WORLD - The African Mirror

Apr

11

2023

US warship sails near manmade Chinese-controlled isle

WORLD

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near one of the most important man-made and Chinese-controlled islands in the South China Sea, in a freedom of navigation mission that Beijing denounced as illegal. While the United States frequently makes such voyages to challenge China and other states' territorial claims in the strategic waterway, the latest one took place as Beijing staged more war games around Taiwan. The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said the USS Milius engaged in "normal operations" within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, once a reef submerged at high tide and where China has built an airport and other…

Apr

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Dalai Lama apologizes after video asking boy to ‘suck my tongue’

WORLD

THE Dalai Lama, the Tibetans' 87-year-old spiritual leader, apologised after footage showed him asking a young boy to "suck my tongue" at a public event. "A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked his Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug," said a statement on the exiled leader's Twitter account, which has 19 million followers. "His Holiness wishes to apologise to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused." The statement said the Dalai…

Apr

04

2023

By The African Mirror

New York plans for Trump surrender with barricades, courtroom closings

WORLD

JONATHAN ALLEN and KAREN FREIFELD NEW York City police have thrown up metal barriers around Trump Tower and blocked roads near Manhattan Criminal Courthouse as they brace for potential protests ahead of Donald Trump's expected to surrender to prosecutors on Tuesday. The former president is due to be arraigned at the courthouse Tuesday afternoon, after his indictment in a grand jury probe over hush money paid to a porn star. He is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Trump describes the probe as a political witch hunt, and top supporters, including Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, say they will go…

Apr

05

2023

By The African Mirror

Trump pleads not guilty to 34 criminal charges in New York

WORLD

"Not guilty," Trump, 76, said when asked how he pleaded. He said nothing as he entered the courtroom or when he left roughly an hour later. Trump previously called the charges politically motivated. He was due to return to Florida and deliver remarks from his Mar-a-Lago resort at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday (0015 GMT on Wednesday), his office said. Taken together, the charges carry a maximum sentence of more than 100 years in prison under New York law but an actual prison sentence, if he is convicted at a trial, would almost certainly be far less than that. While falsifying…

Apr

05

2023

By The African Mirror

Stormy Daniels: Woman at center of Trump indictment is porn star turned ghostbuster

WORLD

JULIA HARTE ADULT film star Stormy Daniels has built a lucrative business empire around her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with former President Donald Trump and earned legions of fans for her breezy retorts to those who cast her as an immoral woman. Her popularity and profits appeared to get a boost with the news of Trump's indictment on Thursday in a case involving a $130,000 hush payment she received in the waning days of his 2016 election campaign. "Thank you to everyone for your support and love!" she posted on Twitter after news of the criminal charges broke. "#Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are…

Apr

10

2023

By The African Mirror

China simulates striking Taiwan on second day of drills

WORLD

YIMOU LEE and BEN BLANCHARD CHINA'S military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan in a second day of drills around the island, with the island's defence ministry reporting multiple air force sorties and that it was monitoring China's missile forces. China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, began three days of military exercises around the island on Saturday, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United States. Chinese state television reported that the combat readiness patrols and drills around Taiwan were continuing. "Under the unified command of the theatre joint operations command centre,…

Apr

05

2023

By LUC COHEN

Timeline of Donald Trump-Stormy Daniels hush money case

WORLD

DONALD Trump was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's office following an investigation related to hush money payments to a porn star who has said she had a sexual relationship with him, a law enforcement source said, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Below is a timeline of events leading up to the charges: JANUARY 2018The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in October 2016 to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has consistently denied having an affair with…

Apr

10

2023

By The African Mirror

‘It was heartbreaking’: Ukraine children back home after alleged deportation

WORLD

ANNA DABROWSKA MORE than 30 children were reunited with their families in Ukraine this weekend after a long operation to bring them back home from Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea, where they had been taken from areas occupied by Russian forces during the war. Mothers hugged sons and daughters as they crossed the border from Belarus into Ukraine on Friday after a complex rescue mission involving travel across four countries. Dasha Rakk, a 13-year-old girl, said she and her twin sister had agreed to leave the Russian-occupied city of Kherson last year because of the war and go to a holiday…

Apr

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Vladlen Tatarsky: Who was Russian blogger killed in bomb explosion in St Petersburg cafe?

WORLD

RUSSIAN military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe in which some 30 other people were wounded. Here's what we know so far. WHO WAS TATARSKY? Tatarsky – real name Maxim Fomin - was among the best-known members of an influential group of military bloggers who have provided a running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Although frequently scathing about the defence establishment, they have been enthusiastic cheerleaders for the war and avoided direct criticism of President Vladimir Putin. Tatarsky, 40, was among those who publicly demanded that Russia pursue the war even…

Apr

10

2023

By The African Mirror

Texas governor seeks pardon of man convicted of murder in Black Lives Matter shooting

WORLD

RICH MCKAY TEXAS Governor Greg Abbott said that he is seeking the pardon of an Uber driver convicted of murder a day earlier in the July 2020 shooting death of a man at a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Austin, the state capital. Abbott, in a post on Twitter, said he will pardon Daniel Perry, 37, a U.S. Army sergeant, as soon as a request from the parole board "hits my desk." The Republican governor noted that he can grant pardons only on the recommendation of the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles, but that he is allowed to…