WORLD - The African Mirror

Apr

06

2021

Jordan’s Prince Hamza defies the military in new recording

WORLD

SULIEMAN AL-KHALIDI JORDAN’S estranged Prince Hamza said in a voice recording released yesterday that he would disobey orders by the army not to communicate with the outside world after he was put under house arrest and accused of trying to destabilise the country. The half-brother of King Abdullah and former heir to the throne said in the recording released by the country's opposition that he would not comply after being barred from any activity and told to keep quiet. While Prince Hamza is not seen as a direct threat to the king, his actions suggest he is keen to shore…

Apr

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Turkey detains 10 retired admirals who defended maritime accord

WORLD

TURKEY has detained 10 retired admirals for signing a statement in support of an 85-year-old maritime accord, accusing them of conspiring against the constitutional order, according to the state-owned Anadolu news agency. Officials said their declaration on the Montreux Convention, signed by more than a hundred former high-ranking navy personnel, was a direct challenge to civilian government and evoked past army interventions. Turkey's military staged three coups between 1960-1980 and pressured the first Islamist-led government out of power in 1997. The admirals are suspected of conspiring against state security and constitutional order, news website Haberturk said. Anadolu said four other…

Jul

16

2021

By The African Mirror

At least 44 dead, dozens missing as floods sweep through western Europe

WORLD

WOLFGANG RATTAY and DAVID SAHL AT least 42 people have died in Germany and dozens were missing as swollen rivers caused by record rainfall across western Europe swept through towns and villages, leaving cars upended, houses destroyed and people stranded on rooftops. Eighteen people died and dozens were unaccounted for around the wine-growing region of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate state, police said, after the Ahr river that flows into the Rhine broke its banks and brought down half a dozen houses. Another 15 people died in the Euskirchen region south of the city of Bonn, authorities said. People in the region…

Jul

16

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Their goal is making me feel like I’m crazy,’ tearful Britney Spears tells court

WORLD

LISA RICHWINE SINGER Britney Spears has won the right to choose her own lawyer to help her end a 13-year-long conservatorship and tearfully pleaded for the court to oust her father immediately from the role of controlling her business affairs. Her father, Jamie Spears, has been a major figure in the conservatorship since he set it up in 2008 when his daughter had a mental health breakdown. He is currently the sole person in charge of her $60 million estate. "You're allowing my dad to ruin my life," Spears told the Los Angeles judge by phone. "I have to get…

Jul

16

2021

By The African Mirror

‘God help the country’: Hariri abandons bid to form Lebanese government

WORLD

MAHA EL DAHAN and LAILA BASSAM LEBANESE politician Saad al-Hariri has abandoned his effort to form a new government, dimming hopes of a cabinet being agreed any time soon to start rescuing the country from financial meltdown. Hariri was designated in October to put together a government following the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab's cabinet in the wake of the catastrophic Beirut port explosion. Lebanon's deeply divided politicians have failed to agree despite fears of social unrest over worsening living conditions. "It is clear we will not be able to agree with his Excellency the President," Hariri told reporters…

Apr

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Jordan’s neighbours and allies voice support over its security moves

WORLD

JORDAN’S neighbours and allies reacted with statements of support after the Jordanian military said that King Abdullah's half-brother and former Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein had been told to halt actions used to target the country's "security and stability". In a statement published by the state news agency, it said the action was part of a broader security investigation in which a former minister, a member of the royal family and some other unidentified individuals were detained. Here are responses from different countries and groups: UNITED STATES "We are closely following the reports and in touch with Jordanian officials. King…

Apr

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Easter eggs a symbol of defiance for Myanmar protesters

WORLD

OPPONENTS of military rule in Myanmar inscribed messages of protest on Easter eggs yesterday while thousands of others were back on the streets, denouncing a February 1 coup and facing off with the security forces who shot and killed at least three men. In the latest in a series of impromptu shows of defiance, messages including "Spring Revolution", "We must win" and "Get out MAH" - referring to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing - were seen on eggs in photographs on social media. "Easter is all about the future and the people of Myanmar have a great future in a…

Apr

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Restrictions imposed in and around Mumbai as COVID cases in Indian state surge

WORLD

RAJENDRA JADHAV and ABHIRUP ROY INDIA'S richest state, Maharashtra, announced stringent COVID-19 restrictions from Monday, after a rapid rise in infections now accounting for more than half the country's daily new cases. An industrialist who attended a meeting with the chief minister before the curbs were announced quoted him as saying that "the situation is grim and there could be shortage of hospital beds, doctors and oxygen cylinders". He declined to be named, but the comments echo those of government and health officials to Indian media about the situation in the state, which includes the crowded financial capital Mumbai. The…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Afghan Taliban seize border crossing with Pakistan in major advance

WORLD

ABDUL QADIR SEDIQI and OROOJ HAKIMI TALIBAN fighters in Afghanistan have seized control of a major border crossing with Pakistan, achieving a key strategic objective during a rapid advance across the country as U.S. forces pull out. A Pakistani official said Taliban insurgents had taken down the Afghan government flag from atop the Friendship Gate at the border crossing between the Pakistani town of Chaman and the Afghan town of Wesh. The crossing, south of Afghanistan's main southern city Kandahar, is the landlocked country's second busiest entry point and main commercial artery between its sprawling southwest region and Pakistani seaports.…

Jul

15

2021

By The African Mirror

EU launches big climate plan for “our children and grandchildren”

WORLD

KATE ABNETT EUROPEAN Union policymakers have unveiled their most ambitious plan yet to tackle climate change, aiming to turn green goals into concrete action this decade and set an example for the world's other big economies to follow. The European Commission, the EU executive body, set out in painstaking detail how the bloc's 27 countries can meet their collective goal to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 - a step towards "net zero" emissions by 2050. This will mean raising the cost of emitting carbon for heating, transport and manufacturing, taxing high-carbon aviation fuel and…