WORLD - The African Mirror

Jun

2021

Biden warns of echoes of Tulsa massacre in the United States today

JEFF MASON JOE Biden has become the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where hundreds of Black Americans were massacred by a white mob in 1921, and he said the legacy of racist violence and white supremacy still resonates. Biden came to Tulsa to put a spotlight on an event that epitomizes the country's history of brutal racial violence, despite the massacre being largely under the radar in U.S. classrooms and history books for years. "We should know the good, the bad, everything," Biden said in a speech to the few survivors of the attack…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Red Cross chief urges Israel, Palestinians to end cycle of violence

WORLD

NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI THE head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has urged Israel and the Palestinians to find a political solution so violence like last month's hostilities over the Gaza Strip border might be prevented. On his first visit to Gaza in four years, Robert Mardini toured areas devasted by Israeli bombardments during the 11 days of fighting, including a road where 42 people were killed. "It is really heart-breaking to see and to hear about the people who paid the ultimate cost of this escalation - women, children, civilians who were living safely in their apartments…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Adviser frets about Japan Olympics, volunteers reported quitting

WORLD

ANTONI SLODKOWSKI and SAKURA MURAKAMI JAPAN’S most senior medical adviser said that hosting the Olympics during a pandemic was "not normal" while the media reported thousands of volunteers quitting in advance. Most Japanese oppose holding the Olympics - due to start on July 23 after postponement from last year - while doctors fear the event would strain a healthcare system seeing record numbers in critical condition and struggling to vaccinate the nation. In one of the strongest warnings yet, government medical adviser Shigeru Omi said organisers should explain to the public why they are going ahead. "It's not normal to…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Displaced by Israeli bombs, Gazans camp by rubble of their homes

WORLD

NIDAL Al-MUGHRABI TENTS have replaced some high-rises in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya, where heavy Israeli airstrikes left several families homeless and doubtful that rebuilding will start soon. Palestinians in the enclave have already received some pledges of financial help for reconstruction after 11 days of fighting. Egypt and Qatar, which helped to mediate a truce that started on Friday, each promised to allocate $500 million. In Beit Lahiya, children played among the wreckage of homes. Adults drank tea on broken furniture. Banners carried the names of the bereft homeowners. A sign bore the names of four children,…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Synagogue, mosque and church to join under one roof in Berlin

WORLD

A group of Muslims, Jews and Christians have joined to lay the foundation stone for a centre that will house places of worship for each religion in a symbol of interfaith dialogue in the German capital. Days after protests in Berlin over the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza, and at a time when politicians are warning of rising anti-Semitism in Germany, the "House of One" offers a beacon of hope for dialogue, said its founders. "It is important that dramatic world conflicts can be discussed in the German capital and that people have a stage to highlight problems…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Italian court condemned for ‘sexist stereotypes’ in gang rape case

WORLD

EMMA BATHA EUROPE's top rights court criticised an Italian court yesterday for "revictimising" a woman who said she had been gang-raped, accusing it of perpetuating "sexist stereotypes" that could undermine trust in the country's judicial system. The case concerned an appeal hearing in the city of Florence which led to the acquittal of six men previously convicted of attacking the student in a car after a party in 2008. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said language and arguments used by the appeals court "conveyed prejudices existing in Italian society regarding the role of women". In particular, it said…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Together Again’: ‘Russian Davos’ to go ahead in person with Putin, despite pandemic

WORLD

KATYA GOLUBKOVA and POLINA NIKOLSKAYA THOUSANDS of officials and executives will gather in person in St Petersburg this week - and President Vladimir Putin will give a speech - as the annual economic forum Moscow pitches as "the Russian Davos" returns despite the COVID-19 pandemic. For years, Russia has used the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to try to attract foreign investment, discuss economic policy and project an image that it is open for business. It was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but is back on, with the title "Together Again". A negative COVID-19 test is required…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

El Salvador court to free woman given 30 years for death of fetus

WORLD

A court in El Salvador has ordered the release of a young woman sentenced to 30 years in prison for homicide following the death of her unborn child in 2012, authorities said on Monday. Sara Rogel was arrested in October 2012 after going to a hospital with bleeding injuries caused by what she said was a fall while carrying out chores at home. Then a 22-year-old student, Rogel was prosecuted and sentenced for killing her unborn daughter. Salvadoran law applies one of the world's strictest bans on abortion with no exceptions made for rape, incest or when the mother's life…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Recipe for disaster’: COVID-19 spreads fear in India’s tea estates

WORLD

ANURADHA NAGARAJ WHEN Indian tea plantation worker Bholanath Natto and his wife tested positive for COVID-19 their biggest worry was not their health, but where they would quarantine and how they could get hold of food and drinking water without his wages. As some of the cities worst hit by India's COVID-19 crisis see a lull in new cases, infections are rising among millions of tea pickers - many of whom live in cramped living quarters where measures to curb the virus's spread are difficult to implement. The positive test result and hospital orders to quarantine have been a logistical…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Eight people killed in rail yard shooting in San Jose, California

WORLD

AT least eight people were killed when a transit employee opened fire at a light rail yard in San Jose, California, yesterday, the county sheriff's office said. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Davis said at a news conference the gunman was also dead. The gunman was a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) employee, he said. Davis said he could not say how the gunman died or whether police officers fired their weapons at the scene. The shooting took place just before 7 a.m. Pacific Time (1400 GMT) at a light rail yard run by the VTA near the…