WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

17

2022

Wildfires rage in France and Spain as heatwaves sear Europe

WORLD

LAYLI FOROUDI and SERGIO GONCALVES WILDFIRES raged in southwestern France and Spain, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe. More than 12,200 people had been evacuated from France's Gironde region by Saturday morning as more than 1,000 firefighters battled to bring the flames under control, regional authorities said in a statement. "We have a fire that will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilised," Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect for Langon in Gironde, told a news conference. Wildfires have torn through France in…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Democrats barreling toward impeaching Trump in wake of Capitol siege

WORLD

RICHARD COWAN and DAVID MORGAN DEMOCRATS in the U.S. House of Representatives plan to impeach Donald Trump today unless he steps down or is removed before then, after drawing up charges accusing him of inciting insurrection ahead of last week's siege of the Capitol. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told his fellow Democrats the chamber would take up impeachment today if Vice President Mike Pence does not invoke the U.S. Constitution's 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, a House aide said. Passage would make Trump, a Republican, the only U.S. president ever to be impeached twice. An impeachment would…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Toughening stance on China’s Xinjiang, Britain introduces new company rules

WORLD

SARAH YOUNG and ELIZABETH PIPER BRITAIN will introduce new rules for companies to try to prevent goods linked to China's Xinjiang region entering the supply chain, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Tuesday, toughening London's response to allegations of forced labour. Addressing parliament, Raab said there was harrowing evidence of forced labour among Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang after the United Nations estimated at least 1 million of the minority among others were held in an internment camp. Beijing denies the charges. Raab said Britain wanted to make sure it was free from any products that had links with Xinjiang, where…

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Russian woman united with baby after COVID-19 C-section and 51 days on life support

WORLD

A Russian woman who was admitted to hospital heavily pregnant and with what doctors said were potentially fatal levels of COVID-19 lung damage was reunited with her newborn baby after spending 51 days on a ventilator and giving birth by C-section. Oksana Shelomentseva was hospitalised in the Siberian city of Irkutsk in the 32nd week of her pregnancy, having had a high fever for three days. A scan showed catastrophic lung damage and that her unborn baby was not receiving enough oxygen. "My temperature rose to 38 degrees Celsius and I battled with it for three days, but it became…

Jan

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Biden plans ‘roughly a dozen’ Day One executive actions -aide

WORLD

TREVOR HUNNICUT U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will cap a busy day of inauguration pageantry by using the powers of his new office to push policy changes on housing, student loans, climate change and immigration, according to a top aide. Biden, who campaigned on a raft of promises to undo President Donald Trump's legacy even before the novel coronavirus pandemic walloped the nation, will unveil "roughly a dozen" previously promised executive actions on Wednesday, incoming Biden chief of staff Ron Klain said in a memo distributed to reporters. The actions to be taken on Wednesday include rejoining the Paris climate accords,…

Jan

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Quake death toll at 78 as Indonesia struggles with string of disasters

WORLD

STANLEY WIDIANTO and AGUSTINUS BEO DA COSTA AT least 78 people have been killed after an earthquake struck Indonesia's West Sulawesi province, the Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said, the latest in a string of disasters to hit the Southeast Asian country. In a statement, Basarnas confirmed 78 had died, 67 of whom were from the district of Mamuju and the rest from the district of Majene in West Sulawesi. More than 740 people were injured and over 27,800 left their homes after the 6.2 magnitude quake, the country's disaster mitigation agency separately (BNPB) said in a situation report. Some…

Jan

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Gunmen kill two female Supreme Court judges in Afghanistan

WORLD

ABDUL QADIR SEDIQI UNIDENTIFIED gunmen killed two female judges from Afghanistan's Supreme Court on Sunday morning, police said, adding to a wave of assassinations in Kabul and other cities while government and Taliban representatives have been holding peace talks in Qatar. The two judges, who have not yet been named, were killed and their driver wounded, in an attack at around 8:30 am, police said, adding the case was being investigated by security forces. A spokesman for the Taliban said its fighters were not involved. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement condemning attacks on civilians by the Taliban and…

Jan

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Judge calls Capitol siege ‘violent insurrection,’ orders man who wore horns held

WORLD

BRAD HEATH, SARAH N. LYNCH and JAN WOLFE A federal judge on Friday ordered a far-right conspiracy theorist who left an ominous note for Vice President Mike Pence inside the U.S. Capitol to be detained pending trial, saying he participated in a "violent insurrection." In U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Arizona, Magistrate Judge Deborah Fine ruled that Jacob Chansley, who was famously photographed inside the U.S. Senate Chamber wearing horns during the Capitol riots, should not be released from custody. Chansley, a Navy veteran and follower of QAnon, allegedly left a note for Pence warning: "It's only a matter of…

Jan

17

2021

By The African Mirror

EU eyes ‘Vaxproof’ document to revive travel, but concerns over vaccine hesitancy

WORLD

FRANCESCO GUARASCIO THE European Commission is working on a vaccine certificate, dubbed "Vaxproof", that could help restore cross-border travel, EU officials said, but the plan is dividing EU nations. The issue has been discussed for months but has led to no compromise because of fears over vaccine hesitancy and privacy. The EU executive Commission is working on a system for mutual recognition in all 27 EU countries of a certificate proving the holder has been vaccinated against the new coronavirus and therefore needs to undergo no tests on arrival to another country, according to two EU officials briefed on the…

Jan

17

2021

By The African Mirror

If I were president… From climate change to hunger, celebs state their priorities

WORLD

AS Democrat Joe Biden prepares for his inauguration as the next U.S. president on January 20, Reuters asked celebrities what would be the first thing they would do if they were elected a world leader. Their responses ranged from a focus on climate change to healthcare and social justice. Following is a selection of their responses, which have been edited for length and clarity: American actor George Clooney: "Get as many rapid (coronavirus) tests as we can possibly get that are incredibly accurate so that tomorrow, within the next six weeks, you could jam something up your nose like a…