WORLD - The African Mirror

Oct

23

2022

Boris Johnson returns to UK in bid for rapid political comeback

WORLD

ANDREW MACASKILL and MUVIJA M BORIS Johnson returned to Britain as he considers an audacious attempt to win a second term as prime minister only weeks after he was forced to step down, with some colleagues warning his comeback could create more political chaos. Potential candidates to replace Prime Minister Liz Truss, who quit on Thursday after six weeks in office, were embarking on a frantic weekend of lobbying to secure enough nominations to enter the leadership contest before Monday's deadline. Johnson, who was on holiday in the Caribbean when Truss resigned, has not commented publicly about a bid for his old…

Oct

23

2022

By The African Mirror

China’s Xi further cements power as party congress closes

WORLD

YEW LUN TIAN and EDUARDO BAPTISTA CHINA'S ruling Communist Party wrapped up its twice-a-decade congress, cementing Xi Jinping's iron grip on power and revealing a new Central Committee missing two key officials lacking close ties to the leader. Xi, 69, is poised to clinch a third five-year leadership term as party general secretary, breaking with precedent and solidifying his place as China's most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong, the founding leader of the People's Republic. The new leadership will be unveiled at around noon (0400 GMT) on Sunday when Xi walks into a room of journalists at the Great Hall…

Oct

23

2022

By The African Mirror

U.S. appeals court temporarily blocks Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan

WORLD

ERIC BEECH and STEVE GORMAN A U.S. appeals court temporarily blocked President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in college student debt, one day after a judge dismissed a Republican-led lawsuit by six states challenging the loan-forgiveness program. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay barring the discharge of any student debt under the program until the court rules on the state's request for a longer-term injunction while Thursday's decision against them is appealed. The St. Louis-based appeals court also ordered an expedited briefing schedule on the matter. U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey in…

Oct

25

2022

By The African Mirror

Diwali delight for Indians as Rishi Sunak set to become UK PM

WORLD

KRISHNA N. DAS MANY Indians are delighted at the prospect of Rishi Sunak becoming the first person of Indian origin to become British prime minister, just as Hindus like him celebrated Diwali across the world on Monday. Sunak was set to take the top job after his rivals Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the race to replace Liz Truss as leader of the Conservative Party. Truss quit after a month and a half as her support evaporated and Sunak was poised to formally take over as prime minister later on Monday or Tuesday. Sunak's expected rise to the premiership had already…

Oct

25

2022

By The African Mirror

Trump is not ‘man enough’ to testify in Jan. 6 probe, Pelosi says

WORLD

RICHARD COWAN and KATHARINE JACKSON FORMER President Donald Trump is too much of a coward to obey a subpoena from the U.S. Congress compelling him to testify to a special committee investigating his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested. "I don't think he's man enough to show up. I don't think his lawyers will want him to show up because he has to testify under oath," Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC. "We'll see if he's man enough to show up," she added. On Friday, the select committee…

Oct

25

2022

By The African Mirror

Russian forces “preparing to work under radioactive contamination” – Moscow

WORLD

RUSSIA'S Defence Ministry said that it had prepared its forces to work in conditions of radioactive contamination after Moscow accused Ukraine of planning to detonate a "dirty bomb" - something Kyiv has strongly denied. After weeks of rising international tension following threats by President Vladimir Putin to defend Russia's "territorial integrity" with nuclear weapons, it was the first concrete statement from Moscow of a change in its forces' state of preparedness. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Western defence ministers on Sunday that Moscow believed Ukraine was preparing to detonate such a bomb - a device using conventional explosives packed with…

Jul

06

2022

By The African Mirror

Multiple Russian strikes kill at least two in Ukrainian city of Sloviansk – officials

WORLD

SIMON LEWIS RUSSIAN forces struck a market and a residential area in the city of Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine, killing at least two people and injuring seven, according to officials. A Reuters reporter on the scene saw yellow smoke billowing up from an auto supplies shop at the market, and flames engulfed rows of market stalls as firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze. It was not immediately clear what munitions had been used in the attack on the frontline city in the Donetsk region, or how many people had been at the market when it was hit. "Russians again deliberately…

Jul

06

2022

By The African Mirror

Suspect in Chicago July 4 parade attack bought rifle legally

WORLD

ERIC COX and BRENDAN O'BRIEN THE man accused of attacking an Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb bought his rifle legally, fired more than 70 rounds from a roof and dressed in women's clothing in order to blend into the fleeing crowds afterwards, local officials said. The suspect, 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, was taken into custody on Monday after surrendering to police, hours after the attack on the July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, in which six people were killed and more than 30 people were wounded. Officials said at a news briefing that he had planned…

Jul

06

2022

By The African Mirror

Belgium debates contentious prisoner swap treaty with Iran

WORLD

PHILIP BLENKINSOP BELGIAN lawmakers debated a prisoner exchange treaty with Tehran that an exiled Iranian group opposes and says will release the mastermind behind a plan to bomb one of its rallies. Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne urged the foreign relations committee of Belgium's lower house to back an accord that intelligence services believed could avert an increased threat against Belgian interests. "People's lives are at stake," the minister said, adding one threat that had materialised was the detention of a Belgian man in Iran since February. Many lawmakers spoke about the possibility of an exchange to secure the release…

Jul

05

2022

By The African Mirror

Ukrainians take up new positions as Putin proclaims victory in Luhansk

WORLD

TOM BALMFORTH and MAX HUNDER UKRAINIAN forces were taking up new defensive lines in the east, preparing for a hard new phase in the war as President Vladimir Putin proclaimed Russia's victory in the months-long battle of Luhansk. Russia's capture of the city of Lysychansk on Sunday brought an end to one of the biggest battles in Europe for generations, which saw Moscow bring the full might of its ground forces to bear on a small pocket of the front line for two months. The battle completes Russia's conquest of Luhansk province, one of two regions it has demanded Ukraine…