Durban - The African Mirror

May

19

2023

South Africa grants Turkey’s Karpowership deal to ease power crisis

SOUTH Africa has granted Turkey's Karpowership access to the three ports of Ngqura, Durban and Saldanha Bay for a period of 20 years, the transport ministry said, as it tries to find solutions to the country's power crisis. Karpowership aims to generate power on its floating gas ships and distribute it through South Africa's electricity grid. The plan received a boost from President Cyril Ramaphosa last week after he told lawmakers the ships would help ease the prolonged power shortage countrywide. Karpowership has in the past faced numerous challenges from environmental activists and small-scale fishermen since the South African government…

Apr

13

2023

By The African Mirror

LaLiga hails ‘passionate’ and talented young KwaZulu-Natal footballers after first LaLga Camps in the Zulu Kingdom

FOOTBALL

LALIGA has hailed the ”hunger to learn” and passion of young footballers in KwaZulu-Natal after the completion of the first LaLiga Camps in the province at Durban’s Hoy Park. LaLiga UEFA Pro-Licenced coaches Saúl Vázquez and Javier García conducted the LaLiga Camps, which were attended by 150 promising young under-10 to under-17 KwaZulu-Natal boys and girls footballers - and 30 local coaches - in Durban this week. The LaLiga Camps, which were previously also held in Johannesburg and Cape Town, are part of LaLiga’s flagship global Grassroots programme, which has seen more than 900 young players participate in LaLiga Camps…

Feb

14

2023

By The African Mirror

AKA: slain South African rapper was a once-in-a-generation pop culture sensation

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AKA, South Africa’s most recognisable name in hip-hop, was gunned down – with his friend, celebrity chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane – outside a restaurant along Durban’s popular night spot Florida Road on 10 February. Author SANYA OSHA, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town It’s reported that AKA was killed in a cold-blooded shooting, a recurring theme of gangsta rap culture. The ghastly manner of his death, apparently an orchestrated hit as captured by CCTV footage, is a first in the South African music industry and has had international reverberations. The 35-year-old AKA was born…

Feb

14

2023

By The African Mirror

SA rap star’s murder caught on video

NEWS

LAUGHTER, hugs and then bullets - death. It's an hour before midnight and the lifeless body of one of South Africa's famous music superstars lay sprawled outside a popular restaurant on one of Durban's famous streets - Florida Road. On the ground, outside Wish restaurant, wearing grey pants and a black t-shirt was AKA, a multi-award winning rap star, gunned down by an assassin minutes after he had dinner with friends. Moments earlier, the gunman, small framed and wearing a cream wool skull cap, black pants and white sneakers, comes from the back as AKA turns to speak to someone. In…

Feb

12

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa mourns rap star shot dead in cold blood

NEWS

LAUGHTER, hugs and then bullets - death. It's an hour before midnight and the lifeless body of one of South Africa's famous music superstars lay sprawled outside a popular restaurant on one of Durban's famous streets - Florida Road. On the ground, outside Wish restaurant, wearing grey pants and a black t-shirt was AKA, a multi-award winning rap star, gunned down by an assassin minutes after he had dinner with friends. Moments earlier, the gunman, small framed and wearing a cream wool skull cap, black pants and white sneakers, comes from the back as AKA turns to speak to someone. In…

Apr

16

2022

By The African Mirror

Local knowledge adds value to mapping flood risk in South Africa’s informal settlements

ENVIRONMENT

THE current flooding in South Africa’s coastal city of Durban is dire and reports indicate that hundreds of people have died and thousands directly affected. Several months’ worth of rainfall has fallen in a day or so, and the effects have been catastrophic. The problem of floods in Durban is not new. Between 1980 and 2010, there were over 77 disastrous flood events in KwaZulu-Natal province and others. The flood events can be categorised as disastrous when lives are lost, people are displaced and property is destroyed. Authors GARIKAI MARTIN MEMBELE, PhD researcher at University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of KwaZulu-Natal…

Jul

18

2021

By The African Mirror

SA probes coastal chemical spill in Durban

NEWS

SIYABONGA SISHI and ROGAN WARD SOUTH African authorities in the port city of Durban said on Saturday they were investigating a coastal chemical spill that may have been caused by a warehouse fire during unrest this week. Other possible sources are also being investigated as the cause of the spill, which is affecting marine and bird life, the eThekwini municipality said late on Friday, urging local residents not to use beaches in the area. "Extensive environmental impacts are being reported at uMhlanga and uMdhloti lagoons and beaches in the vicinity, that have killed numerous species of marine and bird life,"…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

South African mother throws baby to safety from burning building

NEWS

A two-year-old girl survived unharmed after her mother threw her to safety as they escaped a burning high-rise building in the South African city of Durban during protests. The mother, 26-year-old Naledi Manyoni, told Reuters that she had been on the 16th floor when the fire started on Tuesday. She ran down the stairs with her daughter. Manyoni made her way to a ledge above the street and tossed the toddler to a group of people below as bystanders cried out in consternation. "After throwing her, I held my head in shock, but they caught her," Manyoni recalled outside the…

Mar

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Mismanagement crippled SA basketball

SPORT

LEE NXUMALO BASKETBALL, once the fastest-growing sport in South Africa, now hardly has recognisable leagues or talents. A group of campaigners have come together to get it thriving and growing again. He increased popularity of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the global front and the presence of African-born players in the league has given basketball cultural currency among the continent’s youth. Even though basketball had a presence in South Africa since apartheid, its popularity reached its peak only in the late 1990s. At one point, it was considered the fastest-growing sport in the country and on track to becoming…

Dec

05

2020

By The African Mirror

Blast-rocked South African oil refinery shut down for investigations

NEWS

ROGAN WARD and WENDELL ROELF South Africa's second-largest crude oil refinery, the Engen plant in Durban, has been shut down to allow investigators a chance to find out the cause of a "fire incident" earlier on Friday, Engen said. Engen, which operates the 120,000 barrel per day plant and is majority owned by Malaysia's Petronas, said a fire broke out at around 0510 GMT and was extinguished by 0645 GMT. "Engen is currently assessing its overall bulk fuels supply and demand position and implementing immediate mitigations to manage inventory and product supply requirements," Engen said in an update. Local emergency…