NEWS - The African Mirror

Oct

24

2023

Rwanda ups the ante in race to provide remote coverage

NEWS

RWANDA is positioning itself as an early contender in a cosmic tug-of-war in which tech titans are lining up to beam high-speed internet across remote parts of Africa. Rwanda's interest was made abundantly clear when the country announced on October 20 that it had transmitted a video stream to Japan over HAPS 5G, using an unmanned vehicle positioned in the Stratosphere. According to RCR Wireless News, "HAPS stands for High-Altitude Platform Station, although they are also sometimes referred to as High-Altitude Pseudo Satellites, and they can come in the form of airships, balloons or fixed-wing drones." For the test, Rwanda’s…

Oct

24

2023

By CAMILLUS EBOH

Nigeria opposition asks Supreme Court to overturn President Tinubu’s victory

NEWS

NIGERIA'S two main opposition leaders asked the Supreme Court to quash last month's tribunal ruling upholding President Bola Tinubu's February election victory, in a last bid to reverse the results of a vote widely accepted by the international community. No legal challenge to the outcome of a presidential election has succeeded in Nigeria, which returned to democracy in 1999 after three decades of almost uninterrupted military rule and has a history of electoral irregularities. Elections in the past had been characterised by ballot box snatching, accusations of allowing unregistered voters to cast ballots, and completely made-up results. Atiku Abubakar of the People's…

Oct

24

2023

By SAKHILE DUBE, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Vuyo’s journey from a small solar panel to lighting up not just her home but the future of South Africa

NEWS

FROM the rural Eastern Cape in South Africa, Vuyolwethu Matiwane's journey into the world of renewable energy began with her family's use of a small solar PV panel, a battery, and a glimmer of hope. Today, as a technical project development manager, Matiwane is not only shaping the future of South Africa's energy landscape but also illuminating lives and empowering futures in a field where she is regularly not just the only Black woman, but also the youngest person, in the room. Matiwane, fondly known as Vuyo in the renewable sector, said her work is driven by her passion to…

Oct

24

2023

By PATRICK NELLE, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Egusi seeds get a makeover thanks to Cameroonian engineer

NEWS

IN a small workshop in the hilly town of Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon, a set of unique machines roar day and night, helping produce one of the region's favourite dishes. These "robots", as their inventor calls them, allow operators to select, husk, grind and press pumpkin seeds, delivering the raw, husked seeds known locally as “egusi”, “ngondo” or “pistache". It took the inventor almost forty years to go from concept, to prototype, to filing an international patent, to finally producing his machines, which are the only made-in-Africa devices of their kind. “Apart from here, this kind of machine…

Oct

24

2023

By DORCAS BELLO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

A local voice for financial wisdom is close at hand

NEWS

IN his journey from analysing blood samples to pioneering financial inclusion, the story of Olubayo Adekanmbi seems on the surface to be one of an unconventional career transition. Yet in many ways, the object of his metamorphosis was evident right from the earliest days of his very first job. “The truth is that when you enable a woman financially, you literally help a family and thereby build a nation," he said. Growing up in Abeokuta in southwest Nigeria, like other boys, Adekanmbi aspired to be a medical doctor. He ended up as a biochemist, working in a local hospital. Today,…

Oct

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Blast, ambulances heard near Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, witnesses say

NEWS

AN explosion and the sound of ambulances were heard near the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, shortly after a second aid convoy had entered the crossing from the Egyptian side, witnesses said. The cause and the exact location of the blast were not immediately clear. Since the conflict began on October 7 between Hamas and Israel, bombardments on the Gaza side of the crossing have damaged roads and buildings that needed repairing before the first convoy of aid trucks passed through Rafah into Gaza on Saturday.

Oct

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Morocco to build new stadium, upgrade six others before 2030 World Cup

NEWS

MOROCCO plans to build a large stadium in Benslimane, near Casablanca, and upgrade six others in preparation for co-hosting the 2030 World Cup, the prime minister's office said. A deal was signed the same day between the government and state-owned fund CDG to finance the new stadium to be ready by 2028 for a total cost of 5 billion dirhams ($500 million), the office said in a statement. The six stadiums- to be renovated to host the African cup of nations in 2025 and the 2030 World Cup- are in the cities of Agadir, Casablanca Fez, Marrakech, Rabat and Tangier,…

Oct

23

2023

By WENDELL ROELF and LIBBY GEORGE

Amid gas scramble, Africa leads a boom in nimble export facilities

NEWS

AFRICA is at the forefront of a global wave of new floating gas facilities as countries on the continent seek to meet surging demand in Europe as quickly and cheaply as possible, analysts and energy companies told Reuters. Eni, BP and smaller independent players such as Nigeria's UTM Offshore are driving the surge with projects on Africa's east and west coasts. Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) vessels shipped Mozambique's first-ever gas exports last November, and the Republic of Congo is preparing for its first LNG exports in December. Africa currently exports 40 million tons per annum (mmtpa) of gas, and Westwood…

Oct

21

2023

By The African Mirror

Morocco seizes 1.37 tons of cocaine concealed in frozen fish

NEWS

THE Moroccan police said that it had seized 1.37 tons of cocaine in Casablanca. The drug was concealed in a cargo of imported frozen fish found at a distribution company in Morocco's largest city, it said in a statement. Preliminary findings suggest the cargo was imported from a Latin American country via Spain, the Moroccan police said, noting that investigations are ongoing.

Oct

22

2023

By The African Mirror

Niger’s ousted president Bazoum detained in secret location, lawyers say

NEWS

NIGER'S ousted President Mohamed Bazoum is being held in a secret location by the junta that seized power in the West African state, lawyers representing him said and denying accusations that the president had tried to escape. Bazoum has been in detention since a July 26 coup, and there have been international calls for him to be released. The junta said late on Thursday that Bazoum and his family, with the help of accomplices in the security forces, had planned to drive a vehicle to the outskirts of the capital Niamey and catch a helicopter ride to neighbouring Nigeria. Reuters was not…