WORLD - The African Mirror

May

12

2023

Trump jokes about sexual abuse verdict, repeats election falsehoods

WORLD

AN unrepentant Donald Trump held firm to past grievances at the first televised town hall of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, stressing from the moment he took the stage that he has little intention of mounting a more disciplined campaign for his third White House bid. In a contentious 70-minute broadcast, Trump drew laughter from a New Hampshire audience when he mocked writer E. Jean Carroll's account of his having sexually abused her, repeated falsehoods about his 2020 election loss, said he would pardon many of his supporters convicted of taking part in a Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the…

May

12

2023

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM and ASIF SHAHZAD

Top Pakistan court rules Imran Khan’s arrest illegal, streets are quiet

WORLD

PAKISTAN'S Supreme Court ruled that former Prime Minister Imran Khan's arrest was illegal, his lawyer said, two days after his detention on graft allegations triggered deadly violence, escalating his tussle with the powerful military. The protests coincide with Pakistan's worst economic crisis in decades, with record high inflation, anaemic growth and IMF funding delayed for months, prompting concerns that the country could default on its external payment obligations. The reprieve for Khan, 70, comes as a setback for the military, which has ruled the South Asian nation for almost half its history through three coups, a day after it said the violence by Khan's…

May

12

2023

By JOHANNES BIRKEBAEK

Danish teen jailed for 5 and 1/2 years for aiding far-right group

WORLD

A 16-year-old Danish male has been sentenced to 5-1/2 years in jail for aiding and trying to recruit a classmate to an international neo-Nazi organization, a court in Denmark ruled. The teenager was arrested in April last year and later charged with joining the far-right international online group called Feuerkrieg Division (FKD). The court found him not guilty of the main charge, which was joining the group with the intent to commit acts of terrorism. However, he was found guilty of trying to recruit a classmate to FKD and other counts of aiding it, such as sharing manuals on bomb-making.…

May

11

2023

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM, ASIF SHAHZAD and ARIBA SHAHID

Pakistan cracks down on Imran Khan’s supporters after violence

WORLD

POLICE in Pakistan have arrested hundreds of supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan for violence after his arrest on corruption charges, authorities said, deepening a political crisis in the nuclear-armed country. Tuesday's arrest of the former cricket hero, and Pakistan's most popular politician according to opinion polls, came at a precarious time for the country that is facing a shortage of foreign exchange and a months-long delay of an IMF bailout. Mobile data services were shut for a second day while Twitter, YouTube and Facebook were disrupted, as security forces tried to restore order after violence killed one person late…

May

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Daily Mirror apologises to Prince Harry over unlawful information gathering

WORLD

THE publisher of Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid apologised to Prince Harry for ordering the unlawful gathering of information, court documents showed. In documents presented at court as part of a phone hacking trial, Mirror Group Newspapers, which is owned by Reach, admitted on one occasion a private investigator had been engaged to unlawfully gather evidence about King Charles's younger son at a nightclub. It said it "unreservedly apologises and accepts that (Harry) is entitled to appropriate compensation". Thomson Reuters Foundation

May

11

2023

By The African Mirror

What is the corruption case against Imran Khan?

WORLD

ASIF SHAHZAD PAKISTAN'S former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested by an anti-graft agency on corruption charges. Government officials alleged that Khan and his wife received land worth millions of dollars as a bribe from a real estate tycoon through a charitable trust. Khan and his aides have denied any wrongdoing. The developer has denied the charges in the past but he could not be contacted on Wednesday and his company's marketing manager did not respond to a request for fresh comment. Below are some facts about the trust and the land acquisition. WHAT IS AL-QADIR TRUST? Al-Qadir Trust is…

May

10

2023

By JACK QUEEN and LUC COHEN

Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll, jury finds, awarding her $5 million

WORLD

DONALD Trump sexually abused magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s and then defamed her by branding her a liar, jurors decided and awarded her $5 million in damages. The former U.S. president, campaigning to retake the White House in 2024, will appeal, said his spokesman Steven Cheung. Trump will not have to pay so long as the case is on appeal. Carroll, 79, testified during the civil trial that Trump, 76, raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in either 1995 or 1996, then harmed her reputation by writing in an October 2022 post on…

May

10

2023

By The African Mirror

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan arrested, stirring nationwide violence

WORLD

ASIF SHAHZAD and GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM PAKISTAN'S anti-corruption agency arrested former prime minister Imran Khan at Islamabad High Court, threatening fresh turmoil in the nuclear-armed country as clashes erupted between Khan supporters and police, killing at least one protester. Khan's arrest comes a day after the powerful military rebuked him for repeatedly accusing a senior military officer of trying to engineer his assassination and the former armed forces chief of being behind his removal from power last year. Dozens of paramilitary troops in riot-control gear surrounded Khan - Pakistan's most popular leader according to opinion polls - and led him into a…

May

10

2023

By The African Mirror

Israel kills three Islamic Jihad chiefs, 10 civilians in Gaza

WORLD

NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI ISRAEL killed three Islamic Jihad commanders and 10 civilians in surprise airstrikes in Gaza, Palestinian officials said, drawing threats of reprisals from the faction and censure from Egypt, which has mediated past ceasefires in the enclave. Signalling it anticipated an imminent flare-up, Israel closed roads in Israeli towns near Gaza, instructed residents there to keep close to bomb shelters, and said it was calling up some military reservists. Images on social media showed Iron Dome rocket interceptor batteries being trucked to the front. The scope of any escalation could hinge on whether Gaza's ruling Hamas militants take part,…

May

10

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia targets Kyiv on Victory Day, parade pared back amid shortages at the front

WORLD

RUSSIA fired cruise missiles at Kyiv and paraded troops across Red Square for its annual celebration of victory in World War Two, pared back amid shortages of manpower and weaponry at the front after a failed winter campaign in Ukraine. In a fiery 10-minute speech in front of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin thundered against "Western global elites" and said civilisation was at "a decisive turning point". "A real war has been unleashed against our homeland," said the Russian leader, who last year ordered what the West calls an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, destroying cities and killing thousands of civilians. Underlining how…