NEWS - The African Mirror

Nov

24

2020

Mozambique, Tanzania to launch joint operations against insurgents

NEWS

MOZAMBIQUE and Tanzania are to launch joint operations to combat an Islamist insurgency under an agreement that will also see some 500 suspected insurgents extradited, according to Mozambique's state-owned newspaper Noticias. The three-year-old insurgency is concentrated in Mozambique's northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, separated from Tanzania by the Rovuma River and home to gas developments worth $60 billion. In October, however, it spilled across the border when some 300 insurgents attacked a Tanzanian village. Many of the insurgency's recruits are also thought to come from Tanzania. Noticias said the agreement would see the two countries launch joint operations in Mozambique…

Nov

24

2020

By The African Mirror

Liberian electoral body says referendum on presidential terms will take place

NEWS

LIBERIA will hold a referendum next month on constitutional changes to reduce the length of the president's term and allow for dual citizenship, as it has resolved a procedural issue that risked its cancellation, the election commission has announced. On November 18, the Supreme Court said the December 8 vote would have to be cancelled after it found the ballots violated the law by presenting multiple referendum questions on the same sheet of paper. In response, the election commission has said it can resolve the issue by printing the questions on separate sheets of paper, allowing the vote to take…

Nov

24

2020

By The African Mirror

New Trump rule may require some African tourists to pay up to $15,000 in bonds

NEWS

TED HESSON THE outgoing administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a new temporary rule that could require tourist and business travelers from two dozen countries, most in Africa, to pay a bond of as much as $15,000 to visit the United States. The U.S. State Department said the temporary final rule, which takes effect December 24 and runs through June 24, targets countries whose nationals have higher rates of overstaying B-2 visas for tourists and B-1 visas for business travelers. The Trump administration said the six-month pilot program aims to test the feasibility of collecting such bonds and…

Nov

24

2020

By The African Mirror

Bushiri ‘not shocked or surprised’ by three warrants of arrest issued against him for rape

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER FUGITVE and self-styled ‘prophet’ Shepherd Bushiri says he is not shocked nor surprised by the decision by the South African law enforcement authorities to issue three warrants of arrests for separate cases of rape. The warrants of arrests against Bushiri were issued on November 19 by the Pretoria Magistrates Court and relate to two cases laid in 2018 and the third registered this year. Bushiri and his wife Mary fled to Malawi after they were charged with fraud and money laundering. There are two warrants of arrests for skipping bail. In a statement, Bushiri said the fresh…

Nov

24

2020

By The African Mirror

Tigray refugees recount the horrors of Ethiopia’s new conflict

NEWS

MOHAMMED AMIN THE refugees trekked for days to cross the border, dodging airstrikes and well-armed soldiers in their country’s escalating civil war. Many are now sleeping out in the open in isolated towns or under trees in a dusty displacement camp unused for decades. As conflict rages in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, a fast-growing refugee crisis is building in the eastern provinces of neighbouring Sudan: Almost 40,000 people have sought safety over the past two weeks, and many more are expected in the days ahead. At a newly opened camp and at the two main refugee transit points along Sudan’s border with…

Nov

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia says Axum airport smashed, Tigrayans face surrender deadline

NEWS

FORCES of Ethiopia's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) have destroyed an airport in the ancient town of Axum, state-affiliated media has announced, after advancing federal troops gave them a 72-hour ultimatum to surrender. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has told the TPLF, which had been ruling the mountainous northern zone of 5 million people, to lay down arms by Wednesday or face a final assault on the regional capital Mekelle. TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael told Reuters that the threat was a cover for government forces to regroup after what he described as defeats on three fronts. There was no immediate response…

Nov

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Omari takes over CAF reigns after FIFA bans African football president for five years

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER CONSTANT Selemani Omari has taken over as interim president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after the organisation's president Ahmad Ahmad was banned by FIFA for five years for, among others, misappropriation of funds and several ethical violations. In a statement, CAF said it has taken note of the FIFA decision and announced that Omari, who has been acting president, will continue in that role. "The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF), which is concerned about the reputational consequences of this long procedure, maintains the schedule of all its activities and programs," the statement said. Ahmad, who…

Nov

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Zondo Commission to lay criminal charges against Zuma and summons him to appear again

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE Zondo Commission is to lay criminal charges against former president Jacob Zuma after he defiantly left the hearing last week without the permission of the chairperson. Commission chairperson Deputy President Raymond Zondo announced today that charges would be laid by the commission secretariat and all the information and evidence would also be made available to the police and the National Prosecutions Authority. “It is quite important for the proper functioning of this commission that Mr Zuma’s conduct be dealt with in a manner in which our law provides it should be dealt with. This commission is…

Nov

23

2020

By The African Mirror

G20 says it will strive for fair global access to COVID-19 vaccine

NEWS

DAVIDE BARBUSCIA, MARWA RASHAD AND RAYA JALABI LEADERS of the 20 biggest economies have vowed to spare no effort to supply COVID-19 drugs, tests and vaccines affordably and fairly to "all people", reflecting worries that the pandemic could deepen divisions between the world's rich and poor. The pandemic and prospects of an uneven and uncertain economic recovery were at the centre of a two-day online summit under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia, which will hand the G20 presidency to Italy next month. "The COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented impact in terms of lives lost, livelihoods and economies affected, is an…

Nov

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Al Qaeda in North Africa names new leader to succeed Droukdel

NEWS

AL QAEDA’S North Africa branch (AQIM) has appointed a new leader and confirmed the death of its former leader Abdelmalek Droukdel who was killed by the French army in June, according to SITE Intelligence Group. U.S.-based SITE, which monitors jihadist websites, said AQIM displayed the dead body of its former leader for the first time in a video. Abdelmalek Droukdel. Picture: Flickr The French army killed Droukdel in Mali after hunting him for more than seven years in the Sahel region. AQIM said that following Droukdel's death, another Algerian, Sheikh Mujahid Yazid Mubarak, also known as Abu Ubaida Yusuf al-Annabi,…