WORLD - The African Mirror

Apr

02

2024

Israeli troops exit Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, leaving rubble and bodies

WORLD

ISRAELI forces left Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after a two-week operation by special forces who detained hundreds of suspected Palestinian militants and left a wasteland of destroyed buildings. With access to Gaza's biggest hospital severely restricted, the Israeli and Palestinian versions differed sharply. Palestinian officials called the raid on a hospital treating severely wounded patients a war crime, while Israeli officials said special forces units conducted a targeted strike against a Hamas stronghold deliberately located among vulnerable civilians. Thousands of Palestinians - 6,200 according to the Israeli military - had been sheltering in the complex, one of few…

Apr

02

2024

By ASIF SHAHZAD

Imran Khan: Pakistan court suspends jail sentence in graft appeal

WORLD

A Pakistani court granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan an appeal of his graft conviction and suspended his 14-year jail sentence, his lawyer said, a relief for his embattled party which had won most seats in February's national polls. Just a week ahead of the February 8 elections, Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were both handed a 14-year sentence on charges of unlawfully selling state gifts by an anti-graft court. Despite the suspension, Khan will remain in jail on multiple other sentences which were imposed on the ex-cricket star ahead of the polls, which also disqualified him from holding any public…

Apr

02

2024

By DAREN BUTLER and ECE TOKSABAY

Erdogan vows to make amends after humbling election loss in Turkey

WORLD

PRESIDENT Tayyip Erdogan vowed to correct any mistakes that led to his party's defeat in Turkey's local elections where the opposition capitalised on economic woes and alienated Islamist voters, casting uncertainty over his reform plans. Sunday's vote marked Erdogan and his AK Party's (AKP) worst defeat in more than 20 years in power, revitalising the opposition party and strengthening Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu's standing as the president's main rival. Redrawing a political map long dominated by the AKP, the Republican People's Party (CHP) won the popular vote for the first time in decades and swept most of the main cities, penetrating far into…

Apr

01

2024

By ALVISE ARMELLINI

Pope Francis, in Easter address, calls for Gaza ceasefire

WORLD

POPE Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages in an Easter Sunday address that marked the most important day on the Christian calendar by deploring the suffering caused by wars. The pontiff presided over Mass in a packed and flower-bedecked St Peter's Square and then delivered his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. Francis, 87, has been in poor health in recent weeks, forcing him on repeated occasions to limit his public speaking and cancel engagements as he did on Good…

Apr

01

2024

By The African Mirror

Russia demands Ukraine hand over head of security service, others

WORLD

RUSSIA is demanding that Ukraine hand over all people connected with terrorist acts committed in Russia, including the head of the country's SBU Security Service, the foreign ministry said. A ministry statement listed violent incidents that have occurred in Russia since the Kremlin's forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, including bombings that killed the daughter of a prominent nationalist and a war blogger, and another incident in which a writer was seriously hurt. It said investigation of these incidents showed that "the traces of these crimes lead to Ukraine." "Russia has turned over to Ukrainian authorities its demands ... for the immediate arrest…

Apr

01

2024

By The African Mirror

Japanese authorities inspect second Kobayashi Pharma factory after deaths

WORLD

HEALTH authorities searched a second Kobayashi Pharmaceutical factory in western Japan after the company reported five deaths possibly tied to dietary supplements, an official said. The inspection in Wakayama prefecture follows one on Saturday in Osaka, expanding the investigation into the drugmaker's use of "Beni-Koji" red yeast materials. Osaka-based Kobayashi said it found what appeared to be potentially toxic puberulic acid that could have been produced by blue mould penicillium in Beni-Koji materials produced between last April and October at the Osaka factory. As of Friday, 114 people had been hospitalised and five had died after taking the supplements, which were…

Mar

31

2024

By The African Mirror

Palestinian teen shot dead during Israeli West Bank raid

WORLD

ISRAELI forces shot dead a 13-year-old Palestinian boy during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Saturday, an incident which the Israeli military said was under review. There were confrontations with Israeli forces at the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin city, during a pre-dawn military raid there, the Wafa report said. The Israeli military said several Palestinian gunmen had shot at its troops, who returned fire. A report was later received regarding a Palestinian minor who was killed, the military said. "The circumstances of the incident are under review," it said…

Mar

31

2024

By MARCO AQUINO

Peruvian government blasts raid of president’s home in graft inquiry

WORLD

PERU'S government blasted the raid on the home of President Dina Boluarte as part of inquiries into possible illicit enrichment and failure to declare ownership of luxury watches as "disproportionate and unconstitutional". Police broke down the door of Boluarte's residence on Friday night, television images showed, apparently after calls by officials to open up and allow them to search for evidence went unanswered. Boluarte's house is located in the Lima district of Surquillo, a few kilometres from the government palace where she works. Some 20 officials from the public prosecutor's office and 20 police first raided Boluarte's house and then…

Mar

31

2024

By The African Mirror

Dutch nightclub hostage drama ends peacefully with arrest of suspect

WORLD

A hostage drama at a nightclub in the eastern Netherlands ended peacefully after several hours with the arrest of a suspect - a man wearing a balaclava mask who exited the building and surrendered to police. "The last hostage has just been released. One person has been arrested," a police statement said. "We cannot share more information at this time." Several people, including employees, had been taken hostage at the Cafe Petticoat in the town of Ede early on Saturday morning. The motive was unclear. Officials said at a news briefing that the suspect, who was previously known to police,…

Mar

29

2024

By STEPHANIE VAN DEN BERG and NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

World Court orders Israel to halt Gaza famine; Hamas says ceasefire needed

WORLD

THERE was no immediate comment from Israel's Foreign Ministry on the World Court ruling. Israel has said it is making efforts to expand access for humanitarian groups to Gaza overland, through airdrops and by ship. Israeli leaders have said Hamas can end the war by surrendering, freeing all hostages it holds in Gaza and handing over for trial those involved in the October 7 attack. The Israeli army said it continued to operate around the Al Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City after storming it more than a week ago. Its forces had killed around 200 gunmen since the start…