WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

17

2024

About 1,000 tourists trapped in China’s Xinjiang after avalanches

WORLD

AROUND 1,000 tourists remain stranded in a remote holiday village after avalanches hit China's northwestern Xinjiang region with metres-high snow and fickle weather impeding evacuation, state TV reported. Road access to Hemu village, a scenic destination near the borders of Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia where the tourists were trapped, has been cut off by avalanches for several days now. The village is situated in Xinjiang's Altay Prefecture where continuous snowfall in some areas has lasted 10 days, it said. The heavy snowfall triggered dozens of avalanches along large sections of highways in the Altay mountains leading to the Kanas scenic area, and…

Jan

16

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI, FADI SHANA and DAN WILLIAMS

Hamas appears to show dead bodies of two hostages after warning Israel

WORLD

HAMAS appeared to show the dead bodies of two Israeli hostages after warning Israel they might be killed if it did not stop its bombardment of Gaza. A new video released by the Palestinian militant group purportedly showed the bodies of Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, who had appeared in an initial video on Sunday. It also showed a third Israeli hostage, Noa Argamani, 26, saying the two were killed by "our own IDF strikes," referring to the Israeli military. Israel's defence minister accused the Palestinian militant group of carrying out 'psychological abuse'. The three are among some…

Jan

16

2024

By PHILIP PULLELLA

Pope defends same-sex blessings declaration, says it is misunderstood

WORLD

POPE Francis on Sunday defended a landmark decision approving blessings for same-sex couples, suggesting that those in the Catholic Church who have resisted it have jumped to "ugly conclusions" because they do not understand it. In a television interview, Francis made his first public comments since the December 18 declaration sparked widespread debate in the Church, with bishops in some countries, particularly in Africa, refusing to let their priests implement it. "Sometimes decisions are not accepted, but in most cases when decisions are not accepted, it is because they are not understood," Francis said in response to a specific question about the…

Jan

16

2024

By The African Mirror

Iranian journalists temporarily released face new legal case for flouting hijab

WORLD

IRAN'S judiciary has opened a new case against two jailed female journalists for appearing without a hijab upon their temporary release from prison, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported. Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, respectively sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison for their coverage of the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini in 2022, were released on Sunday temporarily after paying bail. "After footage of the defendants without hijab was released online, a new case has been filed against them," Mizan said referring to a video widely shared on social media showing the two women celebrating their release with…

Jan

15

2024

By FADI SHANA and MOHAMMED SALEM

In Gaza, a family suffer painful wait for children’s bodies

WORLD

DAUBED in red paint on a fallen wall, the names Omar, Abdullah and Massa mark the spot where the three children were buried alive by an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip in November, their relatives say. Mohammad Abu Aweidah, an uncle of the missing children, said he visits the rubble of the home in Rafah every day in the "hope one can pull out their bodies, or take a last look at their remains". "We pray to God that we will be able to pull them out and see them," said Abu Aweidah. They were among 16 children killed in…

Jan

15

2024

By STEVE HOLLAND, NANDITA BOSE and TREVOR HUNNICUTT

U.S. does not support Taiwan independence, Biden says

WORLD

U.S. President Joe Biden said that the United States does not support the independence of Taiwan after Taiwanese voters rebuffed China and gave the ruling party a third presidential term. Earlier in the day, the Taiwanese ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te came to power, strongly rejecting Chinese pressure to spurn him, and pledged both to stand up to Beijing and seek talks. "We do not support independence..." Biden said when asked for reaction to Saturday's elections. The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 and has long said it does not support a formal…

Jan

15

2024

By The African Mirror

Denmark’s King Frederik X appears before huge crowds after taking the throne

WORLD

DENMARK'S King Frederik X ascended the throne, succeeding his mother, Queen Margrethe II, who formally abdicated after 52 years as monarch, with big crowds gathered in the capital to witness history. Margrethe, 83, stunned the nation on New Year's Eve when she announced she planned to become the first Danish monarch in nearly 900 years to voluntarily relinquish the throne. The succession was formalized the moment Margrethe signed the declaration of her abdication during a meeting of the Council of State at parliament. Denmark, one of the oldest monarchies in the world, does not have a coronation. The new king was later proclaimed by…

Jan

14

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and BASSAM MASOUD

Israel presses on with Gaza offensive approaching 100 days of war

WORLD

ISRAEL kept up bombardments in the Gaza Strip as its deadly war on the enclave's Hamas rulers approached 100 days with no end in sight. In the southern city of Rafah, an Israeli airstrike on a house sheltering two displaced families killed 10 people, the Gaza health ministry said. Holding up a photo of a dead girl with a piece of bread in her hand, Bassem Arafeh, a relative, said the families in Rafah had been eating dinner when the house was struck on Friday night. "This child died while she was hungry, while she was eating a piece of bread with…

Jan

14

2024

By JOSEPH AX

US to seek death penalty against white supremacist Buffalo shooter

WORLD

U.S. prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store in 2022, marking the first time the Biden administration has initiated capital punishment proceedings. The U.S. Justice Department in a court filing on Friday said it would seek the death penalty for Payton Gendron for killings motivated by his "animus toward Black persons." Gendron, who was 18 at the time of the mass shooting, has already pleaded guilty to separate state charges of murder and domestic terrorism and was sentenced last February to life in prison without the possibility…

Jan

14

2024

By YIMOU LEE and SARAH WU

Taiwan’s voters rebuff China and give ruling party third presidential term

WORLD

TAIWANESE voters swept the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te into power on Saturday, strongly rejecting Chinese pressure to spurn him, as China said it would not give up on achieving "reunification". Lai's party, which champions Taiwan's separate identity and rejects China's territorial claims, was seeking a third successive four-year term, unprecedented under Taiwan's current electoral system. However, in a measure of public frustration at domestic issues like the high cost of housing and stagnating wages after eight years in power, the DPP lost its majority in parliament, making Lai's job harder in passing legislation. Lai also only won…