WORLD - The African Mirror

Jun

05

2023

Israel demands Egypt help in full probe of deadly attack at border

WORLD

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called the killing of three soldiers by a member of the Egyptian security services a terrorist attack and demanded a full joint investigation with Cairo. Egypt says it is working with Israel to investigate the incident which occurred on Saturday. "Israel relayed a clear message to the Egyptian government. We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough," Netanyahu told his cabinet in televised remarks. "We will refresh procedures and methods of operations and also the measures to reduce to a minimum the smuggling and to ensure tragic terrorist attacks like…

Jun

04

2023

By JATINDRA DASH and ABINAYA V

India’s worst train crash in decades kills at least 288

WORLD

AT least 288 people have died in India's worst rail crash in over two decades, officials said, after a passenger train went off the tracks and hit another one in an accident a preliminary report blamed on signal failure. One train in Friday's accident also hit a freight train parked nearby in the district of Balasore in Odisha state in the east of the country, leaving a tangled mess of smashed rail cars and injuring 803. The death toll has reached 288, said K. S. Anand, chief public relations officer of the South Eastern Railway. Dead bodies are still trapped…

Jun

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Three Israeli soldiers, Egyptian security officer killed in border gunfire incident

WORLD

THREE Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian security officer were killed near the countries' border, Israel and Egypt said, in an incident whose details remained unclear. The countries said they were jointly investigating the matter. The Israeli military said an Egyptian policeman shot and killed two of its soldiers. At the same time, they secured a military post at the Egyptian border early on Saturday after Israeli forces successfully thwarted a smuggling attempt overnight. It said the Egyptian officer and a third Israeli soldier were killed hours later in a confrontation inside Israeli territory. As soon as the two Israeli soldiers…

Jun

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Zelenskiy says Ukraine ready to launch counteroffensive

WORLD

UKRAINE is ready to launch its long-awaited counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview published. "We strongly believe that we will succeed,” Zelenskiy told the Wall Street Journal. "I don’t know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready." Kyiv hopes a counteroffensive to reclaim territory will change the dynamics of the war that has raged since Russia invaded its smaller neighbour 15 months ago. Zelenskiy said last month Ukraine needed to wait for more Western…

Jun

03

2023

By PAVEL POLITYUK

Ukraine says it downed 36 Russian missiles and drones

WORLD

UKRAINIAN forces in Kyiv said they shot down 36 Russian missiles and drones in and around the capital overnight, with two people injured by falling debris before authorities lifted air raid alerts across most of the country. Russia has launched about 20 missile and drone attacks on Kyiv since the beginning of May, a surge in strikes that the government says appears aimed at derailing Ukraine's preparations for a major counter-offensive. An Air Force statement said its air defences had shot down 15 cruise missiles and 21 drones. It said a wave of drones had been launched late on Thursday, followed by…

Jun

03

2023

By MICHAEL HOLDEN

Harry to become first British royal in 130 years to give evidence in court

WORLD

PRINCE Harry will become the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for 130 years when he testifies next week in his lawsuit against a newspaper group he accuses of unlawful behaviour. Harry, King Charles' younger son, will appear in the witness box at London's High Court as part of the case he and more than 100 other celebrities and high-profile figures have brought against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People. It will be the first time a senior royal has given evidence since Edward VII testified as a witness in part…

Jun

03

2023

By ARIBA SHAHID and ASIF SHAHZAD

Pakistan outlines process for barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran, Russia

WORLD

PAKISTAN has passed a special order to allow barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Russia for certain goods, including petroleum and natural gas, the Ministry of Commerce said. Left with barely enough foreign exchange reserves to cover one month's imports, Pakistan's government is desperately trying to manage a balance of payments crisis and bring inflation under control after it hit a record of nearly 38% last month. The government order called the Business-to-business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism 2023 and dated June 1, lists goods that can be bartered. State and privately owned entities would need approval to participate in the…

Jun

02

2023

By MACDONALD DZIRUTWE

Oath Keeper convicted of sedition in US Capitol attack sentenced to 4.5 years

WORLD

FAR-RIGHT Oath Keepers militant group member Roberto Minuta was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on Thursday after he was convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes arising from the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by then-President Donald Trump's supporters. "You can feel a way about a government and about the way it's treating its citizens without resorting to violence," U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said. "That is why you find yourself where you are today." Minuta's sentencing comes just one week after Mehta sentenced Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes to 18 years in prison following…

Jun

02

2023

By JOHN IRISH and ANDREW GRAY

Zelenskiy presses NATO bid, case for fighter jets at Europe summit

WORLD

PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed his case for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance and said he was confident a coalition of countries would form to provide Kyiv with Western fighter jets and Patriot missile-defence systems. The Ukrainian leader joined a meeting of European leaders in Moldova, seeking to bolster Western solidarity and keep up the pressure for concrete support ahead of his country's expected counter-offensive against Russia's invasion. Addressing leaders at the start of the gathering, Zelenskiy asked NATO members to take a clear decision on whether to admit Ukraine and also reiterated calls for Western fighter…

Jun

02

2023

By SULEIMAN AL-KHALIDI

Royal wedding showpiece highlights Jordan’s role as West’s stable ally

WORLD

THE heir to Jordan's throne will marry amid much fanfare, in a glittering ceremony that the country's leaders, long backed by the West as a stabilising influence in a volatile region, hope will reinforce local and global alliances. The 28-year-old Prince Hussein, named as heir by his father King Abdullah in 2009, will tie the knot with Saudi architect Rajwa Al Saif, 29, who hails from a prominent family with links to her country's ruling dynasty. Jordan has long relied on Western support to shore up its economy, one of the world's biggest per capita recipients of U.S and European…