NEWS - The African Mirror

Jan

13

2021

Rebels attack Central African Republic’s capital

NEWS

SECURITY forces in Central African Republic have repelled an attack by armed groups seeking to seize the capital Bangui, Prime Minister Firmin Ngrebada said. The assault represents a marked escalation in fighting with rebel groups that erupted around a disputed December 27 election. The groups attacked towns close to Bangui last month but did not reach the capital as intended. A Reuters witness in Bangui heard explosions and later saw helicopters circling over the city. "The attackers who came in large numbers to take Bangui have been vigorously pushed back," Ngrebada said in a post on Facebook, urging citizens to…

Jul

18

2022

By The African Mirror

Sisi and Biden discuss food security, energy in first meeting

NEWS

EGYPTIAN President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed food security and disruptions to energy supplies with U.S. President Joe Biden as they met for the first time on Saturday on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Jeddah, the Egyptian presidency said. The two leaders also addressed ways to revive a Palestinian peace process, and Egypt's efforts to secure a legally binding agreement over the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a statement from the Egyptian presidency said. Egypt has come under sharp financial pressure due to global price increases for commodities including wheat and oil that accelerated after Russia's…

Jul

18

2022

By The African Mirror

End of power cut for SA

NEWS

ROLLING power cuts in South Africa should come to an end by the end of next week as more power generation units come online, the chief executive of state power utility Eskom, Andre de Ruyter, said. Last month Eskom started implementing so-called "Stage 6" power cuts - or load shedding - for only the second time in its history, meaning most South Africans were without power for at least six hours a day. The level of the outages has since been lowered, with Stage 2, 3 and 4 power cuts at different times this week. Eskom has blamed the outages…

Jul

18

2022

By The African Mirror

Curfew declared in Sudanese towns after deadly clashes

NEWS

SUDANESE authorities have declared an overnight curfew in two towns in southeastern Blue Nile state, close to the border with Ethiopia, after several days of tribal clashes in which they said 31 people were killed. Clashes spread in several towns on Wednesday after the killing of a farmer, before security forces made arrests and brought the situation under control, a statement from Blue Nile state's regional government said. The statement said 39 people had been wounded, 16 shops destroyed, and a night curfew declared in the towns of Damazin and Roseires. But three local residents told Reuters clashes were continuing…

Jul

17

2022

By The African Mirror

Six killed in rare attack near Malian capital

NEWS

UNIDENTIFIED armed men killed six people at a checkpoint 70 km (44 miles) east of Mali's capital Bamako, the security ministry said. It did not say who was responsible for the attack, which took place overnight on Thursday in an area in southwestern Mali that has been relatively untouched by the Islamist insurgency ravaging central and northern regions. Three of the people killed were members of the security forces and three were civilians, the ministry said in an online post, without giving further details. Mali is struggling to stem the insurgency that took root after a 2012 coup and has…

Jul

17

2022

By The African Mirror

Two DRC men plead guilty to trafficking rhino horns

NEWS

KANISHKA SINGH TWO Congolese, who were earlier arrested in the United States and indicted by a federal grand jury, have pleaded guilty to trafficking elephant ivory and white rhinoceros horn from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Seattle, the U.S. Justice Department said. An American flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington, U.S., December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago/File Photo Herdade Lokua, 34, and Jospin Mujangi, 32, of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, were arrested in November last year outside of Seattle before a federal grand jury indicted them for conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling and legal violations…

Jul

16

2022

By The African Mirror

“Tunisia moving towards dictatorship”

NEWS

TAREK AMARA and ANGUS MCDOWALL TUNISIA'S president is using a referendum on a new constitution to move back towards dictatorship, the head of the biggest Tunisian opposition party, the Islamist Ennahda, warned. Rached Ghannouchi, who was parliament speaker until President Kais Saied shut the chamber and seized most powers last summer, said the atmosphere in the build-up to the July 25 vote was "undemocratic and funereal". Saied's focus on political changes while the economy slid further towards crisis also meant Tunisia faced a "Sri Lanka situation" with a looming social explosion, Ghannouchi told Reuters in an interview. "Saied's speeches can…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Facebook says it removed record number of disinformation campaigns in December

NEWS

FACEBOOK Inc. identified and suspended 17 disinformation networks on its platforms in December, representing its largest monthly takedown, the U.S. tech giant has announced. The social media company said it had suspended a little more than 2,800 accounts and pages on its main platform and photo-sharing site, Instagram, for using fake identities and other forms of so-called "coordinated inauthentic behaviour". The activity spanned 11 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Morocco, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In most of those countries, the networks were focused on forthcoming elections and run by domestic groups, Facebook said. "Deceptive campaigns like these raise a complex challenge…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenya drops charges against top officials

NEWS

HUMPHREY MALALO KENYA has dropped charges against two senior former officials who prosecutors said had agreed to provide testimony against a former finance minister and others accused of corruption over the awarding of tenders to build two dams. Kamau Thugge, at the time the number two official at the finance ministry, and Susan Koech, an official at the tourism ministry, were among a number of officials charged in the case a year ago, including then-Finance Minister Henry Rotich. "I have withdrawn charges against Thugge and Koech on instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions," said Alexander Muteti, a deputy assistant public…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Steinmetz denies corruption in Guinea case; says he was not in charge

NEWS

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY ISRAEL businessman Beny Steinmetz has denied any role in corruption or forgery linked to mining rights his company secured in Guinea, describing himself as the owner and company ambassador but not the boss. Steinmetz was indicted in August 2019 by a Geneva prosecutor who accused him and two aides of paying, or having paid, $10 million in bribes to obtain exploration permits for some of the world's richest iron-ore deposits in the remote Simandou mountains of Guinea. Steinmetz and his aides deny the charges. If convicted he could face up to 10 years in prison. At his court…