WORLD - The African Mirror

May

03

2023

Ukrainian farmer comes up with novel way to demine his fields

WORLD

VITALII HNIDYI A Ukrainian farmer has come up with a novel way to remove mines left in his fields after Russia's invasion -- he's kitted out his tractor with protective panels stripped from Russian tanks and operates it by remote control. After Russian forces were driven back from parts of eastern Ukraine by a Ukrainian counteroffensive last year, mines remained in many fields, making it perilous for farmers to sow grain for the next harvest. Fields around the village of Hrakove are no exception. Oleksandr Kryvtsov, a general manager at his agricultural company, decided he couldn't wait for help from…

May

02

2023

By The African Mirror

E. Jean Carroll resumes testimony in Trump rape trial after mistrial denied

WORLD

JONATHAN STEMPEL and JACK QUEEN E. Jean Carroll returned to the witness stand in her rape and defamation civil case against Donald Trump after the judge denied a defence request for a mistrial. Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina began cross-examining Carroll for a second day, hoping to show jurors inconsistencies or holes in her claims against the former U.S. president. Carroll, 79, has accused Trump, 76, of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996 and then undermining her credibility and career by lying about it online. Her defamation claim concerns an October…

May

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Homes smashed, 34 wounded in latest Russian strikes on Ukraine

WORLD

RUSSIA unleashed a fresh volley of missiles on Ukraine overnight, causing huge blazes in a city in the east, damaging dozens of homes and wounding at least 34 people. The attack on Pavlohrad, a city and railway hub, came during the second wave of nationwide missile strikes in three days, with Moscow apparently reviving its winter tactic of long-range strikes ahead of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive. A huge crater had been blasted in the backyard of a house that was strewn with debris on Pavlohrad's outskirts. Homes nearby were badly damaged. In the city centre, the windows of a dormitory…

May

02

2023

By MICHAEL HOLDEN and SARAH MILLS

King Charles settles into life as monarch, after long wait

WORLD

AFTER waiting longer than any British heir to become monarch, King Charles has quietly settled into his new role with little of the drama some commentators had expected, but with family divisions and some fundamental issues still looming. The 74-year-old Charles, who will be formally crowned on Saturday, was the oldest sovereign to take the throne in a lineage that dates back 1,000 years when he succeeded his hugely popular mother Queen Elizabeth after her death last September. She had reigned for 70 years. Since then, while the new king has given glimpses of future changes to the institution, the man who was known…

May

01

2023

By The African Mirror

Four people shot dead in Portugal, CNN Portugal says

WORLD

A man shot three people dead and then committed suicide in the Portuguese city of Setubal, about 45 km (28 miles) south of the capital, CNN Portugal said. PSP police commissioner Joao Freire told Reuters that "there are four bodies, which were supposedly the result of a shooting, but the causes and details are not yet known". The police criminal cases agency PJ was at the scene investigating, Freire said. CNN Portugal said the shooting took place at around 8 a.m. in a poor neighbourhood of Setubal called Bairro Azul, and that the gunman committed suicide when police officers arrived…

May

01

2023

By LIDIA KELLY

Ukraine says it controls key supply route into Bakhmut

WORLD

UKRAINE remains in control of a critical supply route into Bakhmut, a military spokesperson said on Saturday, as the head of Russia's mercenary Wagner Group threatened to withdraw some of his troops from the eastern city if Moscow did not send more ammunition. Russian forces have been trying for 10 months to punch their way into the shattered remains of what was once a city of 70,000. Kyiv has pledged to defend Bakhmut, which Russia sees as a stepping stone to attack other cities. "For several weeks, the Russians have been talking about seizing the 'road of life,' as well…

May

01

2023

By The African Mirror

Biden aims darts at Fox News, Donald Trump at correspondents’ dinner

WORLD

U.S. President Joe Biden, in a possible preview of a 2024 presidential campaign theme, attacked news outlets he said used "lies told for profit and power" to stir up hatred, as he coupled his remarks with pointed jokes about Fox News. Speaking at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Biden referred to "truth buried by lies," in an apparent reference to false conspiracy theories that his 2020 election win was the result of massive voter fraud. "Lies told for profit and power. Lies of conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again designed to generate a cycle of anger…

Apr

30

2023

By The African Mirror

Five dead in Texas shooting, armed suspect on the loose, ABC News reports

WORLD

A gunman shot dead five neighbours including an 8-year-old child after neighbours asked the man to stop shooting an AR-15-style weapon in his front yard in Cleveland, Texas, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said. Police were still looking for the suspect, who used an AR-15-style rifle in the shooting late on Friday, Capers told Reuters. Francisco Oropeza, suspect in the mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, on April 29, 2023, is shown in this photo released by the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office. San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office Authorities have charged Francisco Oropeza, 38, with five counts of murder and…

Apr

30

2023

By The African Mirror

Obama, Spielberg and Springsteen delight Barcelona restaurant staff

WORLD

PEOPLE in Barcelona had to do a double take when former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and film-maker Steven Spielberg joined the throngs of tourists to visit some of the city's main sites - albeit with added security. The trio were in Barcelona to attend a concert by pal Bruce Springsteen at Barcelona's Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium on Friday night. Obama, Spielberg and Springsteen dined at the Amar restaurant in the Palace Hotel on Thursday. Staff member Pol Perello uploaded a photo of them posing with wait staff and chefs to Instagram with the comment "the pleasure this job brings…

Apr

30

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia pledges harsh response after Polish ‘seizure’ of embassy school

WORLD

RUSSIA promised it would respond harshly to what it said was Poland's illegal seizure of its embassy school in Warsaw, an act it called a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. Polish state-run news channel TVP Info had earlier reported that police had shown up outside the Russian embassy school on Kieleckiej Street in Warsaw on Saturday morning. When asked about the incident, a Polish foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters the building housing the embassy school belonged to the Polish state. Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the Polish authorities had burst onto the embassy…