WORLD - The African Mirror

Apr

16

2022

Paris suburb feels little love for either presidential candidate

WORLD

LAYLI FOROUDI and LEA GUEDJ BOXING coach Kab Thiam has voted in a French election twice: in 2002 to block the far right's Jean-Marie Le Pen from power and again last Sunday for the hard left's presidential candidate. Now, though, with his favourite Jean-Luc Melenchon out, the 39-year-old does not plan to vote in the April 24 runoff. He finds both aspirants, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, daughter of Jean-Marie, distasteful. "Macron and Le Pen share the same ideas," Thiam said, between sparring with a young boxer at the Mohamed Ali gym in Bobigny, an ethnically-diverse northern…

Mar

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar security forces shoot dead 13 anti-coup protesters

WORLD

MYANMAR security forces opened fire on protests against military rule yesterday, killing at least 13 people, witnesses and media reported, a day after neighbouring countries called for restraint and offered to help Myanmar resolve the crisis. The security forces resorted to live fire with little warning in several towns and cities, witnesses said, as the junta appeared more determined than ever to stamp out protests against the February 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. "It's horrific, it's a massacre. No words can describe the situation and our feelings," youth activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told…

Mar

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Democrats urge Biden to revert to Obama-era Cuba detente

WORLD

SARAH MARSH EIGHTY U.S. House of Representatives Democrats urged President Joe Biden on Tuesday to repeal Donald Trump's "cruel" sanctions on Cuba and renew engagement, an early sign of support in Congress for easing the clamp-down on the Communist-run country. In a letter to Biden seen by Reuters they urged the Democratic president to sign an executive order "without delay" to end restrictions on travel and remittances, noting that well over half of Cubans depend on the latter. "With the stroke of a pen, you can assist struggling Cuban families and promote a more constructive approach," they said. The letter…

Mar

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Grandmother (75) punches against Parkinson’s

WORLD

DONNING shiny gloves and purple sneakers, 75-year-old Nancy Van Der Stracten hops into the boxing ring and starts punching in a fight against severe symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Six years after her diagnosis, the Belgian woman who lives in Turkey discovered the benefits of non-contact boxing by chance while researching the disease. Ever since, she has been perfecting her punching by going to a gym three times a week. "It does not stop your Parkinson's. Parkinson's is a degenerative disease. It never stops but you can...slow it down," Van Der Stracten said at a gym in the Mediterranean province of…

Mar

03

2021

By The African Mirror

No breakthrough on Myanmar crisis at Southeast Asian summit

WORLD

TOM ALLARD A summit of Southeast Asian states held yesterday to discuss the coup in Myanmar failed to find a breakthrough to get the nation back on the path to democracy after last month's military takeover, sources with knowledge of the meeting said. Speaking after foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ended their virtual meeting, Indonesia's chief envoy Retno Marsudi urged the junta to allow the bloc to resolve escalating tensions. "It takes two to tango," she said after the meeting. "ASEAN's good intentions and readiness will be meaningless if Myanmar does not open its door."…

Mar

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Tobacco exporter faces slavery charges in landmark Brazil case

WORLD

FABIO TEIXEIRA A large Brazilian tobacco exporter has been charged with using slave labour in the country's first government action against a tobacco company for conditions on a farm, labour inspectors have disclosed. Nine workers, of whom five were children aged from nine to 16, were rescued last week from a farm in Venancio Aires in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul that had an exclusive contract with CTA Continental Tobaccos Alliance. Labour inspectors said the workers were found living in poor conditions at the farm where they were paid less than a third of Brazil's minimum wage.…

Mar

03

2021

By The African Mirror

UK’s Prince Philip remains in hospital after two weeks

WORLD

BRITAIN’S Prince Philip continues to receive treatment and undergoing heart tests, two weeks after the 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth was admitted to hospital in London as a precaution after he felt unwell. Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was transferred on Monday from the private King Edward VII hospital to St Bartholomew's Hospital, which is a centre of excellence for cardiac care, for tests for a pre-existing heart condition and treatment for an unspecified infection which is not COVID-related. His 14-night stay in hospital is the longest he has needed treatment, although Buckingham Palace has said he is comfortable and…

Mar

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Former French president Sarkozy guilty of corruption, sentenced

WORLD

TANGI SALAUN A French court found former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of trying to bribe a judge and influence-peddling today and sentenced him to three years in prison, a stunning fall from grace for a man who led France and strode the world stage for five years. However, he may not spend any time in prison. Two years of the sentence were suspended, and the presiding judge said she would accept allowing him to be tagged with an electronic bracelet outside of prison for the remaining year. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, is the second head of…

Mar

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Khashoggi’s fiancée says Saudi crown prince should be punished “without delay”

WORLD

THE fiancée of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi called yesterday for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to be punished after a U.S. intelligence report found he had approved the killing. Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post criticising Saudi policies, was killed and dismembered by a team linked to the crown prince in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. A U.S. intelligence report has found the prince had approved the killing, and Washington imposed sanctions on some of those involved - but not Prince Mohammed himself. The Saudi government, which has denied any involvement by the…

Mar

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar court files more charges against Suu Kyi, police crack down on protests

WORLD

MYANMAR'S ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared at a court hearing via video conferencing yesterday as supporters marched in several towns and cities in defiance of a crackdown after the bloodiest day since the February 1 military coup. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters in the main city of Yangon on Monday, witnesses said. They later combed through side streets firing rubber bullets and at least one person was hurt, media reported. Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing In an evening address on state television, army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing…