WORLD - The African Mirror

Oct

01

2023

Special Report: How Cubans were recruited to fight for Russia

WORLD

CUBAN seamstress Yamidely Cervantes has bought a new sewing machine for the first time in years, plus a refrigerator and a cellphone - all on Russia's dime. She said her 49-year-old husband Enrique Gonzalez, a struggling bricklayer, left their home in the small town of La Federal on July 19 to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine. Days later, he wired her part of his signing-on bonus of about 200,000 roubles ($2,040) which she received in Cuban pesos, Cervantes told Reuters. That represents a windfall on the economically stricken communist-run island. It's more than 100 times the average monthly…

Oct

01

2023

By SALEEM AHMED and MUSHTAQ ALI

Suicide bombings at two mosques in Pakistan kill at least 57

WORLD

SUICIDE bombings ripped through two mosques in Pakistan killing at least 57 people, including seven children, as believers marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, police and health officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, from which the death toll could climb, with many people seriously injured and others having been trapped beneath the wreckage. In the first blast, in Mastung in the southwestern province of Balochistan, the bomber detonated his explosives near a police vehicle where people were gathering for a procession, senior police official Munir Ahmed said. At least 52 people were killed, according to…

Sep

30

2023

By SALEEM AHMED and MUSHTAQ ALI

Suicide bombings rip through two mosques in Pakistan, killing at least 57

WORLD

SUICIDE bombings ripped through two mosques in Pakistan, killing at least 57 people and injuring dozens more as believers marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, police and health officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, one of which was reported to have trapped dozens under rubble. A surge in militant attacks in Pakistan's western provinces has cast a shadow on election preparations and public campaigning in the run-up to January's general elections, but until now the attacks had mostly targeted security forces. The first blast, in Mastung in the southwestern province of Balochistan, killed at least…

Sep

30

2023

By GWLADYS FOUCHE and ILZE FILKS

Nobel Peace Prize: Indigenous, women or green activists could win 2023 award

WORLD

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian dissident Alexei Navalny are among favourites for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, but experts say campaigners for women, Indigenous peoples or the environment could well steal the stage. Given past form, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is also capable of a complete surprise in the October 6 announcement. Though bookmakers have Zelenskiy as a top candidate to join the illustrious list of laureates from Nelson Mandela to Martin Luther King, Nobel specialists believe that as a wartime leader, the Ukrainian president is unlikely to be named. The imprisoned Navalny's chances are lessened because Russian dissidents won last…

Sep

30

2023

By JOHAN AHLANDER

Swedish PM summons army, police chiefs as gang violence rocks nation

WORLD

Sweden's prime minister summoned the head of the armed forces and the police commissioner to stem gang violence, he said, following a wave of violence that has taken at least 11 lives in September alone. Two people were killed in separate shootings in Stockholm on Wednesday, and a woman in her 20s considered an innocent bystander, was killed when a bomb tore up a house in Uppsala in the early hours of Thursday. "This is a difficult time for Sweden. A 25-year-old woman went to bed last night on a completely ordinary evening but never got to wake up," Prime…

Sep

29

2023

By The African Mirror

Teenager stabs teachers, pupil in Spanish school

WORLD

A teenager wounded three teachers and one pupil in a stabbing in a high school in Jerez de la Frontera, southern Spain, police said. One of the teachers will undergo surgery, while the other three victims suffered light wounds, a source from Andalusia's health services said. Police said the attacker had been detained. Canal SUR television channel showed parents congregating outside the school gates. A pupil's mother told the station the attacker had wielded two large knives from his backpack inside a classroom and attacked fellow pupils and teachers at about 8:15 a.m. (0615 GMT) local time, telling them he…

Sep

29

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Israel reopens Gaza crossings, lets Palestinians back to work after two weeks

WORLD

ISRAEL reopened crossing points with Gaza, allowing thousands of Palestinian workers to get to their jobs in Israel and the West Bank, after nearly two weeks of closure prompted by violent protests along the border. Around 18,000 Gazans have permits from Israeli authorities to work outside the blockaded enclave, providing an injection of cash amounting to some $2 million a day to the impoverished territory's economy. The move comes amid stepped-up international efforts by Egypt and the United Nations to defuse tensions and prevent a new round of armed conflict in the enclave. For around two weeks, protesters throwing stones…

Sep

29

2023

By PHIL STEWART and IDREES ALI

Travis King: U.S. soldier released by North Korea arrives in Texas

WORLD

U.S. Army Private Travis King landed at a U.S. military base in Texas early after being expelled from North Korea following his surprise dash across the heavily militarized border two months ago, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. King arrived on a U.S. military flight, landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston at about 0530 GMT, the official said. Television footage showed a group of people leaving a plane at the base at that time. King is expected to undergo a medical review at Brooke Army Medical Center, a hospital at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. Basketball star Brittney Griner…

Sep

28

2023

By AMINA ISMAIL and TIMOUR AZHARI

Iraq wedding fire kills more than 100, relatives identify bodies

WORLD

A fire ripped through a packed wedding hall in northern Iraq, killing more than 100 people in a Christian town that had survived Islamic State occupation. Firefighters searched the charred remains of the building in Qaraqosh, also known as Hamdaniya, through Wednesday morning and bereaved relatives gathered outside a morgue in the nearby city of Mosul, wailing and rocking in distress. Several sources in Qaraqosh said the bride and groom had survived the fire, but Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that or speak to their families. "This was not a wedding. This was hell," said Mariam Khedr, crying…

Sep

28

2023

By JONATHAN STEMPEL and KAREN FREIFELD

Donald Trump found liable for fraud in New York civil case

WORLD

A New York judge found Donald Trump and his family business fraudulently inflated the value of his properties and other assets, in a major defeat for the former U.S. president that could severely hamper his ability to do business in the state. The scathing decision by Justice Arthur Engoron of New York state court in Manhattan will make it easier for state Attorney General Letitia James to establish damages at a scheduled October 2 trial. Engoron also ordered the cancellation of certificates that let some of Trump's businesses, including the Trump Organization, operate in New York, and ordered the appointment…