NEWS - The African Mirror

Nov

27

2025

Gauteng banks R3 billion windfall as G20 summit delivers economic jackpot

NEWS

GAUTENG Premier Panyaza Lesufi has declared the province's hosting of the historic G20 Leaders' Summit an unqualified success, with preliminary economic projections revealing returns triple the initial estimates as more than 20 heads of state and thousands of delegates departed South Africa. The province is celebrating an estimated R3 billion economic impact, far exceeding the National Department of Tourism's preliminary projection of R1 billion, following the weekend summit that marked the first time the gathering of the world's economic powerhouses convened on African soil. "Our biggest achievement wasn't just readiness; it was the coordination model," Lesufi stated in a post-summit…

Nov

26

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Zambian President faces constitutional challenge over Israel relations

NEWS

THE Zambian government has been dragged to the Constitutional Court over its decision to restore diplomatic ties with Israel, with a former lawmaker arguing the move violates constitutional provisions on human dignity. Munir Zulu, former Member of Parliament for Lumezi, filed the petition naming Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha and Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe as respondents. The legal challenge comes after President Hakainde Hichilema hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog for a state visit in November 2025. Munir Zulu Zulu contends that diplomatic engagement with Israel breaches Articles 8(d) and 9(1)(c) of the Constitution, which establish human dignity as a core…

Nov

26

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Tanzania crisis: ICC filing, regional isolation mount pressure on President Hassan

NEWS

TANZANIA finds itself at the centre of an escalating international crisis as President Samia Suluhu Hassan faces mounting accusations of electoral theft, widespread human rights violations, and what a confidential dossier describes as crimes against humanity that have left thousands dead. The gravity of the situation became starkly apparent this week when former South African President Thabo Mbeki, speaking through his foundation, declared that Tanzania "currently lacks a legitimate government," asserting that the administration led by President Hassan "has been imposed upon the people through a combination of force and fraudulent means." Mbeki's intervention carries particular weight given his stature…

Dec

25

2020

By The African Mirror

Scarred by 2020, Gen Z looks to a COVID-free future

NEWS

LIVES that had been focussed on school, university, sports or even going to K-pop concerts vanished overnight for members of Gen Z as the global pandemic struck. While a lot was heard about older people at risk from COVID-19, this younger generation - born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s - also saw their worlds turned upside down in 2020. Reuters profiled 10 young people around the world to learn how their lives had been affected by the coronavirus. Shut up in bedrooms - many forced to live with their parents - some went from being students, athletes…

Nov

27

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Africa demands seat at world’s most powerful table as Nigeria leads UN Security Council reform push

NEWS

AFRICA is intensifying its decades-long campaign to claim permanent seats with veto power on the United Nations Security Council, with Nigeria spearheading calls for what leaders describe as an overdue overhaul of the global governance system. Speaking at the 7th African Union–European Union Summit, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared that the time has come for the continent to secure full representation on the world's most exclusive decision-making body - a 15-member council where five permanent members have held veto authority since 1945. "It is time for Africa to occupy permanent seats on the UN Security Council, with all attendant…

Nov

25

2025

By STAFF REPORTER

Dramatic Reversal: Duduzile Zuma claims she was first victim, files counter-charges

NEWS

IN a stunning reversal that has upended South Africa's most explosive political scandal in years, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has admitted her role in recruiting men sent to Russia but declared under oath that she was not the mastermind but rather "the first victim" of an elaborate deception orchestrated by a man she had never met. The Member of Parliament's sworn affidavit, submitted to Sandton Police Station on Monday afternoon, presents a sharply contrasting narrative to accusations made days earlier by her elder sister and has triggered a counter-investigation now targeting Blessing Rhulani Khoza as the alleged architect of the scheme. The…

Nov

25

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Nigeria: 50 abducted students escape, church hostages freed – over 250 children missing

NEWS

Fifty schoolchildren have escaped from kidnappers who seized 303 students from a Catholic school in north-central Nigeria, while 38 church worshippers abducted in a separate attack have been freed, authorities have said, as Nigeria faces mounting pressure to rescue more than 250 children still in captivity. The students, aged 10 to 18, fled individually between Friday and Saturday from their captors, according to the Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and proprietor of the school. A total of 253 schoolchildren and 12 teachers remain in the hands of the kidnappers. "We…

Nov

25

2025

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Africa’s climate fix that almost everyone missed

NEWS

AFRICAN governments are moving faster than most of the world to put soil health at the centre of climate action, according to a new analysis that highlights a major blind spot in global climate planning. A review of Nationally Determined Contributions by the Save Soil campaign shows that 70% of countries still do not treat soil or agriculture as meaningful mitigation tools — even though soils are the planet’s largest terrestrial carbon sink. The report came on the back of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where campaigners hoped soil-carbon targets would finally be recognised. “Soils can deliver close to 27% of…

Nov

26

2025

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwean sentenced for fraud after using fake documents to secure R1.6m job

NEWS

A Zimbabwean national who fraudulently obtained a permanent residence permit and used fake immigration documents to secure a high-paying position as Chief Financial Officer at the North West Development Corporation has been convicted and sentenced. Kudakwashe Mpofu, former CFO of the state-owned entity, was sentenced by the Mmabatho Regional Court on 12 November 2025 on two counts of fraud following a Special Investigating Unit probe. The court handed down three years' imprisonment on the first count, with potential placement under correctional supervision, and a further three years wholly suspended for five years on the second count, conditional on no further…

Nov

24

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

Africa delivers historic G20 summit, places continental agenda at centre of globe

NEWS

SOUTH Africa successfully concluded the first-ever G20 summit on African soil Sunday, securing a landmark 122-point declaration despite a US boycott and delivering what President Cyril Ramaphosa called a "renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation." The historic gathering at Johannesburg's Nasrec Expo Centre saw global leaders refuse to allow the conspicuous absence of US President Donald Trump to derail proceedings, instead forging ahead with an ambitious agenda that placed Africa's development priorities firmly at the heart of international economic cooperation. "Our shared goals outweigh our differences," Ramaphosa declared at the summit's closing ceremony, following a weekend that saw intensive diplomatic engagement…