WORLD - The African Mirror

Dec

15

2020

John le Carre, author of ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’, dies aged 89

WORLD

GUY FAULCONBRIDGE “TINKER Tailor Soldier Spy" author John le Carre, who cast flawed spies on to the bleak chessboard of Cold War rivalry, has died aged 89. David Cornwell, known to the world as John le Carre, died after a short illness in Cornwall, southwestern England, on Saturday evening. He is survived by his wife, Jane, and four sons. The family said in a brief statement he died of pneumonia. "Very sad to hear the news about John le Carre," said Richard Moore, the chief of Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence agency. "A giant of literature who left his mark on…

Dec

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Explosives-laden boat hits fuel ship at Saudi port, ministry says

WORLD

A fuel transport ship anchored at a Jeddah terminal was attacked by an explosive-laden boat, after shipping firm Hafnia said that one of its oil tankers, the BW Rhine, had been hit by an unidentified "external source", the Saudi Arabian government has announced. A Saudi energy ministry spokesman, in a statement carried on state media, did not mention the name of the vessel or identify who was behind the attack. Hafnia said there was an explosion and a fire while the BW Rhine was discharging at Jeddah port. The ship's crew put out the fire and no-one was injured, it…

Dec

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Traffickers, smugglers exploiting COVID-19, Interpol warns after global crackdown

WORLD

KIERAN GUILBERT DOZENS of suspected victims of human trafficking were rescued and more than 200 people arrested in a global crackdown on smuggling and trafficking networks, Interpol has announced. The recent week-long operation involved authorities from 32 nations across several continents and led to the identification of 3,500 irregular migrants, the global police agency said. About 100 potential trafficking victims were found and helped in Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Spain and Uruguay as part of Operation Turquesa II, Interpol said. The operation highlighted how the coronavirus pandemic has left a rising number of people vulnerable to trafficking worldwide,…

Dec

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Brazil rolls out COVID-19 vaccination plan

WORLD

SABRINA VALLE THE Brazilian government has unveiled its long-awaited national vaccination plan against COVID-19 with an initial goal of vaccinating 51 million people, or about one-fourth of the population, in the first half of 2021. In a document sent to the Supreme Court, which had given the government a deadline to draw up the plan, the Health Ministry said 108 million doses will be available for priority vaccination of vulnerable groups that include health workers, elderly people and indigenous communities. The plan says 70% of the population - or about 148 million of Brazil's 212 million people - need to…

Dec

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Trump castigates Supreme Court, Barr as election challenges sputter

WORLD

JEFF MASON PRESIDENT Donald Trump has lambasted the Supreme Court for declining to take a case he hoped would overturn President-elect Joe Biden's election victory and called Attorney General William Barr a "disappointment." The nation's high court has rejected an unprecedented lawsuit by Texas seeking to throw out voting results from four states. The decision comes ahead of a meeting by the U.S. Electoral College today to make Biden's victory official. Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede despite losing to Biden. The Democratic former vice president won 306 votes to Trump's 232 in the state-by-state Electoral College, which allots…

Sep

30

2021

By The African Mirror

British army to start driving tankers, fuel queues persist

WORLD

GUY FAULCONBRIDGE and MICHAEL HOLDEN BRITAIN has ordered soldiers to start driving fuel tankers to replenish empty pumps, as motorists remained mired in queues after nearly a week of shortages, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying the situation was improving. Britain has been gripped by a rush of panic buying that has left pumps dry across major cities, after oil companies warned they did not have enough tanker drivers to move petrol and diesel from refineries to filling stations. Opponents blame the crisis on government incompetence and its unyielding approach to Brexit, which has blocked hauliers from hiring drivers from…

Sep

30

2021

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE: Afghan central bank drained dollar stockpile before Kabul fell

WORLD

JOHN O’DONNEL and RUPAM JAIN The Afghan central bank ran down most of its U.S. dollar cash reserves in the weeks before the Taliban took control of the country, according to an assessment prepared for Afghanistan's international donors, exacerbating the current economic crisis. The confidential, two-page brief, written early this month by senior international economic officials for institutions including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said the country's severe cash shortage began before the Taliban took control of Kabul. It criticised how the central bank's former leadership handled the crisis in the months before the Taliban's conquest, including decisions…

Sep

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Hong Kong legislature passes controversial anti-doxxing privacy bill

WORLD

PARK YIU HONG KONG’S legislature has passed a privacy law tackling "doxxing" - the public release of information identifying an individual or organisation - that critics say could be used to protect those in power and target civil society. Supporters say the legislation was long overdue to counter a problem festering since the city's 2019 mass pro-democracy protests. Some officers' home addresses and children's schools were exposed by anti-government protesters, leading to threats. But some technology companies are concerned the legislation is so broad and vague that it could hamper operations in Hong Kong. Human rights and pro-democracy groups fear…

Dec

13

2020

By The African Mirror

Declare states of ‘climate emergency,’ U.N. chief tells world leaders

WORLD

MATTHEW GREEN and KATE ABNETT WORLD leaders should declare states of "climate emergency" in their countries to spur action to avoid catastrophic global warming, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in opening remarks to a climate summit. More than 70 world leaders were due to address the one-day virtual gathering aimed at building momentum for much steeper cuts in planet-warming emissions on the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris climate accord. "Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?" Guterres said via video. "That is why today, I call on all leaders worldwide to declare a State of…

Sep

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Accused Georgia spa shooter pleads not guilty to four murder charges

WORLD

RICH McKAY A Georgia man has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder and other charges stemming from a shooting massacre at Atlanta-area day spas in March, for which the prosecutor is seeking the death penalty. An attorney for Robert Aaron Long, 22, entered his plea at a brief hearing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville in Atlanta. Long is accused of killing a total of eight people, most of them of Asian descent, at three spas in or near Atlanta. He pleaded guilty in July to four of the slayings in Cherokee County. The attacks in…