WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

01

2024

How Democrats could replace Biden as presidential candidate before November

WORLD

AFRTER President Joe Biden's shaky performance at the debate with former President Donald Trump, some Democrats openly questioned whether he should be replaced as their candidate for the 2024 election. There is a process for doing so, but it would be messy. For answers on how that would work, Reuters spoke to Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) member, and author of the book "Primary Politics" about the presidential nominating process. This explainer is based largely on interviews with her. Q: WHAT OPTIONS DO DEMOCRATS HAVE? A: The Democratic Party has had no…

Jun

29

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and DOAA ROUQA

Israeli forces push deeper into southern and northern Gaza

WORLD

ISRAELI forces pressed their incursion deeper into two northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people. Residents and Hamas media said tanks advanced further west into the Shakoush neighbourhood of Rafah, forcing thousands of displaced people there to leave their tent camps and head northward to the nearby Khan Younis. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Since May 7, tanks have advanced in several districts of Rafah, and forces remained in control of the entire border line with Egypt and the Rafah crossing, the only…

Jun

29

2024

By DAVID DOLAN and HEEKYONG YANG

Biden’s shaky debate has overseas allies bracing for Trump return

WORLD

JOE Biden's shaky performance in the U.S. presidential debate drew stunned global reactions, prompting public calls for him to step aside and likely leaving some of America's closest allies steeling for Donald Trump's return. Biden's supporters had hoped Thursday's debate would erase worries that he was too old to serve but footage of the president sounding hoarse and stumbling over his words boosted Trump, said politicians, analysts and investors. Global newspapers were also damning. France's Le Monde compared Biden to a shipwreck. Britain's left-leaning Daily Mirror called his performance a "gaffe-strewn nightmare". Germany's Bild newspaper ran with "Good night, Joe!" and the Sydney Morning…

Jun

29

2024

By MUVIJA M

Church of England faces threat of split over stance on gay couples

WORLD

AN alliance of church leaders threatened to split from the Church of England over plans to let gay couples hold standalone services in churches, saying it would be a departure from the institution's teaching on marriage. In a letter to the two senior-most bishops of the Church, the dissenting group said the plans were "clearly contrary" to its own doctrine affirming that marriage is between a man and a woman. The Church, which does not allow same-sex marriages in its 16,000 churches, crossed a milestone in 2022 when it decided to let priests bless same-sex couples. Those blessings are permitted…

Jun

28

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Israel storms Gaza City neighbourhood, orders Palestinians to go south

WORLD

ISRAEL stormed a neighbourhood in Gaza City, ordering Palestinians to move south as the tanks rolled in and bombed the southern city of Rafah in what it says are the final stages of an operation against Hamas militants there. Residents of the Shejaia neighbourhood in Gaza City said they were taken by surprise by the sound of tanks approaching and firing in the early afternoon, with drones also attacking after overnight bombing of the city, which Israel had combed early in the war. "It sounded as if the war is restarting, a series of bombings that destroyed several houses in our…

Jun

28

2024

By PETER HOBSON and KIRSTY NEEDHAM

Australian leaders celebrate Julian Assange’s freedom but opposition says he is ‘no martyr’

WORLD

JULIAN Assange spent his first night in 14 years as a free man back at home in Australia as the conservative opposition cautioned the government against hailing the WikiLeaks founder as a hero. Assange landed in Australia to an ecstatic welcome on Wednesday evening after pleading guilty to violating the U.S. Espionage Act. He was then freed by a U.S. court on the remote Pacific island of Saipan, having served more than five years in a British high-security jail. His wife, Stella Assange, said it was too soon to say what her husband would do next and requested privacy for him. "Julian…

Jun

28

2024

By LUC COHEN

Honduras ex-President Hernandez sentenced to 45 years in prison on US drug conviction

WORLD

FORMER Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was sentenced by a U.S. judge to 45 years in prison for his conviction on drug and firearm offences. The sentence means Hernandez, 55, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars unless his expected appeal succeeds. A Manhattan jury found him guilty in March of accepting millions of dollars in bribes to protect U.S.-bound cocaine shipments belonging to traffickers he once publicly proclaimed to combat. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, while defence lawyers said a 40-year term, the mandatory minimum under federal law, was enough. U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel said the 45-year sentence should…

Jun

27

2024

By PETER HOBSON and KIRSTY NEEDHAM

WikiLeaks founder Assange welcomed home in Australia a free man after US deal

WORLD

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange landed to an ecstatic welcome in Australia after pleading guilty to violating U.S. espionage law in a deal that set him free from a 14-year legal battle. Assange disembarked from a private jet at Canberra airport just after 7:30 p.m. (0930 GMT), waving to waiting media and cheering supporters before passionately kissing his wife, Stella, and lifting her off the ground. He embraced his father before entering the terminal building with his legal team. Assange has not spoken publicly since being released and did not appear at a Wikileaks press conference at a hotel in Canberra, where Stella…

Jun

27

2024

By The African Mirror

Five killed in Las Vegas shooting, suspect dead by suicide

WORLD

POLICE in North Las Vegas said that a man suspected of shooting and killing five people the night before killed himself with his gun when confronted by police. In a statement, police identified the suspect as Eric Adams, 47, and said that officers acting on tips found him on Tuesday morning at a local business. Eric Adams Adams, who was armed with a gun, then fled into the backyard of a nearby residence. "Officers began giving Adams verbal commands to drop the firearm, however, Adams ignored those commands and died by suicide," the police statement read. Adams is suspected of…

Jun

27

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Israeli forces pound north and south Gaza, battle Hamas in Rafah

WORLD

ISRAELI forces pounded several areas across Gaza, and residents reported fierce fighting overnight in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian enclave. Residents said fighting intensified in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah, where tanks were also trying to force their way north amid heavy clashes. The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters attacked Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. Since early May, ground fighting has focused on Rafah, abutting Egypt on Gaza's southern edge, where around half of the enclave's 2.3 million people had been sheltering after fleeing other areas. Most have…