NEWS - The African Mirror

Jan

24

2023

Burkina Faso military government demands departure of French troops

NEWS

BURKINA Faso's military government has demanded the departure of French troops stationed in the country, the West African nation's national television reported, citing a local news agency. A spokesman for the government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the French government was not immediately available for comment. A source close to the Burkina Faso military government confirmed the news of the demand for the departure of French troops but gave no further details. Burkina Faso's state television RTB, citing the news agency, said the military government on January 18 suspended a 2018 military accord…

Jan

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigerian flights disrupted by striking ground staff

NEWS

AIRLINES in Nigeria said flights were being disrupted after ground staff began an indefinite strike to demand higher pay. Air Peace, which has the biggest fleet in Nigeria, and smaller carrier Dana Air said the strike by the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) was delaying flights and hoped the issue would be quickly resolved. "The strike has affected all operations of all airlines being handled by the company (NAHCO)," Air Peace said in a statement. British Airways and Qatar Airways, among the foreign airlines frequently flying to Nigeria, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The National Union of…

Jan

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Russian warship to join drills with China, South Africa

NEWS

A Russian warship armed with new-generation hypersonic cruise weapons will participate in joint exercises with the navies of China and South Africa in February, the Russian state agency, TASS, said. It was the first official mention of the participation by the frigate, "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov," which is armed with Zircon missiles. The missiles fly at nine times the speed of sound, with a range of more than 1,000 km (620 miles), Russia says. They form the centrepiece of its hypersonic arsenal, along with the Avangard glide vehicle that entered combat duty in 2019. "'Admiral Gorshkov'…

Jan

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria opens ‘game changer’ billion-dollar deep seaport

NEWS

SEUN SANNI NIGERIA opened a billion-dollar Chinese-built deep seaport in Lagos, which is expected to ease congestion at the country's ports and help it become an African hub for transhipment, handling cargoes in transit for other destinations. President Muhammadu Buhari has made building infrastructure a key pillar of his government's economic policy and hopes that this will help his ruling party win votes during next month's presidential election. The new Lekki Deep Sea Port is 75% owned by the China Harbour Engineering Company and Tolaram group, with the balance shared between the Lagos state government and the Nigerian Ports Authority.…

Jan

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Founder of Egypt’s Juhayna Food Industries and his son released from prison

NEWS

THE founder and former CEO of Juhayna Food Industries and his son were released from prison in Egypt after about two years in detention, in a case that shook the business community as well as Egyptian and foreign investors. Juhayna, a listed company, is the country's largest dairy products and juices producer. After security and prison sources as well as a family member confirmed Safwan and Seifeldin Thabet's release, photos posted on social media showed them joyfully embracing relatives after returning home.Advertisement · Scroll to continueReport an ad The authorities accused them of belonging to and financing a terrorist group -…

Jan

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Yellen breaks ground on rural electrification project in Senegal

NEWS

ANDREA SHALAL U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen helped kick off a new rural electrification project in Senegal that will bring reliable power to 350,000 people while supporting some 500 jobs in 14 U.S. states. Yellen travelled to the site of the project, led by Illinois-based engineering firm Weldy Lamont, as part of a three-country trip to Africa that aims to expand U.S.-African ties and address challenges such as climate change, food security and debt. The new project received technical assistance from the U.S. Power Africa initiative, capacity building through the U.S. Agency for Trade and Development, and a $102.5 million loan guarantee…

Jan

23

2023

By The African Mirror

9 new African languages added to Google translate offline support

NEWS

BIRD STORY AGENCY GOOGLE recently announced the expansion of its offline translation by adding 33 new languages, including nine African languages, to the Google Translate app on iOS and Android. This now brings the total number of African languages supported by Google to 12. Arabic, Swahili and Afrikaans have been supported by the Google Translate offline translation tool since 2018 when Google launched the functionality. Nigerian languages Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba and southern African languages, Sesotho, Xhosa, Zulu and Shona, are part of the newly added languages. Additionally, Kinyarwanda, spoken in Rwanda and other parts of East Africa and Chichewa,…

Jan

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Five hurt in blast in Mogadishu mayor’s office

NEWS

ABDI SHEIKH ISLAMIST fighters set off a bomb and then stormed a government building in Somalia's capital, killing at least five civilians, the ministry of information said. Attackers from the al Shabaab group charged into the block that houses the office of Mogadishu's mayor around noon and got caught in a firefight with security forces, the ministry and witnesses said. Security killed six of the militants and cleared the area by about 6 p.m., the ministry said on its Facebook page. Al Shabaab has stepped up attacks in a show of resilience since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government launched an…

Jan

22

2023

By The African Mirror

Gabon’s foreign minister dies of heart attack

NEWS

GABON'S Foreign Minister Michael Moussa Adamo died of a heart attack, President Ali Bongo said in a statement. Three government sources said that he was in a council of ministers meeting when he suffered the cardiac attack. He was rushed to the hospital and died shortly after midday despite specialist treatment, said a government statement. "He was a very great diplomat, a true statesman. For me, he was, first of all, a friend, loyal and faithful, whom I could always count on," said Bongo on Twitter. Thomson Reuters Foundation

Jan

22

2023

By The African Mirror

John Williams Ntwali, rare Rwandan journalist critical of govt, dies

NEWS

John Williams Ntwali, one of Rwanda's few journalists who published stories critical of the government has died, his newspaper The Chronicles reported. Ntwali was the sole fatality in a car accident in Kigali on Wednesday, police spokesman John Bosco Kabera told Reuters. The driver of the other vehicle has been arrested and "the accident file is being processed for onward transmission to prosecution," Kabera said. Ntwali had been away from work since Monday, The Chronicles said. Human rights activists and journalists outside Rwanda raised questions about the official narrative, noting how critics of President Paul Kagame's government have repeatedly been…