WORLD - The African Mirror

Mar

01

2021

Myanmar court files another charge against Suu Kyi; protesters march again

WORLD

A Myanmar court filed another charge against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi today, a lawyer acting for her said, as protesters marched in defiance of a crackdown by security forces that killed at least 18 people the previous day. Suu Kyi looked healthy as she took part in a court hearing via video conferencing in the capital, Naypyitaw, though had perhaps lost some weight, and she asked to see her legal team, lawyer Min Min Soe told Reuters. The leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) has not been seen in public since her government was ousted in…

Mar

01

2021

By The African Mirror

At least 18 killed in Myanmar on bloodiest day of protests against coup

WORLD

MYANMAR police fired on protesters around the country yesterday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least 18 people were killed, the U.N. human rights office said. Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police. Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after being brought to a hospital with a bullet…

Mar

01

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. seeks to put Saudi crown prince in his place – for now

WORLD

AZIZ El YAAKOUBI and MARW RASHAD SAUDI Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have been spared direct punishment after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but he has not emerged unscathed. The declassified report, based on CIA intelligence, concludes that the prince approved an operation to "capture or kill" Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. President Joe Biden's decision to publish a report that his predecessor Donald Trump had set aside brings with it a broad refocusing of Washington's stance on dealing with the kingdom, on…

Mar

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Arrival of “sticky bombs” in Indian Kashmir sets off alarm bells

WORLD

FAYAZ BUKHARI and DEVJYOT GHOSHAL SECURITY forces battling a decades-long insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir are alarmed by the recent arrival in the disputed region of small, magnetic bombs that have wreaked havoc in Afghanistan. "Sticky bombs", which can be attached to vehicles and detonated remotely, have been seized during raids in recent months in the federally administered region of Jammu and Kashmir, three senior security officials told Reuters. "These are small IEDs and quite powerful," said Kashmir Valley police chief Vijay Kumar, referring to improvised explosive devices. "It will certainly impact the present security scenario as volume and frequency of…

Mar

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Colorado supermarket shooter kills 10, including police officer

WORLD

ALYSON McCLARAN and KEITH COFFMAN A gunman has opened fire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, killing 10 people, including the first police officer to arrive on the scene, before the bloodied suspect was arrested in the second deadly U.S. mass shooting in a week. 51-year-old policeman Eric Talley Police gave few immediate details of the latest shooting and no known motive for the violence, which unfolded at about 3 p.m. at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, a north-central Colorado city at the eastern foot of the Rockies, about 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Denver. Frantic shoppers…

Mar

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Salvadoran killed by lightning while training for Olympic qualifier

WORLD

El Salvadoran surfer Katherine Diaz has been killed after being struck by lightning while training for a qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics. The 22-year-old was struck just after entering the water on Friday at El Tunco Beach, about 10 miles (16km) south of capital San Salvador, local media reported. "Katherine embodied the joy and energy that make surfing so special and dear to us all, as a global ambassador of the sport," the International Surfing Association (ISA) said in one of many tributes posted on social media. Diaz had been preparing for the ISA World Surfing Games, which will…

Mar

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Australia battles worst floods in 60 years

WORLD

JILL GRALOW and RENJU JOSE AUSTRALIA is to evacuate thousands more people from suburbs in Sydney's west, battered by the worst flooding in 60 years, with torrential rains expected to continue for another day or two. Reuters images showed submerged intersections, marooned livestock and cars up to their windshields in water, out of which poked the tops of street signs, as three days of rain swelled rivers in the most populous state of New South Wales (NSW). "This is an ongoing situation that is evolving and is extremely dangerous," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament. Two major insurers said most…

Mar

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar protesters defiant as two more killed, pressure on junta grows

WORLD

DEMONSTRATORS in Myanmar maintained their dogged opposition to military rule yesterday despite a rising death toll, with two more people killed as the junta appeared equally determined to resist growing pressure to compromise. The country has been in turmoil since the military overthrew an elected government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, bringing an end to 10 years of tentative democratic reform. One man was shot dead and several were wounded when police opened fire on a group setting up a barricade in the central town of Monywa, a doctor there said as a…

Mar

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Biden, Harris condemn U.S. racism, sexism in blunt language

WORLD

ANDREA SHALAL PRESIDENT Joe Biden took aim on Sunday at the "ugly poisons" of "systemic racism and white supremacy" that he said had long plagued the United States, and vowed to change the laws that enabled continued discrimination. In blunt language, the Democratic president said the country faced problems with racism, xenophobia and nativism. Biden's statement followed similar sentiments from Vice President Kamala Harris, who detailed in Atlanta on Friday the U.S history of discrimination against Asian Americans. U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks after a meeting with Asian-American leaders to discuss "the ongoing attacks…

Mar

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Indonesian Muslim concerns over vaccine addressed

WORLD

ASTRAZENECA has given reassurances that its COVID-19 vaccine contains no pork-derived ingredients, countering an assertion in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, that the drug violates Islamic law. Indonesia's highest Muslim clerical council, the Indonesia Ulema Council, said on its website Friday that the vaccine is "haram" because the manufacturing process uses "trypsin from the pork pancreas." Still, the council approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use given the pandemic emergency. But AstraZeneca Indonesia director Rizman Abudaeri said in a statement: "At all stages of the production process, this virus vector vaccine does not use nor come in contact with…