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# The African Mirror

For Africa - Always

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## Posts

- [Blog](https://theafricanmirror.africa/blog/)
- [Africa's trillion-dollar paradox: "Continent must stop waiting to be rescued"](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africas-trillion-dollar-paradox-afdb-chief-says-the-continent-must-stop-waiting-to-be-rescued/) - STRIPPED of its diplomatic courtesies, the address Sidi Ould Tah delivered to the IMF/World Bank Group African Caucus in Banjul on 6 July carried a blunt message for a continent accustomed to appealing for help: Africa's problem is no longer only a shortage of money. It is a shortage of the institutions, instruments and political
- [So close, Pharaohs: Egypt made Argentina sweat blood before Messi remembered he was Messi](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/so-close-pharaohs-egypt-made-argentina-sweat-blood-before-messi-remembered-he-was-messi/) - THERE is a particular kind of heartbreak reserved for teams that do everything right and still go home. Egypt lived it in Atlanta. For seventy-nine merciless minutes, the Pharaohs did not just compete with the two-time reigning world champions - they bullied them, embarrassed them, and had eleven million people in Cairo out of their
- ['Prestigious teams are calling' - Mbekezeli Mbokazi's agent opens up on transfer interest](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/prestigious-teams-are-calling-mbekezeli-mbokazis-agent-opens-up-on-transfer-interest/) - MBEKEZELI Mbokazi’s agent, Basia Michaels, has revealed to SportsBoom that there have been enquiries from prestigious clubs for the Bafana Bafana and Chicago Fire defender, following what has been an impressive maiden FIFA World Cup for the 20-year-old. Mbokazi’s Future Mbokazi was one of the standout performers for South Africa in their historic 2026 FIFA
- [Uganda Parliament officials remanded as probe deepens, Anita Among name looms](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/uganda-parliament-officials-remanded-as-probe-deepens-anita-among-name-looms/) - SEVEN senior officials of the Parliament of Uganda have been remanded to Luzira Prison after appearing in the Anti-Corruption Court on charges of embezzlement, money laundering and causing financial loss, in a case that is now widening pressure on the institution’s leadership and sharpening speculation that former Speaker Anita Among could be drawn in next.
- [Ghanaian extradited in U.S. romance scam pleads guilty, agrees to repay $4.4m — now awaits prison term](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghanaian-extradited-in-u-s-romance-scam-pleads-guilty-agrees-to-repay-4-4m-now-awaits-prison-term/) - JOSEPH Kwadwo Badu Boateng, a Ghanaian national arrested in Accra and extradited to the United States, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and agreed to repay approximately $4.4 million in restitution as he waits to learn how long he will spend in a U.S. prison. Boateng - who used the nom de
- [Beyond the assembly line: Inside Ford SA's quiet century-long promise to South Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/motoring-news/beyond-the-assembly-line-inside-ford-sas-quiet-century-long-promise-to-south-africa/) - LONG before a single bolt is torqued onto a Ford Ranger at the Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, Ford South Africa is already at work in communities that will never buy one of its vehicles — in classrooms teaching five-year-olds to read, in disaster zones where roads have washed away, and in rural villages where
- [Mali’s junta suspends popular radio show](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/malis-junta-suspends-popular-radio-show/) - LAST week, Mali’s media regulator silenced one of the country’s few remaining public forums, the popular radio phone-in show, Allô Klédu. On June 25, the High Authority for Communication ordered the suspension of the show, broadcast on the private station Radio Klédu, for two months. The media regulator said the program had become “a platform for listeners to vent
- [World Cup’s credibility in question after FIFA volte-face following call from Donald Trump](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/world-cups-credibility-in-question-after-fifa-volte-face-following-call-from-donald-trump/) - AFTER four weeks of dazzling action on the pitch, it may be an off-field scandal that comes to define this summer’s World Cup. FIFA’s decision to allow America’s star striker, Folarin Balogun, to play in a last-16 match against Belgium, despite having been sent off in the previous game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, is in
- [NATO summit will reveal how alliance plans to manage European security as US cuts back its support](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/nato-summit-will-reveal-how-alliance-plans-to-manage-european-security-as-us-cuts-back-its-support/) - TWO massive Russian attacks on Kyiv in less than a week, renewed Iranian threats in the Strait of Hormuz, and a security crackdown in Turkey are just three of the immediate issues shaping the context of the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8. While Ukraine and Iran will be on NATO's agenda, the authoritarian
- [China’s submarine missile test looks routine. The real story is the panic it triggered](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/chinas-submarine-missile-test-looks-routine-the-real-story-is-the-panic-it-triggered/) - ON Monday, a Chinese navy submarine fired a long-range ballistic missile into international waters in the South Pacific. The nuclear-capable missile, which was launched from underwater and carried an inert dummy warhead, is believed to have splashed down near Tuvalu. The Chinese government said the event “was a routine part of China’s annual military training
- [America shuts the door: Supreme Court clears way to deport 330,000 Haitians into a nation in ruins](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/america-shuts-the-door-supreme-court-clears-way-to-deport-330000-haitians-into-a-nation-in-ruins/) - FOR sixteen years, Temporary Protected Status was the thin legal membrane standing between hundreds of thousands of Haitians and a homeland unravelling into anarchy. That membrane has now been torn away by the very court meant to be America's final word on justice. On June 25, 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled that Haitian Temporary
- [Tanzania bans political rallies ahead of commemorations of stolen election drenched in blood](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/tanzania-bans-political-rallies-tightening-the-grip-eight-months-after-a-stolen-election-drenched-in-blood/) - Eleven days before nationwide protests demanding accountability for one of the deadliest episodes of state violence in Tanzania's post-independence history, President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government has torn up its own reform record and outlawed every political rally in the country - a decision that opposition leaders, lawyers and press freedom advocates say confirms what many
- [The DRC may have lost against England, but they achieved something arguably more significant](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/the-drc-may-have-lost-against-england-but-they-achieved-something-arguably-more-significant/) - THE Democratic Republic of Congo may have lost to England on Wednesday night, but over the past three weeks, they achieved something arguably more significant: they disrupted one of the world's most enduring narratives about Africa. For the DRC, the 2026 FIFA World Cup was never simply about football. It was a return to the
- [Museveni declares war on hawking, a livelihood for millions of Ugandans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/museveni-declares-war-on-hawking-a-livelihood-for-millions-of-ugandans/) - PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni used his national address at the weekend to announce what amounts to a blanket ban on street hawking across Uganda, telling citizens that vendors must now operate only from registered shops, markets or supermarkets - a move that threatens the livelihoods of an informal workforce numbered in the hundreds of thousands, many
- [Nigeria joins Africa's race to bring Formula 1 back to the continent](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigeria-joins-africas-race-to-bring-formula-1-back-to-the-continent/) - NIGERIA has officially entered Africa's race to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix, adding fresh momentum to a continental campaign that has gathered pace over the past year as governments compete to return the championship to African soil after a 33-year absence. The move widens a field that already includes South Africa, Morocco, Rwanda, and
- [Infantino's red card: how FIFA's president is destroying the game he was elected to save](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/infantinos-red-card-how-fifas-president-is-destroying-the-game-he-was-elected-to-save/) - GIANNI Infantino has done something that no FIFA president has managed before, and it is not an achievement. He has taken the one institutional virtue football's governing body always claimed for itself - independence from political interference - and handed it, gift-wrapped, to a foreign head of state. FIFA has always thundered about keeping governments
- [Tanzania has banned political rallies again: what the government fears](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/tanzania-has-banned-political-rallies-again-what-the-government-fears/) - PUBLIC rallies were banned in Tanzania in June 2026 for the second time in a decade. The first ban was imposed by President John Magufuli in 2016. His successor, President Samia Hassan, lifted it in 2023 as part of a reform agenda. Now she has reimposed the ban. Dan Paget has spent over a decade
- [A Super El Niño is coming: 5 hard‑won lessons the world can learn from Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/a-super-el-nino-is-coming-5-hard-won-lessons-the-world-can-learn-from-africa/) - CLIMATE prediction scientists announced in June 2026 that El Niño, a cycle that happens every two to seven years, had formed. It was expected to develop into one of the strongest on record – a “super” El Niño. El Niño happens when the surface of the Pacific Ocean becomes unusually warm. It can alter weather
- [As US celebrates independence, Iran mourns its fallen leader – and both countries claim victory](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/as-us-celebrates-independence-iran-mourns-its-fallen-leader-and-both-countries-claim-victory/) - IT is ironic to see the Islamic Republic of Iran burying its slain supreme leader and the United States celebrating its 250th independence anniversary in the same week. Both sides have used the mourning and commemoration occasions to claim victory in a war that has led to a fragile 60-day ceasefire for negotiating a final
- [Ukraine war sparks fears of an organised crime resurgence in Russia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/ukraine-war-sparks-fears-of-an-organised-crime-resurgence-in-russia/) - FOLLOWING the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Russia endured a period of violent criminal lawlessness known as the “wild 90s”. Organised crime spiked, with gangs taking control of banks, factories and other lucrative markets. Contract killings, shootings and car bombings became part of urban life. There are now fears that the Ukraine war will give
- [Her grandparents fought to join American democracy. She’s fighting to complete it.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/her-grandparents-fought-to-join-american-democracy-shes-fighting-to-complete-it/) - IN the lead-up to our country’s 250th anniversary, Errin Haines is writing a series of columns to contemplate the complicated expansion of our democracy. Subscribe to The Amendment newsletter. Joseph and Nellie Gamble were born in 1905 and 1910 in Jim Crow Alabama – which meant that for much of their adult lives, they were unable to vote
- [SOUTH AFRICA/NIGERIA: Facts, fury and a fraying friendship](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/facts-fury-and-a-fraying-friendship/) - NIGERIA has issued its most severe rebuke yet of South Africa's handling of the safety of foreign nationals, warning that “all options remain on the table” after two of its citizens were killed within hours of each other on 28 June - one of them, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alleges, during a “gruesome interrogation”
- [The Gallery of Rogues](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-gallery-of-rogues/) - IT has become a grim, almost daily ritual: a senior police officer, a metro official or a well-connected businessman is named, suspended, arrested or fired, and South Africa's roll call of the disgraced grows a little longer. Nine months into its work, the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the
- [Museveni breaks his silence - and backs Muhoozi's crackdown to the Hilt](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/museveni-breaks-his-silence-and-backs-muhoozis-crackdown-to-the-hilt/) - PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni used a special address to the nation to place his full authority behind a months-long campaign of abductions, incommunicado detentions and media closures carried out by his son, Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, telling Ugandans that the crackdown was not a regression but “a consolidation of our long fight” for
- [Elba's $1-million bet: why Africa's creators just got a powerful new ally](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/elbas-1-million-bet-why-africas-creators-just-got-a-powerful-new-ally/) - IDRIS Elba has spent much of the last decade talking about Africa's creative potential. This week, in Johannesburg, he put a figure on it. At Google's first Africa Cloud Summit, the actor's Elba Hope Foundation and the tech giant announced a $1-million initiative that will give roughly 100,000 African content creators free access to Google's
- [EMPD officer arrested over R14.9 m Killarney stones heist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/empd-officer-arrested-over-r14-9-m-killarney-stones-heist/) - AN Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officer was arrested at the weekend in connection with the alleged theft of precious stones worth R14.9 million from a Killarney apartment in 2023, in the latest arrest to flow directly from testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Gauteng police swooped in Benoni, in an operation involving the
- [Unbowed, unrepentant: Days after bail, Matembe turns her fire back on Museveni](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/unbowed-unrepentant-days-after-bail-matembe-turns-her-fire-back-on-museveni/) - MIRIA Matembe, it seems, started exactly where she left off. Four days after security operatives dragged her from a friend's house to Mbuya, a day after a magistrate remanded her to Luzira Prison, and mere hours after that same court granted her bail with an explicit instruction to avoid “utterances similar to those complained of
- [The rhythms that broke Bashir: how Sudan’s music shaped a revolution](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-rhythms-that-broke-bashir-how-sudans-music-shaped-a-revolution/) - THE revolution in Sudan in 2019 has been eclipsed by the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023. But the events of 2019 demand greater attention as they hold lessons for a post-war Sudan. Music was central to the protests in 2019. The camp outside military
- [Cherie Kihato is taking African craft to luxury markets](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/cherie-kihato-is-taking-african-craft-to-luxury-markets/) - CHERIE Kihato steps outside the workshop, her eyes fixed on her phone. It's noisy; the shop is on Karen Road in Nairobi's Karen neighbourhood, a busy thoroughfare, but Kihato takes no notice. As a busy entrepreneur, she is scrolling through designs, responding to clients and keeping an eye on new opportunities. She's doing business in
- [Ford SA boss sounds alarm: cheap imports, Chinese cars are hollowing out the country's industrial base](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/ford-sa-boss-sounds-alarm-cheap-imports-chinese-cars-are-hollowing-out-the-countrys-industrial-base/) - NEALE Hill, President of Ford Motor Company Africa and Managing Director of Ford South Africa, has issued one of the automotive industry's starkest warnings yet - telling government and business that South Africa risks following Australia into total de-industrialisation unless urgent action is taken to level the playing field against a flood of low-cost Chinese
- [Stitching Lesotho into the Global Economy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/stitching-lesotho-into-the-global-economy/) - EVERY Wednesday morning at precisely 7:00, the Ministry of Trade and Industries' boardroom doors closed. Anyone arriving late stayed outside. There were no lengthy speeches or bureaucratic excuses. Around the table sat the minister of trade, permanent secretary, directors, utility executives, immigration officials, bankers, factory owners and trade union representatives. For one hour every week,
- [Truth in the age of AI: The fight for sustainable journalism](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/truth-in-the-age-of-ai-the-fight-for-sustainable-journalism/) - SINCE I am talking to a gathering of South Africa’s best journalists, I assume that you’re not going to take that assertion at face value. It is perfectly reasonable to ask why an entity like Standard Bank should have an interest in supporting and celebrating high-quality journalism. I have four answers. The first answer is
- [Uganda is latest in Africa's destination branding boom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/uganda-is-latest-in-africas-destination-branding-boom/) - UGANDA'S latest "Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa" campaign has turned buses in France into moving billboards, the latest step in the country's push to attract tourists, investment, and business from Europe and beyond. The campaign reflects a wider shift across Africa, where governments are investing as much in selling their national brands as they
- [Out, but undefeated in the hearts of millions: Cape Verde's World Cup adventure ends in glory](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/out-but-undefeated-in-the-hearts-of-millions-cape-verdes-world-cup-adventure-ends-in-glory/) - CAPE Verde's improbable, joyous run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup came to an end in Miami on Friday, but the smallest nation ever to reach the tournament's knockout stages departed the competition not as a footnote, but as its central story. The Blue Sharks — Tubarões Azuis to the roughly 600,000 people who call
- [Trump turns US 250th anniversary into campaign-style rally](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trump-turns-us-250th-anniversary-into-campaign-style-rally/) - PRESIDENT Donald Trump used the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations on the National Mall to deliver a speech that looked and sounded more like a campaign event than a national commemoration, deepening concerns about the politicisation of one of America’s most symbolic public milestones. After a storm delay of nearly two hours, Trump addressed the
- [The Fist and the Absent Son: Inside the funeral Iran waited four months to hold](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-fist-and-the-absent-son-inside-the-funeral-iran-waited-four-months-to-hold/) - THE banners went up before the body did. Across a capital that had spent four months rehearsing its grief in private, giant portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began climbing the sides of buildings in late June, his clenched fist rendered in gold against a sky the colour of mourning cloth. By the time the coffins
- [How the Venezuelan people and diaspora are driving earthquake relief](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-the-venezuelan-people-and-diaspora-are-driving-earthquake-relief/) - “NIEVES, there’s been an earthquake in Venezuela.” This was how Gabriela, a Venezuelan friend of mine, interrupted our phone conversation when the news came in. She was in Berlin, and as a new mother, she had not been sleeping much. Her tiredness quickly evaporated. Within minutes, the Venezuelan diaspora groups in Colombia that I work
- [2026 FIFA WORLD CUP: The Atlas Lions do it again - and this time, nobody can call it luck](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/2026-fifa-world-cup-the-atlas-lions-do-it-again-and-this-time-nobody-can-call-it-luck/) - LET'S just say it plainly: Morocco didn't knock on history's door in Houston on Saturday. They kicked it clean off its hinges, strolled in, put their feet up on the coffee table, and ordered a second round. A 3-0 dismantling of co-hosts Canada has done what precisely zero African nations had managed before - back-to-back
- [2026 FIFA WORLD CUP: And then there were two...](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/2026-fifa-world-cup-and-then-there-were-two/) - THERE is a particular kind of silence that falls over a continent when its footballing dreams are dismantled one hydration break at a time. Africa has spent the last fortnight becoming intimately acquainted with that silence - and, in between, with some of the loudest, most delirious noise this tournament has produced. Ten nations touched
- [How a Nigerian self-styled prince formed a fake state agency with a DG, millions in budget](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/exposed-how-a-nigerian-self-styled-prince-a-fictitious-dg-started-a-fake-govt-agency-with-a-million-in-budget/) - FOR a government that spent three years rebuilding its case to international creditors, the timing could not have cut deeper. On May 15, S&P Global Ratings lifted Nigeria's long-term sovereign credit rating from 'B-' to 'B', the country's first upgrade in fourteen years and the clearest external validation yet of President Bola Tinubu's reform programme
- [A body, two names and a diplomatic brawl: Accra and Pretoria trade fire over a dead Ghanaian](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/a-body-two-names-and-a-diplomatic-brawl-accra-and-pretoria-trade-fire-over-a-dead-ghanaian/) - There is a particular kind of African tragedy that plays out not in a courtroom or a coroner's office, but on the letterhead of a foreign ministry. This week it was Ghana's turn to write that letter - and South Africa's turn to send one back, sharper and angrier, essentially telling Accra to get its
- [DRC MURDERS: A Colonel falls, a state walks free](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/drc-murders-a-colonel-falls-a-state-walks-free/) - THE Democratic Republic of Congo's High Military Court in Kinshasa has convicted Colonel Jean de Dieu Mambweni of the war crime of murder, ruling on appeal that the officer actively orchestrated the March 2017 assassinations of United Nations Group of Experts investigators Zaida Catalán, a Swedish-Chilean national, and Michael J. Sharp, an American. The verdict,
- [The US is turning 250 – and Trump is making it all about him](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-us-is-turning-250-and-trump-is-making-it-all-about-him/) - IT’S almost the Fourth of July and Donald Trump is making the most of the 250th anniversary of American independence. He has all but declared himself Patriot-in-Chief. He’s putting his face on commemorative $250 bills and passports. A giant structure on the White House’s South Lawn, built for a pay-per-view UFC bout on Trump’s 80th
- [Russia’s drone and missile barrage, POW abuses deepen civilian suffering — UN Rights Chief urges renewed push for accountability and peace](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/russias-drone-and-missile-barrage-pow-abuses-deepen-civilian-suffering-un-rights-chief-urges-renewed-push-for-accountability-and-peace/) - RUSSIA’S intensified long‑range attacks and documented abuses against prisoners of war have deepened civilian suffering in Ukraine and underlined the growing obstacles to any negotiated peace, the UN’s top human rights official has warned. “Today is a day of mourning in Kyiv. Russia’s horrifying attack in the early hours of Thursday killed at least 30
- [Vietnam’s population hit the 100 million milestone. Where’s it headed?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/vietnams-population-hit-the-100-million-milestone-wheres-it-headed/) - THE population of Vietnam reached the 100 million mark in 2023. Fifty years ago, in 1976, when it was reunified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the country had fewer than half as many inhabitants (46 million). A hundred years ago, it had only one sixth as many (16 million). When we compare the current
- [From Baton Rouge track to federal prison: how one of Nigeria's fastest rising sprinters threw away everything](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/from-baton-rouge-track-to-federal-prison-how-one-of-nigerias-fastest-rising-sprinters-threw-away-everything/) - THERE was a version of Godson Oghenebrume's story that was supposed to end very differently. Two years ago, he was the LSU sprinter beating American prodigy Erriyon Knighton in a 100m final in front of a home crowd. A year later, he was a member of Nigeria's official Olympic team, on the plane to Paris.
- [Hakimi's crown, Hakimi's cross: Africa's best footballer now faces his toughest match - a French courtroom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/hakimis-crown-hakimis-cross-africas-best-footballer-now-faces-his-toughest-match-a-french-courtroom/) - ACHRAF Hakimi spent 2026 collecting the game's highest individual honours. He lifted a second consecutive Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, was crowned CAF Men's Player of the Year in Rabat — the first defender to win Africa's top prize in more than half a century — and captained Morocco into the World Cup as one
- [Google bets big on Africa: inside the Eastern Cape Digital Exchange, the Soweto Innovation Hub, a reshaped $1-billion pledge](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/google-bets-big-on-africa-inside-the-eastern-cape-digital-exchange-the-soweto-innovation-hub-a-reshaped-1-billion-pledge/) - ALPHABET-OWNED Google has confirmed it has exceeded the five-year, US$1-billion investment pledge it made to Africa in 2021, using the inaugural Google Cloud Summit in Africa — held this week at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg — to unveil a new wave of infrastructure, artificial intelligence and skills initiatives that signal a deliberate pivot:
- [Ulysses in isiZulu: why an African translation of the classic Irish novel matters in today’s world](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/literature/ulysses-in-isizulu-why-an-african-translation-of-the-classic-irish-novel-matters-in-todays-world/) - EVERY year on 16 June, readers around the world celebrate Bloomsday, the annual commemoration of Irish writer James Joyce’s landmark 1922 novel Ulysses. The date marks the single day on which the novel unfolds: 16 June 1904, when its protagonist, Leopold Bloom, wanders through the city of Dublin. What began as a literary observance has
- [Ramaphosa's fatal miscalculation: Why Dina Pule is the wrong answer to a country exhausted by scandal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/ramaphosas-fatal-miscalculation-why-dina-pule-is-the-wrong-answer-to-a-country-exhausted-by-scandal/) - THERE are political mistakes, and then there are mistakes that tell a nation exactly how little its leadership has learned. President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to appoint Dina Pule as Minister of Social Development belongs unmistakably to the second category. It is not merely an unforced error. It is a self-inflicted wound, delivered at the worst
- [“Let us rise with confidence, courage, and love for the DR - United in truth. Firm in sovereignty. Responsible in action.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/let-us-rise-with-confidence-courage-and-love-for-the-dr-united-in-truth-firm-in-sovereignty-responsible-in-action/) - SIXTY-SIX years have passed since that historic day when the Congolese people, after long years of colonial domination, rose up in their dignity to assert before the world their inalienable right to freedom, self-determination, and mastery of their own destiny. 30 June is therefore not a simple date on our republican calendar. It is at
- [Shopping for God in Lagos: What is Chrislam?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/shopping-for-god-in-lagos-what-is-chrislam/) - NIGERIA’S economic hub, Lagos, ranks among the fastest-growing cities in the world. Its huge population – estimated at around 20 million – and its rapid urbanisation contribute to a sense of life where survival hinges on improvisation and ingenuity. Nigerian musician Fela Kuti captured the megacity’s chronic difficulties with the expression “impossibilityism”. Yet, Lagos is
- [Trump has made more than $1 billion from crypto in a year. How?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trump-has-made-more-than-1-billion-from-crypto-in-a-year-how/) - US President Donald Trump once called cryptocurrency a “scam”. It’s now a major moneymaker for him: his just-released annual financial disclosure shows he made more than US$1 billion from cryptocurrency last year. This news has raised the ire of Trump’s critics. Juliana Stratton, the Illinois lieutenant governor and a Democratic Senate candidate, accused Trump of
- [Ukrainian families have been torn apart by the war – reunifying them is no easy task](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/ukrainian-families-have-been-torn-apart-by-the-war-reunifying-them-is-no-easy-task/) - RUSSIA’S war in Ukraine has caused the largest forced population displacement crisis in Europe since the Second World War. As of 2026, roughly 4.4 million refugees from Ukraine hold temporary protection status in the EU. Around 4.6 million more are internally displaced. Hundreds of thousands of families in the country have been separated and many
- [The youth jobs crisis fuelling India’s Cockroach Janta Party protests](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-youth-jobs-crisis-fuelling-indias-cockroach-janta-party-protests/) - A new youth protest movement in India that started as online satire is now staging an ongoing sit-in in New Delhi, calling for the resignation of India’s education minister. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was launched in late May by Abhijeet Dipke, a graduate of Boston University, in response to alleged comments by India’s chief
- [THE 86TH MINUTE: Africa's new enemy at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is a clock](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/the-86th-minute-africas-new-enemy-at-the-2026-fifa-world-cup-is-a-clock/) - THERE is a moment in every horror film where the music goes quiet, the babysitter checks the closet one more time, and you already know - you know - that something is coming. At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, African football has found its own jump-scare soundtrack, and it strikes with metronomic cruelty somewhere between
- [Sahel countries sever ties with The Hague](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sahel-leaders-sever-ties-with-the-hague/) - Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are pressing ahead with their exit from the Rome Statute, despite appeals from The Hague. Their announced exits follow Hungary's withdrawal.
- [SA: Judge tears up Cat Matlala's soft deal - now comes the reckoning over who else he names](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-judge-tears-up-cat-matlala-plea-deal-in-million-dollar-graft-case/) - A South African magistrate has rejected the 8‑year plea bargain for accused businessman, Vusumuzi 'Cat; Matlala, in one of South Africa's biggest corruption trials.
- [Only 9% of Africans now remain outside internet coverage - report](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/only-9-of-africans-now-remain-outside-internet-coverage-report/) - A decade ago, Africa's digital challenge was still largely about access. Today, only 9% of Africans remain outside mobile broadband coverage, according to a new report by the GSM Association (GSMA), suggesting the continent's connectivity challenge has shifted from network reach to internet adoption. The report, The Mobile Economy Africa 2026, says 63% of Africans
- [Power, pleasure and patriarchy: why The Polygamist on Netflix is captivating viewers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/power-pleasure-and-patriarchy-why-the-polygamist-on-netflix-is-captivating-viewers/) - THE Polygamist is a Netflix series that has soared up the streaming platform’s charts and triggered a global conversation about men who cheat in relationships. It tracks the fatal ruptures in what seems like a successful upper-class family, the Gomoras. Although the story plays out in South Africa, the series is adapted from Zimbabwean author
- [Africa is building the systems that make climate capital move](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/africa-is-building-the-systems-that-make-climate-capital-move/) - AFRICA'S next race for climate finance is increasingly being shaped not by the size of countries' renewable resources but by the strength of the institutions that can turn those resources into investable opportunities. A growing body of evidence suggests that trust, built through credible policies, project preparation, risk-sharing mechanisms, and transparent markets, is becoming one
- [Morocco’s hidden history: archaeology, DNA and carbon dating rewrite the story of the ancient world](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/moroccos-hidden-history-archaeology-dna-and-carbon-dating-rewrite-the-story-of-the-ancient-world/) - FOR decades, stories about the ancient Mediterranean have centred on the grand cultures of Greece, Rome, Phoenicia and Egypt. Northwest Africa seldom enters the picture before the arrival of Phoenician traders on the Moroccan coast about 3,000 years ago. But archaeology is now revealing a different story. Long before the first Phoenician ships (from today’s
- [Venezuela earthquake aftermath: ‘breakdown of basic services’, disease risks and health workers missing – UN agencies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/venezuela-earthquake-aftermath-breakdown-of-basic-services-disease-risks-and-health-workers-missing-un-agencies/) - AS search and rescue operations continue in Venezuela, thousands of displaced people are struggling to find shelter while infectious diseases threaten to spread, according to UN humanitarians. Six days after powerful earthquakes struck central-northern Venezuela, Carlotta Wolf, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) told reporters in Geneva that in La Guaira, the hardest-hit
- [In rebuke to Trump, Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, emphasizing the promise of equality in the Declaration of Independence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/in-rebuke-to-trump-supreme-court-upholds-birthright-citizenship-emphasizing-the-promise-of-equality-in-the-declaration-of-independence/) - THE Supreme Court on June 30, 2026, declared that universal birthright citizenship is protected by the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, meaning that nearly all babies born in the United States automatically become American citizens, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. The ruling rejects President Donald Trump’s executive order, signed
- [International efforts to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons program have failed. Here’s what comes next](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/international-efforts-to-end-north-koreas-nuclear-weapons-program-have-failed-heres-what-comes-next/) - THE dust has now settled on the ostentatious summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang earlier this month. But perhaps the biggest takeaway was what was left unsaid. Chinese readouts from the summit conspicuously excluded any mention of denuclearisation in North Korea (meaning North Korea giving up
- [FIFA 2026 WORLD CUP: Morocco shines, the Elephants crash out, with pride](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/fifa-2026-world-cup-morocco-shines-the-elephants-crash-out-with-pride/) - Somewhere in a FIFA marketing meeting months ago, someone probably penned a tidy little narrative for this World Cup: the usual European heavyweights, a South American flourish, and Africa cast as the plucky extras who show up, smile for the group photo, and go home before the real drama starts. Africa did not get the
- [Maria Matembe: Uganda's 72 year-old matriarch who would not be silenced](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-matriarch-who-would-not-be-silenced-miria-matembe-from-the-constituent-assembly-to-a-prison-cell/) - THERE is a particular kind of courage that belongs almost exclusively to those who have nothing left to prove and nothing left to lose. At 72, Dr Miria Rukoza Koburunga Matembe has spent more than three decades demonstrating exactly that kind of courage. On Tuesday, that courage carried her, frail and in visible pain, supported
- [BMW unveils five-way power play with all-new X5 - electric, hydrogen and the ‘Heart of Joy’](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/motoring/bmw-unveils-five-way-power-play-with-all-new-x5-electric-hydrogen-and-the-heart-of-joy/) - THE car that has long been BMW's calling card in the luxury SUV wars is about to get louder, cleaner and considerably smarter. The fifth-generation BMW X5 is in the final stretch of its development programme, tearing through calibration drives around the carmaker's production heartland at Plant Spartanburg in the United States - and when
- [“No More Pillage” - DRC President declares end to extraction of raw materials](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/no-more-pillage-drc-president-declares-end-to-extraction-of-raw-materials/) - PRESIDENT Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi used the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s 66th Independence Day address on Tuesday to deliver what may be the most forceful articulation yet of his economic sovereignty doctrine, declaring an end to the era in which Congolese minerals were “extracted at home, exported raw, valorised elsewhere, then sold back to the world”
- [The Endgame: First move in a war for Senegal's soul](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-endgame-first-move-in-a-war-for-senegals-soul/) - Senegal's political honeymoon is over, and what replaces it will be remembered as one of the most consequential power struggles in the country's history. On Monday, the National Assembly — an institution now thoroughly remade in the image of Ousmane Sonko, its newly installed Speaker — passed sweeping constitutional reforms that strip the presidency of
- [EXPOSED: Sensational attempts to bribe SA MP with R10 million cash, a R2-million-a-month tender and promises of “chocolates”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/exposed-sensational-attempts-to-bribe-sa-mp-with-r10-million-cash-a-r2-million-a-month-tender-and-promises-of-chocolates/) - A sworn account now before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has placed uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) Member of Parliament Vusi Shongwe at the centre of one of the most startling sub-plots yet to emerge from South Africa’s sprawling probe into criminality and political interference within the criminal justice system: an alleged attempt by intermediaries linked
- [SA braces for June 30 flashpoint as police deploy, migrants flee, Ramaphosa rejects vigilante ultimatums](https://theafricanmirror.africa/archive/south-africa-braces-for-june-30-flashpoint-as-police-deploy-migrants-flee-and-ramaphosa-rejects-vigilante-ultimatums/) - SOUTH Africa is heading into a volatile June 30 standoff, with police on high alert, foreign nationals rushing to leave the country or seek embassy assistance, and President Cyril Ramaphosa warning that intimidation and violence cannot be allowed to replace the rule of law. What began as an anti-immigration campaign has now become a test
- [Angola just took a decisive step to turn AfCFTA from paper promise into business reality](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/angola-just-took-a-decisive-step-to-turn-afcfta-from-paper-promise-into-business-reality/) - ANGOLA has validated a National AfCFTA Strategy and Action Plan, signalling a shift from commodity dependence toward a trade‑led industrialisation push. The move maps out how Luanda intends to tap a single African market of more than a billion consumers to build regional value chains, scale domestic firms and broaden economic opportunity for women and
- [Experts call for greater investment in Africa-led research to safeguard the Congo Basin](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/experts-call-for-greater-investment-in-africa-led-research-to-safeguard-the-congo-basin/) - SCIENTISTS, policymakers and development partners have called for greater investment in Africa-led research and innovation, warning that efforts to protect the Congo Basin and surrounding Central African forest ecosystems will fall short unless African institutions play a leading role in generating the knowledge needed to manage them sustainably. The experts said the Congo Basin is
- [The matriarch who would not be silenced: Miria Matembe's long war against power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-matriarch-who-would-not-be-silenced-miria-matembes-long-war-against-power/) - There is a particular kind of courage that belongs almost exclusively to those who have nothing left to prove and nothing left to lose. At 72, Dr Miria Rukoza Koburunga Matembe has spent more than three decades demonstrating exactly that kind of courage, and this week it appears to have cost her her freedom. Matembe
- [Hybrid seed leading revival of cotton farming in Zimbabwe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/hybrid-seed-leading-revival-of-cotton-farming-in-zimbabwe/) - FOR more than two decades, 56-year-old cotton farmer Aleck Bikostone has dedicated his life to cotton farming in Chinhoyi - the north-central capital of Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland West Province - despite market disturbances, climate change, and rising costs of inputs that threaten the crop. Standing among cotton fields at a research farm in Kadoma along the
- [Nigerian kids learning purpose through play](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/nigerian-kids-learning-purpose-through-play/) - THE sound of children’s laughter drifts through the compound long before the work day starts. Children move among puzzles, books, music sessions, and role-play activities. Some practice speaking in front of others. Others explore leadership exercises. A few sit quietly, building ideas through drawing and conversation. At the center of it all sits Philomena Nwajagu.
- [Israel’s ‘campaign between the wars’: How strategy to contain Iran and its allies risks further straining ties with US](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/israels-campaign-between-the-wars-how-strategy-to-contain-iran-and-its-allies-risks-further-straining-ties-with-us/) - A lot hangs on whether the United States can compel Israel to cease operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. After all, an end to the Israeli military offensive was a key provision of the broad U.S.-Iran agreement setting out a road map to end the Iran war. And even though Israel did not sign the deal,
- [Online hate, real consequences: Maryland man jailed 15 months for threats against Black and Muslim groups](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/online-hate-real-consequences-maryland-man-jailed-15-months-for-threats-against-black-and-muslim-groups/) - A U.S. federal judge has sentenced Maryland resident Raymond Pumphrey to 15 months in prison for posting violent, racially and religiously charged threats online targeting Black and Muslim communities. U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson ordered the 47-year-old to serve 15 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, after Pumphrey pleaded guilty to
- [Expert Q&A: Why did so many buildings collapse in Venezuela’s double earthquake?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/expert-qa-why-did-so-many-buildings-collapse-in-venezuelas-double-earthquake/) - MORE than 500 people have been killed in Venezuela following powerful back-to-back earthquakes, with many more injured. Rescue teams have also been trying to locate people trapped in collapsed buildings. Here, Raffaele De Risi, associate professor in civil engineering at the University of Bristol, answered our questions about the role building design may have played
- [Atlas Lions Roar, Albirroja Ambush: Africa toasts as Europe's giants crumble on penalties](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/atlas-lions-roar-albirroja-ambush-africa-toasts-as-europes-giants-crumble-on-penalties/) - THERE are nights in football when the script tears itself up, sets fire to the bin, and dances on the ashes. Monday was one of those nights. Two of European football's grandest old houses - the Netherlands, serial World Cup nearly-men, and Germany, four-time champions and self-appointed custodians of penalty-shootout science - were both shown
- [South Africa’s political and economic crisis: in search of a visible enemy, ghosts and African immigrants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/south-africas-political-and-economic-crisis-in-search-of-a-visible-enemy-ghosts-and-african-immigrants/) - THE issue of migration in South Africa seems to have generated more heat than light. This has occupied public discourse at home and abroad. As a Foundation committed to catalyzing the Renaissance of Africa, we cannot avoid adding our voice to this matter, which threatens to undermine all efforts of building African unity. The images
- [Mozambique moves to govern AI as more African states build laws](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/mozambique-moves-to-govern-ai-as-more-african-states-build-laws/) - MOZAMBIQUE has drafted a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy as it moves to formalise the legal, institutional, and regulatory frameworks that will shape how AI systems are deployed across public and private sectors. “This is not about stifling innovation, but rather about creating clear rules that ensure these tools are used safely, transparently, responsibly, and with
- [Museveni's son-in-law admits soldiers beat voters, stuffed ballots in stolen election](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/musevenis-son-in-law-admits-soldiers-beat-voters-stuffed-ballots-in-stolen-election/) - For nearly four decades, public criticism of President Yoweri Museveni's grip on power in Uganda has come from outside his family circle - from opposition politicians, civil society and a battered independent press. This week, in a striking departure, it has also come from inside the presidential household itself. Odrek Rwabwogo, chairperson of the Presidential
- [Abdullah Ibrahim in the 1960s: how the famous pianist began to shape an African jazz sound](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/abdullah-ibrahim-in-the-1960s-how-the-famous-pianist-began-to-shape-an-african-jazz-sound/) - THE 1960s are a significant era in Abdullah Ibrahim’s story. It’s a time when the South African master’s international career as a jazz pianist was gradually established and he laid the foundations for the signature sound that is recognised today as people reflect on his passing. He is best remembered for evoking soundscapes that are
- [Preparing for the unthinkable](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/preparing-for-the-unthinkable/) - IN 2024, Guadalupe Maribel Aguilar Martín became a U.S. citizen, nearly two decades after fleeing an abusive ex-boyfriend in her native Guatemala. The 42-year-old Maya-Mam immigrant, originally from Santiago Chimaltenango, a small town in the country’s western highlands, recalled how she felt the moment she learned her citizenship had been granted, years after enduring severe
- [Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes happened on a fault similar to the San Andreas, and the risks aren’t over yet – a geophysicist explains](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/venezuelas-deadly-earthquakes-happened-on-a-fault-similar-to-the-san-andreas-and-the-risks-arent-over-yet-a-geophysicist-explains/) - VENEZUELA and its capital, Caracas, were rocked by two massive earthquake pulses on June 24, 2026, just seconds apart. The shaking from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 events caused buildings to collapse in cities across the northern part of the country, killing more than 1,400 people and trapping many more, government officials reported. University of
- [Germany’s proposal to ease trade tensions with China has not gone down well in Beijing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/germanys-proposal-to-ease-trade-tensions-with-china-has-not-gone-down-well-in-beijing/) - TRADE tensions between the EU and China are deepening. On June 16, the EU’s trade chief, Maroš Šefcovic, said the bloc’s unbalanced trade relationship with China “had reached a point that requires a reset”. The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, then criticised Beijing days later for what he claimed were its unfair trade practices. In comments
- [Uganda's darkest weekend: Muhoozi shuts down independent media as Matembe missing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ugandas-darkest-weekend-muhoozi-shuts-down-independent-media-as-matembe-remains-disappeared/) - UGANDA woke on Sunday to find soldiers stationed outside the country's largest independent newsroom and one of its most respected elder stateswomen still missing, after Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba moved within a single week to silence both the press that scrutinises him and the activists who criticise him. Shortly after midnight on
- [BURKINA FASO DIVORCE: Paris reacts, Francophone Africa watches](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/burkina-faso-divorce-paris-reacts-francophone-africa-watches/) - FRANCE has revealed that it was weighing reciprocal measures after Burkina Faso severed all diplomatic relations with Paris, calling the decision “hostile and unfounded” and warning that it illustrated a worrying drift by the Burkinabè authorities. The response, delivered within a day of Ouagadougou's announcement, was the clearest signal yet that France does not intend
- [Eustáquio's stoppage-time heist mugs Bafana - But leave World Cup with heads held high](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/eustaquios-stoppage-time-heist-mugs-bafana-but-leave-world-cup-with-heads-held-high/) - FOR 91 minutes and 59 seconds, Bafana Bafana did the unthinkable and made it look almost ordinary. Then Stephen Eustáquio remembered he was Portuguese-trained, Canadian-capped, and entirely without mercy, and ruined everybody's evening with one perfectly struck football. It arrived in the 92nd minute, the cruellest postcode in the sport. A loose, bouncing clearance fell
- [Kinshasa drags Kigali back to The Hague: DRC-Rwanda relations hit new low as peace process falters](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/kinshasa-drags-kigali-back-to-the-hague-drc-rwanda-relations-hit-new-low-as-peace-process-falters/) - THE fragile diplomatic architecture holding together the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda cracked further this week after Kinshasa filed an application instituting proceedings against Kigali at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing its smaller eastern neighbour of three decades of genocide, mass killing and systematic human rights abuse in the mineral-rich Kivus.
- [The Final Severance. Burkina Faso, France and the end of an era in the Sahel](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-final-severance-burkina-faso-france-and-the-end-of-an-era-in-the-sahel/) - The Announcement It came on state television, read out in the flat cadence of a formal communiqué. Burkina Faso's military government informed “the national and international community” that it had decided to sever diplomatic relations with France, effective from Friday, 26 June 2026. Communications Minister Pingdwende Gilbert Ouédraogo told viewers that the conditions for a
- [Nine and rising: Africa shatters World Cup history](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/nine-and-rising-africa-shatters-world-cup-history/) - FOR nearly a century, Africa’s World Cup story has been told in flashes rather than chapters - Cameroon’s swagger in Italy in 1990, Senegal’s fairy tale in 2002, Ghana’s heartbreak six inches from a semi-final in 2010. Brilliant moments, almost always isolated, almost always alone. That story changed shape entirely this weekend. Nine of the
- [The danger of US‑Iran ceasefire agreement is what it leaves out](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-danger-of-us-iran-ceasefire-agreement-is-what-it-leaves-out/) - THE latest U.S. military conflict with Iran appears to be over. Washington declared success. Tehran claimed victory. Israel insisted it remains free to strike Hezbollah. Some sticking points remain. For example, Iranian officials insist de-escalation in Lebanon was part of the deal; Israeli leaders deny it. To most onlookers, the contradictions may seem like confusion,
- [Venezuela earthquakes add tragic new layer to the country’s humanitarian crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/venezuela-earthquakes-add-tragic-new-layer-to-the-countrys-humanitarian-crisis/) - VENEZUELA has a well-documented vulnerability to earthquakes. The country sits on the boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, resulting in routine tremors and causing historical earthquake disasters. But the experience of a “doublet”, a pair of 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes 40 seconds apart, on June 24, was a rare misfortune. From an
- [Other nations thirst for Ukraine’s drone success — but they need a culture shift first](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/other-nations-thirst-for-ukraines-drone-success-but-they-need-a-culture-shift-first/) - UKRAINIAN drone strikes are devastating Russian communities. The city of Sevastopol, the largest in Russian-occupied Crimea, is the latest community to be hit, losing power as Ukrainian drones strike energy facilities in the region. Given the immense symbolic value attached to Crimea by both Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainians — it was the first
- [SA: Kings, Queens Drawn Into Last-Ditch Push to Defuse Migration Powder Keg](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ramaphosas-royal-gambit-kings-queens-drawn-into-last-ditch-push-to-defuse-sas-migration-powder-keg/) - WITH days standing between South Africa and a self-declared “national shutdown” over illegal immigration, President Cyril Ramaphosa turned on Saturday to an institution older than the republic itself: the country’s traditional monarchs. At a closed-door meeting with Kings and Queens, Ramaphosa restated the five-pillar Comprehensive Approach for Managing Migration his Cabinet adopted following his 7
- [Your work is good. That’s exactly why they won’t let it through.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/your-work-is-good-thats-exactly-why-they-wont-let-it-through/) - THE engineer submits the plans. Correctly formatted. Peer-reviewed. Backed by fifteen years of practice. He is told to wait. He improves the submission. He is told to wait again. He hires a consultant. The consultant says the submission is excellent. He is told to wait. At no point does anyone tell him the submission is
- [From the bench to the dock: State attaches corruption-charged judge’s R6-million house](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/from-the-bench-to-the-dock-state-attaches-corruption-charged-judges-r6-million-house/) - FOR three decades, South African courts have stripped tenderpreneurs, fraudsters and cartel bosses of the houses, cars and bank balances bought with stolen or laundered money. This week, that same machinery - the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) - turned on a woman who, until recently, might have been the one
- [Africa's World Cup windfall: Knockout stage breakthrough triggers a multimillion-dollar payday from FIFA](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africas-world-cup-windfall-knockout-stage-breakthrough-triggers-a-multimillion-dollar-payday-from-fifa/) - THE referee's final whistle signalled more than victories for South Africa, Morocco and Côte d'Ivoire into the knockout stage in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It activated a financial mechanism that FIFA spent two years engineering, and that the rest of African football is now racing, in real time, to unlock for itself. With the
- [Uganda’s democracy by decree: How General Muhoozi Kainerugaba rules from his phone](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ugandas-democracy-by-decree-how-general-muhoozi-kainerugaba-rules-from-his-phone/) - On the surface, Uganda staged the full theatre of democracy this year: ballots cast, results declared, President Yoweri Museveni sworn in for a seventh consecutive term. But the man who has done more than anyone to expose the hollowness of that theatre is not an opposition figure. It is the President’s own son. Gen. Muhoozi
- [Robust global action is key to curbing Sudan atrocities](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/robust-global-action-is-key-to-curbing-sudan-atrocities/) - The United Nations Security Council on June 20 warned of the “imminent risk of mass atrocities” in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan region in western Sudan, which for months now has been the epicenter of fierce fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The conflict, which broke out in
- [Funding boosts postgraduate student success – South African study measures how](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/funding-boosts-postgraduate-student-success-south-african-study-measures-how/) - POSTGRADUATE education is good for a country. Thriving economies need people with advanced academic degrees to enhance research productivity. Research and innovation capability have a positive impact on the competitiveness of a country. The South African government has developed an extensive financial support programme for undergraduate (first degree) education in the form of the National
- [Burkina Faso’s missing journalist exposes the junta’s tightening grip on dissent](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/burkina-fasos-missing-journalist-exposes-the-juntas-tightening-grip-on-dissent/) - Two years after journalist Atiana Serge Oulon vanished in Burkina Faso, his disappearance has become more than a missing-person case. It now stands as a warning about how the military authorities are using fear, secrecy and coercion to suppress scrutiny of their rule. Oulon, who led the investigative weekly L’Événement, was seized from his home
- [The flaws at the heart of Donald Trump’s Iran ceasefire deal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-flaws-at-the-heart-of-donald-trumps-iran-ceasefire-deal/) - THE world sighed in relief when Donald Trump agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to finally end the conflict with Iran on June 17. But there is now a palpable feeling that hostilities are far from over. The agreement between Washington and Tehran, signed at Versailles on June 18, is better understood as a
- [Mothering as a judge in an era of death threats](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/mothering-as-a-judge-in-an-era-of-death-threats/) - FOR years, balancing career and motherhood as a judge meant working through inflexible schedules and large caseloads while remaining present as the primary caregiver. These days, the landscape has shifted. Many mothers sitting on the bench are juggling these concerns in addition to the risk of death threats and being targeted with sexually explicit AI-generated
- [Lebanon’s documentation system collapses under the weight of war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/lebanons-documentation-system-collapses-under-the-weight-of-war/) - AS diplomats try to thrash out a US-Iran peace deal and how Lebanon fits into it, more than a million people who fled Israeli bombardment face a pressing question: If and when they are able to go home, do they actually have the paperwork they need? Over the past four months of Israel’s heavy airstrikes
- [SA: The Cat falls - and drags the generals down with him in multimillion tender fraud scandal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-the-cat-falls-and-drags-the-generals-down-with-him/) - FOR nearly two years, Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala played the untouchable. The Pretoria security boss and self-styled VIP-protection mogul faced down attempted-murder charges, parliamentary scrutiny and a presidentially appointed commission of inquiry without folding. On Thursday, before the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria, he finally did. Matlala pleaded guilty to fraud, corruption and money laundering
- [Bandages, Bent Knees, Rolls Royce: “AAA” Sympathy Gambit Meets Uganda’s Reckoning](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/anita-aaa-among-bandages-bent-knees-and-a-bid-for-sympathy-will-health-claims-outsmart-the-seizure-of-her-rolls/) - THEY call her “AAA” with an affectionate wink — a tidy, sing-song shorthand for a woman who, until six weeks ago, occupied the third-highest office in the Ugandan state. Today the initials trail a rather different story: a former Speaker of Parliament confined to a heavily guarded compound in Nakasero, her bank accounts frozen, her
- [Britain convicts first man under landmark sex-based harassment law, sending signal to the world](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/britain-convicts-first-man-under-landmark-sex-based-harassment-law-sending-signal-to-the-world/) - IT began as an ordinary commute. A woman travelling alone on a train into London on 3 April 2026 found a stranger, David Stroud, sitting beside her, making unwanted comments, then reaching out and grabbing her hair before asking if he could kiss her. She told him to stop. He did not. By the time
- [South Africa’s immigration squeeze tests rule of law as anti-foreigner anger rises](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/south-africas-immigration-squeeze-tests-rule-of-law-as-anti-foreigner-anger-rises/) - AS marches against undocumented migrants spread and the 30 June deadline set by vigilante-style groups approaches, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia are insisting that enforcement must stay in state hands and that South Africans must not resort to mob justice. But the government’s hardline migration response now faces a double test:
- [Nasty C, Skwatta Kamp and DJ Tira set Constitution Hill alight as Basha Uhuru turns 50 years of freedom into one giant street party](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/nasty-c-skwatta-kamp-and-dj-tira-set-constitution-hill-alight-as-basha-uhuru-turns-50-years-of-freedom-into-one-giant-street-party/) - THERE are festivals, and then there is Basha Uhuru - the one day a year when Constitution Hill, the very fortress that once locked up the country’s freedom fighters, throws open its gates and lets the youth of South Africa turn its courtyards into a dancefloor. On Saturday, 27 June, the 14th edition of the
- [Black African migrants are not the reason South Africa is broken](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/black-african-migrants-are-not-the-reason-south-africa-is-broken/) - I have always felt like an exile at home. I did not gently enter this world after leaving, without consent, the enchanted kingdom of plenty and pure bliss: my mother’s womb. No. I was unleashed, wailing, into dust, hunger and disappointment, my tiny feet too frail for the stubbornness of a home birth. My second
- [Angola’s long war changed the way farmers used fire – why it matters](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/angolas-long-war-changed-the-way-farmers-used-fire-why-it-matters/) - FEW places in Africa have been as isolated and understudied as eastern Angola, particularly the highlands of the Moxico provinces, a region rich in biodiversity, culture and history. The country’s political past helps explain this isolation. Having achieved independence from Portugal in 1975 after 11 years of war, Angola descended into a civil war that
- [Twin quakes rip through Caracas, killing dozens as Venezuela declares emergency](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/twin-quakes-rip-through-caracas-killing-dozens-as-venezuela-declares-emergency/) - ON a public holiday meant to celebrate the 1821 Battle of Carabobo, the earth itself turned on Venezuela. Two ferocious earthquakes tore through the country's central Caribbean coast on Wednesday evening, toppling buildings in the capital Caracas and sending residents fleeing into the streets in scenes witnesses likened to a horror film. The United States
- [The international legal order is broken: 2 key shifts needed to fix it](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-international-legal-order-is-broken-2-key-shifts-needed-to-fix-it/) - THE international legal order that was created after the Second World War is no longer fit for purpose. Its response to urgent global problems like climate, poverty and pandemics is inadequate. Its key institutions like the United Nations, are incapable of restoring peace in Ukraine, Iran, Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo or stopping
- [Igniting Tomorrow: BMW Group South Africa puts youth in the driver's seat](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/motoring-news/igniting-tomorrow-bmw-group-south-africa-puts-youth-in-the-drivers-seat/) - THERE is a particular kind of energy that fills a room when young people glimpse, for the first time, the shape of their own future. It is the same restless energy that hums beneath the bonnet of an idling engine - coiled, expectant, ready to surge forward the moment the key turns. This Youth Month,
- [Bafana crash the party, Atlas Lions survive a fright: Africa's World Cup quest hits top gear](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/bafana-crash-the-party-atlas-lions-survive-a-fright-africas-world-cup-quest-hits-top-gear/) - FORGET the script. Africa was supposed to arrive at this World Cup, applaud politely from the group-stage cheap seats, and go home in time for the round of 16 - as usual. Instead, the continent has spent the past week treating the tournament like a Sunday taxi rank: loud, chaotic, occasionally terrifying, and somehow always
- [When the door finally locks: dignity comes home to rural KwaZulu-Natal schools](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/when-the-door-finally-locks-dignity-comes-home-to-rural-kwazulu-natal-schools/) - THERE is a particular kind of childhood arithmetic that no Grade 7 learner should ever have to perform: how long can I hold on, how fast can I get there, and how loud will the door not lock behind me. At Vuka Primary School in the rolling hills above Wartburg, that calculation used to run
- [UN confirms 838 victims of sexual violence, warns of crimes against humanity in Darfur](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/un-confirms-838-victims-of-sexual-violence-in-sudans-war-warns-of-crimes-against-humanity-in-darfur/) - GENEVA/JOHANNESBURG — Behind every figure in the United Nations’ newest accounting of Sudan’s war lies a name, a face, and a family permanently altered. A report issued by the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday documents at least 546 verified incidents of conflict-related sexual violence since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the
- [SANDF's camouflaged sentinels strike back against the syndicates bleeding South Africa dry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/guardians-of-the-limpopo-sandfs-camouflaged-sentinels-strike-back-against-the-syndicates-bleeding-south-africa-dry/) - UNDER a starlit Limpopo sky, soldiers lying in wait on the riverbed watched two sets of headlights cut through the bush toward the water's edge. Within minutes, gunfire cracked across the riverbank. By morning, two more stolen vehicles - a Toyota Fortuner and a Nissan Navara, together worth almost R1.7 million - had been wrestled
- [43 doors in Dubai: How a Bongo heir built an empire while running Gabon's treasury](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/forty-three-doors-in-dubai-how-a-bongo-heir-built-an-empire-while-running-gabons-treasury/) - FOR half a century, the Bongo name was Gabon's shorthand for power without consequence. The 2023 coup that toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba was meant to close that chapter. A new cross-border investigation suggests the family's appetite for offshore wealth never read the memo. According to a sweeping investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption
- [African nations announce major electronic monitoring and tuna transparency commitments at Our Ocean Conference](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/african-nations-announce-major-electronic-monitoring-and-tuna-transparency-commitments-at-our-ocean-conference/) - AT the Our Ocean Conference hosted in Kenya, the governments of Kenya, Seychelles, Gabon, Tanzania and South Africa unveiled a set of country-led commitments to advance electronic monitoring, the use of onboard video cameras, GPS and sensors to monitor and verify fishing activities to strengthen transparency across their fisheries. These announcements reflect growing African leadership
- [A manufactured crisis: How Washington turned Minnesota into a laboratory of state terror](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/a-manufactured-crisis-how-washington-turned-minnesota-into-a-laboratory-of-state-terror/) - FOR three months between December 2025 and March 2026, the world's most powerful government turned its security apparatus on a single American metropolitan region — and what it produced, according to Human Rights Watch, was not law enforcement but terror. In a 180-page report released this week, the New York-based watchdog has delivered one of
- [Keir Starmer has resigned – but what could a new PM actually do differently against Reform UK?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/keir-starmer-has-resigned-but-what-could-a-new-pm-actually-do-differently-against-reform-uk/) - ANDY Burnham now looks almost certain to take over as Labour leader – and UK prime minister – after Keir Starmer announced his resignation. In a speech in Downing Street, Starmer said his colleagues had persuaded him that he could no longer continue in the role and it’s believed that even allies had privately advised
- [Why US presidents end up cursing Benjamin Netanyahu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-us-presidents-end-up-cursing-benjamin-netanyahu/) - WHEN the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered a strike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut on June 14, Donald Trump was not amused. Fearing that the attack threatened an agreement with Iran on ending the war between the two countries, the US president lashed out. Netanyahu, he said, has “no f*****g judgment”. He was
- [Blue lights, broken trust: Ex-lover tells how EMPD crew stole R14.9m in gems - and sold them for R110,000](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/blue-lights-broken-trust-mkhwanazis-ex-lover-tells-madlanga-how-empd-brigadiers-crew-stole-r14-9m-in-gems-and-sold-them-for-r110000/) - ON Tuesday, a guarded voice relayed over an audio link - disguised to spare its owner’s life - walked the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry through the anatomy of a betrayal: how a love affair with a senior Ekurhuleni police officer curdled into a staged “police operation” that stripped a Johannesburg gem owner of stones valued
- [DRC Ebola outbreak surges: more than 1,000 confirmed cases and 267 deaths in first month, UN warns](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/drc-ebola-outbreak-surges-more-than-1000-confirmed-cases-and-267-deaths-in-first-month-un-warns/) - THE Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading at an unprecedented rate, producing the largest number of confirmed cases recorded in the first month of any recent African outbreak, United Nations humanitarian agencies said. World Health Organization (WHO) emergency chief Dr Abdirahman Mahamud, who returned last week after a month in the
- [After a year of mortuary limbo, courtroom combat, Lungu family wishes prevail](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/after-a-year-of-mortuary-limbo-courtroom-combat-lungu-family-wishes-prevail/) - EDGAR Lungu will be buried in South Africa, not Zambia, after Zambia’s government formally abandoned any further legal challenge to a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that handed the late president’s family the final word on where he rests. The concession, delivered by Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha within hours of Tuesday’s judgment, removes the last
- [Did Kenya’s Gen Z protests achieve anything? An economist weighs up what’s changed and what’s stayed the same](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/did-kenyas-gen-z-protests-achieve-anything-an-economist-weighs-up-whats-changed-and-whats-stayed-the-same/) - KENYA’S Gen Z-led protests of 2024 drew global headlines. For weeks, young people mobilised against proposed tax increases, the rising cost of living, unemployment, corruption and what they saw as an unresponsive political class. But what began as opposition to the 2024 Finance Bill quickly evolved into a broader challenge to the way the country
- [Vaccine hesitancy can’t be boiled down to a single factor: what we learnt in South Africa and Brazil](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/vaccine-hesitancy-cant-be-boiled-down-to-a-single-factor-what-we-learnt-in-south-africa-and-brazil/) - VACCINE uptake has been declining in Brazil and South Africa over the last decade. This decline has reversed important gains in protecting children against vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, polio, diphtheria and whooping cough. Both countries have well-established, universal and free childhood immunisation programmes. In Brazil, coverage has dropped 10-20 percentage points since 2016 and
- [Will the US‑Iran talks in Switzerland deliver peace? It’s unlikely](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/will-the-us-iran-talks-in-switzerland-deliver-peace-its-unlikely/) - WHEN it was signed at the end of the G7 summit on June 17, the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough. By reopening the Strait of Hormuz, easing sanctions and launching a 60-day negotiating process, it felt like a positive step on the road to ending a conflict that has
- [Andy Burnham: what to expect from the UK’s likely next prime minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/andy-burnham-what-to-expect-from-the-uks-likely-next-prime-minister/) - RESIGNING as UK prime minister and leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer said he accepted, “with good grace”, that the party does not think he is best placed to lead them into the next general election. Following the election of Andy Burnham in Makerfield, it’s also clear who most Labour MPs want to replace
- [Afghanistan’s slow-motion collapse: drought, starvation and the silent cost of women’s exclusion](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/afghanistans-slow-motion-collapse-drought-starvation-and-the-silent-cost-of-womens-exclusion/) - A bowl of boiled potato peelings. “It was essentially a bowl of what looked like rotten potato peelings, cooked into a soup just to survive,” said Olga Cherevko of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), recalling a visit to a family of nine in Bamyan province. That image captures what OCHA
- [Africa’s 2026 FIFA World Cup mix: Egypt rise, Algeria rally, Senegal stumble](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/africas-2026-fifa-world-cup-mix-egypt-rise-algeria-rally-senegal-stumble/) - AFRICA’s 2026 FIFA World Cup story is already serving up the full buffet: joy, nerve, and the sort of defensive chaos that makes coaches age in dog years. Egypt are strutting like a team that has found the remote control to the group, Algeria have finally stopped flirting with danger and put three points in
- [Cocaine, cash, blue lights: how tender kingpin, police-linked CEO allegedly struck a 5kg drug deal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/cocaine-cash-and-blue-lights-how-tender-kingpin-police-linked-ceo-allegedly-struck-a-five-kilogram-drug-deal/) - SOUTH Africa’s Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System was confronted on Monday with its most explosive evidence to date: a documented trail of WhatsApp messages, voice notes and video footage that, according to chief evidence leader Advocate Matthew Chaskalson SC, shows Medicare24 chief executive Mike van
- [Drama at Entebbe Airport: Kenya, east African human rights lawyer denied entry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/drama-at-entebbe-airport-kenya-east-african-human-rights-lawyer-denied-entry-to-ambush/) - MARTHA Karua's flight touched down at Entebbe International Airport on Monday morning with one purpose: to stand alongside two embattled colleagues, jailed opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and detained former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, as Uganda's courts decided their fates. She never made it past the immigration desk. Within minutes of landing, the Kenyan
- [Mashatile in Beijing: South Africa seeks value‑chain deals, mineral beneficiation and regional hubs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/mashatile-in-beijing-south-africa-seeks-value-chain-deals-mineral-beneficiation-and-regional-hubs/) - SOUTH Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile used the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing on 22 June 2026 to launch a concentrated bid for South Africa to move from commodity supplier to industrial partner - pitching the country as a manufacturing gateway to Africa, a source of critical minerals for the green transition, and
- [Phosa defends Didiza: former ANC treasurer general says speaker's decision to "abide" was constitutionally sound amid impeachment crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/phosa-defends-didiza-former-anc-treasurer-general-says-speakers-decision-to-abide-was-constitutionally-sound-amid-impeachment-crisis/) - FORMER ANC Treasurer-General Dr. Mathews Phosa has issued a robust defense of National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza's controversial decision not to oppose President Cyril Ramaphosa's urgent interdict seeking to halt the impeachment committee, declaring the move was "legally sound, constitutionally appropriate, and entirely consistent with the institutional responsibilities of her office." In a statement released
- [The ghost G-Wagon: how a Nigerian-American allegedly ran a $320,000 diaspora car scam](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-ghost-g-wagon-how-a-nigerian-american-allegedly-ran-a-320000-diaspora-car-scam/) - OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's (EFCC) Ilorin Zonal Directorate have arrested a Nigerian-American businessman, Adegoke Oluwatobi Adams, over an alleged cross-border vehicle import fraud that investigators say drained more than $320,000 — roughly ₦434.88 million — from two Nigerians who believed they were buying a brand-new 2024 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG from the
- [Kenya wants to close refugee camps: the promise and risks of its ambitious new plan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/kenya-wants-to-close-refugee-camps-the-promise-and-risks-of-its-ambitious-new-plan/) - KENYA hosts nearly a million refugees, mainly from South Sudan and Somalia. Many of them have been living in refugee camps for decades. Now, the country is attempting a major shift in refugee policy. The Kenyan government and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) developed the Shirika Plan, launching it in March 2025. The policy
- [Andy Burnham poised to take over as Starmer quits, leaving Britain’s political turbulence to test African trade, aid and security ties](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/andy-burnham-poised-to-take-over-as-starmer-quits-leaving-britains-political-turbulence-to-test-african-trade-aid-and-security-ties/) - KEIR Starmer’s shock resignation on Monday sets Britain on the brink of yet another swift leadership change and underlines a deeper political instability with global implications - including for African states closely tied to UK trade, aid and security cooperation. Starmer’s departure, announced from the steps of Downing Street, was framed as an act of
- [How Donald Trump has changed the way diplomacy is done](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-donald-trump-has-changed-the-way-diplomacy-is-done/) - THE negotiations to end the US-Iran war, resulting in the signing of a memorandum of understanding on June 17, have been something of an acid test of Donald Trump’s approach to diplomacy. What does it tell us? And has this US president changed the way diplomacy is done? When Trump was inaugurated for his second
- [For Black women farmers, tending the land is ancestral and healing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/for-black-women-farmers-tending-the-land-is-ancestral-and-healing/) - ON a sunny morning in June, about two dozen people walk the land of Soul Fire Farm in Rensselaer County in Upstate New York, during a tour. They are participants in a week-long immersion program that includes a “hands-on the land” portion where they spend a few hours a day planting and harvesting on the
- [Pharaohs rule, Sharks bite back, Elephants mugged in Toronto: Africa's gloriously unhinged World Cup](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/pharaohs-rule-sharks-bite-back-elephants-mugged-in-toronto-africas-gloriously-unhinged-world-cup/) - SEVEN World Cup finals. Seventeen matches. Zero wins. That was Egypt’s grim ledger heading into this tournament, a statistic embarrassing enough to deserve its own laugh track. Then New Zealand turned up in Vancouver, took an early lead through Finn Surman’s header, and discovered precisely why one does not wake a sleeping Pharaoh. Mostafa Ziko
- [Inside Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba's war on Uganda's press, parliament and opposition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/above-the-law-inside-gen-muhoozi-kainerugabas-war-on-ugandas-press-parliament-and-opposition/) - GENERAL Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the only son of President Yoweri Museveni, has over the past fortnight escalated a years-long pattern of social media threats against the media, the judiciary, Parliament and the opposition into what critics now describe as an open campaign of intimidation against anyone who crosses him.
- [How Nigeria's courts are now targeting the support networks behind its terror kingpins](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-family-business-of-terror-how-nigerias-courts-are-now-targeting-the-support-networks-behind-its-bandit-kingpins/) - NINE days after Nigerian troops killed bandit kingpin Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo in a forest near Iluke, Kogi State, the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered a sentence that did more than close a single case file. It signalled, in stark legal terms, that the State now regards a terrorist's family circle as a legitimate front
- [Africa told to fund its own survival as Ebola death toll passes 247](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-told-to-fund-its-own-survival-as-ebola-death-toll-passes-247/) - THE Ebola outbreak tearing through eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has crossed a grim new threshold this week, and with it has come an unusually blunt reckoning from the continent's own health leadership: Africa cannot keep waiting on foreign donors to save it from diseases the rest of the world has little incentive to cure.
- [With Iran and the US signing a peace deal, where does that leave Benjamin Netanyahu?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/with-iran-and-the-us-signing-a-peace-deal-where-does-that-leave-benjamin-netanyahu/) - THE peace deal between the US and Iran calls not just for the cessation of hostilities between the two countries, but also between Israel and Hezbollah. It also calls for Lebanese territorial integrity and sovereignty to be respected. This places Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a political conundrum, because ceasing hostilities against Hezbollah runs
- [France's ticket to nowhere: how Paris turns Black and Arab boys into lifelong debtors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/frances-ticket-to-nowhere-how-paris-turns-black-and-arab-boys-into-lifelong-debtors/) - AT 13 years old, a French boy guilty of nothing more than standing outside his own front door became a debtor of the French Republic. By the time he reached manhood, that first fine had multiplied into a debt he may spend his working life trying to extinguish. He is not alone. Across the housing
- [Western troops have been expelled from Africa’s Sahel – so why are Italy’s Carabinieri still there?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/western-troops-have-been-expelled-from-africas-sahel-so-why-are-italys-carabinieri-still-there/) - WESTERN forces have largely beaten a hasty retreat from Africa’s coup-prone Sahel region in recent years. In 2022, French forces departed Mali as insurgents made incursions into the capital, Bamako. A United Nations peacekeeping mission also left, with the security void filled by Russian forces. Burkina Faso and Chad followed suit, ordering French troops out
- [Ten Lions, One Mountain: Africa's World Cup reckoning reaches its defining week](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/ten-lions-one-mountain-africas-world-cup-reckoning-reaches-its-defining-week/) - AFRICA arrived in North America with its largest ever delegation, ten proud flags among the forty-eight, and a continent's worth of expectation strapped to their backs. A week and a half into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, that expectation has produced fireworks and frustration in equal measure, a Moroccan masterclass, a Cabo Verdean fairytale, and
- [Where champions and dreams wear the same kit](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/where-champions-and-dreams-wear-the-same-kit/) - THE streets of Soweto have always known how to speak to the soul of a nation. Fifty years on from the youth who changed history in 1976, another generation took to those same streets on Youth Day 2026 - not in protest, but in celebration, and not alone. At the Nike Shapa Centre, a venue
- [Ebola outbreak threatens displaced communities in DRC as conflict, disease converge](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ebola-outbreak-threatens-displaced-communities-in-drc-as-conflict-and-disease-converge/) - THE accelerating spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is now a direct threat to more than 2 million forcibly displaced people, UNHCR warns, with the risk of cross-border transmission mounting across an interconnected region where fighting continues alongside the outbreak. “UNHCR is deeply concerned by the accelerating spread
- [“Barack, there are no words to express how proud I am of the way you showed up and continue to show up every single day”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/barack-there-are-no-words-to-express-how-proud-i-am-of-the-way-you-showed-up-and-continue-to-show-up-every-single-day/) - YOU told me all those years ago you couldn't promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life. And of course, you outdid yourself and managed to give me both. I know it hasn't always been easy, but there hasn't been a single second through this experience that standing by your side
- [Africa footballer of the year - PSG, Morocco’s Hakimi - to stand trial for rape](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-footballer-of-the-year-psg-moroccos-hakimi-to-stand-trial-for-rape/) - ACHRAF Hakimi spent Thursday night marshalling Morocco's defence against Scotland in Foxborough, Massachusetts, wearing the captain's armband of a team chasing only its second World Cup knockout berth in history. Less than 24 hours earlier, a court in Versailles had settled a question that has trailed him for more than three years: he will stand
- [Ex Nigerian Oil Minister cleared of criminal charges in UK court](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-queen-reclaims-her-crown/) - FOR eleven years, Diezani Alison-Madueke lived as a woman accused - her name a byword in two countries for the worst excesses of oil-fed power, her image fixed in the global imagination somewhere between “Oil Queen” and prime exhibit in the case against Nigeria’s plundered petroleum patrimony. This week, a London jury took that image
- [Bayede, Sir Wicknell: a king, a jet and passport number three](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/bayede-sir-wicknell-a-king-a-jet-and-passport-number-three/) - THERE are men who measure a good month by a salary increase. Sir Wicknell Chivayo measures his in sovereign instruments. In the space of roughly a week, the Zimbabwean businessman first welcomed a Gulfstream G550 - list price US$34 million - onto the tarmac at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, then flew on to the
- [Trump declared peace in Congo. This is the reality](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/trump-declared-peace-in-congo-this-is-the-reality/) - “GENERAL” Sultani Makenga stood before thousands of newly trained armed group recruits in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in February and offered them a promise. “You are now part of an army that has risen up to liberate the country and to really liberate the people,” declared Makenga, the military leader of the Rwanda-backed M23
- [Who was Andimba Toivo ya Toivo? The Namibian leader who chose justice over power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/who-was-andimba-toivo-ya-toivo-the-namibian-leader-who-chose-justice-over-power/) - CELEBRATED Namibian liberation leader Andimba Toivo ya Toivo played an important role in his country’s development. Beyond Namibia, however, he remains unknown to many. Anthropologist Heike Becker has written a biography of ya Toivo, finally telling his story in full. We asked her four questions about the man and the book. Why is he little
- [Great Zimbabwe: debunking the myth of tyrants and forced labour](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/great-zimbabwe-debunking-the-myth-of-tyrants-and-forced-labour/) - FOR more than a century, Great Zimbabwe has stood at the centre of a powerful story about the Zimbabwe culture. This remarkable African civilization flourished in southern Africa during the Middle Ages, constructing more than 200 dry-stone palaces, locally known as madzimbahwe (houses of stone). These towering monuments, immense gold wealth, and an array of
- [People are marrying holograms and making friends with chatbots. But can AI bring true happiness?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/science-tech-and-innovation/people-are-marrying-holograms-and-making-friends-with-chatbots-but-can-ai-bring-true-happiness/) - CAN technology really replace human relationships? As philosophy scholars who focus on human happiness and on artificial intelligence (AI), we tackle this question in a recent paper. In our study, we address the rise of AI companions, chatbots, and social robots for friendship, advice, emotional support, and even romance. We argue that AI can reduce
- [What’s overlooked in student mental health in South Africa: social connection and sexual wellbeing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/whats-overlooked-in-student-mental-health-in-south-africa-social-connection-and-sexual-wellbeing/) - STUDENT mental health has become one of the defining challenges facing universities worldwide. In South Africa, these concerns are often framed around reports which point to anxiety, burnout and academic pressure. With this comes the call for expanded student counselling and crisis services. These concerns are important. Previous research has shown that university students in
- [South African scientists make breakthrough in decoding cancer’s most effective survival strategy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/south-african-scientists-make-breakthrough-in-decoding-cancers-most-effective-survival-strategy/) - IN the intricate biology of the human body, organs such as the breast, the colon and the lungs are lined with a defensive barrier known as the epithelium. At the heart of this barrier sits a remarkable protein called Mucin-1 (MUC1). In a healthy body, MUC1 is like a sentinel. It stands on the cell
- [Israel escalates East Jerusalem home demolitions, evictions in Silwan as discriminatory laws drive forced displacement](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/israel-escalates-east-jerusalem-home-demolitions-evictions-in-silwan-as-discriminatory-laws-drive-forced-displacement/) - ISRAELI authorities have sharply stepped up home demolitions and forced evictions of Palestinian residents in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, human rights groups say, in what critics describe as an orchestrated campaign to change the city’s demographics that may amount to international crimes. According to Human Rights Watch, the demolitions and eviction enforcement
- [Iran ceasefire deal confirms what we’ve been saying for years: military might doesn’t work](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/iran-ceasefire-deal-confirms-what-weve-been-saying-for-years-military-might-doesnt-work/) - WHAT a disaster the war against Iran has been for Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, signed on June 17, has formally brought a halt to the devastating war. Yet, as the ink dries on the 14-point preliminary framework, the reality of the document stands
- [Tens of thousands march as South Africa scrambles to manage growing illegal‑migration crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/tens-of-thousands-march-as-government-scrambles-to-manage-growing-illegal-migration-crisis/) - AS fresh anti‑immigrant marches erupt in Gauteng townships and towns across South Africa, Pretoria is confronting a mounting migration crisis that has strained domestic social cohesion and frayed relations with neighbouring states. This week, thousands marched across South Africa- the latest in a string of protests that have swept through communities since early 2026 -
- [Zimbabwe's Parliament tears up its own Constitution](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/zimbabwes-parliament-tears-up-its-own-constitution/) - ZIMBABWE’S National Assembly has voted to shred the constitutional limits on President Emmerson Mnangagwa's time in office, passing the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill — known as CAB3 — by a margin that left no room for doubt about who controls parliament: ZANU-PF. The result was emphatic. Two hundred and sixteen legislators voted
- [Sixteen countries adopt Mombasa Declaration to advance fisheries transparency and combat illegal fishing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sixteen-countries-adopt-mombasa-declaration-to-advance-fisheries-transparency-and-combat-illegal-fishing/) - FOURTEEN national governments from across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Pacific today adopted the Mombasa Declaration at the 11th Our Ocean Conference, committing to advance global fisheries transparency and strengthen efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Mombasa Declaration is a call to action for coastal and flag States on
- [South Africa launches major purge of corrupt police after Madlanga Commission — Mashatile vows prosecutions, vetting and task teams](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/south-africa-launches-major-purge-of-corrupt-police-after-madlanga-commission-mashatile-vows-prosecutions-vetting-and-task-teams/) - DEPUTY President Paul Mashatile told Parliament on Thursday that the government has launched a major drive to purge corrupt elements from the South African Police Service (SAPS) after the Madlanga Commission exposed widespread misconduct — a move that marks one of the most far-reaching accountability efforts in the security sector since the commission’s report. Speaking
- [The Nollywood plot nobody wrote: a Nigerian artist, the Obamas, and a wall that lasts forever](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-nollywood-plot-nobody-wrote-a-nigerian-artist-the-obamas-and-a-wall-that-lasts-forever/) - LET’S get the obvious joke out of the way first: somewhere in Lagos right now, a Nollywood scriptwriter is kicking themselves for not thinking of this plot first. Nigerian girl, daughter of a formidable public servant, grows up, moves to Los Angeles, becomes one of the most sought-after painters on the planet, and then gets
- [After Showmax, MTN tests telecom-led distribution as Africa’s streaming wars intensify](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/after-showmax-mtn-tests-telecom-led-distribution-as-africas-streaming-wars-intensify/) - THE battle for Africa’s streaming market is increasingly being fought beyond content libraries and into distribution systems and payment infrastructure. MTN Group has recently launched MTN One TV, a new entertainment proposition combining live television, local storytelling, international programming, and flexible viewing models across African markets. “MTN One TV is more than just another streaming
- [She left TV to build an animation dream](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/she-left-tv-to-build-an-animation-dream/) - ON Saturday mornings growing up in Kenya, Mary Wanjiku would settle in front of the television to watch cartoons such as Johnny Bravo and Ed, Edd n Eddy. Like many children, she was captivated by the stories unfolding on screen. Unusually, perhaps, she also spent years wondering how they were made. The universe that made
- [Xenophobia in South Africa: state’s complicity with gangs and vigilantes is threatening its ability to govern](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/xenophobia-in-south-africa-states-complicity-with-gangs-and-vigilantes-is-threatening-its-ability-to-govern/) - MARCHES, Mozambicans murdered, state-sponsored evacuations, a nationally televised presidential address. Anti-immigrant mobilisation has again drawn the world’s attention to South Africa. The continental backlash threatens tourism, trade, diplomacy and investment opportunities in Africa’s largest economy, and is derailing its constitutional democracy. Many citizens demand that the country restore its sovereignty – the state’s ability to
- [Money, food and survival: what drives paid sex among young mums in 3 African countries](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/money-food-and-survival-what-drives-paid-sex-among-young-mums-in-3-african-countries/) - TRANSACTIONAL sex, defined as the exchange of sex for money, food, or favours, is common among young people in Africa. Studies have reported that about 10% of those aged 15-24 have engaged in this exchange in South Africa, 23% in Nigeria and 25% in Uganda. The behaviour has been linked to negative consequences such as
- [Malawi’s education choices in the wake of aid cuts](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/malawis-education-choices-in-the-wake-of-aid-cuts/) - OVER a year has passed since the Donald Trump administration dismantled USAID, cutting more than 5,000 programmes and slashing US$40 billion in funding worldwide. The cuts have reduced access to HIV treatment, driven up severe malnutrition among children, and resulted in an estimated 700,000 lives lost. Medication and infrastructure to treat diseases like malaria, tuberculosis
- [Africa’s World Cup charge: Ghana and Ivory Coast win as Cape Verde, Morocco and DR Congo hold giants, while South Africa, Tunisia and Algeria stumble](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/africas-world-cup-charge-ghana-and-ivory-coast-win-as-cape-verde-morocco-and-dr-congo-hold-giants-while-south-africa-tunisia-and-algeria-stumble/) - AFRICAN football has made an early, forceful statement at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Ghana and Ivory Coast delivering the headline victories while Cape Verde, Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo showed resilience through hard-earned draws. At the same time, South Africa, Tunisia and Algeria suffered defeats that exposed the gap African teams
- [Soccer fan and angry at FIFA?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/soccer-fan-and-angry-at-fifa/) - Many soccer fans, me included, have mixed feelings about the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which began June 11 in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The world’s biggest sporting event is happening alongside a brutal immigration crackdown and assault on human rights by the administration of President Donald Trump. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, rather than challenging the US government’s
- [Sweden retreats on child jail plan - but Human Rights Watch urges full reversal as gang violence fuels political pressure](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/sweden-retreats-on-child-jail-plan-but-human-rights-watch-urges-full-reversal-as-gang-violence-fuels-political-pressure/) - SWEDEN’S right-wing government has abandoned its controversial proposal to imprison 13-year-olds for serious violent crimes, a major policy reversal triggered by insufficient parliamentary support and fierce opposition from legal experts, police authorities, and the prison service. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer announced the withdrawal on June 11, saying the government "decided to act responsibly" by withdrawing
- [US‑Iran deal leaves the future of Lebanon uncertain – and subject to Israel playing the spoiler](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/us-iran-deal-leaves-the-future-of-lebanon-uncertain-and-subject-to-israel-playing-the-spoiler/) - THE United States and Iran inked a long-awaited provisional ceasefire deal on June 17, 2026. After months of uncertainty, the people of the Gulf region can, potentially, breathe a sigh of relief, and global markets look set to be boosted by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. What about those who have endured the
- [How China’s ‘red lines’ are quietly shaping global news reporting](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-chinas-red-lines-are-quietly-shaping-global-news-reporting/) - IN late 2013, Bloomberg’s then editor-in-chief, Matthew Winkler, spiked an investigation into the hidden wealth of China’s elite. Publishing it, he warned reporters on a call, would “wipe out everything we have tried to build.” More than a decade on, that trade-off, access versus accuracy, has hardened into habit. Reporters have learned where the lines
- [In honour of the legendary Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma and in support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/in-honour-of-the-legendary-dr-alfred-bitini-xuma-and-in-support-of-the-boys-girls-clubs-of-south-africa/) - TO understand why we gather tonight for the children of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Africa, I want to take you back more than a hundred years, to one man. In the year 1913, a young man boarded a ship off the coast of this continent and pointed himself toward a country he
- [Nigerian Army claims fresh breakthrough against Katsina bandit kingpin, but Kachalla Muhammadu Fulani remains at large](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigerian-army-claims-fresh-breakthrough-against-katsina-bandit-kingpin-but-kachalla-muhammadu-fulani-remains-at-large/) - THE Nigerian Army says it has rescued four kidnap victims in Katsina State in the latest exchange in a months-long campaign against one of the North-West's most elusive bandit warlords - underscoring both the military's incremental tactical gains and the limits of its ability to deliver a decisive blow against entrenched criminal networks. According to
- [The lawyer in the dock: How Uganda turned Besigye's defence counsel into a co-accused](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-lawyer-in-the-dock-how-uganda-turned-besigyes-defence-counsel-into-a-co-accused/) - THERE is a particular kind of message a state sends when it charges the defence lawyer with the same crime as the defendant. It is not subtle, and it is not meant to be. On Wednesday, Erias Lukwago - former Lord Mayor of Kampala, acting president of the People's Front for Freedom, and lead counsel
- [Nigeria’s US$1 billion AfCFTA credit push tests if Africa’s trade finance gap can be eased](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/nigerias-us1-billion-afcfta-credit-push-tests-if-africas-trade-finance-gap-can-be-eased/) - NIGERIA is shifting its AfCFTA strategy from trade participation to trade financing, unveiling a US$1 billion credit facility aimed at expanding the capacity of firms to produce and export across African markets. The move reflects a broader attempt to address a constraint repeatedly identified by development finance institutions: access to capital remains central to whether
- [When global trade becomes a weapon, how can African economies protect themselves?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/when-global-trade-becomes-a-weapon-how-can-african-economies-protect-themselves/) - “TODAY, everyone recognises that trade is as much a security issue as an economic one.” European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde made this comment in February 2026, while addressing the Munich Security Conference. Although she was speaking about Europe, her words matter profoundly for Africa. The continent’s 54 economies face a three-way tension that has
- [Conflict hits schooling hardest where children are the target – study](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/conflict-hits-schooling-hardest-where-children-are-the-target-study/) - ACCORDING to UNESCO, around 250 million children (16%) globally are out of school, although they are of an age to be at school in their countries. Available evidence suggests that out-of-school numbers are extremely high in conflict-affected countries, though the exact number is hard to quantify. For example, in the Central African Republic, South Sudan
- [Nigerians tell their stories of banditry. ‘A month will not go by without someone being killed in this village.’](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/nigerians-tell-their-stories-of-banditry-a-month-will-not-go-by-without-someone-being-killed-in-this-village/) - BANDITRY is widespread in Nigeria. It has been defined as “a loose collection of various criminal groups involved in kidnap-for-ransom, armed robbery, cattle rustling, rape and sexual violence, pillage and attacks on traders, farmers and travellers, particularly in Nigeria’s northwest region”. This criminal activity has caused deaths, displacement, destruction of property and widespread fear. In
- [Landmark study maps the future of coral reef survival](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/landmark-study-maps-the-future-of-coral-reef-survival/) - SCIENTISTS have identified 165,922 km² of coral reefs across 71 countries and 100 territories with the strongest potential to survive the climate crisis, according to a major new global study presented at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya today by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Macquarie University, with support from the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative. The research marks the launch of a new global campaign, Our Reefs, Our Future, from civil society calling on governments to prioritise the protection of these reefs
- [Africa marks record World Cup as referee row sustains solidarity wave](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/africa-marks-record-world-cup-as-referee-row-sustains-solidarity-wave/) - CÔTE D'IVOIRE has secured Africa's first victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, giving the continent an encouraging start at its largest-ever participation in the tournament as competition gathers pace across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The Elephants edged Ecuador 1-0 in Philadelphia thanks to a stoppage-time strike from substitute Amad Diallo, who guided
- [The Iran peace deal must demand the release of Narges Mohammadi and other prisoners of conscience](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-iran-peace-deal-must-demand-the-release-of-narges-mohammadi-and-other-prisoners-of-conscience/) - FEW Iranian women are as celebrated for defending freedom in Iran as Narges Mohammadi. She is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Andrei Sakharov Prize, the Olof Palme Prize, and the PEN and UNESCO press freedom awards, among others. Yet, like thousands of other political prisoners in Iran, her own freedom still matters
- [Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have different war aims – can the Iran peace deal survive?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/donald-trump-and-benjamin-netanyahu-have-different-war-aims-can-the-iran-peace-deal-survive/) - THE clock is ticking on the Iran peace deal. A memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US is due to be signed in Geneva on June 19, allowing for a 60-day ceasefire extension and the opening of the strategically vital waterway, the Strait of Hormuz. But key questions remain unresolved that could yet scupper
- [As men fought in cages at the White House, women urged Americans to take a ‘deep breath’](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/as-men-fought-in-cages-at-the-white-house-women-urged-americans-to-take-a-deep-breath/) - SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Tina Koumoutsos was inside a downtown events space organizing postcards about voting rights for the women's issues group she leads for the county Democratic Party when she noticed a familiar face on the big screen Sunday night. "Oh, that's Jane Fonda!" Koumoutsos said as the actor and longtime liberal political activist kicked
- [NIGERIA: Court rejects ex-cabinet minister’s bid to quash arrest warrants in $1.3m graft case](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigeria-court-rejects-ex-cabinet-ministers-bid-to-quash-arrest-warrants-in-1-3m-graft-case/) - FORMER Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq suffered a major legal setback on Monday after a Federal Capital Territory High Court judge in Abuja refused to set aside bench and arrest warrants issued against her in a high‑profile graft prosecution. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, sitting in Apo, dismissed an application by Farouq’s lawyers to quash the
- [‘Some people question whether Ebola is real’: trust is central in fighting DRC outbreak, humanitarians say](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/some-people-question-whether-ebola-is-real-trust-is-central-in-fighting-drc-outbreak-humanitarians-say/) - IN Ebola-stricken Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), winning the race against the disease requires earning the community’s trust first and foremost, humanitarians said on Tuesday. Since the outbreak was declared on May 15, considerable progress has been made on testing capacities, Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), told reporters in Geneva.
- [SA: Ramaphosa warns against afrophobia and xenophobia, challenges employers as Youth Day marks 50 years since Soweto uprising](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-ramaphosa-warns-against-afrophobia-and-xenophobia-challenges-employers-as-youth-day-marks-50-years-since-soweto-uprising/) - President Cyril Ramaphosa has used the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising to issue a stark challenge to South Africa’s youth and a blunt warning against afrophobia and xenophobia, saying the country must not allow migrants to be scapegoated for failures that stem from inequality and slow growth. The 50th anniversary was commemorated across
- [Fifty years on: South Africa's youth crisis takes centre stage as nation reckons with unfinished revolution](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/fifty-years-on-south-africas-youth-crisis-takes-centre-stage-as-nation-reckons-with-unfinished-revolution/) - HALF a century after the bullets of 16 June 1976 tore through Soweto's streets and ignited a generation, South Africa's political and intellectual establishment gathers on Wednesday at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton to confront a question that grows more urgent with every passing year: has the country delivered for the young people whose sacrifice
- [Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim crafted a magnificent new culture for South Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/pianist-abdullah-ibrahim-crafted-a-magnificent-new-culture-for-south-africa/) - ADOLPH Johannes Brand was born on 9 October 1934 in Cape Town. He would become better known as Dollar Brand and then Abdullah Ibrahim, an artist of mixed ethnic descent who personified the city’s multiculturalism and represented it on the world’s stages. He went to school in District Six, a municipal inner city area with
- [US‑Iran war: what the ‘peace deal’ really means](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/us-iran-war-what-the-peace-deal-really-means/) - THE announcement of a new agreement between the United States and Iran has been greeted with relief across global markets. Oil prices have eased, shipping insurers have relaxed and politicians have rushed to hail a diplomatic breakthrough. The memorandum of understanding, which both sides have agreed to and are expected to formally sign in Switzerland
- [As a father in Gaza, the new home I am building for my children is a nylon tent](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/as-a-father-in-gaza-the-new-home-i-am-building-for-my-children-is-a-nylon-tent/) - THEY say time takes care of everything. Not in Gaza. Here, time is another enemy – it worsens everything it touches. How would time make displacement easier? Seasons come and go, and conditions grow harsher. How would time remove a father's helplessness at being unable to offer shelter to his family or a quiet room
- [The general above the law: Muhoozi Kainerugaba boasts of abducting lawyer who sought to serve him court papers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-general-above-the-law-muhoozi-kainerugaba-boasts-of-abducting-lawyer-who-sought-to-serve-him-court-papers/) - IN a pattern that has become Uganda's most brazen hallmark of governance by coercion, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba - Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), son of President Yoweri Museveni, and a man courts have now formally directed to answer for his conduct - confirmed on social media platform X that his forces had seized Advocate Erias
- [Abdullah Ibrahim 1935 - 2026: A musical titan who painted South Africa's soul](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/abdullah-ibrahim-1935-2026-a-musical-titan-who-painted-south-africas-soul/) - ABDULLAH Ibrahim, the revolutionary South African jazz pianist who transformed music into a language of resistance and hope, has passed away at 91, leaving behind a legacy that transcends notes and melodies. Born in Cape Town's vibrant District Six as Dollar Brand, Ibrahim was more than a musician - he was a storyteller of South
- [SA vs WHO: a diplomatic firestorm over alleged xenophobic violence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-vs-who-a-diplomatic-firestorm-over-alleged-xenophobic-violence/) - THE exchange began with the kind of language rarely directed at a member state by a United Nations agency head - raw, personal, and historically charged. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, broke from the measured diplomatic register of multilateral institutions to deliver a searing public indictment of South Africa on
- [Uprooted to Unstoppable: UNHCR’s Gamechanging XI turns World Cup spotlight on refugee resilience](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/uprooted-to-unstoppable-unhcrs-gamechanging-xi-turns-world-cup-spotlight-on-refugee-resilience/) - WHEN the 2026 FIFA World Cup spilled into stadiums across Canada, Mexico and the United States, it did more than stage the planet’s biggest football party. In a quieter corner of Manhattan, at the UN Visitors Lobby, the UN Refugee Agency turned the tournament’s glare toward another pitch: one where displacement, resilience and possibility meet.
- [The Artan affair: how a Miami sidelining ignited a global reckoning](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-artan-affair-how-a-miami-sidelining-ignited-a-global-reckoning/) - THE whistle that Omar Abdulkadir Artan was never allowed to blow in the United States has paradoxically become the loudest sound of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In a dramatic reversal of fortune that has blurred the lines between sports tragedy and national triumph, the 34-year-old Somali referee - denied entry to the U.S. just
- [Historic US-Iran peace deal divides Europe: Britain, France welcome breakthrough while demanding Iran never acquires nuclear weapons](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/historic-us-iran-peace-deal-divides-europe-britain-france-welcome-breakthrough-while-demanding-iran-never-acquires-nuclear-weapons/) - THE United States and Iran have signed a historic peace agreement to end nearly four months of war, centered on reopening the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and launching 60 days of nuclear negotiations. The accord halts hostilities across all fronts—including Lebanon—but leaves Iran's nuclear program unresolved for future talks. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- [Gaza to Kyiv to Kinshasa: global attacks on schools surge 40% — 8,500 incidents, 10,600 victims in 2024–25 report](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/gaza-to-kyiv-to-kinshasa-global-attacks-on-schools-surge-40-8500-incidents-10600-victims-in-2024-25-report/) - ATTACKS on schools, students and teachers rose sharply worldwide in 2024–2025, with at least 8,500 incidents recorded - a surge of more than 40 percent from the previous two-year period - the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) reported Monday. The group’s Education Under Attack 2026 report says the incidents injured or killed
- [Ivory Coast's historic win ignites continental pride at 2026 FIFA World Cup](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/ivory-coasts-historic-win-ignites-continental-pride-at-2026-fifa-world-cup/) - AFRICA has finally written its name in the 2026 FIFA World Cup history books — and it came wrapped in dramatic, heart-stopping fashion. In a match that will echo through continental football for generations, Ivory Coast struck in the 90th minute to beat Ecuador 1-0, securing Africa's first-ever victory at this tournament. Substitute Amad Diallo
- [Ghana raises diplomatic storm over Partey's World Cup visa block, threatens court action](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghana-raises-diplomatic-storm-over-parteys-world-cup-visa-block-and-threatens-to-take-canada-to-court/) - THE Government of Ghana has moved swiftly and forcefully against Canada following the host nation's decision to deny midfielder Thomas Partey a visa to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, escalating what began as a sporting setback into a fully-fledged diplomatic confrontation - and threatening legal action in the Canadian courts. Ghana's Ministry of
- [DRC: Protests force Tshisekedi to pause bid to join Africa's long queue of leaders who would be kings](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/drc-protests-force-tshisekedi-to-pause-bid-to-join-africas-long-queue-of-leaders-who-would-be-kings/) - KINSHASA BURNS - AGAIN The images that emerged from Kinshasa on the afternoon of Friday, 12 June 2026, were visceral and deeply familiar to anyone who has followed the DRC's tortured democratic trajectory. Martin Fayulu — one of the country's most prominent opposition leaders and a man who may never have been allowed a fair
- [The Riverside story: building an equestrian legacy in Senegal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/the-riverside-story-building-an-equestrian-legacy-in-senegal/) - LATE afternoon at Écuries Hachem is one of the busiest times of day. Inside the stables, horses shift in their stalls as riders prepare for training sessions. The occasional neigh breaks through the steady rhythm of footsteps, conversation and work. At the centre of the activity is Rayana Fakhry, moving from one task to another,
- [How 'Blessing CEO' allegedly milked Nigeria's generosity with a cancer lie](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/how-blessing-ceo-allegedly-milked-nigerias-generosity-with-a-cancer-lie/) - SHE styled herself the apostle of romantic truth - a flamboyant social media relationship coach whose millions of followers hung on her every word about love, self-worth, and the audacity to want better. She was, by her own account, Blessing CEO: fearless, fabulous, and - she claimed - dying. The dying part, investigators now allege,
- [DRC approves the use of acoziborole, a breakthrough one-day oral treatment against sleeping sickness](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/drc-approves-the-use-of-acoziborole-a-breakthrough-one-day-oral-treatment-against-sleeping-sickness/) - THE Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has approved the use of Acoziborole Winthrop (acoziborole) as a single-dose oral treatment for both early- and advanced-stage gambiense sleeping sickness in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older who weigh at least 40 kilograms. The decision follows Phase II/III clinical trials conducted in the DRC and
- [The story behind Soweto Blues, Miriam Makeba’s famous song about the June 16 uprising](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-story-behind-soweto-blues-miriam-makebas-famous-song-about-the-june-16-uprising/) - MIRIAM Makeba sang a famous song about the 16 June 1976 uprising in her birthplace, South Africa. The protest was a pivotal point in the fight against apartheid and white minority rule in the country. The song was called Soweto Blues and its opening lines go: The children got a letter from the Master. It
- [Ma Vesta Smith: why this unsung activist matters 50 years after the Soweto uprising](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/ma-vesta-smith-why-this-unsung-activist-matters-50-years-after-the-soweto-uprising/) - WHILE many men are remembered as heroes of political struggles, women seldom get enough attention. Vesta Smith is a good example. She fought for South Africa’s liberation from white minority rule, called apartheid. Historian Maria Suriano has written a biography of this activist. With the 50th anniversary of the momentous 1976 Soweto youth uprising in
- [Trump has backed away from renewed war with Iran – here’s why](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trump-has-backed-away-from-renewed-war-with-iran-heres-why/) - THE US and Iran stepped back from the brink of returning to all-out war on June 11. Hours after saying the US military would carry out strikes against Iran for a third consecutive night, Donald Trump postponed the attack. The Iranian military had said the US would “receive a more severe response than before” if
- [What women love about the ‘unapologetically masculine’ UFC](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/what-women-love-about-the-unapologetically-masculine-ufc/) - IT was 2012, and Keta Meggett was an actor in Los Angeles trying to land an audition. There was one problem: The audition was in two days and the role required grappling — the art of controlling an opponent through physical holds, locks and leverage — but she had no idea what that was, let
- [Ukraine war now longer than the First World War – the similarities are unsettling](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/ukraine-war-now-longer-than-the-first-world-war-the-similarities-are-unsettling/) - THE war in Ukraine has now exceeded the First World War in duration. And while the comparison between these two conflicts is imperfect, it is becoming difficult to ignore. Some of the similarities are obvious. At the tactical level, the conflict in Ukraine has witnessed the return of artillery as the dominant arm of battle.
- [How Nigeria cabinet minister rented an Ethiopian Airlines plane to stage fake Nigerian Air launch](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-great-aviation-illusion/) - IT WAS THEATRE. Carefully scripted, meticulously timed, and breathtakingly brazen — a political magic trick performed on a nation that had waited years for a national airline to call its own. Courtroom testimony delivered in Abuja on Wednesday has laid bare what prosecutors describe as an extraordinary act of official deception: that the aircraft which
- [DRC's Ebola crisis deepens as the sick, the malnourished and the forgotten bear the cost](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/children-in-the-crossfire-drcs-ebola-crisis-deepens-as-the-sick-the-malnourished-and-the-forgotten-bear-the-cost/) - IN approximately three weeks since the outbreak was formally confirmed, the Democratic Republic of Congo's health authorities have recorded 676 cases and 136 deaths from the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus - a relatively rare variant of the disease for which no approved vaccine or targeted therapeutic currently exists. Those statistics alone are alarming.
- [Tinubu to terrorists and kidnappers: surrender now or face state's full force](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/tinubu-to-terrorists-and-kidnappers-surrender-now-or-face-states-full-force/) - NIGERIA’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu issued one of the most pointed security warnings of his administration, telling Nigeria's armed criminal networks — from kidnappers and bandits to those who finance terror — that the time to surrender is running out. Speaking during the Democracy Day address at the Eagle Square in Abuja, where Nigeria marked
- [Nigeria raised electricity prices to improve supply. Why it hasn’t worked](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/nigeria-raised-electricity-prices-to-improve-supply-why-it-hasnt-worked/) - NIGERIA’S electricity regulator triggered a big tariff shock in April 2024. It increased rates for some consumers by over 240%, citing the cost of producing and delivering power. The regulator classifies consumers into five bands, A through E, based on how many hours of power their local distribution feeder receives each day. Band A gets
- [Tinubu honours journalists, lawyers and activists who bled for Nigeria's democracy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/tinubu-honours-journalists-lawyers-and-activists-who-bled-for-nigerias-democracy/) - PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced national honours for more than three dozen Nigerians whose courage, sacrifice, and suffering laid the foundations of the democratic republic the country now celebrates - figures who faced prison cells, forced exile, solitary confinement, and state violence in the struggle to restore the mandate stolen from Chief M.K.O. Abiola
- [Netflix's Winnie Mandela documentary is a reckoning - with a life, a nation, and the machinery that tried to break them both](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/netflixs-winnie-mandela-documentary-is-a-reckoning-with-a-life-a-nation-and-the-machinery-that-tried-to-break-them-both/) - THERE is a principle that should govern every society that has lived through fire: a nation that does not record its own history is condemned to forget it — or worse, to have it written for them by those with an interest in distortion. The Netflix documentary on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - The Trials of Winnie
- [Thabo Mbeki tribute concert restores Soga to the African Renaissance](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/thabo-mbeki-tribute-concert-restores-soga-to-the-african-renaissance/) - FOR more than 150 years, South Africans have sung Tiyo Soga’s prayer as if it arrived from the heavens without an author. At funerals, in churches, at political gatherings and in moments of national longing, “Lizalis’ idinga lakho” — fulfil your promise — has risen from our throats with solemn force. We know the hymn.
- [South Africa’s jobs crisis: what 10 years of tax data tells us](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/south-africas-jobs-crisis-what-10-years-of-tax-data-tells-us/) - IT'S time South Africa faced up to an honest question: what if the formal economy can’t deliver the jobs that are needed? I am an economist who has been working closely with South Africa’s administrative tax data over the past five years – arguably the best way to track progress in the formal sector. The
- [Appolonia: the story of an African kingdom that resisted the Atlantic slave trade](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/appolonia-the-story-of-an-african-kingdom-that-resisted-the-atlantic-slave-trade/) - THE transatlantic slave trade was a multilayered, highly commercialised global enterprise that lasted from the early 1500s to the mid-1800s. The events over this period are far too complex to fit into a straightforward perpetrator-victim narrative. While the trade catastrophically dehumanised and commodified over 12.5 million Africans, it was not just an external conquest. Europeans
- [Return to Gaza’s Nasser Hospital: “Every single thing in the complex is a crisis”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/return-to-gazas-nasser-hospital-every-single-thing-in-the-complex-is-a-crisis/) - NASSER Hospital in Khan Younis is the last major medical facility continuing to operate in the southern Gaza Strip. Over more than two and a half years, The New Humanitarian has reported on how the facility and its staff have struggled to continue providing healthcare amidst the Israeli military campaign that has laid waste to
- [Forced labour in West African cybercrime academies: how fear traps young men](https://theafricanmirror.africa/science-tech-and-innovation/forced-labour-in-west-african-cybercrime-academies-how-fear-traps-young-men/) - FORCED labour in cybercrime might call to mind scam compounds in south-east Asia. A growing body of scholarship, journalism and policy attention has entrenched that stereotype. Images of fortified compounds, armed guards and confiscated passports are shaping how courts worldwide interpret cybercriminal participation. But new research challenges that template. There are different kinds of coercion.
- [Man pleads guilty to murder of former Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and husband](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/man-pleads-guilty-to-murder-of-former-minnesota-state-rep-melissa-hortman-and-husband/) - VANCE Boelter pleaded guilty Thursday to the murder of former state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, and the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman. The plea agreement calls for two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in federal prison. U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim said he
- [I built a maths model to simulate the World Cup a million times. Find out your team’s chances](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/i-built-a-maths-model-to-simulate-the-world-cup-a-million-times-find-out-your-teams-chances/) - The 2026 FIFA World Cup is one of the most watched events of the international sports calendar, and fans from across the globe will be trying to predict how far their team will go. I’m a data scientist and in an attempt to forecast the eventual tournament winner, semi-finalists and teams’ chances of progressing through
- [Tanzania goes to St. Petersburg: Samia's $10-billion gambit to reposition Africa's hidden giant](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/tanzania-goes-to-st-petersburg-samias-10-billion-gambit-to-reposition-africas-hidden-giant/) - WHEN President Samia Suluhu Hassan rose to address the plenary of the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 5 June 2026, she opened not with economic data but with imagery — the deliberate, considered imagery of a continent tired of being abstractly referenced and determined to be concretely present. It was a masterstroke of
- [Swift justice: Zimbabwean truck driver jailed for 20 years for smuggling explosives into SA](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/swift-justice-zimbabwean-truck-driver-jailed-for-20-years-for-smuggling-explosives-into-sa/) - ON the morning of 10 April 2026, a routine operation at the Beitbridge Port of Entry, the busiest land border crossing on the African continent, produced anything but a routine result. A SARS customs officer was observed in pursuit of a truck driver. A Border Management Authority officer joined the chase. What followed was the
- [This filmmaker is shifting our views on trash](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/this-filmmaker-is-shifting-our-views-on-trash/) - THE lights dim inside Alliance Française in Nairobi as the audience settles into their seats. On screen, a documentary's poster shows piles of discarded clothing, plastic, and household waste, telling a story that many people prefer not to see. As the documentary unfolds, it becomes clear that waste is not only an environmental problem, it
- [African electricity systems are opening to private capital as utility dominance eases](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/african-electricity-systems-are-opening-to-private-capital-as-utility-dominance-eases/) - AFRICAN electricity systems are shifting away from vertically integrated utility monopolies toward hybrid structures where private capital increasingly finances generation, storage, transmission, and distributed energy systems. This is changing how electricity is produced, financed, and delivered across multiple African markets. According to Mark Odur, Group CEO of Solarity Africa, “Blended finance is no longer a
- [TANZANIA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS: “It is time for us to take charge and realize our full potential.”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/tanzania-is-open-for-business-it-is-time-for-us-to-take-charge-and-realize-our-full-potential/) - GREETINGS from the snow of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Greetings from the great plains of the Serengeti, where the wildebeest migration rights one of nature's oldest and most magnificent stories. And greetings from the Spice Island of Zanzibar. Tanzania and Russia share a longstanding partnership that spans more than 66
- [World Cup 2026: the real story of the resilient African migrants reshaping global football](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/world-cup-2026-the-real-story-of-the-resilient-african-migrants-reshaping-global-football/) - GLOBAL football body FIFA is branding the World Cup 2026 – and global football in general – as a celebration of inclusivity and diversity. It’s presented as a harbinger of peace and hope, and even somehow a saviour of African migrants who drown while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The humanitarian posturing should not
- [Climate change is threatening sheep farmers in South Africa’s Drakensberg – how they’re adapting](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/climate-change-is-threatening-sheep-farmers-in-south-africas-drakensberg-how-theyre-adapting/) - IN the rugged and mountainous Drakensberg grasslands of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, farmers rear sheep for food, cultural practices and financial security. The steep slopes, cold winters, frost and seasonal droughts shape everyday farming life. In contrast to commercial farms with large fenced properties and hundreds of animals, families in the area’s communal villages
- [The Price of Power: Bill Gates, Jeffrey Epstein, and the reckoning that would not wait](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-price-of-power-bill-gates-jeffrey-epstein-and-the-reckoning-that-would-not-wait/) - HE built hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa. He funded vaccine programmes that saved millions of lives. He recast himself, in the decades after Microsoft, as the most consequential philanthropist of his generation. But on Wednesday, Bill Gates - with a net worth estimated at over $100 billion and a foundation bearing his name - sat in
- [US and Iran’s exchange of strikes shows how far diplomacy has changed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/us-and-irans-exchange-of-strikes-shows-how-far-diplomacy-has-changed/) - THE US military launched strikes against Iran on June 9 in response to the downing of a US Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier. These strikes, which the US military called “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression”, came after Donald Trump claimed he was in the “final throes of what
- [Under Mamdani, New York will be the first to open a free childcare center for city workers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/under-mamdani-new-york-will-be-the-first-to-open-a-free-childcare-center-for-city-workers/) - TUCKED in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s sprawling universal childcare plan is a little-talked-about milestone: In September, the city will open what appears to be the first free daycare for municipal workers in the country. The center, called The Little Apple, is a pilot program that could prove to be a model for cities
- [Reviving the heart of African literature](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/literature/reviving-the-heart-of-african-literature/) - THE afternoon light settles over the distant hills with an unhurried grace, offering Adachukwu Onwudiwe a relaxing view from her home in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria. Growing up with a deep love for books and quiet reflection, Onwudiwe describes herself as a profound introvert; someone who needs silence the way others need food. Yet, for a
- [Referee Omar Artan: Rejected by the US, FIFA, welcomed as a hero at home in Somalia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/referee-omar-artan-rejected-by-the-us-fifa-welcomed-as-a-hero-at-home-in-somalia/) - HE missed the 2026 World Cup not because of form or fitness but because a visa line in Washington stood between him and football’s biggest stage. Instead of starting under stadium lights, Omar Abdulkadir Artan stepped off a plane at Aden Adde International this morning into a different kind of spotlight - one of national
- [Business as usual: How Europe's most wanted drug lord runs his empire from a West African hideout](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/business-as-usual-how-europes-most-wanted-drug-lord-runs-his-empire-from-a-west-african-hideout/) - IT is, by now, a familiar story - and that is precisely what makes it so alarming. One of Europe's most wanted criminals, convicted in absentia to 24 years in a Dutch prison, goes about his alleged business in West Africa with the apparent ease of a man who has nothing to fear from the
- [SA: Cleveland massacre exposes policing failures where migration, zama-zamas and informal settlements collide](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-cleveland-massacre-exposes-policing-failures-where-migration-zama-zamas-and-informal-settlements-collide/) - AT least 12 people were killed and 10 wounded in a pre-dawn attack on the Cleveland informal settlement in Gauteng, a massacre that local residents and media say was carried out by armed men linked to illegal mining networks. Witnesses told reporters that some suspects are Lesotho nationals who once worked in a zama-zama gang,
- [South Africa’s anti‑migrant campaigns use the language of democracy: why that’s dangerous](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/south-africas-anti-migrant-campaigns-use-the-language-of-democracy-why-thats-dangerous/) - ANTI-MIGRANT campaigns in South Africa are increasingly being framed as acts of community protection. Protesters present their efforts as a response to community concerns about crime, unemployment and failing public services. Leaders of these campaigns claim that weak border controls, ineffective immigration enforcement and undocumented migrants have contributed to deteriorating living conditions in many communities.
- [Anti‑foreigner violence in South Africa is easily sparked: what hasn’t been done to deal with it](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/anti-foreigner-violence-in-south-africa-is-easily-sparked-what-hasnt-been-done-to-deal-with-it/) - THREATS and deadly conflict over migration are spreading fast in South Africa. This is hugely worrying and could result in widespread injury and killings, as it has in the past. The region’s investment prospects could be dimmed too, due to perceptions of political instability. The need for effective responses is real and urgent. The death
- [The hunt for a new Ebola vaccine: two scientists explain the challenges](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/the-hunt-for-a-new-ebola-vaccine-two-scientists-explain-the-challenges/) - THE ongoing Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda has now killed 61 people, with 359 confirmed cases. The Bundibugyo strain of the virus has a fatality rate of between 30% and 50%, and there is currently no vaccine approved for it. Two scientists at the University of Oxford, Teresa
- [Malian journalist detained over Pan-African forum remarks as press groups sound alarm](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/malian-journalist-detained-over-pan-african-forum-remarks-as-press-groups-sound-alarm/) - CHAHANA Takiou, Director of Publication of the Malian biweekly newspaper 22 Septembre, was detained by the National Cybercrime Unit on charges of “undermining the credibility of the State” through the country’s judicial institutions — an arrest that press freedom organisations say stems directly from statements he made at an international media forum held in the
- [EXCLUSIVE: Ruud Gullit calls on Gianni Infantino to resign amid growing World Cup controversy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/exclusive-ruud-gullit-calls-on-gianni-infantino-to-resign-amid-growing-world-cup-controversy/) - I have stayed quiet for a long time because I wanted to judge this World Cup on football matters. But the deeper we get into the preparations, the more it becomes clear that football is no longer the main story. For that reason, I believe Gianni Infantino should seriously consider stepping down as FIFA President.
- [A KNIFE IN THE NECK OF BRITAIN: How one attack in Belfast ignited the UK's most explosive immigration crisis in years](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/a-knife-in-the-neck-of-britain-how-one-attack-in-belfast-ignited-the-uks-most-explosive-immigration-crisis-in-years/) - IT began with a kitchen knife, a dark street in north Belfast, and a man left fighting for his life. It ended — at least for the time being — with cities across the United Kingdom ablaze with rage, immigrant families fleeing burning homes, and the ghost of Britain's dark nativist past haunting the present
- [US/Israel-Iran War: Ceasefire remains elusive as it rains missiles, drone strikes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/us-israel-iran-war-ceasefire-remains-elusive-as-it-rains-missiles-drone-strikes/) - IRAN’S Revolutionary Guards said they launched missile and drone strikes on U.S. military bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain on Wednesday, marking one of the sharpest exchanges since a fragile ceasefire took effect in April and underscoring the fragility of efforts to end the broader US‑Israeli campaign against Tehran. The attacks followed U.S. strikes on
- [The market moves before Trump posts](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-market-moves-before-trump-posts/) - IT has long been the case that when a US President speaks, financial markets react. But recently, oil markets have been behaving a bit differently: sometimes the stock price moves before Trump posts. Millions of dollars are changing hands, with some traders seeming to have made incredibly well-timed bets. Did some of them know something
- [Five years on the run, one morning at Kotoka: the long arm of the law finally reaches Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/five-years-on-the-run-one-morning-at-kotoka-the-long-arm-of-the-law-finally-reaches-sedina-tamakloe-attionu/) - SHE came in on United Airlines flight UA 996, wheels down at Kotoka International Airport at approximately 9:01 a.m. on Tuesday. For Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, former Chief Executive of Ghana’s Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), the landing ended five years of freedom — and began what ought to be a decade behind bars. Officers of
- [Hostile at the gate: how the world's greatest football tournament turned its back on Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/hostile-at-the-gate-how-the-worlds-greatest-football-tournament-turned-its-back-on-africa/) - When FIFA awarded the 2026 World Cup to a tri-nation consortium of the United States, Canada and Mexico, the governing body spoke rapturously of a tournament that would be the biggest, most inclusive and most spectacular in football's history. A record 48 teams. One hundred and four matches. The world united. Football without borders. That
- [“FAIR TRIAL IMPOSSIBLE”: Uganda’s prominent detainee fights to stop trial and gain freedom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/fair-trial-impossible-ugandas-prominent-detainee-fights-to-stop-trial-and-gain-freedom/) - THERE is a particular cruelty in what has happened to Dr Kizza Besigye. He served Yoweri Museveni as physician, as soldier, as political ally, and as a trusted architect of the movement that brought the current president to power in 1986. He knows where the bodies are buried - some of them literally. And for
- [Community trust and faster testing drive DRC response as Bundibugyo outbreak spreads to Uganda, WHO says](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/community-trust-and-faster-testing-drive-drc-response-as-bundibugyo-outbreak-spreads-to-uganda-who-says/) - THE World Health Organization says a stepped-up effort to decentralize laboratory testing and intensify contact tracing — underpinned by community engagement — is central to containing the current Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has also produced cross-border cases in neighbouring Uganda. WHO’s Health Emergency Alert and Response Operations Director,
- [How a poultry loss led to a digital management tool](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/how-a-poultry-loss-led-to-a-digital-management-tool/) - BEFORE setting foot on her poultry farm, Mengué Diouf already knows how her birds are doing. From her phone, she can check each morning whether the farm's workers have arrived on time, whether feeding schedules were followed, and whether anything unusual occurred overnight. What began as an attempt to stop the heavy losses threatening her
- [How are Saudis viewing the US‑Iran war? Our polling suggests Gulf kingdom is split on key issues](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-are-saudis-viewing-the-us-iran-war-our-polling-suggests-gulf-kingdom-is-split-on-key-issues/) - SINCE the beginning of the Iran war, Saudi Arabia has been grappling with how best to respond to the expansion of the Middle East conflict. Having issued condemnations of Tehran’s strikes on the kingdom – and other Gulf states – in response to the initial U.S. and Israeli action in late February, Saudi Arabia has
- [Kagisho Dikgacoi backs Bafana to shock hosts Mexico in World Cup opener](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/kagisho-dikgacoi-backs-bafana-to-shock-hosts-mexico-in-world-cup-opener/) - FORMER Bafana Bafana midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi believes the weight of expectation on Mexico could play into South Africa’s hands when the two nations meet in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The tournament kicks off on Thursday, 11 June 2026, at the iconic Estadio Azteca (Mexico City Stadium) in Mexico, with a
- [TB is curable. South Africans can’t wait around for someone else’s rescue.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/tb-is-curable-south-africans-cant-wait-around-for-someone-elses-rescue/) - TB remains the deadliest infectious disease in the world, but it’s not killing people indiscriminately; it’s killing people in poor, developing countries. Data from the World Health Organization makes this very clear. In 2024, most TB cases were concentrated in developing regions, especially South-East Asia, the Western Pacific, and Africa. In South Africa, an estimated
- [A brother in intelligence arms: The man who signed in green ink](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/a-brother-in-intelligence-arms-the-man-who-signed-in-green-ink/) - THERE is a kind of bond forged only in the spaces where ordinary language runs out — in back channels and secured rooms, in the grammar of classified cables and the weight of unspoken obligation. It is not friendship in the casual sense. It is something older, something harder-earned. It is the recognition between two
- [ICC prosecutor suspended: Karim Khan's fall after Netanyahu indictment sparks international justice crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/icc-prosecutor-suspended-karim-khans-fall-after-netanyahu-indictment-sparks-international-justice-crisis/) - THE International Criminal Court has plunged into its most devastating crisis as chief prosecutor Karim Khan was suspended with immediate effect on June 8, 2026, the first time an ICC prosecutor has ever been formally removed from duty by the court's oversight body. The suspension over sexual misconduct allegations carries a darker shadow for international
- [Ruto casts Africa as the century’s prize, with Kenya selling itself as the gateway](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ruto-casts-africa-as-the-centurys-prize-with-kenya-selling-itself-as-the-gateway/) - AFRICA is “the opportunity of this century,” President William Ruto declared in Brussels, sharpening Kenya’s attempt to position itself as the continent’s commercial doorway. His message is clear: Africa should no longer be approached as a problem to be managed, but as a market, a production base and a source of future global growth. Ruto’s
- [SCANDAL: Africa’s top ref turned away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/scandal-africas-top-ref-turned-away-from-the-2026-fifa-world-cup/) - THE whistle that Omar Abdulkadir Artan will never blow echoes louder than the ones he was appointed to blow. On Monday morning - with 48 hours remaining before the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup - the 34-year-old Somali referee, Africa's finest, arrived at Miami International Airport clutching a diplomatic passport and a
- [Iran’s attacks on Israel were an attempt to shape the region on its own terms](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/irans-attacks-on-israel-were-an-attempt-to-shape-the-region-on-its-own-terms/) - IRAN fired barrages of missiles at Israel for the first time in two months on June 7. The initial trigger was an Israeli strike against a Hezbollah target in the Lebanese capital of Beirut earlier that day, an attack that Donald Trump had only recently asked the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to avoid carrying
- [No continent for desperate men: Africa's migration crisis turns inward](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/no-continent-for-desperate-men-africas-migration-crisis-turns-inward/) - ON a Sunday morning at OR Tambo International Airport, 340 Ghanaian nationals boarded a chartered flight home — not as tourists, not as returning migrants enriched by their sojourn in the south, but as the latest passengers on Africa's growing repatriation express. Some had overstayed their welcome by more than a month. Others had withdrawn
- [Ex-Kenya’s chief justice emerges as the green conscience in the battle for Nairobi's last wild heart](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ex-kenyas-chief-justice-emerges-as-the-green-conscience-in-the-battle-for-nairobis-last-wild-heart/) - THE scene at the edge of Nairobi National Park on Monday morning was one of those that writes its own history. A man in a green T-shirt - the same shade worn by the activists around him - stood his ground as police moved in. He was not just any protester. He was David Maraga:
- [African banks are outperforming global peers as the continent's financial systems deepen](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/african-banks-are-outperforming-global-peers-as-the-continents-financial-systems-deepen/) - AFRICAN banks are generating higher returns than their peers in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as financial systems across the continent become more deeply embedded in economic activity. The trend is strengthening Africa's position within global finance and creating a larger pool of capital for lending, payments, business expansion, and financial inclusion.
- [Internet access is unequal in South Africa’s economic powerhouse: survey shows race and income mark the digital divide](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/internet-access-is-unequal-in-south-africas-economic-powerhouse-survey-shows-race-and-income-mark-the-digital-divide/) - DIGITAL technologies create great opportunities, but the transformation they offer isn’t equally within reach of everyone. Access is determined by a vast digital divide. The digital divide refers to the gap between individuals and households who have access to the internet and those who do not. The digital divide can restrict educational attainment, economic opportunity,
- [Ghana wants learner‑centred classrooms – but many teachers still favour old methods](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/ghana-wants-learner-centred-classrooms-but-many-teachers-still-favour-old-methods/) - ACROSS Africa, countries are redesigning school curricula to prepare children for the demands of the 21st century. These reforms aim to nurture creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving rather than rote memorisation in schools. Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia have made changes, and Ghana is part of the movement too. In 2019, Ghana introduced
- [This engineer helped shape Kenya’s Renewable Energy story](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/this-engineer-helped-shape-kenyas-renewable-energy-story/) - BY the time the morning sunlight stretches across the grass beneath the wind turbine on the northern edge of the Ngong Hills, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has already been counting hours of generation of clean energy. “Standing on this point and seeing this wind turbine generating clean energy for the country… I feel that
- [What the tattoos of World Cup players say about their love, life and religious beliefs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/what-the-tattoos-of-world-cup-players-say-about-their-love-life-and-religious-beliefs/) - AS the 2026 FIFA World Cup starts on June 11, 2026, traditional news and social media channels will be full of pictures of the players. Many of them will be showing their tattoos. Body art has become increasingly part of international soccer, although its prevalence can vary across geographical regions. A study of athletes participating
- [From ‘USA94’ to now: how soccer has changed since the last American World Cup](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/from-usa94-to-now-how-soccer-has-changed-since-the-last-american-world-cup/) - THE United States hosted its first World Cup in 1994. Soccer has changed dramatically in many ways since then – on and off the pitch. As the US (with Mexico and Canada) gets set to host the mega-event once again, more than anything, the tournament’s defining change since 1994 is its sheer scale-up. The scale-up
- [We designed the turf for soccer’s biggest World Cup ever – here’s how we created the same playing experience across 3 countries](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/we-designed-the-turf-for-soccers-biggest-world-cup-ever-heres-how-we-created-the-same-playing-experience-across-3-countries/) - WIDTH 104 matches in 16 stadiums across Canada, the United States and Mexico, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be soccer’s biggest event ever. It’s our job as turfgrass researchers hired by FIFA, the game’s governing body, to make sure those pitches feel the same for players and that the grass thrives. That’s not so
- [Inflation and immigration fears threaten to dampen Miami’s economic benefits from the World Cup](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/inflation-and-immigration-fears-threaten-to-dampen-miamis-economic-benefits-from-the-world-cup/) - WHEN the U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994, the event drew unexpectedly large crowds. At that time, soccer wasn’t as popular among Americans as it is now, so expectations for attendance had been fairly low. So as the U.S. prepared to host the World Cup again in 2026, expectations for tourism were high.
- [CHINA/NORTH KOREA: Xi courts Kim, but sidesteps nuclear threat as China chooses influence over pressure](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/china-north-korea-xi-courts-kim-but-sidesteps-nuclear-threat-as-china-chooses-influence-over-pressure/) - CHINA’S latest embrace of North Korea is less a reset than a calculated warning to the region: Beijing still wants to shape Pyongyang’s future, but it is no longer making denuclearisation the price of engagement. Xi Jinping’s rare visit to Kim Jong Un signals that China is prioritizing strategic control, border stability and geopolitical leverage
- [SA declares war on illegal immigration: dedicated courts, employer jailing, 10,000 new inspectors among sweeping crackdown measures](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ramaphosa-declares-war-on-illegal-immigration-dedicated-courts-employer-jailing-10000-new-inspectors-among-sweeping-crackdown-measures/) - SOUTH Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa strode to the podium at the Union Buildings on Sunday evening and delivered a message that has been overdue in the ears of millions of South Africans: the state is coming — for employers who exploit illegal workers, for officials who sell documents, for criminal syndicates that use undocumented migrants
- [How South Africa's luxury car dealerships face scrutiny as fronts in the battle against money laundering](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/how-south-africas-luxury-car-dealerships-face-scrutiny-as-fronts-in-the-battle-against-money-laundering/) - WHEN Special Investigating Unit (SIU) agents, backed by the Hawks and uniformed South African Police Service officers, descended on Omar's Motor Den in Emalahleni on the afternoon of Friday, 5 June 2026, they were not just looking for a missing car. They were serving notice on an entire ecosystem of luxury vehicle dealerships across South
- [The walls close in on Faye: Sonko's reinvention as party colossus seals Senegal's power reckoning](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-walls-close-in-on-faye-sonkos-reinvention-as-party-colossus-seals-senegals-power-reckoning/) - In the long and turbulent theatre of West African politics, this week may be remembered as the moment the curtain began to fall on Bassirou Diomaye Faye's presidency — not through a coup, not through scandal, but through the slow, methodical democratic encirclement by the man who made him president. On Saturday, 6 June 2026,
- [Mandara rescue: 360 freed, two children dead - Nigeria's unfinished war on jihadist terror](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/mandara-rescue-360-freed-two-children-dead-nigerias-unfinished-war-on-jihadist-terror/) - THEY came from villages scattered across the southern reaches of Borno state. Men, women and children - 360 of them - snatched from their communities, their lives suspended indefinitely in the shadow of the Mandara Mountains, captives of one of the most brutal terrorist organisations on the African continent. On Sunday, Nigerian security forces ended
- [“We expect foreign nationals to respect our laws. We therefore need to respect them ourselves.”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/we-expect-foreign-nationals-to-respect-our-laws-we-therefore-need-to-respect-them-ourselves/) - OVER recent months, South Africans from every walk of life have raised concerns about migration and illegal immigration. These concerns are being expressed in our communities, our workplaces, our schools, our clinics and across social media platforms. Many South Africans are asking difficult but legitimate questions. They are asking whether our borders are secure. They
- [Europe is spending billions on deporting migrants. Why the strategy isn’t working](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/europe-is-spending-billions-on-deporting-migrants-why-the-strategy-isnt-working/) - FOR over a decade, the European Union (EU) has relied on external partnerships to increase the return of migrants who don’t have the right to stay in Europe. It has used a growing web of funding instruments, projects and bilateral arrangements to get countries in Africa and the Middle East to cooperate in its bid
- [Europe is caught in a squeeze between the US and China](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/europe-is-caught-in-a-squeeze-between-the-us-and-china/) - THE European Union (EU), along with the other major countries in Europe, should be a geopolitical force to be reckoned with. In 2024, the EU was the second-largest economy in the world after the US and before China. There is also nothing comparable to the trading links between these three players. In 2025, bilateral trade
- [From exporting spyware to surveilling activists – how democracies became the new digital authoritarians](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/from-exporting-spyware-to-surveilling-activists-how-democracies-became-the-new-digital-authoritarians/) - “DIGITAL authoritarianism” refers to governments using technology for surveillance and censorship to repress dissent. China remains the master practitioner. There, sweeping surveillance and censorship at home is combined with cyber-espionage and disinformation, censorship and influence campaigns abroad. But this problem is no longer confined to Moscow or Beijing. Democracies, too, are beginning to repress their
- [SA: She sent her two daughers to their rapist - now a court has sent her to jail for life](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/she-sent-her-children-to-their-rapist-now-a-bloemfontein-court-has-sent-her-to-jail-for-life/) - THERE is a word for what Vumani Rethabile Tshabalala and his lover did to three children in Bloemfontein over five years. That word is rape. But there is no adequate word — in law, in psychology, in language — for what the mother of two of those children did. The law calls it rape, too,
- [NIGERIA: Oil magnate, two others face court over N691 m fraud, money laundering](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigeria-oil-magnate-two-others-face-court-over-n691-m-fraud-money-laundering/) - A federal court in Abuja, Nigeria, has remanded a prominent oil and gas executive in custody pending trial on 15 criminal counts alleging he conspired to defraud and launder more than N691 million — money prosecutors say formed part of the proceeds of corruption. Musa Farouk Abubakar, Managing Director of Abu-Haneefa Oil and Gas Ltd,
- [Abdoulaye Wade turns 100: Senegal, Africa, pauses to honour the last great architect of the African Renaissance](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/abdoulaye-wade-turns-100-senegal-africa-pauses-to-honour-the-last-great-architect-of-the-african-renaissance/) - THERE are moments when history forces a nation to stand still. The centenary of Abdoulaye Wade - the "Pape du Sopi," the Father of Change, the street-fighting lawyer who finally won Africa's most emotionally charged democracy battle - was one of them. Across Senegal, and in pan-African capitals from Abuja to Addis Ababa, tributes poured
- [Nigerian engineers are changing who gets to work in energy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigerian-engineers-are-changing-who-gets-to-work-in-energy/) - NKECHI Okenwa walked into her office, moving instinctively toward the window and pulled the blinds open. Outside, the city was already in motion: cars weaving through traffic, traders arranging their stalls, generators humming faintly in the distance. She paused for a moment and smiled quietly to herself. For Nkechi, energy had never simply been about
- [Data of 600,000 Gaza households exposed in WFP cyber-attack](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/data-of-600000-gaza-households-exposed-in-wfp-cyber-attack/) - A cyber-attack targeting the World Food Programme has exposed sensitive personal information belonging to some 600,000 households in Gaza, the UN’s food agency has confirmed, in what may be the largest-known breach of humanitarian beneficiary data to date. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Jacob Goldberg and Irwin Loy WFP is
- [Where peace talks between the US and Iran currently stand](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/where-peace-talks-between-the-us-and-iran-currently-stand/) - TO understand where talks on ending the war between the US and Iran currently stand, all we can confidently assume is that Donald Trump’s pronouncements offer no guide. The US president said an agreement had been “largely negotiated” on May 23. That proposal would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief
- [Present at our nation’s founding — but excluded from its promise](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/present-at-our-nations-founding-but-excluded-from-its-promise/) - IN the lead-up to our country's 250th anniversary, Errin Haines is writing a series of columns to contemplate the complicated expansion of our democracy. Subscribe to The Amendment newsletter. This story was co-published with Nonprofit Quarterly and #WeTheCivic: America 250, a narrative movement centering the multiracial nonprofit and civil society workers, organizations, and communities in America 250 narratives.
- [One Continent, One Voice: Ramaphosa, Ruto issue a continental summons at the Tshwane summit](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/one-continent-one-voice-ramaphosa-and-ruto-issue-a-continental-summons-at-the-tshwane-summit/) - IN the language of African statecraft, a state visit to the Union Buildings is never merely ceremonial. When President Cyril Ramaphosa stood before his Kenyan counterpart, Dr William Ruto, on Thursday morning and declared that "Africa must speak with one voice, guided by our own interests and aspirations," he was doing something more pointed than
- [Zimbabwe’s liberation-era guardians turn on Mnangagwa - and the nation risks a constitutional rupture](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/zimbabwes-liberation-era-guardians-turn-on-mnangagwa-and-the-nation-risks-a-constitutional-rupture/) - A cohort of retired military generals and former senior civil servants has publicly accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of masterminding Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 (CAB3) to entrench personal power, setting up a fraught showdown that threatens to cleave the ruling party’s liberation-era consensus and deepen Zimbabwe’s political crisis. In a statement issued in Harare and
- [Museveni hails Uganda’s economic shift, says 67% of households now in the ‘money economy”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/museveni-hails-ugandas-economic-shift-says-67-of-households-now-in-the-money-economy/) - STANDING before the 5th Session of Uganda's 11th Parliament at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in June 2025, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni delivered a State of the Nation Address that was, in equal measure, a victory lap and a forward charge. The numbers he laid before the nation were not rhetorical flourish - they were the statistical
- [Farewell to Souleymane Diallo, a firm, steady link in Africa’s unbreakable chain of solidarity in the struggle for media freedom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/farewell-to-souleymane-diallo-a-firm-steady-link-in-africas-unbreakable-chain-of-solidarity-in-the-struggle-for-media-freedom/) - IT was around 2 am in the morning, and I was still awake for reasons that are not immediately important. A WhatsApp message popped into The African Editors Forum group from Cheriff Sy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It was in French, and I somehow couldn’t open and copy to use Google to translate. I could
- [Tax data can be mined to shape better policies. South Africa, Uganda and Zambia show how](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/tax-data-can-be-mined-to-shape-better-policies-south-africa-uganda-and-zambia-show-how/) - BILATERAL aid to Africa fell by nearly a quarter in 2025, the largest annual decline in the history of official development assistance. Meanwhile, sovereign debt interest payments now consume on average 27% of government revenues across the continent, up from 19% in 2019. The pressure to fund development from within has never been greater. But
- [African capital markets are evolving](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/african-capital-markets-are-evolving/) - AFRICAN capital markets are entering a new phase of institutional maturity as exchanges, regulators, and development institutions shift their attention from building markets to improving how those markets mobilize capital and support economic growth. Recent developments from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa, and the African Development Bank suggest that the continent's bourses are becoming deeper
- [When she didn’t grow up seeing herself in books, she became the librarian she never had](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/when-she-didnt-grow-up-seeing-herself-in-books-she-became-the-librarian-she-never-had/) - IN the lead-up to our country’s 250th anniversary, Errin Haines is writing a series of columns to contemplate the complicated expansion of our democracy. Subscribe to The Amendment newsletter. Cassie Owens Moore’s students used to say that her classroom felt like a library; she never hesitated to lend one of the books from her personal collection, like when
- [Africa’s climate crisis is a legal crisis too: what are states’ duties under human rights law?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/africas-climate-crisis-is-a-legal-crisis-too-what-are-states-duties-under-human-rights-law/) - A landmark climate case is being heard by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The request was brought by the Pan-African Lawyers Union and other African civil society organisations. They’ve asked the court to issue advice on what responsibilities African governments have to protect their countries against the climate crisis and move away
- [Is Israel planning to reoccupy the Gaza Strip? This is what’s happening behind the ‘yellow line’](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/is-israel-planning-to-reoccupy-the-gaza-strip-this-is-whats-happening-behind-the-yellow-line/) - IN recent days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli army to seize 70% of Gaza – a sizeable increase from the 60% it currently controls. This follows an updated map sent to aid agencies in Gaza in late March featuring a new “orange line” demarcating the restricted area under military control –
- [Rising tensions along the Blue Line: UN warns of widening violence, humanitarian strain as UNIFIL resources stretched](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/rising-tensions-along-the-blue-line-un-warns-of-widening-violence-humanitarian-strain-as-unifil-resources-stretched/) - THE emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, called by France in response to a surge of violence between Israel and Hezbollah, highlighted growing international alarm even as US-led mediation efforts continue. Council members urged both sides to de-escalate, stressed the protection of civilians and reaffirmed support for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
- [US sanctions FDLR, M23 commanders in bid to save DRC peace process](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/us-sanctions-fdlr-and-m23-intelligence-commanders-in-bid-to-save-congo-peace-process/) - THE United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has moved decisively, sanctioning two senior intelligence commanders driving violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo - one from each warring camp - in what Washington described as a firm signal that all parties to the crumbling peace process will
- [Two suspects arrested in Mozambique after Kruger Park double murder; extradition to South Africa to follow](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/two-suspects-arrested-in-mozambique-after-kruger-park-double-murder-extradition-to-south-africa-to-follow/) - TWO suspects have been arrested in Mozambique in connection with the murder of South African tourists Dina and Ernst Marais in Kruger National Park, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and South African National Parks (SANParks) said on Wednesday. Minister Willie Aucamp described the arrests as a major breakthrough reached through swift,
- [The voice that carried Africa to a whole new world](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-voice-that-carried-africa-to-a-whole-new-world/) - THERE are voices that entertain you, and then there are voices that become part of you - that inhabit the intimate chambers of your memory so completely that you cannot separate their sound from the sound of your own heartbeat. Peabo Bryson had such a voice. He did not merely sing. He presided over love.
- [Nigeria's classrooms under siege: Teachers strike, children rot in the forest, and a Presidency scrambles to catch up](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigerias-classrooms-under-siege-teachers-strike-children-rot-in-the-forest-and-a-presidency-scrambles-to-catch-up/) - IN the Yoruba-speaking heartland of south-western Nigeria - a region long considered insulated from the kidnap economy that has ravaged the country's north - the unthinkable has now twice become the thinkable. On the morning of 15 May 2026, twelve gunmen arrived on six motorcycles at the Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government
- [Truth set in stone: Paris monument seals a new chapter between Rwanda and France](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/truth-set-in-stone-paris-monument-seals-a-new-chapter-between-rwanda-and-france/) - ON a June afternoon in Paris, before an audience that included heads of state, diplomats, historians and survivors, a monument was unveiled in France's capital to honour the approximately 800,000 Tutsi massacred in Rwanda in 100 days of 1994. The ceremony was more than an act of commemoration. It was, in the words of President
- [President hails gains as Presidency positions South Africa for growth and jobs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/president-hails-gains-as-presidency-positions-south-africa-for-growth-and-jobs/) - PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has told Parliament that South Africa is making “real, measurable progress” under the strategic leadership of his Presidency and set out a forward-looking agenda aimed at accelerating growth, creating jobs and improving services. Speaking during the Presidency’s Budget Vote in the National Assembly, Ramaphosa said the Presidency plays a strategic coordination role
- [Cultural bias in West Africa’s school‑leaver exam questions puts many students at a disadvantage](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/cultural-bias-in-west-africas-school-leaver-exam-questions-puts-many-students-at-a-disadvantage/) - THE West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a high-stakes test. For decades, it has served as the gateway to post-secondary education across five countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia. But is it fair? David Baidoo-Anu and Monsurat Raji say their research shows that cultural bias in exam questions can put
- [Eight nations jointly condemn Israeli settler incursions into Al-Aqsa mosque](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/eight-nations-jointly-condemn-israeli-settler-incursions-into-al-aqsa-mosque/) - THE foreign ministers of eight Muslim-majority nations have issued a joint statement condemning what they described as repeated and provocative incursions by extremist Israeli settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif in occupied East Jerusalem, carried out under the protection of Israeli security forces. The statement, released from Doha, was signed by the foreign ministers of Qatar,
- [Emerging Houthi–Al‑Shabaab co‑operation and the growing threat to Red Sea shipping](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/emerging-houthi-al-shabaab-co-operation-and-the-growing-threat-to-red-sea-shipping/) - IN a region crucial to global trade, ideological rivals may now be working together. United Nations and American intelligence reports suggest that Yemen’s Houthi insurgents and the Somali group Al-Shabaab — considered Al-Qaeda’s strongest affiliate — are exchanging logistical and military resources, despite having no formal alliance. These reported exchanges involve military technology, potentially expanding
- [How Fox News viewership increases belief in the anti‑immigrant great replacement theory](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-fox-news-viewership-increases-belief-in-the-anti-immigrant-great-replacement-theory/) - DURING a Washington Nationals baseball game on May 17, 2026, three people unfurled a large banner from the upper deck of Nationals Park displaying a link to a white nationalist website. The website, warning of the replacement of whites by people of color, called for the deportation of 100 million people from the United States.
- [Senegal: How the Faye-Sonko divorce is driving a nation towards a political chaos](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/senegal-on-the-precipice-how-the-faye-sonko-divorce-is-driving-a-nation-toward-constitutional-chaos/) - SENEGAL is hurtling toward a constitutional crisis that threatens to shatter the most celebrated democratic awakening in West Africa in a generation. Two years after Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko swept into power on a tide of popular hope - their names literally fused into a single rallying cry - their alliance has fractured
- [“Visit Rwanda”: How Kagame's football bet paid off on the biggest stage in club football](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/visit-rwanda-how-kagames-football-bet-paid-off-on-the-biggest-stage-in-club-football/) - THE whistle sounded at Puskas Arena and Paris Saint-Germain's players erupted. They had beaten Arsenal on penalties, 4-3 in a shootout that followed a 1-1 draw after extra time, to become the first repeat Champions League champions since Real Madrid swept three consecutive titles between 2016 and 2018. Luis Enrique's side was brilliant, dramatic, and
- [Nigerian student faces jail after UK jury convicts him of attempted rape](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigerian-student-faces-jail-after-uk-jury-convicts-him-of-attempted-rape/) - A 27-year-old Nigerian student is facing a likely prison term after a jury at Hull Crown Court convicted him of attempted rape and sexual assault - a verdict that could end his academic career in Britain and trigger the cancellation of his student visa. Qudus Ajeyemi, who was studying in Manchester, was found guilty by
- [Memory is an Antidote Against Forgetting](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/memory-is-an-antidote-against-forgetting/) - ON an October day in 1988, a comrade of mine who was part of our leadership echelon in the underground in Swaziland sent an urgent message requesting to see me. As it was often the case with the treacherous underground working conditions in that country, we agreed to meet under the cover of darkness on
- [In eastern DR Congo, a cultural revival after a year of rebel rule](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/in-eastern-dr-congo-a-cultural-revival-after-a-year-of-rebel-rule/) - A packed crowd pressed against the stage of a cultural centre courtyard as a musician walked on for the first concert held in many months. A microphone crackled, and the artist smiled, as if to ward off fear. Then he announced with pride: "Hello Goma!" This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By
- [Tributes for Souleymane Diallo - pillar of African journalism, hero of media freedom: 1945-2026](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/tributes-for-souleymane-diallo-pillar-of-african-journalism-hero-of-media-freedom-1945-2026/) - SOULEYMANE Diallo, doyen of Guinean journalism and founding pillar of the African Editors Forum (TAEF), has died - leaving an emptiness in African newsrooms and a legacy of principled, courageous journalism that reverberates across the continent. For decades, Diallo steered Le Lynx, the Guinean satirical weekly he edited, into a position of moral authority and
- [In Iran war’s shadow, Israel’s renewed Lebanon campaign risks repeating failed lessons – and occupations – of the past](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/in-iran-wars-shadow-israels-renewed-lebanon-campaign-risks-repeating-failed-lessons-and-occupations-of-the-past/) - GOING into the war in Iran, the Israeli government seemingly had two intertwined goals: to bring down the Islamic Republic and rid Israel of its Hezbollah problem. The logic went that the Lebanese Shiite group – which has posed a persistent threat to Israel for 44 years – would finally succumb if stripped of its
- [Forgetting Rohingya at own peril: World urged to act as funding collapse threatens 1.2 million refugees](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/forgetting-rohingya-at-own-peril-world-urged-to-act-as-funding-collapse-threatens-1-2-million-refugees/) - THE United Nations and humanitarian partners have issued a desperate plea to the global community not to forget the more than 1.18 million Rohingya refugees who remain trapped in Bangladesh as funding collapses to crisis levels, threatening to strip life-saving services from one of the world's largest refugee populations. The warning comes as the Rohingya
- [The women who power America’s offices are making themselves AI-proof](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-women-who-power-americas-offices-are-making-themselves-ai-proof/) - AT the administrative assistants’ conference, everyone wants to talk about AI. Among the workers who are most likely to have a hard time finding a new job if AI takes their jobs, 86 percent are women, according to findings from a recent Brookings Institution study. Most of them are admins or clerical staff, one of
- [The Zim tycoon who keeps on giving: Wicknell Chivayo's latest blessed transaction](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-man-who-keeps-on-giving-wicknell-chivayos-latest-blessed-transaction/) - IN Zimbabwe, generosity comes in many forms. There is the quiet kind - a widow’s mite, a civil servant’s small donation box. And then there is the Wicknell Chivayo kind: loudly announced, elaborately documented, spiritually decorated, and delivered with the subtlety of a $1.2 million Rolls-Royce reversing into a rural church compound. “Sir Wicknell”, as
- [Seoul summit elevates Africa-Korea trade alliance as AfCFTA seeks to unlock continent's $230 billion intra-trade potential](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/seoul-summit-elevates-africa-korea-trade-alliance-as-afcfta-seeks-to-unlock-continents-230-billion-intra-trade-potential/) - THE SEOUL PIVOT: FROM AID TO ARCHITECTURE KEY FIGURES AT A GLANCE On the eve of the most significant Korea-Africa ministerial gathering ever convened, the AfCFTA Secretariat on Sunday wrapped preparatory discussions at the Senior Officials Meeting in Seoul that signal a qualitative shift in how Africa is engaging its non-traditional economic partners. The headline
- [The long, bitter journey of David, Deborah Mutaaga from Uganda to a Swiss cemetery](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-long-bitter-journey-of-david-deborah-mutaaga-from-uganda-to-a-swiss-cemetery/) - ON the morning of Wednesday, 27 May 2026, a quiet graveside ceremony in the Swiss municipality of Dubendorf, on the outskirts of Zürich, concluded one of the most wrenching odysseys in recent Ugandan social and legal history. Two urns containing the cremated remains of David Baagala Mutaaga, 69, and his wife Deborah Florence Naizuwa Mutaaga,
- [Nigeria: Tinubu deploys rescue team, army rescues 23 kidnap victims](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigeria-tinubu-deploys-rescue-team-army-rescues-23-kidnap-victims/) - THE children are still missing. Sixteen days after gunmen on motorcycles swept into three schools along the Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota axis of Oriire Local Government Area in Oyo State, abducting more than 40 pupils and seven teachers in a coordinated dawn assault, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dispatched the most senior security delegation a Nigerian community
- [In Conversation with Channel Andrews on African mobility, diaspora identity, and the border contradictions shaping continental integration](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/in-conversation-with-channel-andrews-on-african-mobility-diaspora-identity-and-the-border-contradictions-shaping-continental-integration/) - WHEN Togo announced in May that it would become visa-free for all African passport holders, the decision was widely welcomed across the continent as another milestone in Africa’s long-running push toward freer movement and deeper integration. The measure, announced by President of the Council Faure Gnassingbé during the Biashara Afrika 2026 forum in Lomé, positioned
- [Women pay the price of surging banditry in northwest Nigeria](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/women-pay-the-price-of-surging-banditry-in-northwest-nigeria/) - AMINA Ya’u* was six months pregnant when gunmen attacked her village of Rinaye in the Shagari district of Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto State. Her husband, Abubakar Tunau, had just finished eating when the armed men forced their way into their home. He was struck with a rifle butt and shot in the chest. Ya’u collapsed. When
- [HIV in South Africa: why rolling out a groundbreaking new shot will miss a critical group of men](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/hiv-in-south-africa-why-rolling-out-a-groundbreaking-new-shot-will-miss-a-critical-group-of-men/) - THE first shipment of Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable that prevents HIV with two shots a year, arrived in South Africa from the United States in early April 2026. Clinical trials showed close to 100% efficacy. The rollout, expected to begin in June 2026, prioritises adolescent girls and young women, pregnant and breastfeeding women, transgender people,
- [Africa at the World Cup: 10 teams, local coaches and tactical depth usher in a new era](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/africa-at-the-world-cup-10-teams-local-coaches-and-tactical-depth-usher-in-a-new-era/) - THE 2026 men’s FIFA World Cup marks a seismic shift in the global football landscape. The decision to expand the final stage of the tournament from 32 teams to 48 has significantly benefited the Confederation of African Football (Caf). In 2018 and 2022, Africa was represented by five nations; this year, a record 10 teams
- [RSSB Tigers roar to historic BAL title](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/basketball/rssb-tigers-roar-to-historic-bal-title/) - THE RSSB Tigers have done it, and they did it with just enough drama to keep the BK Arena roof from floating away. Rwanda’s pride outlasted Petro de Luanda 90-88 in a final that felt less like a basketball game and more like a tightrope act performed in sneakers, making the Tigers the first team
- [Israeli forces capture Lebanon’s Beaufort Castle, a Crusade‑era site once held by the Knights Templar](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/israeli-forces-capture-lebanons-beaufort-castle-a-crusade-era-site-once-held-by-the-knights-templar/) - A 12th-century castle built during the Crusades in Lebanon has been seized by Israeli forces in what’s been described as the deepest incursion into Lebanon for more than 25 years. The historic site, known as Beaufort Castle or Qalʿat al-Shaqīf, sits atop a striking rocky outcrop in a commanding position on the edge of the
- [Hungary reverses ICC exit, avoiding historic break with international court](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/hungary-reverses-icc-exit-avoiding-historic-break-with-international-court/) - HUNGARY has withdrawn its notice to leave the International Criminal Court, in a dramatic reversal that preserves its membership of the Rome Statute and averts what would have been a damaging rupture with the global justice system. In a statement on 1 June 2026, the ICC said it welcomed Hungary’s decision to withdraw its notification
- [2026 Elections: No vote, No escape](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/2026-elections-no-vote-no-escape/) - The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has officially launched the 2026 Local Government Election season, and that matters more than some people are treating it right now. Because the IEC is not just announcing another voting cycle — it is activating one of the only national moments where political power is temporarily redistributed
- [FIRED: The Zambian diplomat who sold his office](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/fired-the-zambian-diplomat-who-sold-his-office/) - IN diplomatic corridors, the title of Deputy Ambassador carries weight, prestige, and - crucially - trust. It is a position earned, conferred by the head of state, and sustained by the belief that its holder will act with integrity in the name of the nation. Tom Michelo, Zambia's Deputy Ambassador to Ethiopia, has spectacularly shattered
- [WHO chief travels to Ebola epicentre as death toll mounts and world looks away](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/who-chief-travels-to-ebola-epicentre-as-death-toll-mounts-and-world-looks-away/) - WHEN Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, stepped off his plane in Bunia on Saturday - the dust-choked capital of Ituri Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - he was entering the eye of a gathering storm. The city is the administrative hub of what has become the
- [ATOMS FOR AFRICA: Rwanda's nuclear gambit and the new battle for the continent](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/atoms-for-africa-rwandas-nuclear-gambit-and-the-new-battle-for-the-continent/) - ON May 15, 2026, in the conference halls of Kigali, Rwanda, quietly made history. A Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Agreement was finalised between the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board and Russia's Rosatom, the Kremlin-backed nuclear giant that has become the world's dominant builder of new reactors. Four days later, at the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit for
- [How to Sell a Genocide exposes the double standards of reporting on Gaza](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-to-sell-a-genocide-exposes-the-double-standards-of-reporting-on-gaza/) - WHEN the University of Queensland Press cancelled the publication of Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money’s book Bila: A River Cycle because of a blog post by its illustrator, 60 UQP contributors signed a letter of protest. Some declared they would no longer publish with UQP. Fourteen staff members issued a statement decrying “the precedent the University
- [No one to answer the phone: What a missing $150 million means for domestic violence services](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/no-one-to-answer-the-phone-what-a-missing-150-million-means-for-domestic-violence-services/) - OUR Sister’s House used to staff a 24-hour hotline. No matter what time of day a domestic violence survivor called for help, an advocate would be able to help them stay safe. But then a lack of funding meant that hours and staff had to be reduced. Now, if someone calls for help overnight or
- [The far right is surging in France, Germany and parts of Europe. What will this mean for Ukraine?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-far-right-is-surging-in-france-germany-and-parts-of-europe-what-will-this-mean-for-ukraine/) - IN recent local elections in the United Kingdom and Australia, right-wing populism has appeared to be on the march. Support has surged for the Reform UK and One Nation parties. Media speculation about a future Prime Minister Nigel Farage, or even a Prime Minister Pauline Hanson, is no longer off limits. Right-wing populists are already
- [The Earth Took Back Its Diamond: Farewell to Baldwin Ndaba - 1961-2026](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/rough-stone-brilliant-cut/) - ON a beautiful, crisp winter morning in Kimberley, the city came to pay its dues. The Northern Cape sky - pale and wide and unforgiving in the way only the Karoo fringe can be - stretched above the mourners who gathered to say farewell to Baldwin Ndaba. The air carried that particular stillness of a
- [EBOLA: “It’s a disease you get when you care for someone.”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ebola-its-a-disease-you-get-when-you-care-for-someone/) - ON a dirt track outside Bunia, a health worker’s boots track the same footprints left by family members who rushed to help a sick relative - then watched them die. Two weeks into a rare Ebola flare‑up of the Bundibugyo strain, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighbouring Uganda are confronting not only a
- [R1 billion bust at Beit Bridge: South Africa's biggest-ever drug seizure exposes transnational mandrax pipeline](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/r1-billion-bust-at-beit-bridge-south-africas-biggest-ever-drug-seizure-exposes-transnational-mandrax-pipeline/) - SOUTH Africa has recorded the largest drug seizure in its history after the Border Management Authority (BMA) intercepted a truck carrying nearly a billion rands' worth of methaqualone - the key precursor in the manufacture of mandrax - at the Beit Bridge port of entry on 27 May 2026. The operation, coordinated by the BMA's
- [World Cup 2026 echoes with Ebola fear as North American hosts lock out some African fans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/world-cup-2026-echoes-with-ebola-fear-as-north-american-hosts-lock-out-some-african-fans/) - IN an unprecedented move just weeks before kick-off, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have unveiled a hardline, tri-lateral cordon sanitaire - banning entry to virtually all travelers from Ebola-hit Central Africa. For the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), returning to the World Cup after 52 years, the victory has turned to ashes as its
- [BOLA TINUBU: The man who took the bullet for Nigeria to survive](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/bola-tinubu-the-man-who-took-the-bullet-for-nigeria-to-survive/) - WITH politicking intensifying ahead of the January 2027 election, opposition politicians have escalated their campaign of misinformation and calumny to diminish the impact and achievements of this administration over the last three years. Two years ago, when the administration was struggling to deal with the unintended consequences of its historic reforms, the campaign would have
- [Unearthing Namibia’s forgotten genocide through forensic archaeology](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/unearthing-namibias-forgotten-genocide-through-forensic-archaeology/) - THE Namibian genocide was one of the first genocides of the 20th century. Between 1904 and 1908, tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people were killed under German colonial rule. Despite the scale of these events, the material and human legacy of this genocide remains less understood than later atrocities. Historical accounts exist, but
- [Why Africa – and the world – remain dangerously unprepared for the next pandemic](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/why-africa-and-the-world-remain-dangerously-unprepared-for-the-next-pandemic/) - AS the news spread about the outbreak of Ebola in mid-May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report about pandemics. The title was: A World on the Edge: Priorities for a Pandemic-Resilient Future. The document was prepared by the WHO’s Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. It sets out why the world isn’t better prepared
- [How generations of nannies and cleaners fought for — and won — their rights](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-generations-of-nannies-and-cleaners-fought-for-and-won-their-rights/) - IN subway stations and under the shade of trees across New York City, Allison Julien met with domestic workers. She wanted to talk to them about their basic rights — the ones they’d been denied for decades. It was the early 2000s, and nannies, home cleaners and home health aides across the state were in
- [When wars destroy heritage, women lose more than monuments – new research](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/when-wars-destroy-heritage-women-lose-more-than-monuments-new-research/) - AS conflict continues in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran and elsewhere, the cost is being recorded not only in deaths and displacement, but also in ruined libraries, mosques, churches, museums, archives and historic neighbourhoods. UNESCO has verified damage to 527 cultural sites in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion; 164 sites in Gaza since October 7 2023; and
- [Is the ‘Quad’ dying a slow death? Even with Trump, it still has a vital role to play](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/is-the-quad-dying-a-slow-death-even-with-trump-it-still-has-a-vital-role-to-play/) - ANALYSTS have tried to make sense of US President Donald Trump’s second term with countless, sometimes contradictory, labels. He’s isolationist and transactional. He’s a populist. Or, more recently, a neoconservative. One way to make sense of both him and the broader state of geopolitics at the moment is to understand the difference between structure and
- [Ten lions roar: Africa's historic World Cup armies named](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/ten-lions-roar-africas-historic-world-cup-armies-named/) - THE squads have been named, the kits laid out, and the dreams of a continent crystallised into 26-man rosters. As the 2026 FIFA World Cup prepares to kick off on 11 June in Mexico City, Africa stands at a historic crossroads: for the first time in the tournament's 96-year history, the Confederation of African Football
- [Daughter of the soil rules the world: Tyla makes history as only African to win at the 2026 American Music Awards - taking home two](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/daughter-of-the-soil-rules-the-world-tyla-makes-history-as-only-african-to-win-at-the-2026-american-music-awards-taking-home-two/) - THEY came to celebrate the biggest names in the music universe. They left talking about a girl from Durban. At the 52nd Annual American Music Awards - the world's largest fan-voted music honours - South Africa's Tyla etched her name into the firmament of global music history, becoming the only African artist to win at
- [Eight students arrested after 16 girls die in Kenyan school dormitory inferno](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/16-girls-die-in-kenyan-school-dormitory-inferno-as-systemic-failures-once-again-cost-children-their-lives/) - ON the dead of night, while their families slept hundreds of kilometres away, the girls of Utumishi Girls Academy awoke to smoke and flame. It was barely past midnight. The fire tore through one of the school's dormitories in Gilgil, in Nakuru County, central Kenya, with a ferocity that gave many students no time to
- [Left behind: the five Ghanaians South Africa could not - and would not - put on the plane](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/left-behind-the-five-ghanaians-south-africa-could-not-and-would-not-put-on-the-plane/) - OF the 300 Ghanaian nationals processed for departure from OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday, 295 boarded the chartered aircraft arranged by the Ghanaian government and flew home. Five did not. Their reasons for being grounded - each distinct, each grounded in a different provision of South African and international law - tell a more
- [Paid to serve, forced to pay: SA’s MK Party Chief Whip arrested for salary extortion scheme](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/paid-to-serve-forced-to-pay-sas-mk-party-chief-whip-arrested-for-salary-extortion-scheme/) - IN the 32 years of the democratic South African parliamentary politics, it would be difficult to recall a more audacious or troubling allegation against a sitting officer of the National Assembly. Mmabatho Nthabiseng Mokoena-Zondi, the Chief Whip of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, appeared before the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 28 May 2026, on
- [Ethiopia votes: dominant ruling party seeks a new mandate in a deeply fragmented nation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/ethiopia-votes-dominant-ruling-party-seeks-a-new-mandate-in-a-deeply-fragmented-nation/) - ETHIOPIA’S general election on 1 June 2026 will take place amid armed conflicts and political fragmentation. This has raised questions over voter participation and legitimacy and the future of the country’s multi-ethnic federal system. Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country and a key regional actor in the Horn of Africa. Redie Bereketeab, who researches
- [How will teachers handle bullying? South African study finds they’re ill‑prepared](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/how-will-teachers-handle-bullying-south-african-study-finds-theyre-ill-prepared/) - BULLYING is a widespread global problem, with extensive research across countries showing that no school is immune. In South Africa, the scale is particularly concerning, with studies indicating that between a fifth and over half of learners have experienced or witnessed school violence. This means many pre-service teachers will enter training having experienced bullying at
- [Africa has been managing climate volatility for decades – what the rest of the world can learn from it](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/africa-has-been-managing-climate-volatility-for-decades-what-the-rest-of-the-world-can-learn-from-it/) - THE United States’ retreat from aspects of global climate and health leadership has exposed the risk Africa took in relying on external funding for these projects. When the US pulled back on aid, many African programmes and plans that relied on their funding, expertise, or political support had to abruptly end, leaving millions of people
- [Trump’s call to expand Abraham Accords is destined to fail](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trumps-call-to-expand-abraham-accords-is-destined-to-fail/) - AS negotiations to end the Iran war continued on May 25, Donald Trump made a series of phone calls in which he pressed key leaders from the Middle East to join the Abraham Accords. Announced in 2020, these accords established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states, beginning with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- [How Iran uses billboards as wartime propaganda – we selected 5 to explain what they mean](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-iran-uses-billboards-as-wartime-propaganda-we-selected-5-to-explain-what-they-mean/) - SINCE the US–Israel war against Iran began in late February, images of giant billboards in Tehran have been ubiquitous across traditional and social media. These billboards have been placed in some of the busiest and most visible parts of the city, and are constantly being updated to reflect current events. Iran has long used public
- [India is a ‘country of countries’ – NZ business needs a regional strategy to make the trade deal work](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/india-is-a-country-of-countries-nz-business-needs-a-regional-strategy-to-make-the-trade-deal-work/) - THE recently signed free trade agreement between New Zealand and India has so far been discussed and debated in very broad terms: the size of the Indian market, opportunities for exporters, and implications for immigration. Much of this is understandable. Preferential access to a market larger than the European Union and ASEAN countries combined, with
- [Done waiting: Africa’s narrative rebellion arrives](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/done-waiting-africas-narrative-rebellion-arrives/) - ON Africa Day 2026, a campaign launched from five cities simultaneously with a message that is at once obvious and long overdue: Africa is not waiting. Not for permission. Not for validation. Not for the world’s cameras to swing away from the crisis and catch the construction. #NotWaiting — the pan-African movement convened by Opportunity
- [300 Ghana nationals arrive home from South Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/300-ghana-nationals-arrive-home-from-south-africa/) - THEY LEFT on a chartered flight out of Oliver Reginald Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg in the early hours of this morning — 300 Ghanaian men and women, their belongings reduced to what they could carry, their enterprises abandoned, their South African chapters slammed shut by fear. By the time the aircraft touched down at
- [EBOLA: “War is making an incurable outbreak uncontainable.”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ebola-war-is-making-an-incurable-outbreak-uncontainable/) - EASTERN Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing what the head of the World Health Organization has described as a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict - a convergence of forces that has transformed a dangerous outbreak into a near-uncontainable public health emergency. In an extraordinary public appeal issued this week, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros
- [The leopard cannot change its spots: Burkina Faso’s junta silences students - and the mask slips again](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-leopard-cannot-change-its-spots-burkina-fasos-junta-silences-students-and-the-mask-slips-again/) - IN the morning of 26 May 2026, Burkina Faso’s minister of territorial administration signed a decree that revealed, with the clarity of a confessional, exactly what kind of government Captain Ibrahim Traoré is running in what the country’s own name declares to be the Land of the Upright People. The target was the General Union
- [M-KOPA’s Ghana push is evidence of Africa’s smartphones as financial gateways](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/m-kopas-ghana-push-is-evidence-of-africas-smartphones-as-financial-gateways/) - ACROSS Africa’s low-income markets, the smartphone is increasingly acting as the first point of contact with formal financial systems, replacing traditional banking entry points. M-KOPA’s expansion in Ghana illustrates how device financing is evolving into a bundled ecosystem that integrates credit, insurance, and digital services into a single daily payment structure. M-KOPA’s latest Ghana Impact
- [Beijing bonds: Xi and Putin deepen the BRICS axis as the multipolar order takes shape](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/beijing-bonds-xi-and-putin-deepen-the-brics-axis-as-the-multipolar-order-takes-shape/) - IN a summit laden with symbolic and strategic weight, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping convened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, cementing what both leaders described as a relationship at an unprecedented level of depth and alignment. The meeting produced a sweeping joint statement on the further strengthening
- [Taunting and degrading civilians in armed conflict is a clear violation of international law](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/taunting-and-degrading-civilians-in-armed-conflict-is-a-clear-violation-of-international-law/) - IN a video posted by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday night, detained activists from dozens of countries are shown kneeling on the ground with their foreheads on the floor and hands zip-tied behind their backs. Some of the activists, who had been intercepted by Israeli forces on a flotilla in the Mediterranean
- [Methanol, pistachios, and cement: the other Iranian exports being choked by the war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/methanol-pistachios-and-cement-the-other-iranian-exports-being-choked-by-the-war/) - THE war between Iran, the US, and Israel has escalated into a major global crisis, with consequences that are reaching far beyond the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 25% of the world’s oil ordinarily passes, has rattled global energy markets. This has only been worsened by the US
- [Why Mark Carney is pushing ‘Fortress North America’ amid deep Canadian distrust of the U.S.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-mark-carney-is-pushing-fortress-north-america-amid-deep-canadian-distrust-of-the-u-s/) - PRIME Minister Carney recently said that “like Mexico, Canada remains open to deeper integration, including options for Fortress North America in (certain) sectors.” He added that “offers are on the table,” though he did not specify what they were. Even with a review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on the horizon, Carney is surely aware
- [“Cold-blooded patricide”: Nigerian billionaire brutally murdered, son in custody](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/cold-blooded-patricide-nigerian-billionaire-brutally-murdered-son-in-custody/) - HE had just touched down from Istanbul - barely 48 hours back on Nigerian soil - when Chief Godwin Chinedu Lucky Adimike walked into his luxury mansion on Number 3 Hassan Adamu Street in Abuja's leafy Guzape district. He had come to visit his firstborn son, a serving member of the National Youth Service Corps
- [SENEGAL: Fired premier takes the speaker's chair, declares war on “Hyper-presidentialism”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/senegal-fired-premier-takes-the-speakers-chair-declares-war-on-hyper-presidentialism/) - THE battle lines in Senegal's deepening political crisis have been firmly and irrevocably drawn. In a stunning turn of events that has reshaped the republic's constitutional landscape almost overnight, Ousmane Sonko was sworn in as President of the National Assembly on Tuesday - barely 48 hours after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismissed him as Prime
- [African sport is the new battleground for African corporate capital](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/african-sport-is-the-new-battleground-for-african-corporate-capital/) - AFRICAN sport is evolving into a structured commercial industry as banks, betting firms, telecoms companies, and consumer brands deepen their role inside leagues, federations, and competition systems across the continent. What began as traditional sponsorship built around advertising and logo visibility is increasingly shifting toward longer-term commercial integration tied to league financing, fan engagement, broadcasting
- [The Sahel region is less secure than ever: foreign forces just add to the cycle of violence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-sahel-region-is-less-secure-than-ever-foreign-forces-just-add-to-the-cycle-of-violence/) - SEVERAL of Mali’s major cities experienced coordinated attacks in April by a new coalition of jihadists and separatist groups. As the coalition took over the town of Kidal in the north of Mali, images of Russian troops being escorted out of the town after negotiations were cabled out across global media. Russia, now in the
- [Kenya’s war on traditional alcohol: a colonial hangover about what it means to be ‘civilised’](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/kenyas-war-on-traditional-alcohol-a-colonial-hangover-about-what-it-means-to-be-civilised/) - AT the dawn of Kenya’s colonial era in 1902, consumption of home-made alcohol was deeply embedded in society. For instance, among the Mijikenda of coastal Kenya, palm wine was integral (p.290) to traditional ceremonies, such as marriage and initiations, and in ritual offerings. This partly explains why the colonial authorities did not consider prohibiting African
- [Lake Kariba’s rising waters bring hope to communities in Zambia and Zimbabwe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/lake-karibas-rising-waters-bring-hope-to-communities-in-zambia-and-zimbabwe/) - BUILT in the 1950s to generate electricity, Lake Kariba in Zambia and Zimbabwe has since supported activities such as tourism, fishing, and conservation. All of these are affected by changes in water levels. The 40km wide and 223km long Lake Kariba is the largest human-created lake by volume. It typically undergoes seasonal rises and falls
- [Trump’s ‘largely negotiated’ truce with Iran exposes a deeper crisis in U.S. strategic thinking](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trumps-largely-negotiated-truce-with-iran-exposes-a-deeper-crisis-in-u-s-strategic-thinking/) - UNITED States President Donald Trump has announced via social media that a peace deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated.” While Trump and his allies have been trumpeting the agreement for days, details are vague, and Iranian authorities insist the two parties have yet to reach a formal deal. In fact, it appears much more
- [Is Beijing the world’s ‘living room’? China is enjoying the global stage, but there are limits to its influence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/is-beijing-the-worlds-living-room-china-is-enjoying-the-global-stage-but-there-are-limits-to-its-influence/) - IN recent weeks, the back-to-back state visits to Beijing by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump have put China in the global spotlight. For some international analysts, the summits showcased China as a “stabilising force capable of hosting two major rivals within days”, a “broker between the big powers” and a “pillar
- [Africa rises to Ebola: $319m plan, five million dollar pledge, but race against time on Bundibugyo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-rises-to-ebola-319m-plan-five-million-dollar-pledge-but-race-against-time-on-bundibugyo/) - IT is, by any measure, a continent under siege. The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola - for which no approved vaccine or therapeutic exists - is burning through communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, spilling towards borders drawn on maps that mean little to a virus. More than 200 people are dead. Africa
- [Blood, Bonds and the Avenue of Nations: Africa, Brazil's long walk to each other](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/blood-bonds-and-the-avenue-of-nations-africa-brazils-long-walk-to-each-other/) - THE street on which the South African Embassy in Brasilia stands is called the ‘Avenue of Nations’ – (Avenida das Naçôes). When Brasilia was built in the early 1960, the aim was to situate most embassies in the same location. A short secluded segment of this avenue is home to the embassies of the United
- [Dreams, Dust and Demands for Truth: The Death of Sheila Chebii](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/dreams-dust-and-demands-for-truth-the-death-of-sheila-chebii/) - SHE left Kobil village in Marakwet East on 4 April 2026, carrying the weight of a family's hope and the promise of a master's degree in accounting and auditing. Sheila Jepkorir Chebii, 26, fourth-born child of retired teacher Samuel Kiptanui Chebii and Linah Tanui, had graduated from Kabarak University with a first degree in accounting
- [M23 tax drive in DR Congo puts squeeze on aid groups](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/m23-tax-drive-in-dr-congo-puts-squeeze-on-aid-groups/) - THE M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is trying to extract money from relief organisations by demanding taxes on staff income, rent on properties, and entry visas, nearly a dozen aid officials told The New Humanitarian. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Emmet Livingstone Although aid groups
- [God bless the newly loaded: Zimbabwe's wedding of the century, where Boyz II Men sang and the dollar danced](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/god-bless-the-newly-loaded-zimbabwes-wedding-of-the-century-where-boyz-ii-men-sang-and-the-dollar-danced/) - LET us be very clear about something from the outset: when Taonanyasha John Tagwirei and Poneso Tinomuda Janda exchanged their vows, they did not merely get married. They inaugurated a new epoch in the history of nuptial theatre. They redefined the grammar of excess. They made every other wedding in sub-Saharan Africa look, quite frankly,
- [Botswana races to diversify beyond diamonds](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/botswana-races-to-diversify-beyond-diamonds/) - BOTSWANA’S diamonds have long been featured on global stages. From multi-million-dollar jewelry showcased at global events such as the Met Gala to medals embedded with locally sourced stones at sporting showcases such as the Debswana World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, they sit at the intersection of luxury spectacle and state revenue. That intersection is now
- [Scale or Fail: In Kigali, Africa Chooses Collective Economic Power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/scale-or-fail-in-kigali-africa-chooses-collective-economic-power/) - IN May 2026, over three days, more than 2,800 decision-makers from over 90 countries debated an issue that has become central to the continent’s future: how to transform Africa into an economic powerhouse capable of competing on a global scale. Here, there was no more talk of international aid or dependence on foreign markets. The
- [Iran war is exposing South Africa’s dependency on diesel: what went wrong](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/iran-war-is-exposing-south-africas-dependency-on-diesel-what-went-wrong/) - IT is forgivable to think that an oil shock mainly hurts at the petrol pump. After all, that is where households feel it first. But when my colleagues and I at the Bureau for Economic Research started digging through South Africa’s fuel data, a different story emerged – one that says as much about the
- [Ebola outbreak in the DRC: four reasons it will be hard to contain](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/ebola-outbreak-in-the-drc-four-reasons-it-will-be-hard-to-contain/) - BY the second week of the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it was already clear that containing the spread of the haemorrhagic disease was proving to be difficult. On 17 May 2026, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. This is its highest level
- [The bromance is over: how Senegal's kingmaker became its kingbreaker](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-bromance-is-over-how-senegals-kingmaker-became-its-kingbreaker/) - SENEGAL has entered a constitutional crucible of its own making. In the space of days, the West African nation has lurched from promising democratic reformism to a full-blown political war between two men who once personified its hope - a young president and the revolutionary who made him, now facing each other across the barricades
- [With hardship comes ease: Encountering kindness as a Sudanese in exile](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/with-hardship-comes-ease-encountering-kindness-as-a-sudanese-in-exile/) - IT is very hard to ask, “How are you doing?” after three years. That is how long it has been since the war erupted in Sudan and changed our lives forever. Finding and creating the space to check on each other and ask how someone is doing in relation to everything the war has unravelled
- [Russia’s ‘civic death’ plan seeks to erase exiled critics, Human Rights Watch says](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/russias-civic-death-plan-seeks-to-erase-exiled-critics-human-rights-watch-says/) - RUSSIA is moving to punish dissent far beyond its borders, with a draft law that Human Rights Watch says would amount to a “civic death” sentence for exiled critics. The proposal would strip targeted Russians of basic legal, financial, and consular rights, deepening what HRW describes as a widening crackdown on dissent. Human Rights Watch
- [Tulsi Gabbard is the latest woman to leave Trump’s Cabinet](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/tulsi-gabbard-is-the-latest-woman-to-leave-trumps-cabinet/) - TULSI Gabbard, the nation’s chief intelligence official, is the latest woman to leave President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. Gabbard is resigning to care for her husband, Abraham, who has been diagnosed with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer” and “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months,” she said in her resignation letter, which
- [KINGS OF AFRICA: Sundowns seize CAF championship in Rabat's Lion Den](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/kings-of-africa-sundowns-seize-caf-championship-in-rabats-lion-den/) - THERE are football nights that merely settle a title. Then there are football nights that write myths. Sunday evening at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat was emphatically the latter - a contest of suffocating tension, heart-stopping reversals and, ultimately, sublime South African defiance that buried a decade of continental near-misses under a cascade
- [Museveni's raw-materials revolution silences critics - and the numbers add up](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/gold-grit-and-glory-musevenis-raw-materials-revolution-silences-critics-and-the-numbers-add-up/) - WHEN Yoweri Kaguta Museveni reaches for the pen, the continent listens. And when he invokes the Bible, the AK-47, and decades of liberation struggle in the same breath, the wise do not dismiss it as the ramblings of old age. In a combative and statistic-laden open letter this week, Uganda's long-serving president launched a withering
- [How six Nigerians used AI romance scam to prey on Thai women - until cocaine gave them away](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/faces-scripts-and-fake-pilots-how-six-nigerians-used-ai-romance-scam-to-prey-on-thai-women-until-cocaine-gave-them-away/) - THE trail began with cocaine. Six weeks before Thai police smashed what investigators are describing as a sophisticated AI-assisted romance scam ring, a routine narcotics operation in April netted a Nigerian national identified only as Patrick, along with three associates. Officers seized assets worth 2.5 million baht. When they followed the money, it took them
- [Ashes, vines & vows: Gabrielle Union's mission of love to the Mother City](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/ashes-vines-vows-gabrielle-unions-mission-of-love-to-the-mother-city/) - SHE flew from Omaha, Nebraska - across oceans and time zones and hemispheres - not for a premiere, not for a deal, not for the cameras. Gabrielle Union, one of Hollywood's most luminous talents, crossed continents to do something so human it stops you cold: to bring her father home. Home, in this instance, was
- [AFRICA DAY 2026: Africa celebrates, contends and claims its future](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-day-2026-africa-celebrates-contends-and-claims-its-future/) - SIXTY-THREE years after thirty-two newly independent nations gathered in this Ethiopian capital to sign the founding charter of the Organisation of African Unity, the African Union is marking Africa Day 2026 with three days of ceremony, sport, culture and hard continental conversation - and with a theme that cuts to the bone of what development
- [Sovereignty outsourced, solidarity betrayed: Fayemi fires a warning shot at Africa's conscience](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sovereignty-outsourced-solidarity-betrayed-fayemi-fires-a-warning-shot-at-africas-conscience/) - IN a lecture hall thick with continental ambition and historical weight, Dr Kayode Fayemi strode to the podium at the Century City Conference Centre and did what Africa's most clear-eyed public intellectuals do best: told the truth - precisely, unapologetically, and with the authority of someone who has governed, failed, succeeded and reflected. The occasion
- [Cape Town burns in colour as African runners, led by Kipchoge, turn marathon into moving festival of speed and soul](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/athletics/cape-town-burns-in-colour-as-african-runners-led-by-kipchoge-turn-marathon-into-moving-festival-of-speed-and-soul/) - THE Cape Town sky turned gold before dawn, and by the time the first elite runners stepped onto the starting line in Green Point, the city was already vibrating with colour and noise. The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon was no longer just a race; it had become a rolling festival of African running, of mountain
- [On the knife's edge: a Hormuz deal that could unlock the world](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/on-the-knifes-edge-a-hormuz-deal-that-could-unlock-the-world/) - THE world may be hours - or weeks - away from the most consequential diplomatic agreement since the Abraham Accords. Three months after the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran that upended global energy markets, shattered the fragile post-pandemic economic recovery and plunged hundreds of millions of people from Lagos to Lahore
- [From Iran to Ukraine, lasting ceasefires remain elusive](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/from-iran-to-ukraine-lasting-ceasefires-remain-elusive/) - MEDIATORS in both the Iran and Ukraine wars have struggled to achieve meaningful ceasefires. Although the US and Iran reached an initial two-week truce on April 7, brokered by Pakistan, the agreement has been fragile from the beginning. By May 11, Donald Trump had declared that the ceasefire was “on massive life support” and has
- [Ministers of 18 muslim-majority states condemn Somaliland’s “Embassy” in Jerusalem as illegal and void](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/ministers-of-18-muslim-majority-states-condemn-somalilands-embassy-in-jerusalem-as-illegal-and-void/) - SEVERAL Muslim and Arab foreign ministries have issued a joint condemnation of the opening of an office in Jerusalem by representatives of Somaliland, calling the move illegal and a breach of international law. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Djibouti, Somalia,
- [Mashatile breaks silence on xenophobia at Africa's own development summit - then issues a continent-wide agenda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/mashatile-breaks-silence-on-xenophobia-at-africas-own-development-summit-then-issues-a-continent-wide-agenda/) - DEPUTY President Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile opened a high-level address marking twenty-five years of NEPAD with an uncomfortable detour: a direct and unambiguous condemnation of the wave of anti-immigrant violence that has swept parts of South Africa in recent weeks, even as he stood before an audience assembled to celebrate the continent's development architecture. The juxtaposition
- [Pipeline to prosperity: Ethiopia, Djibouti seal a $10 billion intra-African energy pact that could reshape the continent's economic landscape](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/pipeline-to-prosperity-ethiopia-djibouti-seal-a-10-billion-intra-african-energy-pact-that-could-reshape-the-continents-economic-landscape/) - A $10 billion energy deal struck between Ethiopia and Djibouti is reverberating across boardrooms, government corridors, and development finance circles from Nairobi to Lagos - and for very good reason. This is not a story about a foreign company extracting African resources. This is Africa building for Africa, financing its own future, and writing the
- [African filmmakers are experimenting with AI as Hollywood debates its risks](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/african-filmmakers-are-experimenting-with-ai-as-hollywood-debates-its-risks/) - WHEN 17-year-old Zara Sodangi earns admission to Nigeria’s most prestigious fictional tech academy, Makemation, her world suddenly shifts from survival in a poor Lagos neighborhood to the demanding universe of artificial intelligence, product design, and data analytics. The coming-of-age feature film follows the brilliant but financially struggling teenager as she navigates elite technology education, class
- [The city that wakes up running](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/athletics/the-city-that-wakes-up-running/) - THE parking lot at Nairobi's KOFISI Square fills up well before 7:30 on a Saturday morning. Gone are the hangover sunglasses and bleary faces suggesting a big Friday night out. The people stretching against the curb, adjusting their running watches, or just standing and chatting as the sun rises, look fresh-faced and eager. Something has
- [Medicine as a Weapon: How Gaza's sick and maimed are being starved of care](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/medicine-as-a-weapon-how-gazas-sick-and-maimed-are-being-starved-of-care/) - WHEN Dr Renee Van de Weerdt, the World Health Organization's representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, returned from her second visit to Gaza, she found herself searching for adequate language. "Nothing prepares you for Gaza," she told journalists in Geneva on Friday. "I thought going in the second time would make things easier. But it
- [First Trump, now Putin – all roads lead to Xi Jinping](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/first-trump-now-putin-all-roads-lead-to-xi-jinping/) - THE red carpet at Beijing Capital International Airport has had something of a workout in recent months. In addition to Donald Trump’s visit from May 13-15 and Vladimir Putin over the past couple of days, a parade of world leaders, including five out of seven G7 leaders, have made the trip to Beijing to visit
- [THE VALLEY REMEMBERED HER…](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-valley-remembered-her/) - A Farewell to Florence “Florah” Tsedu, returned to the earth at Tshavhalovezhi The rain knew. It came softly, in quiet intervals, as though the sky itself had been briefed - as though heaven was preparing the earth to receive something precious. At Tshavhalovhezhi, in Venda, Limpopo, beneath those rolling skies and above that valley whose
- [NIGERIA: Fugitive ex-power minister arrested, starts serving 75-year jail term for ₦33.8bn heist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigeria-fugitive-ex-power-minister-arrested-starts-serving-75-year-jail-term-for-₦33-8bn-heist/) - THE long arm of Nigerian law reached into a darkened house in the Rigasa district of Kaduna State in the dead of night and closed around one of the country’s most wanted men. At 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 19 May 2026, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Saleh Mamman, a former
- [The cop who killed her family — and then tried again](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-cop-who-killed-her-family-and-then-tried-again/) - SHE had already collected on five corpses. Five family members - a sister, nephews, a niece, a lover - murdered for the insurance payouts that followed. Six life sentences handed down in November 2021 had made Rosemary Ndlovu one of the most reviled figures in post-apartheid South African criminal history. Yet the former police officer,
- [Cartels on the continent: Nigeria's record meth bust exposes Africa's new drug frontier](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/cartels-on-the-continent-nigerias-record-meth-bust-exposes-africas-new-drug-frontier/) - IN the dense Abidagba forest of Ogun State, Nigerian drug agents last week discovered what their agency's chairman would describe as a criminal landmark: the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratory ever uncovered on Nigerian soil, industrial in scale, transnationally financed and operationally dependent on Mexican expertise imported specifically to cook drugs deep in West African bush.
- [From sanctions to reactors: How Kagame engineered a US comeback](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/from-sanctions-to-reactors-how-kagame-engineered-a-us-comeback/) - IN the span of eleven weeks, President Paul Kagame has achieved what seasoned diplomats said was structurally impossible: transforming a hard American sanctions designation into a strategic nuclear partnership with Washington - without conceding ground on the core question of Rwanda's military presence in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. On Tuesday, 19 May
- [Kneeling for the camera: How Israel turned a flotilla into a global disgrace](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/kneeling-for-the-camera-how-israel-turned-a-flotilla-into-a-global-disgrace/) - THEY came in peace, in lifejackets, aboard a flotilla of more than 50 boats, carrying a symbolic hold of humanitarian cargo and the moral weight of a world grown sick of watching Gaza burn. What they got in return was zip-ties, a concrete floor, and the sneering face of Itamar Ben-Gvir — Israel's far-right National
- [Playing host to Putin and Trump, China sends a message – it’s now in the driver’s seat](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/playing-host-to-putin-and-trump-china-sends-a-message-its-now-in-the-drivers-seat/) - IT'S been quite a week for Beijing, with back-to-back visits by the leaders of the United States and Russia. Chinese President Xi Jinping has had his hands full with hosting duties, gun salutes, photo opportunities, and high-level talks. Each visit was important in its own way. US President Donald Trump’s state visit was his first
- [Why Trump and FIFA are perfect bedfellows as the World Cup heads to the US](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-trump-and-fifa-are-perfect-bedfellows-as-the-world-cup-heads-to-the-us/) - THE 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico is almost upon us. This sporting spectacle – the largest ever World Cup, with 48 teams – will generate many memorable moments. Mexico will get the tournament underway in its capital city on June 12, hosting South Africa. Apart from the on-field
- [UGANDA: The hunt for the millions funding the lifestyle of ex-Speaker of Parliament](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/uganda-the-hunt-for-the-millions-funding-the-lifestyle-of-ex-speaker-of-parliament/) - ON the morning of Tuesday, May 19, forensic investigators and armed detectives sealed off the fifth floor of Uganda’s Parliament building, designating the former Speaker’s chambers as an active crime scene. Evidence collection vans idled on the forecourt. Senior detectives from the Criminal Investigations Directorate carried document cases inside alongside members of the Uganda People’s
- [Africa's $4 billion move on food sovereignty: Dangote, Abiy rewrite the rules in Gode](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africas-4-billion-move-on-food-sovereignty-dangote-abiy-rewrite-the-rules-in-gode/) - WHEN Africa's richest man walks the red earth of a construction site in Ethiopia's Somali region alongside a Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister, it is not a photo opportunity. It is a statement of civilisational intent. Aliko Dangote's visit to Gode recently, where he stood with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and surveyed the steel and
- [Ghost workers, real millions: How an SA family's COVID fraud empire crumbled](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghost-workers-real-millions-how-an-sa-familys-covid-fraud-empire-crumbled/) - THEY conjured nearly 800 workers out of thin air - month after month, for six consecutive months during South Africa's most devastating public health crisis - and funnelled millions in pandemic relief into luxury cars, prime properties, and a lifestyle built entirely on stolen money. Now the law has caught up with them. In one
- [Mansions, a Rolls-Royce and a paper trail: The unravelling of Uganda's most powerful Speaker](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/mansions-a-rolls-royce-and-a-paper-trail-the-unravelling-of-ugandas-most-powerful-speaker/) - ON the morning of Tuesday, May 19, 2026, forensic investigators and armed detectives sealed off the fifth floor of Uganda's Parliament building, turning the former Speaker's chambers into an active crime scene. Evidence collection vans were parked on the forecourt. Senior CID officers carried document cases inside. Outside, an institution that is constitutionally the guardian
- [While the world burns, Xi and Putin meet: a summit at the axis of a new world order](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/while-the-world-burns-xi-and-putin-meet-a-summit-at-the-axis-of-a-new-world-order/) - THERE are moments in history when the symbolism of a handshake speaks louder than any treaty. The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday was precisely such a moment - a summit that arrived not in a diplomatic vacuum, but in the eye of the most violent
- [Gaza's ceasefire illusion: six months on, Palestinians are still starving and still dying](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/gazas-ceasefire-illusion-six-months-on-palestinians-are-still-starving-and-still-dying/) - WHEN Israeli and American negotiators unveiled the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict last October, they presented the world with a framework dressed in the language of peace and humanitarian relief. Six months later, the architecture of that plan is crumbling — and the Palestinian civilians it was meant to protect remain hungry, medically
- [The man who kept Mandela’s voice in a wardrobe box](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-man-who-kept-mandelas-voice-in-a-wardrobe-box/) - FOR nearly two decades, Adrian Hadland carried a secret in his wardrobe. Not a dark secret - but one luminous with history, humming with the voices of giants. Stuffed inside a battered cardboard box were newspaper cuttings, columns, notebooks, and sheaves of paper: the raw, unedited record of one of the most extraordinary periods in
- [Mandela and De Klerk’s tempestuous relationship](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/mandela-and-de-klerks-tempestuous-relationship/) - OCTOBER 8, 1995 If ever there was a symbol of the birth of the new South Africa, and of its subsequent trials and tribulations, it is the personal relationship between Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk. It has been an epic affair: tumultuous, angry, respectful, bitter, and forgiving. It has run the gamut of emotions
- [South Africa throws a party for its soul - and the ancestors showed up too](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/south-africa-throws-a-party-for-its-soul-and-the-ancestors-showed-up-too/) - THERE is something wonderfully, gloriously South African about a national honours ceremony where the living share the stage - and the citation scrolls - with the dead. At Sefako Makgatho Guest House in Tshwane on Tuesday morning, President Cyril Ramaphosa presided over what amounted to a national reckoning with the country's creative conscience. Part investiture,
- [Nelson had Winnie, Steve had Ntsiki and Chris had Limpho, Mathatha had Flora.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/nelson-had-winnie-steve-had-ntsiki-and-chris-had-limpho-mathatha-had-flora/) - THERE are people whose names never make headlines, whose faces are never splashed across newspapers or television screens, but whose lives hold together families, communities, and even history itself. My aunt, Flora Marubini Tsedu, was one of those people. I have struggled to write this tribute because she was not someone who demanded attention. She
- [Court strips NNPC steering committee insider of private jet bought with Chinese contract bribes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/court-strips-nnpc-steering-committee-insider-of-private-jet-bought-with-chinese-contract-bribes/) - A Nigerian court has permanently stripped a Borno State government appointee of a luxury private jet he allegedly purchased using bribe money extracted from a Chinese construction giant awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in federal oil contracts - money that was laundered through a currency dealer who later claimed he knew nothing about the
- ["WE ARE CIVILIANS": M23's reign of terror in Uvira and the long road to justice](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/we-are-civilians-m23s-reign-of-terror-in-uvira-and-the-long-road-to-justice/) - THEY came door to door. Armed, methodical, and merciless. When M23 rebels and Rwandan military forces swept into Uvira on 10 December 2025, they did not merely seize a city - they turned it into a killing field. One man fleeing with his family on that first terrible morning watched four relatives fall as soldiers
- [Race against time: Scientists hunt for Ebola vaccine as Bundibugyo outbreak spreads across eastern DRC](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/race-against-time-scientists-hunt-for-ebola-vaccine-as-bundibugyo-outbreak-spreads-across-eastern-drc/) - HEALTH workers are scrambling to contain a rapidly expanding Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, even as scientists race to fast-track a potential vaccine that remains at least two months away - an eternity in an epidemic already crossing international borders. The World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a public health
- [The World Bank wants to change the way it manages complaints: the fixes that could make it better](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/the-world-bank-wants-to-change-the-way-it-manages-complaints-the-fixes-that-could-make-it-better/) - THE World Bank made history in 1994 by creating the Inspection Panel, the first independent accountability mechanism at any international organisation. Its function is to investigate complaints from communities that allege they were harmed because the bank failed to comply with its own policies and procedures. By establishing the three-member Inspection Panel, the World Bank
- [Mali’s military leader is consolidating power. Why this is dangerous](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/malis-military-leader-is-consolidating-power-why-this-is-dangerous/) - MALIAN officials announced on 4 May 2026 that junta leader General Assimi Goïta would take on the post of defence minister after the killing of General Sadio Camara a week earlier. Camara’s death occurred amid an offensive by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which launched attacks across Mali. Insecurity persists
- [Hantavirus in Africa: why climate change, rats and weak surveillance are worrying scientists](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/hantavirus-in-africa-why-climate-change-rats-and-weak-surveillance-are-worrying-scientists/) - HANTAVIRUSES are not new. They have circulated for decades in rodent populations, particularly in rats and mice. Humans can become infected if they are bitten or scratched by a rodent or by inhaling aerosolised particles. These are tiny bits of rodent urine, faeces or saliva floating through the air that are contaminated by the virus.
- [A nation honours its best: from the rugby field to the laboratory, South Africa counts its giants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/a-nation-honours-its-best-from-the-rugby-field-to-the-laboratory-south-africa-counts-its-giants/) - IN the thirty years since South Africa's democratic Constitution was signed into law, the country has produced a generation of achievers whose contributions have redrawn the boundaries of what is possible - on the rugby field, in the medical laboratory, in the community clinic, and in the halls of international science. On Tuesday, the Presidency
- [Tehran's peace gambit exposes the chasm between ceasefire and settlement](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/tehrans-peace-gambit-exposes-the-chasm-between-ceasefire-and-settlement/) - NEARLY three months after the United States and Israel launched a war that has killed thousands of Iranians and displaced hundreds of thousands across Lebanon, the two sides remain separated by a gulf that diplomatic language can barely bridge. Tehran's latest peace proposal, disclosed publicly on Tuesday, lays bare just how far apart Washington and
- [Arakan Army massacre leaves Rohingya survivors with no justice, no homes and no safe return](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/arakan-army-massacre-leaves-rohingya-survivors-with-no-justice-no-homes-and-no-safe-return/) - TWO years after Arakan Army fighters killed and wounded hundreds of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, survivors remain displaced, their village destroyed, and no one held accountable, Human Rights Watch said. The rights group said the May 2, 2024, attack in Hoyyar Siri, also known as Htan Shauk Khan, exposed the scale of abuse
- [The word ‘Black’ has disappeared from a set of bills aimed at addressing Black maternal health](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-word-black-has-disappeared-from-a-set-of-bills-aimed-at-addressing-black-maternal-health/) - THE word “Black” has been almost completely removed from a package of bills that have long been viewed as Congress’s main legislative vehicle to address the Black maternal health crisis, frustrating some advocates who feel Black women are being erased from the policy. This story was originally reported by Barbara Rodriguez of The 19th. Meet
- [Dangote's multibillion dollar East Africa refinery dream gathers momentum — and powerful enemies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/dangotes-multibillion-dollar-east-africa-refinery-dream-gathers-momentum-and-powerful-enemies/) - THE man who broke the back of Africa's most humiliating energy dependency - importing refined petroleum from the very crude Africa exports raw - is now turning his transformative vision eastward. And the continent is watching with barely contained excitement. Aliko Dangote, the African Energy Chamber's African Energy Person of the Year 2026, has been
- [From the studio to the stage of nation-building: Zakes Bantwini's foundation is a gift to South Africa's future](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/from-the-studio-to-the-stage-of-nation-building-zakes-bantwinis-foundation-is-a-gift-to-south-africas-future/) - THERE is a particular kind of greatness that does not rest at the summit. It turns around, looks down the mountain, and extends a hand. That is the image conjured by the official launch of the Zakes Bantwini Foundation - an event held last weekend at the Saxon Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, that was years
- ['For God and My Country': Among breaks her silence - but the cash speaks louder](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/for-god-and-my-country-among-breaks-her-silence-but-the-cash-speaks-louder/) - SHE closed with the words 'For God and My Country' - the Ugandan national motto, invoked by politicians in moments of deepest patriotic theatre. But for Anita Annet Among, the former Speaker of Uganda's Parliament, the statement represented something far less noble and far more consequential: a full, formal, and irreversible submission. It was Among's
- [Ghana's sovereignty on trial: The Schiphol trap and the battle for MP Frimpong](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghanas-sovereignty-on-trial-the-schiphol-trap-and-the-battle-for-mp-frimpong/) - ON the morning of Sunday, 10 May 2026, a Ghanaian Member of Parliament stepped off a KLM flight at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, passport in hand, family in mind - his wife and children waiting for him in London. He never completed the walk-through immigration. Before the day was done, Kwame Ohene Frimpong, the independent legislator
- [Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia test interoperable cross-border payment system](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/ghana-rwanda-and-zambia-test-interoperable-cross-border-payment-system/) - GHANA, Rwanda, and Zambia are testing a unified digital trade corridor that allows cross-border payments to move instantly across African financial systems. The shift reflects a broader continental push to reduce reliance on external banking intermediaries and build interoperable, Africa-owned financial infrastructure under the African Continental Free Trade Area. “Economic sovereignty in the twenty-first century
- [Africa's infrastructure deficit is not a capital problem. It's an execution problem](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/africas-infrastructure-deficit-is-not-a-capital-problem-its-an-execution-problem/) - TOO often across the developing world, we have seen roads built without industrial corridors, ports expanded without manufacturing zones, and energy infrastructure developed without alignment to industrial demand. The result is infrastructure that is underutilised, economically inefficient, and unable to generate the growth required to sustain long-term returns. Infrastructure delivers its greatest economic impact when
- [Ebola survivors struggle to return to normal lives: what I found out in Sierra Leone and Liberia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/ebola-survivors-struggle-to-return-to-normal-lives-what-i-found-out-in-sierra-leone-and-liberia/) - DURING the Ebola epidemic of 2014 to 2016, Musu, a resident of Monrovia, Liberia, contracted the Ebola virus along with her husband, five sons, and daughter. A few weeks later, six members of her family died. Musu and her youngest son survived. Since then, their lives have not been the same. Her husband was the
- [Trump’s ‘cordial’ Beijing trip has not changed superpower rivalry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trumps-cordial-beijing-trip-has-not-changed-superpower-rivalry/) - DONALD Trump’s appraisal of his recent state visit to China was, typically, positive and self-regarding. At the end of the trip, the US president told reporters that it had achieved “a lot of good” and “fantastic trade deals” had been signed. He concluded that a lot of different problems were settled “that other people wouldn’t
- [More than just a critical blow to Keir Starmer and Labour, local votes signal a dis‑United Kingdom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/more-than-just-a-critical-blow-to-keir-starmer-and-labour-local-votes-signal-a-dis-united-kingdom/) - LOCAL elections in Britain on May 7, 2026 – in which the ruling Labour Party suffered deep losses – revealed tectonic shifts. The two-party system that has been operating there since 1721 has effectively turned into a five-party free-for-all. Reform U.K., the anti-immigrant right-wing party led by Nigel Farage, won 1,453 seats in local councils,
- [A football World Cup is a global cultural exchange. How will that work in Trump’s America?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/a-football-world-cup-is-a-global-cultural-exchange-how-will-that-work-in-trumps-america/) - THE most culturally diverse men’s football World Cup in history is taking place in the United States at a time when foreign nationals feel less and less welcome in the country. The 2026 competition kicks off on 11 June with games in Canada, Mexico, and the US. The US will host by far the largest
- [UGANDA: Ex Speaker fights to stay out of jail](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/uganda-ex-speaker-fights-to-stay-out-of-jail/) - SHE had the throne, the motorcade, and the Rolls-Royce. Now Anita Annet Among - until days ago the most powerful woman in Uganda's Parliament - is battling to keep both her liberty and her backbench seat, after a Museveni-sanctioned, multi-agency raid tore through her palatial Nakasero mansion on Saturday morning in a corruption probe into
- [F1, UFC and LIV Golf: Gayton McKenzie Sets Out Bold Vision for South African Sport](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/f1-ufc-and-liv-golf-gayton-mckenzie-sets-out-bold-vision-for-south-african-sport/) - SOUTH Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has once again made bold promises regarding the future of sport in the country after tabling his departmental budget before Parliament. While reactions to the budget speech were mixed, one thing was clear, McKenzie wants to position South Africa as a major destination for international sporting
- [Killer returns: WHO declares global emergency as deadly Ebola strain sweeps DRC and Uganda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/killer-returns-who-declares-global-emergency-as-deadly-ebola-strain-sweeps-drc-and-uganda/) - A lethal strain of Ebola with no approved treatment or vaccine has forced the World Health Organisation to declare a global public health emergency, as communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda count their dead and brace for what health authorities fear could be a far wider catastrophe than current figures reveal.
- [US, Nigeria kill ISIS global no. 2 in Lake Chad strike - a commander behind decades of terror](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/us-nigeria-kill-isis-global-no-2-in-lake-chad-strike-a-commander-behind-decades-of-terror/) - IN a pre-dawn joint operation conducted Friday night, American and Nigerian military forces eliminated Abu-Bilal al-Minuki — the global second-in-command of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the most wanted militant in West Africa — striking his compound in the Lake Chad Basin in a mission that both governments have described as one of the most
- [RWANDA: Death of a genocide financier buries justice with him](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/rwanda-death-of-a-genocide-financier-buries-justice-with-him/) - FÉLICIEN Kabuga is dead. He was 93. He died in a Dutch hospital on Saturday while in the custody of the United Nations, still technically on trial, still technically innocent - because the law never got to say otherwise. For the survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, that silence is a
- [Three foreign nationals walk free after diamond bust — sentences amount to time served](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/three-foreign-nationals-walk-free-after-diamond-bust-sentences-amount-to-time-served/) - THREE foreign nationals convicted of illegal diamond dealing and related offences in the Northern Cape walked out of the Upington Regional Court as free men last week, with the sentences handed down on 14 May effectively amounting to time already served — a consequence of the more than three years two of the accused spent
- [The Rolls-Royce, the raid and the ruin of Anita Among](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/the-rolls-royce-the-raid-and-the-ruin-of-anita-among/) - SHE arrived at President Yoweri Museveni's seventh-term inauguration on 12 May 2026, draped in a UGX 42.5 million Oscar de la Renta ensemble — yellow-gold, embroidered, imperial. It was, unmistakably, the outfit of a woman who believed herself untouchable. Four days later, her Nakasero home was surrounded by armed police officers, CID investigators, and plainclothes
- [She was the wings beneath his wings](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/she-was-the-wings-beneath-his-wings/) - THERE is a particular kind of greatness that the world rarely stops to celebrate. It does not announce itself with fanfare. It does not seek the spotlight or linger near the podium waiting for applause. It works, instead, in the warm hush of a kitchen at dawn, in the steady reassurance of a goodnight kiss
- [In Sudan, a migrant community reveals a resistance to malaria: the genetic study helping shape medicine](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/in-sudan-a-migrant-community-reveals-a-resistance-to-malaria-the-genetic-study-helping-shape-medicine/) - SUDAN lies at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East. It has played a key role in human demographic movements, reflected in the diversity of its cultures and languages. Although much of the country is arid, the Nile River has long acted as a corridor for trade, facilitating human migration through the region for
- [From beef ribs to a ‘heavenly’ walk: Xi‑Trump summit symbolism underscored American power and Chinese tradition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/from-beef-ribs-to-a-heavenly-walk-xi-trump-summit-symbolism-underscored-american-power-and-chinese-tradition/) - DIPLOMACY often masquerades as theater. And nearly nine years after his first state visit to China, Donald Trump returned to Beijing with an extended cast of characters. Alongside the U.S. president on his May 2026 visit was a senior delegation of politicians, including his secretary of defense, and a phalanx of business leaders and technology
- [The hidden role of export credit in the energy transition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-hidden-role-of-export-credit-in-the-energy-transition/) - FOR most policymakers, export credit agencies (ECAs) are financial tools that boost national companies’ business endeavours abroad. But a recent research project conducted by Philipp Censkowsky, Paul Waidelich, Igor Shishlov, and Bjarne Steffen reveals the profound impact they have on the energy transition. Our study analysed 921 energy-finance deals backed by ECAs from 31 countries
- [The puppet shows bringing storytelling and solace to bomb shelters in Ukraine](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-puppet-shows-bringing-storytelling-and-solace-to-bomb-shelters-in-ukraine/) - AS war threatens to erase everyday life in Ukraine, artists have turned to puppetry, one of the oldest forms of storytelling. Light enough to travel, intimate enough to gather a crowd, and able to capture the attention of children, puppet shows have become resilient tools of resistance, support, and relief for the people of a
- [Africa is not a data mine](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/africa-is-not-a-data-mine/) - GHANA has outrightly rejected a United States-backed health agreement over concerns about privacy, oversight and foreign access to sensitive national health data. According to reports, the deal would have allowed multiple US entities broad access to Ghana's health information systems as part of a wider funding arrangement tied to healthcare support. Ghanaian authorities raised concerns
- [A Nation Bids Farewell With Grace: Botswana honours Festus Mogae, the statesman](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/festus-mogae-the-last-powerful-and-emotional-homecoming-of-a-village-boy-who-went-on-to-become-president/) - THE University of Botswana Indoor Sports Centre fell into a profound hush as President Advocate Duma Boko rose to deliver the eulogy that a nation had waited a week to hear. When he finally spoke, his voice - at times heavy, at times trembling - carried the full weight of a people saying goodbye to
- [UBUNTU: Motsoaledi’s humble walk to a grieving family exposes the human side of powerful politician](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ubuntu-motsoaledis-humble-walk-to-a-grieving-shack-exposes-the-human-side-of-powerful-politician/) - THE black official convoy pulled up quietly on a dusty street in Extension 5, a world away from the polished corridors of the Union Buildings. When Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi stepped out, dressed in black and carrying groceries like a mournful neighbour, he did something rare for a sitting cabinet member: he walked into the
- [The ex-pie guy who could sell you a Rolls-Royce over the phone](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/motoring-news/the-ex-pie-guy-who-could-sell-you-a-rolls-royce-over-the-phone/) - LET'S be honest. When you think "car salesman," you probably picture a man in a slightly-too-shiny suit, hovering at the showroom door like a heat-seeking missile, armed with a handshake that's just a little too firm and a smile that's had professional coaching. You brace yourself. You keep your hands in your pockets. You say
- [Two Ghanaian brothers, US woman indicted for “Romance scam.”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/two-ghanaian-brothers-us-woman-indicted-for-romance-scam/) - THEY gave themselves aliases to match the scale of their deception. Jamal Abubakari went by “Arrangement.” His twin brother Kamal was “Lancaster.” They were building something, alright - not the romantic lives they promised their victims, but a meticulously engineered criminal apparatus that turned loneliness into liquidity. On Thursday, May 14, 2026, the United States
- [Starvation as a weapon of spillover: Somalia’s famine warning exposes the human cost of global indifference](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/starvation-as-a-weapon-of-spillover-somalias-famine-warning-exposes-the-human-cost-of-global-indifference/) - AS the world’s gaze remains fixed on the explosive confrontations in the Middle East, a slower, quieter, but equally lethal catastrophe is swallowing Somalia whole. The fallout from distant wars - not drought alone - is now pushing millions of Somalis toward the precipice of formal famine, exposing a brutal new reality: in a fractured
- [Julius Malema: South Africa’s performative revolutionary is facing his biggest battle](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/julius-malema-south-africas-performative-revolutionary-is-facing-his-biggest-battle/) - JULIUS Malema, the leader of South Africa’s fourth-largest party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is a divisive figure: loved by some, hated by others. Malema made headlines in April 2026 after a lower court found him guilty of illegal possession and discharge of a firearm and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment. He is appealing
- [100 million African children are not in school. What’s driving the trend and how to reverse it](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/100-million-african-children-are-not-in-school-whats-driving-the-trend-and-how-to-reverse-it/) - MANY countries across Africa have embraced universal basic education policies in recent decades. But recent data have revealed that more than 100 million children and adolescents remain out of school, out of a total potential population of 469 million. The latest statistics suggest that after some years of progress, the situation is deteriorating. Education and
- [Better‑designed homes could cut three major child diseases by up to 44% – Tanzania trial](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/better-designed-homes-could-cut-three-major-child-diseases-by-up-to-44-tanzania-trial/) - MALARIA, diarrhoea, and pneumonia are preventable childhood diseases that are major causes of death in young children. They’re transmitted largely in and around the home, where children spend most of their time. For example, around 80% of malaria transmission in Africa occurs when people are bitten by malarial mosquitoes indoors at night. Diarrhoea results usually
- [After an opaque summit, China and the US want to work together again. That might not be good news for the world](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/after-an-opaque-summit-china-and-the-us-want-to-work-together-again-that-might-not-be-good-news-for-the-world/) - BACK in 2005, US economist Fred Bergsten coined the term “Group of 2” or “G2”, proposing a stronger partnership between what are now the world’s two largest economies – the United States and China. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, a few years later, economic cooperation between these two countries briefly seemed to
- [Patrick Radden Keefe investigates Russian money in London through a teenager’s suspicious death](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/patrick-radden-keefe-investigates-russian-money-in-london-through-a-teenagers-suspicious-death/) - NEW Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe has become one of a small number of narrative non-fiction writers whose latest book is keenly anticipated. He has become such a byword for a certain kind of investigative reporting, he even cameoed as himself in the final scene of HBO hit series, Industry, this year. His fifth
- [Nigeria: fugitive ex-minister sentenced to 75 years for $21 million power sector looting - INTERPOL hunt begins](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigeria-fugitive-ex-minister-sentenced-to-75-years-for-21-million-power-sector-looting-interpol-hunt-begins/) - NIGERIA’S Federal High Court has handed down one of the country's starkest anti-corruption verdicts in recent memory, sentencing former Minister of Power Saleh Mamman to 75 years in prison for laundering more than N33.8 billion - approximately $21 million - in public funds meant for flagship electricity projects. The conviction and sentence were delivered in
- ['I went in the middle of the night. My abuser never spent a day in a cell.'](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/i-went-in-the-middle-of-the-night-my-abuser-never-spent-a-day-in-a-cell/) - She had spent the entire night at Isange One Stop Centre in Kacyiru, doing everything she was told. The medical examination. The psychological assessment. The questions from a male officer whose tone, at first, made her want to walk out the door. She stayed because a friend beside her said: You're traumatised, give him a
- [Ramaphosa acts: Tolashe fired in the sharpest test yet of GNU accountability](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ramaphosa-acts-tolashe-fired-in-the-sharpest-test-yet-of-gnu-accountability/) - IT came without ceremony. A single paragraph. The invocation of section 91(2) of the Constitution. The name. The portfolio. The end. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dismissal of Social Development Minister Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe, announced by the Presidency on Thursday, 14 May 2026, was the kind of spare, institutional language that belies the seismic weight of what
- [Blue light, black consequence: The blood price of South Africa’s untouchable convoys](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/blue-light-black-consequence-the-blood-price-of-south-africas-untouchable-convoys/) - ON the morning of Saturday, 9 May 2026, Beauty Shoperai, 37, did what any wife and mother would do. She heard that her husband, Paul Masunda, had been struck and killed by a vehicle on the N1 highway near Bela-Bela in Limpopo. She ran — back across that highway, baby strapped to her back, a
- [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa: how they stack up on reusing waste](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/brazil-russia-india-china-and-south-africa-how-they-stack-up-on-reusing-waste/) - THE global economy still largely follows a simple pattern: extract natural resources, manufacture products, use them, and then throw them away. This “take, make, dispose” model has driven economic growth for decades. But increasing use of resources has also damaged the environment, contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Circular economies could be a
- [Love, quest, adventure: the storytelling behind Xi Jinping’s speeches and China’s grand strategy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/love-quest-adventure-the-storytelling-behind-xi-jinpings-speeches-and-chinas-grand-strategy/) - FOR many in the West, China still feels hard to fully understand. Public debate and media coverage too often focus on the “China threat”. Critics highlight the flaws of China’s political system and limits on freedom, yet China has still managed to rise as a major power that can now compete with the United States.
- [Baloch insurgency: Suicide bombs and uptick in violence threaten Pakistan, regional security](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/baloch-insurgency-suicide-bombs-and-uptick-in-violence-threaten-pakistan-regional-security/) - IN the space of 10 days in late April 2026, insurgents in Pakistan purportedly carried out 27 attacks in the country’s southwest province of Balochistan, killing at least 42 military personnel. Then, on May 11, authorities announced that a suicide bombing plot on the capital, Islamabad, had been foiled. Authorities arrested a girl over the
- [Ghana’s xenophobia paradox: Evacuating citizens from SA while raiding migrants at home](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghanas-xenophobia-paradox-evacuating-citizens-from-sa-while-raiding-migrants-at-home/) - IN a striking demonstration of Africa’s fractured migration politics, Ghana is simultaneously executing two opposing state functions: airlifting 300 of its citizens out of South Africa to escape alleged xenophobic violence, while its security forces raid domestic slums to arrest and deport illegal immigrants of other nationalities. The dual-track policy, approved by Foreign Minister Sam
- [Fearful, diminished and isolated: what this year’s Victory Day parade in Moscow tells us about Russia’s war against Ukraine](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/fearful-diminished-and-isolated-what-this-years-victory-day-parade-in-moscow-tells-us-about-russias-war-against-ukraine/) - THE military parade through Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, “Victory Day”, is the pinnacle of Russia’s annual celebrations marking the end of the Second World War. Televised live and watched by millions, including invited foreign dignitaries, the Victory Day parade is all about showcasing Russia’s status and pride. The first Victory Day parade was
- [The song of Maria McCloy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-song-of-maria-mccloy-tribute/) - Maria McCloy was a celebrated publicist and creative veteran, who was a cultural ambassador of South Africa's creative sector and underground musicians.
- [South Africa's farms under siege: How cartels turned rural land into narco laboratories](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/south-africas-farms-under-siege-how-cartels-turned-rural-land-into-narco-laboratories/) - WHEN South African Police Service officers swept into Portion 45, Farm Brakspruit, near Swartruggens in the North West Province on Tuesday, they did not find tractors, grain, or livestock. They found an industrial-scale narcotics laboratory - chemicals, processing equipment, and drugs estimated at a street value of R100 million. Eleven people were arrested, among them
- [A son of Africa at the Green Hell: Jonathan Mogotsi set to make history at the Nürburgring 24-hour race](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/motoring-news/a-son-of-africa-at-the-green-hell-jonathan-mogotsi-set-to-make-history-at-the-nurburgring-24-hour-race/) - THERE is a road in the Eifel highlands of western Germany that has swallowed the ambitions of the boldest drivers in the history of motorsport. Carved through pine forests and fog-draped ridgelines, the Nürburgring Nordschleife - 25.378 kilometres of blind crests, savage compressions, and corners that punish the slightest lapse in concentration - has earned
- [The long goodbye: A nation bids a quiet giant farewell](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-long-goodbye-a-nation-bids-a-quiet-giant-farewell/) - IN life, Festus Mogae shunned the thunder of strongmen. In death, he has orchestrated the most powerful of finales: a nation’s spontaneous, unscripted embrace of a man who proved that humility is the highest form of strength. For ten years, he sat in the highest office. But as Botswana began filing past his open perspex
- [The last curtain call: A nation weeps for Alexx Ekubo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-last-curtain-call-a-nation-weeps-for-alexx-ekubo/) - THE news did not creep in; it crashed. Like a furious harmattan wind sweeping through the market stalls of Lagos, the whisper turned into a wail on Tuesday, May 13, 2026. Alexx Ekubo, the dazzling light of Nollywood, had taken his final bow at just 40 years old. For a man who had been silent
- [Climate disasters don’t just destroy homes, they change lives forever. We spoke with cyclone survivors in Zimbabwe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/climate-disasters-dont-just-destroy-homes-they-change-lives-forever-we-spoke-with-cyclone-survivors-in-zimbabwe/) - WHEN environmental hazards strike, the damage is usually counted in numbers: how many people died, how many homes were destroyed, how many people were displaced, and how much money it will take to rebuild. But not all losses and damage can be measured in financial terms. Some of the most profound impacts of climate-induced disasters
- [Africa has the world’s greatest genetic diversity, yet it’s missing from research: we’re filling the gap](https://theafricanmirror.africa/science-tech-and-innovation/africa-has-the-worlds-greatest-genetic-diversity-yet-its-missing-from-research-were-filling-the-gap/) - THROUGHOUT history, most of the world’s genomic research has relied on DNA data from people of European ancestry. A genome is the full DNA code of about three billion (a thousand million) bases, including all the chromosomes. Each person has two genomes: one from their mother and the other from their father. Well-resourced environments favour
- [Trump‑Xi summit: 3 ways the US and China can compete without going to war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trump-xi-summit-3-ways-the-us-and-china-can-compete-without-going-to-war/) - US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing this week may ease tensions at the margins of the US–China rivalry. But it will not change a central fact: neither side can escape the rivalry, and neither side can decisively win it. The biggest challenge for Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is whether they can compete
- [She did everything she could to prevent the breakup of a majority-Black congressional district](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/she-did-everything-she-could-to-prevent-the-breakup-of-a-majority-black-congressional-district/) - AS the Tennessee legislature held a special session this week to redraw its congressional map to break up a majority-Black district in Memphis, state Sen. Charlane Oliver did everything she could to broadcast that what was happening was not normal. This story was originally reported by Amanda Becker of The 19th. Meet Amanda and read
- [7 films to help you understand Iranian women’s fight for freedom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/7-films-to-help-you-understand-iranian-womens-fight-for-freedom/) - FOR women in Iran, life changed dramatically after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The new Islamic Republic of Iran enforced compulsory veiling, legalised polygamy, severely restricted women’s rights to divorce and child custody, lowered the minimum marriage age for girls, and gave husbands legal authority over their wives’ movements and sexual autonomy. These conditions led to
- [South Africa's highest court shuts the gate on repeat asylum claims](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/no-more-revolving-door-south-africas-highest-court-shuts-the-gate-on-repeat-asylum-claims/) - SOUTH Africa's Constitutional Court - the highest court in the land, whose word on matters of asylum is absolute and final - has handed down a landmark ruling today that strikes at the heart of a long-running controversy over the misuse of the country's refugee protection system. In Director-General, Department of Home Affairs and Others
- [Hantavirus: Zimbabwe, South Africa move to contain a crisis - while the world watches](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/hantavirus-at-the-gates-zimbabwe-and-south-africa-move-to-contain-a-crisis-while-the-world-watches/) - IT began with a bird-watching excursion on the remote island of Saint Helena - and it ended, for three people, in death. For the rest of the world, the outbreak of the Andes hantavirus strain aboard the Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has become the most alarming new pathogen event of 2026: a rare,
- [SILENCE BY DECREE: How Kinshasa is criminalising dissent as DRC burns](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/silence-by-decree-how-kinshasa-is-criminalising-dissent-as-drc-burns/) - IN a country already bleeding from one of the continent's most devastating armed conflicts, the government of Félix Tshisekedi has chosen to open a second front - this one directed inward, against the men and women who report, protest, organise, and dissent. The Democratic Republic of Congo is silencing its own conscience. That is the
- [Tourism growth places focus on jobs, trade and policy, expert says](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/tourism-growth-places-focus-on-jobs-trade-and-policy-expert-says/) - AFRICA'S Travel Indaba 2026 is being held in KwaZulu-Natal from 11 to 14 May, drawing participation from more than 22 African countries. Attention is squarely on tourism’s role in driving jobs, trade, and economic growth across South Africa and the continent. Prof. Elmarie Slabbert, research director of Tourism Research in Economics, Environs and Society (TREES)
- [Kenya securitises smallholder farm loans in bid to unlock institutional finance](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/kenya-securitises-smallholder-farm-loans-in-bid-to-unlock-institutional-finance/) - KENYA is testing whether smallholder farm lending can be transformed into a capital-markets asset class, using local-currency securitization and data-driven risk models to attract institutional investors into agriculture. The move signals a broader shift across Africa, where governments, fintech firms, and development financiers are building new financial infrastructure for farming, from warehouse receipt systems to
- [Pensions for Botswana’s elderly are growing, but care services are lacking – study tracks 20 years](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/pensions-for-botswanas-elderly-are-growing-but-care-services-are-lacking-study-tracks-20-years/) - BOTSWANA’S economy is projected to contract by 0.4% in 2026, driven largely by a slowdown in the diamond sector. Diamonds account for a third of fiscal revenues and a quarter of GDP. This means the government has less money to spend, even before making any policy choices. At the same time, the government has set
- [What’s stopping kids from learning useful skills? Short answer: exams](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/whats-stopping-kids-from-learning-useful-skills-short-answer-exams/) - ACROSS Africa and beyond, education systems are shifting to curricula designed to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Competency-based curricula put learners at the centre. They are meant to prepare students for a rapidly changing world, where success depends on the ability to adapt, think critically, and solve complex problems. Unlike traditional curricula, which often
- [Riding Waves, Rewriting Futures: The Surfer Changing Girls’ Lives in Senegal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/riding-waves-rewriting-futures-the-surfer-changing-girls-lives-in-senegal/) - THE water off Ngor is moving in slow, regular sets as if it is breathing, folding and unfolding under a pale Atlantic sky. Light scatters across its surface, breaking into shifting patterns that blur the line between wave and horizon. A small group of girls is already out beyond the shore break, boards angled beneath
- [Trump‑Xi summit will be no ‘Nixon in China’ moment – that they are talking is enough for now](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trump-xi-summit-will-be-no-nixon-in-china-moment-that-they-are-talking-is-enough-for-now/) - MEETINGS between Chinese and American leaders are not exactly routine, but few are historically groundbreaking. The exceptions include the very first visit by a sitting U.S. president to China, when Richard Nixon met with Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing in February 1972 – at a time when America did not even formally recognize the People’s
- [Why Nairobi Africa‑France summit bears the hallmarks of Macron and Ruto priorities](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-nairobi-africa-france-summit-bears-the-hallmarks-of-macron-and-ruto-priorities/) - THE 2026 Africa-France summit in Nairobi on May 11-12 is the first to be held in an African country that is not a former French colony. It is also the first to be held since the dramatic collapse of relations between France and a number of West African countries – notably Mali, Burkina Faso, and
- [Ramaphosa: I am not resigning, defying calls from opposition parties](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ramaphosa-i-am-not-resigning-defying-calls-from-opposition-parties/) - PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has told South Africans he will not resign in the wake of the Constitutional Court's landmark ruling that Parliament acted unconstitutionally when it blocked the Section 89 Independent Panel report, saying he intends to take the parliamentary panel's findings on review. Addressing the nation following the Constitutional Court judgment handed down on
- [Those who govern must listen: why power without wisdom is a path to ruin](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/those-who-govern-must-listen-why-power-without-wisdom-is-a-path-to-ruin/) - THERE is a particular species of political tragedy that is worse than the tragedy caused by enemies. It is the tragedy caused by leaders who had the wisdom of counsel at their disposal and set it aside in favour of factional comfort and institutional self-preservation. It is the tragedy of the avoidable. Thabo Mbeki's March
- [The long game: How Ramaphosa's review gambit could outlast his presidency](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-long-game-how-ramaphosas-review-gambit-could-outlast-his-presidency/) - THERE is a particular South African political art form - born of a constitutional democracy that is simultaneously robust and deeply contested - of turning a legal instrument into a clock. Cyril Ramaphosa, a man who has spent his political life reading rooms, calendars, and constitutional texts with unusual precision, appears to have reached, once
- [Mercy mission: Ghana rescues 28 nationals from West Africa's human trafficking web - but hundreds remain trapped](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/mercy-mission-ghana-rescues-28-nationals-from-west-africas-human-trafficking-web-but-hundreds-remain-trapped/) - GHANA's Foreign Affairs Ministry has announced the successful rescue and repatriation of 28 of its nationals from Côte d'Ivoire, where they had been held captive by a sophisticated human trafficking syndicate that had lured them across West African borders under the false promise of a new life in Europe. The government's confirmation, delivered through Foreign
- [UN Chief Guterres delivers fiery rebuke of global finance, champions permanent African seat on Security Council](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/un-chief-guterres-delivers-fiery-rebuke-of-global-finance-champions-permanent-african-seat-on-security-council/) - UN Secretary-General António Guterres has unleashed a scathing indictment of the world's financial architecture, slamming it as "deeply unfair" for saddling African nations with borrowing costs three times higher than those of wealthy countries – even as many boast stronger growth prospects and financial stability. Speaking at the inauguration of the United Nations Nairobi Expansion
- [Ramaphosa condemns xenophobic 'lawlessness,' vows mass deportations as Africa demands AU probe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ramaphosa-condemns-xenophobic-lawlessness-vows-mass-deportations-as-africa-demands-au-probe/) - PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a forceful condemnation of violence against foreign nationals as criminal opportunism, while vowing escalated deportations and border enforcement - amid a diplomatic row with African nations over attacks on their citizens. In a letter titled "Everyone in South Africa must respect and uphold our laws”, Ramaphosa rejects the protests as
- [Cameroon’s sacred and royal animals: could literature and futures thinking help save them?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/literature/cameroons-sacred-and-royal-animals-could-literature-and-futures-thinking-help-save-them/) - IN the grasslands and highlands of western Cameroon, some animals are believed to be sacred. Within the region’s indigenous kingdoms (fondoms), many of these animals are also considered to be royal. They include wild cats (like cheetahs, leopards, lions), buffaloes, elephants, porcupines, cowries (sea snails), and a brightly coloured bird called the Bannerman’s turaco. These
- [South Africans are far less tolerant of migrants than before – hotspots, drivers and solutions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/south-africans-are-far-less-tolerant-of-migrants-than-before-hotspots-drivers-and-solutions/) - ANTI-IMMIGRANT marches in several major South African cities (such as Tshwane and Johannesburg) in early May 2026 once again led to questions being asked about xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. In the wake of the protests, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on South Africans to embrace solidarity with their African neighbours. For their part, foreign governments
- [Is all my struggle going to be wasted?’ Ghana study explores how mothers feel about early births](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/is-all-my-struggle-going-to-be-wasted-ghana-study-explores-how-mothers-feel-about-early-births/) - ABOUT 10% of births – that’s about 15 million babies – are born prematurely worldwide each year, making preterm births a major global health concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines preterm birth as delivery before 37 completed weeks of gestation. Estimates suggest that the preterm figure is much higher in low-income countries. Preterm births
- [A precedent written in blood: Australia's first crimes against humanity trial tests the limits of justice, compassion, and state accountability](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/a-precedent-written-in-blood-australias-first-crimes-against-humanity-trial-tests-the-limits-of-justice-compassion-and-state-accountability/) - ON 7 and 8 May 2026, Australian federal authorities crossed a constitutional threshold that had stood uncrossed for twenty-four years. Three women - returning nationals who spent more than seven years detained without charge in the dust and disease of northeast Syrian desert camps - were brought before Australian courts on charges that have never
- [China has played a key role in the Iran war – and will continue to do so](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/china-has-played-a-key-role-in-the-iran-war-and-will-continue-to-do-so/) - DONALD Trump has paused “Project Freedom”, the US operation aimed at restoring commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on social media just days after the operation was first announced, Trump said he had made the decision to give US negotiators time to reach an agreement with Iran to end the war.
- [What Ghana’s foreign‑built landmarks tell us about its global relationships](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/what-ghanas-foreign-built-landmarks-tell-us-about-its-global-relationships/) - THE call to prayer echoes across the neighbourhood as people congregate under the sweeping domes and tall minarets of Ghana’s National Mosque in Accra. For many, it is a place of faith, community, and national pride. Yet, few pause to consider that this landmark – now firmly part of Accra’s skyline – was funded and
- [Senegal's Faye blocks Sonko's comeback bill, opening succession battle at the top](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/senegals-faye-blocks-sonkos-comeback-bill-opening-succession-battle-at-the-top/) - SENEGAL'S President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has refused to sign into law electoral amendments that would have cleared the way for Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to contest the 2029 presidential election, sending the bill back to parliament in a move widely interpreted as the opening shot in a succession war between Africa's two most closely watched
- [Growing calls for justice as Rwandan dissident Aimable Karasira dies in state custody](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/growing-calls-for-justice-as-rwandan-dissident-aimable-karasira-dies-in-state-custody/) - AIMABLE Karasira had signed his release papers. His family was on its way to collect him. Five years of imprisonment - years scarred by alleged torture, medical neglect, and a prosecution that sought to silence him with a 30-year sentence - were finally behind him. Then, on the night of 6 May 2026, he was
- [Queen of the hill: Ajon, ambition and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/queen-of-the-hill-ajon-ambition-and-a-rolls-royce-cullinan/) - THERE is a word in the Teso language of eastern Uganda — Aicerit na Okide — which means, roughly, a woman of strength and purpose. The people of Bukedea District use it to describe their queen, their TOTO, their mother: Anita Annet Among, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda. The rest of
- [South Africa's financial regulator sounds the alarm on AI: 'The risks are significant and we want them understood'](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/south-africas-financial-regulator-sounds-the-alarm-on-ai-the-risks-are-significant-and-we-want-them-understood/) - SOUTH Africa's top financial sector regulator has issued one of its starkest public warnings yet about the risks posed by artificial intelligence to banking, insurance, and capital markets - cautioning that the speed of AI adoption across the continent's financial institutions is running well ahead of the regulatory and risk-management frameworks designed to contain it.
- [Our Ocean, Our Future: Why Kenya is calling the world to act](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/our-ocean-our-future-why-kenya-is-calling-the-world-to-act/) - THE Our Ocean Conference was created with a simple but powerful ambition: to move the world from conversation to action for the ocean. Since its inception in 2014, the conference has mobilised governments, the private sector, civil society, and communities to make concrete, measurable commitments that protect ocean health while supporting sustainable development. Over the
- [It's hot at the top: Faye and Sonko open battle for Senegal's soul - and its presidency](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/its-hot-at-the-top-faye-and-sonko-open-battle-for-senegals-soul-and-its-presidency/) - WHEN Bassirou Diomaye Faye walked out of Rebeuss Prison on 24 March 2024, just hours before polls opened on the day that would make him the youngest president in Senegalese history, few could have imagined that within two years he and his liberator, political godfather and now Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, would be locked in
- [In exile and under fire, Sudanese journalists win the world’s top press freedom honour](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/in-exile-and-under-fire-sudanese-journalists-win-the-worlds-top-press-freedom-honour/) - THEY reported from rubble, from rooftops, from exile. Some transmitted dispatches while sheltering from drone strikes. Others disappeared into the silence of a war that has swallowed whole cities and shuttered newsrooms across a country the size of Western Europe. On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural
- [Trump and Lula at the White House: a relationship built on pragmatism and a broader regional calculus](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trump-and-lula-at-the-white-house-a-relationship-built-on-pragmatism-and-a-broader-regional-calculus/) - FOR about three hours of closed-door talks between Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and US President Donald Trump at the White House on May 7, 2026, many observers in the two countries held their breath. Since there was no official joint statement or press conference, they did not know what to expect. Despite
- ["You will not encounter them": WHO chief writes directly to the people of Tenerife over hantavirus ship crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/you-will-not-encounter-them-who-chief-writes-directly-to-the-people-of-tenerife-over-hantavirus-ship-crisis/) - IT is not common for me to write directly to the people of a single community, but today I feel it is not only appropriate, but it is also necessary. I want to speak to you directly, not through press releases or technical briefings, but as one human being to another, because you deserve that.
- [What Iran’s absence from the Venice Biennale reveals about art and politics](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/what-irans-absence-from-the-venice-biennale-reveals-about-art-and-politics/) - JUST days before the opening of the 2026 Venice Biennale, organisers announced that Iran would no longer participate. A short statement posted to the Venice Biennale website on May 4 said: “With regard to the National Participations in the 61st International Art Exhibition…it has been announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not participate.”
- [Wicknell Chivayo: Not a person of interest in SA. Just an interesting person. (He swears.)](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/wicknell-chivayo-not-a-person-of-interest-in-sa-just-an-interesting-person-he-swears/) - THERE are men who, when accused of nothing in particular, say nothing. Then there is “Sir” Wicknell Chivayo. When the internet whispered his name in connection with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent private visit to Zimbabwe - a visit that generated more conspiracy theories than a Davos after-party - Chivayo did not retain a lawyer, issue
- [Pan-African solidarity on trial: How a viral video threatens Ghana-SA relations](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/pan-african-solidarity-on-trial-how-a-viral-video-threatens-ghana-sa-relations/) - THE diplomatic relationship between South Africa and Ghana - two of the continent's most consequential democracies - has arrived at a precipice that few in either Accra or Pretoria had anticipated just two weeks earlier. What began as a viral social media video of a Ghanaian man being humiliated and ordered to leave South Africa
- [All aboard the Gautrain Couture Express](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/beauty-and-fashion/all-aboard-the-gautrain-couture-express/) - NOBODY told the commuter at Park Station that Thursday morning that he would become an accidental front-row guest at one of the most unexpected fashion moments in South African history. He was just trying to get to Sandton. He had a nine o'clock. He had a cortado in one hand and mild existential dread in
- [The quiet giant: How humility built a nation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-quiet-giant-how-humility-built-a-nation/) - THERE is a particular kind of power that does not announce itself. It does not thunder into rooms or demand the orchestration of applause. It enters quietly, does its work with precision, and leaves the institution stronger than it found it. Festus Gontebanye Mogae, Botswana's third president, who died in the early hours of Friday
- [Working from home in Nigeria: study finds women don’t have much choice](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/working-from-home-in-nigeria-study-finds-women-dont-have-much-choice/) - NIGERIAN women of working age are mostly (90%) self-employed. By comparison, self-employment accounts for less than 16% of employment in high-income countries such as the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It is far lower in middle-income countries like South Africa and Turkey, too. Official statistics show that self-employment in Nigeria is concentrated in
- [The Constitution’s reckoning: The man who built the law now faces its full force](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-constitutions-reckoning-the-man-who-built-the-law-now-faces-its-full-force/) - ON 8 May 1996, a young Cyril Ramaphosa stood before the Constitutional Assembly in Cape Town and called South Africa’s newly minted supreme law “our new nation’s birth certificate.” The apartheid securocrats, he noted with evident wonder, were sitting next to the people they had once labelled terrorists. The gallery was full. The country was
- [WHO draws firm line: Hantavirus outbreak is not a pandemic in the making](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/who-draws-firm-line-hantavirus-outbreak-is-not-a-pandemic-in-the-making/) - THE World Health Organization has moved decisively to contain not just a deadly outbreak of hantavirus aboard a Dutch cruise liner, but the gathering panic around it, issuing an unambiguous public health verdict: this virus does not spread like COVID-19, and the risk to the general population remains, in the agency's own words, "absolutely low."
- [Iran war has shown the limits of US power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/iran-war-has-shown-the-limits-of-us-power/) - IN his 1873 book On War, the great Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz wrote that: “War is the realm of uncertainty.” He would have been at home in Washington this week, where Clausewitz’s “fog of war” appears to have descended on the White House, at times obscuring reality. On Tuesday, the US Secretary of
- [Russia’s pared‑down Victory Day parade tells a story: Away from the pomp, war in Ukraine is not going to Putin’s plan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/russias-pared-down-victory-day-parade-tells-a-story-away-from-the-pomp-war-in-ukraine-is-not-going-to-putins-plan/) - VICTORY Day in Russia, which marks the surrender of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union, has long held particular importance in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Yet this year, the May 9 celebration – usually replete with extensive parades across the country and a demonstration of military hardware in Moscow – is expected to be significantly pared
- [Zimbabwe steps into lithium processing as Africa’s raw mineral export bans take hold](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/zimbabwe-steps-into-lithium-processing-as-africas-raw-mineral-export-bans-take-hold/) - ZIMBABWE is emerging as a live test case for whether export bans can convert mineral wealth into a domestic industry after the country began shipping its first locally processed lithium products. The milestone is sharpening a broader continental question: whether similar policies can actually pull processing investment into African markets or simply disrupt export flows
- [The social media pharaoh of Ouagadougou: how Traoré's propaganda machine conceals a nation under siege](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-social-media-pharaoh-of-ouagadougou-how-traores-propaganda-machine-conceals-a-nation-under-siege/) - THERE is a version of Ibrahim Traoré that his communications apparatus works overtime to project onto the world: the young, Che Guevara-capped Pan-Africanist, unbowed by France, unbeholden to the West, leading a genuine popular revolution in one of the world's poorest countries. On social media, this version of Traoré is ubiquitous. Memes are minted, anthems
- [Rwandan granny and ex-first lady in her late 80s face probe in France for genocide crimes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/rwandan-granny-and-ex-first-lady-in-her-late-80s-face-probe-in-france-for-genocide-crimes/) - SHE is in her late eighties. She has lived for more than three decades in France, in comfort, far from the red soil of Rwanda. But this week, the long arm of justice reached across time and geography once more, as France's Paris Court of Appeal ruled that criminal investigations against former Rwandan first lady
- [Soweto Marathon under fire as Gerda Steyn, Joseph Seutloali still unpaid](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/athletics/soweto-marathon-under-fire-as-gerda-steyn-joseph-seutloali-still-unpaid/) - MANFRED Seidler, the Hollywood Athletics Club (HAC) manager, has reiterated that the athletes’ livelihoods are affected in the cases of prize money not being paid on time, or at all, including the case of the 2025 Soweto Marathon, where HAC’s athletes, including Gerda Steyn and Joseph Seutloali, have yet to receive their prize money. African Bank Almost
- [Trump administration claiming a ‘win’ against Iran – here’s a report card](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trump-administration-claiming-a-win-against-iran-heres-a-report-card/) - TWO months into the war in Iran, the reasons the US gave for launching this conflict – and Washington’s minimum criteria for claiming success – now appear unintelligible. So much so that US officials are now arguing the war had actually ended in America’s favour almost a month ago, when the ceasefire came into effect.
- [She cared for America’s children. She’s also reshaping our democracy.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/she-cared-for-americas-children-shes-also-reshaping-our-democracy/) - ADRIANA George immigrated to the United States from the Caribbean at 21 years old and soon found community in her new home, doing the work she loved as a nanny in New York City. This story was originally reported by Errin Haines of The 19th. Meet Errin and read more of their reporting on gender,
- [Themes of peace and human dignity have been central to Pope Leo as he marks his first year in office](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/themes-of-peace-and-human-dignity-have-been-central-to-pope-leo-as-he-marks-his-first-year-in-office/) - WHEN he was elected pope on May 8, 2025, Robert Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV, greeted the crowd with Christ’s words to his disciples: “Peace be with you.” Peace has become a central theme of the pontificate of the first American pope. In recent months, opposing the war in the Middle East, Leo
- [SULTANA طانة Queen of Pain and Pride](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/sultana-طانة-queen-of-pain-and-pride/) - EDITOR'S NOTE: IN Arabic, Sultana means a woman of authority - a queen, a noble female ruler. The woman whose story follows was named Sultana by people who could not yet know the terrible regal weight the name would carry. She ruled nothing but the love of her children. She commanded nothing but her own
- [Africa calls for $25m heritage fund boost, as it marks 20 years of continental cultural drive](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-calls-for-25m-heritage-fund-boost-as-it-marks-20-years-of-continental-cultural-drive/) - SOUTH Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile has called on African governments, development finance institutions, and the private sector to fully mobilise a $25 million endowment for the African World Heritage Fund, warning that the continent's cultural and natural legacy remained chronically underfunded two decades after the Fund's establishment. Speaking at the 10th African World Heritage
- [Uganda passes softened 'Sovereignty Bill' but critics warn law still threatens civil liberties](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/uganda-passes-softened-sovereignty-bill-but-critics-warn-law-still-threatens-civil-liberties/) - UGANDA'S parliament has passed the Protection of Sovereignty Bill, 2026, enacting into law a piece of legislation that critics say could be weaponised to silence dissent - even as last-minute amendments stripped out some of its most contentious provisions. The bill now awaits the signature of President Yoweri Museveni, who is expected to assent. The
- ['We are one people': Ramaphosa scrambles to calm a continent as Pretoria's migrant crisis goes diplomatic](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/we-are-one-people-ramaphosa-scrambles-to-calm-a-continent-as-pretorias-migrant-crisis-goes-diplomatic/) - PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa stood in the gardens of Mahlamba Ndlopfu and delivered what amounted to a plea to the continent: judge South Africa not by the mobs in its streets, but by the soul of its liberation history. Flanking him was Mozambican President Daniel Francisco Chapo, whose very presence in Pretoria illustrated precisely how badly
- [South Africa and Brazil: Parallels and Similarities](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/south-africa-and-brazil-parallels-and-similarities/) - TO many of my interlocutors, it comes as a big surprise when I tell them of the many parallels and similarities between South Africa and Brazil. South Africa shares more historical parallels and present-day characteristics with Brazil than any other country in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this short paper, I will make no attempt to sketch
- [A new rhythm for Kigali as rap takes the stage](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/a-new-rhythm-for-kigali-as-rap-takes-the-stage/) - ANGELL Mutoni, known by her stage name as Angell, stands before a wall-length mirror in a rehearsal studio in Nyamirambo, running through the final lines of her performance. She looks confident and professional. Chin lifted, shoulders squared, eyes locked straight ahead. The verses spoken out loud land flawlessly. "I've been told that I look like
- [Africa turns gold refineries into reserve diversification engines](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/africa-turns-gold-refineries-into-reserve-diversification-engines/) - UGANDA’S foreign exchange reserves have risen by nearly 70%, according to the Bank of Uganda, as the country combines capital inflows with a new strategy of purchasing domestically refined gold to diversify its reserve assets. The shift reflects a broader trend across Africa, where central banks are increasingly linking gold refining and local value chains
- [Mozambique’s economy is failing: the tough policy choices that need to be made urgently](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/mozambiques-economy-is-failing-the-tough-policy-choices-that-need-to-be-made-urgently/) - MOZAMBIQUE is not in total crisis – but it is faltering. There has been no currency crash, no hyperinflation, no bank run. But over the past decade, the main indicators of the country’s economic health have severely eroded. An IMF assessment in early 2026 was remarkably blunt: public debt is unsustainably high, the external balance
- [380 dead, millions displaced: Lebanon's ceasefire is a lie in practice, says UN](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/380-dead-millions-displaced-lebanons-ceasefire-is-a-lie-in-practice-says-un/) - CEASEFIRE that was supposed to silence the guns in Lebanon has done little to stop the killing. Since the truce between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah came into force on 17 April, at least 380 people have been killed, more than a million and a half displaced civilians cannot return to their homes, and
- [‘No fear of roaring lions’: Iran has a long history of standing firm against outside aggressors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/no-fear-of-roaring-lions-iran-has-a-long-history-of-standing-firm-against-outside-aggressors/) - US President Donald Trump’s threats against Iran since the war began have targeted not just the country’s military capabilities, but its entire civilisation. In recent days, he has threatened that Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” if it attacks US ships trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He’s previously pledged
- [Cambodia's appeals court entrenches crackdown on dissent, UN warns of judicial overreach](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/cambodias-appeals-court-entrenches-crackdown-on-dissent-un-warns-of-judicial-overreach/) - PHNON Penh's appeals court has upheld a draconian 27-year prison sentence against Kem Sokha, Cambodia's former opposition leader, alongside convictions for 33 activists, human rights defenders, and social media users - signaling a deepening authoritarian grip that the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) brands as a blatant violation of international law. The rulings, announced this
- [BOTSWANA'S GEM: 140 carats, one famous friend, and a career most gemstones can only dream of](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/botswana-beyonces-best-friend-has-140-carats-and-a-very-impressive-resume/) - BOTSWANA is having a moment. Actually, scratch that - Botswana is having a year. A mere few days ago, 102 million pairs of eyes from every corner of the globe were locked onto this landlocked Southern African nation as it staged the World Athletics Relay Championships - the first time the continent of Africa had
- [Reflections on Winnie Mandela, her legacy, and Netflix's 'The Trials of Winnie Mandela'](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/reflections-on-winnie-mandela-her-legacy-and-netflixs-the-trials-of-winnie-mandela/) - WATCHING Netflix's 'The Trials of Winnie Mandela' has brought back a cascade of memories - some joyful, some painful, all deeply personal. As someone who stood beside Mama Winnie in her darkest hours, who witnessed her strength when others abandoned her, I feel compelled to share what the cameras cannot fully capture: the woman I
- [Mali’s armed groups fill a government vacuum – addressing this is key to ending the violence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/malis-armed-groups-fill-a-government-vacuum-addressing-this-is-key-to-ending-the-violence/) - MALI has been in a state of political turmoil since 2012. That year saw a military coup as well as armed groups taking over the northern regions of the West African country. In the intervening years, efforts at establishing transitional governments have failed, culminating in the military junta dissolving and banning all political parties in
- [SA Home Affairs officials arrested for fraudulent selling of citizenship to Zimbabwean, Mozambican nationals](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-home-affairs-officials-arrested-for-fraudulent-selling-of-citizenship-to-zimbabwean-mozambican-nationals/) - TWO former employees of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in South Africa were remanded in custody on Monday after their appearance before the Secunda Magistrate's Court on charges of identity theft and fraud, in a case that has exposed a systematic racket through which South African citizenship documents were allegedly sold to undocumented foreign
- [WHO moves to contain hantavirus outbreak as British patient fights for life in Joburg hospital](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/who-moves-to-contain-hantavirus-outbreak-as-british-patient-fights-for-life-in-joburg-hospital/) - THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has moved to reassure a concerned public that a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard an expedition cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean is under tight international management - even as a British national evacuated to Johannesburg on an emergency basis remains critically ill in intensive care. Seven of the 147 passengers
- [Lens Queen Breaking Barriers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/lens-queen-breaking-barriers/) - THE roar inside the stadium rises and collapses in waves. On the sidelines, photographers adjust their positions as the ball moves fast across the pitch, their shutters clicking in bursts to keep up with the speed of the game. In the stands, young men are singing, blowing whistles, and dancing, their energy levels rising and
- [Rock art, dance and ritual: what we learned from paintings in Zimbabwe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/culture/rock-art-dance-and-ritual-what-we-learned-from-paintings-in-zimbabwe/) - ROCK paintings are found throughout Zimbabwe. They were made during the last 10,000 years by hunter-gatherer groups and later by farming communities. These came to the attention of the ERC Artsoundscapes project, based in Spain, in 2021. The project brings together experts in archaeology, ethnography, psychology, and acoustic engineering to explore how humans understood sound
- [The bias in medical research: Africa carries a huge disease burden but is missing from clinical trials](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/the-bias-in-medical-research-africa-carries-a-huge-disease-burden-but-is-missing-from-clinical-trials/) - MODERN medicine prides itself on being a universal science, built on evidence from clinical trials. But there’s a bias in medical research. While Africa accounts for roughly 25% of the global disease burden and 19% of the global population, the continent’s people are largely invisible in some clinical trials. The scale of the erasure is
- [India’s Horn of Africa strategy has shifted: what it’s trying to do and how it could work](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/indias-horn-of-africa-strategy-has-shifted-what-its-trying-to-do-and-how-it-could-work/) - INDIA’S engagement in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea basin was, until recently, largely limited to UN peacekeeping operations and anti-piracy patrols. Since the second half of the 1990s, India has participated in nearly all peacekeeping operations in Africa. Anti-piracy efforts emerged between 2008 and 2014 as piracy off Somalia and the Gulf of
- [80% of Africa’s fertiliser is imported: how food systems can adapt to the Iran shock](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/80-of-africas-fertiliser-is-imported-how-food-systems-can-adapt-to-the-iran-shock/) - CONFLICT in the Persian Gulf is disrupting fertiliser supplies, and Africa’s food systems stand to lose. Agrifood systems (the activities that connect the people, investments, and decisions involved in producing and delivering food and agricultural goods) rely on a steady flow of inputs like fertiliser, along with markets, infrastructure, and policy and trade decisions. These
- [The United States is turning 250 years old. For history teachers, it’s a complicated lesson](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-united-states-is-turning-250-years-old-for-history-teachers-its-a-complicated-lesson/) - AMONG longtime history teacher Karalee Wong Nakatsuka’s most prized possessions are two nearly identical T-shirts with very different meanings. One comes from Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, celebrating our Founding Fathers’ signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and their fight for freedom from the British Crown. This article was co-published with The 74, a nonprofit
- [Oil shock, fear and flight: South Africa’s migrant backlash ignites continental diplomatic storm](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/oil-shock-fear-and-flight-south-africas-migrant-backlash-ignites-continental-diplomatic-storm/) - SOUTH Africa’s latest wave of anti-immigrant anger is no longer just a domestic crisis. It is fast becoming a continental fault line, as economic pain, political opportunism, and online misinformation fuse into a volatile threat to African unity. On Sunday, 130 Nigerian citizens signed up for government-assisted flights out of South Africa, the first group
- [Grandma’s eyes and colours of the past](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/grandmas-eyes-and-colours-of-the-past/) - THIS is a compelling narrative on how restoring faded photographs sent one Libyan journalist-photographer on an unexpected journey into the wounds of history - and the eyes of a grandmother he never stopped seeing.There is a photograph he cannot find. It does not exist - or if it ever did, it was lost to the
- [Algeria’s AI cluster highlights Africa’s industrial policy reset](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/algerias-ai-cluster-highlights-africas-industrial-policy-reset/) - AFRICAN governments are positioning artificial intelligence as a new pillar of industrial policy, using clusters, regulation, and talent systems to build domestic tech production capacity. Algeria’s launch of an AI and cybersecurity startup cluster signals how this shift is beginning to translate into coordinated pipelines that could determine how Africa builds, rather than imports, artificial
- [Uganda’s Bobi Wine on the books (and songs) that shape his politics](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/ugandas-bobi-wine-on-the-books-and-songs-that-shape-his-politics/) - ROBERT Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan music star and political leader currently in exile. Framing his movement as a “people power” struggle by young Ugandans for democratic transition, he is a vocal critic of the regime. After a disputed election in January won by long-time ruler Yoweri Museveni, his home
- [Shock at Mali attacks, and fear of what may be to come](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/shock-at-mali-attacks-and-fear-of-what-may-be-to-come/) - MORE than a decade ago, I stood inside a basketball stadium in Bamako, among people who had fled an upscale hotel after one of the first jihadist attacks on Mali’s capital. Some had been injured jumping from windows. Everyone was in shock. Standing in that stadium, on one of my first journalistic assignments, it never
- [$334 million and a city built on conquest: Israel formalises its war crime in the Golan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/334-million-and-a-city-built-on-conquest-israel-formalises-its-war-crime-in-the-golan-2/) - THE Israeli cabinet’s approval of a 334-million-dollar development plan for the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is not, by itself, the beginning of a new policy. It is the financial and institutional crystallisation of a dispossession that has been under construction since 1967. What is new - and what demands the world’s attention - is the
- [Why the 60‑day War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-the-60-day-war-powers-resolution-deadline-doesnt-actually-constrain-presidents/) - MAY 1, 2026, marks the 60th day of Operation Epic Fury in Iran – a symbolically significant date that designates when a president who has mounted unilateral military operations must either receive Congressional approval or wind it down. However, the complex history of the War Powers Resolution clock demonstrates it is a toothless milestone. The
- [Dignity and resolve: Francesca Albanese’s When the World Sleeps humanises Palestinian lives](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/dignity-and-resolve-francesca-albaneses-when-the-world-sleeps-humanises-palestinian-lives/) - Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer and scholar, is the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, comprising the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. Her job is to report to the UN on the human rights situation in these territories. Since its inception in 1993, the role of rapporteur has been controversial
- [ATHLETICS HISTORY MADE IN GABORONE: The “Awesome Foursome” bring down the house](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/athletics/awesome-400m-foursome-grab-historic-gold-in-gaborone/) - Botswana's athletics team brought the house down in its capital, Gaborone, as its 4x400m team closes out with gold in their final event of the weekend.
- [ATHLETICS: Gaborone makes history as Africa hosts the world](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/athletics/athletics-gaborone-makes-history-as-africa-hosts-the-world/) - Records have tumbled, world leads have fallen, and 48 nations have earned their Beijing tickets as Botswana writes a new chapter in global athletics. All this took place on a blazing Saturday afternoon at the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26, where history was not just made - but celebrated, lap by lap, baton by
- [Silenced, Jailed, Exiled: Africa's Press Under Siege](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/silenced-jailed-exiled-africas-press-under-siege/) - TWENTY-FIVE years after journalist Dawit Isaak was thrown into one of Eritrea's notoriously secret detention facilities - and never released - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published its 2026 World Press Freedom Index with an unambiguous verdict: Africa's media is in crisis, and the trajectory is worsening. The RSF index, which ranks 180 countries and
- [Against the Clock: The Desperate Race to Save 65 Ethiopian Lives from Saudi Arabia's Death Row](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/against-the-clock-the-desperate-race-to-save-65-ethiopian-lives-from-saudi-arabias-death-row/) - ON the morning of 21 April 2026, Saudi prison guards at the Khamis Mushait detention facility in the Asir region walked into a cell holding dozens of Ethiopian men and called out three names. They told those men they were going to a court hearing. They never came back. The guards later returned - not
- [THE RIVER GIVETH NOT BACK: Five days, one crocodile, and a terrible truth on the Komati](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-river-giveth-not-back-five-days-one-crocodile-and-a-terrible-truth-on-the-komati/) - THE bridge at Komatipoort does not forgive. Flat and low, it squats a few inches above the Komati River on good days - close enough to the water to seem safe, far enough from common sense to have claimed lives before. On the morning of Monday, 27 April 2026, a 59-year-old businessman known to the
- [$334 Million and a city built on conquest: Israel formalises its war crime in the Golan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/334-million-and-a-city-built-on-conquest-israel-formalises-its-war-crime-in-the-golan/) - THE Israeli cabinet’s approval of a 334-million-dollar development plan for the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is not, by itself, the beginning of a new policy. It is the financial and institutional crystallisation of a dispossession that has been under construction since 1967. What is new - and what demands the world’s attention - is the
- [Washington's Kabila sanction: the strategic convergence of American capital and Congolese power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/washingtons-kabila-sanction-the-strategic-convergence-of-american-capital-and-congolese-power/) - WHEN the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC0 moved Thursday to impose sanctions on former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, it was doing far more than punishing a disgraced ex-head of state. It was completing a circle - of geopolitics, mineral capital, and vengeance - that ties Washington, Kinshasa,
- [The Sahel's reckoning: How Mali's junta is fighting for its life](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-sahels-reckoning-how-malis-junta-is-fighting-for-its-life/) - ON the morning of Saturday, 25 April 2026, the pre-dawn silence over Kati - Mali's main military garrison town, some fifteen kilometres north of the capital Bamako - was shattered by two massive explosions. Within minutes, gunfire was erupting simultaneously at Bamako's international airport, in the northern cities of Kidal and Gao, and in the
- [Swift death sentence brings closure in Uganda nursery horror, but shadows linger over child safety](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/swift-death-sentence-brings-closure-in-uganda-nursery-horror-but-shadows-linger-over-child-safety/) - IN a rare display of expedited justice, a Ugandan court has sentenced 39-year-old Christopher Okello Onyun to death for the brutal stabbing deaths of four toddlers at a Kampala nursery school, delivering a measure of solace to grieving families less than a month after the April 2 attack that ignited nationwide fury. The High Court
- [A revolutionary who lived his convictions: Remembering Thivhilaeli Mutobvu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/a-revolutionary-who-lived-his-convictions-remembering-thivhilaeli-mutobvu/) - I met Comrade Thivhilaeli Mutobvu during the trying times of the struggle to free black people from the yoke of white oppression, and I came to work with him in many ways. We both belonged to the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO). We were committed cadres of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). During that period, AZAPO
- [Middle East crisis pushes aid, food and fuel further from reach of millions, UN warns](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/middle-east-crisis-pushes-aid-food-and-fuel-further-from-reach-of-millions-un-warns/) - UNITED Nations agencies have sounded an urgent alarm over the worsening humanitarian fallout from the Middle East crisis, warning that disruptions to key Gulf shipping routes are driving up the cost of food, fuel, and emergency supplies - and that the people least able to absorb those shocks are already feeling the consequences. Heightened insecurity
- [The king’s state visit was a success – but there is still a chasm to bridge between UK and US outlooks](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-kings-state-visit-was-a-success-but-there-is-still-a-chasm-to-bridge-between-uk-and-us-outlooks/) - AS King Charles concludes his transatlantic travels with a visit to Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, he can take pride in a job well done. His four-day state visit to the US – which concluded with a wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery and a block party in Virginia – appears to have been a success.
- [The Iran war has brought many old Gulf faultlines to the fore – and is creating new ones](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-iran-war-has-brought-many-old-gulf-faultlines-to-the-fore-and-is-creating-new-ones/) - THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on April 28 that it will leave the global oil producers’ cartel OPEC. Its decision is the latest sign that the war in the Middle East has not only deepened animosities between Iran and its Gulf neighbours, but among the Gulf states too. Founded in 1960, OPEC is a
- [Can the nearly $1 trillion‑a‑year US military really be depleting key weapons in Iran?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/can-the-nearly-1-trillion-a-year-us-military-really-be-depleting-key-weapons-in-iran/) - THE fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced on April 7, 2026, after 40 days of war, came at an opportune time for the United States. Several reports indicate it is running out of weapons amid the conflict. As a scholar focused on U.S. military deployments, these reports are concerning and somewhat surprising. After all, the United States
- [Kenya roars for its king of the road: Ruto leads nation in honouring history-maker Sabastian Sawe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/kenya-roars-for-its-king-of-the-road-ruto-leads-nation-in-honouring-history-maker-sabastian-sawe/) - HE came home on a plane that was saluted by water cannons. He stepped onto Kenyan soil adorned with a traditional wreath of victory, serenaded by dancers, and welcomed by a crush of cameras, government officials, and the two parents who always knew he was destined for something extraordinary. And on Thursday, Sabastian Sawe —
- [Africa turns on itself: the xenophobia crisis - and the misinformation war - consuming the continent's promise](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-turns-on-itself-the-xenophobia-crisis-and-the-misinformation-war-consuming-the-continents-promise/) - SOMETHING deeply unsettling is unfolding across the African continent. In South Africa, marchers are taking to the streets of Pretoria and Johannesburg in waves, demanding mass deportations of fellow Africans. In Uganda, more than 200 foreign nationals have been swept up in crackdowns targeting undocumented workers. In Ghana, over 600 people were arrested in a
- [Museveni assures Ugandans: new sovereignty bill won't touch private money, remittances, or church donations](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/museveni-assures-ugandans-new-sovereignty-bill-wont-touch-private-money-remittances-or-church-donations/) - PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni moved swiftly to calm economic fears over Uganda's controversial Protection of Sovereignty Bill 2026, assuring citizens the legislation targets only foreign meddling in policy decisions - not the free flow of private capital, remittances, or church donations that fuel the nation's growth. The long-serving leader has dismissed warnings from his own Bank
- [Ghana’s fuel payment strategy works for now: how to fix longer term problems](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/ghanas-fuel-payment-strategy-works-for-now-how-to-fix-longer-term-problems/) - GHANA introduced a new payment arrangement for petroleum imports in 2023, using gold instead of scarce US dollars. The policy was designed to ease pressure on the cedi by reducing the need for upfront dollar purchases to settle fuel import bills. In an import-dependent economy, rising demand for US dollars usually weakens the domestic currency.
- [South Africa’s AI policy cited fake research, created by AI: what lessons need to be learned](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/south-africas-ai-policy-cited-fake-research-created-by-ai-what-lessons-need-to-be-learned/) - SOUTH Africa’s first attempt to establish a binding artificial intelligence (AI) policy framework came to an abrupt halt just 16 days after it was officially gazetted. On 10 April, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies published the Draft South Africa National Artificial Intelligence Policy for public comment. Journalists checked the references and found that
- [The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that harm water and health of world’s poor](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/the-race-to-mine-critical-minerals-for-ai-and-clean-energy-is-creating-sacrifice-zones-that-harm-water-and-health-of-worlds-poor/) - THERE is a troubling contradiction at the heart of the global transition to a cleaner, greener, tech-driven future: Modern technologies – everything from AI to wind turbines, as well as cellphones, electric vehicles, and defense systems – depend on critical minerals. But many of the communities where those minerals are mined end up with polluted
- [UAE’s departure from OPEC tells a story about the limited future of oil production](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/uaes-departure-from-opec-tells-a-story-about-the-limited-future-of-oil-production/) - THE decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the oil producers’ cartel OPEC after 59 years is more than a symbolic break. It highlights a growing divide among major oil producers over how to respond to a changing energy landscape, and will weaken the group’s ability to manage global supply. In the short term,
- [Is Trump losing the support of his MAGA base?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/is-trump-losing-the-support-of-his-maga-base/) - IN an interview with NBC News in January 2026, Donald Trump said: “MAGA is me. Maga loves everything I do.” Until recently, this statement was true. But over the past several months, cracks have begun to appear in the loyalty of the US president’s “Make America Great Again” base. Two of the movement’s most prominent
- [“Mnangagwa paid my fine”: Mugabe's son drops bombshell that blows the debate wide open](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/mnangagwa-paid-my-fine-mugabes-son-drops-bombshell-that-blows-the-debate-wide-open/) - THE debate about whether the son of Zimbabwe's late President Robert Mugabe received preferential justice in a South African court was already burning on Thursday afternoon. Then Bellarmine Mugabe himself lit the match that turned it into an inferno. In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Mugabe - who goes by
- ['A country without reserves is not sovereign': Uganda's Central Bank governor issues stark economic warning over sovereignty bill](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/a-country-without-reserves-is-not-sovereign-ugandas-central-bank-governor-issues-stark-economic-warning-over-sovereignty-bill/) - IN a parliamentary appearance that reverberated through Uganda's financial establishment, the Governor of the Bank of Uganda, Michael Atingi-Ego, delivered one of the most consequential warnings to come from an African central banker in recent years: a proposed law ostensibly designed to protect Uganda's sovereignty could, in practice, destroy it. Testifying before a joint sitting
- [Ex-Nigerian president, businessmen rally behind former oil minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ex-nigerian-president-businessmen-rally-behind-former-oil-minister/) - THE bribery trial of former Nigerian Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke took a dramatic turn at Southwark Crown Court this week when written statements from former President Goodluck Jonathan and two of West Africa's most powerful oil executives were placed before the jury - each flatly contradicting the prosecution's account of corruption at the heart of
- [Darfur Abandoned. Again](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/darfur-abandoned-again/) - THERE is a particular cruelty in a catastrophe that destroys children twice: once in the doing, and again in the forgetting. In Sudan's Darfur region, both are happening simultaneously. The war that has consumed Sudan since April 2023 - when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) turned their guns
- [Unbowed: Zied El Heni speaks from his cell](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/unbowed-zied-el-heni-speaks-from-his-cell/) - Those are not the words of a broken man. They are the words of a journalist who has been locked in a cell in Tunis for five days - and who refuses, with every fibre of his being, to pretend that what is happening to him is just. Zied El Heni — editor-in-chief of the
- [Benin election: Wadagni’s landslide win raises questions about his legitimacy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/benin-election-wadagnis-landslide-win-raises-questions-about-his-legitimacy/) - ROMUALD Wadagni won the 2026 presidential election in Benin with over 94% of the vote. Wadagni, 50, is a technocrat who became an influential finance minister under Patrice Talon from 2016 until his election. The Beninese political system is a pluralist democracy organised around a presidential system, with regular elections and political alternation. It is
- [How King Charles charmed the US while taking digs at Trump](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-king-charles-charmed-the-us-while-taking-digs-at-trump/) - KING CHARLES’S speech to the US Congress – only the second such address by a British monarch – demonstrates how much both the US and the UK have changed in the last three decades. The first speech was in May 1991 during his mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s, third state visit to the US. The underlying
- [Gaza: six months of ceasefire have left the territory in rubble and little vision for the future of its people](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/gaza-six-months-of-ceasefire-have-left-the-territory-in-rubble-and-little-vision-for-the-future-of-its-people/) - MUNICIPAL elections in the occupied West Bank and in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah on April 25 have been quickly framed by Fatah, the dominant faction within the Palestinian Authority (PA), as a sweeping victory. But it’s worth taking a closer look at how the election was organised. Candidates were required to commit
- [At 30,000 feet, life finds a way: the miracle birth that moved a nation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/at-30000-feet-life-finds-a-way-the-miracle-birth-that-moved-a-nation/) - THERE are moments that cut through the noise of politics, conflict, and daily struggle to remind us, with breathtaking clarity, what it means to be alive. Sunday, 26 April 2026, delivered one such moment - literally delivered - at approximately 10,000 metres above the African earth. On a routine CAA Airbus A320 flight from Lubumbashi
- [World Cup 2026: football's biggest party is being hosted by a country gripped by fear](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/world-cup-2026-footballs-biggest-party-is-being-hosted-by-a-country-gripped-by-fear/) - FORTY-five days before the world's biggest football tournament kicks off on American soil, a damning new report has cast a long shadow over what was meant to be football's most inclusive World Cup in history. Human Rights Watch released a 79-page guide on Monday, warning journalists, fans, players, and workers that the 2026 FIFA Men's
- [Smoke on the hill: fourteen dead as Cessna plunges into Juba's misty highlands](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/smoke-on-the-hill-fourteen-dead-as-cessna-plunges-into-jubas-misty-highlands/) - THE Red Cross officials came down the hill slowly, deliberately, each carrying the weight of a life cut short. Fourteen white body bags. Fourteen souls. The smouldering wreckage of a Cessna 208 Caravan lay scattered across the mist-shrouded highlands on the outskirts of South Sudan's capital - burnt metal and scorched earth half-swallowed by the
- [ICC orders €7.25 million in reparations for over 65,000 Timbuktu victims of al Hassan's reign of terror](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/icc-orders-e7-25-million-in-reparations-for-over-65000-timbuktu-victims-of-al-hassans-reign-of-terror/) - TWO years after the International Criminal Court delivered a landmark conviction against one of the key architects of Timbuktu's darkest chapter, the same court has now ordered that the victims of his crimes be compensated - a step that legal observers and victim advocates say is as critical to healing as the guilty verdict itself.
- [Lack of principled African leadership, action in Sudan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/lack-of-principled-african-leadership-action-in-sudan/) - FOR three years, civilians in Sudan have borne the brunt of a conflict epitomized by widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, often amounting to atrocity crimes. Once, such a conflict would have moved continental leaders into action. But three years in, concrete measures by African states and bodies to protect civilians and end
- [Climate change is worsening violent extremism in Kenya – what can be done](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/climate-change-is-worsening-violent-extremism-in-kenya-what-can-be-done/) - CLIMATE change and its associated impacts can worsen security challenges, including those associated with violent extremism. This is particularly the case in areas that are both vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and characterised by social and political instability. In north-eastern Kenya, for instance, droughts, flooding, and livelihood destruction are unfolding alongside and worsening,
- [Kenya’s Sawe breaks the 2‑hour barrier: what’s next for the men’s marathon world record?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/athletics/kenyas-sawe-breaks-the-2-hour-barrier-whats-next-for-the-mens-marathon-world-record/) - WELL, well. Kenyan marathon runner Sabastian Sawe has officially broken through the fabled “sub-2-hour” marathon barrier. On a reportedly perfect Sunday, 26 April 2026, in London, the 31-year-old Sawe ran through the finish gate on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace’s gilded architectural flourishes in an official marathon time of 1 hour 59 minutes
- [Donkeys are a symbol of endurance for Palestinians – they are also a target of settler violence and care](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/donkeys-are-a-symbol-of-endurance-for-palestinians-they-are-also-a-target-of-settler-violence-and-care/) - DONKEYS tend to symbolize humility and redemption; in Jewish tradition, the Messiah will arrive on a white donkey. But in today’s “land of the Bible,” donkeys have become victims of the war in Gaza and, increasingly, targets of the growing settler violence in the West Bank. Take what happened in December 2025 near Jaba, north
- [King Charles embarks on state visit to the US – can he repair the special relationship?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/king-charles-embarks-on-state-visit-to-the-us-can-he-repair-the-special-relationship/) - The visit, which runs from April 27 to 30, has been controversial amid tensions between the White House and Downing Street. Trump has repeatedly criticised Keir Starmer over a lack of support for the US military operation in Iran. Trump’s threats to buy Greenland and the capture of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro have also received
- [Ethiopia's BRICS dividend: Addis Ababa charts a new course in the architecture of global power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/ethiopias-brics-dividend-addis-ababa-charts-a-new-course-in-the-architecture-of-global-power/) - FIFTEEN months after formally joining BRICS as a full member on 1 January 2024, Ethiopia is making an unambiguous statement: membership in the Global South's most consequential multilateral grouping is not symbolic - it is structural. The Office of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, presenting a 100-day review alongside a nine-month government performance report, has
- ['Don Nkadimeng sat at the intersection of law, justice and politics'](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/sitting-at-the-intersection-of-law-justice-and-politics/) - THE history of racial discrimination in South Africa is well known. The racist apartheid system, which was declared a crime against humanity, unleashed one of its most brutal attacks in the 1970’s to 1980’s, with the massacre of students in 1976, the creation of the fake independent state of Transkei in 1976, and others subsequently,
- [KZN: the province that could break the ANC - and test democracy itself](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/kzn-the-province-that-could-break-the-anc-and-test-democracy-itself/) - WHEN the Electoral Commission of South Africa dispatched its full complement of commissioners to KwaZulu-Natal for an intensive week of stakeholder consultations ending on 24 April, the gesture carried a weight far beyond administrative diligence. It was an admission - carefully worded but unmistakable - that South Africa's most politically combustible province stands at a
- [BLOOD IN THE PLACE OF PRAYER: The massacre at Kati's mosque lays bare the human cost of Mali's unravelling](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/blood-in-the-place-of-prayer-the-massacre-at-katis-mosque-lays-bare-the-human-cost-of-malis-unravelling/) - THEY had come, as the faithful do, in the deep quiet before sunrise. Men and women, stepping softly through the dark streets of Kati, drawn not by politics or power but by prayer - by the simple, ancient rite of standing before God at the hour when the world is still. The mosque near the
- [Thirty-two years on: South Africa's freedom remains a work in progress](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/thirty-two-years-on-south-africas-freedom-remains-a-work-in-progress/) - ON 27 April 1994, more than 20 million South Africans stood in queues that stretched beyond the horizon, weathering rain and scorching sun, to cast a vote that would end the long nightmare of apartheid. Thirty-two years later, South Africa gathered again - this time at the Dr Rantlai Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein - to
- [Uganda's sovereignty bill: dressed as patriotism, built for repression](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ugandas-sovereignty-bill-dressed-as-patriotism-built-for-repression/) - WHEN governments reach for the language of sovereignty to justify restricting their own citizens, history counsels alarm. Uganda's Protection of Sovereignty Bill of 2026 is precisely such a moment - and Africa must be watching. Introduced before parliament on April 15 by Internal Affairs State Minister David Muhoozi, the bill proposes criminalising vaguely defined activities
- [Facebook Post. Handcuffs. Silence.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/facebook-post-handcuffs-silence/) - A summons. Then handcuffs. That was the arc of journalist Zied El Heni’s Friday morning in Tunis, after Tunisia’s Cybercrime Brigade — the Fifth Central Brigade for Combating Information and Communication Technology Crimes of the National Guard, headquartered in El Aouina — placed him in custody following a post he had published on his official
- [To deliver a better humanitarian response, we need to fix Nigeria’s state dysfunction](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/to-deliver-a-better-humanitarian-response-we-need-to-fix-nigerias-state-dysfunction/) - THE humanitarian crisis in northeast Nigeria is often described in the familiar shorthand of protracted conflict, mass displacement, chronic food insecurity. But this obscures a deeper truth; one that explains why, despite billions of dollars in aid, the situation continues to deteriorate. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Philip Alesin Northeast Nigeria
- [Girls Who Golf](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/girls-who-golf/) - THE morning sun is still soft when Jackline Cherop Sirai kneels beside a small hole in the ground, a young tree resting carefully in the soil. She leans forward, scooping a handful of sand and pressing it gently around the base of the seedling. She pauses for a moment, then smiles as she adds another
- [Latest attack threatening President Trump reflects rising political violence in US](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/latest-attack-threatening-president-trump-reflects-rising-political-violence-in-us/) - FOR the third time in three years, Donald Trump has come under threat by an attacker. Many facts remain unclear after a gunman stormed the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026, during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. As the investigation into the shooting continues, Alfonso Serrano, The Conversation’s politics and society editor, spoke with
- [A new nuclear arms race is accelerating. There’s only one way to stop it](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/a-new-nuclear-arms-race-is-accelerating-theres-only-one-way-to-stop-it/) - THIS week in New York, diplomats from almost every nation will convene for a four-week review of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the most comprehensive nuclear arms agreement in the world. The stakes could hardly be higher. Russia, Israel and the United States, all nuclear-armed, are conducting illegal wars of aggression
- [Sleepless nights, diapers and GLP-1s: More people are turning to weight loss drugs after having babies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/sleepless-nights-diapers-and-glp-1s-more-people-are-turning-to-weight-loss-drugs-after-having-babies/) - EVERY time Sarah Kinee opened Instagram, she was barraged with advertisements for weight loss products. One time, she recalled seeing six in a row. “I was like, what is this? Why do I keep getting ad after ad?” said Kinee, who had her second child late last year. “It’s all about how they can make
- [Africa conquers the impossible: Sawe shatters the two-hour wall](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-conquers-the-impossible-sawe-shatters-the-two-hour-wall/) - THERE are moments in sport that do not merely rewrite record books - they reorder the universe of what human beings believe is possible. Sunday on the Mall in London was such a moment. Sabastian Sawe of Kenya crossed the finish line of the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, becoming
- [Mali's defence minister killed as junta's grip on security narrative collapses](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/malis-defence-minister-killed-as-juntas-grip-on-security-narrative-collapses/) - MALI’S Defence Minister Sadio Camara has been killed in a car bomb attack on his home in Kita, near Bamako - a assassination that strikes at the very heart of the military junta and shatters any remaining pretence that the country's worst security crisis in years is under control. Family members confirmed that Camara, his
- [SA Cabinet minister shamed, forced to withdraw AI drafted policy document](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-cabinet-minister-shamed-forced-to-withdraw-ai-drafted-policy-document/) - THE document was meant to chart South Africa's course through the age of artificial intelligence. It went to the Cabinet. It was gazetted for public comment. Deputy President Paul Mashatile stood at a podium in Mpumalanga and spoke of it with ambition. Then someone read the footnotes. What they found unravelled one of the most
- [Kings, presidents and the uncomfortable questions that gathered at Somhlolo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/kings-presidents-and-the-uncomfortable-questions-that-gathered-at-somhlolo/) - THE cold came down hard from the Lebombo Mountains. Temperatures dropped to thirteen degrees in some parts of the Kingdom, and rain was falling over Mbabane. None of it mattered. Long before dawn, the emaSwati were already queuing outside Somhlolo National Stadium - named for the founding king who dreamed of a great serpent devouring
- [The king never left the stage](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-king-never-left-the-stage/) - LET us begin with a confession. When Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba - the man the world knew simply as Papa Wemba - collapsed on the stage of the Festival des Musiques Urbaines d'Anoumabo in Abidjan on the evening of 24 April 2016, many in the crowd initially assumed it was part of the show.
- [‘Just war’ has guided Catholic thinking on conflict for centuries – including criticism of Iran war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/just-war-has-guided-catholic-thinking-on-conflict-for-centuries-including-criticism-of-iran-war/) - SINCE the beginning of the Iran war, Pope Leo XIV has frequently called for peace, cautioning that the “delusion of omnipotence” makes military force seem preferable to diplomacy. Although U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, criticized some of the pope’s comments, a growing choir of Catholic voices has criticized the conflict by invoking the
- [The Russian resistance no one is talking about](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-russian-resistance-no-one-is-talking-about/) - YOU could be forgiven for thinking everyone in Russia either supports the war in Ukraine or is too scared to do anything about it. A dominant narrative is that Russian civil society is passive, complicit or has been quashed to the point of being neutralised. Some elements of this may be true. Following the full-scale
- [Ferre Gola brings the soul of Kinshasa to the City of Gold - and the continent holds its breath](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/ferre-gola-brings-the-soul-of-kinshasa-to-the-city-of-gold-and-the-continent-holds-its-breath/) - THERE is a sound that rises from the banks of the Congo River at dusk - a sound as wide and ancient as the river itself. It is the sound of rumba, of soukous, of guitars that seem to speak in tongues, of voices that carry grief and celebration in the same breath. For generations,
- [Brothers at breaking point: Ghana summons Pretoria over xenophobic attacks](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/brothers-at-breaking-point-ghana-summons-pretoria-over-xenophobic-attacks/) - IN a dramatic escalation of diplomatic tensions, the Government of Ghana formally summoned South Africa’s Acting High Commissioner in Accra, Thando Dalamba, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a face-to-face confrontation over violent xenophobic attacks targeting Ghanaian nationals in KwaZulu-Natal - marking one of the most serious bilateral ruptures between the two West and
- [Court voids R84m SA-Moz border wall tender as army keeps recovering stolen cars](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/court-voids-r84m-sa-moz-border-wall-tender-as-army-keeps-recovering-stolen-cars/) - A Special Tribunal has set aside an R84-million government tender for a concrete border wall along the KwaZulu-Natal–Mozambique boundary, after an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) established that the contractor submitted fraudulent documents, failed to meet mandatory procurement requirements, and walked away from the project without completing it. The ruling, delivered on Thursday,
- [Lungu family hits back: Zambian govt accused of desecrating ex-president's remains](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/lungu-family-hits-back-zambian-govt-accused-of-desecrating-ex-presidents-remains/) - NEARLY eleven months after Edgar Chagwa Lungu, Zambia's sixth republican president, drew his last breath at a private clinic in Pretoria, his remains are still unburied - seized, disputed, autopsied without family consent, and held in a state facility by the South African Police Service (SAPS). It is a spectacle without modern African precedent: a
- [Nelson Mandela was a towering global symbol – but how effective was he as a president?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/nelson-mandela-was-a-towering-global-symbol-but-how-effective-was-he-as-a-president/) - NELSON Mandela remains one of the most revered political leaders of modern times. He is widely credited with guiding South Africa through a peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy. He embodied racial reconciliation and lent moral authority to a fragile new state. Yet admiration for Mandela the symbol, has often obscured a more difficult question.
- [Ending malaria in Africa: 5 essential reads on gains and challenges](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/ending-malaria-in-africa-5-essential-reads-on-gains-and-challenges/) - MALARIA, a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes, is preventable and curable. The World Malaria Report 2025 shows that in 2024, there were an estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 malaria deaths in 80 countries. Africa carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2024, Africa accounted
- [Africa's athletes are the new media: Continent's Creator Festival launches game-changing sports summit](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/africas-athletes-are-the-new-media-continents-creator-festival-launches-game-changing-sports-summit/) - IN the heart of Soweto, on the very ground where champions are forged, and dreams are born, a revolution was declared. On 23 April 2026, the Africa Creator Festival (ACF) launched its inaugural Sports Creator Summit at the iconic Nike Sports Centre - and nothing in the relationship between African sport and African media will
- [Has the Strait of Hormuz emerged as Iran’s most powerful form of deterrence?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/has-the-strait-of-hormuz-emerged-as-irans-most-powerful-form-of-deterrence/) - ONE of the US and Israel’s justifications for launching the war on Iran was to ensure the regime in Tehran could never possess nuclear weapons, the ultimate deterrent against external attack. But the main lesson that has been taken from the war, according to some commentators, is that Iran’s own geography already provides it with
- [Sexual misconduct by lawmakers is widespread — but often goes unreported](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/sexual-misconduct-by-lawmakers-is-widespread-but-often-goes-unreported/) - THE recent resignations of two members of Congress have reignited a conversation about sexual harassment in politics nearly nine years after the peak of the #MeToo movement. And new data sheds more light on the scope of the problem — and the major barriers to reporting and addressing abuse. The National Women’s Defense League (NWDL),
- [The end of oil? As fuel shocks cascade, 53 nations gather to plan a fossil fuel phaseout](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-end-of-oil-as-fuel-shocks-cascade-53-nations-gather-to-plan-a-fossil-fuel-phaseout/) - US President Donald Trump is a longtime climate denier and oil industry ally, who sums up his own energy policy as “drill, baby, drill”. Yet he is doing more than almost anyone to speed up the global shift from fossil fuels to clean energy and electric vehicles (EVs). After the US and Israel struck Iran
- [How suspected Nigerian cocaine baron ran Bangkok's nightlife underworld for 17 years](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/hiding-in-plain-sight-how-a-nigerian-cocaine-baron-ran-bangkoks-nightlife-underworld-for-17-years/) - FOR seventeen years, Nwaiwu Ifeanyi Placid moved through Bangkok with a confidence that borders on audacity. He had a Thai wife - or what passed for one - a residence visa, a mobile phone loaded with encrypted group chats, and an alias, Patrick, that kept his real name off the lips of the street-level distributors
- [No peace, no rest: The undignified tug-of-war over Lungu's body that has shamed Zambia before Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/no-peace-no-rest-the-undignified-tug-of-war-over-lungus-body-that-has-shamed-zambia-before-africa/) - HE died far from home, in a hospital in Pretoria, on the fifth day of June 2025. He was sixty-eight years old. He had served his country as president. And yet, almost a full year later, Edgar Chagwa Lungu - Zambia's sixth Republican President - remains unburied, his mortal remains shuttled between funeral parlours and
- [SA top cop suspended: Ramaphosa bets on financial watchdog to hold the line](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-top-cop-suspended-ramaphosa-bets-on-financial-watchdog-to-hold-the-line/) - IN a carefully calibrated address from the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced what many South Africans had come to regard as inevitable: the precautionary suspension of National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, who appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court earlier this week facing four counts of contravening the Public Finance
- [Kenya’s next election is being built now, and Gen Z is driving it](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/kenyas-next-election-is-being-built-now-and-gen-z-is-driving-it/) - BY mid-morning on a Wednesday, the voter registration desk at Moi Primary School in Nakuru West had begun to fill with clusters of young people, some arriving in pairs, others in small groups, many holding their phones as they cross-checked details before joining the queue. The polling station, typically quiet outside election periods, has taken
- [Join us on a journey along the Garden Route in South Africa, voted the best in the world](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/travel/join-us-on-a-journey-along-the-garden-route-in-south-africa-voted-the-best-in-the-world/) - CLOSE your eyes. Go on - close them properly. No cheating. Now imagine the world's finest road trip designers sat down with an embarrassingly large budget, borrowed God's colour palette, raided the continent's best forests, invited the Indian Ocean to show off a little, and then - just to rub it in - sprinkled in
- [6 African thinkers who help us understand the world – new book](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/literature/6-african-thinkers-who-help-us-understand-the-world-new-book/) - WHO counts as an intellectual? In many traditions, the figure of the intellectual is tied to the search for truth, social critique, and public engagement. From the Dreyfus Affair (a political scandal in 1894 in France that mobilised writers and thinkers to defend justice) to postcolonial debates, intellectuals are those who intervene in society, not
- [Africa is shifting access to cash across ATMs and retail networks](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/africa-is-shifting-access-to-cash-across-atms-and-retail-networks/) - AFRICAN banks are changing how ATMs have traditionally worked, shifting cash access into retail networks. The shift is not an exit from cash, but a restructuring of the systems that support it into a more distributed network. According to Samwel Abunga, a financial markets manager at Kenya Commercial Bank, banks are responding to both cost
- [Ghana’s mining law aims to stop speculation but leaves communities in limbo – insights from a lithium case study](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/ghanas-mining-law-aims-to-stop-speculation-but-leaves-communities-in-limbo-insights-from-a-lithium-case-study/) - GHANA’S parliament ratified the country’s first lithium mining agreement in March 2026. This came three years after lithium mining was confirmed as commercially viable in September 2023. The Ewoyaa Lithium Project, in the Central Region of Ghana, covers an area where farming communities have lived for generations. It spans several communities. The agreement is between
- [Young Africans will inherit a climate crisis: how kids in Sierra Leone are getting ready](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/young-africans-will-inherit-a-climate-crisis-how-kids-in-sierra-leone-are-getting-ready/) - IF today’s young people are tomorrow’s leaders, they will inherit not only the world’s problems but also the tools and ideas to solve them. One of the biggest changes they will face is a changing climate. This means hotter days, more intense storms and floods, longer droughts, and big changes in where and when rain
- [Middle East conflict looks increasingly like a war nobody can win](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/middle-east-conflict-looks-increasingly-like-a-war-nobody-can-win/) - LET'S begin with a simple question that rarely gets a straight answer: what would victory over Iran actually look like? In Washington and Jerusalem, the answers tend to sound definitive: eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability, break its regional power, perhaps even force political change at the top. It’s the language of decisive war, the kind with
- [Why the US military is stuck using $1 million missiles against Iran’s $20,000 drones](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-the-us-military-is-stuck-using-1-million-missiles-against-irans-20000-drones/) - IT may sound hard to believe, but the almost trillion-dollar U.S. military is struggling to fight cheap drones in its war with Iran. Iran has built a simple drone, the Shahed, with a motorcycle-type engine, loaded it with explosives and successfully targeted its neighbors’ cities and power plants. Iran has also hit U.S. military bases
- [In abusive relationships, the end can be the most dangerous part](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/in-abusive-relationships-the-end-can-be-the-most-dangerous-part/) - TWO deadly high-profile domestic violence cases this month highlight how the most dangerous part of a relationship can be when it is ending — particularly for women and families, and especially if guns are involved. In Virginia, authorities say former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, in mid-April before killing
- [Bridge over troubled waters: How the Senqu Bridge rewrites the architecture of southern African solidarity](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/bridge-over-troubled-waters-how-the-senqu-bridge-rewrites-the-architecture-of-southern-african-solidarity/) - THE wind that sweeps down from the high Maluti Mountains carries the cold indifference of altitude. But on the morning of Wednesday, 22 April 2026, it carried something else: the unmistakable warmth of a milestone arrived at. In the remote district of Mokhotlong, in Lesotho, at more than 2,500 metres above sea level, South African
- [Dangote and the rise of African industrial capital](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/dangote-and-the-rise-of-african-industrial-capital/) - ALIKO Dangote’s latest industrial investments are beginning to show what African capital, when deployed at scale, can deliver not just in returns but also in building systems the continent has long outsourced. Speaking at the Semafor World Economy Summit 2026, Aliko Dangote framed Africa’s development gap as a question of capital commitment rather than opportunity.
- [Fool's gold on the Nile: How Ugandan investigators unravelled a UGX 13 billion fake-gold conspiracy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/fools-gold-on-the-nile-how-ugandan-investigators-unravelled-a-ugx-13-billion-fake-gold-conspiracy/) - THE operation was the kind that intelligence agencies rarely announce until every piece is in place. For weeks, detectives from Uganda's State House Anti-Corruption Unit worked in concert with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), quietly closing a net around a network of alleged fraudsters who
- [Pope Leo XIV delivers blunt justice message to one of Africa's most repressive regimes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/pope-leo-xiv-delivers-blunt-justice-message-to-one-of-africas-most-repressive-regimes/) - HE came as a pilgrim. He spoke as a prosecutor. On the last full day of what the Vatican has called one of the most logistically ambitious papal tours ever mounted, Pope Leo XIV stood inside the largest church in Central Africa and delivered a verdict that the government hosting him would have preferred he
- [East African Community’s expansion has triggered financial troubles: why solutions come with risks](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/east-african-communitys-expansion-has-triggered-financial-troubles-why-solutions-come-with-risks/) - THE East African Community is one of Africa’s oldest regional economic organisations. Its birth in 1967 was the culmination of decades of economic ties forged in the colonial era between Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. It’s no surprise that the EAC is also the most deeply integrated regional entity. In its heyday between 1967 and 1977,
- [Africa's giant enters basketball immortality](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/basketball/africas-giant-enters-basketball-immortality/) - SHE carried the weight of a continent on her shoulders and made it look effortless. On Tuesday night in Berlin, the basketball world finally gave Clarisse Machanguana the honour her extraordinary career has always deserved - a place in the FIBA Hall of Fame. The Mozambican centre, one of the most commanding and influential figures
- [Four presidents, one warning: American democracy faces its starkest test on the eve of the republic's 250th year](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/four-presidents-one-warning-american-democracy-faces-its-starkest-test-on-the-eve-of-the-republics-250th-year/) - THEY came not as rivals or partisans, but as men who have held the weight of the world's most powerful office - and what they said, jointly, in a rare gathering on the eve of America's 250th anniversary, amounted to something closer to a civic alarm than a celebration. Former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama,
- [Who is calling the shots in Iran?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/who-is-calling-the-shots-in-iran/) - FOLLOWING the last round of talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, Iran’s foreign minister and negotiator Abbas Araghchi declared in a post on X on April 17 that the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open”. This came after he also signalled that his government could be flexible over the issue of nuclear
- [How digital transformation is offering a highway for African women](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/how-digital-transformation-is-offering-a-highway-for-african-women/) - IN a brightly lit, white-walled gallery, a woman gazes at a vertical portrait with a pale green background behind a dark, stylised figure that appears to be wearing a mask or a ceremonial headpiece featuring a distinct cross-like structure. A look of recognition flitters across her face before she moves on. Digital activist, media entrepreneur,
- [From Darfur to Foggia: The Sudanese refugee who refused to let war kill his dream](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/from-darfur-to-foggia-the-sudanese-refugee-who-refused-to-let-war-kill-his-dream/) - IT was only his second day as a medical intern when the world he had spent a lifetime building collapsed around him. On 15 April 2023, Gbreel arrived for his shift at a hospital in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State in Sudan, and noticed an unusual number of soldiers on the city streets.
- [From Malabo to the world: Pope Leo XIV uses Africa stage to deliver his most forceful challenge yet to the global order](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/from-malabo-to-the-world-pope-leo-xiv-uses-africa-stage-to-deliver-his-most-forceful-challenge-yet-to-the-global-order/) - WHEN Pope Leo XIV touched down in Malabo on Tuesday for the final stop of his four-nation Africa tour, the choreography was familiar: motorcade, dignitaries, cathedral. But the words that followed belonged to a different kind of papal visit - one shaped less by pastoral comfort than by an increasingly urgent moral reckoning with the
- [Sa SIU strikes: R76.5 million in properties, Porsche cars frozen in Eskom procurement scandal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-siu-strikes-r76-5-million-in-properties-porsche-cars-frozen-in-eskom-procurement-scandal/) - THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has delivered another decisive blow to the culture of impunity that has long plagued South Africa's state-owned enterprises, securing a sweeping preservation order that freezes R76.5 million worth of assets linked to a single businessman and his web of family trusts - assets prosecutors allege were built on the proceeds
- [The docket and the doctrine: How criminals are fighting back against South Africa's good cops](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-docket-and-the-doctrine-how-criminals-are-fighting-back-against-south-africas-good-cops/) - THERE is a war being fought in South Africa — not in the streets, but in the dockets, the courtrooms, and the corridors of power. On one side are those who have spent careers trying to wrest the criminal justice system from the grip of organised crime. On the other hand are the criminals themselves
- [Three years after fleeing Sudan war, Gbreel follows his medical dream to Italy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/three-years-after-fleeing-sudan-war-gbreel-follows-his-medical-dream-to-italy/) - Gbreel Telbo overcame a childhood marked by insecurity and displacement in South Darfur to excel at school and win a university scholarship to study medicine. Shortly after graduating in 2023, he was interning at a hospital in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, when the war broke out. Unable to stay, and drawing on the harsh lessons of
- [Clinging to the throne: Mnangagwa, Tshisekedi chart the same dangerous path](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/clinging-to-the-throne-mnangagwa-tshisekedi-chart-the-same-dangerous-path/) - THERE is a peculiar theatre that plays out in certain African capitals whenever a president, having grown comfortable in the presidential palace, begins to hear the faint tick of the constitutional clock. The pageantry of consultation is assembled. Ruling-party conferences pass reverential resolutions. Legal advisers produce learned opinions. And slowly, the machinery of the state
- [Healthocide? Why the attack on the Pasteur Institute of Iran is more than a war crime](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/healthocide-why-the-attack-on-the-pasteur-institute-of-iran-is-more-than-a-war-crime/) - ON 2 April, the United States and Israel bombed the 106-year-old Pasteur Institute, targeting one of Iran’s oldest and most critical public health institutions. Established in 1920, the institute has long been central to vaccine production, infectious disease surveillance, and epidemiological research in the Middle East and beyond. But this wasn’t simply a strike on
- [Israel’s onslaught against Lebanon may strengthen Hezbollah – just when it’s at its weakest](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/israels-onslaught-against-lebanon-may-strengthen-hezbollah-just-when-its-at-its-weakest/) - AS the tentative ceasefire in Lebanon holds, people are returning to their homes in the south to find widespread destruction. Whole villages were laid waste, roads and bridges were ruined, and hospitals and other civic infrastructure were flattened. And the Israeli army is still very much in evidence in many areas. The most recent conflict
- [Milan police dismantle luxury escort ring linked to Serie A stars and F1 driver](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/milan-police-dismantle-luxury-escort-ring-linked-to-serie-a-stars-and-f1-driver/) - ITALIAN financial police shattered a high-end prostitution network on April 20, 2026, placing four individuals under house arrest and seizing €1.2 million in illicit profits, with investigators uncovering a client list featuring over 50 Serie A footballers and at least one Formula 1 driver. The Guardia di Finanza targeted MA.DE. Milano, an events agency in
- [Africa's 345 billion-dollar companies - and a $1 trillion story the world is missing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-has-at-least-345-billion-dollar-companies-and-a-1-trillion-story-the-world-is-missing/) - AFRICA is home to far more corporate giants than the world — or even the continent itself — tends to acknowledge. At least 345 companies operating across Africa generate $1 billion or more in annual revenue, together producing a combined output exceeding $1 trillion every year. That is the startling headline from fresh intelligence compiled
- [In Saurimo's Lar, a pope finds the face of Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/in-saurimos-lar-a-pope-finds-the-face-of-africa/) - THERE is a particular kind of quiet that settles over a care home in the morning - a silence compounded of memory and patience, of lives fully lived and now lived slowly. It was into exactly this kind of quiet that Pope Leo XIV walked on Monday, in the northeastern Angolan city of Saurimo, and
- [Mnangagwa, Tshisekedi move to rewrite constitutions, extend their rule](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/mnangagwa-tshisekedi-move-to-rewrite-constitutions-extend-their-rule/) - TWO African heads of state are simultaneously engineering constitutional changes designed to extend their hold on power, in moves that threaten to deepen political crises in both Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo and deal a fresh blow to the continent's democratic credibility. In Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government gazetted the Constitution of Zimbabwe
- [Rent-to-own expands as Africa rethinks homeownership models](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/rent-to-own-expands-as-africa-rethinks-homeownership-models/) - AFRICA’S housing market is moving away from a rigid split between renting and owning toward structured pathways that allow households to transition between the two. Rent-to-own models are gaining ground as a financing mechanism that converts monthly rent into long-term equity. Millions of Africans remain locked out of mortgage finance, with fewer than 5% of
- [Conquering the world of ride hailing in the Horn of Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/conquering-the-world-of-ride-hailing-in-the-horn-of-africa/) - AS the capital of a country with one of the highest economic growth rates in the world, Addis Ababa can be a difficult commute. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in February that the country's economy would grow by 10.2 percent in the fiscal year, and with the capital's population expected to pass 5.5 million
- [The IMF enjoys preferred creditor status: why it shouldn’t be the judge when it comes to other lenders](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/the-imf-enjoys-preferred-creditor-status-why-it-shouldnt-be-the-judge-when-it-comes-to-other-lenders/) - THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) should not be an arbiter of discussions about which other multilateral financial institutions should qualify for preferred creditor status. This is because the IMF is a direct beneficiary of the creditor hierarchy policy. A preferred creditor status gives multilateral development institutions priority for the repayment of their loans should a
- [Nigeria’s new election law leaves gaps: 5 reforms for free, fair and credible polls](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/nigerias-new-election-law-leaves-gaps-5-reforms-for-free-fair-and-credible-polls/) - NIGERIA’S new Electoral Act, passed in February 2026, is a significant attempt to overhaul the country’s electoral framework. The act establishes a dedicated funding framework and requires that election funds be released no later than six months before a general election. Technology will be the only method allowed for voter accreditation, and results will have
- [Madagascar’s ancient baobabs store 700 years of climate secrets – what they reveal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/madagascars-ancient-baobabs-store-700-years-of-climate-secrets-what-they-reveal/) - MADAGASCAR is home to seven species of baobab trees, of which six are found nowhere else on the planet. Many of the trees have been alive for well over 1,000 years. The ancient trees have become symbols of Madagascar itself. They’re also gifts to climate science. Imagine these trees as filing cabinets for climate history.
- [Dressed for glory, Ready for battle: South Africa's U-23 men's softball team fires up for Colombia — and the world is watching](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/dressed-for-glory-ready-for-battle-south-africas-u-23-mens-softball-team-fires-up-for-colombia-and-the-world-is-watching/) - WHEN South Africa's Under-23 men's softball squad assembled at Kempton Park one Sunday morning, it was with a clarity of purpose that leaves little room for doubt: this team is ready. The 25 April opening pitch at the WBSC U-23 Men's Softball World Cup in Sincelejo, Colombia - a tournament running through to 3 May
- [Weddings return to a broken Gaza](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/weddings-return-to-a-broken-gaza/) - ON 31 December last year, my family gathered with our closest friends and relatives in a former clothing store in Gaza City. The space had been repurposed into an event hall. We were there not just to bring in the New Year but to celebrate my sister Noor’s wedding. The clothing store had been given
- [Both the US and Iran are firing on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Are both sides acting lawfully?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/both-the-us-and-iran-are-firing-on-commercial-ships-in-the-strait-of-hormuz-are-both-sides-acting-lawfully/) - OVER the past several days, there have been conflicting reports about the Strait of Hormuz. It’s difficult to know what’s happening from one moment to the next. Iran said the waterway was open to commercial shipping again, then turned around and said it was closed. Iran then fired at two Indian-flagged ships going through the
- [Politics is shaken by a new wave of #MeToo reckonings](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/politics-is-shaken-by-a-new-wave-of-metoo-reckonings/) - A years-long, explosive investigation by The New York Times last month exposed allegations of sexual abuse by the late labor leader Cesar Chavez. Two members of Congress, one Democrat and one Republican, resigned this week after being accused of sexual misconduct. And Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is facing an internal investigation, including allegations of inappropriate
- ['Lords of War': How the Global South finally named its oppressors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/lords-of-war-how-the-global-south-finally-named-its-oppressors/) - IT was the kind of language that foreign ministries the world over spend entire careers avoiding. But on Saturday, in the convention halls of Spain's second city, the presidents of Brazil and South Africa stripped away the diplomatic niceties and delivered, with striking directness, a verdict that billions across the Global South have long believed
- [SA JUDICIARY: JSC elevates Mbenenge ruling to gross misconduct - and indicts the tribunal that failed Mengo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/bench-broken-jsc-elevates-mbenenge-ruling-to-gross-misconduct-and-indicts-the-tribunal-that-failed-mengo/) - WHEN the Judicial Conduct Tribunal issued its finding earlier this year, many legal observers exhaled with relief. Judge President Selby Mbenenge had been found guilty - but only of "misconduct simpliciter": a flirtatious WhatsApp exchange, conducted at work, during working hours. An impropriety, yes. A dismissible offence, no. That finding was always a fraction of
- [Iran’s AI memes are reaching people who don’t follow the news – and winning the propaganda war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/irans-ai-memes-are-reaching-people-who-dont-follow-the-news-and-winning-the-propaganda-war/) - A Lego-style Iranian military commander raps over a gangster beat: “Our inbox is flooded with Americans saying they don’t watch the news. They listen to our songs instead since your media is full of shit.” This is the opening line of an AI-generated video, which is part of Iran’s meme campaign – built around Lego-style
- [$1.3m Graft: Nigerian court issues arrest warrant after ex cabinet minister court](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/fugitive-minister-court-issues-arrest-warrant-as-farouq-skips-1-3m-graft-arraignment/) - A Federal Capital Territory High Court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of former Nigerian Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, after she defied a court summons and failed to appear for her arraignment on 21 counts of financial fraud. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High
- [Food or poison? Inside Africa’s silent pesticide crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/food-or-poison-inside-africas-silent-pesticide-crisis/) - IN the fertile fields of rural Africa, where food should nourish life, a quiet danger is taking root. From Kenya’s vegetable farms to West Africa’s cocoa fields, millions of smallholder farmers are increasingly reliant on highly hazardous pesticides, chemicals so toxic that many have already been banned in Europe. Yet, paradoxically, they continue to flow
- [Pope Leo XIV takes on Africa's wound: 'Extractivism' is the Pope's word for a century of plunder](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/pope-leo-xiv-takes-on-africas-wound-extractivism-is-the-popes-word-for-a-century-of-plunder/) - WHEN Pope Leo XIV stood before Angola’s government authorities and said the word “extractivism,” he was not offering a diplomatic pleasantry. He was indicting a system. "How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and environmental disasters are brought about by this logic of extractivism?" the pontiff declared in Luanda, as he completed the
- [From genocide to countless acts of solidarity: Documenting three years of war in Sudan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/from-genocide-to-countless-acts-of-solidarity-documenting-three-years-of-war-in-sudan/) - AFTER three years of catastrophic conflict, Sudan is divided and partitioned between the warring parties and their various armed allies, with few signs of any breakthrough in mediation efforts, and every indication of further regional escalation. The national army – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) – and the paramilitary-turned-rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were former
- [On Capitol Hill, survivors push for change as Congress confronts its own misconduct](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/on-capitol-hill-survivors-push-for-change-as-congress-confronts-its-own-misconduct/) - THEY came to lobby against online sexual abuse and found lawmakers wrestling with abuse within their own ranks. For four years running, policy experts and survivor advocates with RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence advocacy organization, have come to Capitol Hill for a day of lobbying. This year, their annual advocacy day came amid a
- [Morocco to assist US with security for the 2026 FIFA World Cup](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/morocco-appointed-to-the-white-house-security-task-force/) - Morocco is set to be embedded in the security architecture of a World Cup it won’t host, at the behest of the White House for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
- [Nigerian couple jailed for three years in the UK for f ‘worst breach, betrayal’](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigerian-couple-jailed-for-three-years-in-the-uk-for-fraud-described-as-worst-breach-betrayal/) - JUDGE David Miller did not mince his words. Delivering sentence at Woolwich Crown Court in London, he told the defendants they had placed themselves "at the epicentre" of a fraud that was only made possible because one of them held a position of trust inside one of the world’s most recognisable public transport networks. The
- [Wheels of Change: Volkswagen plants half a million rands into the soul of Nelson Mandela Bay in SA](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/motoring-news/wheels-of-change-volkswagen-plants-half-a-million-rands-into-the-soul-of-nelson-mandela-bay-in-sa/) - THERE is a factory in Kariega that produces more than cars. Every year, from the same industrial heartland where Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has assembled vehicles for South African roads and export markets for decades, a quieter kind of output rolls off the line - investment in people, in nature, in the survival of the
- [Israel and Lebanon have a ceasefire, but global attention shouldn’t move on. This isn’t a tidy end to the war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/israel-and-lebanon-have-a-ceasefire-but-global-attention-shouldnt-move-on/) - AFTER weeks of bombardments in southern Lebanon that have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than one million residents, Israel has announced a ten-day ceasefire with Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, vowed to keep Israeli troops in southern Lebanon to create a ten-kilometre “security zone”, raising immediate questions about whether the
- [She ran. He stopped. Heaven noticed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/in-cameroon-she-ran-pope-leo-stopped-heaven-noticed/) - THE motorcade was assembled. The vestments were neatly folded. The diplomatic handshakes had been shaken, the homilies delivered, the open-air Mass at Bamenda's sweeping outdoor ground had drawn tens of thousands of the faithful, their voices rising into the Cameroonian sky like incense. Pope Leo XIV had done everything the schedule required of him. He
- [Burkina Faso junta dissolves 118 CSOs in latest bid to crush dissent](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/burkina-faso-junta-dissolves-118-csos-in-latest-bid-to-crush-dissent/) - Burkina Faso’s junta under Ibrahim Traore dissolves civil society groups, escalating its assault on civic space, and mirroring Sahel‑wide democratic backsliding.
- [Data centres power Africa’s computing infrastructure push](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/data-centres-power-africas-computing-infrastructure-push/) - A recent unveiling of a 100 MW AI-capable hyperscale data center in Nigeria’s Lekki corridor is expected to begin commercial operations this month. The facility, developed by Kasi Cloud, is coming online just weeks after Cassava Technologies launched Africa’s first AI factory in South Africa, placing both developments within a short window that is expanding
- [SA Bakkie Brawl Heats Up: JMC Vigus crashes the party, Hilux, Ranger, Navara tremble!](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/motoring/sa-bakkie-brawl-heats-up-jmc-vigus-crashes-the-party-hilux-ranger-navara-tremble/) - HOLD onto your load-luggin' hats, South Africa's bakkie battlefield just got a feisty new gladiator. Fresh off the Salvador Caetano Group's blockbuster brand relaunch, JMC South Africa unleashes the All-New Vigus - a "Built for More" beast that's equal parts Transformer tough and penthouse plush. While the old guard like Toyota and Ford polish their
- [Congo‑Brazzaville election: boycotts, blackouts and growing dissent but Denis Sassou Nguesso held on to power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/congo-brazzaville-election-boycotts-blackouts-and-growing-dissent-but-denis-sassou-nguesso-held-on-to-power/) - THE 2026 presidential election in Congo-Brazzaville (the Republic of the Congo) returned Denis Sassou Nguesso for a fifth consecutive term, with a definitive 94.90% of the vote. We asked Ngodi Etanislas, a political scientist who focuses on the central African country, to sum up what happened and why it matters, now that the dust has
- [Agent confirms uncertainty over Pule Mmodi’s future at Kaizer Chiefs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/agent-confirms-uncertainty-over-pule-mmodis-future-at-kaizer-chiefs/) - KAIZER Chiefs winger Pule Mmodi is facing an uncertain future at the club, with his representatives confirming that discussions regarding his future have been placed on hold for now. Despite enjoying one of their most promising campaigns in recent years, Amakhosi are dealing with uncertainty surrounding several key players, with a number of contracts set
- [Stanley Nwabali tipped for lucrative Kaizer Chiefs switch over Europe dream](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/stanley-nwabali-tipped-for-lucrative-kaizer-chiefs-switch-over-europe-dream/) - FORMER Nigerian and Moroka Swallows goalkeeper Peterside Idah says he would have no problem seeing Stanley Nwabali join Kaizer Chiefs, but believes the Super Eagles shot-stopper is good enough to secure a move to Europe. Nwabali is expected to decide on his future this summer after spending the last few months without a club. The 29-year-old
- [Domestic violence organizations turn away thousands each day. Julia was one of them](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/domestic-violence-organizations-turn-away-thousands-each-day-julia-was-one-of-them/) - CONTENT warning: This story references incidents of domestic violence. On January 18, 2025, Julia Gilbert kicked her fiancé out of their shared apartment. “When the apartment door shut, I remember knowing it was right,” she said. Gilbert, 32, said she had planned to end the relationship for some time. Worried her ex was lying to
- [Grammy-nominated R&B queen Tamia headlines Epic Women’s Month tour in South Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/grammy-nominated-rb-queen-tamia-headlines-epic-womens-month-tour-in-south-africa/) - SMOOTH as Cape velvet and fierce as a Joburg sunrise, Grammy-nominated R&B superstar Tamia is set to set South African stages ablaze this August, headlining The Biggest Women’s Month Celebration Tour Experience - a glittering ode to sisterhood, soul, and unapologetic power. The tour’s itinerary is locked and loaded: 6 August at Grand Arena, GrandWest
- [SA Hawks snare fugitive Benin coup plotter in Pretoria sting](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-hawks-snare-fugitive-benin-coup-plotter-in-pretoria-sting/) - SOUTH Africa's elite Hawks unit arrested the controversial pan-Africanist figure Kemi Seba - whose legal name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi - together with his 18-year-old son Khonsou Seba Capo Chichi and a local facilitator on Sunday, 13 April 2026, in an intelligence-driven sting operation at a shopping centre in the Brooklyn suburb of
- [Firebrand at the crossroads: Malema's five-year sentence threatens political career](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/firebrand-at-the-crossroads-malemas-five-year-sentence-threatens-political-career/) - WHEN the KuGompo Magistrate Court handed Julius Malema an effective five-year prison sentence on Thursday, the ruling did far more than settle the fate of an exuberant gun discharge at a political rally six years ago. It set in motion a constitutional clock whose alarm, if it ever sounds, would reorder the architecture of South
- [Pope Leo carries message of peace to Cameroon's conflict-scarred anglophone heartland](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/pope-leo-carries-message-of-peace-to-cameroons-conflict-scarred-anglophone-heartland/) - POPE Leo arrived in Bamenda on Thursday — the principal city of Cameroon's beleaguered anglophone northwest — bringing a message of hope to a region where nearly a decade of armed conflict has claimed more than 6,500 lives and driven over half a million people from their homes. The visit, the second leg of Leo's
- [Burundi minister found dead in palm plantation — government calls it accident, police cite ‘dark points’](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/burundi-minister-found-dead-in-palm-plantation-government-calls-it-accident-police-cite-dark-points/) - BURUNDI’S Minister of Communications and Media, Gaby Bugagga, was found dead early Thursday morning inside a vehicle abandoned in a remote palm plantation near Kiboga, approximately 10 kilometres from Bujumbura — with the government hastily attributing the death to an accident even as police sources flagged numerous unexplained inconsistencies. The body was discovered by farmers,
- [Chapungu soars home: ancestral wings cross the Limpopo in sacred return](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/chapungu-soars-home-ancestral-wings-cross-the-limpopo-in-sacred-return/) - IN a moment woven from the threads of eternity, South Africa's Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, crossed the mighty Limpopo River into Harare like a modern-day messenger of the ancestors. There, he placed into the hands of President Emmerson Mnangagwa the final jewel of Zimbabwe's stolen legacy: Chapungu, the eighth and most
- [The Nigerian nomad growing Africa’s digital future](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-nigerian-nomad-growing-africas-digital-future/) - ENUGU, known locally as Coal City after its early source of wealth, today presents a serene contrast to the frantic pace of Nigeria’s larger coastal metropolises. Nestled beneath the rolling greenery of the Udi Hills, the city is defined by its wide, tree-lined avenues and a slower, more intentional rhythm of life. This is where
- [AI is driving a new era in African hospitality](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/ai-is-driving-a-new-era-in-african-hospitality/) - AFRICAN hotel operators are moving from experimental technology pilots to full-scale operational deployments, as rising and increasingly AI-driven travel demand pushes the sector to replace fragmented workflows with integrated platforms. CityBlue Hotels, one of Africa's hotel chains, has announced a continent-wide rollout of systems to automate guest interactions and streamline internal workflows. CityBlue Hotels, in
- [China’s military support for Somalia is on the rise – what Taiwan and Somaliland have to do with it](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/chinas-military-support-for-somalia-is-on-the-rise-what-taiwan-and-somaliland-have-to-do-with-it/) - CHINA recently pledged to expand military support to Somalia in its fight against al-Shabaab militants. Beijing has promised equipment, training, and closer security cooperation with Mogadishu. This marks a shift from China’s traditionally cautious and small presence in the country. Brendon J. Cannon has researched how external powers – including China – engage with sub-Saharan
- [Iran has a powerful new tool in the Strait of Hormuz that it can leverage long after the war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/iran-has-a-powerful-new-tool-in-the-strait-of-hormuz-that-it-can-leverage-long-after-the-war/) - The Trump administration claims its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is working, with nine ships complying with orders to turn around. One of those was a Chinese-owned tanker called the Rich Starry that turned around in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday to head back through the strait. Iran, meanwhile, maintains it still has
- [Will oil prices ever truly go back to ‘normal’?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/will-oil-prices-ever-truly-go-back-to-normal/) - THE fallout from the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran has dominated global oil markets. And not just because the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about 20% of global oil and gas, remains effectively closed to shipping traffic. Deep uncertainty about how long the disruption will continue has added a persistent “risk
- [UNHCR funding cuts leave Egypt's refugee mothers on the edge of collapse](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sudans-war-orphans-unhcr-funding-cuts-leave-egypts-refugee-mothers-on-the-edge-of-collapse/) - NAWAL clutches her youngest son on the cramped balcony of their Cairo tenement, his frail body a stark reminder of the choices no mother should make. The 35-year-old Sudanese widow, widowed by the war that has ravaged her homeland for four merciless years, gets just 1,520 Egyptian pounds ($28) a month from UNHCR – barely
- [Nigeria's airstrike pattern and the civilian toll the military cannot explain away](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/blood-markets-nigerias-airstrike-pattern-and-the-civilian-toll-the-military-cannot-explain-away/) - ON a Saturday night in April 2026, Nigerian military jets swept over the northeast of the country in pursuit of Islamist militants. What they hit was a village market. More than 200 people are feared dead. The victims were not combatants. They were traders, buyers, ordinary citizens navigating the brutal economics of survival in one
- [FROM ALGIERS TO YAOUNDÉ: Pope Leo XIV steps into Africa's complex heart](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/from-algiers-to-yaounde-pope-leo-xiv-steps-into-africas-complex-heart/) - POPE Leo XIV has landed in Cameroon carrying the moral and political weight of a first leg that was, by any measure, historic. Algeria gave the world a pope who arrived not as a ceremonial figurehead but as a statesman of faith - willing to confront power, honour the martyred, pray in a mosque, and
- [From the Pearl to the Cape: how Uganda’s Kiira Motors is rewriting the rules of African industry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/from-the-pearl-to-the-cape-how-ugandas-kiira-motors-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-african-industry/) - ON a morning in late 2025, a sleek electric bus rolled out of Kampala and pointed its nose southward. It had 7,125 kilometres to travel through six nations — Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, and finally South Africa. There was no fossil fuel in its engine. There was no European badge above its windscreen. It
- [Love, grace and world peace: how an African saint has shaped Pope Leo’s worldview](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/love-grace-and-world-peace-how-an-african-saint-has-shaped-pope-leos-worldview/) - POPE Leo XIV’s first official trip to Africa started with a fascinating stop in Algeria. Here, the pontiff’s visit to the Grand Mosque of Algiers was an attempt to strengthen Christian-Muslim relations. The stop was also to pay homage to Saint Augustine, the founder of the order that he is a member of. Catherine Conybeare,
- [History in the paint: Madina Okot becomes first Kenyan drafted into the WNBA](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/basketball/history-in-the-paint-madina-okot-becomes-first-kenyan-drafted-into-the-wnba/) - ON the night of the 2026 WNBA Draft, the Atlanta Dream called a name that had never been called before in the history of that league. With the 13th overall pick, they selected Madina Okot - 21 years old, six feet six inches tall, born in Mumias, raised on the basketball courts of Kenya, and
- [Afcon controversy: what a sports law specialist says about Senegal being stripped of the title](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/afcon-controversy-what-a-sports-law-specialist-says-about-senegal-being-stripped-of-the-title/) - TWO months after the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final, which was won by Senegal in January 2026, the appeal board of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) decided to strip them of the title and give it instead to their opponents, Morocco. This was because the Senegalese team had walked off the pitch
- [Middle East crisis deepens: UN warns of maternal despair in Lebanon, first aid reaches Iran amid Strait blockade](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/middle-east-crisis-deepens-un-warns-of-maternal-despair-in-lebanon-first-aid-reaches-iran-amid-strait-blockade/) - ESCALATING violence in southern Lebanon and stalled Iran talks are unleashing a humanitarian catastrophe across the Middle East, with civilian deaths surging, mass displacement, and global trade choked—threatening food security and economic stability far beyond the frontlines—as UN agencies race to deliver aid under fire. In Lebanon, Israeli ground operations intensify as the UN Security
- [The Islamabad talks were doomed to failure – and Hormuz blockade has thrown another obstacle to any Iran‑US deal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-islamabad-talks-were-doomed-to-failure-and-hormuz-blockade-has-thrown-another-obstacle-to-any-iran-us-deal/) - TWENTY-ONE hours of direct negotiations. The highest-level face-to-face engagement between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And yet, U.S. Vice President JD Vance boarded Air Force Two in Islamabad on the morning of April 12, 2026, with no deal to end the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, including an understanding over Tehran’s
- [They served their prison time. Then came deportation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/they-served-their-prison-time-then-came-deportation/) - JJ had a five-year plan to turn his life around. After being released from prison in 2022, he completed an 18-month job training program with the Los Angeles-based organization Homeboy Industries and began working as a cook for the group’s onsite cafe. He enrolled in two different community college programs to study business administration and
- [Bottling Ethiopia’s Green Gold](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/bottling-ethiopias-green-gold/) - IN a quiet workspace in Addis Ababa, Feven Tsehaye watches a bundle of wild-harvested herbs being sorted. The process is intricate: after being air-dried to preserve their volatile oils, the leaves are sorted by hand. The result is a sensory alchemy, golden skincare oils that smell of earth and sun, and deep-hued herbal teas that
- [West Africa is turning the tide on ocean losses](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/west-africa-is-turning-the-tide-on-ocean-losses/) - WEST African countries are reclaiming control of their marine ecosystems, which hold some of the world’s most valuable ocean resources, after decades of weak oversight and external exploitation. A proposed High Seas Marine Protected Area by the Economic Community of West African States shifts the region from fragmented national enforcement to coordinated regional control of
- [Keagan Dolly tipped for shock Kaizer Chiefs return](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/keagan-dolly-tipped-for-shock-kaizer-chiefs-return/) - CAPE Town City FC and Bafana Bafana forward Keagan Dolly is likely to return to Kaizer Chiefs at the conclusion of the ongoing 2025/26 domestic season. Dolly to Chiefs? SportsBoom.co.za has learned that former Kaizer Chiefs captain Keagan Dolly is likely to return to Naturena next season, to bolster the team's ambitious turnaround. Dolly spent
- [Civilians trapped as drone attacks, aid blockades deepen crisis in eastern Congo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/civilians-trapped-as-drone-attacks-aid-blockades-deepen-crisis-in-eastern-congo/) - DRONE strikes have killed civilians, destroyed a community radio station, and punched holes through a church roof in the remote highlands of South Kivu, as armed groups and government forces block humanitarian aid and prevent terrified residents from fleeing, Human Rights Watch has warned. The findings, published ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on
- [First blood: Senegal's anti-gay law claims its inaugural victim](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/first-blood-senegals-anti-gay-law-claims-its-inaugural-victim/) - HE has no name in the international dispatches. He is described only as a 24-year-old labourer - a young man of working hands and ordinary circumstance - who has now become the face of a new era of state-sanctioned persecution in Senegal A court in the Dakar suburb of Pikine-Guédiawaye has sentenced him to six
- [From OPEC throne to the dock: Diezani faces her reckoning](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/from-opec-throne-to-the-dock-diezani-faces-her-reckoning/) - THERE was a time when Diezani Alison-Madueke’s voice moved oil markets. When she walked into an OPEC ministerial meeting, a woman in a sea of Arab princes and Gulf potentates, the world paid attention. Nigeria, a country that has produced so few female titans in its political economy, had in her something remarkable: a woman
- [BRICS uses sport and screen to build a new cultural architecture](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/brics-uses-sport-and-screen-to-build-a-new-cultural-architecture/) - WHEN Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova chose to address a media conference in Moscow by video link last week, she was not merely promoting a documentary series. She was articulating a doctrine. At a conference held at the All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature in Moscow on 10 April, diplomats, policymakers, media
- [Tribute to Hamèye Cissé: a conscience, a friend](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/tribute-to-hameye-cisse-a-conscience-a-friend/) - TODAY, my pen hesitates. Not from weakness, but in the face of the inconceivable: the eternal journey of my brother and friend. He, the unshakeable pillar of the Malian press, the companion of so many struggles, the man whose character could disarm resentment with a smile. He was not merely a respected colleague. He was
- [Strait of Hormuz blockade: the complex regional realities the US ignores at its peril](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/strait-of-hormuz-blockade-the-complex-regional-realities-the-us-ignores-at-its-peril/) - AFTER the breakdown of ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran, President Donald Trump has now ordered a blockade of the pivotal Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. It’s just the latest and most combustible phase of a broader regional conflict with global impacts and long, complex roots. But while there has been
- [What Viktor Orbán’s election loss means for Putin, Trump and the rise of right‑wing populism](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/what-viktor-orbans-election-loss-means-for-putin-trump-and-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism/) - HUNGARY’S most consequential election in decades has just delivered an important victory for democracy and accountability. For Hungarians, opposition leader Péter Magyar’s emphatic defeat of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz Party ends 16 years of corruption and quasi-authoritarianism. The outcome will also be felt widely, from Moscow to Washington and beyond. In
- [Pope Leo’s resolute response to Trump attack reveals a man of God, not politics](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/pope-leos-resolute-response-to-trump-attack-reveals-a-man-of-god-not-politics/) - WHEN Pope Leo XIV condemned threats to destroy Iranian civilisation as “truly unacceptable” in April 2026, the backlash was immediate. US President Donald Trump unleashed a tirade against the pope on social media, accusing him of being “weak on crime”, “terrible for foreign policy”, and acting like a politician rather than a religious leader. But
- [Kenyans are encouraged to work abroad, but protection rights remain weak – new research](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/kenyans-are-encouraged-to-work-abroad-but-protection-rights-remain-weak-new-research/) - LABOUR migration from Kenya was oriented towards Africa, North America and Europe until the 1990s. Kenyans then started moving to the Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Most Kenyan labour migrants to the Gulf perform low-waged work, the women in domestic occupations and the men as security guards.
- [No escape: US court orders extradition of Ghana's fugitive boss](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/no-escape-us-court-orders-extradition-of-ghanas-fugitive-boss/) - THE long arm of the law has finally caught up with one of Ghana's most powerful women of a previous era. On 9 April 2026, US Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Albregts of the District of Nevada issued a formal certification ordering the extradition of Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu - the former Chief Executive Officer of the
- [American influencer found dead in Tanzanian hotel; fiancé arrested as family, friends reject suicide claim](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/american-influencer-found-dead-in-tanzanian-hotel-fiance-arrested-as-family-friends-reject-suicide-claim/) - A Miami-based lifestyle influencer found dead in a luxury Tanzanian hotel room has become the centre of an international murder investigation after family, friends and a vast online community refused to accept her fiancé's account that she took her own life. Ashlee Jenae, 31, was found dead at the Serval Wildlife Resort — a $950-a-night
- [Why Pope Leo’s trip to Africa is more than a pastoral visit](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/why-pope-leos-trip-to-africa-is-more-than-a-pastoral-visit/) - HE landed in Algiers to gun salutes and a state ceremony on Monday, but Pope Leo XIV's arrival in Africa carries a weight that no 21-gun volley can fully capture. In touching down in Algeria — the first Catholic pontiff ever to set foot in that nation — the 70-year-old American-born pope opened the most
- [Africa mourns Cisse - founding pillar of continental press freedom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/africa-mourns-cisse-founding-pillar-of-continental-press-freedom/) - THE African Editors Forum (TAEF) has paid a warm tribute to Hameye Mahaman Cissé, one of the continent's most consequential press freedom advocates, a co-architect of pan-African editorial solidarity, and a journalist whose moral clarity shaped the conditions under which African journalism was practised for more than three decades. Cisse passed away on Thursday and
- [Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade risks new costs for the global economy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trumps-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-risks-new-costs-for-the-global-economy/) - FOR weeks now, the world economy has been on tenterhooks, waiting for one outcome: reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In response to the war with Israel and the United States, Iran has effectively closed the narrow waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes. Some ships have passed through
- [Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia emerge as a new regional power bloc amid Iran war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/pakistan-turkey-egypt-and-saudi-arabia-emerge-as-a-new-regional-power-bloc-amid-iran-war/) - PAKISTAN’S prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, announced that a two-week ceasefire had been agreed between the US and Iran in the early hours of April 8. Delegates from both sides are expected to attend further talks in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Friday. This comes less than two weeks after Pakistan hosted talks with Saudi
- [What a Chinese crackdown on corruption meant for Beijing’s high‑end restaurant market](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/what-a-chinese-crackdown-on-corruption-meant-for-beijings-high-end-restaurant-market/) - CORRUPTION crackdowns are bad for businesses that thrive on their proximity to political power centres. In fact, they can change the physical layout of an entire industry. That is what my colleagues and I found when we looked at the impact of a major Chinese government campaign against corruption on Beijing’s restaurants. In 2012, the
- [Farewell, My dear brother Haméye Cisse](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/farewell-my-dear-brother-hameye-cisse/) - YOU will not read this letter as you are no longer on this earth but I write it as my last communication to you as this Friday, April 10th, 2026, we did not exchange our usual Friday greetings. Your unexpected demise on Thursday, April 9th, 2026, permanently cut off all communications and ended a beautiful
- [Africa's moment beyond the horizon](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africas-moment-beyond-the-horizon/) - ON the same day that NASA's Artemis II capsule, Integrity, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean - completing humanity's first crewed journey to the vicinity of the Moon since 1972 - a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was climbing through the Florida night sky carrying something of equal consequence for a continent long told that space
- [The Sahrawi people’s shrinking map of freedom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-sahrawi-peoples-shrinking-map-of-freedom/) - IN the Tindouf refugee camps of southwestern Algeria, where temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius and sandstorms last for days, approximately 173,000 Sahrawi people have been waiting for fifty years. Waiting for a referendum. Waiting for a return. Waiting for a world that promised them self-determination and has spent five decades renegotiating that promise away. On
- [Bobi Wine’s decision to flee Uganda points to a shrinking landscape for opposition politics](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/bobi-wines-decision-to-flee-uganda-points-to-a-shrinking-landscape-for-opposition-politics/) - BOBI Wine’s escape from Uganda is not just a striking episode in itself; it also offers insight into the current state of the opposition – particularly his National Unity Platform party – and into the divergences within the Yoweri Museveni regime. The Ugandan opposition leader had been in hiding for almost two months after the
- [Steel, speed and sovereignty: Africa's rail revolution is here](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/steel-speed-and-sovereignty-africas-rail-revolution-is-here/) - FOR most of Africa's post-independence history, a simple, brutal fact has governed the movement of wealth across the continent: minerals worth billions in the ground are worth a fraction of their potential when trapped by roads that crumble, ports that congest, and borders that bottleneck. A tonne of copper mined in Zambia's Copperbelt could spend
- [4 ways the war in Iran has weakened the United States in the great power game](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/4-ways-the-war-in-iran-has-weakened-the-united-states-in-the-great-power-game/) - “NEVER interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Napoleon Bonaparte’s maxim may well have been in the minds of policymakers in Moscow and Beijing these past weeks, as the U.S. war in Iran dragged on. And now that a 14-day ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is in effect – with both sides claiming
- [In mediating the US‑Iran peace talks, Pakistan is flexing its geopolitical muscles](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/in-mediating-the-us-iran-peace-talks-pakistan-is-flexing-its-geopolitical-muscles/) - WHEN news of the fragile ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran first broke, it came via a post on X by Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif. Securing such a big diplomatic win is highly significant for Pakistan, irrespective of how the agreement has since been tested. Pakistan will remain central to ongoing peace
- [Kidney disease is growing in Africa: big new study casts light on genetic risk factors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/kidney-disease-is-growing-in-africa-big-new-study-casts-light-on-genetic-risk-factors/) - EVERY minute your kidneys are hard at work, filtering around 200 litres of blood, removing waste, balancing salts and fluids, and regulating blood pressure. This happens without any conscious effort on your part. But when your kidneys begin to fail, the consequences are devastating, including fatigue, fluid buildup and heart complications. Some people eventually need
- [Guns, shells and a R10bn windfall: South Africa's arms trade triples in a year](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/guns-shells-and-a-r10bn-windfall-south-africas-arms-trade-triples-in-a-year/) - SOUTH Africa's defence industry recorded its most explosive export performance in at least a decade in 2025, shipping R10.1 billion ($590 million) worth of weapons, munitions and military equipment to 42 countries — nearly triple the R3.6 billion ($210 million) exported the year before. The figures, presented to Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Defence by
- [Drones at a wedding: Sudan's forgotten war crosses another uncrossable line](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/drones-at-a-wedding-sudans-forgotten-war-crosses-another-uncrossable-line/) - THERE are no soldiers at a wedding. There are no military targets between a bride and her guests, no strategic assets tucked inside a celebration of life in the town of Kutum, in Sudan's North Darfur state. There is only music, family, and the terrible vulnerability of civilians who believed, for a few hours, that
- [From Legon to the lunar horizon: how Ghana wrote its name in the cosmos](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/from-legon-to-the-lunar-horizon-how-ghana-wrote-its-name-in-the-cosmos/) - THERE is a version of history that is written in fire and steel - in rocket plumes and re-entry plasma, in the roar of a Space Launch System at dawn. And then there is another kind of history, quieter and more intimate: the kind that lives in an exchange student’s notebook in a university classroom
- [109,344 and counting: SA breaks deportation records as immigration crisis boils](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/109344-and-counting-sa-breaks-deportation-records-as-immigration-crisis-boils/) - SOUTH Africa has deported more than 109,000 undocumented immigrants in the past two financial years, the Department of Home Affairs has confirmed, as the country confronts the most politically charged immigration crisis in its post-apartheid history. Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber announced that inland deportations reached 109,344 by 31 March 2026 - a 46%
- [Pope Leo’s visit to Africa: theology scholar outlines 3 realities the Catholic church must face](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/pope-leos-visit-to-africa-theology-scholar-outlines-3-realities-the-catholic-church-must-face/) - POPE Leo’s decision to make Africa one of the early destinations of his young papacy signals the continent’s importance in global Catholicism. His April 2026 visit reflects both his personal ties to Africa and the rapid rise of Christianity across the continent. His 10-day itinerary to Algeria, Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea is also historically
- [It’s more than basketball](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/basketball/its-more-than-basketball/) - ON the basketball court of the Cité des Arts in Cocody, Abidjan, the rhythm is relentless. Balls bounce in quick succession, instructions echo across the court, and young women repeat drills with intensity. Some work on their footwork, others string together passes or reposition themselves on defence under the attentive eye of their coach. At
- [Why is Israel continuing to attack Lebanon, despite the ceasefire? Expert Q&A](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-is-israel-continuing-to-attack-lebanon-despite-the-ceasefire-expert-qa/) - THE ceasefire in the Middle East is on shaky ground. Israel continued its bombardment of Lebanon on Wednesday, claiming its activities there are not part of the deal with Iran. These attacks killed at least 254 people across Lebanon and injured over 800 more in what was Israel’s largest offensive of the war so far.
- [After ceasefire, negotiating a lasting deal with Iran would require overcoming regional rivalries and strategic incoherence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/after-ceasefire-negotiating-a-lasting-deal-with-iran-would-require-overcoming-regional-rivalries-and-strategic-incoherence/) - PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s rapid and dramatic turn from threatening to kill “an entire civilisation” in Iran on the morning of April 7, 2026, to announcing a two-week ceasefire later that day left many observers with a sense of whiplash. While it is difficult to predict whether the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran will hold
- [Federal grants can save the lives of abuse victims. $200 million is sitting unspent](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/federal-grants-can-save-the-lives-of-abuse-victims-200-million-is-sitting-unspent/) - MORE than $200 million in federal funds that were supposed to go to help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and trafficking last fiscal year still haven’t been paid out to the nonprofits and other entities that form the safety net for those impacted by gender-based violence. The Office on Violence Against Women in
- [Gallery: The Lion of Bamako: Tribute to Hameye Mahaman Cissé](https://theafricanmirror.africa/multimedia/gallery-the-lion-of-bamako-tribute-to-hameye-mahaman-cisse/) - THERE are journalists who cover history. And then there are journalists who become it. Hameye Mahaman Cissé - Mahamane Hamèye Cissé in his native Mali - belongs, without contest, to that rarer and more precious second category. A founding force of the independent press in West Africa, a warrior for media freedom across the continent,
- [The Lion of Bamako: Tribute to Hameye Mahaman Cissé - Editor, activist, continental conscience](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-lion-of-bamako-tribute-to-hamey-mahaman-cisse-editor-activist-continental-conscience/) - THERE are journalists who cover history. And then there are journalists who become it. Hameye Mahaman Cissé - Mahamane Hamèye Cissé in his native Mali - belongs, without contest, to that rarer and more precious second category. A founding force of the independent press in West Africa, a warrior for media freedom across the continent,
- ["She left behind a standard": A tribute to Ambassador Konjit Sinegiorgis - diplomat, Pan-Africanist, and keeper of a fading flame](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/she-left-behind-a-standard-a-tribute-to-ambassador-konjit-sinegiorgis-diplomat-pan-africanist-and-keeper-of-a-fading-flame/) - THERE are deaths that grieve a family. And there are deaths that grieve a continent. The passing of Ambassador Konjit Sinegiorgis belongs to the second kind. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, spoke for the entire African Union family when she said simply: "I am deeply saddened by the loss of the long-serving Ambassador Konjit." In
- [SA court clears way for extradition of 8 Nigerians to USA over $17m fraud](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-court-clears-path-for-extradition-of-8-nigerians-in-17m-fraud-web/) - THE Western Cape High Court has shut down the last major legal obstacle standing between eight Nigerian men and extradition proceedings to the United States, dismissing an appeal that sought to block their surrender to American authorities over an alleged international fraud scheme that netted its perpetrators at least $17 million - approximately R279 million
- [Rassie van der Dussen reveals unfortunate CSA events leading up to retirement](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/rassie-van-der-dussen-reveals-unfortunate-csa-events-leading-up-to-retirement/) - AS the topic of communication or lack thereof between senior international players, coaches and selectors all around the world continues to soar, former Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen spoke his truth in an exclusive interview with SportsBoom, citing that he still does not know why he was not contracted for the 2026/27 season despite
- [SA company which blew R2.6 m in two months - without doing the job - ordered to repay the money](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-company-which-blew-r2-6-m-in-two-months-without-doing-the-job-ordered-to-repay-the-money/) - THE money was gone before a single learner set foot in a classroom. A total of R2,699,968.75 - disbursed by the National Skills Fund (NSF) in November 2018 to fund a year-long vocational training programme for 100 South Africans - had been completely exhausted by Rubicon Communications CC within two months of receipt. Not a
- [US pulls staff over concerns of security in Nigeria](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/us-pulls-staff-over-concerns-of-security-in-nigeria/) - THE United States has begun pulling non-essential staff and dependents from its embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, issuing one of its starkest diplomatic signals in years that security in Africa's largest economy and most populous nation is deteriorating in ways Washington can no longer manage from behind compound walls. On 8 April 2026, the US Department
- [$130,000 to wipe tears: Zim tycoon Wicknell Chivayo and the art of the grand gesture](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/130000-to-wipe-tears-zim-tycoon-wicknell-chivayo-and-the-art-of-the-grand-gesture/) - THERE are condolence messages. Then there are Wicknell Chivayo condolence messages. When Zimbabwe's most theatrically wealthy businessman sat down - presumably aboard a private jet somewhere over the continent, because he was, naturally, "out of the Country" - to compose his Easter weekend tribute to Ronald Mujuru, he did not reach for a simple bunch
- [Credit and credibility: rating agency errors come with a cost](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/credit-and-credibility-rating-agency-errors-come-with-a-cost/) - THE rating agency S&P Global’s Africa Credit Rating Trends 2025 reviews the past year’s rating activities and analyses the continent’s prospects for 2026. It is an important document because it interprets the underlying drivers of creditworthiness. It shapes how global investors and policymakers understand risk, opportunity and reform dynamics across the continent. But the document
- [The weight she carries: Tolashe, the presidency and the price of loyalty](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-weight-she-carries-tolashe-the-presidency-and-the-price-of-loyalty/) - IN South African politics, survival is rarely about innocence. It is about weight. Political weight - the kind that bends institutional levers, softens presidential spines, and protects the powerful from the consequences ordinary citizens face every day. By that brutal measure, Social Development Minister Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe has, until now, been very heavy indeed. She
- [Has multilateralism hit a dead end? Could International organisations be collateral damage of the war in Iran?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/has-multilateralism-hit-a-dead-end-could-international-organisations-be-collateral-damage-of-the-war-in-iran/) - ONE of the most striking aspects of the war with Iran is the extent to which it has highlighted the irrelevance of international organisations and multilateral approaches to resolving global conflicts. If we take war as an indicator of the viability of the rules-based international order established after World War II, then we may well
- [Israeli threats to occupy or annex south Lebanon dust off a decades‑old playbook](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/israeli-threats-to-occupy-or-annex-south-lebanon-dust-off-a-decades-old-playbook/) - A chorus of hawkish Israeli politicians is urging the country’s military to intensify its weekslong ground and air campaign against Hezbollah and pave the way for a more permanent presence in the country’s south. On April 5, 18 Israeli lawmakers pressed the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to occupy and fully control southern Lebanon
- [Bombs in God’s name: how two teenagers nearly turned a New York protest into a massacre](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/bombs-in-gods-name-how-two-teenagers-nearly-turned-a-new-york-protest-into-a-massacre/) - AT 12:15 on a cool Saturday afternoon in March, a crowd of protesters and counter-protesters traded insults outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City’s Mayor, on the leafy Upper East Side of Manhattan. Police barriers separated the two groups. NYPD officers stood watch. It looked, on the surface, like any other tense
- [#KWIBUKA32: Rwanda's youth march into a future forged from the ashes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/kwibuka32-rwandas-youth-march-into-a-future-forged-from-the-ashes/) - THEY came in their thousands, the young and the living, marching through the hills of Rwanda alongside their president and first lady, their feet tracing a path that their parents and grandparents nearly never survived to walk. On April 7, 2026, Rwanda marked Kwibuka 32 - the 32nd commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the
- [Criminal case opened against SA cabinet minister as pressure mounts on Ramaphosa to act](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/criminal-case-opened-against-sa-cabinet-minister-as-pressure-mounts-on-ramaphosa-to-act/) - OPPOSITION parties have opened a criminal corruption case and filed multiple formal ethics complaints against Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe, calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire her immediately after evidence emerged that she misled Parliament about the fate of two luxury SUVs received from Chinese officials. ActionSA MP Dereleen James announced on Wednesday that
- [SOUTH SUDAN: President Kiir fires parliament's speaker in the latest salvo of an anti-corruption purge](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/south-sudan-president-kiir-fires-parliaments-speaker-in-the-latest-salvo-of-an-anti-corruption-purge/) - SOUTH Sudan's President Salva Kiir is fighting on two fronts simultaneously - and neither war is straightforward. On the battlefield, the fragile peace architecture brokered since the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) continues to buckle under fresh outbreaks of militia violence and persistent intercommunal conflict. In the
- [Zimbabwe backs homegrown content with new funding drive](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/zimbabwe-backs-homegrown-content-with-new-funding-drive/) - ZIMBABWE is backing its creative sector with targeted public funding, setting aside US$10 million for local content production as part of an effort to strengthen national broadcasting and expand homegrown storytelling. The country is targeting both the cost of filming and the economics of building studios, signalling a broader move to treat storytelling as a
- ['The Fisherman,' a Ghanaian story of dreams, comedy, and a touch of magic](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-fisherman-a-ghanaian-story-of-dreams-comedy-and-a-touch-of-magic/) - THE lights dim at Westgate Cinema in Nairobi, and within minutes, a retired fisherman appears large on the screen, arguing with a fish that talks back. Around him, younger companions debate money, risk, and opportunity, while the audience laughs, loudly and often, at scenes that feel both absurd and familiar. By the time the credits
- [South African court orders Eskom to disclose R70 billion coal and diesel contracts – why the ruling matters](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/south-african-court-orders-eskom-to-disclose-r70-billion-coal-and-diesel-contracts-why-the-ruling-matters/) - SOUTH Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal recently ruled that the country’s state-owned electricity utility Eskom must disclose its contracts with coal and diesel suppliers. This is a major victory for transparency in a sector that has long been marked by secrecy, financial instability and weak public trust. Eskom generates about 90% of the country’s electricity,
- [The US‑Israel ceasefire with Iran presses pause on a costly war, but can peace last?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-us-israel-ceasefire-with-iran-presses-pause-on-a-costly-war-but-can-peace-last/) - PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s acceptance of a Pakistani proposal for a two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran brings a sigh of relief to the international community. Just hours before, many had been alarmed by Trump’s threats to bomb Iran back to “the stone age” and destroy its “civilisation”. The ceasefire provides a breathing space for
- [When a president is unfit for office, here’s what the Constitution says can happen](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/when-a-president-is-unfit-for-office-heres-what-the-constitution-says-can-happen/) - BIPARTISAN calls for President Donald Trump’s removal from office increased on April 7, 2026, after he issued threats to destroy “a whole civilization” if Iran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. These calls have come from across the political spectrum, from Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico
- [How Artemis II’s Earthset photo compares with the iconic Earthrise image from 1968](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-artemis-iis-earthset-photo-compares-with-the-iconic-earthrise-image-from-1968/) - AS Nasa’s Artemis II mission completed its lunar flyby, the astronauts sent back a stunning image of the colourful Earth setting behind the Moon. This breathtaking photo, called Earthset, draws inevitable comparisons with the original Earthrise photo from the Apollo 8 flight in 1968. The Apollo-era photo showed our planet climbing above the lunar horizon.
- [When the Diamond Speaks: South Africa's softball revolution arrives at Kempton Park](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/when-the-diamond-speaks-south-africas-softball-revolution-arrives-at-kempton-park/) - THE 2026 Softball South Africa National Provincial Championship did not simply produce two deserving champions. It produced a statement - about where this sport has been, where it intends to go, and which generation of South Africans will take it there. Four days of fierce, sunlit competition at Kempton Park, Johannesburg, delivered the kind of
- [Astronaut Victor Glover is the latest in a long line of Black American explorers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/astronaut-victor-glover-is-the-latest-in-a-long-line-of-black-american-explorers-−-including-york-the-enslaved-man-who-played-a-key-role-in-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/) - IN April 2026, four astronauts are scheduled to fly around the Moon. As part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, they will become the first humans to do so in half a century. One crew member, pilot Victor Glover, will become the first Black astronaut to ever orbit the Moon. Glover’s achievement is worth celebrating. But
- [Ghana leads Africa’s charge to challenge global health order](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghana-leads-africas-charge-to-challenge-global-health-order/) - IN a move that signals Africa's most structured institutional challenge yet to the architecture of global health governance, Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled an 18-member high-level panel under the Accra Reset Initiative - a body charged not with producing another declaration, but with delivering concrete proposals to restructure a system the initiative's own
- [Sold into war: Cameroon's shocking death toll exposes Africa's deepening crisis on Russia's frontlines](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sold-into-war-cameroons-shocking-death-toll-exposes-africas-deepening-crisis-on-russias-frontlines/) - THE names were read on national radio on a Monday morning - sixteen Cameroonian citizens, confirmed dead on the frozen killing fields of eastern Ukraine, fighting a war that was never theirs. The disclosure by Cameroon's Ministry of External Relations this week marks the first time Yaoundé has officially confirmed the deaths of its nationals
- [Africa's refinery moment: Dangote fuels the dream of a self-sufficient continent](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africas-refinery-moment-dangote-fuels-the-dream-of-a-self-sufficient-continent/) - HISTORY does not always announce itself. Sometimes it arrives in the form of an oil tanker departing the Lagos coastline, bound not for Houston or Rotterdam, but for Accra, Dar es Salaam, or Douala. When Aliko Dangote stood before cameras at his sprawling Ibeju-Lekki refinery and declared that he could supply "West Africa, Central Africa,
- [Jemima Kakizi is rewriting the future of Rwandan art](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/jemima-kakizi-is-rewriting-the-future-of-rwandan-art/) - THE drill-like sounds of a tufting gun cut through the quiet of a hilltop neighbourhood on a sunny morning in Kigali, Rwanda. With focused precision, Ethiopian artist Tsega Zewde Rago guides the handheld machine, punching multicoloured yarn through a taut canvas. Rago is a graduate of the prestigious Alle School of Fine Arts and Design
- [Cape Fever: a haunting new novel from award‑winning South African writer Nadia Davids](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/literature/cape-fever-a-haunting-new-novel-from-award-winning-south-african-writer-nadia-davids/) - THERE’S a line in Cape Fever, the new book by award-winning South African novelist and playwright Nadia Davids, that doesn’t just establish the story, it also makes a haunting promise: But small house, big house, smells or no smells, this is much the same: that in the city you will come to know a person
- [Kenya’s counties get budgets to undo inequality – how it’s helped households](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/kenyas-counties-get-budgets-to-undo-inequality-how-its-helped-households/) - KENYA devolved power and public spending to 47 counties in 2013. This was in line with a global trend in which governments were pushing power and resources down to local levels in the hope that decisions made closer to people would lead to better outcomes. The logic was straightforward: local governments should be better placed
- [Iran war: what African countries can do to get through the crisis and emerge in a better place](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/iran-war-what-african-countries-can-do-to-get-through-the-crisis-and-emerge-in-a-better-place-2/) - BY Easter 2026, it was still not clear when – or how – the war initiated by Israel and the US against Iran would end. But what was already clear was that it would harm Africa in a number of ways. Firstly, it would adversely affect the global supply and prices of oil and gas,
- [Economic policy in South Africa neglects informal traders: 5 focus areas to support the sector](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/economic-policy-in-south-africa-neglects-informal-traders-5-focus-areas-to-support-the-sector/) - THE informal economy is responsible for a large share of economic output across the continent. Yet economic policy is almost always designed for the formal economy and overlooks the informal economy. We are labour-market economists interested in the informal economy and informal work. We have spent the last two years investigating the concept of an
- [Solomon Mahlangu: Apartheid's gallows could not silence the voice of June 1976](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/solomon-mahlangu-apartheids-gallows-could-not-silence-the-voice-of-june-1976/) - THE man who collected me from the offices of the Mozambican intelligence service asked me to get into a 4x4 Landrover, and he drove to a house where we collected three other men. From the way the four of us greeted one another, we were obviously all South Africans. It was also evident that we
- [Nigeria imports 70% of its medicines – why local manufacturing doesn’t meet demand](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/nigeria-imports-70-of-its-medicines-why-local-manufacturing-doesnt-meet-demand/) - NIGERIA imports at least 70% of its medicines. This is striking for a country of over 230 million people and at least 120 active pharmaceutical manufacturers. Domestic manufacturing is largely concentrated in lower-end medicines that require relatively simple production processes. The more complex and higher-value pharmaceutical products continue to be imported. This pattern has persisted
- [Hormuz closure threatens the global food supply – why grocery price hikes are coming](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/hormuz-closure-threatens-the-global-food-supply-why-grocery-price-hikes-are-coming/) - THE global energy crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is only the beginning of the economic cost of the war with Iran. I study how institutions affect businesses and supply chains, and I expect food prices to rise next, with high prices lasting even after whatever point hostilities end. Along with
- [How might the Strait of Hormuz be reopened? Here are 3 scenarios](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/how-might-the-strait-of-hormuz-be-reopened-here-are-3-scenarios/) - THE Strait of Hormuz crisis has reached a critical juncture. President Donald Trump has demanded Iran reopen the Strait or the United States will further intensify its military assault. While the strait has not been totally closed to shipping, it has been substantially disrupted, and transits have effectively slowed to a trickle. The Strait is
- [Tribute to Sammy Tloubatla (74), Azapo's founding secretary general Sammy Tloubatla, who turned his wedding into an anti-apartheid protest](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/tribute-to-sammy-tloubatla-74-azapos-founding-secretary-general-sammy-tloubatla-who-turned-his-wedding-into-a-protest/) - BLACK weddings in South Africa are an interesting phenomenon. You will normally have what is called a white wedding, suits for men, and the white dress for women. Then there will be what is called a traditional wedding, either before the white or after, the sequence doesn’t seem to matter. In the traditional wedding both
- [Angola’s Lourenço slams superpower wars over oil, minerals](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-world-has-become-a-jungle-angolas-lourenco-slams-superpower-wars-over-oil-and-minerals/) - AS the US and Israel-led war against Iran persists, the President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, has warned that the same motives behind colonialism in the past are what drive any superpower today to carry out military interventions, as happened in the US invasion of Iraq. Speaking during the 11th Summit of Heads
- [Papa knows best: at 93, Biya turns Cameroon into a family business](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/papa-knows-best-at-93-biya-turns-cameroon-into-a-family-business/) - PAUL Biya has never been a man in a hurry. He has, after all, had 44 years to get things done. So when Africa's longest-serving non-royal president finally decided to settle the small matter of what happens when he is no longer around - or, more accurately, when he is no longer even more conspicuously
- [DRC World Cup stars are filthy rich before a ball is kicked](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/drc-world-cup-stars-are-filthy-rich-before-a-ball-is-kicked/) - QUALIFYING for the FIFA World Cup is supposed to be the reward. The trophy. The culmination. The moment players and coaches hoist each other onto heaving shoulders and weep into television cameras while their nation erupts into national delirium. That is the deal. That is how it has always worked. Nobody appears to have explained
- [Blood on all hands: Burkina Faso's junta, Al-Qaeda indicted for crimes against humanity](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/blood-on-all-hands-burkina-fasos-junta-al-qaeda-indicted-for-crimes-against-humanity/) - THEY called it Operation Tchéfari 2 — Warriors' Honey in Fulfulde —, but for the Fulani families of 16 villages near the northern Burkinabè town of Djibo, December 2023 delivered only death. In a single military sweep, soldiers and allied militiamen killed more than 400 civilians. A 35-year-old woman who survived described watching her two
- [South Africa rewrites the rules: Cabinet approves generation-defining immigration overhaul](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/south-africa-rewrites-the-rules-cabinet-approves-generation-defining-immigration-overhaul/) - AFTER the most recent meeting of the South African Cabinet, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni stepped before the cameras and the language she used was deliberate: the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection had been approved - not for further study, not for another round of consultation, but for implementation. It
- [Inside The Manosphere exposes online hate and the dying voice of traditional media](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/inside-the-manosphere-exposes-online-hate-and-the-dying-voice-of-traditional-media/) - BRITISH-AMERICAN journalist and filmmaker Louis Theroux has a long history of documenting outlandish and extremist communities, from the Westboro Baptist Church in The Most Hated Family In America to The Settlers in the West Bank. His deadpan, nerdish delivery, in contrast to his interviewees’ more animated behaviour, has become a signature style. The humour in
- [China's Chery makes its move: a Beijing-Pretoria industrial bet that changes everything](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/chinas-chery-makes-its-move-a-beijing-pretoria-industrial-bet-that-changes-everything/) - WHEN Charlie Zhang, Vice-President of Chery Auto and Executive Vice-President of Chery International, took to the floor of the sixth annual South Africa Investment Conference (SAIC 2026), he delivered more than a corporate announcement. He delivered a geopolitical statement: China’s largest privately owned automaker is planting a flag in South Africa’s industrial heartland, and it
- [Zimbabwe’s push to extend the president’s rule could deepen elite divisions and weaken democracy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/zimbabwes-push-to-extend-the-presidents-rule-could-deepen-elite-divisions-and-weaken-democracy/) - ZIMBABWE’S ruling party, Zanu-PF, wants to amend the constitution through a bill in parliament. It won’t be that simple, however. Under the constitution, voters must approve such changes through a referendum. The new bill’s most significant proposals include extending presidential and parliamentary terms by two years. This would allow Zimbabwe’s 83-year-old president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to
- [Pentecostal churches are a place of everyday care, not just bizarre spectacle: southern African study](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/pentecostal-churches-are-a-place-of-everyday-care-not-just-bizarre-spectacle-southern-african-study/) - A growing brand of new Pentecostal churches in southern Africa is known to emphasise the prosperity gospel, deliverance, miracles and healing. Miracles, including people apparently rising from the dead, are just one of the contentious issues swirling around these churches. Pastors have been the subject of sensational media headlines for spraying congregants with insecticide or
- [US and Iran: A brief history of how decades of mistrust and bad blood led to open warfare](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/us-and-iran-a-brief-history-of-how-decades-of-mistrust-and-bad-blood-led-to-open-warfare/) - WITH U.S. bombs raining down on Iran and Tehran’s leaders responding by hitting targets across the Persian Gulf and restricting transit through the Strait of Hormuz, it is fair to suggest that the present moment represents a low in relations between the two countries. But the bad blood isn’t new: The U.S. and Iran have
- [Maternity health services in Nigeria are failing women: 4 steps to better care](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/maternity-health-services-in-nigeria-are-failing-women-4-steps-to-better-care/) - NIGERIA faces one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates. Around 1,047 women die for every 100,000 live births, far above the African regional average of about 531 deaths per 100,000. This highlights the fact that not all women are getting maternal healthcare. Reasons include: differences in access to healthcare between geographical regions socio-demographic factors
- [From cowboy to crusader: how Trump distorts American mythology in the conflict with Iran](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/from-cowboy-to-crusader-how-trump-distorts-american-mythology-in-the-conflict-with-iran/) - THE United States’ Operation Epic Fury against Iran does more than mark a military escalation. It shows how Trump revives old national myths: the American frontier, the cowboy, regenerative violence, and Providence – while stripping them of their civic dimension and turning them into narratives of domination. That is what distinguishes him from earlier presidents:
- [Bombs, bluster and back-channels: The elusive search for peace in Iran](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/bombs-bluster-and-back-channels-the-elusive-search-for-peace-in-iran/) - AS Tuesday's deadline loomed over a war zone stretching from the Persian Gulf to southern Lebanon, American and Iranian negotiators were quietly studying the outlines of a peace plan that neither side had yet endorsed - and both retained the capacity to shatter at a moment's notice. The proposed framework, brokered by Pakistan after an
- [Africa strikes first: Kebinatshipi blazes to world-leading 9.89s](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/athletics/africa-strikes-first-kebinatshipi-blazes-to-world-leading-9-89s/) - THERE are moments in sport when a single number reshapes the entire conversation. On a searing afternoon at the Botswana National Trials, one such number was born: 9.89 seconds. That was the time Busang Collen Kebinatshipi clocked to win his heat in the men's 100 metres — a personal best, a national statement, and, most
- [I watched Artemis II lift off — and witnessed the first humans venture to the Moon since 1972](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/i-watched-artemis-ii-lift-off-and-witnessed-the-first-humans-venture-to-the-moon-since-1972/) - EVEN from a distance of several kilometres, the Artemis II rocket looked huge. Then, there was a moment that felt like an eternity, as around 2,600 metric tons of spacecraft lifted off. I was honoured to receive an invitation from the Canadian Space Agency to attend this historic launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. I
- [THE GENERAL, THE TWEET AND THE PUNCHING BAG: Muhoozi's X meltdown lays bare the soul of Uganda's succession crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-general-the-tweet-and-the-punching-bag-muhoozis-x-meltdown-lays-bare-the-soul-of-ugandas-succession-crisis/) - IT was, as they say in the scrolling, unforgiving theatre of social media, quite the post. Not a policy statement. Not a military briefing. Not even a poorly worded threat dressed up as banter. It was, in fact, all three - wrapped in one breathtaking, 280-character confession of the soul of Uganda's ruling family. General
- [Nigerian President meets with families, survivors of Palm Sunday massacre](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigerian-president-dumps-ribbon-cutting-event-to-be-with-families-survivors-of-palm-sunday-massacre/) - THE woman had already buried her son once - in her arms, in the viral video that stopped Nigeria cold. She had held young Ayuba's body in the dust of Angwan Rukuba, her face a portrait of a grief too enormous for words. Now, five days after the gunmen came at dusk on Palm Sunday,
- [Brutal Mau Mau camps in Kenya were an extension of Britain’s colonial prison system – historian traces their roots](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/brutal-mau-mau-camps-in-kenya-were-an-extension-of-britains-colonial-prison-system-historian-traces-their-roots/) - DURING the Mau Mau uprising between 1952 and 1960, the British colonial government confined an estimated 150,000 Kenyans in a sprawling network of “emergency” detention camps. None of those held in the camps had been found guilty in a court of law. Instead, they were detained on suspicion of supporting the uprising. British control over
- [Roar of the Leopards: Congo back on football's biggest stage after 52-year exile](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/roar-of-the-leopards-congo-back-on-footballs-biggest-stage-after-52-year-exile/) - IT came in the 100th minute, in the rain-drenched dark just west of Guadalajara, and it landed like thunder across 100 million souls. When Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe bundled a corner over the line at Estadio Akron, and the referee's whistle confirmed what the VAR screen had taken an agonising 60 seconds to ratify, the
- [SA: Pandemic profiteers stripped bare: SIU nails Mpumalanga PPE fraudsters as R50-billion recovery milestone looms](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sa-pandemic-profiteers-stripped-bare-siu-nails-mpumalanga-ppe-fraudsters-as-r50-billion-recovery-milestone-looms/) - KATLEHO O'Hara Mokonyane and Bonelela Mgudlwa thought the fog of a national health emergency would cover their tracks. It did not. The Special Tribunal, acting on investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), has declared two contracts worth a combined R14.3 million constitutionally invalid, unlawful, and void — and ordered both co-owners of Tark Group
- [Lawyers go to court as US dumps 16 criminals on Uganda's doorstep](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/lawyers-go-to-court-as-us-dumps-16-criminals-on-ugandas-doorstep/) - UGANDA's lawyers have gone to court to block what they described as the brazen dumping of 16 individuals with criminal backgrounds onto Ugandan soil, hours after the group arrived on a flight from the United States at Entebbe International Airport - a process the legal fraternity condemned as a violation of human dignity orchestrated for
- [AFRICA’S FIRST: Ghana's identity card is now a bank: Africa watches - and should act](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africas-first-ghanas-identity-card-is-now-a-bank-africa-watches-and-should-act/) - GHANA has done what financial inclusion advocates have demanded for a generation: it has collapsed the identity card and the bank account into a single piece of plastic - and, in doing so, become the first African nation to embed a sovereign payments system directly into its national identity infrastructure, cutting out the US-based card
- [Iran war: what African countries can do to get through the crisis and emerge in a better place](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/iran-war-what-african-countries-can-do-to-get-through-the-crisis-and-emerge-in-a-better-place/) - BY Easter 2026, it was still not clear when – or how – the war initiated by Israel and the US against Iran would end. But what was already clear was that it would harm Africa in a number of ways. Firstly, it would adversely affect the global supply and prices of oil and gas,
- [Fog of war: Trump's Iran address long on rhetoric, short on roadmap](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/fog-of-war-trumps-iran-address-long-on-rhetoric-short-on-roadmap/) - US Donald Trump took to the airwaves promising victory in Iran, but what his 19-minute primetime address actually delivered was a masterclass in strategic ambiguity dressed as decisive command. The United States is now five weeks into a war it began on 28 February alongside Israel, and the president who launched it still cannot -
- [Artemis II’s long countdown – a space historian explains why it has taken over 50 years to return to the Moon](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/artemis-iis-long-countdown-a-space-historian-explains-why-it-has-taken-over-50-years-to-return-to-the-moon/) - WHILE I was leading a tour of the National Air and Space Museum in January 2026, a visitor posed this insightful question: “Why has it taken so long to return to the Moon?” After all, NASA had the know-how and technology to send humans to the lunar surface more than 50 years ago as part
- [RISE, RECLAIM, VOTE: SA’s  IEC sounds the alarm as the Ballot Box beckons](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/rise-reclaim-vote-sas-iec-sounds-the-alarm-as-the-ballot-box-beckons/) - AT first glance, it might appear a ceremonial occasion: a logo reveal, a stage, officials in suits, speeches careful in cadence. But when the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) assembled media, commissioners, political party representatives and civic stakeholders in Midrand, Johannesburg, the stakes were anything but ceremonial. The institution responsible for the world's most-watched
- [Ten years for being: Senegal signs anti-LGBTQ+ law amid global outcry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ten-years-for-being-senegal-signs-anti-lgbtq-law-amid-global-outcry/) - SENEGAL is now a country where a person can be imprisoned for a decade for who they love. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye signed into law on Monday legislation that doubles the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations from five to ten years — a stroke of the pen that human rights advocates say marks a
- [ZIM: Fists, fear and a constitution for sale](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/zim-fists-fear-and-a-constitution-for-sale/) - THE City Sports Centre in Harare is an unlikely theatre for a constitutional drama. It was there, on Tuesday afternoon, that citizens were summoned to participate in public hearings on Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 - legislation critics say is engineered to allow Mnangagwa, who came to power through a 2017 military coup against Robert
- [Blood on the lakeshore: M23's terror reign in Uvira exposed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/blood-on-the-lakeshore-m23s-terror-reign-in-uvira-exposed/) - THE blood had dried on the walls of two houses on the same street. In the first, a father stood in the room where his 16- and 18-year-old sons were executed. M23 fighters and Rwandan soldiers had broken down the door, found them sheltering inside, and shot them dead. Metres away, four more young men
- [“Protect our nation's legacy: fix flaws, ensure democracy delivers for all South Africans”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/protect-our-nations-legacy-fix-flaws-ensure-democracy-delivers-for-all-south-africans/) - OVER the past three decades, millions of South Africans have exercised their democratic right to vote - often with hope and always with dignity. Yet we must also acknowledge, with humility and honesty, that many of our people have expressed disappointment with the dividends of democracy. For too many, lived realities have not improved as
- [South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope is mapping previously invisible spaces between galaxies – and it’s found 60 new cosmic structures](https://theafricanmirror.africa/science-tech-and-innovation/south-africas-meerkat-telescope-is-mapping-previously-invisible-spaces-between-galaxies-and-its-found-60-new-cosmic-structures/) - ASTRONOMERS are uncovering previously hidden structures within some of the universe’s largest objects, known as galaxy clusters. Using the powerful MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, researchers have mapped faint, diffuse radio emissions, an imprint that reveals energy processes taking place in the vast spaces between galaxies when galaxy clusters collide or merge. Konstantinos Kolokythas,
- [New Israeli law could mean death penalty by default for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/new-israeli-law-could-mean-death-penalty-by-default-for-palestinians-convicted-of-deadly-attacks/) - ISRAEL’S parliament, the Knesset, this week passed legislation that would vastly expand capital punishment in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories. The changes, made via an amendment to Israel’s penal law, allow for executions without proper appeal, pardons or meaningful judicial discretion. According to media reports, 62 of 120 Knesset members voted in favour
- [Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah is raising sectarian tensions in Lebanon](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/israels-campaign-against-hezbollah-is-raising-sectarian-tensions-in-lebanon/) - ISRAEL’S prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, instructed the military on March 29 to expand its operations in southern Lebanon. It is the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, in which Netanyahu has again promised to dismantle the Lebanese Shia group, and it does not seem close to a conclusion. This is not the first time Israel
- [Tiger's reckoning with a body consumed by greatness, a life lived at the edge of human endurance](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/tigers-reckoning-with-a-body-consumed-by-greatness-a-life-lived-at-the-edge-of-human-endurance/) - ON the eve of the Masters - the cathedral he built with his bare hands and consecrated with five green jackets - Tiger Woods sat down, put his hand up, and said: enough. Not as a defeat. As survival. Four days after his Land Rover rolled onto its side on a two-lane road near his
- [From bean to bar: How Viviane Kouamé is building the "Made in Cote d'Ivoire" brand](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/from-bean-to-bar-how-viviane-kouame-is-building-the-made-in-cote-divoire-brand/) - INSIDE a humming workshop in Abidjan, black-gloved hands move with rhythmic precision, sorting through mounds of roasted beans. Behind industrial machines and stainless steel vats, a master artisan leans over a workstation, her chef’s collar stitched with the national colours of Côte d’Ivoire. Only as the machines begin to pour does the true scale of
- [SA Presidency blacklists 12,000 civil servants in corruption crackdown](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/presidency-blacklists-12000-civil-servants-in-corruption-crackdown/) - THEIR names are on a list. More than 12,000 of them - former civil servants dismissed for fraud, corruption and misconduct, or who resigned in a hurry when disciplinary charges closed in. For years, that list existed only in fragments: buried in departmental files, locked in HR silos, invisible to the next employer. The revolving
- [Tisya Mukuna is bringing the story of Congolese coffee to life](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/tisya-mukuna-is-bringing-the-story-of-congolese-coffee-to-life/) - COFFEE was once one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s main agricultural exports. In the 1970s and 80s, the country ranked among Africa’s leading producers of the sought-after commodity, thanks to the country's rich and fertile volcanic soils, plentiful rain and favourable conditions for both arabica and robusta coffee varietals. That prominence has long
- [Dolores Huerta feared speaking about her abuse for years. The farmworkers she advocates for understand](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/dolores-huerta-feared-speaking-about-her-abuse-for-years-the-farmworkers-she-advocates-for-understand/) - EVERY survivor of sexual assault is forced to make a calculation: What are the repercussions if they speak out? Dolores Huerta felt the weight of the entire labour rights movement, which she feared would crumble if she accused civil rights leader Cesar Chavez of sexual abuse. “The weight of that calculation is the same weight
- [Inside the Presidency's quiet anti-corruption machine](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/inside-the-presidencys-quiet-anti-corruption-machine/) - FAR from the glare of courtroom cameras and the political theatre that has come to define South Africa's anti-corruption conversation, a different kind of battle is being waged inside the Presidency. It is unglamorous, iterative, and largely invisible to the public - but those closest to it insist it is working. Jonathan Timm, a senior
- [R890 Billion. 81 Projects. 230 000 Jobs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/r890-billion-81-projects-230-000-jobs/) - SOUTH AFRICA has launched the most ambitious investment mobilisation drive in its democratic history, opening the second cycle of the Presidential investment campaign with R889.8 billion in confirmed commitments - a figure that rewrites the country's economic narrative with hard numbers and harder ambition. Announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the sixth South Africa Investment
- [Blood and gold: The Jebel Iraq massacre and South Sudan's war within a war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/blood-and-gold-the-jebel-iraq-massacre-and-south-sudans-war-within-a-war/) - THE dead lay in the open. Dozens of them, their bodies scattered across a dust-red hillside at Jebel Iraq, a gold mining site just beyond the capital's outskirts, filmed and shared online before Juba had even confirmed the attack. By Monday, police spokesperson Kwacijwok Dominic Amondoc could offer only this: more than 70 dead, many
- [Nigeria bets $3.5trn on digital payments to crack AfCFTA](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigeria-bets-3-5trn-on-digital-payments-to-crack-afcfta/) - NIGERIA has moved to position itself as the continental leader in African digital trade, launching a high-level government report that frames seamless cross-border payments as the decisive variable in whether MSMEs can access the $3.5 trillion market promised by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The "Cross-Border Digital Payments and Identity in Nigeria under
- [The groom who never got his day](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/the-groom-who-never-got-his-day/) - THERE is a particular cruelty in dying on the cusp of joy. Not in the middle of grief, not in the depths of struggle - but right there, at the threshold of the most beautiful morning of your life, with the flowers ordered, the guests invited, and love standing patient on the other side of
- [Life in prison, now FIFA’s crosshairs: Congress football boss, two officials face ethics hammer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/life-in-prison-now-fifas-crosshairs-congress-football-boss-two-officials-face-ethics-hammer/) - FIFA has moved to compound the legal ruin of the Republic of Congo’s football’s disgraced leadership, opening formal ethics proceedings against the head of the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) and two of his senior officials - both of whom had already been sentenced to five years in a criminal court before the world governing body
- [South Africa courts the world - and a R3.5 trillion China market opens its doors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/south-africa-courts-the-world-and-a-r3-5-trillion-china-market-opens-its-doors/) - SOUTH Africa will gain full zero-tariff access to the Chinese market on 1 May 2026, the government confirmed Tuesday, unveiling the China-Africa Economic Partnership Agreement (CAEPA) as the centrepiece of an aggressive trade reorientation that began after the April 2025 US tariff shock upended global commerce. Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau, addressing investors from
- [Africa is repositioning poultry for food security](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/africa-is-repositioning-poultry-for-food-security/) - AFRICA’S poultry sector is shifting from import dependence to coordinated, policy-driven domestic production, with countries aligning finance, skills, and regional partnerships to scale output. Gabon is moving fast to ban chicken imports by 2027, turning to Senegal, Africa’s long-standing poultry success story, for guidance. According to sector analysts, what is emerging is not isolated reform
- [Nigeria urged to forge media-government partnership amid continent-wide journalist crackdowns](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/nigeria-urged-to-forge-media-government-partnership-amid-continent-wide-journalist-crackdowns/) - VICE President Kashim Shettima called on Nigeria's media and government to unite as "partners in progress" through constructive journalism, delivering the message at a book launch amid escalating reports of journalist harassment across West Africa and beyond. Speaking on Monday at the public presentation of "My Life and Journalists Hangout" by TVC News Director Babajide
- [LIV GOLF IN SA: Phumlani Maluka's integrity shot](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/liv-golf-in-sa-phumlani-malukas-integrity-shot/) - AMERICAN sensation Bryson DeChambeau may have collected a cool US$4 million when the inaugural LIV Golf South Africa ended at the rain soaked yet packed to the rafters two Sundays ago, but he was not the only winner. The long-hitting DeChambeau, with his wire-to-wire lead, will be surprised to learn that on the sidelines, an
- [China is helping build Africa’s cities, but its approach sidelines local urban planners and residents](https://theafricanmirror.africa/africities/china-is-helping-build-africas-cities-but-its-approach-sidelines-local-urban-planners-and-residents/) - AS African cities experience some of the fastest urban growth rates in the world, China has become a major bilateral financier for urban infrastructure. From Nairobi’s elevated expressways to Lagos’s airport upgrades and Addis Ababa’s new riverside developments, Chinese-backed projects are transforming skylines and daily life across the continent. I study China’s economic engagements in
- [Land Day and the Palestinian struggle after 30 months of genocide](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/land-day-and-the-palestinian-struggle-after-30-months-of-genocide/) - EVERY year on 30 March, Palestinians mark Yom al-Ard, Land Day. The phrase sounds almost harmless to those who have never lived inside its meaning, like a date for folklore, celebrating our roots, or perhaps honouring our sentimental attachment to olive trees and generationally inherited fields. But Land Day is not a charming ritual of
- [HRW demands Ghana scrap bill that would jail people for who they are](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/hrw-demands-ghana-scrap-bill-that-would-jail-people-for-who-they-are/) - HUMAN Rights Watch has issued a sweeping indictment of Ghana's Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, warning the country's parliament that the legislation represents one of the most expansive assaults on individual rights ever to come before a Ghanaian legislature - and demanding that it be killed before it reaches a second reading.
- [Africa's intellectual exile networks and archive get a boost from new writing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/literature/africas-intellectual-exile-networks-and-archive-get-a-boost-from-new-writing/) - FRAGMENTS of Bloke Modisane’s life have long been scattered across continents - from radio scripts in London to correspondence in international private collections. Yet his later career is largely absent from the South African record or intellectual conversation. For decades, Modisane’s story, made famous in his autobiography ‘Blame Me on History’ seemed to end abruptly
- [Development finance in Africa: economist explains how private savings could be unlocked](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/development-finance-in-africa-economist-explains-how-private-savings-could-be-unlocked/) - AFRICA holds abundant private savings, but much of it remains informal. As a result, its contribution to development financing is limited. Researcher Florian Léon is one of the authors of a recent report on the potential of the “Caisse de dépôt” model – a financial management framework designed for long-term investment that bridges the gap
- [AI‑driven border surveillance is spreading across west Africa. What this means for migrants’ rights](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/ai-driven-border-surveillance-is-spreading-across-west-africa-what-this-means-for-migrants-rights/) - WEST Africa, as a region, has long had one of the most mobile populations in the world. Since 1979, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has allowed citizens of its member states to travel freely across borders without visas. This freedom of movement has helped support regional trade, labour mobility and social ties.
- [Dadaab voices: What’s behind the rise in refugee suicides?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/dadaab-voices-whats-behind-the-rise-in-refugee-suicides/) - ON a quiet morning in January in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee complex, 38-year-old Aden Mohamed Hafow, a father of four and a respected comprehensive school teacher, hung himself. Born in Somalia, he had arrived in Dadaab as a three-year-old in the early 1990s. He knew little else but the camp’s dusty paths and makeshift classrooms. For
- [Flames in KuGompo: Peaceful march over Nigerian ‘king’ erupts into arson, shootings, chaos](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/flames-in-kugompo-peaceful-march-over-nigerian-king-erupts-into-arson-shootings-chaos/) - WHAT began as an organised, constitutionally protected march degenerated into running street battles, arson and general lawlessness in KuGompo City - formerly known as East London - on Monday, 30 March 2026, leaving the Eastern Cape metropolis reeling and re-igniting a national debate about immigration, sovereignty and the limits of cultural expression on South African
- [A war Africa didn't start - a crisis Africa cannot escape](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/a-war-africa-didnt-start-a-crisis-africa-cannot-escape/) - IT started with the thunder of US and Israeli bombers over Tehran. Within days, it had reached the fuel pumps of Lagos, the minibus ranks of Harare, and the farm supply stores of rural Kenya. The US-Israeli war on Iran - launched with precision strikes on 28 February 2026 - has delivered Africa's most devastating
- [Cities emptied, hospitals bombed: how the US-Israel war is destroying ordinary lives in Iran and Lebanon](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/cities-emptied-hospitals-bombed-how-the-us-israel-war-is-destroying-ordinary-lives-in-iran-and-lebanon/) - ALMOST a month since American and Israeli warplanes began striking Iran on 28 February, the toll on ordinary people has reached a magnitude that statistics alone cannot capture. A nine-million-strong capital reduced to a ghost town. Ambulances reduced to smouldering wreckage. Mothers fleeing southern Beirut in darkness, with no destination, no guarantee of safety —
- [Russia activates new business committee as AI race reshapes the bloc's south-south agenda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/russia-activates-new-business-committee-as-ai-race-reshapes-the-blocs-south-south-agenda/) - RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has issued a direct summons to Russia's private sector to embed itself inside a new National Committee for Business Cooperation within BRICS - a body standing up at the precise moment that AI, autonomous systems, and digital platforms are redrawing the boundaries of economic power. The instruction, delivered at the congress
- [The Ugandan general who supports Israel, wants to join them in the war on Iran](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-ugandan-general-who-wants-to-fight-africas-war-on-the-wrong-side/) - ON a continent where solidarity with Palestine is not merely a foreign policy position but a lived moral inheritance rooted in anti-colonial struggle, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has chosen to stake out the most contrarian posture imaginable. In a barrage of posts on X this week that generated more than 1.3 million engagements globally, the son
- [They came, they showed, they refused to surrender](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/they-came-they-showed-they-refused-to-surrender/) - THERE is a language that exists beyond lawyers, beyond boardrooms, beyond the self-serving edicts of governing bodies drunk on their own authority. It is the language of the body - sovereign, unapologetic, magnificent. On Saturday afternoon at the Stade de France, the Lions of Teranga spoke it with devastating fluency. No speeches. No placards. No
- [A diktat, a disowned candidate, and a continent's embarrassment](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/a-diktat-a-disowned-candidate-and-a-continents-embarrassment/) - BY the close of business on Friday, 27 March 2026, the African Union had delivered one of its most unambiguous institutional verdicts in recent memory. Twenty of its 55 member states formally broke the silence to block a draft decision that would have expressed the continent's "firm support" for Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye - not
- [Three farmers jailed for life for the racist murder of farm worker](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/three-farmers-jailed-for-life-for-the-racist-murder-of-farm-worker/) - IT was a Saturday afternoon in September 2023. Dumisani Phakathi was walking past the gate of a chicken farm in Mamokgalieskraal, in the North West, heading to a nearby furrow to collect water — as members of the surrounding community had always done. He never came home. Three farmers were having a braai on that
- [When Hova went to Kasaï](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/when-hova-went-to-kasai/) - NOBODY asked Jay-Z to do this. That is the most important thing to understand about the cover of GQ's April 2026 issue. Nobody sent Shawn Corey Carter a memo. No delegation from Kinshasa flew to New York. No African Union subcommittee on cultural diplomacy tabled a motion. The man simply sat down — or stood
- [CAF pledges referee and judicial overhaul after AFCON final scandal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/caf-pledges-referee-and-judicial-overhaul-after-afcon-final-scandal/) - THE Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) has announced sweeping reforms to its statutes and regulations governing referees, VAR operators and judicial bodies, in a direct acknowledgement that the incidents surrounding the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 final exposed critical institutional failures. CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe confirmed on Sunday that the
- [Millions march across America in the 'No Kings' uprising - and the world is watching](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/millions-march-across-america-in-the-no-kings-uprising-and-the-world-is-watching/) - THE snow had barely melted from the Minnesota State Capitol steps, but on Saturday, 28 March 2026, the heat of a democracy asserting itself was unmistakable. More than 200,000 people flooded the lawns, streets, and overpasses of St. Paul in a demonstration that surpassed even the iconic Women's March of 2017. Across the United States,
- [War without exit: how Trump's Iran gamble is burning the global south](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/war-without-exit-how-trumps-iran-gamble-is-burning-the-global-south/) - ONE month into what the United States military calls Operation Epic Fury, the Trump administration finds itself ensnared in exactly the kind of open-ended Middle East conflict it promised to avoid. The war against Iran — launched jointly with Israel on 28 February — has not produced the swift, definitive outcome the White House projected.
- [Iran was always going to close the Strait of Hormuz](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/iran-was-always-going-to-close-the-strait-of-hormuz/) - THE five-day deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz handed to Iran by Donald Trump on Monday expires sometime tomorrow, and the Islamic Republic needs to “get serious before it is too late” – or so the US president has announced on his TruthSocial platform. You’ll recall that this deadline replaced another deadline, which was
- [THE TIGER WHO FORGOT HE WAS RICH: Woods rolls the dice - and his car - for the second time](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-tiger-who-forgot-he-was-rich-woods-rolls-the-dice-and-his-range-rover-for-the-second-time/) - HERE is a number worth considering before we go any further: one billion dollars. That is, give or take a yacht, the estimated net worth of Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods - fifteen-time major champion, cultural colossus, and, as of Friday afternoon, a man who had just crawled out of the passenger window of an overturned
- [How 15 Zimbabweans died on Russia’s frontlines - and 66 more remain trapped](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/sold-into-war-how-15-zimbabweans-died-on-russias-frontlines-and-66-more-remain-trapped/) - FIFTEEN families in Zimbabwe are now waiting for bodies that may never come home. Sixty-six more Zimbabwean men remain alive - for now - on the front lines of Europe’s most devastating conflict since World War II, having arrived there not as soldiers, not as volunteers, but as victims of a crime. Zimbabwe’s government confirmed
- [I went to CPAC and found Trump supporters unhappy about Iran, Epstein files and the economy, even while the fans at the MAGA conference celebrate his immigration policies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/i-went-to-cpac-and-found-trump-supporters-unhappy-about-iran-epstein-files-and-the-economy-even-while-the-fans-at-the-maga-conference-celebrate-his-immigration-policies/) - THERE is a pall over the Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement. Donald Trump overpromised. His public support has fallen. Some “America First” die-hards now openly criticise him. Amid war, economic challenges, democratic backsliding, the Epstein files and Americans shot dead in the street by government agents, Trump’s support is softening, and his vow
- [Ghana hunts Russian predator who filmed dozens of women in secret — and monetised their violation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghana-hunts-russian-predator-who-filmed-dozens-of-women-in-secret-and-monetised-their-violation/) - THE government of Ghanaian has moved with rare speed and diplomatic muscle against a Russian national accused of secretly recording intimate encounters with dozens of women across West Africa before monetising the footage on international adult websites — and the case is fast becoming a continent-wide reckoning with predatory technology, the silence of big-tech platforms,
- [Stand up, shape up — or get out](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/stand-up-shape-up-or-get-out/) - IMAGINE you are a District Mayor. Or perhaps a Provincial Governor. You have made the two-hour drive to Gako, deep in Bugesera, for what has been billed as a high-level consultative meeting at the Rwanda Military Academy — Rwanda's premier institution for forging discipline. You have settled into your seat. The morning is long. The
- [Makemation: a Nollywood movie that shows AI in action in Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/makemation-a-nollywood-movie-that-shows-ai-in-action-in-africa/) - A new feature film, Makemation, is an African coming-of-age story set in a time of artificial intelligence (AI). Makemation was produced by Nigerian AI-developer-turned-filmmaker Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji. As conversations about AI are dominated by external global powers, his film offers a different vantage point: an AI story rooted in African realities. After a successful run in
- [The transatlantic slave trade is the gravest crime against humanity – why the UN declaration matters](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-transatlantic-slave-trade-is-the-gravest-crime-against-humanity-why-the-un-declaration-matters/) - THE resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on 25 March 2026 seeking recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” potentially creates a broader definition of crimes against humanity in international law and allows for restitution claims against perpetrators. The resolution could elevate the legal and moral standard for
- [Matthew Breetzke reveals brutal Proteas verdict from selector talks: “Not in their plans”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/matthew-breetzke-reveals-brutal-proteas-verdict-from-selector-talks-not-in-their-plans/) - With the 2027 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup not too far away, Proteas batter Matthew Breetzke has highlighted his determination to fight for a permanent spot across all three formats after being told by Convenor selector Patrick Moroney that his future in the national set-up is not set in stone yet. Conversation with Moroney In an exclusive interview with
- [Teaching mathematical statistics: one lecturer’s way of testing what students understand](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/teaching-mathematical-statistics-one-lecturers-way-of-testing-what-students-understand/) - IT’S getting tougher to assess how much university students have learnt. In his work as a Mathematical Statistics lecturer, Michael von Maltitz has tried a new way of getting students to learn, and of assessing what they’ve absorbed and retained. Students have to show and discuss how they arrived at their understanding of the subject.
- [A force forged in the crucible of African development](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/a-force-forged-in-the-crucible-of-african-development/) - IN the corridors of the , system, where ambition is plentiful but transformative action rare, Daphine Hazvibvi Muzawazi has become something of an institution in herself. Over a decade of tireless service to the continent's most consequential development architecture, she has evolved from an ambitious young technocrat into one of the AU family's most formidable
- [UN Rights Chief slams Minab school strike amid Middle East escalation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/un-rights-chief-slams-minab-school-strike-amid-middle-east-escalation/) - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk delivered a scathing statement to the UN Human Rights Council's urgent debate on the Minab school strike, demanding accountability for the deaths of schoolchildren while decrying broader US-Israel-Iran hostilities and Iran's internal crackdown. His remarks frame the March incident as a humanitarian flashpoint in a spiralling regional
- [One million displaced and counting: Israel's war tears Lebanon apart](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/one-million-displaced-and-counting-israels-war-tears-lebanon-apart/) - NEARLY a month into a rapidly escalating military campaign, Israel's war on Lebanon has crossed a threshold that no ceasefire communique or diplomatic platitude can paper over. More than one million people — one in every five residents of this fractured, resilient republic — have been forced from their homes since 2 March, when a
- [UNHCR urges urgent aid as 33,000 DRC refugees return from Burundi amid fragile conditions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/unhcr-urges-urgent-aid-as-33000-congolese-refugees-return-from-burundi-amid-fragile-conditions/) - Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (24 March 2026) – More than 33,000 Congolese refugees have returned spontaneously from Burundi to eastern DRC in just one month since the border reopened on 23 February, prompting UNHCR to appeal for immediate international funding to ensure safe and sustainable reintegration. The returns follow intense fighting in December
- [Senegal storms CAS as AFCON crisis lays bare a continent's fractured football soul](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/senegal-storms-cas-as-afcon-crisis-lays-bare-fractured-football-soul/) - Senegal has approached the Court of Arbitration in Sports over the CAF ruling that stripped them of their 2025 AFCON title, handing it to hosts, Morocco.
- [MOZ-UKRAINE: Out of the ruins of war, Africa answers the call](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/moz-ukraine-out-of-the-ruins-of-war-africa-answers-the-call/) - IN a world accustomed to framing Africa as the perpetual recipient — of aid, of intervention, of development finance dispensed from the global North — the diplomatic exchange between Mozambique and Ukraine this week arrives as something of a quiet disruption. When Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Daniel Chapo spoke by telephone on Monday and agreed
- [Cheaper cross border call rates beckon on lower tariffs push](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/cheaper-cross-border-call-rates-beckon-on-lower-tariffs-push/) - CROSS-BORDER traders and travellers across Africa are set to benefit from cheaper calls, texts and data, as a new wave of telecom reforms gains momentum across the continent. Regional blocs and national regulators are moving to cut mobile termination rates (MTRs) and roaming charges, to ease communication, lower the cost of doing business and support
- [A Nairobi neighborhood platform promotes women in biz](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/a-nairobi-neighborhood-platform-promotes-women-in-biz/) - THE families in thousands of homes in Nairobi’s Nyayo Estate stir as dawn rays hit their uniform rooftops. Social entrepreneurs Maureen Amakabane and Njoki Mwangi are already on the move. They run Nyayo Moms Sokos (NMS), a social commerce (selling via WhatsApp or Facebook) platform for women-owned businesses that serves the estate’s residents. Most global
- [How a “Digital Chef” is changing the culinary game](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/food/how-a-digital-chef-is-changing-the-culinary-game/) - THE heavy, sweet scent of marinated chicken sizzling on a barbecue grill signals the start of the MeatUp Fest in Limuru, Kenya. At the centre of a spiral of smoke is 27-year-old Sarah Sandra, known to thousands of her digital followers as “Chef Sandie Burnie." She moves with practised focus, religiously coating each piece of
- [Diana Ferrus: the South African poet whose words reclaimed history](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/diana-ferrus-the-south-african-poet-whose-words-reclaimed-history/) - SOUTH African poet, storyteller, publisher, editor and activist Diana Ferrus (1953-2026) received a provincial funeral when she passed on 30 January. Ferrus came to embody the resilience of women writing about identity and belonging in the face of colonial oppression and of apartheid (white minority rule) in her country. Barbara Boswell is an author and
- [Africa needs to fight for a better deal on world trade rules: it should lead the charge on these 3 priorities at this week’s WTO meeting](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/africa-needs-to-fight-for-a-better-deal-on-world-trade-rules-it-should-lead-the-charge-on-these-3-priorities-at-this-weeks-wto-meeting/) - AFRICAN countries face many trade barriers today. Wealthier countries subsidise their farmers, making African agricultural exports less competitive. Global trade rules promise extra support but are rarely implemented. Many African countries also lack the infrastructure, funding or political will to build industries. This leaves them stuck exporting raw materials instead of higher-value finished goods. They
- [Do dads of disabled children do enough? Kenya study points to misunderstood ways of caring](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/do-dads-of-disabled-children-do-enough-kenya-study-points-to-misunderstood-ways-of-caring/) - A child’s success at school doesn’t depend only on teachers and classrooms. Studies show that when parents engage with schools – by attending meetings, supporting learning at home and working with teachers – children tend to do better academically and socially. In many African countries, fathers hold decision-making and financial authority within families. This gives
- [South Africa, China deepen strategic ties at 9th BNC, chart path through shifting global order](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/south-africa-china-deepen-strategic-ties-at-9th-bnc-chart-path-through-shifting-global-order/) - SOUTH Africa and China have reaffirmed and substantially broadened their strategic partnership following the conclusion of the 9th Session of the South Africa–China Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Cape Town on Thursday, with the two nations signalling a coordinated push to deepen economic integration, advance multilateral reform, and position themselves as anchors of a multipolar global
- [Heatwaves will be worst for rural parts of Africa – new model shows tens of millions face dangerous warming by 2100](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/heatwaves-will-be-worst-for-rural-parts-of-africa-new-model-shows-tens-of-millions-face-dangerous-warming-by-2100/) - ASK people where heatwaves hit hardest and most will probably say cities, which trap heat in concrete and metal and generate warmth from traffic and industry. But does this reflect reality? I am a scientist who studies climate extremes and health, and was part of a team that set out to answer that question properly.
- [In conversation with Funke Adeoye on detainees' rights in Nigeria](https://theafricanmirror.africa/human-rights/in-conversation-with-funke-adeoye-on-detainees-rights-in-nigeria-2/) - PRE-TRIAL detention is one of the most persistent issues in Africa’s judicial system. Globally, the scale of pretrial detention continues to rise. More than three million people are currently held without conviction across 218 countries, according to the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research. These are individuals who have been detained through judicial or
- [Iran war could add to Nigeria’s security troubles. What to watch out for](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/iran-war-could-add-to-nigerias-security-troubles-what-to-watch-out-for-2/) - THE war between Iran, Israel and the US may have far-reaching regional and global implications. By mid-March, there were signs that it could last longer than many had expected. The longer it lasts, the greater the effects on the global landscape will be. Barely three weeks into its outbreak, the violence caused disruptions to the
- [Soaring gas prices and disrupted supply chains will ripple out to increase costs in every store and sector of the economy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/soaring-gas-prices-and-disrupted-supply-chains-will-ripple-out-to-increase-costs-in-every-store-and-sector-of-the-economy/) - THE disruptions from the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran spread quickly to commercial aircraft, shipping lanes and the world’s energy supply. Those repercussions have already hit fuel costs, including for motorists, truckers and fishermen, and are set to spread even more widely, to packaging, household goods, appliances, medicines and electronics. I study global supply
- [Trapped in the dark: Bangladesh's Padma River disaster lays bare a nation's broken roads](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trapped-in-the-dark-bangladeshs-padma-river-disaster-lays-bare-a-nations-broken-roads/) - WHEN Noor Jahan Begum, 35, witnessed a passenger bus tumble over the edge of the Daulatdia ferry terminal and vanish into the murky waters of the Padma River on Wednesday afternoon, she was not watching a freak accident. She was watching Bangladesh's deadliest daily reality unfold in a single, terrible moment. "Some passengers got out
- [The Voice of Hind Rajab: Tunisian director’s devastating film about Palestine](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-voice-of-hind-rajab-tunisian-directors-devastating-film-about-palestine/) - THE Voice of Hind Rajab made an immediate impact when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2025, receiving a 23-minute standing ovation and seven awards. More were to follow as it played at festivals around the world. It’s a mixture of documentary and drama that tells the story of a Palestinian girl trapped
- [Washington hotel incident sparks DRC-Rwanda diplomatic row](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/hallway-mishap-or-hostile-breach-washington-hotel-incident-sparks-drc-rwanda-diplomatic-row/) - WHAT began as a late-afternoon social media alert has evolved into a full-scale diplomatic confrontation between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, with both governments now publicly accusing the other of distortion, dishonesty, and provocation over an incident that unfolded in the hallways and on the floor of a Washington hotel where senior figures
- [African leaders press the world to reckon with the gravest crime in human history](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-devil-is-in-the-details-african-leaders-press-the-world-to-reckon-with-the-gravest-crime-in-human-history/) - HE began not with statistics or diplomatic pleasantries, but with a declaration about language. "Truth begins with language," Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama told delegates at the United Nations, his voice a measured instrument of moral authority. "There is no such thing as a slave. There were human beings who were trafficked and then enslaved."
- [SA: Ramaphosa faces pressure to suspend top cop Masemola amid R360m scandal arrests](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/south-africas-police-summit-shaken-ramaphosa-faces-pressure-to-suspend-top-cop-masemola-amid-r360-m-scandal-arrests/) - A seismic 24-hour corruption crackdown tore through the South African Police Service (SAPS) elite, arresting 12 senior officers tied to a crooked R360 million health tender and slapping a court summons on National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola. As public outrage swells, President Cyril Ramaphosa's measured response - vowing to "address the matter in accordance with
- [Returned - with dignity - to the land from which colonial butchers stole their bodies, their names and their very humanity](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/returned-with-dignity-to-the-land-from-which-colonial-butchers-stole-their-bodies-their-names-and-their-very-humanity/) - THE hills and granite-like boulders stand as sentries around the Kinderle area outside Steinkopf in the Northern Cape. The ground is sandy and loose, the shrubs are xerophytic, able to withstand the harsh environment and the heat. Below the boulders is the mass grave containing the remains of 32 Nama children killed in an intercommunal
- [“They were not slaves. They were human beings. The world must finally say so”.](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/they-were-not-slaves-they-were-human-beings-the-world-must-finally-say-so/) - TRUTH begins with language, with the power that words hold to shape consciousness, to shift perspective, to propel action. I therefore offer this truth as a starting point: There is no such thing as a slave.There were human beings who were trafficked and then enslaved by people who believed they could own those human beings
- [Drones, death and deliberate targeting: Sudan's war on hospitals enters a lethal new phase](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/drones-death-and-deliberate-targeting-sudans-war-on-hospitals-enters-a-lethal-new-phase/) - SEVENTY people are dead. Among them: a doctor, two nurses, thirteen children, seven women, and an unspecified number of patients who had done nothing more than seek medical care. The Teaching Hospital in Al Deain, capital of East Darfur, was struck by an air strike late on Friday evening. By Tuesday, the United Nations had
- [Death as deterrence: China sentences ex-aerospace chief to suspended execution in sweeping military-industrial purge](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/death-as-deterrence-china-sentences-ex-aerospace-chief-to-suspended-execution-in-sweeping-military-industrial-purge/) - IN the corridors of China's vast military-industrial complex, Tan Ruisong once commanded nearly absolute authority. As chairman and Communist Party secretary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) — the country's dominant state-owned aerospace and defence conglomerate — he presided over an empire spanning fighter jets, military transport aircraft, drones, and strategic aviation systems
- [She followed a civil rights hero to Alabama. It shaped her path to power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/she-followed-a-civil-rights-hero-to-alabama-it-shaped-her-path-to-power/) - MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA — More than 30 years apart, two women separately set forth on long drives south to Alabama. Their backgrounds were different, their mission the same: to join an existential fight for the soul of American democracy. This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th. Meet Grace and read more of
- [How Mohamed Salah’s 9 year love affair with Liverpool finally kissed the desert sand](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/how-mohamed-salahs-9-year-love-affair-with-liverpool-finally-kissed-the-desert-sand/) - WELL, they said it couldn’t happen. They said the love was too deep, the bond too sacred, the goals too numerous. They said Mohamed Salah and Liverpool were written in the stars - a celestial pairing as permanent as the pyramids and as dependable as the Nile in flood season. They were wrong. On Tuesday,
- [Born to privilege, humbled by the dock: Mugabe's son moves towards a plea deal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/born-to-privilege-humbled-by-the-dock-mugabes-son-moves-toward-a-plea-deal/) - THERE is a particular kind of silence that descends when the inheritance of power runs up against the impartiality of the law. For Chatunga Bellarmine Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe's late strongman Robert Mugabe, that silence has grown louder with each adjournment at the Alexandra Magistrate's Court - and each night spent in a
- [Super Eagles star held at knifepoint in brazen home raid; valuables worth £500,000 stolen](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/super-eagles-star-held-at-knifepoint-in-brazen-home-raid-valuables-worth-500000-stolen/) - IN a shocking act of targeted criminality that has sent tremors through English football and the Nigerian national team's camp, Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi was seized at knifepoint inside his own home by a gang of armed intruders who stripped the Fulham star of valuables estimated at half a million pounds. According to multiple
- ['Concrete action, not symbolism': Africa issues stark warning on racism at UN](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/concrete-action-not-symbolism-africa-issues-stark-warning-on-racism-at-un/) - THE African Group at the United Nations has issued a pointed call to action on the 60th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), demanding that the global community move from commemorations to concrete policy - and placing reparatory justice squarely at the centre of the international agenda. Delivering the
- [Africa’s queen of every letter](https://theafricanmirror.africa/education/africas-queen-of-every-letter/) - SOMEWHERE in Harare, Zimbabwe, as competitors from over twenty African nations shuffled nervously at their podiums and parents sent frantic prayers skyward, a 14-year-old girl from Ado Ekiti - calm, composed, and apparently unbothered by the weight of an entire continent resting on her shoulders - stood up and spelled her way into continental history.
- [Regional mega-war? How renewed conflict in Ethiopia could pull in Sudan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/regional-mega-war-how-renewed-conflict-in-ethiopia-could-pull-in-sudan/) - THE prospect of renewed war in northern Ethiopia between government forces, Tigray factions, and Eritrea risks pulling in neighbouring Sudan and merging two of the deadliest conflicts in recent history. After fighting a war against Tigrayan forces from 2020 to 2022, the Ethiopian government may be on the verge of resuming hostilities to consolidate control
- [Kenya opens the gate: First zero-tariff shipment to China signals a new era in Africa–Beijing trade](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/kenya-opens-the-gate-first-zero-tariff-shipment-to-china-signals-a-new-era-in-africa-beijing-trade/) - KENYA has dispatched its first commercial consignment to China under a sweeping zero-tariff arrangement that Beijing extended to 53 African nations, granting duty-free access on all tariff lines. The shipment, formally flagged off at the Standard Gauge Railway Nairobi Terminus on Tuesday, included fresh avocados, avocado oil, hides and skins, coffee, and green beans —
- [Diplomacy in ashes: how a war without end is fracturing the global economy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/diplomacy-in-ashes-how-a-war-without-end-is-fracturing-the-global-economy/) - ON Tuesday morning, as air raid sirens wailed across Tel Aviv and a wall of Iranian ballistic missiles tore through apartment buildings in the city's centre, the last credible pretence that this war would end through diplomacy appeared to crumble. Again. Less than 24 hours earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had posted on Truth Social
- [Why Africa needs a green bank to fund climate action and build its own renewable technology](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/why-africa-needs-a-green-bank-to-fund-climate-action-and-build-its-own-renewable-technology/) - CLIMATE change is a profound challenge to the livelihoods of many people in African countries who have contributed so little to its cause. More frequent extreme weather events (floods, heatwaves and droughts) are making hunger, insecurity and displacement much worse. The continent holds an estimated 30% of the minerals that are essential for the future
- [Cuba has been in Washington’s crosshairs for decades. The Iran war is raising the stakes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/cuba-has-been-in-washingtons-crosshairs-for-decades-the-iran-war-is-raising-the-stakes/) - ON March 16, Cuba’s national electricity grid collapsed for the third time in four months, plunging 10 million people into more than 29 hours of darkness. Hospitals struggled to keep generators running, water pumps shut down and refuse piled up on streets where collection trucks have sat empty for weeks. The immediate cause is a
- [Aid group scrubs content after TNH exposes donations to Israeli soldiers and settlers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/aid-group-scrubs-content-after-tnh-exposes-donations-to-israeli-soldiers-and-settlers/) - LAST month, The New Humanitarian published an investigation into Israel-approved aid groups scaling up in the Gaza Strip while Israeli authorities attempt to push out established actors. Among the investigation’s findings was that a cluster of related NGOs had donated equipment and goods to the Israeli military (IDF) – including one that donated to units
- [110 delegates, 38 nations: Special Olympics Africa opens landmark Johannesburg summit](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/110-delegates-38-nations-special-olympics-africa-opens-landmark-johannesburg-summit/) - THE 22nd Special Olympics Africa Leadership Conference opened in Johannesburg on Monday, drawing 110 delegates from 38 countries across the continent in what organisers have called the largest gathering of inclusive sport leadership in the region's history. The four-day summit - running from 23 to 26 March - assembles national directors, sports directors, and athlete
- [Nigerian First Lady’s fury: “No custom grants any man the right to violate a woman”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigerian-first-ladys-fury-no-custom-grants-any-man-the-right-to-violate-a-woman/) - THE First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, has personally condemned the mass sexual assault of women and girls at the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro, Delta State, confirming that arrests have already been made and demanding that every perpetrator face the full weight of the law. In a statement she
- [Floods wreak havoc in Kenya, kills 81, destroys villages, displace families](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/floods-wreak-havoc-in-kenya-kills-81-destroys-villages-displace-families/) - KENNEDYY Oguta did not sleep on the night the Sondu Miriu River made his home its own. He stood in chest-high water in the darkness of Nyakach, in Kisumu County, holding his youngest child above the waterline with one arm and the rope of a terrified goat with the other, praying - not to be
- [They are home now](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/they-are-home-now/) - THE Northern Cape wind was cold, and the sky a vast, cloudless expanse as the descendants of the Nama, Khoi, Korana, Griqua and San people gathered at Kinderlê on Monday to do something their forebears had been denied for over a century: bury their dead with dignity. Sixty-three individuals - their bones carried across oceans,
- [Steel, debt, and destiny: the geopolitics of East Africa’s new rail corridor](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/steel-debt-and-destiny-the-geopolitics-of-east-africas-new-rail-corridor/) - ON Saturday, 21 March, at Kibos in Kisumu County, Kenyan President William Ruto and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni tightened bolts in the symbolic African tradition of a ground-breaking ceremony for Phase 2C of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway - the 107-kilometre Kisumu-Malaba section that will, for the first time, bring the Chinese-built railway to Kenya’s western
- [Inside the $3.4 million digital raid on Equity Bank Rwanda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/inside-the-3-4-million-digital-raid-on-equity-bank-rwanda/) - BETWEEN the 14th and 18th of February 2026, a criminal network is alleged to have done something that should have been impossible: it penetrated the digital core of one of East Africa's largest banks, manipulatedits systems in real time, and moved what investigators now believe to be approximately Rwf 4.9 billion - roughly USD 3.4
- [Steyn City writes history: Africa's first LIV Golf triumph signals a continental sports revolution](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/steyn-city-writes-history-africas-first-liv-golf-triumph-signals-a-continental-sports-revolution/) - WHEN LIV Golf's convoy of world-class players, global broadcast trucks and an army of international visitors descended on Steyn City in Johannesburg this past weekend, they were not simply delivering a golf tournament. They were making history. Africa had never before hosted a LIV Golf event. By the time the final putt dropped and the
- [Mali's Cybercrime Unit convicts newspaper editor in blow to press freedom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/malis-cybercrime-unit-convicts-newspaper-editor-in-blow-to-press-freedom/) - MALI National Cybercrime Unit has convicted Youssouf Sissoko, editor of the independent newspaper L'Alternance, in a ruling that has drawn immediate and sharp condemnation from the country's private media sector and raised fresh alarms over the state of press freedom under the country's military-led government. The Association of Private Press Publishers (ASSEP) condemned the conviction in
- [Namibia: the history of a country shaped from a rich and traumatic past](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/namibia-the-history-of-a-country-shaped-from-a-rich-and-traumatic-past/) - NAMIBIA might not be well known in many parts of the world. But the arid southern African country has an extraordinary history. Rich in indigenous cultural diversity, Namibians lived for more than a century under German and South African rule. Their anti-colonial resistance shaped the country from 1960 to independence on 21 March 1990 and
- [The Lesotho Highlands Water project is 40 years old and going strong: but history weighs on its successes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/the-lesotho-highlands-water-project-is-40-years-old-and-going-strong-but-history-weighs-on-its-successes/) - BIG projects bring big hopes and big dreams. They also bring big disappointment when they don’t deliver on all the promises. Even when the projects work as they are supposed to. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project fits this description perfectly, as I argue in my new book on its history. Over the past 20 years,
- [Mental health laws ignore traditional care in Africa: insights from 5 countries](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/mental-health-laws-ignore-traditional-care-in-africa-insights-from-5-countries/) - WHEN Idoko, a 23-year-old man living in rural Benue State, north central Nigeria, began hearing voices, withdrawing from family and speaking incoherently, his family’s first call was not to a psychiatrist. They took him to a local faith-based prayer group, where members pray over people believed to be afflicted by spiritual forces. When he showed
- [Fire, threats and a world on the brink: the war that could bankrupt the planet](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/fire-threats-and-a-world-on-the-brink-the-war-that-could-bankrupt-the-planet/) - THE world woke on Monday, 23 March 2026, to the grimly familiar spectacle of air raid sirens shrieking across Tel Aviv and the occupied West Bank, streaks of light cutting across the Israeli night sky as incoming Iranian missiles were intercepted — and the sober realisation that humanity may have stumbled into the most consequential
- [War in Iran: Why destroying cultural heritage is such a foolish strategic move in any conflict](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/war-in-iran-why-destroying-cultural-heritage-is-such-a-foolish-strategic-move-in-any-conflict/) - SINCE the start of the ongoing United States–Israeli military campaign against Iran, the human toll of the conflict has mounted relentlessly. Civilian casualties have been reported across the country, and the bombing campaign has caused widespread destruction to infrastructure. Alongside military targets, thousands of civilian buildings have been damaged or destroyed in the first weeks
- [Woman charged with attempted murder under Georgia abortion law](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/woman-charged-with-attempted-murder-under-georgia-abortion-law/) - A 31-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Kingsland, Georgia, has been charged with attempted murder, the first time that a mother has been charged under Georgia’s restrictive abortion law. The arrest comes two months after Alexia Moore was rushed to the emergency room in Camden County, pregnant and in extreme pain. Doctors at the Southeast Georgia Health
- [How Kenya, South Africa are racing to govern AI, podcasts, the new media power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africas-digital-reckoning-how-kenya-south-africa-are-racing-to-govern-the-new-media-power/) - WITHIN days of each other this month, legislators in two of Africa's most influential democracies have placed the governance of new and powerful media technologies squarely on the political agenda. In Nairobi, nominated Senator Karen Nyamu tabled the Artificial Intelligence Bill, 2026 - Kenya's first comprehensive attempt to regulate the lifecycle of AI systems. In
- [Senegal's Sonko revokes 71 mining licences, freezes $438 million as resource war reshapes West Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/senegals-reckoning-sonko-revokes-71-mining-licences-freezes-438-million-as-resource-war-reshapes-west-africa/) - IN a nationally televised address that reverberated across boardrooms in London, Singapore and Houston, Senegal's Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko did something few African leaders have done in living memory: he produced receipts. In a single, measured announcement, Sonko revoked 71 mining and quarry licences - among them 14 permits for gold - declared the gas
- [“This was not a festival. This was lawlessness”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/this-was-not-a-festival-ozoro-was-lawlessness/) - Nigeria's Bar Association condemns the Ozoro festival in the Delta State that happened over the weekend, describing it as "lawlessness" and violent.
- [The long arm of Athens: how Greece is weaponising EU law to silence a human rights defender](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/the-long-arm-of-athens-against-tommy-olsen-and-human-rights/) - IN the morning of 16 March 2026, Norwegian police arrived at the Tromsø home of Tommy Olsen and placed him under arrest. The charge sheet bore a Greek stamp. The legal instrument was a European Arrest Warrant — a mechanism designed to facilitate the seamless transfer of dangerous criminals across EU borders. But Olsen is
- [Multimillion-dollar cyber fraud scheme: Nigerian extradicted from SA jailed seven and a half years in US](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/multimillion-dollar-cyber-fraud-scheme-nigerian-extradicted-from-sa-jailed-seven-and-a-half-years-in-us/) - A United States federal court has sentenced James Junior Aliyu, a 30-year-old Nigerian national, to 90 months — seven and a half years — in prison following his conviction on conspiracy charges related to wire fraud and money laundering. Aliyu was extradited from South Africa to face prosecution and, upon completing his sentence, will be
- [The night they killed Lumumba](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/the-night-they-killed-lumumba/) - THE man they most feared was already broken when they loaded him onto the plane. His face was swollen, his shirt torn, his wrists bound behind his back with rope that had cut into his skin during three weeks of beatings. Patrice Émery Lumumba - the thirty-five-year-old schoolteacher from État Indépendant du Congo-Belge who had
- [Senegal stripped of title: Afcon ruling is lawful, but it puts Caf’s reputation at risk](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/senegal-stripped-of-title-afcon-ruling-is-lawful-but-it-puts-cafs-reputation-at-risk/) - THE appeals board of African football’s ruling body, the Confederation of African Football (Caf), on 17 March overturned the outcome of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final. Afcon is the continent’s biggest tournament. On 18 January, Senegal won 1-0 in extra time against Morocco in Rabat. But two months down the road, Caf
- [On the edge of catastrophe: Trump's ultimatum and the war that could shatter global markets](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/on-the-edge-of-catastrophe-trumps-ultimatum-and-the-war-that-could-shatter-global-markets/) - THE war the United States and Israel launched against Iran on 28 February has never been merely a Middle Eastern affair. From the first missile strike, its implications for global energy security, African economies, and the architecture of the postwar international order were obvious to anyone paying attention. Now, four weeks on, those implications have
- [Death tried Chuck Norris once](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/death-tried-chuck-norris-once/) - YOU will not find a death certificate for Chuck Norris. You will find a very politely worded request from the Grim Reaper asking him to consider resting - and Chuck Norris, for the first time in 86 years of roundhouse kicks, running gun battles, and impossible push-ups, graciously agreed. The world woke on the morning
- [Mahama leads Africa to the UN: the long march for justice reaches its reckoning](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/mahama-leads-africa-to-the-un-the-long-march-for-justice-reaches-its-reckoning/) - A few days from now, in a chamber that has witnessed many of the defining declarations of the modern era, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama will walk to the podium of the United Nations General Assembly and table a resolution that a continent, a diaspora, and the conscience of history have been awaiting for centuries.
- ['Ekabo!' — When the King of England spoke Yoruba](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ekabo-when-the-king-of-england-spoke-yoruba/) - WINDSOR Castle has hosted Emperors, Prime Ministers, and heads of state whose entries into its storied Great Hall have barely raised an eyebrow among the stonework. But on the evening of Wednesday, 18 March 2026, the ancient fortress did something it is not accustomed to doing: it blushed. For the first time in nearly a
- [Tunisia migrants rights, anti-racism activist jailed for 8 years](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/tunisia-migrants-rights-anti-racism-activist-jailed-for-8-years/) - A Tunisian court has handed down an eight-year prison sentence to Saadia Mosbah, one of the country's most visible migrant rights and anti-racism campaigners, in a ruling that legal analysts and rights defenders say marks a dangerous new chapter in President Kais Saied's campaign to silence dissent. Mosbah, convicted on charges of money laundering and
- [Rwanda passes IAEA nuclear infrastructure review as Kigali eyes first SMR by early 2030s](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/rwanda-passes-iaea-nuclear-infrastructure-review-as-kigali-eyes-first-smr-by-early-2030s/) - RWANDA has received a broadly positive assessment from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following an eight-day technical review of its nuclear power infrastructure, with international experts confirming that the East African nation has made meaningful strides toward becoming the continent's newest entrant into civilian nuclear energy. The Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission, conducted
- [A Senegalese all-female music band is blazing a trail for women](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/a-senegalese-all-female-music-band-is-blazing-a-trail-for-women/) - AT Jokko Studio in Dakar, five instrumentalists play out original tunes seeped in a vibrant fusion of reggae, salsa, hip-hop, blues, jazz, rock and mbalax, the neo-traditional pop music of Senegal. They are: Khady Dieng, pianist; Amina Sarr, the lead vocalist; Aissatou Dieng, the percussionist; Ndeye Cisse, the sambar and djembe player; Evora Vas, the
- [Canal+ leverages AI to win over African audiences](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/canal-leverages-ai-to-win-over-african-audiences/) - AFRICAN streaming subscribers could soon see a more personalised and potentially cheaper viewing experience for local content as French media giant Canal+ rolls out artificial intelligence tools following its acquisition of MultiChoice. The company plans to use AI to better understand audience preferences and recommend films, series and sports that resonate with viewers across different
- [Oil price surge is hurting African economies: scholars in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa take stock](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/oil-price-surge-is-hurting-african-economies-scholars-in-ethiopia-kenya-nigeria-senegal-and-south-africa-take-stock/) - THE attacks by the US and Israel on Iran, which started on 28 February 2026, upended key supply chains, driving oil prices above US$100 a barrel. The spike followed Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US and Israeli action. About 20% of the world’s oil supplies are transported through the
- [Zanele Muholi: queer South African visual activist cements their global influence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/zanele-muholi-queer-south-african-visual-activist-cements-their-global-influence/) - SOUTH African visual activist Zanele Muholi’s celebrated work centres the lives and experiences of Black lesbians and trans people. For more than two decades, Muholi has used photography to courageously open space for queer representation within and outside of art galleries in South Africa and across the world. Muholi uses the non-binary pronouns they/them/their and
- [Climate change could pose a major risk to cassava in Africa: study sets out what can be done now](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/climate-change-could-pose-a-major-risk-to-cassava-in-africa-study-sets-out-what-can-be-done-now/) - CASSAVA is a starchy, tuberous root, introduced to sub-Saharan Africa by Portuguese traders centuries ago. It is a nutritional lifeboat for over 800 million people worldwide. Sub-Saharan Africa contributes over 63% of the world’s total cassava production. Nigeria alone grows over 20% of the world’s cassava, which is also the continent’s second most important staple
- [Gambian editor arrested and charged after photographing defendants outside court](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/gambian-editor-arrested-and-charged-after-photographing-defendants-outside-court/) - A Gambian journalist faces up to a year in prison after he was arrested at the Banjul Magistrates Court on 11 March for photographing two defendants as they exited the building — a routine act of newsgathering that press freedom organisations say falls entirely within the law. Momodou Justice Darboe, editor of the online publication
- [Pakistan bombed a Kabul rehab centre. Where’s the outrage?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/pakistan-bombed-a-kabul-rehab-centre-wheres-the-outrage/) - I began the morning of 18 March with a visit to a drug rehabilitation centre that had come under Pakistani military attack less than 48 hours prior. It was a cold and wet morning. The overcast clouds were a particularly drab shade of grey that reflected the anger, sadness, and pain of a country once
- [Eid in the streets of Jerusalem: the calculated erasure of a sacred right](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/eid-in-the-streets-of-jerusalem-the-calculated-erasure-of-a-sacred-right/) - THE sound reached them before anything else. Rising from behind the Herod's Gate and echoing off the stone walls of the Old City, the takbir — Allahu Akbar, God is the greatest — swelled into the pre-dawn air over occupied East Jerusalem. Hundreds of Palestinian worshippers had gathered at the closest points they were permitted
- [Why Middle East gas field attacks could send energy prices soaring](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-middle-east-gas-field-attacks-could-send-energy-prices-soaring/) - ISRAEL’S bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field has sent shockwaves through global energy markets. The South Pars gas field is part of the world’s largest gas field, known as North Dome, shared by Iran and Qatar. Until now, nations on both sides of the conflict have confined their attacks to civilian infrastructure, where the
- [A Queen in exile, dead in Monrovia: the suspicious death of Ntombi Toni Khumalo Jackson](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/a-queen-in-exile-dead-in-monrovia-the-suspicious-death-of-ntombi-toni-khumalo-jackson/) - ON the morning of 12 March 2026, Ntombikayise Innocentia Khumalo — known to her peers as Toni, and to her Amantungwa/Nguni lineage as their Queen — was found unconscious on the floor of her marital bedroom in Sinkor, Monrovia. Her husband, economist and political commentator Samuel P. Jackson, told police he had just returned home
- [How Tanzanian security forces killed hundreds of bystanders in the October 2025 post-election crackdown](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/how-tanzanian-security-forces-killed-hundreds-of-bystanders-in-the-october-2025-post-election-crackdown/) - TANZANIAN security forces killed and injured scores of people who had no part in post-election protests during and after the country's disputed October 2025 general elections, Human Rights Watch has found - with the organisation warning that at least hundreds may have been killed across the country in what it describes as a brazen security
- [Nigeria strikes back: army kills 80 jihadists after reign of terror across Borno](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/nigeria-strikes-back-army-kills-80-jihadists-after-reign-of-terror-across-borno/) - NIGERIAN troops dealt a significant blow to Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters on Wednesday, killing at least 80 insurgents - including three senior commanders - and repelling a coordinated pre-dawn assault on a military base near the border town of Mallam Fatori in Borno State. The counterattack, supported by Nigerian
- [World Bank bars PwC entities in Kenya, Rwanda, and Mauritius over Ethiopian power project fraud](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/world-bank-bars-pwc-entities-in-kenya-rwanda-and-mauritius-over-ethiopian-power-project-fraud/) - THE World Bank Group has imposed a 21-month debarment on three PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) network firms - PricewaterhouseCoopers Associates Africa Ltd. (PwC Associates), PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited Kenya (PwC Kenya), and PricewaterhouseCoopers Rwanda Limited (PwC Rwanda) - following their admission of collusive and fraudulent conduct connected to a landmark regional electricity project in East Africa. The sanction, announced
- [From Simon’s Town to Shanghai: SAS Amatola’s historic port call signals a new chapter in South Africa-China maritime diplomacy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/brics-news/from-simons-town-to-shanghai-sas-amatolas-historic-port-call-signals-a-new-chapter-in-south-africa-china-maritime-diplomacy/) - WHEN the South African Navy frigate SAS Amatola glided into a naval port on China’s eastern seaboard on 15 March 2026, it carried with it the weight of eighteen years of diplomatic distance and a decade of deferred ambition. The vessel’s arrival in Shanghai, the first visit by any South African warship to this particular
- [Nicholas ‘Fink’ Haysom (1952–2026)](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/nicholas-fink-haysom-1952-2026/) - NICHOLAS Roland Leybourne Haysom - universally known as Fink - passed away in New York after a long illness, leaving behind a formidable legacy that stretches from the trenches of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle to the fragile peace processes of the African continent and beyond. Born on 21 April 1952, he lived a life of
- [African media councils adopt Lusaka Declaration to bolster self-regulation amid digital threats](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/african-media-councils-adopt-lusaka-declaration-to-bolster-self-regulation-amid-digital-threats/) - REPRESENTATIVES from African media councils, self-regulatory bodies, journalists, civil society, academia, and international partners adopted the Lusaka Declaration on 18 March 2026, calling for strengthened media self-regulation, platform accountability, and defences against disinformation and AI-driven risks. The two-day African Media Councils Conference, hosted by the Media Self-Regulation Council of Zambia (MSCZ) on 17-18 March, drew
- [Is there a case for dialogue to end Mozambique’s insurgent war?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/is-there-a-case-for-dialogue-to-end-mozambiques-insurgent-war/) - ONGOING attacks by Islamic State Mozambique (ISM) in the northern province of Cabo Delgado are forcing hundreds of thousands of families from their homes, deepening a humanitarian crisis that has been ongoing for close to a decade. At least 300,000 people have been displaced by the jihadist violence since July, including more than 100,000 following a spate
- [The Pharaoh of Fifty](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/the-pharaoh-of-fifty/) - THE pass arrived like a whisper - sublime, perfectly weighted, finding its man in the churning chaos of a Champions League night. Mohamed Salah received it on the left flank, his first touch caressing the ball into space. One defender went. Then another. His body shifted, the threat telegraphed and yet utterly unstoppable: the outside
- [Ethnic cleansing by other means: UN indicts Israel over mass displacement and accelerating land seizure](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/ethnic-cleansing-by-other-means-un-indicts-israel-over-mass-displacement-and-accelerating-land-seizure/) - THE Israeli government has pursued what the United Nations Human Rights office now describes as a concerted policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory - a finding that carries legal weight sufficient, in the UN's own estimation, to constitute ethnic cleansing and potentially crimes against humanity. The assessment is contained in a
- [Trump and Netanyahu may have jointly started the war in Iran, but ending it together will be difficult](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trump-and-netanyahu-may-have-jointly-started-the-war-in-iran-but-ending-it-together-will-be-difficult/) - DONALD Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on March 15 that his relationship with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is “extraordinary”. Netanyahu has been rather less effusive, saying in recent days that their relationship is one of “dialogue, shared concepts, consultation and joint work”. These comments come as reports are circulating of
- [Going nuclear? Why a growing number of Washington’s allies are eyeing an alternative to US umbrella](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/going-nuclear-why-a-growing-number-of-washingtons-allies-are-eyeing-an-alternative-to-us-umbrella/) - CANADIANS are openly discussing the merits and risks of pursuing a nuclear weapon. Europeans are similarly considering a nuclear deterrent for the bloc. In South Korea, public support for a nuclear weapon is at its highest level on record, and even in Japan, some politicians are talking about the once-taboo subject. Until just a few
- ['Grossly illegal and profoundly unjust': Senegal's government declares war on CAF](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/grossly-illegal-and-profoundly-unjust-senegals-government-declares-war-on-caf-over-afcon-strip/) - WHEN a government - not a football federation, not a sports ministry, but the executive arm of a sovereign state - issues a formal press release accusing the continent's premier football body of corruption and vowing to pursue it through international courts, something seismic has happened. That moment arrived on Wednesday morning, when Senegal's Secretary
- [Why developing nations could be the first to suffer as the Middle East conflict raises food prices](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/why-developing-nations-could-be-the-first-to-suffer-as-the-middle-east-conflict-raises-food-prices/) - GEOPOLITICAL tensions rarely stay confined to the battlefield. They ripple through global markets – particularly energy and food. The war between the US, Israel and Iran is a reminder of how quickly conflict can affect food security far beyond the region. One of the most consequential developments of this conflict has been the disruption of
- [Patrice Lumumba speaks from the grave](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/patrice-lumumba-speaks-from-the-grave/) - IN African culture, the dead do not die. They sleep. And if their death was not natural — if they were taken by treachery, by the hands of those drunk on power and colonial privilege — they speak. They speak across decades. They speak from the earth itself. On Tuesday, 17 March 2026, the voice
- [Four Decades, One Man: Sassou Nguesso clinches a fifth term — but who comes next?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/four-decades-one-man-sassou-nguesso-clinches-a-fifth-term-but-who-comes-next/) - THE numbers were never in doubt. When the Republic of Congo's state television announced on Tuesday that President Denis Sassou Nguesso had been re-elected with 94.82% of the vote, diplomats in Brazzaville barely glanced up from their desks. The outcome had been inscribed into the architecture of this election long before a single ballot was
- [New technologies are unlocking farm insurance in Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/new-technologies-are-unlocking-farm-insurance-in-africa/) - AFRICAN insurers, governments, and research organisations are testing a new generation of crop and livestock insurance models designed to protect smallholder farmers from increasingly unpredictable weather. The new systems combine satellite data, mobile technology, and farm-level verification tools, marking a shift from donor-led pilots toward scalable insurance markets across the continent. The momentum comes as
- [Football Treason: CAF's shameful theft of Senegal's glory](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/football-treason-cafs-shameful-theft-of-senegals-glory/) - LET us be precise about what happened on the night of 18 January 2026 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. Senegal played football. Morocco played football. The referee blew the final whistle. Senegal won. That is the incontrovertible truth of the matter - the only truth that should matter to any governing body
- [Reimagining Albinism Rights Advocacy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/reimagining-albinism-rights-advocacy/) - It is a hot afternoon in a rural district in Malawi. People gather around a tent set up at the Local Trading Centre, eager to witness a community outreach program that aims to combat rising violence against people with albinism. The organisers passionately encourage greater understanding of albinism and the protection of the rights of
- [‘Miracle workers’: SA President hails Mankweng team after historic separation of conjoined twins](https://theafricanmirror.africa/health/miracle-workers-sa-president-hails-mankweng-team-after-historic-separation-of-conjoined-twins/) - IN the operating theatres of Mankweng Hospital in Limpopo, history did not arrive with fanfare. It arrived in scrubs, in silence, and in the steady hands of a team of surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, and specialists who refused to be daunted by one of medicine’s most complex challenges. When the procedure concluded successfully, the result was
- [In conversation with Funke Adeoye on detainees' rights in Nigeria](https://theafricanmirror.africa/human-rights/in-conversation-with-funke-adeoye-on-detainees-rights-in-nigeria/) - PRE-TRIAL detention is one of the most persistent issues in Africa’s judicial system. Globally, the scale of pretrial detention continues to rise. More than three million people are currently held without conviction across 218 countries, according to the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research. These are individuals who have been detained through judicial or
- [Trump’s war language is aggressive and extreme. It also offers some insight into his thinking](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/trumps-war-language-is-aggressive-and-extreme-it-also-offers-some-insight-into-his-thinking/) - US President Donald Trump speaks in a way unlike any of his predecessors. His distinctive and highly recognisable style may even play a role in his appeal to his political base. Since the infamous Access Hollywood tapes, he has got away with saying things none of his predecessors would have ever dreamed of saying in
- [Displaced but uncounted: The people aid is leaving behind in Lebanon’s war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/displaced-but-uncounted-the-people-aid-is-leaving-behind-in-lebanons-war/) - TWO weeks into Israel’s rapidly escalating bombardment and ground incursion in Lebanon, more than one million people have been forced to flee their homes. Entire villages across south Lebanon have emptied, while neighbourhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs have once again watched residents pack belongings into cars and flee under mass evacuation orders. Much like in late 2024, when nearly a million
- [Morocco handed AFCON title after Senegal are stripped](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/football/morocco-handed-afcon-title-after-senegal-are-stripped/) - Senegal have been stripped of their AFCON title following a protest by Morocco over their protested walkout at the final of the 2025 AFCON tournament.
- [As the war drags on, what does victory look like for the US, Israel and Iran?](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/what-does-victory-look-like-for-the-us-israel-and-iran/) - AS the Middle East war enters its third week, there is no sign from either Iran or the United States and Israel that they will stop the fighting any time soon. It is getting more violent and nasty by the day. The Iranian Islamic regime is fighting for its survival, while the US and Israel
- [UN Rights Council hears evidence of mass civilian deaths as US-Israel bombing campaign against Iran enters third week](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/un-rights-council-hears-evidence-as-us-israel-bombing-campaign-continues/) - UN Human Rights Council hears evidence as independent experts warn of humanitarian catastrophe: 1,000+ civilians killed, millions displaced in three-week campaign.
- [Africa's ports and airports reap war gains as Middle East routes collapse](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/africa-ports-and-airports-reap-as-middle-east-routes-collapse/) - Airports across Africa are reaping customers fleeing the conflict and warfare in the region of Iran, UAE, and Saudi Arabia as the US-Israel war on Iran goes on.
- [Suicide bombers strike Maiduguri hospital and markets as insurgency defies Tinubu's security gains](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/suicide-bombers-strike-nigerian-hospital-and-markets/) - SUICIDE bombers struck the entrance to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, the Post Office market and the Monday Market on the evening of 16 March 2026, killing and wounding scores of civilians in the most devastating jihadist assault on Borno State's capital in years. Hours earlier, Boko Haram fighters had attempted to overrun a
- [Women are reviving a historic resistance tactic at protests: singing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/women-are-reviving-a-historic-resistance-tactic-at-protests-singing/) - ON a cold early-February evening in New York City, the first of what would become several “ICE Out Sing-Ins” was held. Co-hosted by two ensembles – the Resistance Revival Chorus and the Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir – as well as New York City’s Interfaith Alliance, the event’s purpose was singular: Teach the hundreds who assembled at Manhattan’s Middle Church
- [Digital upgrades are enhancing African police forces](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/digital-upgrades-are-enhancing-african-police-forces/) - INCIDENTS such as assaults, robberies, bullying, gender-based violence and public disorder are now often detected on platforms like WhatsApp, TikTok, Facebook and X before victims file formal reports or officers arrive at the scene. Policing on the continent is gradually shifting from paper files and walk-in complaints toward digital technology that captures and processes incidents
- [East Africa is leading Africa's latest hotel boom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/east-africa-is-leading-africas-latest-hotel-boom/) - EAST Africa is emerging as the continent’s most dynamic hotel construction zone, signalling a new phase in Africa’s tourism and business travel expansion. While North Africa continues to dominate total investment volumes, the projects most actively progressing toward completion are increasingly concentrated in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania. The shift reflects growing investor
- [Blood on the doorstep: The Borno insurgency and the existential test facing Tinubu's Nigeria](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/blood-on-the-doorstep-the-borno-insurgency-and-the-existential-test-facing-tinubus-nigeria/) - IN the early hours of Monday, 16 March 2026, Borno State — already Nigeria's most battle-scarred territory — descended once again into fire. Multiple suicide bombers struck civilian targets in Maiduguri city: the entrance to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, the Post Office market, and the Monday Market. Scores were killed and injured. Just
- [War dividends: How Africa's ports and skies are cashing in on the collapse of Middle East trade routes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/war-dividends-how-africas-ports-and-skies-are-cashing-in-on-the-collapse-of-middle-east-trade-routes/) - WHEN US and Israeli warplanes struck Iranian military and nuclear installations on 28 February 2026 — killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggering a cascade of Iranian missile and drone retaliation across the Gulf — the immediate read was one of pure catastrophe for global commerce. The world's most critical oil transit corridor, the Strait
- [Gambia's former Press Union leaders warn new media laws echo Jammeh-era controls](https://theafricanmirror.africa/media-freedom/gambias-former-press-union-leaders-warn-new-media-laws-echo-jammeh-era-controls/) - Five former presidents of the Gambia Press Union (GPU) have issued an extraordinary joint declaration condemning proposed media regulations they say would reintroduce state control over journalism through bureaucratic mechanisms, a warning that carries singular weight given that several signatories lived through the assassinations, exiles, and imprisonments of the Yahya Jammeh years. The statement, released
- [China’s new tariff‑free regime for Africa: the potential upside and downside](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/chinas-new-tariff-free-regime-for-africa-the-potential-upside-and-downside/) - CHINA’S President Xi Jinping announced in February 2026 that from 1 May, China would be granting zero-tariff treatment to 53 African countries. (That is all of them, bar Eswatini, which supports Taiwan.) China-Africa trade reached US$348 billion in 2025, up 17.7% from 2024. Chinese exports to Africa dominate trade flows and amounted to US$225 billion,
- [A nation building its own future: DRC's $8.7 billion digital revolution](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/a-nation-building-its-own-future-drcs-8-7-billion-digital-revolution/) - THERE is a version of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that the world rarely sees: not the haunted forests of the east, not the artisanal mining pits of the Katanga plateau, but a nation of 100 million people with a government that has chosen to bet on bandwidth, artificial intelligence, and the ingenuity of
- [GHANA: Six ex-ministers in corruption crosshairs, finance chief fights extradition from US detention](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghana-six-ex-ministers-in-corruption-crosshairs-finance-chief-fights-extradition-from-us-detention/) - GHANA’S accountability reckoning entered a defining new chapter this week as the Mahama administration confirmed that no fewer than six former ministers who served under ex-President Nana Akufo-Addo are under active investigation for financial misconduct, procurement irregularities, and causing losses to the state. The disclosures, made publicly on 14 March 2026 by Minister of State
- [A vote in name only: Sassou N’Guesso’s Congo and the theatre of elections](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/a-vote-in-name-only-sassou-nguessos-congo-and-the-theatre-of-elections/) - WHEN the polls closed in the Republic of Congo on Sunday, and the last voter departed polling stations largely emptied by civic despair, the formal machinery of what passes for democracy in Brazzaville ground into motion. Ballot boxes were sealed. Tallies began. Officials spoke of the process. But across the oil-rich Central African nation, most
- [“Pops flew in from Ghana for this”](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/pops-flew-in-from-ghana-for-this/) - THE Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles fell momentarily still on the night of 15 March 2026 when Michael B. Jordan stepped to the podium to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor. He had won for his dual performance in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners - portraying twin brothers Smoke and Stack, children of the Black South
- [The voice that would not be silenced](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/culture/the-voice-that-would-not-be-silenced/) - DAWN had not yet broken over the lagoon villages of southern Ivory Coast when the drum spoke. Its voice - a low, rolling thunder that radiated outward through the tall grass, through sleeping households, through the morning mist - was not music. It was an alarm. It was a command. It was, depending on the
- [Ramaphosa hails Transnet revival as South Africa bets on rail to unlock growth](https://theafricanmirror.africa/business/ramaphosa-hails-transnet-revival-as-south-africa-bets-on-rail-to-unlock-growth/) - PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa placed Transnet at the front of South Africa's growth agenda on Monday, using the platform of the country's inaugural National Transport Conference to celebrate measurable progress at the state logistics utility while laying out an ambitious, multi-modal vision that could reorder the competitive landscape for African trade and investment in the years
- [Memory is not to be trusted: a South African memoir traces the search for a family secret](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/literature/memory-is-not-to-be-trusted-a-south-african-memoir-traces-the-search-for-a-family-secret/) - SOUTH AFRICAN-BORN literary scholar Dennis Walder recently published an evocative life story called Amid the Alien Corn: A Son’s Memoir. In it, he tracks how, even as a child, he became aware that his mother Ruth was withholding something of herself and her past from him. This disquiet comes to a head after her death.
- [Human traffickers are using football dreams to lure young Ghanaian men to Nigeria – how to stop it](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/human-traffickers-are-using-football-dreams-to-lure-young-ghanaian-men-to-nigeria-how-to-stop-it/) - FOR a young man growing up in Ghana or Nigeria, few dreams burn brighter than becoming a professional footballer. Icons like Michael Essien (Ghana), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria) and Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria) didn’t just win trophies. They escaped poverty, provided for their families, and earned the respect of entire communities. Football, in much of West Africa,
- [Electric vehicles could soon be cheaper than petrol cars in Africa – if financing barriers fall](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sustainability/electric-vehicles-could-soon-be-cheaper-than-petrol-cars-in-africa-if-financing-barriers-fall/) - THE cost of electric vehicles (EVs) has long looked like a barrier to adoption in Africa. Most researchers didn’t expect battery power to become affordable enough to replace petrol or diesel on the continent before 2040. But falling battery costs, surging global EV production and abundant solar resources are changing that view. Our new research
- [In war-struck Iran, fleeing Tehran is a luxury few can afford](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/in-war-struck-iran-fleeing-tehran-is-a-luxury-few-can-afford/) - DURING the morning rush hour of 28 February, Tehran was rocked by loud explosions as the United States and Israel made good on months of threats against the nation’s Islamic Republic government. US President Donald Trump had been warning Iran’s leadership that he would strike if their crackdown on protests that began in late 2025 was too
- [The day the Rainbow Nation owned New York City](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/athletics/the-day-the-rainbow-nation-owned-new-york-city/) - THE city that never sleeps rubbed its eyes on Sunday morning and found South Africa standing at the top of the world - not once, but twice. By the time the last whistle blew in Lower Manhattan and the gold medals cooled against the skin of the victors, New York had become, briefly, magnificently, a
- [Schools without pupils: Lebanon's crisis displaces 667,000 as donor world looks away](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/schools-without-pupils-lebanons-crisis-displaces-667000-as-donor-world-looks-away/) - IN a school in Beirut's Burj Hammoud neighbourhood, the desks have been pushed aside. Mattresses line the floors. Plastic bags stuffed with belongings hang from the pupils' coat hooks. The children who once sat in these rows are now among the displaced - part of a swelling tide of humanity that, in less than two
- [Crash, bang, wallop - and a star is born](https://theafricanmirror.africa/sport/motorsport/crash-bang-wallop-and-a-star-is-born/) - LET us be blunt: if you slept through the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, please hand in your motorsport credentials at the door, collect your consolation prize, and go watch paint dry instead. Because Shanghai - glorious, dramatic, wheel-banging Shanghai - delivered the kind of afternoon that reminds you exactly why Formula One is the greatest
- [Golden horns, golden looks - and one very golden night for Bonko Khoza](https://theafricanmirror.africa/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/golden-horns-golden-looks-and-one-very-golden-night-for-bonko-khoza/) - The SAFTAs did not tiptoe back. After last year's inexplicable no-show — the industry's equivalent of a lead actor simply not arriving on set - the 19th Annual South African Film and Television Awards came roaring back to Midrand's Gallagher Convention Centre on Saturday evening with the energy of a township telenovela season finale. There
- [Cops, killers and coffins: The police murder scandal South Africa cannot look away from](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/cops-killers-and-coffins-the-police-murder-scandal-south-africa-cannot-look-away-from/) - SHE wore her uniform to the funerals. She was, sources say, always the first officer at the scene. And the insurance money - more than R10 million of it, prosecutors allege - kept flowing. The story of Rachel Raesetsa Shokane-Kutumela, a former South African Police Service sergeant from Limpopo who allegedly ran a decade-long, eleven-person
- [Into exile: Bobi Wine flees Uganda after stolen elections, two months on the run](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/into-exile-bobi-wine-flees-uganda-after-stolen-elections-two-months-on-the-run/) - ROBERT Kyagulanyi Ssentamu - known to Uganda and to the world as Bobi Wine - is gone. Eight weeks after evading soldiers who raided his home on the outskirts of Kampala, the leader of Uganda's National Unity Platform (NUP) confirmed at the weekend that he has left the country he spent two months hiding in
- [How a former Police sergeant allegedly ran an eleven-person murder-for-insurance empire](https://theafricanmirror.africa/special-features/special-features-analysis/how-a-former-police-sergeant-allegedly-ran-an-eleven-person-murder-for-insurance-empire/) - THE body of a disabled man found floating in a dam — a man who could not have walked there on his own — is reportedly what finally cracked open one of the most disturbing criminal conspiracies in post-apartheid South Africa. That grim discovery in 2024 led investigators to former South African Police Service (SAPS)
- [Flight from fire: 3.2 million Iranians torn from their homes as US-Israeli war enters its fifteenth day](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/flight-from-fire-3-2-million-iranians-torn-from-their-homes-as-us-israeli-war-enters-its-fifteenth-day/) - WHEN the first American and Israeli warplanes thundered over Tehran on the night of 28 February, Maryam — a schoolteacher in the city's eastern Narmak district — packed two bags, grabbed her three children, and drove north through the night. She did not know where she was going. She only knew she was leaving. Thirteen
- [SA vs Israel divides world at the ICJ](https://theafricanmirror.africa/world/sa-vs-israel-divides-world-at-the-icj/) - THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE became the latest arena for the fracture lines of global power when four countries — the United States, Namibia, Fiji, and Hungary — filed formal declarations of intervention in South Africa's genocide case against Israel, just as Israel submitted its counter-memorial to the world court after months of extensions. The
- [Thirty years on, the Children's Fund endures - but Mandela's promise to South Africa's Children remains unfulfilled](https://theafricanmirror.africa/thought-leadership/thirty-years-on-the-childrens-fund-endures-but-mandelas-promise-to-south-africas-children-remains-unfulfilled/) - I am certain that quite a few among us will remember the important words the late President Nelson Mandela spoke at the launch of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in May 1995, when he said: “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. “We
- [THE COBRA STRIKES BACK: Eritrea's cartoonist walks free after 15 years without trial](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-cobra-strikes-back-eritreas-most-feared-cartoonist-walks-free-after-15-years-without-trial/) - HE drew with one arm. He saw with both eyes. And for fifteen unbroken years, the government of Eritrea — among the most secretive and repressive on earth - could not endure what Biniam Solomon saw. Solomon, now in his early sixties and known across the Horn of Africa and its diaspora by his pen
- [Somalia's fight for survival is Africa's fight for the future](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/somalias-fight-for-survival-is-africas-fight-for-the-future/) - THE numbers are not abstract. By 2060, Somalia could lose up to 13.5 percent of its GDP — not to war, not to corruption, not to the old, familiar enemies of state failure - but to climate change. Droughts that arrive too soon and linger too long. Floods that swallow homes and harvests in hours.
- [Ghanaian conman pleads guilty to $10 million love fraud that preyed on lonely Americans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/ghanaian-conman-pleads-guilty-to-10-million-love-fraud-that-preyed-on-lonely-americans/) - A 40-year-old Ghanaian national has pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to stealing more than $10 million from American victims through an elaborate web of fake online romances - in what prosecutors describe as one of the most brazen cyber-fraud operations to emerge from West Africa in recent years. Derrick Van Yeboah -
- [The beauty of the Ghana-Nigeria-Korea partnership that carries hope of millions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/news/the-beauty-of-the-ghana-nigeria-korea-partnership-that-carries-hope-of-millions/) - ON 12 March 2026, in the industrial port city of Ulsan - South Korea's beating maritime heart - a vessel slid into the frigid waters of the Korean Strait to begin a journey that carries the hopes of more than 35 million people. The ship is named the MT Asharami Ghana. And its name is

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- [Brazil](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/brazil/)
- [suffocate to death](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/suffocate-to-death/)
- [New Year firework crush](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/new-year-firework-crush/)
- [Freedom City Mall](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/freedom-city-mall/)
- [Uganda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/uganda/)
- [renewable energies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/renewable-energies/)
- [Tunisian government](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tunisian-government/)
- [1700 megawatts](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/1700-megawatts/)
- [46 Ivorian soldiers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/46-ivorian-soldiers/)
- [20 years imprisonment](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/20-years-imprisonment/)
- [Bamako](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bamako/)
- [Ivory Coast](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ivory-coast/)
- [Mali](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mali/)
- [Gambia Armed Forces](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gambia-armed-forces/)
- [eight soldiers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/eight-soldiers/)
- [foiled coup](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/foiled-coup/)
- [truck crash](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/truck-crash/)
- [passenger buses](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/passenger-buses/)
- [20 killed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/20-killed/)
- [Chad](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/chad/)
- [bus crash](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bus-crash/)
- [2023 budget](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/2023-budget/)
- [Lawmakers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lawmakers/)
- [Muhammadu Buhari](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/muhammadu-buhari/)
- [Senegal lawmakers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegal-lawmakers/)
- [6-month jail sentence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/6-month-jail-sentence/)
- [assaulting colleague](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/assaulting-colleague/)
- [Amadou Niang](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/amadou-niang/)
- [Massata Samb](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/massata-samb/)
- [Amy Ndiaye Gniby](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/amy-ndiaye-gniby/)
- [Santos](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/santos/)
- [Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva/)
- [Brazil soccer legend](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/brazil-soccer-legend/)
- [mourners](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mourners/)
- [Tanzania president](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tanzania-president/)
- [six-year ban](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/six-year-ban/)
- [political rallies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/political-rallies/)
- [Samia Suluhu Hassan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/samia-suluhu-hassan/)
- [John Magufuli](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/john-magufuli/)
- [prominent opponents](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/prominent-opponents/)
- [Nejib Chebbi](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nejib-chebbi/)
- [Reda Belhaj](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/reda-belhaj/)
- [Ayachi Hammami](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ayachi-hammami/)
- [investigation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/investigation/)
- [French foreign ministry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/french-foreign-ministry/)
- [Luc Hallade](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/luc-hallade/)
- [French ambassador](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/french-ambassador/)
- [Burkina Faso](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/burkina-faso/)
- [35 killed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/35-killed/)
- [al-Shabaab militants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/al-shabaab-militants-2/)
- [car bombs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/car-bombs/)
- [al Qaeda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/al-qaeda/)
- [Somalia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/somalia/)
- [Samuel Umtiti](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/samuel-umtiti/)
- [Lameck Banda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lameck-banda/)
- [Gianni Infantino](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gianni-infantino/)
- [Italy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/italy/)
- [racial abuse](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/racial-abuse/)
- [racism](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/racism/)
- [Burkinabe government](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/burkinabe-government/)
- [anti-French sentiment](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/anti-french-sentiment/)
- [Russian mercenaries](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/russian-mercenaries/)
- [Wagner Group](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/wagner-group/)
- [France](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/france/)
- [ceasefire agreement](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ceasefire-agreement/)
- [Abiy Ahmed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/abiy-ahmed/)
- [humanitarian crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/humanitarian-crisis/)
- [Tigray](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tigray/)
- [mobile service providers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mobile-service-providers/)
- [broadband networks](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/broadband-networks/)
- [internet service providers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/internet-service-providers/)
- [technology](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/technology/)
- [Dutch prosecutors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dutch-prosecutors/)
- [Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kidane-zekarias-habtemariam/)
- [Eritrean trafficker](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/eritrean-trafficker/)
- [human trafficking](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/human-trafficking/)
- [Netherlands](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/netherlands/)
- [IAN Khama](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ian-khama/)
- [arrest warrant](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/arrest-warrant/)
- [ex-President](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ex-president/)
- [Botswana](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/botswana/)
- [#JusticeForChiloba](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/justiceforchiloba/)
- [LGBTQ activist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lgbtq-activist/)
- [Edwin Chiloba](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/edwin-chiloba/)
- [LGBTQ rights](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lgbtq-rights-2/)
- [Kenyan police](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyan-police/)
- [poisoning](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/poisoning/)
- [André de Ruyter](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/andre-de-ruyter-2/)
- [sabotage](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sabotage/)
- [SA police](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sa-police/)
- [national mourning](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/national-mourning/)
- [Macky Sall](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/macky-sall/)
- [Senegal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegal/)
- [train station](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/train-station/)
- [AK-47 rifles](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ak-47-rifles/)
- [southern Nigeria](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/southern-nigeria/)
- [Gunmen](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gunmen/)
- [President Patrice Talon](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/president-patrice-talon/)
- [Benin](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/benin/)
- [parliamentary election](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/parliamentary-election/)
- [democracy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/democracy/)
- [Malian captivity](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/malian-captivity/)
- [Alassane Ouattara](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/alassane-ouattara/)
- [new law](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/new-law/)
- [organised protests](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/organised-protests/)
- [outlawed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/outlawed/)
- [Healthcare workers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/healthcare-workers/)
- [Emmerson Mnangagwa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/emmerson-mnangagwa/)
- [health workers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/health-workers/)
- [Zimbabwe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/zimbabwe/)
- [imprisonment](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/imprisonment/)
- [Zimbabwe health workers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/zimbabwe-health-workers/)
- [communications law](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/communications-law/)
- [government critics](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/government-critics/)
- [Computer Misuse Act](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/computer-misuse-act/)
- [Uganda court](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/uganda-court/)
- [vice-president](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/vice-president-2/)
- [new prime minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/new-prime-minister/)
- [female Prime Minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/female-prime-minister/)
- [Ossouka Raponda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ossouka-raponda/)
- [Ali Bongo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ali-bongo/)
- [Gabon](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gabon/)
- [Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rose-christiane-ossouka-raponda/)
- [Sudan factions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sudan-factions/)
- [transition deal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/transition-deal/)
- [civilian government](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/civilian-government/)
- [military coup](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/military-coup/)
- [Kenyan LGBTQ activist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyan-lgbtq-activist/)
- [roommate](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/roommate/)
- [LGBTQ community](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lgbtq-community/)
- [LGBTQ rights campaigner](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lgbtq-rights-campaigner/)
- [disruptions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/disruptions/)
- [Kenyan Airways](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyan-airways/)
- [African travellers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-travellers/)
- [aviation industry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/aviation-industry/)
- [international competition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/international-competition/)
- [Chinese foreign minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/chinese-foreign-minister/)
- [Qin Gang](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/qin-gang/)
- [Africa CDC](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/africa-cdc/)
- [African Union](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-union/)
- [Pan-African](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pan-african/)
- [Tunisian reservoirs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tunisian-reservoirs/)
- [Tunisian droughts](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tunisian-droughts/)
- [water prices](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/water-prices/)
- [food security](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/food-security/)
- [Ebola Zaire](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ebola-zaire/)
- [Ebola Sudan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ebola-sudan/)
- [Ebola-free](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ebola-free-2/)
- [outbreak](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/outbreak/)
- [Jane Ruth Aceng](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/jane-ruth-aceng/)
- [health minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/health-minister/)
- [West Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/west-africa/)
- [World Health Organization](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/world-health-organization/)
- [Congo beer factory](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/congo-beer-factory/)
- [Brasimba factory](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/brasimba-factory/)
- [rebel militias](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rebel-militias/)
- [Castel Group](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/castel-group/)
- [M23 rebel group](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/m23-rebel-group/)
- [asphyxiation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/asphyxiation/)
- [pathologist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pathologist/)
- [technicolour haystacks](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/technicolour-haystacks/)
- [costumes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/costumes/)
- [national voodoo holiday](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/national-voodoo-holiday/)
- [Voodoo dances](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/voodoo-dances/)
- [rituals](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rituals/)
- [Benin festival](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/benin-festival/)
- [tourists](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tourists/)
- [female bouncers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/female-bouncers/)
- [Emem Thomas](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/emem-thomas/)
- [plus-sized](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/plus-sized/)
- [Dragon Squad Limited](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dragon-squad-limited/)
- [tender](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tender/)
- [locomotive repairs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/locomotive-repairs/)
- [impasse](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/impasse/)
- [Chinese supplier](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/chinese-supplier/)
- [CRRC E-Loco](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/crrc-e-loco/)
- [Transnet](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/transnet/)
- [heavy weapons](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/heavy-weapons/)
- [demobilisation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/demobilisation/)
- [Ethiopia's federal government](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ethiopias-federal-government/)
- [Ethiopian army](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ethiopian-army/)
- [Tigray forces](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tigray-forces/)
- [war criminal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/war-criminal/)
- [appeals conviction](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/appeals-conviction/)
- [Liberian rebel commander](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/liberian-rebel-commander/)
- [Swiss court](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/swiss-court/)
- [Alieu Kosiah](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/alieu-kosiah/)
- [rape victim](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rape-victim/)
- [production-sharing agreements](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/production-sharing-agreements/)
- [DGR Energy Turaco Uganda Limited](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dgr-energy-turaco-uganda-limited/)
- [energy ministry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/energy-ministry/)
- [oil exploration deals](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/oil-exploration-deals/)
- [DGR Global](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dgr-global/)
- [eastern Kenya](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/eastern-kenya/)
- [Kenya National Highway Authority](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenya-national-highway-authority/)
- [Islamist fighters](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/islamist-fighters/)
- [ambush](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ambush/)
- [al Shabaab](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/al-shabaab/)
- [airspace](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/airspace/)
- [Algerian government](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/algerian-government/)
- [Moroccan football federation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/moroccan-football-federation/)
- [African Nations Championship](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-nations-championship/)
- [Royal Air Maroc](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/royal-air-maroc/)
- [South African Reserve Bank](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/south-african-reserve-bank-2/)
- [national conference](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/national-conference/)
- [job creation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/job-creation/)
- [rampant inflation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rampant-inflation/)
- [public servant salaries](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/public-servant-salaries/)
- [increase](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/increase/)
- [Ghana](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ghana/)
- [CIA chief](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cia-chief/)
- [William Burns](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/william-burns/)
- [Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/prime-minister-abdulhamid-al-dbeibah/)
- [Central Intelligence Agency](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/central-intelligence-agency/)
- [Libyan government](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/libyan-government/)
- [Libya](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/libya/)
- [ruling coalition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ruling-coalition/)
- [Union Progressiste le Renouveau](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/union-progressiste-le-renouveau/)
- [Bloc Republicain](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bloc-republicain/)
- [Les Démocrates](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/les-democrates/)
- [Benin constitutional court](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/benin-constitutional-court/)
- [election win](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/election-win/)
- [humanitarian worker](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/humanitarian-worker/)
- [withdraw](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/withdraw/)
- [Amhara region](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/amhara-region/)
- [Amhara forces](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/amhara-forces/)
- [Tigray region](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tigray-region/)
- [former presidential candidate](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/former-presidential-candidate/)
- [President Samia Suluhu Hassan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/president-samia-suluhu-hassan/)
- [opposition leader](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/opposition-leader/)
- [Tanzania](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tanzania/)
- [Tundu Lissu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tundu-lissu/)
- [church bomb attack](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/church-bomb-attack/)
- [Sunday service](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sunday-service/)
- [Kasindi](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kasindi/)
- [Suspected Islamists](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/suspected-islamists/)
- [east Congo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/east-congo/)
- [Islamic State](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/islamic-state/)
- [50 African languages](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/50-african-languages/)
- [David Kouamé](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/david-kouame/)
- [mother tongue](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mother-tongue/)
- [tutoring services](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tutoring-services/)
- [literacy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/literacy/)
- [Abidjan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/abidjan/)
- [mobile phone](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mobile-phone/)
- [Transgender Kenyans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/transgender-kenyans/)
- [activist's death](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/activists-death/)
- [refuge](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/refuge/)
- [o](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/o/)
- [Trans Rescue](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/trans-rescue/)
- [LGBTQ rights activist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lgbtq-rights-activist/)
- [Rift Valley](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rift-valley/)
- [SA regional force](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sa-regional-force/)
- ["disturbing" video](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/disturbing-video/)
- [Cabo Delgado province](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cabo-delgado-province/)
- [Mozambique](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mozambique/)
- [SANDF](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sandf/)
- [opposition party gathering](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/opposition-party-gathering/)
- [Citizens Coalition for Change](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/citizens-coalition-for-change/)
- [members arrested](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/members-arrested/)
- [Zimbabwean police](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/zimbabwean-police/)
- [presidential election](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/presidential-election/)
- [Teargas](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/teargas/)
- [Father Isaac Achi](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/father-isaac-achi/)
- [Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/saints-peter-and-paul-catholic-church/)
- [burned to death](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/burned-to-death/)
- [Catholic priest](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/catholic-priest/)
- [northwest Nigeria](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/northwest-nigeria/)
- [Protestant church](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/protestant-church/)
- [Ugandan militant group](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ugandan-militant-group/)
- [Congo church attack](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/congo-church-attack/)
- [Allied Democratic Forces](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/allied-democratic-forces/)
- [death toll](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/death-toll/)
- [stronghold](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/stronghold/)
- [Indian Ocean coast](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/indian-ocean-coast/)
- [Harardhere](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/harardhere/)
- [offensive](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/offensive/)
- [hijacking](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/hijacking/)
- [pirates](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pirates/)
- [energy crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/energy-crisis-2/)
- [Davos](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/davos/)
- [Cyril Ramaphosa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cyril-ramaphosa/)
- [World Economic Forum](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/world-economic-forum/)
- [road crash](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/road-crash/)
- [major crash](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/major-crash/)
- [passenger bus](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/passenger-bus/)
- [50 women](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/50-women/)
- [mass kidnapping](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mass-kidnapping/)
- [Islamist militants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/islamist-militants/)
- [kidnapped](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kidnapped/)
- [Al Qaeda affiliate](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/al-qaeda-affiliate/)
- [suicide car bomb](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/suicide-car-bomb/)
- [seven soldiers killed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/seven-soldiers-killed/)
- [military base](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/military-base/)
- [appeal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/appeal/)
- [Rishi Sunak](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rishi-sunak/)
- [Rwanda migrant plan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rwanda-migrant-plan/)
- [asylum seekers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/asylum-seekers/)
- [European Court of Human Rights](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/european-court-of-human-rights/)
- [energy crisis committee](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/energy-crisis-committee/)
- [SA energy crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sa-energy-crisis/)
- [Sabrina Dhowre Elba](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sabrina-dhowre-elba/)
- [Davos 2023](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/davos-2023/)
- [Idris Elba](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/idris-elba/)
- [Idjwi block](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/idjwi-block/)
- [U.S. company](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/u-s-company/)
- [Winds Exploration and Production LLC](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/winds-exploration-and-production-llc/)
- [Lwandjofu block](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lwandjofu-block/)
- [Canada-based Alfajiri Energy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/canada-based-alfajiri-energy/)
- [Makelele block](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/makelele-block/)
- [RED](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/red/)
- [United States-based](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/united-states-based/)
- [Symbion Power](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/symbion-power/)
- [Lake Kivu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lake-kivu/)
- [M23 withdrawal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/m23-withdrawal/)
- [Congolese president](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/congolese-president/)
- [M23 rebels](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/m23-rebels/)
- [Felix Tshisekedi](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/felix-tshisekedi/)
- [US$1 billion spaceport](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/us1-billion-spaceport/)
- [spaceport](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/spaceport/)
- [Hong Kong Aerospace Technology](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/hong-kong-aerospace-technology/)
- [satellites and rockets](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/satellites-and-rockets/)
- [partnership](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/partnership/)
- [Djibouti](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/djibouti/)
- [Ghana-based aid](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ghana-based-aid/)
- [consumer inflation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/consumer-inflation/)
- [debt cancellation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/debt-cancellation/)
- [Nigeria's electoral commission](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigerias-electoral-commission/)
- [Mahmood Yakubu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mahmood-yakubu/)
- [Independent National Electoral Commission](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/independent-national-electoral-commission/)
- [presidential vote](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/presidential-vote/)
- [Enoch Godongwana](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/enoch-godongwana/)
- [Finance Minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/finance-minister/)
- [Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/coalition-for-epidemic-preparedness/)
- [$50 million investment](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/50-million-investment/)
- [Richard Hatchett](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/richard-hatchett/)
- [Senegal institute](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegal-institute/)
- [vaccinations](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/vaccinations/)
- [CEPI](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cepi/)
- [TikTok Top Creator 2022 Awards](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tiktok-top-creator-2022-awards/)
- [top creators](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/top-creators/)
- [food vlogger](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/food-vlogger/)
- [Dennis Ombachi](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dennis-ombachi/)
- [Africa Winner award](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/africa-winner-award/)
- [Charity Ekezie](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/charity-ekezie/)
- [tiktok](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tiktok/)
- [Gambian vice president](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gambian-vice-president/)
- [illness](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/illness/)
- [Badara Alieu Joof](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/badara-alieu-joof/)
- [Adama Barrow](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/adama-barrow/)
- [Pope visit](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pope-visit/)
- [trader stalls](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/trader-stalls/)
- [DRC Police](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/drc-police/)
- [demolished](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/demolished/)
- [DRC](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/drc/)
- [Kenya Revenue Authority](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenya-revenue-authority/)
- [tax cheats](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tax-cheats/)
- [tax collection system](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tax-collection-system/)
- [tax evaders](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tax-evaders/)
- [President William Ruto](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/president-william-ruto/)
- [Senegal politician](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegal-politician/)
- [Ousmane Sonko](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ousmane-sonko/)
- [rape charges](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rape-charges/)
- [Galcad base](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/galcad-base/)
- [Somali military base](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/somali-military-base/)
- [Islamist militia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/islamist-militia/)
- [49 bodies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/49-bodies/)
- [village of Nyamamba](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/village-of-nyamamba/)
- [MONUSCO](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/monusco/)
- [CODECO](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/codeco/)
- [mass graves](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mass-graves/)
- [jihadist abductors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/jihadist-abductors/)
- [fleeing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/fleeing/)
- [armed militants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/armed-militants/)
- [young woman](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/young-woman/)
- [anti-France protest](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/anti-france-protest/)
- [French flags](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/french-flags/)
- [Ouagadougou](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ouagadougou/)
- [West African country](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/west-african-country/)
- [Galmagalla](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/galmagalla/)
- [Garissa county](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/garissa-county/)
- [Kenyan security forces](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyan-security-forces/)
- [Islamist group](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/islamist-group/)
- [separatist factions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/separatist-factions/)
- [warring parties](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/warring-parties/)
- [peace process](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/peace-process/)
- [Mélanie Joly](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/melanie-joly/)
- [foreign minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/foreign-minister/)
- [Cameroon](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cameroon/)
- [Canada](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/canada/)
- [Michael Moussa Adamo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/michael-moussa-adamo/)
- [heart attack](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/heart-attack/)
- [U.S. Treasury Secretary](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/u-s-treasury-secretary/)
- [unspeakable cruelty](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/unspeakable-cruelty/)
- [trans-Atlantic slave trade](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/trans-atlantic-slave-trade/)
- [House of Slaves](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/house-of-slaves/)
- [Goree Island](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/goree-island/)
- [Janet Yellen](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/janet-yellen/)
- [John Williams Ntwali](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/john-williams-ntwali/)
- [Rwandan journalist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rwandan-journalist/)
- [President Paul Kagame](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/president-paul-kagame/)
- [human rights activists](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/human-rights-activists/)
- [car accident](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/car-accident/)
- [cheaper call rates](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cheaper-call-rates/)
- [scheme](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/scheme/)
- [expensive roaming rates](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/expensive-roaming-rates/)
- [One Network Area](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/one-network-area/)
- [East African Community](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/east-african-community/)
- [Farmfluencers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/farmfluencers/)
- [FRANCIS Muiruri](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/francis-muiruri/)
- [Kenyan farmer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyan-farmer/)
- [Tik Tok](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tik-tok/)
- [YouTube](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/youtube/)
- [African farmers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-farmers/)
- [Facebook](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/facebook/)
- [social media](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/social-media/)
- [Burkinabe women](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/burkinabe-women/)
- [ARMED assailants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/armed-assailants/)
- [abducted](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/abducted/)
- [Juhayna Food Industries](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/juhayna-food-industries/)
- [CEO](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ceo/)
- [Seifeldin Thabet](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/seifeldin-thabet/)
- [Thabet family](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/thabet-family/)
- [Safwan Thabet](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/safwan-thabet/)
- [rural electrification project](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rural-electrification-project/)
- [Google translate](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/google-translate/)
- [offline translation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/offline-translation/)
- [iOS](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ios/)
- [Android](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/android/)
- [Arabic](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/arabic/)
- [Afrikaans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/afrikaans/)
- [African languages](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-languages/)
- [Swahili](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/swahili/)
- [blast](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/blast/)
- [mayor’s office](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mayors-office/)
- [Mogadishu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mogadishu/)
- [African elderly people](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-elderly-people/)
- [Malik Afegbua](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/malik-afegbua/)
- [Nigerian artist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigerian-artist/)
- [artificial intelligence](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/artificial-intelligence/)
- [SA foreign minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sa-foreign-minister/)
- [Naledi Pandor](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/naledi-pandor/)
- [Russia and China](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/russia-and-china/)
- [Russian Foreign Minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/russian-foreign-minister/)
- [military drills](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/military-drills/)
- [Sergei Lavrov](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sergei-lavrov/)
- [departure](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/departure-2/)
- [military government](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/military-government/)
- [French troops](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/french-troops/)
- [disrupted](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/disrupted/)
- [striking ground staff](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/striking-ground-staff/)
- [higher pay](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/higher-pay/)
- [Air Peace](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/air-peace/)
- [Dana Air](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dana-air/)
- [Roman Catholic community](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/roman-catholic-community/)
- [Nigerian Aviation Handling Company](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigerian-aviation-handling-company/)
- [Africa trip](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/africa-trip/)
- [The Vatican](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/the-vatican/)
- [Nigerian flights](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigerian-flights/)
- [Cameroonian journalist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cameroonian-journalist/)
- [unidentified assailants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/unidentified-assailants/)
- [Martinez Zogo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/martinez-zogo/)
- [mutilated body](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mutilated-body/)
- [Reporters Without Borders](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/reporters-without-borders/)
- [Reporters Without Borders](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/reporters-without-borders/)
- [Zircon missiles](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/zircon-missiles/)
- [joint exercises](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/joint-exercises/)
- [China and South Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/china-and-south-africa/)
- [Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/admiral-of-the-fleet-of-the-soviet-union-gorshkov/)
- [frigate](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/frigate/)
- [hypersonic missiles](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/hypersonic-missiles/)
- [Russian warship](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/russian-warship/)
- [billion-dollar deep seaport](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/billion-dollar-deep-seaport/)
- [Chinese-built](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/chinese-built/)
- [deep seaport](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/deep-seaport/)
- [Lekki Deep Sea Port](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lekki-deep-sea-port/)
- [President Muhammadu Buhari](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/president-muhammadu-buhari/)
- [lagos](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lagos/)
- [Africa content moderation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/africa-content-moderation/)
- [contractor](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/contractor/)
- [content moderation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/content-moderation/)
- [Meta Platforms](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/meta-platforms/)
- [Rights groups](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rights-groups/)
- [Instagram](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/instagram/)
- [WhatsApp](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/whatsapp/)
- [Kenya Kwanza Coalition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenya-kwanza-coalition/)
- [Kenyan opposition leader](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyan-opposition-leader/)
- [Raila Odinga](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/raila-odinga/)
- [disputed election](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/disputed-election/)
- [immediate action](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/immediate-action/)
- [cough syrup deaths](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cough-syrup-deaths/)
- [Maiden Pharmaceuticals](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/maiden-pharmaceuticals/)
- [Marion Biotech](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/marion-biotech/)
- [acute kidney injury](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/acute-kidney-injury/)
- [children](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/children/)
- [three-country trip](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/three-country-trip/)
- [Senegal's Pink Lake](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegals-pink-lake/)
- [Extreme floods](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/extreme-floods/)
- [salt farmer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/salt-farmer/)
- [Pape Sira Ba](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pape-sira-ba/)
- [contaminated](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/contaminated/)
- [livelihoods](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/livelihoods/)
- [UNESCO World Heritage site](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/unesco-world-heritage-site/)
- [Father Victor Ntambwe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/father-victor-ntambwe/)
- [DRC Catholic church](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/drc-catholic-church/)
- [enlist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/enlist/)
- [Saint Charles Lwanga church](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/saint-charles-lwanga-church/)
- [lying](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lying/)
- [bribery claims](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bribery-claims/)
- [arbitration tribunal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/arbitration-tribunal/)
- [Process & Industrial Developments](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/process-industrial-developments/)
- [$11-billion claim](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/11-billion-claim/)
- [Dr Mahamadou Diawara](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dr-mahamadou-diawara/)
- [assailants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/assailants/)
- [WHO doctor](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/who-doctor/)
- [eastern Mali](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/eastern-mali/)
- [Jihadist groups](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/jihadist-groups/)
- [Ethiopia's Aircraft Investigation Bureau](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ethiopias-aircraft-investigation-bureau/)
- [National Transportation Safety Board](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/national-transportation-safety-board/)
- [NTSB](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ntsb/)
- [Boeing 737 MAX report](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/boeing-737-max-report/)
- [fatal crash](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/fatal-crash/)
- [Ethiopian Airlines](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ethiopian-airlines/)
- [African Development Bank Group](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-development-bank-group/)
- [gross domestic product](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gross-domestic-product/)
- [economic growth](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/economic-growth/)
- [arraignment](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/arraignment/)
- [Libyan intelligence operative](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/libyan-intelligence-operative/)
- [Lockerbie bomb](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/lockerbie-bomb/)
- [Pan Am Flight 103](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pan-am-flight-103/)
- [Libyan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/libyan/)
- [Congolese military jet](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/congolese-military-jet/)
- [act of war](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/act-of-war/)
- [Rwandan forces](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rwandan-forces/)
- [International tourists](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/international-tourists/)
- [tourism industry](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tourism-industry/)
- [African airlines](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-airlines/)
- [air travel](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/air-travel/)
- [South African farmers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/south-african-farmers/)
- [apple farmer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/apple-farmer/)
- [Ceres](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ceres/)
- [pear cultivars](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pear-cultivars/)
- [SA energy transition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sa-energy-transition/)
- [energy transition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/energy-transition/)
- [Gwede Mantashe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gwede-mantashe/)
- [Burkina ambassador](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/burkina-ambassador/)
- [Nozizwe Mulela-Zulu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nozizwe-mulela-zulu/)
- [siblings](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/siblings/)
- [Queen Nozizwe Pearl Ka Mulela-Zulu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/queen-nozizwe-pearl-ka-mulela-zulu/)
- [informal settlement](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/informal-settlement/)
- [Senegalese President](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegalese-president/)
- [food production](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/food-production/)
- [food crisis](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/food-crisis/)
- [food insecurity](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/food-insecurity/)
- [hunger](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/hunger/)
- [Nigerian democracy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigerian-democracy/)
- [U.S. Secretary of State](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/u-s-secretary-of-state/)
- [Antony Blinken](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/antony-blinken/)
- [United States](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/united-states/)
- [Venezuelan diplomat](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/venezuelan-diplomat/)
- [Dwight Sagaray](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dwight-sagaray/)
- [Olga Fonseca](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/olga-fonseca/)
- [convicted of murder](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/convicted-of-murder/)
- [Kenyan‌ ‌court‌](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyan-court/)
- [Vice President Riek Machar](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/vice-president-riek-machar/)
- [Mayen Galuak](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mayen-galuak/)
- [peace](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/peace/)
- [displaced](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/displaced/)
- [Bilal al-Sudani](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bilal-al-sudani/)
- [Islamic State leader](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/islamic-state-leader/)
- [U.S. military](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/u-s-military-2/)
- [$30-billion plan](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/30-billion-plan/)
- [boost food production](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/boost-food-production/)
- [African leaders](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-leaders/)
- [African Development Bank](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-development-bank/)
- [United Nations](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/united-nations/)
- [Shi'ite Muslim](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/shiite-muslim/)
- [extradite](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/extradite/)
- [Human Rights Watch](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/human-rights-watch/)
- [Saudi Arabia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/saudi-arabia/)
- [Russia sanctions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/russia-sanctions/)
- [Africa tour](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/africa-tour/)
- [economic sanctions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/economic-sanctions/)
- [$8-billion gas deal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/8-billion-gas-deal/)
- [ITALIAN energy company](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/italian-energy-company/)
- [National Oil Corporation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/national-oil-corporation/)
- [Archaeologist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/archaeologist/)
- [Egyptologists](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/egyptologists/)
- [Pharaonic tomb](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pharaonic-tomb/)
- [4300-year-old mummy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/4300-year-old-mummy/)
- [Step Pyramid](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/step-pyramid/)
- [Zahi Hawass](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/zahi-hawass/)
- [Saqqara](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/saqqara/)
- [cairo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cairo/)
- [food preservation methods](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/food-preservation-methods/)
- [Olufela Omokeko](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/olufela-omokeko/)
- [exhibition](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/exhibition/)
- [Zimbabwean court](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/zimbabwean-court/)
- [opposition party members](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/opposition-party-members/)
- [granted bail](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/granted-bail/)
- [birthday party](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/birthday-party/)
- [Eastern Cape province](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/eastern-cape-province/)
- [Kwazakele](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kwazakele/)
- [mass shooting](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mass-shooting/)
- [Gqeberha](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gqeberha/)
- [South African Police Service](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/south-african-police-service/)
- [eight killed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/eight-killed/)
- [SAPS](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/saps/)
- [parliamentary runoffs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/parliamentary-runoffs/)
- [President Kais Saied](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/president-kais-saied/)
- [political prisoners](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/political-prisoners/)
- [Egypt](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/egypt/)
- [human rights](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/human-rights/)
- [Global tech billionaires](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/global-tech-billionaires/)
- [electric vehicle](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/electric-vehicle/)
- [mining sectors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mining-sectors/)
- [avocados](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/avocados/)
- [European Union](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/european-union/)
- [zambia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/zambia/)
- [Stage 5](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/stage-5/)
- [stage 6](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/stage-6/)
- [rotational power cuts](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rotational-power-cuts/)
- [three-day state visit which](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/three-day-state-visit-which/)
- [Belarus president](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/belarus-president/)
- [trucks and tractors](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/trucks-and-tractors/)
- [State Visit](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/state-visit/)
- [Alexander Lukashenko](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/alexander-lukashenko/)
- [endangered rhinos](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/endangered-rhinos/)
- [Etosha National Park](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/etosha-national-park/)
- [namibia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/namibia/)
- [Rhino poaching](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rhino-poaching/)
- [rhino horn](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rhino-horn/)
- [Romeo Muyunda](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/romeo-muyunda/)
- [Liberian President](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/liberian-president/)
- [graft allegations](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/graft-allegations/)
- [economic downturn](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/economic-downturn/)
- [second term](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/second-term/)
- [George Weah](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/george-weah/)
- [accelerate tourism](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/accelerate-tourism/)
- [football clubs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/football-clubs/)
- [Spanish Segunda División club](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/spanish-segunda-division-club/)
- [CD Leganes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cd-leganes/)
- [tourism potential](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tourism-potential/)
- [Europe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/europe/)
- [football](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/football/)
- [populous nation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/populous-nation/)
- [Nigeria election](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigeria-election/)
- [Factbox](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/factbox/)
- [biggest economy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/biggest-economy/)
- [November ceasefire](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/november-ceasefire/)
- [International Committee of the Red Cross](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/international-committee-of-the-red-cross/)
- [humanitarian needs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/humanitarian-needs/)
- [hospitals](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/hospitals/)
- [ICRC](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/icrc/)
- [Red Cross](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/red-cross/)
- [$311 million](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/311-million/)
- [hydroelectric capacity](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/hydroelectric-capacity/)
- [renewable energy projects](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/renewable-energy-projects/)
- [West African nations](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/west-african-nations/)
- [World Bank](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/world-bank/)
- [Benue state](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/benue-state/)
- [police chief](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/police-chief/)
- [Nigerian gunmen](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigerian-gunmen/)
- [kidnappings](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kidnappings/)
- [Kenia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenia/)
- [al Shabaab militants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/al-shabaab-militants/)
- [Ethiopia](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ethiopia/)
- [John Granville](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/john-granville/)
- [killing](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/killing/)
- [U.S. diplomat](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/u-s-diplomat/)
- [Sudanese man](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sudanese-man/)
- [diplomat](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/diplomat/)
- [Tunisia cenbank](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tunisia-cenbank/)
- [Economy Minister](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/economy-minister/)
- [Samir Saeed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/samir-saeed/)
- [interest rates](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/interest-rates/)
- [inflation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/inflation/)
- [mid-2023](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mid-2023/)
- [petrol subsidy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/petrol-subsidy/)
- [NNPC](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nnpc/)
- [Zainab Ahmed](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/zainab-ahmed/)
- [budget plans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/budget-plans/)
- [Personal budgets](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/personal-budgets/)
- [budget](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/budget/)
- [income](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/income/)
- [economic](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/economic/)
- [Sidian Bank](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sidian-bank/)
- [sale](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sale/)
- [majority stake](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/majority-stake/)
- [Nigeria's Access Bank](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigerias-access-bank/)
- [Centum](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/centum/)
- [MTN Ghana](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mtn-ghana/)
- [$773 million](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/773-million/)
- [back taxes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/back-taxes/)
- [SA mobile operator](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/sa-mobile-operator/)
- [MTN Group](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mtn-group/)
- [South Africa inflation](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/south-africa-inflation/)
- [forecast](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/forecast/)
- [SPAR Group](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/spar-group/)
- [fraudulent and fictitious loans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/fraudulent-and-fictitious-loans/)
- [independent retailers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/independent-retailers/)
- [Chief Executive Officer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/chief-executive-officer/)
- [Brett Botten](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/brett-botten/)
- [racial bias](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/racial-bias/)
- [Ethiopia Investment Holdings](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ethiopia-investment-holdings/)
- [Mamo Mihretu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mamo-mihretu/)
- [Yinager Dessie](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/yinager-dessie/)
- [central bank governor](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/central-bank-governor/)
- [Ethiopia PM](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ethiopia-pm/)
- [investment push](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/investment-push/)
- [business leaders](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/business-leaders/)
- [Abdel Fattah al-Sisi](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/abdel-fattah-al-sisi-2/)
- [india](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/india/)
- [$77-millin tax dispute](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/77-millin-tax-dispute/)
- [Ghana Revenue Authority](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ghana-revenue-authority/)
- [MTN](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mtn/)
- [Rwanda's economy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rwandas-economy/)
- [projects](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/projects/)
- [pre-COVID projections](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pre-covid-projections/)
- [International Monetary Fund](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/international-monetary-fund/)
- [PEPKOR Holdings](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pepkor-holdings/)
- [Discount retailer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/discount-retailer/)
- [PEP and Ackermans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pep-and-ackermans/)
- [Brazilian retailer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/brazilian-retailer/)
- [Avenida](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/avenida/)
- [downgrade](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/downgrade/)
- [bonds](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bonds/)
- [Moody's](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/moodys/)
- [Nigeria](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigeria/)
- [Tripartite Free Trade Area](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tripartite-free-trade-area/)
- [TFTA](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tfta/)
- [COMESA-EAC-SADC initiative](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/comesa-eac-sadc-initiative/)
- [COMESA Secretariat](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/comesa-secretariat/)
- [Agreement](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/agreement/)
- [cultural capital](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cultural-capital/)
- [creative capital](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/creative-capital/)
- [Chanel Métiers d'Art show](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/chanel-metiers-dart-show/)
- [African soil](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-soil/)
- [Dakar](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dakar/)
- [ancient kingdom](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ancient-kingdom/)
- [jollof rice](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/jollof-rice/)
- [origins](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/origins/)
- [Senegality](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegality/)
- [Ghanaians](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ghanaians/)
- [Senegalese](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegalese/)
- [Nigerians](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nigerians/)
- [French Institute of Cameroon](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/french-institute-of-cameroon/)
- [photography biennial](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/photography-biennial/)
- [Max Mbakop](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/max-mbakop/)
- [Music streaming](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/music-streaming/)
- [global streaming platforms](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/global-streaming-platforms/)
- [South African musicians](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/south-african-musicians/)
- [Spotify](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/spotify/)
- [musicians](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/musicians/)
- [Senegalese singer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegalese-singer/)
- [guitarist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/guitarist/)
- [Baaba Maal](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/baaba-maal/)
- [music festival](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/music-festival/)
- [Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/love-nwantiti-ah-ah-ah/)
- [Billboard Global 200 songs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/billboard-global-200-songs/)
- [Hot 100 chart](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/hot-100-chart/)
- [CKay](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ckay/)
- [Afrobeat](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/afrobeat/)
- [Burna Boy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/burna-boy/)
- [film maker](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/film-maker/)
- [Drissa Toure](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/drissa-toure/)
- [film producer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/film-producer/)
- [Bobo-Dioulasso](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bobo-dioulasso/)
- [respiratory illness](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/respiratory-illness/)
- [bi-annual PanAfrican film festival](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bi-annual-panafrican-film-festival/)
- [FESPACO](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/fespaco/)
- [golden era](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/golden-era/)
- [Cinema](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cinema/)
- [Moroccan history](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/moroccan-history/)
- [The Kabareh Cheikhats](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/the-kabareh-cheikhats/)
- [colourful caftans](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/colourful-caftans/)
- [wigs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/wigs/)
- [bold make-up](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bold-make-up/)
- [glittering jewellery](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/glittering-jewellery/)
- [stereotypes](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/stereotypes/)
- [Afrobeats in 2022](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/afrobeats-in-2022/)
- [global mobility](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/global-mobility/)
- [election songs](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/election-songs/)
- [placemaking albums](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/placemaking-albums/)
- [Nollywood films](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nollywood-films/)
- [Kenyan creatives](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyan-creatives/)
- [Grammy-nominated](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/grammy-nominated/)
- [Bien-Aime Alusa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/bien-aime-alusa/)
- [music and merchandise](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/music-and-merchandise/)
- [HustleSasa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/hustlesasa/)
- [digital streaming](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/digital-streaming/)
- [mobile phones](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mobile-phones/)
- [Congolese artist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/congolese-artist/)
- [Patrick Cikuru Cirimwami](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/patrick-cikuru-cirimwami/)
- [politicians' portraits](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/politicians-portraits/)
- [plastic](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/plastic/)
- [fine artist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/fine-artist/)
- [community therapy](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/community-therapy/)
- [Jacob Onoja](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/jacob-onoja/)
- [Diadem Art Gallery](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/diadem-art-gallery/)
- [Ahmadu Bello University](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ahmadu-bello-university/)
- [artist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/artist/)
- [theme park](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/theme-park/)
- [memorial and tourist complex](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/memorial-and-tourist-complex/)
- [Ouidah](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ouidah/)
- [Afro-descendant tourists](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/afro-descendant-tourists/)
- [slavery](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/slavery/)
- [8 African artists](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/8-african-artists/)
- [Rolling Stones](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rolling-stones/)
- ['200 Greatest Singers of All Time'](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/200-greatest-singers-of-all-time/)
- [Ousmane Sembène](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ousmane-sembene/)
- [father of African cinema](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/father-of-african-cinema/)
- [Senegalese novelist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/senegalese-novelist/)
- [filmmaker](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/filmmaker/)
- [tribute](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tribute/)
- [All-Africa Music Awards](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/all-africa-music-awards/)
- [AFRIMA](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/afrima/)
- [Espoir La Tigresse](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/espoir-la-tigresse/)
- [Dakar stadium](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dakar-stadium/)
- [Mike Dada](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mike-dada/)
- [African music](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-music/)
- [African folk music](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/african-folk-music/)
- [millions of views](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/millions-of-views/)
- [Afropop](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/afropop/)
- [streaming services](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/streaming-services/)
- [Afrobeats](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/afrobeats/)
- [Stella Chiweshe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/stella-chiweshe/)
- [rebel music star](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/rebel-music-star/)
- [pioneer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/pioneer/)
- [mbira queen](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mbira-queen/)
- [Ambuya (grandmother) Chiweshe](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ambuya-grandmother-chiweshe/)
- [Chivanhu Centre](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/chivanhu-centre/)
- [cultural activist](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/cultural-activist/)
- [east African art traditions](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/east-african-art-traditions/)
- [history](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/history/)
- [fine arts](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/fine-arts/)
- [Nairobi](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/nairobi/)
- [Carole Mngometulu](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/carole-mngometulu/)
- [Carole Lubelo](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/carole-lubelo/)
- [Liswati fashion designer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/liswati-fashion-designer/)
- [Visual Arts Network Swaziland](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/visual-arts-network-swaziland/)
- [fashion designer](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/fashion-designer/)
- [Eswatini](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/eswatini/)
- [New France Africa Summit](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/new-france-africa-summit/)
- [colonial](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/colonial/)
- [Macron in Africa](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/macron-in-africa/)
- [French colonies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/french-colonies/)
- [Emmanuel Macron](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/emmanuel-macron/)
- [French President](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/french-president/)
- [João Lourenço](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/joao-lourenco/)
- [MPLA](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/mpla/)
- [Angola](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/angola/)
- [Kenya’s parliament and senate](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/kenyas-parliament-and-senate/)
- [Uhuru Kenyatta](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/uhuru-kenyatta/)
- [Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ngozi-okonjo-iweala-2/)
- [Professor Posel](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/professor-posel/)
- [WTO](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/wto/)
- [Online fraudsters](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/online-fraudsters/)
- [colonial legacies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/colonial-legacies/)
- [fraudulent emails](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/fraudulent-emails/)
- [Yahoo Boys](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/yahoo-boys/)
- [highest unemployment rate](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/highest-unemployment-rate/)
- [South African unemployment](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/south-african-unemployment/)
- [Trudi Makhaya](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/trudi-makhaya/)
- [DORRIT POSEL](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/dorrit-posel/)
- [social protection](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/social-protection/)
- [RUTH CASTEL-BRANCO](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ruth-castel-branco/)
- [SOCIAL grants](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/social-grants/)
- [Gauteng Province](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/gauteng-province/)
- [Ekurhuleni](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/ekurhuleni/)
- [major water shortages](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/major-water-shortages/)
- [City of Johannesburg](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/city-of-johannesburg/)
- [Tshwane](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/tshwane/)
- [Johannesburg sex workers](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/johannesburg-sex-workers/)
- [decomposed bodies](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/decomposed-bodies/)
- [decriminalise](https://theafricanmirror.africa/tag/decriminalise/)
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