NEWS - The African Mirror

Mar

10

2023

Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon lead Africa in closing labour gender gaps

NEWS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY CÔTE d'Ivoire and Gabon are inching closer to being the first African countries to grant women full equal opportunities in their labour markets. Theirs are the only economies on the continent to have scored above 90 in the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law Index, which evaluates a range of laws affecting women's access to economic opportunities, across 190 countries. The lifting of restrictions on hiring women in Côte d'Ivoire is among major gender reforms that have increased that country's overall score to 95, according to the report. Other gender-related reforms enacted by Cote…

Feb

13

2023

By The African Mirror

NIGERIA: Opposition supporters attacked ahead of rally

NEWS

NIGERIAN presidential contender Peter Obi of the opposition Labour Party said his supporters were attacked and injured ahead of a rally in the commercial capital Lagos, a stronghold of the ruling party. Previous elections in Africa's most populous nation have been fraught with violence between supporters of rival parties and a number of instances of political violence have occurred ahead of the February 25 parliamentary and presidential vote. "We cannot continue to tolerate attacks on members of the political opposition, often fuelled by the incendiary rhetoric of political leaders," Obi said in a statement, urging police to investigate. It was not immediately…

Feb

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Tunisian police detain prominent politicians, businessman

NEWS

TAREK AMARA TUNISIAN police detained politicians and a prominent, politically connected businessman, their lawyers said, in a case that local media said was based on suspicion of conspiracy against state security. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrests of Khayam Turki, a former finance minister, and Kamel Ltaif, a construction magnate with close ties to successive coalition governments. Local media said that the police later arrested Abd El Hamid Jlassi, a former senior official in the Ennahda Islamist party and a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, on charges…

Mar

10

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s electoral agency postpones elections for governors

NEWS

NIGERIA'S electoral commission has postponed by a week Saturday's elections to choose new governors, saying it needed more time to reconfigure electronic machines that are at the centre of last month's disputed presidential vote. The elections to pick governors in 28 of the country's 36 states will now be held on March 18. Governors are among the most influential politicians in Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and largest oil producer. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said late on Wednesday it needed more time to reconfigure its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) that uses fingerprints and facial recognition to identify voters and transmit…

Mar

10

2023

By The African Mirror

South Sudan president dismisses foreign minister without explanation

NEWS

SOUTH Sudan President Salva Kiir sacked the foreign minister, the president's spokesperson said, less than a week after the dismissal of the ministers of defence and interior and he did not provide an explanation. Foreign minister Mayiik Ayii is a close ally of Kiir and previously served as the minister of the president's office. It wasn't immediately clear if Ayii's termination was linked to those of the defence and interior, which have threatened to destroy a fragile peace deal with opposition leader First Vice President Riek Machar. "It's a normal business. People can be relieved and replaced," Kiir's spokesperson Lily Martin…

Mar

10

2023

By The African Mirror

Islamist militants kill at least 35 in east Congo village, army says

NEWS

ERIKAS MWISI ISLAMIST militants killed at least 35 people in an overnight attack on a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in retaliation for a military crackdown on rebel activity, an army spokesperson said. The assailants were members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Anthony Mualushayi said, referring to a Ugandan armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and conducts frequent raids on villages. The attack targeted the village of Mukondi, around 30 km (20 miles) south of the city of Beni in North Kivu province, an area plagued with rebel activity…

Feb

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Buhari’s succession plans

NEWS

NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari signed an executive order setting up a council to facilitate the transition to a new president who will emerge after a February 25 election. Buhari, 80, who is constitutionally barred from contesting the election, is serving his second and final term. He becomes the second Nigerian leader to complete two terms in office since the end of military rule in 1999. A new president will be sworn in on May 29. "The new Executive Order puts in place a legal framework for the seamless transition of power from one Presidential Administration to another," Buhari said in…

Mar

10

2023

By The African Mirror

Tunisian groups denounce minister for calling journalists, unions, businessmen ‘traitors’

NEWS

TUNISIAN civil society groups accused the interior minister of incitement after he said some journalists, activists, politicians, business people and union members were traitors. The organisations include Tunisia's main labour union, the UGTT, and the Journalists Syndicate, as well as the Human Rights League, the transparency group iWatch and the Social and the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. Interior Minister Toufik Charfeddine said on Tuesday that "journalists are mercenaries and traitors ... businessmen, trade unionists and parties have sold the country and allied themselves against the Tunisian people ... they are traitors". The civil society groups said in…

Mar

09

2023

By The African Mirror

Mauritania’s $34-billion hydrogen gas deal

NEWS

GERMAN project developer Conjuncta said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Mauritania, Egypt's energy provider Infinity and the United Arab Emirates Masdar for a $34 billion green hydrogen project in the West African country. The project will have a production capacity of up to 8 million tonnes of green hydrogen or other hydrogen-based end products annually, with an electrolyser capacity of up to 10 gigawatts, the company said in a joint statement with the firms involved and the Mauritanian government. "(This project) will have a strong link to Germany both as a technology provider and a potential offtake of…

Mar

09

2023

By The African Mirror

UK sanctions ‘global violators of women’s rights’

NEWS

BRITAIN announced a package of sanctions against what they described as 'global violators of women's rights' based in Iran, Syria, the Central African Republic and South Sudan. The asset freezes and travel bans were introduced on International Women's Day, applying to four individuals, including military figures accused of overseeing rape. An Iranian government institution was also sanctioned. "These sanctions send a clear message that the perpetrators of abhorrent gender-based violence must be held accountable," foreign minister James Cleverly said in an emailed statement. "We are increasing our efforts to stand up for women and girls, and will use all the…