WORLD - The African Mirror

Oct

17

2022

Turkey denies involvement with migrant incident at Greek border

WORLD

TURKEY denied involvement in an incident where Greece found 92 illegal migrants close to its northern border with Turkey, Turkish Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli said. "As you couldn't find one single case of a human rights violation by Turkey, you just seek to expose the image of your own cruelty as if Turkey did it," Catakli said on Twitter replying to a tweet by Notis Mitarachi, Greek Minister of Migration. Greek police said on Saturday that they have rescued a group of 92 migrants who were discovered naked and believed to have crossed into Greek territory from Turkey illegally. Catakli also…

Nov

03

2022

By The African Mirror

Putin: We could quit grain deal again, but would not block grain for Turkey

WORLD

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin reserved Russia's right to withdraw again from an international agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea, after ending four days of non-cooperation with the deal. If Russia did so, however, Putin said it would not impede shipments of grain from Ukraine to Turkey. Moscow had on Saturday pulled out of the arrangement, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, saying it could not guarantee the safety of civilian ships crossing the Black Sea because of a drone attack on its fleet there. Wednesday's U-turn followed a phone call between Putin and Turkish President Tayyip…

Oct

17

2022

By The African Mirror

Reactions to Xi’s speech opening China’s Communist Party Congress

WORLD

YEW LUN TIAN and MARTIN QUIN POLLARD HERE are some initial reactions to President Xi Jinping's speech on Sunday opening the 20th congress of China's ruling Communist Party, a week-long event where he is widely expected to win a third leadership term and cement his place as the country's most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong. JOHN DELURY, PROFESSOR OF CHINESE STUDIES, YONSEI UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, SEOUL "While Xi's tone was unapologetic, the speech came across as less expansive than five years ago (and thankfully much shorter). Instead of confidently entering his guaranteed second term, Xi at this Congress is entering uncharted waters…

Nov

03

2022

By The African Mirror

North Korea fires 23 missiles, one landing off South Korean coast for first time

WORLD

JOSH SMITH and SOO-HYANG CHOI NORTH Korea fired at least 23 missiles into the sea, including one that landed less than 60 km (40 miles) off South Korea's coast, which South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol described as "territorial encroachment" and Washington denounced as "reckless". It was the first time a ballistic missile had landed near the South's waters since the peninsula was divided in 1945, and the most missiles were fired by the North in a single day. South Korea issued rare air raid warnings and launched its own missiles in response. The launches came just hours after Pyongyang demanded that the…

Nov

03

2022

By The African Mirror

Videos showing Iranian crackdown on protesters go viral as anger grows

WORLD

VIDEOS on social media showing Iranian security forces severely beating protesters have gone viral as anger grows at a widening crackdown with arrests of prominent figures from rappers to economists and lawyers aimed at ending seven weeks of unrest. Protests ignited by the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini on September 16 after her arrest for inappropriate attire have shaken Iran's clerical establishment with people from all layers of society demanding wholesale political change. The nationwide demonstrations which have called for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are posing one of the boldest challenges to Iran's…

Oct

15

2022

By The African Mirror

Upcoming Russian nuclear exercises a challenge for the West

WORLD

PHIL STEWART WITH Russia expected to soon carry out large-scale drills of its nuclear forces as President Vladimir Putin threatens to use them, the United States and its allies will be challenged to ensure they can spot the difference between exercises and the real thing. Russia typically holds major annual nuclear exercises around this time of year, and U.S. and Western officials expect them perhaps in just days. They will likely include the test launch of ballistic missiles, U.S. officials say. But with Putin having openly threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia in its unraveling invasion of Ukraine, some…

Oct

15

2022

By The African Mirror

UK’s Truss sacrifices finance minister, scraps tax plan in fight to survive

WORLD

ELIZABETH PIPER, KATE HOLTON and ALISTAIR SMOUT BRITISH Prime Minister Liz Truss fired her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng and scrapped parts of their unpopular economic package in a desperate bid for political survival less than 40 days into her premiership. With financial markets in turmoil, a chastened Truss said she accepted her government's plans for unfunded tax cuts had gone "further and faster" than investors were expecting. "I have acted decisively today because my priority is ensuring our country's economic stability," she told a brief news conference in Downing Street. "I want to be honest, this is difficult. But we…

Oct

15

2022

By The African Mirror

Justice Dept. asks court to end arbiter’s review of Trump documents

WORLD

THE U.S. Justice Department asked an appeals court to end a third-party review of documents seized from Donald Trump's Florida home, arguing that a judge should not have appointed an independent arbiter as the former president battles a criminal investigation into his handling of sensitive government records. At issue is the appointment of a special master by the Florida-based federal judge presiding over Trump's legal effort to restrict access to documents seized by FBI agents during a court-approved Aug. 8 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. The Justice Department in its petition to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit…

Nov

02

2022

By The African Mirror

South Korea vows tough action, moving to quell anger over Halloween crush

WORLD

SOO-HYANG CHOI AND HYONHEE SHIN SOUTH Korea moved to calm public outrage over a Halloween party crush that killed more than 150 people, most of them young, promising a speedy and intensive inquiry and calling for tough new safety measures to prevent similar disasters. The death toll from the crush at a crowded Halloween street party on Saturday climbed to 156 with 151 injured, 29 of whom were in serious condition. At least 26 citizens from 14 countries were among the dead. Tens of thousands of revellers - many in their teens and twenties and dressed in costume - had crowded into…

Nov

02

2022

By The African Mirror

Brazil’s Bolsonaro to break silence and accept defeat, minister says

WORLD

RICARDO BRITO and BRIAN ELLSWORTH BRAZIL'S far-right President Jair Bolsonaro will not contest his electoral defeat and plans to address the nation later, his Communications Minister Fabio Faria told Reuters, as a growing number of political allies advised him to concede. Some of Bolsonaro's hardline supporters have called for military intervention to keep Bolsonaro in power and stop leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office. Pro-Bolsonaro truck drivers blocked federal highways. The presidential address may defuse the protests across Brazil by small groups of his supporters, which have begun to cause economic disruptions, drawing calls from the…