WORLD - The African Mirror

Nov

10

2022

Biden White House cheers ‘red ripple’ as Republicans underperform midterm forecasts

WORLD

TREVOR HUNNICUTT and JEFF MASON U.S. President Joe Biden, who declared optimism about the midterm elections this week despite opinion polls predicting Republican wins, had reason to feel vindicated morning even though his Democrats could still lose control of Congress. Republicans may eke out a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate was still up for grabs with key races in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada undecided. But that was all part of better-than-expected news for the White House. Democrats bucked dire forecasts in national races, clinched governors' races in states seen as crucial to the next election in 2024,…

Nov

10

2022

By The African Mirror

Russia abandons Ukrainian city of Kherson in major retreat

WORLD

MARK TREVELYAN RUSSIAN Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops to withdraw from the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson and take up defensive lines on the opposite bank of the River Dnipro. The announcement marked one of Russia's most significant retreats and a potential turning point in the war, now nearing the end of its ninth month. In televised comments, General Sergei Surovikin, in overall command of the war, reported to Shoigu that it was no longer possible to keep Kherson city supplied. "Having comprehensively assessed the current situation, it is proposed to take up defence along the left (eastern)…

Nov

10

2022

By The African Mirror

China’s Guangzhou brings back mass testing to fight city’s worst COVID outbreak

WORLD

LIZ LEE and BERNARD ORR MILLIONS of residents of China's southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou were told on Wednesday to get tested for COVID-19, as infections topped two thousand for two days running in the city's worst outbreak so far. As local cases across China reached their highest level since April 30, authorities announced on social media that five districts representing more than half of Guangzhou's population of almost 19 million would need to undergo mass testing. The latest round of mass testing in Guangzhou comes as China battles a rebound in infections in several economically vital cities, including the…

Nov

09

2022

By The African Mirror

COP27: Hosts launch plan to help poorest adapt to climate change

WORLD

GLORIA DICKIE, SIMON JESSOP and VALERIE VOLCOVICI The hosts of the COP27 climate talks launched a global plan to help the world's poorest communities withstand the impacts of global warming. Unveiling the Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, named after the Egyptian resort where the talks are being held, the plan sets out 30 goals to hit by the end of the decade to enhance the lives of 4 billion people. The hope is that by setting targets across themes including food and agriculture, water and nature, and coastlines and oceans, the public and private sectors will work with common goals and accelerate adaptation…

Nov

09

2022

By The African Mirror

U.S. voters decide control of Congress, and Biden’s agenda, in midterms

WORLD

JOSEPH AX AMERICANS cast the final ballots in closely fought elections that will determine whether Democrats lose control of Congress, and with it the ability to push forward on President Joe Biden's agenda in the next two years. The party that controls the White House typically loses seats in midterm elections. Polls suggest Tuesday's results will be no exception, as concerns about high inflation and crime, as highlighted by Republicans, outweigh warnings from Democrats about the end of national abortion rights and the violent January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 House of Representatives seats are on the ballot. Republicans are widely…

Nov

09

2022

By The African Mirror

Colorado police officers charged with leaving handcuffed woman in car struck by train

WORLD

KEITH COFFMAN TWO Colorado police officers were charged with leaving a handcuffed woman in a patrol car parked on railroad tracks, where it was struck by a freight train, seriously injuring her. The woman was charged with felony menacing over an alleged road-rage incident that led to her arrest in a traffic stop, the Weld County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, 20, was accused of brandishing a handgun at another motorist near the town of Platteville, about 40 miles north of Denver, on the night of September 16, according to police. Officers from multiple agencies responded…

Oct

21

2022

By The African Mirror

Georgia man, 80, arrested at U.S. Capitol with guns in his van

WORLD

AN 80-year-old Georgia man illegally parked on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, saying he wanted to deliver documents to the Supreme Court, was arrested after three guns were found in his van, police said. Tony Payne of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, was taken into custody on three weapons-related charges, the U.S. Capitol Police said in a written statement. Two passengers in the van were detained but not arrested. Capitol Police officers spotted the white van parked illegally near the U.S. Supreme Court building at around 3:45 p.m. EST. When they approached, the three occupants said they had come…

Oct

21

2022

By The African Mirror

Brazil’s furriest police corporal becomes internet sensation

WORLD

A rescue dog turned police mascot has become one of Brazil's most beloved furry internet sensations. Dubbed "Corporal Oliveira," the dog was taken in by Rio police officer Cristiano Oliveira, who found him in 2019 near his police station abandoned, injured and hungry. The dog - decked out in a police uniform with a toy gun strapped in and sunglasses - has become the official mascot of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police's 17th batallion, patrolling alongside his officer and running beside motorbikes. "I took a coat, a police shirt and put it on him as a joke. I took…

Nov

08

2022

By The African Mirror

COP27: We’re on a highway to climate hell, U.N. boss says

WORLD

VALERIE VOLCOVICI and SIMON JESSOP UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told countries gathered at the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt they face a stark choice: work together now to cut emissions or condemn future generations to climate catastrophe. The speech set an urgent tone as governments sit down for two weeks of talks on how to avert the worst of climate change, even as they are distracted by Russia’s war in Ukraine, rampant consumer inflation and energy shortages. "Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Guterres told delegates gathered in the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. He called for a pact between…

Nov

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy: Heavy Russian losses in the east

WORLD

RUSSIA is suffering heavy losses in continuing "fierce" attacks in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and is preparing new assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. "Very fierce Russian attacks on Donetsk region are continuing. The enemy is suffering serious losses there," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. Zelenskiy said he believed Russia was "concentrating forces and means for a possible repetition of mass attacks on our infrastructure, energy in the first instance". Thomson Reuters Foundation