WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

02

2023

Lula takes over in Brazil, slams Bolsonaro’s anti-democratic threats

WORLD

ANTHONY BOADLE and GABRIEL STARGARDTER LUIZ Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as Brazil's president, delivering a searing indictment of far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro and vowing a drastic change of course to rescue a nation plagued by hunger, poverty and racism. In a speech to Congress after officially taking the reins of Latin America's biggest country, the leftist said democracy was the true winner of the October presidential vote when he ousted Bolsonaro in the most fraught election for a generation. Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the United States on Friday after refusing to concede defeat, rattled the…

Jan

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters dead at 74

WORLD

DANIEL TROTTA ANITA Pointer, one of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters whose string of pop, country and R&B hits in the 1970s and '80s included "I'm So Excited," "Jump (For My Love)" and "Fire," died of cancer on Saturday at age 74, her publicist said. Pointer was surrounded by family at her Beverly Hills home when she died, publicist Roger Neal said. Anita was the second oldest of four sisters who started performing as the duo of June and Bonnie in 1969 and soon became a trio when Anita quit her job as a secretary to join the group, according to…

Jan

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Driver and YouTube star Ken Block dies in snowmobile accident

WORLD

THE world of motorsport paid tribute to American Ken Block, the professional rally driver whose daring stunts made him an internet sensation, after his death aged 55 in a snowmobile accident. Block's Hoonigan Racing team confirmed his death in a statement on Instagram on Monday. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hoonigan Industries (@thehoonigans) "Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband. He will be incredibly missed," it said. The accident occurred in Utah's Wasatch County and the Sheriff's Office said that Block was riding on a steep slope…

Jan

03

2023

By The African Mirror

Four killed, three injured after choppers collide mid-air in Australia

WORLD

TWO helicopters collided in mid-air near a popular tourist attraction in Australia's Gold Coast region, killing four people and critically injuring three more, authorities said. Emergency services were called to the scene near the Sea World theme park at about 2 p.m. local time, Gary Worrell, acting inspector at the Queensland police, told a news briefing. Worrell said the two aircraft crash-landed after the collision. "As a result of that, four people have lost their lives today." The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it had launched an investigation into the accident. Thomson Reuters Foundation

Jan

03

2023

By The African Mirror

India’s Supreme Court upholds legality of 2016 demonetisation

WORLD

ARPAN CHATURVEDI INDIA'S Supreme Court upheld the legality of the government decision in 2016 to demonetise 86% of the country's cash in circulation, saying the decision was taken in consultation with the central bank and followed due process. A five-judge bench of the country's top court passed the verdict by a majority on a batch of petitions questioning the move. One out of the five judges wrote a dissenting opinion. "The...notification dated 8th November 2016 does not suffer from any flaws in the decision-making process," Justice B R Gavai, one of the four judges who agreed on the decision, said…

Dec

31

2022

By The African Mirror

In the ruins of east Ukraine, farmers won’t leave their animals

WORLD

HERBERT VILLARRAGA AS the sound of exploding artillery echoes in the distance, Senia, a big white bunny, twitches nervously in the arms of his owner. "He's afraid," explained the farmer, Yevhennia, stroking the rabbit. Here in Yampil, a crater-pocked frontline village in east Ukraine recaptured by Ukrainian forces at the end of September after months under Russian occupation, buildings lie in ruins and most people have left. But not Yevhennia and Ivan, who say they could not bear to abandon their rabbits, ducks, chickens and pigeons. It has not been easy. "We've always kept rabbits. But when (the missiles) started…

Dec

31

2022

By The African Mirror

Biden’s pardons show focus on easing drug punishments, and women’s rights

WORLD

TREVOR HUNNICUTT U.S. President Joe Biden pardoned six people who have already served time for crimes, including five convicted of drug or alcohol-related offences and a woman who killed her allegedly abusive husband nearly five decades ago. The latest pardons showed Biden nudging U.S. criminal justice policy away from the war-on-drugs ethos that he and other liberal lawmakers once championed. Now gearing up for a possible re-election bid in 2024, the Democratic president faces pressure to show progress on racial and criminal justice issues. The United States has less than 5% of the world's population but a fifth of its…

Dec

30

2022

By The African Mirror

Cambodian casino fire kills 19, dozens more feared dead

WORLD

KWANG JIRAPORN KUHAKAN AT least 19 people, many of them Thais, were killed and up to 30 were missing after a fire tore through a casino-hotel complex in a Cambodian town on the Thai border, officials said. About 400 employees and patrons were in the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet when the fire broke out around midnight, leaving the building charred and gutted by Thursday afternoon. Cambodian police said hundreds of military, police and volunteer rescue personnel had joined the rescue effort, which was suspended at nightfall given the risk the building might collapse.…

Dec

30

2022

By The African Mirror

Former Pope Benedict’s condition remains grave but stable

WORLD

FORMER Pope Benedict's condition remains "grave" but stable, the Vatican said, adding in a statement that he had rested well during the night and was lucid and aware. "The Pope Emeritus managed to rest well during the night, he is absolutely lucid and aware, and today, even though his condition remains grave, the situation is at the moment stable," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. "Pope Francis renews his request to pray for him and to accompany him in these difficult hours," Bruni said of the 95-year-old former pontiff. The statement, the second since Francis disclosed on Wednesday that his predecessor was…

Dec

30

2022

By The African Mirror

Bolivian police detain prominent opposition leader as tensions flare

WORLD

DANIEL RAMOS and ADAM JOURDAN BOLIVIAN police detained prominent opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho on charges of "terrorism", significantly escalating tensions between the national government and Camacho's base in the Santa Cruz region. Bolivia's state attorney's office confirmed the detention of 43-year-old Camacho, a lawyer and right-wing civic leader who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020 and is now governor of the affluent farming hub of Santa Cruz. The office said the arrest was connected to the toppling of former leftist president Evo Morales in 2019. An October arrest warrant accused Camacho of "terrorism" without giving more details. Camacho's communications…