WORLD - The African Mirror

Apr

26

2023

Romanian prosecutors add charge against online personality Tristan Tate

WORLD

ROMANIAN prosecutors said they are investigating online personality Tristan Tate on an additional charge of inciting others to violence in a case in which he and his more famous brother Andrew are accused of sexually exploiting women. The Tate brothers and two Romanian female suspects are under house arrest pending a criminal investigation for suspected human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, accusations they have denied. On Monday, Romania's DIICOT anti-organised crime prosecuting unit notified Tristan Tate that an additional charge of inciting others to violence was added to his name, DIICOT spokesperson Ramona Bolla told Reuters. One…

Apr

25

2023

By SILVIO CASTELLANOS and JUAN ANTONIO DOMINGUEZ

Three arrested as Spain exhumes fascist movement’s founder

WORLD

THREE people were arrested after police clashed with sympathisers of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of Spain's fascist Falange movement that supported the Francoist regime, whose body was exhumed from a mausoleum near Madrid. Police struggled to hold back a crowd of about 150 Falange supporters gathered outside the San Isidro cemetery in southern Madrid, where he was taken to be reburied. They gave the fascist salute and sang the Falangist hymn "Facing the sun". The three arrests were for public disorder, according to a police source. Earlier, a smaller crowd outside the gates of the complex formerly known…

Apr

25

2023

By INGRID MELANDER and ANDREW GRAY

China says it respects sovereignty of ex-Soviet states after EU uproar

WORLD

CHINA respects the status of former Soviet member states as sovereign nations, its foreign ministry said, distancing itself from comments by its envoy to Paris that triggered an uproar among European capitals. Several European Union foreign ministers had said comments by Ambassador Lu Shaye - in which he questioned the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet states - were unacceptable and had asked Beijing to clarify its stance. Asked if Lu's comments represented China's official position, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that Beijing respected the status of the former Soviet member states as sovereign nations following the collapse of the Soviet Union.…

Apr

23

2023

By MARK TREVELYAN

Russia crosses new lines in crackdown on Putin’s enemies

WORLD

WITH virtually all the Kremlin's opponents already jailed or in exile, and liberal press outlets and human rights groups forced to shut down, it might have appeared that years of repression in Russia had achieved their objective. But in the space of just three weeks, Russia's security services and courts have crossed several new thresholds in their campaign to destroy perceived enemies, spies and traitors. The March 29 arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sent a chilling warning to the few remaining Western journalists in Russia about the risks of travelling, talking to sources and simply doing their jobs. The…

Apr

23

2023

By The African Mirror

JPMorgan bankers met Jeffrey Epstein after his accounts were closed, Wall Street Journal reports

WORLD

JPMorgan Chase & Co bankers continued to have meetings with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein even after the bank decided to close his accounts in 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The banker Justin Nelson had about a half-dozen meetings at Epstein's townhouse between 2014 and 2017, the newspaper said. Bank employees also met with Epstein after his accounts were closed to discuss other clients and introductions he could make to potential clients, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the meetings. Epstein, a well-connected money manager dogged for years by allegations that he sexually…

Apr

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Japan prepares to shoot down North Korean satellite if it falls on Japan

WORLD

JAPAN'S Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered the country's military to prepare to shoot down a North Korean spy satellite should it fall within Japan's territory. Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces to make necessary preparations as he could potentially "order the destruction of ballistic missiles", the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Preparations included making arrangements to deploy troops to the southern prefecture of Okinawa to "minimise damage should a ballistic missile fall." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said preparations for the planned launch of the country's first spy satellite should proceed to counter perceived threats from the United States and South…

Apr

22

2023

By The African Mirror

Dominic Raab quits as UK Deputy PM over bullying inquiry

WORLD

ANDREW MACASKILL, ALISTAIR SMOUT and SACHIN RAVIKUMAR BRITISH Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned from the government on Friday after an independent report found he had bullied officials, the latest scandal to force out one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's top ministers. The loss of a third senior minister over their personal conduct in six months will damage Sunak's bid to revive his Conservative Party's fortunes before local elections in May and is an embarrassment as Sunak promised a government of integrity when he entered Downing Street in October. Raab released an angry resignation letter arguing that the findings of the report,…

Apr

22

2023

By The African Mirror

Russia warplane accidentally fires into city near Ukraine, injuring three, TASS reports

WORLD

A Russian Sukhoi-34 supersonic warplane accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine late, causing an explosion and injuring three people. Video footage from the site showed piles of concrete on the street, several damaged cars and a building with broken windows. One shot showed what appeared to be a car upside down on the roof of a store. Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced a state of emergency overnight and said there was a crater measuring 20 metres (65 feet) across on one of the main streets. Four cars and four apartment buildings were damaged, he…

Apr

22

2023

By The African Mirror

Eight healthcare workers face trial over Maradona’s death – reports

WORLD

EIGHT healthcare workers will go on trial over the death of Diego Maradona after being charged with "homicide by negligence", Argentine media reported. The footballing great, who led Argentina to a second World Cup title in 1986, died aged 60 in November 2020 from heart failure after undergoing brain surgery days earlier. A court in San Isidro, a town on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, rejected defence appeals for a lesser charge and upheld a year-old indictment by prosecutors for "reckless and inefficient work" in the treatment of the former Boca Juniors and Napoli player, TV channel TN reported. The…

Apr

21

2023

By The African Mirror

Yemen stampede: At least 78 killed in surge for Ramadan donations

WORLD

AT least 78 people were killed in a stampede in the Yemeni capital Sanaa as residents gathered at a school to receive cash donations distributed by merchants during Ramadan, witnesses and the Houthi administration said. Hundreds of people crowded to receive the alms, which amounted to 5,000 Yemeni riyals, or about $9 per person, two witnesses involved in the rescue effort told Reuters. "When the door opened, there was a big rush by people wanting to reach the schoolyard first and some people began falling on the steps leading to the entrance," one medic said. Two-thirds of the population needs…