WORLD - The African Mirror

Feb

22

2021

Protesting Indian farmers vow to amass more supporters outside capital Delhi

WORLD

DANISH SIDDIQUI MORE than 100,000 farmers and farm workers gathered in India's northern Punjab state on Sunday in a show of strength against new farm laws, where union leaders called on supporters to amass outside the capital New Delhi on February 27. Tens of thousands of Indian growers have already been camped outside Delhi for nearly three months, demanding the repeal of the three reform laws that they say will hurt them and benefit large corporations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which introduced the laws last September, has offered to defer the laws but refused to abandon them, arguing that…

Jul

19

2021

By The African Mirror

‘It’s terrifying’: Merkel shaken as flood deaths rise to 188 in Europe

WORLD

RALPH BROCK and ROMANA FUESSEL GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel has described the flooding that has devastated parts of Europe as "terrifying" after the death toll across the region rose to 188 and a district of Bavaria was battered by the extreme weather. Merkel promised swift financial aid after visiting one of the areas worst affected by the record rainfall and floods that have killed at least 157 in Germany alone in recent days, in the country's worst natural disaster in almost six decades. She also said governments would have to get better and faster in their efforts to tackle the…

Feb

27

2021

By The African Mirror

At least one fighter killed in U.S. air strikes on Iran-backed militias in Syria

WORLD

JOHN DAVISON and MAHA EL DAHAN SYRIA yesterday condemned U.S. air strikes against Iran-backed militias in the east of the country as a cowardly act and urged President Joe Biden not to follow "the law of the jungle". An Iraqi militia official close to Iran said the strikes killed one fighter and wounded four, but U.S. officials said they were limited in scope to show Biden's administration will act firmly while trying to avoid a big regional escalation. Washington and Tehran are seeking maximum leverage in attempts to return to the Iran nuclear deal reached in 2015 but abandoned by…

Jul

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Afghanistan withdraws ambassador, diplomats from Islamabad

WORLD

AFGHANISTAN has withdrawn its ambassador and diplomats from Pakistan's capital following the kidnapping of the ambassador's daughter, the Afghan foreign ministry said has announced, a new blow to relations at a sensitive time for the Afghan peace process. The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was seized on Friday and held for several hours by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks and Pakistan authorities have said they are investigating. "The Afghan government recalled the ambassador and senior diplomats to Kabul until the complete elimination of the security threats, including the arrest and punishment of the perpetrators,"…

Feb

27

2021

By The African Mirror

Sharing ‘deepfake’ porn images should be a crime, says British law body

WORLD

SONIA ELKS SHARING digitally altered "deepfake" pornographic images should be made a crime, a British government-backed review said on Friday after finding victims were being denied justice because the law has not kept up with new, high-tech forms of abuse. Publishing intimate photos or videos without consent and with the intent to cause distress - so-called revenge porn - was criminalised in Britain in 2015, but the review identified gaps in the legislation including the issue of fake images. Such pictures could include editing a headshot of a victim onto a nude or using sophisticated "deepfake" programmes to digitally strip…

Jul

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Turkey condemns EU court ruling on headscarf ban as violation of freedoms

WORLD

TURKEY has slammed a ruling by a top European Union court allowing the banning of headscarves under certain conditions as a "clear violation of religious freedoms", adding the move would exacerbate prejudices against Muslim women in Europe. The Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled on Thursday that companies in the bloc can ban employees from wearing a headscarf under certain conditions, if they need to do so to project an image of neutrality to customers. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement the ruling was a sign of rising Islamophobia at a time when it said Muslim women…

Feb

26

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. air strikes target Iranian-backed militia facilities in Syria

WORLD

IDREES ALI and PHIL STEWART PRESIDENT Joe Biden on Thursday directed U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria against facilities belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militia, in a calibrated response to rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq. The strikes appeared to be limited in scope, potentially lowering the risk of escalation. It was not immediately clear what damage was caused. Syrian state-owned Ekhbariya TV said the strikes had been at dawn against several targets near the Syrian-Iraqi border, and quoted a medical source at a hospital in the area and other unspecified local sources as saying 17…

Feb

26

2021

By The African Mirror

“Another great Tiger comeback is possible”

WORLD

STEVE KEATING TIGER Woods could return to competitive golf within a year, top orthopaedic surgeons said on Wednesday, but the road back from serious leg injuries sustained in a car crash will be a long and gruelling one. Already credited with one of sport's great comebacks when he returned from back surgery to win a fifth Masters in 2019, ending an 11-year majors drought, Woods will have to be even more resilient if he is to overcome the damage done in Tuesday's accident. The 45-year-old golf great was today moved to another hospital in Los Angeles - the Cedar-Sinai Medical…

Feb

28

2021

By The African Mirror

Saudi de facto ruler approved operation that led to Khashoggi’s death – U.S.

WORLD

JONATHAN LANDAY, PHIL STEWART and ARSHAD MOHAMMED SAUDI Arabia's de facto ruler approved an operation to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to U.S. intelligence released, as the United States imposed sanctions on some of those involved but spared the crown prince himself in an effort to preserve relations with the kingdom. Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's policies, was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the prince in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. The Saudi government, which has…

Feb

28

2021

By The African Mirror

QUOTES – World reacts to U.S. report on Khashoggi killing

WORLD

THE world has reacted to the release of a U.S. intelligence assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi: OFFICE OF U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT: "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi." "Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom's security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince's authorization." SAUDI…