WORLD - The African Mirror

Sep

02

2021

Singapore PM wins more defamation suits against bloggers

WORLD

SINGAPORE’S high court has ordered two bloggers to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a combined S$210,000 ($155,994) in damages, over an article about the home of his late father and the city-state's modern-day founder, Lee Kuan Yew. The premier sued writer Rubaashini Shunmuganathan and editor Xu Yuan Chen, also known as Terry Xu, over an August 2019 article on The Online Citizen (TOC) that included references to a Lee family disagreement about what to do with the property. Judge Audrey Lim said the article "impugned Lee's reputation and character" by alleging he was dishonest. "This struck at the heart…

Feb

03

2021

By The African Mirror

UK’s special centenarian Captain Tom Moore dies

WORLD

GUY FAULCONBRIDGE and MICHAEL HOLDEN CAPTAIN Tom Moore, the British World War Two veteran who raised millions of pounds for health service workers on the frontline of the battle against the coronavirus, has died aged 100 after contracting COVID-19, his family has announced. Moore struck a chord with locked-down Britain by walking around his garden with the help of a frame to raise 38.9 million pounds ($53 million) for the National Health Service. His endeavour and wit spread joy amid the grim news of the coronavirus outbreak: Moore's message to the world was that the sun would shine again and…

Sep

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban hail victory with gunfire after last U.S. troops leave Afghanistan

WORLD

CELEBRATORY gunfire resounded across the Afghan capital as the Taliban took control of the airport following the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, marking the end of a 20-year war that left the Islamist group stronger than it was in 2001. Shaky video footage distributed by the Taliban showed fighters entering the airport after the last U.S. troops flew out on a C-17 aircraft a minute before midnight, ending a hasty and humiliating exit for Washington and its NATO allies. "It is a historical day and a historical moment," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference at the airport…

Sep

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Chinese teens vent at new gaming limits as investors weigh impact on industry

WORLD

BRENDA GOH YOUNG Chinese gamers took to social media to express their outrage at new rules that limit their gaming time to just three hours per week, while investors fretted about the long-term impact on the industry. Authorities argue the restrictions are necessary to stop growing gaming addiction and the People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, said the government had to be "ruthless" as online games impair normal study life and the physical and mental health of teens. The curbs are part of Beijing's efforts to promote the primacy of socialism and strengthen controls over society it now…

Sep

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Greek PM sacks public order minister after wildfires

WORLD

ANGELIKI KOUTANTOU and GEORGE GEORGIOPOULOS GREEK Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis replaced his public order and tourism ministers on Tuesday and created a new civil protection post following sharp criticism of the government's response to a spate of summer wildfires. More than a quarter of a million hectares of pine forests were destroyed in August by blazes that burned for several days across Greece, with flames reaching the outskirts of Athens. Homes and businesses were destroyed, two people were killed and thousands were forced to evacuate. Mitsotakis, whose conservative government took office in July 2019, has apologised publicly for delays and…

Feb

02

2021

By The African Mirror

U.N. fears for Myanmar Rohingya after coup, Security Council due to meet

WORLD

MICHELLE NICHOLS THE United Nations fears the coup in Myanmar will worsen the plight of some 600,000 Rohingya Muslims still in the country, a U.N. spokesman said as the Security Council planned to meet today on the latest developments. Myanmar's military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other political leaders in early morning raids. A 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State sent more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing into Bangladesh, where they are still stranded in refugee camps. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and…

Feb

02

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. voting rights activist Stacey Abrams nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

WORLD

TERJE SOLSVIK and GWLADYS FOUCHE U.S. voting rights activist and Democratic Party politician Stacey Abrams has been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize for her work to promote nonviolent change via the ballot box, a Norwegian lawmaker said on Monday. Abrams, whose work was credited with boosting voter turnout last year, helping Joe Biden win the U.S. presidency, joins a long list of nominees, including both former President Donald Trump and his son-in-law, former White House adviser Jared Kushner. "Abrams' work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for…

Feb

02

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Get well’ messages pour in for UK’s Captain Tom, 100, in hospital with COVID

WORLD

ANDREW BOYERS PRIME Minister Boris Johnson was among a host of well-wishers from Britain and beyond willing record-breaking fundraiser Captain Tom Moore to pull through after the centenarian was admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Moore, who raised more than 30 million pounds ($41 million)for health service workers by walking 100 lengths of his garden during last year's lockdown, was admitted to Bedford hospital after testing positive for the virus, his daughter said on Sunday. "I spoke to the family last night, and all I can say is Captain Tom Moore has been an inspiration to everybody in this country during…

Feb

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar military seizes power, detains elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi

WORLD

MYANMAR’s military seized power yesterday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids. The army said it had carried out the detentions in response to "election fraud", handing power to military chief General Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for one year, according to a statement. Suu Kyi's party said she had called on people to protest against the military takeover, quoting comments it said had been written in anticipation of…

Feb

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Russia detains over 4,500 at protests against jailing of Kremlin critic Navalny

WORLD

MARIA TSVETKOVA and TOM BALMFORTH RIOT police broke up protests across Russia on Sunday in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, detaining more than 4,500 people who had braved the bitter cold and the threat of prosecution to demand he be set free. In a massive show of force, police imposed a sweeping security lockdown in the heart of Moscow, sealing off streets to pedestrians near the Kremlin, closing metro stations and deploying hundreds of riot police as snow fell. At one point, a column of protesters marched towards the prison in northern Moscow where Navalny is being held, chanting…