WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

12

2021

Slain Haitian leader’s widow blames political enemies as power struggle intensifies

WORLD

ANDRE PAULTRE and SARAH MARSH THE widow of slain Haitian President Jovenel Moise has accused shadowy enemies of organizing his assassination to stop democratic change, as a struggle for power intensified in the Caribbean country. Moise was gunned down before dawn at his Port-au-Prince home by what Haitian authorities said was a unit of trained assassins comprised of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans. Doubts have grown, though, about that narrative, with families of at least two of the Colombians saying they had been hired as bodyguards. Martine Moise, who was wounded in the attack on the president's private residence…

Jul

12

2021

By The African Mirror

India pulls officials from Afghanistan’s Kandahar as Taliban widens control

WORLD

INDIA has temporarily brought back officials from its consulate in Kandahar, a major city in southern Afghanistan, as Taliban fighters continue to gain control amid the withdrawal of international forces. "Due to the intense fighting near Kandahar city, India-based personnel have been brought back for the time being," Arindam Bagchi, chief spokesperson at India's foreign ministry, said in a statement. "India is closely monitoring the evolving security situation in Afghanistan," Bagchi said, adding that India's consulate in Kandahar was being run by local staff temporarily. Taliban officials said on Friday the Sunni Muslim insurgent group had taken control of 85%…

Jul

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Drought-hit New Mexico town eyes economic liftoff from Virgin Galactic space launch

WORLD

NATHN FRANDINO AS the first passenger rocket plane gears up for takeoff, a sleepy desert town near Spaceport America in New Mexico is hoping for a liftoff from tourism. The oddly named town of Truth or Consequences, 30 miles from the launchpad, relies on its hot springs, healing waters, and nearby Elephant Butte reservoir for its livelihood. But tourism has evaporated with the drought, which brought the reservoir's water level toward record lows. Residents of TorC, as they call it, are looking skyward for relief. "This is real pioneering stuff, opening up the heavens to the entire world," said town…

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

British Prime minister’s tribute to the late Prince Philip

WORLD

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has paid a warm tribute to Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, who passed away today, aged 99. Below is a text of his speech. "It was with great sadness that a short time ago I received word from Buckingham Palace that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh has passed away at the age of 99. "Prince Philip earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world. "He was the longest serving consort in history, one of the last surviving people in this country to have…

Jul

11

2021

By RUMA PAUL

Bangladesh factory owner arrested over fire that killed 52 workers

WORLD

THE owner of a food-processing factory in Bangladesh was arrested for murder yesterday over a fire that killed 52 people who were trapped inside the building, police said. The six-storey factory outside the capital Dhaka was built without permission, according to police who said it had no emergency fire exits and lacked adequate safety measures. Some workers managed to reach the roof and were rescued after the building caught ablaze on Thursday, but many could not escape, said police, adding that one of the doors leading from the stairs to the roof was locked. The arrested man owned private firm…

Jul

11

2021

By The African Mirror

Rival Haitian leaders battle for power after president’s assassination

WORLD

ANDRE PAULTRE and SARAH MARSH A power struggle is brewing in Haiti as the man appointed prime minister shortly before the assassination of Haiti's president this week said he - not the acting premier - should lead the Caribbean nation and was forming a government to that effect. Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who was named prime minister by President Jovenel Moise on Monday, two days before Moise was killed by a squad of gunmen in his home in the capital, Port-au-Prince, said he was now the highest authority in Haiti, not interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph. "After the president's assassination,…

Jul

11

2021

By The African Mirror

Biden presses Putin to act on ransomware attacks, hints at retaliation

WORLD

STEVE HOLLAND and ANDREA SHALAL U.S. President Joe Biden has increased pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to move against ransomware groups operating in Russia, warning the United States is prepared to respond if cyber hacks are not stopped. The two leaders held an hour-long phone call on Friday, their first since they discussed ransomware attacks at a summit in Geneva on June 16. Biden's message to Putin in the call was direct, suggesting a growing impatience over attacks that have disrupted key U.S. sectors. "I made it very clear to him that the United States expects, when a ransomware…

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Spark of life’: jury to hear from George Floyd’s brother in quirk of Minnesota law

WORLD

JONATHAN ALLEN and JOSEPH AX BEFORE resting their case in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, prosecutors are planning to show the jury photographs of George Floyd as a younger man and question one of Floyd's brothers, who is expected to recall Floyd's close relationship with his mother. The pictures and reminiscences are not intended to shed any light on the central question before the jury: whether Chauvin, who is white, committed a crime during his deadly arrest of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, when he knelt on Floyd's neck for some nine minutes.…

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Ousted Myanmar ambassador tells UK: reject the military’s envoy

WORLD

GUY FAULCONBRIDGE and SARAH YOUNG MYANMAR’S ousted ambassador to the United Kingdom, who has been locked out of his embassy by the military, urged the British government yesterday to refuse to recognise the junta's envoys and send them back to Myanmar. In a move that has implications for Myanmar's network of diplomats across the world, the ambassador was locked out of his London embassy on Wednesday by his deputy at the behest of the Myanmar military which seized power in February. "We believe the UK government would not back those who are working for the military junta and we also…

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Israel to tell ICC it does not recognise court’s authority

WORLD

DAN WILLIAMS ISRAEL will tell the International Criminal Court it does not recognise the authority of the tribunal, which is planning to investigate possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday. Netanyahu, after meeting with senior ministers and government officials ahead of a Friday deadline to respond to an ICC notification letter, said Israel would not cooperate with the inquiry, but it will send a response. "It will be made clear that Israel is a country with rule of law that knows how to investigate itself," he said in a statement. The response will also…