NEWS - The African Mirror

Feb

11

2023

Social media restricted in Ethiopia after church rift turns violent

NEWS

ACCESS to social media platforms has been restricted in Ethiopia, Internet watchdog NetBlocks said, following violent protests sparked by a rift within the country's Orthodox Church. The protests broke out in the Oromiya region when three church officials declared themselves archbishops last month and set up their own governing body. Some demonstrators have opposed their move while others have supported it. At least 30 people have been killed in protests since Feb. 4, the church said in a statement on Thursday. The statement called for demonstrations on Sunday, accusing the Ethiopian government of "meddling" in the church's internal affairs after Prime Minister…

Mar

08

2023

By The African Mirror

Namibia makes third oil discovery in the Orange Basin

NEWS

NAMIBIA state-owned oil company NAMCOR has made a third oil discovery with partners Shell and QatarEnergy in the Jonker-1X deepwater exploration well, in the Orange Basin offshore southern Namibia, it said. New discoveries could make Namibia, the southern neighbour of OPEC member Angola, another oil producer along the African Atlantic coast. "We are delighted to announce this third oil discovery after the success of the Graff-1X and Venus-1X discoveries by Shell and TotalEnergies in 2022," Immanuel Mulunga, managing director of NAMCOR, said in a statement. The acquired data is being evaluated, and further appraisal drilling is planned to determine the size and…

Mar

08

2023

By The African Mirror

Britain’s Sunak discusses migration partnership with Rwanda’s Kagame

NEWS

BRITISH Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Rwandan President Paul Kagame discussed the UK-Rwanda migration partnership and the need to disrupt the activities of smugglers while addressing humanitarian concerns, the British government. In a telephone conversation on Monday evening "the leaders committed to continue working together to ensure this important partnership is delivered successfully", Downing Street said in a statement. The leaders also discussed the escalating violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and international efforts to support a lasting peaceful resolution to the conflict, the statement added. Thomson Reuters Foundation

Feb

20

2023

By The African Mirror

‘Debt-laden African countries charged ‘extortionate’ rates’

NEWS

DAWIT ENDESHAW AFRICAN countries are getting a raw deal from the international financial system which charges them "extortionate" interest rates, the U.N. chief said, as he announced $250 million in crisis funding, including for famine risk on the continent. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wants far-reaching reforms to the structure of international finance to serve the needs of developing countries more efficiently, he told the opening ceremony of the annual African Union summit in Ethiopia. "The global financial system routinely denies (developing countries) debt relief and concessional financing while charging extortionate interest rates," he said. The U.N. will spend $250 million…

Feb

19

2023

By The African Mirror

Israeli diplomat ejected from African Union summit

NEWS

DAWIT ENDESHAW A senior Israeli diplomat was removed from the African Union's annual summit in Ethiopia, as a dispute over Israel's accreditation to the bloc escalated. Images posted online showed AU security personnel confronting the diplomat during the opening ceremony of the summit, before she left the auditorium. "Israel looks harshly upon the incident in which the deputy director for Africa, Ambassador Sharon Bar-Li, was removed from the African Union hall despite her status as an accredited observer with entrance badges," the foreign ministry said. Ebba Kalondo, the spokesperson for the African Union's commission chairman, said the diplomat had been removed because…

Mar

08

2023

By The African Mirror

Khartoum’s yellow taxis stand idle as technology trumps tradition

NEWS

THE yellow taxis of Khartoum were once an enduring part of its colonial legacy. Now the vehicles, introduced in Sudan's capital under British rule in 1937 and last renewed as a fleet in 1978, bear the signs of numerous repairs, their paintwork chipped - and their often elderly drivers wait in vain for customers. They say they've been left behind by competitors who advertise using unregulated ride-hailing apps, and who drive newer cars. "We've raised generations of children off the back of this taxi. But our taxis are old now," driver Alrasheed Ahmed, who has had his since 1980, told…

Feb

11

2023

By The African Mirror

S.Africa’s Transnet halts rail link to regional countries after heavy rains

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's logistics utility Transnet suspended freight rail services on its North East Corridor, which links with several countries in southern Africa, as heavy rains damaged infrastructure on the line. The corridor, which mostly moves mineral commodities, links South Africa to Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Disruptive weather conditions in Mpumalanga and Limpopo have adversely affected Transnet Freight Rail operations in the North-East Corridor," Transnet said. "Heavy, abnormal rains damaged the rail infrastructure across the corridor's major commodity pathways resulting in severe disruption to the train service," the utility said. The corridor would only be…

Feb

19

2023

By The African Mirror

Protesters who attack banks, ATMs are robbers – Nigerian police

NEWS

NIGERIAN police said some citizens frustrated by cash shortages in the country were attacking banks and vandalising cash-dispensing machines and warned that they would be treated as armed robbers. The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) said its members would stay away from work in states where bank branches were being attacked "until normalcy is restored." Ahead of next week's election to choose new lawmakers and a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, frustration is rising in Africa's most populous nation over a central bank plan to swap old naira banknotes for new ones. The move…

Feb

10

2023

By WENDELL ROELF and CARIEN DU PLESSIS

South Africa declares ‘state of disaster’ over energy crisis

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national "state of disaster" over his country's crippling power shortages, saying they posed an existential threat to the economy and social fabric. "We are in the grip of a profound energy crisis," Ramaphosa said in his annual State of the Nation Address to parliament. "The crisis has progressively evolved to affect every part of society. We must act to lessen the impact of the crisis on farmers, on small businesses, on our water infrastructure and our transport network." State electricity utility Eskom is implementing the worst rolling blackouts on record, leaving households in…

Feb

10

2023

By The African Mirror

Africa gears up to keep more of the profits from lithium boom

NEWS

CLARA DENINA and WENDELL ROELF LITHIUM-rich African countries, including Zimbabwe and Namibia, are trying to develop processing and refining industries to capture more of the profits of global demand for the battery material. Lithium prices and demand have soared as the auto industry shifts towards electric vehicles (EVs) - spurred by proposed bans on fossil-fuel cars beginning at the end of the decade. China, the world's top lithium refiner and a leading producer dominate the supply chain, but Western governments and international companies are trying to challenge that and see Africa's lithium reserves as an opportunity. For their part, African…