WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

02

2021

‘We have to be remembered for what’s been done,’ says Trump

WORLD

JEFF MASON and DAVID MORGAN AFTER weeks of vowing to win his fight to remain in office, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a video looking back on what he called "historic victories" and said: "We have to be remembered for what's been done." Trump, who has yet to formally concede his November election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, posted the message on Twitter after returning to Washington early from his Florida resort amid a fight with Congress over a defence bill and coronavirus aid checks. Trump praised his administration's accomplishments, which he said included its handling of the coronavirus pandemic…

Jan

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Subdued Brazil New Year celebrations met with silence in COVID-19 ward

WORLD

LEONARDO BENASSATTO BRAZILIANS saw in 2021 with fireworks under unusual social distancing measures, while in a hospital intensive care ward outside Sao Paulo, doctors tending COVID-19 patients held one minute of silence for the passing of a deadly year. Medical staff stood at the foot of beds with people hooked up to ventilators, and then went around wishing their patients a happy New Year through face shields and masks. The sound of fireworks in the streets outside broke the monotony of whirring ventilators and beeping monitors. There was little to celebrate with 195,000 Brazilians losing their lives in the world's…

Jan

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Carlos do Carmo, the ‘Sinatra’ of Portugal’s fado, dies aged 81

WORLD

PORTUGUESE singer Carlos do Carmo, one of the country's most beloved artists who was known as the "Sinatra" of the soulful, melancholic fado music, died on Friday at the age of 81. Do Carmo, born in Lisbon in 1939, said goodbye to the stage last year after a long career during which he took fado around the world. He became the first Portuguese artist to receive a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. He died on the morning of New Year's Day at Lisbon's Santa Maria hospital after suffering an aortic aneurysm, Portuguese media reported. "Carlos do Carmo was…

Jan

12

2021

By The African Mirror

FBI warns of armed protests in all 50 US states

WORLD

MARK HOSENBALL THE FBI has warned of armed protests being planned for Washington and all 50 U.S. state capitals in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden's January 20 inauguration, a federal law enforcement source said. Threatened with more violence from outgoing President Donald Trump's supporters following last Wednesday's storming of the U.S. Capitol, the FBI issued warnings for next weekend that run at least until Inauguration Day, the source said. In other steps to safeguard the U.S. capital, the National Guard was authorized to send up to 15,000 troops to Washington, and tourists were barred from visiting the Washington Monument…

Jul

23

2022

By The African Mirror

Along Ukraine front, the villagers who didn’t leave are ghosts in the wasteland

WORLD

SERGIY CHALY MOST people have long since left the village of Mala Tokmachka, in Ukrainian-held territory a couple of kilometres from the frontline in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. But not Anna, a lanky, middle-aged, 25-year army veteran with close-cropped hair, who has no place to go. "I am a military person. My entire life I carried a pistol on my belt. Fear or no fear we must hold on," she told Reuters, explaining her decision to stay. "My husband also used to be in the military, but he is paralyzed. Where would I go with a paralyzed man?” Anna rattles…

Jul

23

2022

By The African Mirror

Near free public transport eases congestion on Germany’s roads

WORLD

TOM SIMS URBAN traffic congestion eased in the weeks after Germany made public transport almost free, data show, suggesting an experiment by Europe's largest economy to combat its addiction to cars may be having some success. Since the beginning of June, Germany has sold a monthly ticket for nine euros ($9.21) that is valid for unlimited trips on a vast swathe of its public transport network. The offer, which continues through August, was designed to take the sting out of soaring inflation and cut vehicle emissions. It was a bold move for the home of automakers BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen,…

Jul

23

2022

By The African Mirror

Prince Harry wins bid to challenge UK decision denying him police protection

WORLD

SACHIN RAVIKUMAR and FAROUQ SULEIMAN PRINCE Harry won permission to legally challenge a government decision that denied him police protection while in Britain. Harry, Queen Elizabeth's grandson, received the full police protection generally given to royal figures before he decided to step back from his royal duties and move to the United States with his wife Meghan in 2020. But the Home Office — the UK ministry responsible for policing, immigration and security — decided in February of that year that Harry would cease receiving personal police security while in Britain even if he were to cover the cost himself.…

Jan

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Crucial 24 hours for Trump as impeachment looms

WORLD

SUSAN CORNWELL and RICHARD COWAN THE U.S. House of Representatives expects to begin considering a second impeachment of Donald Trump tomorrow, a top Democrat has said after the president was formally accused of inciting insurrection ahead of last week's storming of the Capitol. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told his fellow Democrats the chamber would start the impeachment proceedings on Wednesday if Vice President Mike Pence does not respond to a request to invoke the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump from office, a House aide said. Passage would make Trump, a Republican, the only U.S. president…

Jul

22

2022

By The African Mirror

CIA director estimates 15,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war

WORLD

PHIL STEWART THE United States estimates that Russian casualties in Ukraine so far have reached around 15,000 killed and perhaps 45,000 wounded, CIA Director William Burns said , adding that Ukraine has also endured significant casualties. Nearly five months since President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Russia's neighbor, its forces are grinding through the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and occupy around a fifth of the contry. Burns, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, said those gains have come at great cost. "The latest estimates from the U.S. intelligence community would be something in the vicinity of…

Jul

22

2022

By The African Mirror

Mario Draghi resigns, plunging Italy into political turmoil

WORLD

CRISPIAN BALMER, GIUSEPPE FONTE and ANGELO AMANTE ITALY will hold a snap national election on September 25 after Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned following the collapse of his national unity government, sending tremors through financial markets. It will be the first autumn national election for more than a century in Italy, where the second half of the year is normally taken up with getting the budget law through parliament. It is likely to be a fractious campaign fought in the fierce summer heat in a drought-hit country. A bloc of conservative parties, led by the far-right Brothers of Italy, looks…