WORLD - The African Mirror

Mar

11

2021

Myanmar security forces surround, arrest protesters; U.S. calls for withdrawal

WORLD

MYANMAR security forces fired tear gas and surrounded hundreds of anti-junta protesters at two places in Yangon yesterday, witnesses said, prompting the U.S. Embassy to call for their withdrawal. In New York, the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a statement that would have condemned the coup in Myanmar, called for restraint by the military and threatened to consider "further measures". Talks on the statement would likely continue, diplomats said, after China, Russia, India and Vietnam all suggested amendments late on Tuesday to a British draft, including removal of the reference to a coup and the threat to consider…

Mar

11

2021

By The African Mirror

Argentines march, seeking answers over Maradona’s death

WORLD

NICOLAS MISCULIN ARGENTINES took to the streets yesterday to demand what they say is justice for Diego Maradona after the soccer icon's death in November sparked investigations into how he died and whether there had been any negligence in his care. "He did not die, they killed him!," the organizers of the demonstration said in materials sent out on social media. "Justice for Diego. Trial and punishment of the guilty." The march will begin at 18:00 local time (2100 GMT) at the emblematic Obelisco monument in central Buenos Aires. Maradona, a World Cup winner with Argentina who is regarded as…

Mar

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Queen saddened by Harry and Meghan’s experiences

WORLD

MICHAEL HOLDEN QUEEN Elizabeth said yesterday that the British royals were saddened by the challenging experiences of her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan and promised to privately address revelations about a racist remark about their son. Meghan, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on U.S. television on Sunday, accused Britain's royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son Archie's skin might be and ignoring her pleas for help while she considered suicide. "The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,"…

Mar

10

2021

By The African Mirror

‘I want my rights’: The 80-year-old Lebanese musician fighting for a COVID-19 jab

WORLD

TIMOUR AZHARI AS a career musician who has played brass and wind instruments for most of his life, Joseph al-Hajj, 80, was particularly anxious to protect his most precious asset - his lungs - when the coronavirus swept into Lebanon last year. Hunkered down in his modest home in the mountains for months on end, Hajj said he pinned his hopes on the global race to develop a vaccine against the respiratory disease. So last month, when he saw lawmakers younger than himself jumping the vaccination queue, he felt impelled to fight for his right to be vaccinated - filing…

Mar

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Some Britons empathize with Meghan over racism

WORLD

BEN MAKORI and HANNA RANTALA OUT of the blizzard of media coverage of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's TV interview, the thing that stood out for young Londoner Binta Barr was that their son's skin colour had been discussed within the royal family before his birth. Meghan, who has a Black mother and a white father, said that when she was pregnant with Archie and living as a senior royal in Britain, there had been "concerns and conversations" about how dark her son's skin might be. "That was really hurtful to a lot of people to be honest, especially…

Mar

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Reactions to Prince Harry and Meghan’s TV interview with Oprah Winfrey

WORLD

PRINCE Harry and his wife Meghan late on Sunday gave their first major TV interview since stepping back from the British royal family a year ago. Following is a selection of reactions on social and mainstream media: REPUBLIC, CAMPAIGN GROUP FOR ABOLITION OF THE MONARCHY “The monarchy has just been hit by its worst crisis since the abdication in 1936. Whether for the sake of Britain or for the sake of the younger royals this rotten institution needs to go.” SERENA WILLIAMS, U.S. TENNIS PLAYER “Meghan Markle, my selfless friend, lives her life - and leads by example - with…

Mar

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Madam president? Most Americans think a woman could reach the White House by 2030

WORLD

SONIA ELKS MORE than 90% of Americans think the United States could have its first woman president within a decade, a poll has shown, as Vice-President Kamala Harris is increasingly tipped as favourite for the Democratic Party nomination in 2024. A Gallup poll conducted in 74 countries showed Americans were the most likely to say they thought a woman could lead their nation by 2030. The majority of respondents in only three countries - Mauritania, Belarus and Sri Lanka - said they did not expect to see a woman leader in the years ahead, found the poll conducted from 2019…

Mar

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Two protesters killed in Myanmar, shops and factories closed

WORLD

TWO demonstrators were killed by gunshot wounds to the head in Myanmar today, witnesses said, while shops, factories and banks were closed in the main city Yangon as part of the protests against the country's military rulers. Security forces were also deployed at hospitals and universities as part of efforts to enforce the law, state media said. It was not immediately clear who fired on the protesters in the northern town of Myitkyina, although both police and the military were at the scene, the witnesses said. Photos posted on Facebook showed the bodies of two men lying on the street.…

Mar

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Racist royals pushed me to brink of suicide – Meghan

WORLD

MICHAEL HOLDEN and GUY FAULCONBRIDGE MEGHAN, the wife of Prince Harry, accused the British royal family of racism, lying and pushing her to the brink of suicide, in an explosive televised interview that looks set to shake the monarchy to its core. The 39-year-old, whose mother is Black and father is white, said she had been naive before she married into the family in 2018, but that she ended up having suicidal thoughts and considering self harm after pleading for help but getting none. She added that her son Archie, now aged one, had been denied the title of prince…

Mar

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Not your bitch: Campaign against ‘sexist’ dictionaries moves to Italy

WORLD

UMBERTO BACCHI PUBLIC figures from writers to lawmakers have launched a campaign ahead of International Women's Day to change a leading Italian dictionary's "sexist" definition of a woman, which currently includes 30 different words for a sex worker. About 100 high-profile Italians signed a letter demanding changes to the Treccani online dictionary after a similar campaign forced the Oxford English dictionary to alter its definition last year. They argue that terms with negative connotations like "puttana" (whore) and "cagna" (bitch) should be dropped from a list of synonyms - and point out that the synonyms listed under "man" are broadly…