WORLD - The African Mirror

Feb

07

2021

Myanmar military detains first foreign national since coup

WORLD

SEAN Turnell, an Australian economic adviser to Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, said in a message to Reuters yesterday he was being detained, the first known arrest of a foreign national since the February 1 military coup that overthrew the government. "I guess you will soon hear of it, but I am being detained," Turnell said. "Being charged with something, but not sure what. I am fine and strong, and not guilty of anything," he said, with a smile emoji. It was not subsequently possible to contact him. Myanmar army generals, who seized power alleging fraud in a November 8…

Feb

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Intrusion at home of Air Force One

WORLD

THE U.S. Air Force said on Friday that it will carry out a review of security on its bases around the world after an intruder entered a key military facility that is home to Air Force One, the aircraft that flies the president. An unarmed adult male was able to make his way onto Joint Base Andrews on Thursday and enter a C-40 aircraft, a military version of the Boeing 737, officials said. They added that there were no indications that he had any links to extremist groups. Joint Base Andrews, roughly 15 miles (24 km) southeast of the White…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Meet US’ “Swagger-in-Chief”

WORLD

MPHO RANTAO US President Joe Biden has received an “All American” fashion makeover as he settles into his first term as president. The American leader features on the cover of the British edition of GQ “Hype of The Week” segment, wearing colourful looks in the cover feature that seem to display the splash of life and hope that the new president and his administration aim to bring back to the USA after the turbulent term by former president Donald Trump. Picture: Twitter/BritishGQ The men’s fashion and lifestyle magazine draped the new president in looks from classic blue jeans and Converse…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

US missionary jailed for child sex crimes in Kenya

WORLD

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER “A wolf in a sheep’s clothing.” That is how the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigations described missionary Gregory Dow has have been convicted of sex crimes in Kenya and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Dow and his wife set up an orphanage in 2008 and now he has been jailed for abusing underage girls, who were 11,12 and 13 years at the time. He fled to the US in 2017 after the allegations emerged. Dow pleaded guilty in the US to four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Russia expels EU diplomats, ignores bloc’s call to free Navalny

WORLD

ANDREW OSBORN and ROBIN EMMOTT RUSSIA yesterday expelled diplomats from three EU member states it accused of attending illegal protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and pointedly ignored a public call by the EU's top diplomat to free the opposition politician. The expulsions, which affected diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, appear to have wrecked an EU attempt to re-engage with Moscow being spearheaded by Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, who was in Russia for talks on Friday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the move unjustified and a further step away from the rule of…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Former Suu Kyi ally says no betrayal in taking Myanmar junta job

WORLD

A one-time ally of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday that she was no traitor for accepting a ministerial post with the junta that overthrew the elected leader this week. Social welfare minister Thet Thet Khine told Reuters the new military government was inclusive and committed to democracy in one of the first interviews that any member of the new government has given since the coup on Monday. "The fact the armed forces say they will continue to act according to the law, we have to welcome it gladly," she said. "I am not betraying the country." Thet Thet…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Class led by dead professor spotlights COVID-era content rights

WORLD

WHEN Canadian university student Aaron Ansuini wanted to email his professor about a point he made during an online lecture, a search for the teacher's email address instead turned up a memorial page marking his death two years earlier. Despite his demise, Francois-Marc Gagnon is still lecturing for an online course on Canadian art history at Concordia University in Montreal via pre-recorded videos. "It was very strange, I thought maybe it was a mistake at first. My knee-jerk reaction was to go back and check all the course contents because I thought I had missed something," Ansuini told the Thomson…

Aug

07

2021

By The African Mirror

U.N. says Afghan war has entered ‘deadlier and more destructive phase’

WORLD

MICHELLE NICHOLS THE U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan on Friday questioned the Taliban's commitment to a political settlement, telling the U.N. Security Council the war has entered a "deadlier and more destructive phase" with more than 1,000 civilians killed in the past month during a Taliban offensive. "A party that was genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement would not risk so many civilian casualties, because it would understand that the process of reconciliation will be more challenging, the more blood is shed," Deborah Lyons said. The Taliban has stepped up its campaign to defeat the U.S.-backed government since April as…

Aug

07

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. nurses’ COVID-19 grief pours out online: ‘I just don’t want to watch anyone else die’

WORLD

JOSEPH AX NICHOLE Atherton couldn't take it anymore. The intensive care nurse watched helplessly last year as COVID-19 sufferers died in her Mississippi hospital - slowly, painfully and alone. Then in July she was again confronted with a wave of deathly ill patients, even though almost all likely could have saved themselves by getting the coronavirus vaccine. "People want to argue about masks and vaccines and freedom. I just don't want to watch anyone else die," the 39-year-old mother of two wrote on Facebook a few days ago. "I see their faces in my nightmares. And it feels like it…

Aug

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Beirut blast: a year on, vulnerable residents struggle to rebuild

WORLD

TIMOUR AZHARI SYRIAN refugee Waad Hariri is still trying to rebuild her life a year after Beirut's massive port blast tore through her apartment, injuring her husband and traumatising her children. In the weeks that followed the August 2020 explosion, the family faced another sharp blow: the loss of their home. A series of eviction attempts - often targeting refugee and migrant tenants - took place in the aftermath of the deadly August 4 blast, highlighting a lack of state protection for vulnerable groups during the disaster response effort, critics said. "We've lost the community we lived in for 10…