NEWS - The African Mirror

Oct

2020

Six killed in Ivory Coast town ahead of presidential election

AT least six people have been killed in a port town in southern Ivory Coast this week, the mayor said on Thursday, as supporters and opponents of President Alassane Ouattara trade blame for rising violence ahead of the October 31 election. The authorities decreed a curfew on Wednesday night in response to the killings in Dabou, which Mayor Jean-Claude Niangne said were carried out by men armed with assault rifles and machetes. Violence has broken out sporadically since August when Ouattara announced his candidacy for a third term, a move his opponents say violates the constitution. In all, more than…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Voting begins in Seychelles parliamentary and presidential polls

NEWS

VOTING has began in presidential and parliamentary elections in Seychelles, with the economy battered by COVID-19 and President Danny Faure, in power since 2016, facing voters for the first time. The Indian Ocean archipelago nation is expected to see its tourism-dependent economy contract by 14% this year, according to ratings agency Fitch, reversing some fragile progress since the government defaulted on its debt in 2008 and sought an International Monetary Fund bailout. The same party has been in power since 1977. Faure was previously vice president and became president when his predecessor resigned after a constitutional amendment was passed limiting…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Mali’s ousted president returns home after treatment abroad

NEWS

MALI’S ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has returned home after spending six weeks in the United Arab Emirates getting medical treatment, the head of his party said. Keita - who was overthrown in a military coup in August - did not make a statement and his Rally for Mali (RPM) party did not give any details on what his next move would be. The 75-year-old was toppled after weeks of protests against his government's failure to rein in violence by Islamist militants and ethnic militias, amid widespread anger over alleged corruption and the sluggish economy. He was hospitalised six days…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s president urges end to street protests as gunfire heard in Lagos after protest crackdown

NEWS

FELIX ONUAH and LIBBY GEORGE NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari has called for an end to street protests in the country, as authorities in the commercial capital Lagos struggled to enforce a curfew imposed to contain anger over a crackdown on anti-police protesters. Gunshots rang out and smoke rose from at least two fires in the commercial capital's affluent Ikoyi neighbourhood, witnesses said. A fire broke out in the district's prison, the state government said. Video footage showed a blaze in a shopping mall in another part of Lagos. Violence in Lagos, Africa's biggest city - where witnesses on Thursday reported…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Four ex-top Gauteng officials bust for R1.2-billion tender fraud

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER FOUR former senior Gauteng Health Department officials have been arrested in connection with fraud, corruption and money laundering in connection with an irregular R1,2-billion information technology tender. Former head of department Sybil Ngcobo, Mmakgosi Mosupi (former director of information and communication), Valdis Ramaano (former head of supply chain) and Obakeng Moekeletsi (former deputy director-general), were arrested by The Hawks and have appeared in the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court, where they were granted bail. The state alleges that in 2007, the four were involved in criminal activities which resulted in a tender for R57-millions ballooning to R1.2-bilion…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigerian court hears blasphemy conviction appeals in northern city Kano

NEWS

HAMZA IBRAHIM TWO judges in northern Nigeria have heard the first appeals against Islamic law blasphemy convictions that caused global outrage when a man was sentenced to death over a WhatsApp message and a 13-year-old received a 10-year jail term. The judges, at the appeals section of the secular high court in the city of Kano, said verdicts would be delivered at a later date. In August, a Kano sharia court sentenced Yahaya Aminu Sharif to death for allegedly sharing a blasphemous message on WhatsApp and Omar Farouq, accused of making blasphemous comments in an argument, received a prison sentence.…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Israel delegation to Sudan talks agriculture, health care cooperation

NEWS

DAN WILLIAMS ISRAEL sent a first delegation to Sudan to discuss potential economic and humanitarian cooperation on Monday after the countries announced a U.S.-brokered agreement on October 23 to take steps toward establishing relations, a source said. The talks focussed on how Israel might shore up Sudan's agriculture, food security, water supplies and health care, the source, who declined to be identified by name or nationality, told Reuters. The Israeli delegates also met separately with representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, the source said. Israeli and Sudanese officials had no immediate comment. Nor did the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso president Kabore secures re-election, preliminary results show

NEWS

BURKINA FASO President Roch Kabore has won re-election by a comfortable margin, preliminary results have shown, after an election marred by insecurity that prevented swathes of the West African country from voting. Some analysts had expected a closer contest on Sunday between Kabore, who was elected in 2015, and his main rivals, who argued he had failed to contain Islamist and ethnic violence that forced 1 million people to flee their homes during his first term. The results read out by the election commission showed Kabore won 57.87% of the vote. He needed over 50% to avoid a second round.…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia to launch ‘final phase’ of offensive in Tigray region, says PM

NEWS

THE Ethiopian military will begin the "final phase" of an offensive in the northern Tigray region, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced after an ultimatum expired for Tigrayan forces to surrender. The government had given the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) until Wednesday to lay down their arms or face an assault on Mekelle, the regional capital of 500,000 people. Rights groups have raised concerns for civilians caught up in military operations in which thousands are already believed to have died since fighting began on November 4. The United Nations estimates 1.1 million Ethiopians will need aid as a result…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Africa faces wait for mass COVID-19 vaccination

NEWS

MASS vaccination against COVID-19 is unlikely to start in Africa until midway through next year and keeping vaccines cold could be a big challenge, according to the continent's disease control group. Some European countries expect to start rolling out vaccination campaigns as early as January. But health campaigners are worried that Africa will find itself near the back of the queue for COVID-19 vaccines after wealthier nations signed a raft of bilateral vaccine supply deals with pharmaceutical companies. "We are very concerned as a continent that we will not have access to vaccines in a timely fashion," said John Nkengasong,…