NEWS - The African Mirror

Feb

03

2023

Nigerian gunmen kill eight, including police chief

NEWS

GUNMEN in north central Nigeria have killed eight people, including a divisional police chief, in the latest violence ahead of a presidential and parliamentary election later this month, police and a security source said. Insecurity is a big issue for voters in a country where armed gangs terrorise people in villages and on highways and carry out kidnappings for ransom. Police in Benue state responded to a distress call after gunmen blocked the Markudi-Naka road, forcing travellers to flee, Benue state police spokesperson Anene Sewuese Catherine said. The divisional police officer for Naka town, Mahmud Abubakar, led a team of…

Feb

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Africa’s pay-TV wars: The fight for viewers

NEWS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY AFRICA’S pay television industry is projected to add 16 million new viewers over the next five years as top players step up the battle for compelling and affordable local content. Between 2022 and 2028, the continent’s pay-TV subscribers are projected to rise by 38% to 57 million, according to a new report by research firm, Digital TV research. Revenue growth, however, will be much lower. Pay-TV revenues on the continent are forecast to reach US$6.44 billion by 2028, up by 29 per cent from US$4.99 billion in 2022, signalling that consumers are likely to benefit…

Feb

03

2023

By The African Mirror

Somalia’s neighbours to launch new operations against al Shabaab militants

NEWS

TOP leaders of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya agreed to begin "search and destroy" operations to push al Shabaab militants out of neighbouring Somalia. The move follows an intensified offensive by Somalia's federal government against the al-Qaeda-affiliated group over the past few months. It has taken back control of several towns and villages in central Somalia with the help of the U.S. military, allied clan militias and forces belonging to Somali regional governments. Kenya's President William Ruto, Djibouti's President Ismail Omer Guelleh and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met their Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mogadishu to review measures to…

Feb

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Liberian warlord’s trial concludes in Switzerland

NEWS

EMMA FARGE THE appeal hearings of a former Liberian rebel commander convicted of war crimes concluded in a trial that was broadened in its final stages to include crimes against humanity for the first time in Switzerland. Alieu Kosiah, who fought in the 1990s against then-President Charles Taylor's army, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2021 for rape, murder and cannibalism in one of the first trials for war crimes committed in the West African country. During the three weeks of appeal hearings at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, the defendant sought to overturn the lower court's ruling, arguing at…

Feb

03

2023

By The African Mirror

U.S. deeply concerned by release of Sudanese man found guilty of killing diplomat

NEWS

WASHINGTON is deeply concerned over the release this week of a Sudanese man facing the death penalty in connection with the killing of a U.S. diplomat in 2008, the State Department said. Abdelraouf Abuzeid was found guilty, along with others, in the killing of American John Granville and a Sudanese colleague, who both worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development and were killed by gunmen in Khartoum. "I was horrified," Granville's mother, Jane Granville, told Reuters about hearing of Abuzeid's release. Abuzeid's brother told Reuters on Monday that his sibling was released by the country's high court based on a multi-million…

Feb

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Gold Fields disputes Ghana tax bill

NEWS

SOUTH Africa-listed gold miner Gold Fields said it is disputing tax payments demanded by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) after an audit and is working with the tax authority to resolve the matter. Gold Fields, which has three gold-mining operations in Ghana, said it could not disclose the size of the back taxes bill but said it is "nowhere close" to the amount Ghana has demanded from mobile operator MTN. The Ghana tax authority last month slammed mobile operator MTN with a $773 million bill for back taxes after auditing it for the years 2014 to 2018, an assessment MTN is fighting as…

Feb

05

2023

By The African Mirror

Pope’s plea to Sudan’s leaders

NEWS

PHILIP PULLELLA and WAAKHE SIMON WUDU POPE Francis began a visit to South Sudan with an impassioned plea to its fractious leaders to turn their backs on the violence, ethnic hatred and corruption that have stopped the world's youngest country from achieving peace and prosperity. South Sudan broke away from Sudan to become independent in 2011 after decades of conflict, but civil war erupted in 2013. Despite a 2018 peace deal between the two main antagonists, violence and hunger still plague the country. Tens of thousands of people sang, drummed and ululated as the Roman Catholic leader arrived in the capital Juba…

Feb

01

2023

By The African Mirror

Africa looks to football to accelerate tourism, grow talent in Africa

NEWS

BIRD STORY AGENCY MORE African countries are seeking to leverage their tourism potential while simultaneously developing sports by partnering with football clubs across Europe. Malawi is the latest country to strike deal with a European club, signing with Spanish Segunda División club, CD Leganes, to make the country a rotating main sponsor for the club. Under the partnership, officially launched on January 22 before a match against Levante UD at the Butarque Municipal Stadium, "Malawi, the Warm Heart of Africa" will appear on the front of the first team's kits during matches and in media backdrops. According to CD Leganes…

Feb

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Factbox: Nigeria’s election: when is the vote and what’s at stake

NEWS

VOTERS in Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation are heading to the polls on February 25 to elect a new president and lawmakers amid growing frustration over unprecedented insecurity, industrial-scale oil theft and surging inflation. President Muhammadu Buhari, who will complete his constitutionally allowed two terms in May, is not on the ballot. Voters will also choose new senators and members for the House of Representatives. Governorship races follow on March 11 Here is what you need to know about the election. WHO IS RUNNING? A total of 18 candidates are vying for the presidency. But the main contest…

Feb

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Tropical storm kills 30 in Madagascar, thousands displaced

NEWS

TROPICAL storm Cheneso has killed 30 people in Madagascar, 20 are missing and thousands have been displaced, authorities said. Cheneso, which made landfall on January 19, was Madagascar's first tropical storm of the year. A series of such storms each year typically hit the Indian Ocean island nation. The government's Office for Risk and Disaster Management said in a report released late Monday that nearly 37,000 people had been displaced by the storm, which caused flooding and landslides. The government announced a death toll of 16 last week. At least 138 people were killed and about 130,000 were left without homes in January…