AFL) made its grand debut on October 20, heralding a new era in African football. This unique pan-African super league has brought together the continent's elite club teams, and its inauguration was nothing short of spectacular. The Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, filled to capacity with 60,000 fans, set the stage for the opening ceremony. It was followed by an electrifying inaugural match between Simba Sports Club and Egypt's Al Ahly, which ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw. Notable figures including Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi, CAF President Patrice Motsepe, FIFA's Chief of Global…

Oct

26

2023

By The African Mirror

World Bank approves $1 bln loan to help South Africa tackle power crisis

NEWS

THE World Bank said that its board had approved a $1 billion loan to help South Africa reform its energy sector, as the country tries to overcome regular power cuts that have curbed economic growth. The bank wants to support the country's reforms to split struggling power firm Eskom and to transition to a low carbon economy, it said in a statement. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, the World Bank's director for South Africa, had told Reuters last month that the loan was under discussion and could come soon. In Wednesday's statement, Marie-Nelly said reforms the government had launched would "benefit the people of…

Oct

26

2023

By SAM TOBIN

Mozambique’s Nyusi to blame over ‘tuna bond’ scandal, shipbuilder’s owner says

NEWS

MOZAMBICAN President Filipe Nyusi was ultimately responsible for the failure of the projects at the centre of the "tuna bond" scandal, the owner of Emirati-Lebanese shipbuilder Privinvest told London's High Court. Privinvest and its owner French shipping magnate Iskandar Safa are facing a $3.1-billion lawsuit from the African republic for allegedly paying millions in bribes to Mozambican officials and Credit Suisse bankers. Mozambique alleges more than $136 million was paid to secure favourable terms in relation to three projects in 2013 and 2014, including one designed to exploit the republic's tuna-rich coastal waters. Privinvest and Safa deny any wrongdoing and say any…

Oct

26

2023

By The African Mirror

Liberia presidential election heads for November run-off vote

NEWS

LIBERIA'S electoral commission on Tuesday scheduled a presidential election run-off for November after results showed that the two frontrunners, President George Weah and opposition leader Joseph Boakai, had failed to secure enough votes. Weah holds a slim lead at 43.83% of the vote, while Boakai has 43.44%, according to tallied results from 100% of polling places, the West African nation's election commission said. Commission chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah said the run-off vote would be held on November 14. She said there was a record turnout of 78.86% of around 2.4 million registered voters. The October 10 election has been widely…

Oct

26

2023

By SIYI LIU and FELIX NJINI

China’s Zijin says will advance disputed, giant Congo lithium project

NEWS

CHINA'S Zijin Mining said it will defend its right to advance the contested Manono Lithium mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after it was granted permission to develop the deposit. The permit to develop one of world's largest hard rock deposits of the mineral initially belonged to Australian AVZ Minerals, but was revoked in February by the DRC's mines ministry that said the company had not developed it fast enough. China's top gold and copper miner, Zijin has been snapping up lithium assets in recent years in South America as well as Africa, to produce the metal used in…

Oct

25

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya court extends bar on deploying police to Haiti, lawyer says

NEWS

A Kenyan court extended a temporary order barring the government from deploying hundreds of police officers to Haiti in a U.N.-approved mission aimed at helping the Caribbean nation tackle gang violence, a lawyer who filed the case said. Following an appeal for assistance from Haiti, Kenya in July offered to send 1,000 officers to help restore security amid a worsening crisis in which gangs have forced around 200,000 people to flee their homes. But the plan was temporarily put on hold by a court order issued after a petition was brought by the small opposition party Thirdway Alliance, arguing the…

Oct

25

2023

By The African Mirror

Tunisian parliament committee proposes bill criminalizing normalization with Israel

NEWS

THE Freedoms Committee in the Tunisian Parliament approved a draft law criminalizing the normalization of relations with Israel, amid ongoing protests in solidarity with Palestinians in the country. The move paves the way for hearings on the bill followed by a public session for discussion and vote. The draft comes as Israeli reprisal strikes on blockaded Gaza have killed more than 5,000 people in response to Hamas militants who killed at least 1,400 Israelis in a rampage after breaching the fence enclosing Gaza on Oct 7. "The draft law includes seven chapters, in which penalties reach life imprisonment sentence", Hela…