WORLD - The African Mirror

Nov

04

2023

Gaza evacuees crossing into Egypt fear for those left behind

WORLD

PEOPLE hoping to leave the Gaza Strip converged on the Rafah crossing to Egypt, with those whose names were on a list vetted by Israel gradually passing through while others held up their foreign passports in vain. The crossing was open for limited evacuations for a second day under a Qatar-brokered deal between Israel, Egypt, Hamas and the United States, aimed at letting some foreign passport holders and their dependents, and some wounded Gazans, out of the besieged enclave. "I'm not even excited to leave Gaza because we have so many people that we love and care about," said Suzan…

Nov

04

2023

By OLENA HARMASH

Russia’s biggest drone strike in weeks hits Ukrainian infrastructure

WORLD

RUSSIA launched a massive drone attack early, hitting critical infrastructure in the west and south of Ukraine and destroying private houses and commercial buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, officials said. The air force said it shot down 24 "Shahed" drones out of 40 launched by Russia, the biggest drone attack in weeks to target Kharkiv in the northeast, Odesa and Kherson in the south and the region of Lviv on Ukraine's border with Poland in the west. One X-59 missile was also shot down, the Air Force said. "We realize that as winter approaches, Russian terrorists will try to…

Nov

03

2023

By JOHN DAVISON

Israeli settler attacks fuel the fire as Gaza war rages

WORLD

MOURNING his father and brother, Mohammed Wadi says armed Israeli settlers from outposts overlooking his olive-growing West Bank village no longer aim low when they shoot at Palestinian neighbours. "Now, they shoot to kill," he said. Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, already at a more than 15-year high this year, surged further after Israel hurtled into a new war in the separate enclave of Gaza in response to Palestinian militant group Hamas unleashing the deadliest day in Israel's history on October 7. Days later, on October 12, Wadi's father and brother were shot dead when armed Israeli settlers and…

Nov

03

2023

By LIZ LEE and XIAOYU YIN

China cremates ‘people’s’ premier, lowers national flag amidst outpouring of grief

WORLD

CHINA lowered the national flag in Beijing's Tiananmen Square amid an outpouring of online grief as the country cremated Li Keqiang, known as "the people's premier" for his down-to-earth, hands-on leadership. Li, a former economist and pro-reform leader who served as premier for 10 years before retiring in March, died of a heart attack in Shanghai last Friday. He was 68. At Li's funeral at a Beijing cemetery where high-ranking officials and national heroes are laid to rest, President Xi Jinping and his wife, with the six other members of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, the highest rung of political power…

Nov

03

2023

By The African Mirror

Australia police charge woman with murder over mushroom lunch

WORLD

AUSTRALIAN police said that they had charged a 49-year-old woman with the murder of three elderly people, with local media reporting the three died after they ate poisonous mushrooms at a lunch hosted by the woman. Victoria state police also charged the woman with five counts of attempted murder - two related to the meal on July 29 this year and three related to separate incidents in 2021 and 2022 when they said a 48-year-old man became ill following meals. Police had earlier searched the woman's house with the help of technology detector dogs trained to sniff out tiny electronic…

Nov

02

2023

By ANDREW MACASKILL and ESTELLE SHIRBON

Open hatred of Jews surges globally, inflamed by Gaza war

WORLD

IN Los Angeles, a man screaming "kill Jews" attempts to break into a family's home. In London, girls in a playground are told they are "stinking Jews" and should stay off the slide. In China, posts likening Jews to parasites, vampires or snakes proliferate on social media, attracting thousands of "likes". These are examples of incidents of antisemitism, which have surged globally since the attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war on the Islamist group launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip. "This is the scariest time to be Jewish since World War Two.…

Nov

02

2023

By BRENDA GOH

Halloween revellers throng Shanghai, some wearing costumes seen as a protest to China policies

WORLD

HALLOWEEN revellers thronged central Shanghai late at night, with some dressed in costumes that poked fun at China's strict COVID-19 curbs in a rare showcase of free expression as police looked on. Celebrations in the Chinese financial hub began on the weekend, culminating on Tuesday in a large crowd of mostly young people that gathered around a popular bar area, according to onlookers and social media posts. While most attendees did not dress up and many of those who did wore outfits like monsters and superheroes, some attracted attention on social media for costumes such as blue and white hazmat…

Nov

02

2023

By HYONHEE SHIN

North Korea closes multiple embassies around the world

WORLD

NORTH Korea is poised to close as many as a dozen embassies including in Spain, Hong Kong, and multiple countries in Africa, according to media reports and analysts, in a move that could see nearly 25 percent of Pyongyang's missions close worldwide. North Korea's recent closing of its diplomatic missions was a sign that the reclusive country is struggling to make money overseas because of international sanctions, South Korea's unification ministry said on Tuesday. On Monday, North Korean state media outlet KCNA said the country's ambassadors paid "farewell" visits to Angolan and Ugandan leaders last week, and local media in…

Nov

01

2023

By ANDREA SHALAL and ANDREW HAY

No ceasefire in Gaza, no votes, Muslim Americans tell Biden

WORLD

SOME Muslim and Arab American groups are threatening to withhold donations and votes towards President Joe Biden's 2024 reelection unless he takes immediate steps to secure a Gaza ceasefire. The National Muslim Democratic Council, which includes Democratic Party leaders from hotly contested states that can decide elections, such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, urged Biden to use his influence with Israel to broker a ceasefire by 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT) on Tuesday. In an open letter entitled "2023 Ceasefire Ultimatum," Muslim leaders pledged to mobilize "Muslim, Arab, and allied voters" to "withhold endorsement, support, or votes for any candidate who endorses…

Nov

01

2023

By The African Mirror

Woman shouting ‘You’re all going to die’ shot by police in Paris metro

WORLD

PARIS police shot and critically wounded a woman wearing a hijab who was behaving in a threatening manner and shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "You're all going to die" in a metro station morning, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said. France is on its highest state of alert after the Oct. 13 murder of a schoolteacher in a suspected Islamist attack, which officials have linked to what they called a "Jihadist atmosphere" linked to the Israel-Gaza war. The fully-veiled woman was shot at the Bibliotheque François-Mitterrand station. Commuters had reported her "uttering aggressive, Jihadist comments," government spokesman Olivier Veran said earlier. When police…