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Feb
06
2024
By GRANT JOSEPH
Madagascar: giant tortoises have returned 600 years after they were wiped out

Madagascar: giant tortoises have returned 600 years after they were wiped out

ENVIRONMENT
A six-year-old project to return giant tortoises to the wild in Madagascar could result in thousands of the 350kg megaherbivores re-populating the island for the first time in 600 years. The first group of Aldabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) were brought in from the Seychelles in 2018, and have been reproducing on their own since. Ecologist Grant Joseph explains how reintroducing this tortoise to areas degraded by cattle grazing will help restore the island’s forests, grassy woodlands and shrublands of the past. It could also help prevent devastating forest fires in future. GRANT JOSEPH, Research Scientist, FitzPatrick Institute of African…
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Dec
08
2023
By The African Mirror
Seychelles declares emergency after explosion and flooding

Seychelles declares emergency after explosion and flooding

NEWS
A blast at an explosives store wrecked buildings and caused massive damage to an industrial zone on the Seychelles' main island Mahe, officials said, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency. The blast shook the island as heavy rains triggered flooding which killed three people, the president told reporters on Thursday, calling for a minute of silence. Footage broadcast on national television showed streets covered in deep mud and strewn with debris and uprooted trees. "Following an explosion at the CCCL explosives store that has caused massive damage to the Providence Industrial area and the surrounding areas and…
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Jul
22
2022
By The African Mirror
Archipelagic island nation gives birth to Africa’s first “decacorn”

Archipelagic island nation gives birth to Africa’s first “decacorn”

BUSINESS
CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY AS venture funding begins to slow down in markets outside Africa, a startup in the tiny Indian Ocean island nation, Seychelles raised millions of dollars from foreign investors - pushing its valuation to 10 billion US dollars and delivering Africa’s first ‘decacorn.’ Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin is now the most valuable startup on the continent- with its current valuation exceeding the combined values of Chipper Cash and Opay (with valuations of over 2 billion US dollars each), Wave (1.7 billion US dollars), Andela (1.5 billion US dollars) and Flutterwave (1 billion US dollars). While Seychelles…
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May
23
2021
By The African Mirror
COVID is surging in the world’s most vaccinated country. Why?

COVID is surging in the world’s most vaccinated country. Why?

COVID-19
THE small archipelago nation of Seychelles, northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, has emerged as the world’s most vaccinated country for COVID-19. C RAINA MACINTYRE, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Around 71% of people have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 62% have been fully vaccinated. Of these, 57% have received the Sinopharm vaccine, and 43% AstraZeneca. Despite this, there has been a recent surge in cases, with 37% of new active cases and 20% of hospital cases being fully vaccinated. The country has had to…
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May
12
2021
By The African Mirror
WHO reviewing Seychelles COVID-19 data after fully vaccinated people test positive

WHO reviewing Seychelles COVID-19 data after fully vaccinated people test positive

COVID-19
THE World Health Organization has announced that it was reviewing coronavirus data from Seychelles after the health ministry said more than a third of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week had been fully vaccinated. Both the ministry and the WHO stressed that the majority of those who tested positive had not been vaccinated or had only received one dose, that no one who had died had been fully vaccinated and that nearly all of those needing treatment for severe or critical cases were unvaccinated. But the WHO said it was closely following the situation in the…
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Jan
15
2021
By The African Mirror
Seychelles may fail to pay wages

Seychelles may fail to pay wages

COVID-19
SEYCHELLES is struggling to raise funds to pay public workers and the government plans to raise $212 million to plug its budget deficit, the finance minister has said. Seychelles' economy is heavily dependent on tourism and the sector was hit hard in 2020 by COVID-19 that led to travel restrictions worldwide to contain the virus's spread. Finance Minister Naadir Hassan was quoted as saying on the Seychelles News Agency that the government's financial situation was dire. "Since the start of the year the amount of money in the government's coffer, from which it makes all of its expenses, has been…
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Jan
11
2021
By The African Mirror
1st African country to roll out vaccine

1st African country to roll out vaccine

COVID-19
SEYCHELLES has started vaccinating its population against COVID-19 with doses from China's Sinopharm vaccine, President Wavel Ramkalawan said. Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan Ramkalawan's office said in a statement seen by Reuters on Monday that the initial target was for the vaccine to reach 25,000 people and first priority was for healthcare workers. The statement said the Indian Ocean archipelago had received 50,000 doses of the vaccine as a donation from the United Arab Emirates. Ramkalawan's office said he and former president Danny Faure and other senior government officials were vaccinated as part of efforts to bolster confidence among the population…
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Oct
26
2020
By The African Mirror
Seychelles opposition wins presidency for first time in 43 years

Seychelles opposition wins presidency for first time in 43 years

NEWS
SEYCHELLES elected an opposition candidate as president for the first time since 1977, authorities announced and winner Wavel Ramkalawan reaffirmed a pledge to hike the minimum wage after COVID-19 stifled the tourism-dependent economy. Seychelles State House said in a statement on its website that Ramkalawan and his vice-president Ahmed Afif would be inaugurated on Monday. HE Danny Faure, President, Republic of Seychelles. Picture: Chatham House/Flickr Ramkalawan, a former Anglican priest, defeated President Danny Faure after three decades of unsuccessful runs for the presidency of the East African nation, an Indian Ocean archipelago famed for its natural beauty and rare wildlife.…
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Oct
23
2020
By The African Mirror
Voting begins in Seychelles parliamentary and presidential polls

Voting begins in Seychelles parliamentary and presidential polls

NEWS
VOTING has began in presidential and parliamentary elections in Seychelles, with the economy battered by COVID-19 and President Danny Faure, in power since 2016, facing voters for the first time. The Indian Ocean archipelago nation is expected to see its tourism-dependent economy contract by 14% this year, according to ratings agency Fitch, reversing some fragile progress since the government defaulted on its debt in 2008 and sought an International Monetary Fund bailout. The same party has been in power since 1977. Faure was previously vice president and became president when his predecessor resigned after a constitutional amendment was passed limiting…
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