NEWS - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Portugal must ‘pay costs’ of slavery and colonial crimes, president says

PRESIDENT Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that Portugal was responsible for crimes committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, and suggested there was a need for reparations. For over four centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported long distances by mainly European ships and merchants, and sold into slavery. Those who survived the voyage ended up toiling on plantations in the Americas, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean, while others profited from their labour. Portugal trafficked nearly 6 million Africans, more than any other European nation, but has failed so far to confront its past and…

Apr

2024

By NUZULACK DAUSEN

World Bank suspends Tanzania tourism fund over abuse allegations

NEWS

THE World Bank has suspended new disbursements from a $150 million fund to expand a national park in southern Tanzania, a spokesperson said, after the lender received allegations of killings and evictions by rangers last year. Two anonymous complainants have accused rangers from the Ruaha National Park of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, evictions, torture and cattle seizures perpetrated against local villagers, according to the World Bank's independent complaints mechanism. "The World Bank is deeply concerned about the allegations of abuse and injustice related to the... project in Tanzania," a spokesperson said in a statement. "We have therefore decided to suspend…

Apr

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire look to reshape the world’s cocoa industry

NEWS

GHANAIAN cocoa supply chain expert and co-founder, Gazali Halidu, believes a new alliance between Africa's two biggest cocoa producers “holds the potential to transform the cocoa sector.” “It has the potential to address revenue imbalances, support farmer livelihoods, and promote sustainable practices,” Halidu shared in an interview with bird story agency. The alliance between Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world’s top two producers of cocoa, comes as a sharp decline in production volumes and a deterioration of producer prices hits the market. The countries recently commissioned the Cote d’Ivore-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CGCI) Secretariat building in Accra as the two countries…

Apr

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

African cities with the most millionaires

NEWS

GROWING private wealth in Africa is transforming the continent's major cities into hubs for millionaires and billionaires, according to the latest Henley & Partners Africa Wealth Report. Collectively, these urban centres are home to 135,200 millionaires, 342 centi-millionaires with fortunes exceeding US$100 million, and 21 billionaires. With the number of high-net-worth individuals projected to jump by 65% over the next decade, these cities are not only expanding economically but are also setting the stage for a new era of prosperity and influence. bird TenX lists the top ten cities and regions for private wealth in Africa:1. Johannesburg, South Africa: 12,300…

Apr

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Cheaper calls ring in Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya

NEWS

MOBILE phone users in Ethiopia and South Africa will enjoy lower calling rates between operators from May while Kenyans are already seeing savings, as African communication regulators move to adopt pricing models that benefit customers. The Ethiopia Communications Authority (ECA) has adopted a top-down pricing model that will ensure uniformity for all players, while the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is looking at a wholesale model with rates charged depending on a telco's size. While these models differ, these regulators have a common goal - to bolster competition among operators and offer consumers more choice and competitive prices on off-net calls. According to a statement by…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Malian group asks Supreme Court to annul junta’s ban on political activities

NEWS

THE Malian Supreme Court should annul the ruling junta's order to suspend political activities, a group of Malian political parties and civil society organisations said in an appeal. The West African country has been under military rule since a coup in 2020. Tensions have risen in recent weeks over the authorities' failure to organise promised elections and their subsequent decree that limits political life in the name of maintaining public order. The allied political and civil society groups opposed to the April 10 order said they had turned jointly to Mali's top court "with the aim of annulling the decree which they consider…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

US sanctions militant leaders over hostages in West Africa

NEWS

THE U.S. imposed sanctions on leaders of militant groups over the taking of hostages, including Americans, in West Africa, the Treasury and State departments said. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The sanctions on leaders of the West African branch of al Qaeda, called Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), and Islamist militant group Al-Mourabitoun come as Washington has sought to deter and punish detentions of U.S. citizens abroad. West African countries have been destabilized in recent years by Islamist insurgencies that took root in Mali in 2012 and spread across the Sahel region despite costly, international backed-military efforts. KEY QUOTES "We will not hesitate…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Twenty-one dead, 23 missing after boat capsizes off Djibouti coast, UN agency official says

NEWS

TWENTY-ONE migrants died and another 23 are missing after a boat carrying 77 people capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the second such incident in two weeks, the United Nations migration agency said. The boat's occupants included children, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a post on social media platform X. Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa, especially from Ethiopia and Somalia, leave the continent through Djibouti, aiming to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations to find work, according to IOM. Many fail, and thousands are stranded in Yemen where they live in…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Top UN officials call on UK to reconsider plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda

NEWS

TWO United Nations top officials called on the UK to reconsider its plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda, warning the move would have a harmful impact on human rights and refugee protection. In a joint statement, Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the UK to instead take practical measures to address irregular flows of migrants and refugees. "The new legislation marks a further step away from the UK's long tradition of providing refuge to those in need, in breach of the Refugee Convention," said Grandi.…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Contaminated cough syrup in Africa no longer available – WHO

NEWS

A contaminated batch of Benylin Paediatric Syrup is no longer available in the African countries where it was sold, the World Health Organization said. Earlier this month, Nigeria recalled a batch of the children's cough and allergy medicine after tests found that it contained unacceptable levels of the toxin, diethylene glycol. Five other African countries have also pulled the product from shelves - Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa, where the drug was made. The recalled batch of Benylin syrup was made by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) in South Africa in May 2021, although Kenvue (KVUE.N) now owns the brand after…