WORLD - The African Mirror

Aug

01

2021

In one-two punch to Trump, Justice Dept OK’s release of taxes, memo

WORLD

SARAH N. LYNCH FORMER President Donald Trump suffered twin setbacks when the Justice Department cleared the way to release his tax records and disclosed a memo showing he had urged top officials last year to falsely claim his election defeat was "corrupt." The department, reversing course from the stance it took when Trump was in office, told the Internal Revenue Service to provide the Republican businessman-turned-politician's tax records to congressional investigators - a move he has long fought. Trump was the first president in 40 years to not release his tax returns, as well as other documents, as he aimed…

Aug

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Israel blames Iran for attack on tanker off Oman that killed two

WORLD

LISA BARRINGTON, JONATHAN SAUL and DAN WILLIAMS A Briton and a Romanian were killed when an Israeli-managed petroleum product tanker came under attack off the coast of Oman, the company said, in an incident that Israel's foreign minister blamed on Iran and said deserved a harsh response. There were varying explanations for what happened to the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship, with Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime describing the incident as "suspected piracy" and a source at the Oman Maritime Security Center as an accident that occurred outside Omani territorial waters. Iran and Israel have traded accusations of attacking each other's…

Aug

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Delta variant rampant in Asia; Tokyo, Thailand, Malaysia post record COVID infections

WORLD

THE Olympics host city Tokyo, as well as Thailand and Malaysia, has announced record COVID-19 infections, mostly driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant of the disease. Cases surged in Sydney as well, where police cordoned off the central business district to prevent a protest against a strict lockdown that will last until the end of August. Police in Sydney closed train stations, banned taxis from dropping passengers off downtown and deployed 1,000 officers to set up checkpoints and to disperse groups. The government of New South Wales reported 210 new infections in Sydney and surrounding areas from the Delta…

Aug

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Iran warns of response if security threatened after ship attack

WORLD

IRAN will respond promptly to any threat against its security, a foreign ministry spokesman has said, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman. Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack on Thursday in which two crew members - a Briton and a Romanian - were killed. The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack on Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime. Britain summoned the Iranian ambassador on…

Aug

03

2021

By The African Mirror

FBI agent used photos of female office staff as bait in sex trafficking sting -report

WORLD

SARAH N LYNCH AN FBI agent faces potential disciplinary measures after an investigation by the Justice Department's internal watchdog revealed he allegedly asked a female support staffer to provide "provocative" photos of herself that he used as bait in an undercover sex-trafficking operation. In a memo on Monday, Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the investigation led his office to discover that the agent's conduct was not an isolated incident, and there were also other cases in which agents have asked female office staff to pose as minor children or sex workers in undercover operations. While their faces were blurred and…

Aug

03

2021

By The African Mirror

‘It means the world’: Families and friends reunite at UK’s Heathrow

WORLD

BEN MAKORI FAMILIES and friends were overjoyed at London's Heathrow Airport after a travel rule change meant they could reunite after 18 months of pandemic separation. "Very, very excited. It means the world," said Sue Blake, as she waited to greet her son, daughter-in-law and grandson who had flown in from New York and who she last saw two years ago. "It's a big chunk of his life and I'm so thrilled for him that he can come here," she said of the eight-year-old. Watching the hugs and tears in the arrivals hall, Heathrow's boss urged Britain to remove barriers…

Aug

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Iran denies involvement in attack on Israeli-managed tanker off Oman

WORLD

IRAN has said it was not involved in an attack on an Israeli-managed petroleum product tanker off the coast of Oman, referring to an incident last week that killed two and which Israel blamed on the Islamic Republic. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Tehran of "trying to shirk responsibility" for Thursday's incident and called its denial "cowardly". Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a weekly news conference that the "Zionist regime (Israel) has created insecurity, terror and violence...These accusations about Iran's involvement are condemned by Tehran." "Such accusations are meant by Israel to divert attention from facts and…

Aug

02

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. COVID-19 eviction ban expires, leaving renters at risk

WORLD

DAVID SHEPARDSON A pandemic-related U.S. government ban on residential evictions has expired, putting millions of American renters at risk of being forced from their homes. The expiration was a blow to President Joe Biden, who on Thursday made a last-ditch request to Congress to extend the moratorium, citing the raging Delta variant. On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives adjourned without reviewing the tenant protections after a Republican congressman blocked a bid to extend it by unanimous consent until Oct. 18. Democratic leaders said they lacked sufficient support to put the proposal to a formal vote. The U.S. Senate held…

Apr

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Anti-Asian racism: Why K-pop and U.S. stars speak up after shootings

WORLD

A fatal shooting in the United States this month of eight people, including six Asian-American women, has triggered calls to stop rising anti-Asian violence - with South Korea's K-pop stars, BTS, becoming the latest to speak up. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that such attacks, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, were "wrong, un-American, and must stop", as his administration announced new measures to counter the trend. Here's what you need to know about rising anti-Asian racism: Which celebrities have spoken out? K-pop sensation BTS, which dominated world music sales in 2020 with the year's top two best-selling albums, called…

Apr

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Lockerbie bomber’s family to appeal conviction to UK’s top court

WORLD

THE family of a Libyan man found guilty of the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing which killed 270 people will seek to appeal the conviction direct to Britain's top court after being refused permission by the Scottish Appeal Court, their lawyer said. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, an intelligence officer who died in 2012, was jailed for life in 2001 for the murder of 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 residents of the Scottish town of Lockerbie in the deadliest militant attack in British history. In January, the Court of Criminal Appeal in Scotland rejected an appeal brought by his family, who had…