WORLD - The African Mirror

Feb

16

2021

Saudi woman convicted of murdering Bangladeshi maid in rare verdict

WORLD

NAIMUL KARIM A Saudi woman has been convicted of murdering her Bangladeshi maid by a criminal court in Saudi Arabia, in a ruling rights groups in the South Asian nation said was a rare example of an employer being found guilty of abusing a migrant worker. Ayesha Al Jizani was sentenced on Sunday to death by the court for killing Abiron Begum in March 2019, some two years after Begum went to the Gulf state in search of better paid work, a Bangladeshi government official said. Begum's relatives urged the Bangladeshi government to take action against the brokers who "tricked"…

Jul

27

2021

By The African Mirror

In ‘frank’ talks, China accuses U.S. of creating ‘imaginary enemy’

WORLD

YEW LUN TIAN and TONY MUNROE A top Chinese diplomat took a confrontational tone in rare high-level talks with the United States, accusing it of creating an "imaginary enemy" to divert attention from domestic problems and suppress China. Amid worsening relations between the world's two largest economies, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the second-ranking U.S. diplomat, had face-to-face meetings with China's vice foreign minister in the northern city of Tianjin that the U.S. State Department described as "frank and open". No specific outcomes were agreed and the prospect of a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President…

Jul

27

2021

By The African Mirror

Foreign ministers of more than a dozen countries condemn mass arrests in Cuba

WORLD

THE foreign ministers of the United States and 20 other countries have condemned mass arrests in Cuba and called for full restoration of Internet access in the island nation that has recently been rocked by political unrest. The joint statement was issued by the governments of Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Guatemala, Greece, Honduras, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Korea, and Ukraine, alongside the United States. "Democracies around the world are coming together to support the Cuban people, calling on the Cuban government to respect Cubans' demands for universal human rights,"…

Jul

27

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 crisis has lead to food crisis, says Italy’s Draghi

WORLD

THE world must ensure access to food supplies as forcefully as it moved to ensure access to vaccines, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said at the opening of the United Nations Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome. "The health crisis (COVID-19) has lead to a food crisis," he said, citing data showing malnutrition in all its forms has become the leading cause of ill health and death in the world. The U.N.'s first-ever Food Systems Summit will take place in September, with the aim of delivering progress on the body's 2030 sustainable development goals. According to the latest U.N. data, the…

Feb

15

2021

By The African Mirror

9th day of protests in Myanmar as army faces crippling mass strike

WORLD

HUNDREDS of thousands of people took to the streets in Myanmar for a ninth day of anti-coup protests on Sunday, as the new army rulers grappled to contain a strike by government workers that could cripple their ability to run the country. As evening fell, armoured vehicles were seen in the commercial capital of Yangon for the first time since the Feb. 1 coup. The U.S embassy in the country urged American citizens to "shelter in place", citing reports of the military movements. Trains in parts of the country stopped running after staff refused to go to work, local media…

Feb

15

2021

By The African Mirror

With Trump impeachment trial over, wary Washington seeks to move forward

WORLD

JEFF MASON and RICHARD COWAN FORMER President Donald Trump's acquittal on charges of inciting a deadly attack on the U.S Capitol left Democrats and Republicans deeply divided on Sunday even as Washington seeks to move on with Democratic President Joe Biden's political agenda. The Senate trial concluded on Saturday with a 57-43 vote in favor of convicting the Republican former president, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to do so. Seven Republicans joined the Senate's 48 Democrats and two independents in favor of conviction. The trial has left lawmakers and the country they represent in a continued state of…

Feb

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Japan quake brings back memories of deadly 2011 tsunami

WORLD

SAKURA MURAKAMI and ISSEI KATO THE stench of alcohol filled the small bar on Sunday as Aoi Hoshino swept up glass from whiskey bottles smashed in a strong earthquake the night before, one appearing to be an aftershock from a devastating quake that hit the Fukushima area in 2011. The 7.3 magnitude quake struck shortly before midnight Saturday and cracked walls, shattered windows and set off a landslide in Fukushima, the area closest to the epicentre. More than 100 people were injured. Hoshino, 46, swept broken glass from some 20 shattered whiskey bottles into a garbage bag in her bar…

Feb

14

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. Senate acquits Trump, for 2nd time

WORLD

RICHARD COWAN, DAVID MORGAN and MAKINI BRICE DONALD Trump was yesterday acquitted by the U.S. Senate in his second impeachment trial in 12 months, as his fellow Republicans shielded him from accountability for the deadly assault by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, a shrine of American democracy. The Senate vote of 57-43 fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection after a five-day trial in the same building ransacked by his followers on January 6 shortly after they heard him deliver an incendiary speech. In the vote, seven of the…

Jul

26

2021

By The African Mirror

As Taliban advance, Afghan businesswomen fear return of ‘dark era’

WORLD

SHADI KHAN SAIF AS the Taliban rapidly advance across Afghanistan, designer Marzia Hafizi is worried about the survival of her fashion business and of the gains women have made in the last 20 years. Hafizi, 29, opened her clothing store Lora in the capital Kabul in 2018, fulfilling a long-held dream of becoming a businesswoman in her conservative, male-dominated country - an unthinkable feat during Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001. "If the Taliban come back to power and impose their old, dark mentality, I might be forced to leave," Hafizi said, over whirring machines as men and women tailors…

Jul

26

2021

By The African Mirror

Hundreds protest ouster of Guatemalan anti-graft crusader

WORLD

SOFIA MENCHU HUNDREDS of Guatemalans have protested outside the presidential palace against the ouster of anti-graft fighter Juan Francisco Sandoval, who fled the country overnight after being stripped of his post in a move that sparked a global outcry. Sandoval, who had led the Guatemalan Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (FECI) until Friday, fled to the Salvadoran border in the wee hours of Saturday, according to the country's human rights ombudsman Jordan Rodas. "The decision was made to safeguard his life," Rodas told Reuters. Guatemala's Attorney General Maria Porras removed Sandoval from his post on Friday as the head of…