WORLD - The African Mirror

May

23

2024

Israel infuriated by Ireland, Spain, and Norway’s recognition of a Palestinian state

WORLD

IRELAND, Spain and Norway announced that they would recognise a Palestinian state on May 28, prompting an angry response from Israel which said this amounted to a "reward for terrorism" and recalled its ambassadors from the three capitals. Dublin, Madrid and Oslo painted the decision as a move aimed at accelerating efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. They urged other countries to follow suit although the United States, Israel's main ally, stood by its position that a Palestinian state should be realised through direct negotiations and not "unilateral recognition". "We hope that our recognition and our…

May

23

2024

By TIM REID

Trump’s hush money trial: how would a verdict affect the 2024 election?

WORLD

JURORS hearing the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president could render their verdict in Donald Trump's hush money case as soon as next week, with potentially big implications for the 2024 White House race. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment that bought the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels had threatened to go public with her account of an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, a liaison he denies. The New York case is widely seen as the least consequential of the four criminal prosecutions Trump faces.…

May

23

2024

By PARISA HAFEZI

Iran Supreme Leader leads prayers at Raisi funeral as election looms

WORLD

IRAN'S Supreme Leader led prayers in Tehran at the funeral of President Ebrahim Raisi as the clerical establishment hurried to organise the election of a successor, which could further erode its legitimacy amid growing public discontent. The June 28 vote to replace Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, will need to galvanise a population that showed little interest in the 2021 ballot that gave the hardline cleric the presidency, a role that oversees day-to-day government. Raisi died at a time of worsening strains between the clerical leadership and wider society, aggravated by tightening political and social controls and a declining…

May

22

2024

By PARISA HAFEZI

Iranian President Raisi’s memorial muted amid public discontent

WORLD

THOUSANDS of Iranians turned out to mourn President Ebrahim Raisi in the city of Tabriz after he was killed in a helicopter crash near the Azerbaijan border at the weekend along with his foreign minister and seven others. State TV broadcast live images of mourners, many of them dressed in black, beating their chests while a truck covered in white flowers carrying the caskets wrapped in the national flag was driven slowly through the crowd. "Everyone has come to bid farewell to the martyred president and his companions regardless of their faction, ethnicity or language," said Tabriz lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian. However, although…

May

22

2024

By CHAYUT SETBOONSARNG and PANU WONGCHA-UM

Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence, one passenger dead, seven critically injured

WORLD

ONE passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) flight hit severe turbulence, flinging passengers and crew around the cabin and forcing the plane to land in Bangkok, officials and the airline said. The flight from London bound for Singapore fell into an air pocket while cabin crew were serving breakfast before it encountered turbulence, prompting the pilots to request an emergency landing at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport general manager Kittipong Kittikachorn told a press conference. Photographs from the interior of the plane showed large gashes in the overhead cabin panels, gas masks and panels hanging from the ceiling and…

May

22

2024

By The African Mirror

Which leaders are on the ICC’s most wanted list?

WORLD

THE prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes. If those requests are granted the Israeli and Hamas leaders would join a list of war crime suspects who remain at large from the court in The Hague. Here is an overview of the most high-profile names among them. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has called…

May

21

2024

By The African Mirror

Iran’s Supreme Leader approves Mokhber as interim president, declares 5 days mourning

WORLD

IRAN'S Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced five days of public mourning for President Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash and confirmed First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as interim head of the country's executive branch. Iran now has a maximum period of 50 days before a presidential election must be held to choose Raisi's successor. "I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran," Khamenei said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA. "... Mokhber will manage the executive branch and is obliged to arrange with the…

May

21

2024

By STEPHANIE VAN DEN BERG, ANTHONY DEUTSCH and CHARLOTTE VAN CAMPENHOUT

ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu and Hamas leaders

WORLD

THE International Criminal Court's prosecutor said he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement issued after over seven months of war in Gaza that he had reasonable grounds to believe that the five men "bear criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. He said he had applied for an arrest warrant for Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as for Netanyahu. They have overseen Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group's deadly Oct. 7…

May

21

2024

By The African Mirror

Who is Mohammad Mokhber, Iran’s interim president?

WORLD

HERE are some key facts about Mohammad Mokhber, 68, Iran's first vice president who became interim president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. * As interim president, Mokhber is part of a three-person council, along with the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, that will organise a new presidential election within 50 days of the president's death. * Born on Sept. 1, 1955, Mokhber, like Raisi, is seen as close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has the last say in all matters of state. Mokhber became first vice president in 2021 when Raisi was elected…

May

21

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and DAN WILLIAMS

Israel launches strikes across Gaza as U.S. envoy meets Netanyahu

WORLD

ISRAELI planes and tanks pounded areas across the Gaza Strip, residents said, as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid U.S. calls for a more focused military campaign. Sullivan was expected to press for Israel to go after Hamas militants in a targeted way, not with a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the White House said before the discussions. Israel has been pushing into the city that it says is the last bastion of Hamas forces. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled the area that was one of their few remaining…