WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

19

2021

Saudis vowed to stop executing minors; some death sentences remain

WORLD

RAYA JALABI FIVE people who committed crimes in Saudi Arabia as minors have yet to have their death sentences revoked, according to two rights groups, nine months after the kingdom's Human Rights Commission (HRC) announced an end to capital punishment for juvenile offenders. The state-backed HRC in April cited a March royal decree by King Salman stipulating that individuals sentenced to death for crimes committed while minors will no longer face execution and would instead serve prison terms of up to 10 years in juvenile detention centers. The statement did not specify a timeline, but in October, in response to…

Jan

18

2021

By The African Mirror

US brace for pro-Trump protests at state buildings

WORLD

BRENDAN O’BRIEN and RICH McKAY US law enforcement officials have battened down statehouses across the country in anticipation of potentially violent protests by Trump supporters who believe the baseless claim that electoral fraud robbed the president of a second term. More than a dozen states have activated National Guard troops to help secure their capitol buildings following an FBI warning of armed protests, with right-wing extremists emboldened by the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6. Security officials have eyed Sunday as the first major flashpoint, as that is when the anti-government "boogaloo" movement made plans…

Jan

18

2021

By The African Mirror

“Are you detaining me?” Navalny flies home, and straight into trouble

WORLD

POLINA IVANOVA POBEDA flight DP936 was a few minutes into its descent towards Moscow's Vnukovo airport, where thousands of supporters of poisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were waiting to meet him on his return to Russia, when the flight captain said he could not land as planned. There were "technical difficulties", he said, before adding, audibly amused: "Instead we will calmly make our way to Sheremetyevo airport ... where the weather is great!" It was the first sign to those on board that Navalny's return from Berlin, where he had been treated since August after being attacked in Russia with…

Jul

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Trump blasts “left-wing cultural revolution” at Mount Rushmore

WORLD

JEFF MASON US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Friday railed against "angry mobs" that tried to tear down statues of Confederate leaders and other historical figures, warning thousands of supporters at Mount Rushmore that protesters were trying to erase U.S. history. On a day when seven U.S. states posted a record number of new COVID-19 cases, the pandemic reached Trump's inner circle. Kimberly Guilfoyle, a senior campaign official and the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., tested positive in South Dakota before the event, according to Sergio Gor, a Trump campaign official. Trump Jr. has tested negative, Gor said. The event drew…

Jul

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Coronavirus spike: The cities facing a second lockdown

WORLD

SONIA ELKS As people in many cities slowly emerge from months-long lockdowns into something more like normal life, others are facing fresh clampdowns as spikes in new coronavirus cases prompt fears over a second wave of infections. Cities from Beijing to Leicester have announced second lockdowns in response to rises in cases after restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the disease were lifted. More than 10 million people have been infected and 500,000 killed by the virus since it first emerged late last year, with the World Health Organization warning this week that the worst of the pandemic is yet to…

Jul

03

2020

By The African Mirror

Epstein accusers welcome Maxwell’s arrest

WORLD

WOMEN who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual assault and their attorneys welcomed the arrest of his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was charged with helping him find victims, as an opportunity for justice after Epstein's death. "Today, my fellow Epstein survivors and I are able to take a breath of relief, as Maxwell's arrest means some justice for survivors can exist," said Jennifer Araoz, who has accused Maxwell of helping traffic her for Epstein. "Day after day, I have waited for the news that Maxwell would be arrested and held accountable for her actions. Her arrest is a step in…

Jul

02

2020

By The African Mirror

U.S. governors retract reopening plans as states reel from resurgent coronavirus

WORLD

PETER SZEKELY and SHARON BERNSTEIN GOVERNORS of U.S. states hit hardest by the resurgent coronavirus moved to halt or reverse steps to reopen their economies on Wednesday, led by California, the nation's most populous state and a new epicenter of the pandemic. The moves came as a Reuters/Ipsos poll found Americans increasingly worried about the spread of COVID-19, the serious and sometimes fatal illness caused by coronavirus. "The spread of this virus continues at a rate that is particularly concerning," California Governor Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat, said in ordering the closure of bars, bans on indoor dining at restaurants…

Jul

01

2020

By The African Mirror

Inside the struggle in China’s ‘Little Africa’

WORLD

DAVID KIRTON MOHAMMED has spent several weeks sleeping in his cramped trading booth in one of Guangzhou's export centres after being kicked out of his apartment and forced into quarantine in April, but the Tanzanian trader says he is content to be in China. As Africans in the Chinese metropolis were targeted that month in a coronavirus clampdown that sparked a diplomatic backlash, Guangzhou's Xiaobei neighbourhood - known as "Little Africa" - went into lockdown. Like many in the community, including those who were evicted from their dwellings, Mohammed said he is trying to return to normal life now that…

Jun

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Nobel winners call for coronavirus vaccines to be available for all

WORLD

DARNELL CHRISTIE Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu and actor George Clooney are among more than 100 people who have signed an appeal for COVID-19 vaccines to be declared a global common good and made widely available. The appeal is led by the founder of the microcredit movement Muhammad Yunus, also a Nobel peace prize winner, who said some pharmaceutical companies had declared vaccines would be provided to rich countries in Europe and the United States first. "What happens to the rest of the world? It's as if the rest of the world will be forgotten," said the founder of the…

Jun

29

2020

By The African Mirror

UN launches sexual misconduct probe after incriminating car video emerges

WORLD

ANNIE SLEMROD and BEN PARKER THE UN says it is investigating a possible case of sexual misconduct by staff after a video surfaced of a woman straddling a man in a car with UN markings in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The 18-second video, filmed at night from a building alongside a busy road, shows a female figure in red moving astride a man in casual clothing on the back seat of a Toyota 4x4 vehicle. Another man is visible in the front passenger seat. The driver cannot be seen. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told The New Humanitarian that…