WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

10

2021

Taliban say they control 85% of Afghanistan, humanitarian concerns mount

WORLD

TALIBAN officials have claimed that the Sunni Muslim insurgent group had taken control of 85% of territory in Afghanistan, and international concern mounted over problems getting medicines and supplies into the country. Afghan government officials dismissed the assertion that the Taliban controlled most of the country as part of a propaganda campaign launched as foreign forces, including the United States, withdrew after almost 20 years of fighting. But local Afghan officials said Taliban fighters, emboldened by the withdrawal, had captured an important district in Herat province, home to tens of thousands of minority Shi'ite Hazaras. Torghundi, a northern town on…

Jul

10

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. probing American ties to assassination of Haitian president

WORLD

BRAD BROOKS and MARK HOSENBALL U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies are probing American connections to this week's assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, three sources said, the day after two Haitian-American men were arrested on charges of participating in it. Haitian police identified the two as James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55, saying that they were part of a heavily armed commando unit comprised mostly of 26 Colombians, who sources in the Colombian army said entered Haiti from the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Two law enforcement sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation, said that…

Jul

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Dalit and Muslim Indian women leading change in South Sudan

WORLD

MARIYA SALIM TWO Indian women, one Muslim and the other Dalit (former untouchables), separated by culture and geography, have found common ground in leading change in conflict-torn South Sudan. Rama Hansraj, a Dalit, grew up in a humble railway colony in Secunderabad. Huma Khan, a Muslim, born and raised in the controversial north Indian city of Faizabad, now Ayodhya, home to the demolished Babri Masjid. Both agree their personal experiences of experiencing and seeing discrimination in India and the world led to their decisions to work in the international humanitarian field in conflict zones. The women are activists and feminists who, through…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar security forces kill 13 protesters; small blasts hit Yangon

WORLD

MYANMAR troops fired at anti-coup protesters yesterday, killing at least 13 people and wounding several, the media said, as a series of small blasts hit the commercial capital Yangon and a Chinese-owned factory was set on fire. The country's military ruler said the civil disobedience movement was "destroying" Myanmar. More than 580 people have been killed, according to an activist group, in the turmoil in Myanmar since a Feb. 1 coup that ended a brief period of civilian-led democracy. Nationwide protests and strikes have persisted since then despite the military's use of lethal force to quell the opposition. Security forces…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Trust and coast eroded, Indian fishing hamlet boycotts polls

WORLD

ANURADHA NAGARAJ PETITIONS, protest and hunger strikes failed so this week hundreds of Indian families used their vote to highlight the coastal erosion and flooding that is swallowing their village. An estimated 7,000 voters boycotted Tuesday's local elections, saying there was no point in voting since government never listens nor fulfils its pledges to protect their fast-shrinking corner of southern Kerala. "We have written petitions, talked to officials, gone on hunger strike and every year the worsening coastal flooding and its impact on our lives is there for everyone to see," said Thushar Nirmal Sarathy, a resident and lawyer. "The…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Saudi malls, supermarkets, restaurants told to increase hiring of Saudi nationals

WORLD

MALLS, supermarkets, restaurants and cafes in Saudi Arabia must increase their percentage of local hires, the kingdom's ministry of human resources and social development has announced. A set of three decisions announced by Minister Ahmed bin Suleiman al-Rajhi was expected to provide 51,000 jobs for Saudi men and women, state news agency SPA reported. The move is part of a wider governmental push to replace expatriate workers with Saudi citizens. The first decision would limit only Saudis to work in malls and mall management offices, "with the exception of a limited number of activities and professions in these malls." Supermarkets,…

Apr

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Chauvin disregarded training in deadly encounter with George Floyd – witnesses

WORLD

JONATHAN ALLEN and BRENDAN O’BRIEN PROSECUTORS in Derek Chauvin's murder trial have presented a series of witnesses in a bid to show that the former Minneapolis police officer disregarded his training when he knelt on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. Lieutenant Johnny Mercil, who teaches the proper use of force for the department, told jurors the neck restraint applied by Chauvin during the deadly arrest of Floyd was unauthorized. Officers are trained to use the least amount of force necessary to subdue a suspect, he said. During the May 2020 arrest, the handcuffed 46-year-old Black man fell limp…

Jul

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Haiti police seize more suspects in president’s killing

WORLD

ANDRE PAULTRE and ROBENSON SANON HAITI’S police seized at least two more suspected members of the gang of assassins that killed President Jovenel Moise, following a fierce battle that left bullets strewn in the streets of the capital. Hundreds of residents clamoured outside the police station where suspects were being held in Port-au-Prince, shouting "burn them" and setting fire to a vehicle they presumed was that of the assassins, according to footage streamed by Haitian media outlets. Moise, 53, was shot dead early on Wednesday at his home by what officials said was a commando of trained killers, pitching the…

Jul

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Florida condo collapse death toll rises to 60 as recovery work continues

WORLD

BRAD BROOKS THE death toll in the partial collapse of a Miami-area condo building has hit 60 as the effort to identify and recover the 80 people still unaccounted for - most of them presumed dead - continued at an urgent pace, officials said. One day after declaring there was no longer hope of finding anyone alive in the rubble of the tower in Surfside, Florida, crews sifting through the wreckage found six more bodies - taking the number of fatalities to 60 - Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told a news conference on Thursday morning. Levine Cava said…

Jul

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Frustrated by delays, Tokyo 2020 sponsors cancel booths, parties -sources

WORLD

EIMI YAMAMITSU and MAKI SHIRAKI JAPANESE Olympics sponsors are cancelling or scaling back booths and promotional events tied to the Tokyo 2020 Games, frustrated by "very last minute" decisions by organisers and a delay on whether spectators would be allowed, sources told Reuters. The moves by more than a dozen companies, including Canon, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance and Ajinomoto, highlight the delicate situation for sponsors, who have tied themselves to a Games now hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and public opposition. Some 60 Japanese companies paid a record of more than $3 billion for sponsorship rights and then…