NEWS - The African Mirror

Oct

2020

Pope names an African among his new cardinals, putting his stamp on Church’s future

PHILLIP PULLELLA POPE Francis, leaving his mark on the Roman Catholic Church into the future, named 13 cardinals from eight countries, including an African, Archbishop Antoine Kambanda of Kigali, Rwanda. Pope Frances also appointed nine cardinals who are eligible to enter a conclave to elect his successor after his death or resignation. The nine new cardinal electors, whom the pope listed in a surprise announcement while addressing pilgrims from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square, include Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington D.C. Gregory, who will become the first African-American to hold the rank, has become a national figure in recent months.…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Seychelles opposition wins presidency for first time in 43 years

NEWS

SEYCHELLES elected an opposition candidate as president for the first time since 1977, authorities announced and winner Wavel Ramkalawan reaffirmed a pledge to hike the minimum wage after COVID-19 stifled the tourism-dependent economy. Seychelles State House said in a statement on its website that Ramkalawan and his vice-president Ahmed Afif would be inaugurated on Monday. HE Danny Faure, President, Republic of Seychelles. Picture: Chatham House/Flickr Ramkalawan, a former Anglican priest, defeated President Danny Faure after three decades of unsuccessful runs for the presidency of the East African nation, an Indian Ocean archipelago famed for its natural beauty and rare wildlife.…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia summons U.S. ambassador over Trump comments in dam dispute

NEWS

DAWIT ENDESHAW ETHIOPIA has summoned the U.S. ambassador over what it called an "incitement of war" between Ethiopia and Egypt from President Donald Trump over their dispute about the filling and operation of a massive hydropower dam. Trump called on Friday for an agreement between the countries, but added it was a dangerous situation and that Cairo could end up "blowing up that dam". Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister Gedu Andargachew summoned U.S. Ambassador Mike Raynor to Addis Ababa to seek clarifications on the comments. "The incitement of war between Ethiopia and Egypt from a sitting U.S. president neither reflects the…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Just like that, my life has changed, says new Miss South Africa

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER ON October 21, South African woke up to a post by an aspiring beauty queen Shudufhadzo Musida. In the post with different poses, Musida posted photographs of herself, looking sultry and regal in a blue outfit, with a simple caption: “Today I feel like a queen…” Today, Musida, who comes from Venda in Limpopo, woke as the No 1 beauty queen in all of South Africa. She was crowned MIss South Africa, succeeding Zozibini Tunzi, last year’s winner who spectacularly went on to win the Miss Universe title. Musida was crowned at the prestigious event held in…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Guinea’s Conde wins presidency with 59.5% of vote

NEWS

GUINEA’S President Alpha Conde won the October 18 election with 59.5% of the vote, according to a full preliminary tally from the election commission on Saturday. The victory, which requires confirmation by the Constitutional Court, gives a third term in office to the 82-year-old Conde after a bitterly fought election in which the opposition said he had no right to participate. Conde says a constitutional referendum in March reset his two-term limit, but opponents say he is breaking the law by holding onto power. Results were announced in batches in recent days and already showed Conde with an unassailable lead,…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia says it will not cave to ‘aggression’ in dam dispute

NEWS

ETHIOPIA has declared that threats of any kind towards resolving a dispute with its neighbours over the filling and operation of a massive hydropower dam were "misguided, unproductive and clear violations of international law". Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office made no mention of any person or any country in a statement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is at the centre of a dispute over Nile water supplies. But his comment came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call with the Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in which they called for an amicable solution between…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Five children killed in attack on Cameroonian school, say officials

NEWS

GUNMEN have killed five children and badly wounded about nine others when they opened fire in a school in the city of Kumba in Cameroon's Southwest region, officials have disclosed. The officials blamed the attack on secessionist insurgents who are seeking to form a breakaway state in Cameroon's English-speaking west, though Reuters was unable to immediately confirm that. "They attacked around noon. They found the children in class and they opened fire on them," Kumba sub-prefect Ali Anougou told Reuters. He said that nine others had been seriously wounded and sent to hospital. Anglophone secessionists have imposed curfews and closed…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s police chief mobilises to quell worst unrest in two decades

NEWS

ANGELA UKOMADU NIGERIA'S police chief ordered the immediate mobilisation of all force resources to try to control the worst street violence in Africa's most populous country in two decades stemming from protests against police brutality. The unrest, unprecedented since the 1999 return to civilian rule, is the most serious political crisis confronting President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler elected in 2015. Curfews have been imposed on millions of people in recent days in response to violence and looting in parts of the country. Violence, particularly in the commercial capital Lagos, escalated after demonstrators were shot on Tuesday night in…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Rwandan court denies “Hotel Rwanda” hero Rusesabagina bail, extends detention

NEWS

CLEMENT UWIRIGIYIMANA A Rwandan court extended the detention of "Hotel Rwanda" hero Paul Rusesabagina on Friday pending trial on terrorism charges and denied him bail, the judge hearing the case said. Rusesabagina, a political dissident who has lived in exile in Belgium and the United States, was arrested in August after returning to the country and subsequently charged with terrorism and other offences. "The fact that he is sick is not alone a ground to release him on bail," Theodosie Mukarugira said in a ruling via Skype. She said the detention would be extended by 30 days starting from Friday…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Militants from Mozambique staged deadly attack in Tanzania, police say

NEWS

GEORGE OBULUTSA ABOUT 300 militants from Mozambique attacked a village in southern Tanzania and killed an unknown number of people last week, Tanzania's top police officer said, describing an attack claimed earlier by the Islamic State. Inspector-General of Police Simon Sirro said militants attacked the village of Kitaya in Tanzania's rural Mtwara region bordering Mozambique. "Terrorists numbering 300, coming from Mozambique, attacked our station and the village of Kitaya, and committed crimes and they killed," Sirro said in an interview with Azam TV, a private Tanzanian chain, broadcast late Thursday. He did not specify the number of people killed, nor…