WORLD - The African Mirror

Nov

24

2020

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong detained for illegal assembly

WORLD

JESSIE PANG and JOYCE ZHOU HONG Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to charges of organising and inciting an unauthorised assembly near the police headquarters during last year's anti-government protests. Wong, who was just 17 years old when he became the face of the 2014 student-led Umbrella Movement democracy protests, faces a maximum three-year jail term. The sentence will be delivered by December 2 at 2.30 p.m. (1830 GMT) Before being taken away by security staff, Wong shouted "Everyone hang in there! Add oil" in the courtroom, using a popular Cantonese expression of…

Nov

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Afghanistan conference to set aid cuts, conditions amid war, pandemic

WORLD

AFGHANISTAN faces funding cuts and tighter restrictions on vital aid from an international donor conference this week, marking further challenges for a nation torn by two decades of war and now ravaged by COVID-19. Ministers from about 70 countries and officials of humanitarian organisations, at the virtual conference hosted in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday, are expected to pledge billions of dollars to safeguard development projects, with talks between the Afghan government and Taliban rebels stalled and President Trump sharply reducing U.S. forces in the country. Although the fragile economy depends heavily on foreign aid, Kabul will see cuts in…

Nov

23

2020

By The African Mirror

France demands Pakistan rectifies Macron Nazi jibe

WORLD

FRANCE’S foreign ministry has demanded Pakistan authorities withdraw comments made by one of its ministers that President Emmanuel Macon was treating Muslims like Nazis had treated Jews in World War 2. The comments posted on Twitter by Pakistan's Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Saturday came as part of a clash between Pakistan and France over the publication of images of the Prophet Mohammad by a French magazine. The images have sparked anger and protests in the Muslim world, especially in Pakistan. "Macron is doing to Muslims what the Nazis did to the Jews - Muslim children will…

Nov

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Biden to name first Cabinet picks, plans scaled-down inauguration

WORLD

DOINA CHIACU U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will announce the first of his Cabinet appointments on Tuesday and is planning for a scaled-down inauguration due to the coronavirus pandemic, aides have said, as he lays the foundation for his new administration despite President Donald Trump's refusal to concede. Since Biden, a Democrat, was declared the winner of the November 3 election two weeks ago, the Republican president has launched a barrage of lawsuits and mounted a pressure campaign to prevent state officials from certifying their vote totals, suffering another emphatic legal setback on Saturday in Pennsylvania. Ron Klain, Biden's choice as…

Nov

22

2020

By The African Mirror

G20 to discuss post-pandemic world, back debt relief

WORLD

JAN STRUPCZEWSKI LEADERS of the 20 biggest world economies (G20) will debate this weekend how to deal with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic that has caused a global recession and how to manage the recovery once the coronavirus is under control. High on the agenda are purchases and global distribution of vaccines, drugs and tests for low-income countries that cannot afford such expenses themselves. The European Union will urge the G20 on Saturday to invest $4.5 billion to help. "The main theme will be to step up global cooperation to address the pandemic," said a senior G20 official taking part in…

Nov

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Uprooted by war, Armenians face bleak winter in schools and sanatorium

WORLD

UMBERTO BACCHI SHELTERING in chilly school buildings and mountain sanatoriums, thousands of Armenians are bracing for a harsh winter after being driven from their homes by six weeks of fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. About 90,000 ethnic Armenians fled the mountainous enclave with the little they could take during the short war with Azerbaijan that ended with a Russian-brokered peace deal earlier this month, according to the United Nations. As temperatures fall, some people want to return to the area, but widespread damage and unexploded ordnance means many could be stuck for months in temporary accommodation - either with relatives…

Nov

21

2020

By The African Mirror

Travel writer and trans pioneer Jan Morris dies aged 94

WORLD

HUGOI GREENHALGH TRAVEL writer and transgender pioneer Jan Morris, who as a journalist broke the 1953 news of Edmund Hillary's conquest of Everest, has died at the age of 94. Her son Twm Morys in a statement on Friday said: "This morning at 11.40 at Ysbyty Bryn Beryl, on the Llyn, the author and traveller Jan Morris began her greatest journey. She leaves behind on the shore her life-long partner, Elizabeth." Morris, who first published under the name James, switched to Jan after undergoing gender reassignment in 1972 and was the author of more than three dozen books. She ranked…

Nov

21

2020

By The African Mirror

China says has given $2.1 bln of debt relief to poor countries

WORLD

CHINA has extended debt relief to developing countries worth a combined $2.1 billion under the G20 framework, the highest among the group's members in terms of the amount deferred, the country's Finance Minister Liu Kun has announced. Liu's comments come as African countries, hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic, face another debt crisis, and will need more long-term help than the latest G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) offers them to ward off trouble ahead and keep much-needed investments coming in. The China International Development Cooperation Agency, the country's aid agency, and the Export-Import Bank of China, the official bilateral creditors,…

Nov

21

2020

By The African Mirror

Chances narrow of Trump overturning Biden’s win after Georgia recount

WORLD

TREVOR HUNNICAUTT and JOSEPH AX PRESIDENT Donald Trump's quixotic bid to overturn the November 3 election results was dealt another blow when a recount confirmed he had lost Georgia, while the winner, President-elect Joe Biden, filled more jobs in his incoming U.S. administration. Biden, a Democrat, is preparing to take office on January 20, but Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede and is searching for a way to invalidate or overturn the results in a number of states, claiming widespread voter fraud. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger poured more cold water on the Trump campaign's effort when he…

Nov

20

2020

By The African Mirror

Escape from the city? Londoners lead Europe in COVID-inspired dreams of flight

WORLD

MORE than 40% of people in large European cities have considered moving away due to the new coronavirus pandemic, a survey has shown, with Londoners most prone to dreaming of living in a smaller town with better access to parks and other amenities. Half of urban dwellers in London, Paris, Milan, Madrid and Berlin said lockdowns had made them more concerned about overcrowding and air pollution, according to the poll by British engineering firm Arup. "The pandemic has brought home the way in which our living environments can be disrupted," said Arup's urban design leader Malcolm Smith, adding people have…