WORLD - The African Mirror

Feb

04

2021

Myanmar police file charges against Aung San Suu Kyi after coup

WORLD

MYANMAR police have filed charges against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment and she will be detained until February 15 for investigations, according to a police document. The move followed a military coup on Monday and the detention of Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi and other civilian politicians. The takeover cut short Myanmar's long transition to democracy and drew condemnation from the United States and other Western countries. A police request to a court detailing the accusations against Suu Kyi, 75, said six walkie-talkie radios had been found in a search of her home in…

Feb

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Russia accuses West of Navalny hysteria, Kremlin backs tough protest policing

WORLD

RUSSIA has accused the West of descending into hysteria over the jailing of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, and the Kremlin said police had been right to use force to break up protests over his imprisonment. A Moscow court on Tuesday sentenced the prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin to three and a half years for parole violations he said were trumped up to sideline him, ignoring calls from the West and protesters at home to release him. Navalny's supporters tried to gather to show support during the ruling and then took to the streets afterwards to protest it, prompting authorities…

Sep

03

2021

By The African Mirror

At least 44 reported dead in ‘historic’ flooding in New York, New Jersey

WORLD

MARIA CASPANI and KANISHKA SINGH FLASH flooding killed at least 44 people in four Northeastern states as remnants of Hurricane Ida unleashed torrential rains that swept away cars, submerged New York City subway lines and grounded airline flights, officials said on Thursday. Across large swaths https://graphics.reuters.com/STORM-IDA/RAINFALL/akvezzlbzpr of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, residents spent the day coping with water-logged basements, power outages, damaged roofs and calls for help from friends and family members stranded by flooding. At least 13 people lost their lives in New York City, along with three in suburban Westchester County. New Jersey Governor Phil…

Feb

04

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. Supreme Court scraps arguments in Trump-era immigration and wall cases

WORLD

LAWRENCE HURLEY THE U.S. Supreme Court yesterday cancelled upcoming scheduled arguments in appeals filed by Republican former President Donald Trump's administration defending his funding of the U.S.-Mexico border wall and his so-called "remain in Mexico" asylum policy. Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, which is in the process of changing course on both issues, on Monday had asked the justices to postpone further legal filings in the two cases and to remove them from their oral argument calendar. Biden's administration already has announced plans to discontinue wall construction and suspend the asylum program, potentially making the cases moot. The court was…

Sep

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Rebels hold out in Afghan valley as Taliban set up government in Kabul

WORLD

TALIBAN forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud fought in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, more than two weeks after the Islamist militia seized power, as Taliban leaders in the capital Kabul worked on forming a government. Panjshir is the last Afghan province resisting rule by the Taliban, whose overthrow of the Western-backed government as U.S. and other foreign troops withdrew after 20 years has left the country in chaos. Each side said it had inflicted heavy casualties. "We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and…

Sep

03

2021

By The African Mirror

“Our Mikis has gone”: ‘Zorba the Greek’ composer Theodorakis dies at 96

WORLD

MICHELE KAMBAS and GEORGE GEORGIOPOLOUS COMPOSER Mikis Theodorakis, whose life and music mirrored Greece's soul and crossed international boundaries in his captivating score for the film "Zorba the Greek", died on Thursday, plunging the country into three days of mourning. A towering man with a brooding presence and a shock of wavy hair, Theodorakis's work evoked a progressive, democratic vision of the world, though his political struggles reflected a darker side of Greece rarely seen by visitors. As news of his death at home in Athens at the age of 96 swept across the country of 11 million, authorities declared…

Sep

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban confront Afghan economy in turmoil, humanitarian crisis

WORLD

AFGHANISTAN’S new Taliban rulers struggled to keep the country functioning on Wednesday after the final withdrawal of U.S. forces, with foreign donors alarmed about an impending humanitarian crisis. Two weeks since the Taliban's sweep into the capital Kabul brought a chaotic end to 20 years of warfare, the Islamist militant group has yet to name a new government or reveal how they intend to govern. In an administrative vacuum, prices have soared and crowds have gathered at banks to withdraw cash. While heavily-armed fighters have imposed control on Kabul, Taliban officials were grappling with keeping banks, hospitals and government machinery…

Feb

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Suu Kyi’s party demands her release as Myanmar generals tighten grip

WORLD

THE party of Myanmar's detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called for her immediate release and for the miitary junta that seized power a day earlier to recognise her victory in an election in November. The Nobel Peace laureate's whereabouts remained unknown more than 24 hours after her arrest in a military takeover that derailed Myanmar's tentative progress towards full democracy. A senior official from her National League for Democracy (NLD) said he had learned she was in good health and was not being moved from the location where she was being held after the coup against her government.…

Sep

02

2021

By The African Mirror

France tells Iran to return to nuclear deal talks immediately

WORLD

FRANCE’S foreign minister told his newly-appointed Iranian counterpart in a telephone call that it was urgent for Tehran to return to nuclear negotiations immediately, the French foreign ministry has said in a statement. "The minister underlined the importance and the urgency of an immediate resumption of negotiations, interrupted by Iran since June," the foreign ministry said after the conversation between Jean-Yves Le Drian and Hossein Amirabdollahian. Le Drian expressed his concern with regard to all the nuclear activities carried out by Iran in violation of a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Iran has gradually violated limits in the agreement…

Feb

03

2021

By The African Mirror

New Donald Trump party?

WORLD

KATIE PAUL FAR-RIGHT backers of Donald Trump are drumming up support on social media for the idea of a "Patriot Party," using references to militia groups and promoting a mix of conspiracy theories, according to a study published yesterday. The online campaign for a proposed alternative to the Republican Party has heavily promoted "Stop the Steal" events throughout the country, including the violent siege of Capitol Hill on January 6, pushing the false claim that the former U.S. President lost November's election due to widespread fraud. Amid a rift with several Republican leaders over the Capitol riot, Trump has talked…