WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

26

2023

China tells U.S. to fix its own debt problems after Yellen Africa remarks

WORLD

AFTER U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called China a "barrier" to debt reform in Africa this week, Chinese officials in Zambia had a pointed response - get your own house in order. The Chinese Embassy in Zambia said on its website Tuesday "the biggest contribution that the U.S. can make to the debt issues outside the country is to act on responsible monetary policies, cope with its own debt problem, and stop sabotaging other sovereign countries' active efforts to solve their debt issues."Advertisement · Scroll to continue Republicans in the House of Representatives are using a risky, unusual threat to refuse to…

Jan

26

2023

By The African Mirror

Strong clan loyalty, locals, helped mafia boss Messina Denaro stay hidden

WORLD

ANGELO AMANTE and WLADIMIR PANTALEONE WHEN Salvatore Catalano discovered that mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro had lived just a short walk from his house in the western Sicilian town of Campobello di Mazara, he felt sick. Catalano's brother, Agostino, was a policeman who died in a 1992 bomb that killed anti-mob magistrate Paolo Borsellino - an attack that prosecutors say Messina Denaro helped mastermind. "There's anger in my heart and soul now that I know he was here and I didn't recognise him," Catalano told Reuters. Messina Denaro, 60, was arrested on Jan. 16 after 30 years on the run. Police believe…

Jan

25

2023

By The African Mirror

California reels from back-to-back shootings that killed 18

WORLD

TIM REID AND ALEXANDRA ULMER A deadly rampage by a 67-year-old suspect in Northern California was likely an act of workplace violence, authorities said, offering fresh details about the second in back-to-back mass shootings that killed 18 people and horrified the nation. The two shootings within three days have left the state of California reeling as investigators worked to identify the 11 people killed on Saturday at a Los Angeles-area dance hall and the seven killed on Monday in the seaside town of Half Moon Bay near San Francisco. Authorities were trying to determine the motives for both shootings. Officials said preliminary evidence indicated…

Jan

25

2023

By The African Mirror

Germany to approve sending heavy battle tanks to Ukraine

WORLD

ANDREAS RINKE and TOM BALMFORTH GERMANY will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other countries such as Poland to do the same to help Kyiv fight off Russia's invasion, while the United States may supply Abrams tanks, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. While there was no official confirmation from Berlin or Washington by late on Tuesday, officials in Kyiv swiftly hailed what they said was a potential game-changer on the battlefield in a war that is now 11 months old. "A few hundred tanks for our tank crews - the best tank crews in the world. This…

Jan

25

2023

By The African Mirror

Lebanese blast investigator charges former PM, top public prosecutor

WORLD

TIMOUR AZHARI and LAILA BASSAM THE judge probing the 2020 Beirut blast has charged Lebanon's top public prosecutor, the then-premier and other senior current and former officials in connection with the devastating explosion, judicial sources said and court summons show. Judge Tarek Bitar unexpectedly resumed an inquiry on Monday after it was paralysed for more than a year by political resistance and legal complaints filed by top officials he was seeking to question. The explosion on August 4, 2020 was caused by hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port in poor conditions since it was unloaded…

Jan

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Zelenskiy ally threatens jailings after high-profile graft allegations

WORLD

TOM BALMFORTH and OLENA HARMASH A top ally of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said corrupt officials would be "actively" jailed, setting out a zero-tolerance approach after the most high-profile graft allegations since Russia's invasion came to light. Ukraine has a long history of corruption and shaky governance, though there have been few examples since last year's invasion as Kyiv has fought back Russian forces and received Western financial and military support. On Sunday, anti-corruption police said they had detained the deputy infrastructure minister on suspicion of receiving a $400,000 kickback to facilitate the import of generators into wartime Ukraine last September. Separately, a newspaper…

Jan

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Pakistan begins restoring power after second major grid breakdown in months

WORLD

ASIF SHAHZAD PAKISTAN'S government began restoring power to millions of people after a breakdown in the grid triggered the worst electricity outage in months and highlighted the weak infrastructure of the heavily indebted nation. An inquiry has been launched into the outage, which began at around 7:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) and has so far lasted more than 12 hours during the peak winter season. As evening drew on and homes were without electricity in the dark, Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir wrote on Twitter that authorities had started restoring power across the country. Dastgir had told reporters earlier: "We have faced…

Jan

24

2023

By TIM REID

California police investigate motive in Asian dance hall massacre

WORLD

CALIFORNIA investigators scrambled to pin down why an elderly gunman killed 10 people in a Los Angeles-area dance hall popular with older patrons of Asian descent before fatally shooting himself hours later. Police identified 72-year-old Huu Can Tran as the suspect in Saturday night's massacre, which took place over the Lunar New Year, one of the most festive holidays in Asian cultures. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said on Sunday that "everything is on the table" in terms of motive for the shooting, which also wounded 10 others. "We don't know if this is specifically a hate crime defined…

Jan

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Ten dead in shooting near Los Angeles during Lunar New Year festivities

WORLD

JONATHAN ALLEN A man fatally shot 10 people and injured at least 10 others at a ballroom dance venue during a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration late on Saturday near Los Angeles before fleeing the scene, police said. The shooter, who was still at large nearly 11 hours after the attack in the city of Monterey Park, was believed to be an Asian man between 30 and 50 years old based on descriptions from eyewitnesses, law enforcement officials said. "We need to get this person off the street as soon as possible," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters…

Jan

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Putin ally says new weapons for Kyiv will lead to global catastrophe

WORLD

A close ally of President Vladimir Putin said that deliveries of offensive weapons to Kyiv that threaten Russia's territories will lead to a global catastrophe and make arguments against using weapons of mass destruction untenable. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Duma - Russia's lower house of parliament - warned that the United States and NATO's support of Ukraine is leading the world to a "terrible war". "If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that will be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories, as they threaten, this will lead to retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons,"…