WORLD - The African Mirror

Mar

08

2023

Artist moves into rubbish skip in protest at ‘crazy’ London costs

WORLD

NATALIE THOMAS AN artist has built a home in a rubbish skip in London and plans to live in it for a year, seeking to draw attention to the "crazy" price of renting a room in Britain's capital during a cost of living crisis. Harrison Marshall, 28, moved into the specially-adapted skip on a patch of grass in Bermondsey, south London a month ago, explaining that it was the only way he could afford to live in the central area near where he works. Returning to the city after a period abroad, he said he struggled to find somewhere to…

Feb

11

2023

By ALEXANDER TANAS

Moldovan government quits amid economic turmoil, Russia tensions

WORLD

MOLDOVA'S pro-Western government resigned on Friday after a turbulent 18 months in power marked by economic turmoil and the spillover effects of Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine. President Maia Sandu accepted Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita's resignation and nominated 48-year-old presidential aide and former interior minister Dorin Recean to replace her. Recean, who is expected to quickly win parliamentary approval, said he would press on with Moldova's bid to join the European Union and revive the economy. "The new government will have three priorities: Order and discipline, a new life and economy, and peace and stability," Recean, a defence adviser to…

Feb

11

2023

By The African Mirror

U.S. may target Chinese entities linked to spy balloon

WORLD

HUMEYRA PAMUK, MICHAEL MARTINA and PATRICIA ZENGERLE THE United States will explore taking action against entities connected to China's military that supported the flight of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said. Washington is confident that the manufacturer of the Chinese balloon, shot down by the U.S. military last weekend off the U.S. East Coast, has a "direct relationship" with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the official said in a statement. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre echoed the notion that Washington would look at taking action, but the U.S. government has not…

Feb

17

2023

By The African Mirror

Rescues dwindle in Turkey after earthquake, giving way to grief and anger

WORLD

SUHAIB SALEM and ALI KUCUKGOCMEN A teenage girl was pulled alive from the rubble in Turkey more than 10 days after a devastating earthquake hit the region, but such rescues have become increasingly rare, leaving anger to smoulder as hope dies. The 17-year-old was extracted from the ruins of a collapsed apartment bloc in Turkey's southeastern Kahramanmaras province, broadcaster TRT Haber reported, 248 hours since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the dead of night on February 6. Footage showed her being carried away on a stretcher covered with a gold-coloured thermal blanket while an emergency worker held an intravenous…

Feb

17

2023

By The African Mirror

China sanctions Lockheed Martin, Raytheon over Taiwan arms sales

WORLD

CHINA put Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon Technologies on an "unreliable entities list" over arms sales to Taiwan, banning them from imports and exports related to China in its latest sanctions against the U.S. companies. The measures come amid heightened tensions after the U.S. military shot down what it says was a Chinese spy balloon, and a day after Beijing warned of "countermeasures against relevant U.S. entities that undermine China's sovereignty and security". Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Missile and Defense Corp, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp, are prohibited from "engaging in import and export activities related to…

Feb

10

2023

By UMIT BEKTAS, MEHMET CALISKAN and KHALIL ASHAWI

Hope for more survivors fades as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll passes 20,000

WORLD

COLD, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 20,000. The rescue of a 2-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities. The death toll across both countries has now surpassed the more than 17,000 killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful quake hit northwest…

Feb

17

2023

By The African Mirror

As re-election bid looms, Biden, 80, undergoes physical exam

WORLD

JEFF MASON and STEVE HOLLAND U.S. President Joe Biden, 80, headed into a closely watched physical examination morning ahead of an expected announcement that he is seeking a second four-year term. Biden's session with doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive exam since taking office in January 2021. Biden entered the hospital for an exam expected to last about three hours. The White House was expected to release details of the exam's findings later on Thursday. His last physical and colonoscopy, in November 2021, showed the president to be…

Mar

06

2023

By The African Mirror

Thousands protest in Athens after Greece’s deadly train crash

WORLD

CLASHES erupted briefly between police and a group of demonstrators in central Athens on the fringes of a protest by thousands of students and railway workers over Greece's deadliest train crash in living memory. A small group of protesters hurled petrol bombs at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. The protesters then disperse to nearby streets. At least 57 people were killed and dozens were injured on Tuesday when a passenger train with more than 350 people on board collided with a freight train on the same track in central Greece. After protests over the past three…

Mar

06

2023

By The African Mirror

Israelis rally again against government’s judicial overhaul

WORLD

EMILY ROSE TENS of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Israeli cities for the ninth straight week to fight a government plan to overhaul the country's court system. Saturday night's demonstrations in Tel Aviv and other locations began peacefully. However, footage released by police later showed protesters breaking down barriers in Tel Aviv and igniting fires as they blocked roads. Police sprayed water cannons at the protesters. "I came to demonstrate against the regime revolution, which the Israeli government forced upon us," 53-year-old history teacher Ronen Cohen told Reuters. "I hope that this huge demonstration will effect and…

Feb

10

2023

By The African Mirror

FBI says Chinese balloon analysis effort is in early stages

WORLD

THE FBI has only recovered very limited physical evidence from a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down into the ocean on Saturday, and it has not yet been able to get enough information to assess its capabilities, senior bureau officials familiar with the operation said. "It's very early for us in this process, and the evidence that has been recovered and brought to the FBI is extremely limited," one of the officials told reporters in a briefing about its role in processing the wreckage of the balloon. Officials said the FBI still did not have access to the majority of…