WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

21

2020

Floods kill scores in India, nine rhinos drown

WORLD

ZARIR HUSSAIN INTENSE rain and floods in the Indian state of Assam have killed at least 84 people and displaced more than 2.75 million since May, authorities have said , as they tried to collect the bodies of nine rare rhinos drowned in the past 10 days. Rescue teams were facing a double challenge of rising floodwaters amid the novel coronavirus as villagers driven from their homes huddled in shelters. "It's hard to enforce social distancing when people are being ordered to move away from the rising waters," said Sanghamitra Sanyal, a member of the northeastern state's flood management force.…

Jul

20

2020

By The African Mirror

‘This can’t go on’: U.S. workers plan nationwide strike to protest racial injustice

WORLD

NELLIE PEYTON FAST-FOOD, nursing home, airport and other frontline workers across the United States are planning a mass strike on Monday to protest systemic racism and inadequate protections for Black people against coronavirus. The Strike for Black Lives is expected to draw tens of thousands of workers in over 25 U.S. cities, according to a coalition of national labor unions and social justice groups that have organized it. Some workers will strike all day and others will walk off their jobs for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time that a white police officer knelt on the neck…

Jul

19

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Ugly face’: U.S. and China trade barbs in Myanmar as South China Sea rift deepens

WORLD

CHINA's embassy in Myanmar has accused the United States of "outrageously smearing" the country and driving a wedge with its Southeast Asian neighbours over the contested South China Sea and Hong Kong, as tensions mount between the superpowers. Responding to the U.S. claims Beijing was undermining the sovereignty of its neighbours, the Chinese embassy said U.S. agencies abroad were doing "disgusting things" to contain China and had shown a "selfish, hypocritical, contemptible, and ugly face". The United States last week hardened its position on the South China Sea, saying it would back countries in the region that challenge Beijing's claim…

Aug

09

2020

By The African Mirror

Lebanese protesters storm ministry buildings, TV shows, as Beirut blast protests grow

WORLD

MICHAEL GEORGY LEBANESE protesters have stormed government ministries in Beirut and trashed the offices of the Association of Lebanese Banks, TV footage showed, as shots were fired in growing protests over this week's devastating explosion. A policeman was killed during the clashes, a spokesman said. A policeman at the scene said the officer died when he fell into an elevator shaft in a nearby building after being chased by protesters. The Red Cross said it had treated 117 people for injuries on the scene while another 55 were taken to hospital. A fire broke out in central Martyrs' Square. Dozens…

Aug

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Death toll from Indian passenger aircraft accident rises to 18

WORLD

FAVAS JALLA and JOSE DEVASIA THE death toll from an Indian passenger aircraft accident has risen to 18, while 16 people have been severely injured, a senior government official said on Saturday. The Air India Express plane, which was repatriating Indians stranded in Dubai due to the coronavirus pandemic, overshot the runway of the Calicut International Airport in heavy rain near the southern city of Kozhikode on Friday. This was India's worst passenger aircraft accident since 2010. The flight was carrying 190 passengers and crew. The plane's pilot and the co-pilot were killed in the accident, K Gopalakrishnan, chief of…

Aug

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Lebanon sees possible ‘external interference’ in port blast

WORLD

MICHAEL GEORGE and ELLEN FRANCIS LEBANON's president says its investigation into the biggest blast in Beirut's history would examine whether it was caused by a bomb or other external interference, as residents sought to rebuild shattered homes and lives. Rescuers sifted rubble in a race to find anyone still alive after Tuesday's port explosion that killed 154 people, injured 5,000, destroyed a swathe of the Mediterranean city and sent seismic shockwaves around the region. "The cause has not been determined yet. There is a possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act," President Michel Aoun told…

Aug

07

2020

By The African Mirror

At least 15 dead as Indian COVID repatriation flight crashes on landing

WORLD

AT least 15 people were killed and dozens injured when an Air India Express passenger plane overshot the runway and broke into two after landing in the southern city of Calicut in heavy rain, officials said. The Boeing-737 flight from Dubai was flying home Indians stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic. There were 190 passengers and crew on board, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement. Among them were 10 infants. Television footage showed rescue workers moving around the wreckage in pouring rain. The aircraft lay split into at least two chunks after he plane's fuselage sheared apart…

Aug

07

2020

By The African Mirror

Lebanon detains 16 in probe of Beirut port blast

WORLD

LEBANESE authorities have taken into custody 16 individuals as part of an investigation into the Beirut port warehouse explosion that shook the capital, according to state news agency NNA. It quoted Judge Fadi Akiki, a government representative at the military court, as saying authorities had so far questioned more than 18 port and customs officials and individuals responsible for or involved in maintenance work at the warehouse housing highly explosive material that blew up. "Sixteen people have been taken into custody as part of the investigation," NNA quoted Akiki as saying, without naming the individuals. He said the investigation was…

Aug

07

2020

By The African Mirror

Beirut’s accidental cargo: how an unscheduled port visit led to disaster

WORLD

MARIA VASILYEVA THE chemicals that went up in flames in Beirut's deadliest peace-time explosion arrived in the Lebanese capital seven years ago on a leaky Russian-leased cargo ship that, according to its captain, should never have stopped there. "They were being greedy," said Boris Prokoshev, who was captain of the Rhosus in 2013 when he says the owner told him to make an unscheduled stop in Lebanon to pick up extra cargo. Prokoshev said the ship was carrying 2,750 tonnes of a highly combustible chemical from Georgia to Mozambique when the order came to divert to Beirut on its way…

Aug

07

2020

By The African Mirror

Countries rally round Lebanon after Beirut blast

WORLD

COUNTRIES and international organisations have lined up to help Lebanon after a massive warehouse explosion sent a blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 145 people and injuring nearly 5,000. Below are details of some of the international assistance offered. BANGLADESH - Emergency food, medical supplies and a medical team. BRITAIN - A 5 million pound ($6.6 million) aid package including search and rescue help and expert medical support. The Royal Navy's HMS ENTERPRISE will help asses damage at Beirut port. CYPRUS - Two helicopters, 10 rescuers and eight rescue dogs. The Cypriot foreign minister said Nicosia had chartered a…