WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

25

2021

Dutch police arrest alleged Asian drug syndicate kingpin

WORLD

ANTHONY DEUTSCH and TOM ALLARD DUTCH police have arrested the alleged leader of a large Asian drug syndicate who is listed as one of the world's most-wanted fugitives and has been compared to Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Tse Chi Lop, a Chinese-born Canadian national, was detained on Friday at the request of Australian police, who led an investigation that found his organisation dominates the $70 billion-a-year Asia-Pacific drug trade, Dutch police spokesman Thomas Aling said. Tse is expected to be extradited after appearing before a judge, Aling said, adding that his arrest by national police took place…

Sep

09

2021

By The African Mirror

World wary of Taliban government, Afghans urge action on rights and economy

WORLD

FOREIGN countries greeted the makeup of the new government in Afghanistan with caution and dismay after the Taliban appointed hardline veteran figures to top positions, including several with a U.S. bounty on their head. Small protests persisted in Afghanistan, with dozens of women taking to the streets of Kabul to demand representation in the new administration and for their rights to be protected. More broadly, people urged the new leaders to revive the Afghan economy, which is facing steep inflation, food shortages exacerbated by drought and the prospect of overseas investment disappearing as the outside world eyes the Taliban warily.…

Sep

09

2021

By The African Mirror

From Shanksville’s scorched woods, two arborists emerged as unsung heroes of 9/11

WORLD

JONATHAN ALLEN THE hemlock grove where United Airlines Flight 93 hurtled to the ground in rural Pennsylvania still haunts Mark Trautman and Ben Haupt 20 years later. Before the al Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001, the local arborists climbed trees only to take down branches. When the hijacked airliner slammed into the soil in a fiery explosion, turning the woods near Shanksville into a gruesome crime scene suspended above the ground, the two men would be called in for a task that transformed their lives. For nearly a week, they clambered through the blackened canopy garlanded with wreckage and…

Sep

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Seeking change, Slovak Roma settlement puts faith in Pope visit

WORLD

ROBERT MULLER FOR factory worker Milan Turtak, the smoke-blackened buildings, sidewalks littered with garbage and extension cords hooked between apartment windows highlight the poverty and years of neglect in his Roma neighbourhood in eastern Slovakia. With little improvement in the Lunik IX settlement over past decades, Turtak and others have pinned their hopes for change on a decision by Pope Francis to speak in the neighbourhood -- located near a garbage dump -- on his central European trip. "I am glad that the pope will come because if he did not, nothing would change here," Turtak, 71, told Reuters inside…

Jan

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Police arrest over 2,000 at Russia protests backing jailed Kremlin foe Navalny

WORLD

GABRIELLE TETRAULT-FARBER and TOM BALMFORTH POLICE detained more than 2,000 people and used force to break up rallies across Russia on Saturday as tens of thousands of protesters ignored extreme cold and police warnings to demand the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Navalny had called on his supporters to protest after being arrested last weekend as he returned to Russia from Germany for the first time since being poisoned with a nerve agent he says was slipped to him by state security agents in August. The authorities had warned people to stay away from Saturday's protests, saying they risked…

Jan

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Italy tells TikTok to block users after death of young girl

WORLD

CRISPIAN BALMER THE Italian data privacy watchdog has ordered video app TikTok to block the accounts of any users in Italy whose age it could not verify following the death of a 10-year-old girl who had been using the Chinese-owned app. In a statement, the regulator said that although TikTok had committed to ban registration for children aged under 13, it was nonetheless easy to circumvent this rule. As a result, it said TikTok had to block unverified user accounts until at least Feb. 15 awaiting further information. A spokeswoman for TikTok in Italy said the company was analysing the…

Jan

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Hong Kong locks down thousands for compulsory COVID-19 testing

WORLD

CLARE JIM HONG KONG's government locked down an area of Kowloon peninsula yesterday after an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, saying 10,000 residents must stay home until they have been tested and the results largely determined. The first such measure the city has taken since the pandemic began has occurred in the densely populated neighbourhoods of Jordan that is home to many ageing, subdivided flats in which the virus could spread more easily. The government said there are 70 buildings in the restricted area, which is close to the International Commerce Centre (ICC), and it aims to finish the process…

Jan

23

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. television legend Larry King dies at 87

WORLD

LARRY King, who quizzed thousands of world leaders, politicians and entertainers for CNN and other news outlets in a career spanning more than six decades, has died at age 87, CNN has reported, citing a source close to the family. King had been hospitalized in Los Angeles with a COVID-19 infection, according to several media reports. He had endured health problems for many years, including a near-fatal stroke in 2019 and diabetes. He had been hospitalized at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for more than a week, CNN reported. Millions watched King interview world leaders, entertainers and other…

Sep

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban name new Afghan government, interior minister on U.S. sanctions list

WORLD

THE Taliban has named Mullah Hasan Akhund, an associate of the movement's late founder Mullah Omar, as the head of Afghanistan's new government, with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the movement's political office, as deputy. Sarajuddin Haqqani, son of the founder of the Haqqani network, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, will be the new interior minister, the Taliban's main spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference in Kabul. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of Mullah Omar, has been named as defence minister. All the appointments are in an acting capacity, Mujahid told a news conference in…

Sep

08

2021

By The African Mirror

World’s top three Christian leaders in climate appeal ahead of U.N. summit

WORLD

PHILIP PULLELLA THE world's three main Christian leaders issued an unprecedented joint appeal to members of their Churches to "listen to the cry of the earth" and back action to stem the effects of climate change. In "A Joint Message for the Protection of Creation," Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew asked Christians to pray that world leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November make courageous choices. "We call on everyone, whatever their belief or world view, to endeavour to listen to the cry of the earth and…