WORLD - The African Mirror

Apr

29

2023

Ukraine vows ‘iron fist’ counterattack; Russian strikes kill 25

WORLD

UKRAINE said it was nearly ready to launch a huge ground assault to retake occupied land after Russia hurled missiles at cities as people slept overnight, killing at least 25 civilians in its first large-scale air strikes in nearly two months. The war is coming to a crucial juncture after a months-long Russian winter offensive that gained little ground despite the bloodiest fighting so far. Kyiv is preparing a counteroffensive using hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles sent by the West. It wants to drive Russia out of the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine that it occupies and claims to have…

Apr

29

2023

By ALESSANDRO PARODI and ALBERTO CHIUMENTO

Skilled, educated and washing dishes: how Italy squanders migrant talent

WORLD

MARILYN Nabor, an experienced high school mathematics teacher in the Philippines, moved to Italy 14 years ago with high hopes of honing her craft in the country of Galileo and Fibonacci. Now aged 49, she works as a housekeeper in Rome, counting cobwebs and crockery, and has abandoned hope of returning to her former calling. "This country does not recognise our diploma or curriculum from the Philippines," she said. "I cannot get professional work." Even gaining qualifications in Italy didn't help Abhishek, a 26-year-old migrant from India who got a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Turin's Polytechnic University last…

Apr

29

2023

By PHILIP PULLELLA, KRISZTINA THAN and BOLDIZSAR GYORI

Pope, in Hungary, warns of rising nationalism in Europe, appeals for accepting migrants

WORLD

POPE Francis, starting a trip to Hungary, pointedly warned of the dangers of rising nationalism in Europe and told the Budapest government that accepting migrants along with the rest of the continent would be a true sign of Christianity. In a hard-hitting speech to government leaders including Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has had a series of run-ins with the European Union, Francis also urged a rejection of "self-referential forms of populism" and strictly nationalist interests. Francis called for a return to the "European soul" envisioned by those who laid the groundwork for modern Europe after World War Two, saying…

Apr

28

2023

By MICA ROSENBERG, JOSHUA SCHNEYER and KRISTINA COOKE

Special Report: How a fake ID let Hyundai suppliers use child labour in Alabama

WORLD

ON November 22, a team of state and federal labour officials conducted a surprise inspection and noticed a young-looking worker at a warehouse operated here by the logistics unit of Korean automaking giant Hyundai Motor Group. The inspectors, according to an Alabama Department of Labour field report reviewed by Reuters, had received a complaint from an unspecified tipster about "under-age children working" at the facility. During their visit to Hyundai Glovis Co Ltd, the report notes, the boy "was manually restacking large metal castings." Inspectors approached the boy, named in company paperwork as "Fernando Ramos," and questioned him about his…

Apr

28

2023

By The African Mirror

Jerry Springer, raucous talk show host, dead at 79

WORLD

BRENDAN O'BRIEN TELEVISION personality Jerry Springer, known for a long-running talk show that featured raucous audiences, controversial topics and fist-fighting guests and who briefly served as Cincinnati mayor, died at age 79 on Thursday, his family said. Springer died peacefully after a brief illness at his home in suburban Chicago, his family said in a statement. The cause of death was not specified. “Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,”…

Apr

28

2023

By The African Mirror

Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf, U.S. Navy says

WORLD

IRAN seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters, the U.S. Navy said, the latest in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in sensitive Gulf waters since 2019. Iran's army said it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen, Iranian state media reported. "Two members of the boat's crew are missing and several were injured due to the collision of the ship with the boat," an army statement said. The U.S. Navy identified the vessel as…

Apr

27

2023

By The African Mirror

Trump rape accuser’s case not a ‘he said, she said,’ lawyer says as trial starts

WORLD

LUC COHEN, JACK QUEEN and JONATHAN STEMPEL E. Jean Carroll's accusation that Donald Trump raped her was not a "he said, she said" dispute, a lawyer representing the writer told jurors as a civil trial over the former U.S. president's conduct nearly three decades ago got underway. Shawn Crowley, who represents the former Elle magazine advice columnist, said in her opening statement that Trump "slammed Ms Carroll against the wall" and "pressed his lips to hers," an account other witnesses were prepared to verify. "This is not a 'he said, she said' case," Crowley said in federal court in Manhattan.…

Apr

27

2023

By The African Mirror

Sweden launches research rocket, accidentally hits Norway

WORLD

A research rocket launched by Sweden Space Corp (SSC) early from Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden malfunctioned and landed 15 km (9.32 miles) inside neighbouring Norway. The rocket reached an altitude of 250 kilometres (155.34 miles) where experiments were carried out in zero gravity, the agency said in a statement. "It landed in the mountains at 1,000 meters altitude, and 10 kilometres from the closest settlement," Philip Ohlsson, head of communications at SSC, told Reuters on Tuesday. There are routines in place when things go wrong and we inform both Swedish and Norwegian governments, and other actors, he said. Work…

Apr

26

2023

By The African Mirror

Putin ally: We are probably on verge of a new world war

WORLD

AN ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the world was probably on the verge of a new world war and the risks of a nuclear confrontation were rising. "The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war," Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Putin's powerful security council, told a conference in Moscow. He said such a new world war was not inevitable but the risks of a nuclear confrontation were growing and more serious than concerns about climate change. Putin says the world faces the most dangerous decade since World War Two. He casts…

Apr

26

2023

By The African Mirror

Judge in Donald Trump rape case warns against inciteful statements

WORLD

LUC COHEN, JACK QUEEN and JONATHAN STEMPEL THE judge in former President Donald Trump's rape case ordered lawyers at the start of a civil trial to keep their clients and witnesses from making public statements that could lead to violence. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan admonished them before seating nine jurors who will weigh whether Trump raped former Elle magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s - and defamed her by denying it happened. Opening statements were scheduled to begin later on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. The trial is expected to…