WORLD - The African Mirror

May

16

2023

Tractor trailer crash in Mexico kills 26

WORLD

A tractor trailer and a van crashed on a highway in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, killing 26 people, local authorities said. The two vehicles crashed about half an hour outside of the state capital Ciudad Victoria and then caught on fire, the Tamaulipas' public security ministry said. Once authorities arrived at the site of the crash, they found the truck carrying the trailer was no longer at the scene. A source at the Tamaulipas prosecutors' office said investigators were unsure whether the driver of the truck had fled or if he was also killed in the crash. The…

May

15

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia says two of its commanders killed as Kyiv wages Bakhmut offensive

WORLD

RUSSIA'S Defence Ministry said that two of its military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv's forces renewed efforts to break through Russian defences in the embattled city of Bakhmut. In a daily briefing, the ministry said that Commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade and Deputy Commander Yevgeny Brovko from a separate unit were killed trying to repel Ukrainian attacks. It said that Makarov had been leading troops from the front line and that Brovko "died heroically, suffering multiple shrapnel wounds". The defence ministry rarely announces the deaths of military command in its daily briefings. It…

May

15

2023

By ORHAN COSKUN and CAN SEZER

Erdogan’s election rival in Turkey says ‘we are leading’

WORLD

TURKEY'S opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said he was leading against President Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday's presidential elections despite state media putting Erdogan ahead in early results. Citing manipulation in the reporting of early results in previous elections, Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said on TV that no one should heed early results shared by the state-owned Anadolu Agency. Early results from Anadolu broadcast by Turkish media showed President Tayyip Erdogan ahead with 52.55% of votes compared to Kilicdaroglu with 41.55%, although the gap was narrowing as the count continued. "We are leading," Kilicdaroglu said on Twitter. “We can say this…

May

14

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and MAAYAN LUBELL

Islamic Jihad says agrees Gaza truce with Israel -officials

WORLD

ISRAEL and the militant Islamic Jihad group in Gaza have agreed on a truce that will go into effect at 10 p.m. (1900 GMT), Palestinian officials said, signalling an end to the worst episode of cross-border fire since a 10-day war in 2021. Egypt, which brokered the ceasefire, called on all sides to adhere to the agreement, Egypt's Al-Qahera News television channel reported. "In the light of the agreement of the Palestinian and the Israeli side, Egypt announces a ceasefire between the Palestinian and the Israeli side has been reached," a text of the agreement seen by Reuters read, and…

May

14

2023

By TREVOR HUNNICUTT

Exclusive: G7 summit statement to target China’s ‘economic coercion’

WORLD

LEADERS of the Group of Seven (G7) countries are set to discuss concern about China's use of "economic coercion" in its dealings abroad as part of their larger joint statement next week, according to a U.S. official familiar with the discussions. The statement, a likely component of the overall communique that will be released by leaders during the May 19-21 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, is expected to be paired with a broader written proposal on how the seven advanced economies will work together to counter "economic coercion" from any country. The main G7 statement is set to include "a section…

May

14

2023

By The African Mirror

The Turkey candidates for president and other key figures

WORLD

PRESIDENT Tayyip Erdogan will put his two-decade rule on the line on May 14 when he faces opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Turkey's landmark elections. Surveys show Kilicdaroglu ahead of him in the first round of voting. If no candidate secures more than half of the votes in the first round, a May 28 runoff will be held between the two leading candidates. Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party counts the nationalist MHP as its main ally. The secularist CHP and five other parties form an opposition alliance that is expected to get support from the main Kurdish party HDP, giving it an edge in some…

May

13

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and ARI RABINOVITCH

Palestinian rockets fired towards Jerusalem, Israel kills militant leader

WORLD

A Palestinian armed group fired rockets towards Jerusalem for the first time in fighting this week, and Israel killed another militant leader with its air strikes in Gaza, while Egypt tried to forge a ceasefire. Rocket sirens sounded in the town of Beit Shemesh and elsewhere in the hills outside Jerusalem, ending a 12-hour lull in fighting. Brief explosions could be heard in Jerusalem, possibly from Israeli missile defences intercepting the rockets. The Israeli military said two rockets had been fired toward the Jerusalem area but did not confirm if they were intercepted. Local media reported that air defences shot…

May

13

2023

By The African Mirror

U.S. border city calm as Title 42 lifts and asylum restrictions take effect

WORLD

DAINA BETH SOLOMON and JULIO-CESAR CHAVEZ THE United States ended a COVID-19 border restriction that had blocked many migrants at the border with Mexico, immediately replacing the order known as Title 42 with a sweeping new asylum regulation meant to deter illegal crossings. Several last-minute court actions added confusion to how President Joe Biden's reworked border policies will play out, with advocates filing a legal challenge to the new asylum restrictions as they took effect. In El Paso, Texas, hundreds of migrants slept outside on American soil in front of the border fence as the sun rose on Friday morning.…

May

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Papua foreign minister resigns role over coronation travel cost controversy

WORLD

KIRSTY NEEDHAM PAPUA New Guinea (PNG) Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said he was resigning as minister amid a controversy over the cost and size of the country's delegation to the coronation of King Charles III in London. Tkatchenko said in a statement that he "stood aside" after consulting with Prime Minister James Marape, who would assume the portfolio. He remains in parliament. "I want to make sure the recent events do not interfere with the official visits and summits we are going to have with all the World Leaders in the coming weeks," Tkatchenko said. "I also want to ensure the truth…

May

12

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and RAMI AMICHAY

Israel kills senior Gaza commanders as rockets cause first death in Israel

WORLD

ISRAEL killed two senior Islamic Jihad commanders, pressing an operation that has cost 28 lives in the Gaza Strip including women and children, while Palestinian cross-border rocket salvoes inflicted a first fatality in Israel. Signalling no imminent let-up after three days of strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said operations were proceeding at full pace. "Whoever comes to harm us - his blood is forfeit," he said in a videotaped statement issued during a visit to an air base. As the firing continued, Egypt hosted senior Islamic Jihad official Mohammad al-Hindi in Cairo to try to mediate an end to…