WORLD - The African Mirror

Nov

01

2023

Matthew Perry’s ‘Friends’ co-stars pay tribute to fallen cast mate

WORLD

THE five surviving co-stars of the hit 1990s television sitcom "Friends" paid tribute to their fallen cast mate, Matthew Perry, in a joint message lamenting his death two days earlier as an "unfathomable loss." In a brief statement published by People magazine, actors Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer spoke out publicly for the first time since news broke that Perry was found lifeless in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on Saturday. He was 54. "We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are…

Oct

31

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and HENRIETTE CHACAR

Israeli forces attack north Gaza’s main city from both sides

WORLD

ISRAELI troops and tanks attacked Gaza's main northern city from both sides, three days after they began a major ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave that has stirred more international appeals for civilians to be protected. Israel's military said it had struck more than 600 militant targets over the past few days as it expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian civilians are in dire need of fuel, food and clean water as the war enters its fourth week. Islamist militants said they had repelled an attempted thrust from Israeli tanks into Gaza City from the east and…

Oct

31

2023

By The African Mirror

Judge reinstates gag order in Trump federal election case

WORLD

A federal judge reinstated a gag order she imposed on Donald Trump in the Washington case accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat, denying his bid for a stay pending appeal. The order prohibited Trump from targeting the special counsel prosecuting his case or witnesses who might be called to testify about his efforts to upend his election loss. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed the gag order at the Justice Department's request. She temporarily lifted it on Oct. 20 after Trump's lawyers appealed. She reversed that decision on Sunday evening, according to the court's docket. A copy of…

Oct

31

2023

By THOMAS HOLDSTOCK and HEDY BELOUCIF

Child padlocked in Polish grave reflects ancient supernatural beliefs

WORLD

ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Poland have uncovered the remains of a 17th-century child padlocked to his grave to stop him from rising from the dead, a discovery that turns the spotlight on beliefs in vampires as Halloween approaches. The bones of the six- or seven-year-old are the most recent find in a cemetery in the northern village of Pien dating from an era that viewed ghosts, zombies and other supernatural apparitions as more than merely fancy dress options. "This is a cemetery for rejected people, who were certainly feared after death, and perhaps also during life ... who were suspected of having…

Oct

30

2023

By EMILY ROSE and NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Israel wages ground campaign in Gaza, communications blackout eases

WORLD

ISRAEL is expanding ground operations in Gaza and its fighter jets have struck hundreds more Hamas targets, the Israeli military said, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the second phase of a three-week-old war. Telephone and internet communications were partially restored in Gaza after a more than day-long blackout that had badly impacted rescue operations as Israel pounded targets of the militant Hamas group that controls the territory. "Israel cut us off from the world in order to wipe us out, but we are hearing the sounds of explosions and we are proud the resistance fighters have stopped them at…

Oct

30

2023

By The African Mirror

Colombia rescues kidnapped mother of Liverpool soccer player Luis Diaz

WORLD

COLOMBIAN President Gustavo Petro said the mother of Liverpool soccer player Luis Diaz had been rescued after being kidnapped in northern Colombia, but officials were still searching for his missing father. The Colombian attorney general's office earlier said that it assembled a team of investigators to search for the couple in Barrancas, a municipality in Colombia's northern La Guajira province. The National Police confirmed the rescue of Diaz's mother, Cilenis Marulanda, and said she spoke with Director William Rene Salamanca. Premier League club Liverpool signed Colombia winger Diaz in a multi-million dollar deal in January 2022.

Oct

30

2023

By STEVE GORMAN and ISMAIL SHAKIL

‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry dies of possible drowning at 54

WORLD

ACTOR Matthew Perry, beloved star of the top-rated 1990s U.S. television sitcom "Friends" as the wise-cracking Chandler Bing, died after apparently drowning in a hot tub. He was 54. The Los Angeles Times and TMZ.com, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the American-Canadian performer was found dead in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home. NBC, which broadcast "Friends" for 10 years, confirmed his demise in a statement on social media platform X. The news brought an outpouring of grief from fellow celebrities and other high-profile personalities. Actor Mira Sorvino said on X: “Oh no!!! Matthew Perry!! You sweet, troubled…

Oct

29

2023

By JAMES MACKENZIE and MAAYAN LUBELL

Israel launches Gaza war’s second phase with ground operation, Netanyahu says

WORLD

PRINE Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces had entered the second phase in the war in Gaza as they pressed ground operations against Hamas militants running the Palestinian enclave. Gaza's besieged people had barely any communication with the outside world as Israeli jets dropped more bombs and military chiefs said a long-threatened ground offensive against Hamas militants was gearing up. Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu warned that the war would be long and difficult and reiterated Israel's appeal to Palestinian civilians to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip where Israel was focusing its attack. He vowed that every…

Oct

29

2023

By GABRIELLA BORTER

Police found Maine shooting suspect dead in recycling trailer, still investigating motive

WORLD

A U.S. Army reservist accused of spraying a bowling alley and bar with gunfire in Lewiston, Maine, killing 18 people, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a recycling plant trailer after a 48-hour manhunt, police said. The body of Robert R. Card, 40, was discovered on Friday night at a recycling plant in Lisbon Falls where he worked at one point, less than a mile from where police had found his abandoned getaway vehicle shortly after his shooting spree on Wednesday night. A person of interest identified by police as Robert Card is seen in this handout…

Oct

29

2023

By The African Mirror

At least 32 dead, 14 missing after ArcelorMittal mine fire in Kazakhstan

WORLD

AT least 32 people have died and 14 remain missing after a mine fire in Kazakhstan, the Ministry for Emergency Situations said. Operator ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the local unit of Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal, said 206 of 252 people at the Kostenko mine had been evacuated after what appeared to be a methane blast. It said 18 people had sought medical attention. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who expressed condolences to the victims' families and declared a national day of mourning on October 29, ordered his cabinet to stop investment cooperation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau. The company said it had suspended operation of coal…