WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

05

2021

Some Philippine troops jump before military plane crashes in flames, killing at least 45

WORLD

KAREN LEMA A Philippines Air Force troop plane crashed and broke up in flames on a southern island on Sunday, killing at least 45 people after some jumped free, officials said, in the country's worst military air disaster in nearly 30 years. Pictures from the scene showed flames and smoke pouring from wreckage strewn among coconut palms as men in combat uniform milled around, while a column of thick black smoke rose into the sky. The Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft, carrying troops bound for counter-insurgency operations, crashed with 96 people on board. The plane had attempted to land at Jolo…

Apr

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Husband’s death ‘left a huge void’ in Queen’s life

WORLD

PAUL SANDLE and KATE HOLTON THE death of Britain's Prince Philip has deprived the nation of its grandfather and left a huge void for his wife of 73 years, Queen Elizabeth, the couple's second son said yesterday. Prince Andrew described Philip as a "remarkable man" after he left a private service in Windsor, where his father died on Friday at the age of 99. "It's a great loss," he said. "I think the way I would put it is we've lost almost the grandfather of the nation." He said the family was rallying around his 94-year-old mother, adding she was…

Jul

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Kremlin says ‘provocations’ like UK warship episode demand tough response

WORLD

A British warship's entry into what Moscow considers Russian territorial waters near Crimea last month is the kind of provocation that demands a tough response, the Kremlin has warned. President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia, which fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of the warship to chase it out of Black Sea waters off the coast of Crimea, could have sunk the warship. Moscow challenged the right of HMS Defender to pass through waters near Crimea, something London said it had every right to do. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 but most of…

Jul

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Americans celebrate July Fourth with a bang after pandemic cancellations

WORLD

BARBARA GOLDBERG AMERICANS have marked their nation's 245th birthday with fireworks that may look brighter, hotdogs that may taste juicier and marching bands that may sound jauntier after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of nearly all celebrations last year. As always, fireworks displays are the highlight of the July Fourth holiday. Two of the biggest pyrotechnic shows in the country will blast off over the National Mall in Washington, and over a mile stretch of New York City's East River, separating Manhattan from the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Some classic July Fourth events such as Nathan's Famous Hot…

Jul

04

2021

By The African Mirror

2nd Florida building evacuated as death toll rises to 22

WORLD

KATANGA JOHNSON and FRANCISCO ALVARADO THE death toll rose to 22 on Friday from the collapse of a Florida condominium tower after the remains of four more victims were found in the rubble, and local officials ordered a second residential complex evacuated after deeming it unsafe. All residents of the second building, Crestview Towers, were told to leave immediately after engineers found serious concrete and electrical problems, said Arthur Sorey, city manager for North Miami Beach. The move was considered urgent due to the approach of Hurricane Isla, which is forecast to hit Florida as early as Monday. The building's…

Apr

12

2021

By The African Mirror

China, Russia undermine international Myanmar response, EU’s top diplomat says

WORLD

KATE ABNETT THE European Union's top diplomat said on Sunday Russia and China were hampering a united international response to Myanmar's military coup and that the EU could offer more economic incentives if democracy returns to the country. "It comes as no surprise that Russia and China are blocking the attempts of the U.N. Security Council, for example, to impose an arms embargo," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a blog post. "Geopolitical competition in Myanmar will make it very difficult to find common ground," said Borrell, who speaks on behalf of the 27 EU member states. "But…

Jul

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Two feared dead, 20 missing in landslides in Japan

WORLD

AT least two people are feared dead after landslides triggered by heavy rains hit the central Japanese city of Atami, where about 20 people were still missing, public broadcaster NHK said. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who convened an emergency task force to tackle the crisis, asked people in the affected areas to remain on alert. "There may be more heavy rainfalls and we need to be taking the highest caution," Suga said in televised remarks. The floods are a reminder of the natural disasters - including earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunami - that plague Japan, where the capital Tokyo is to…

Apr

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Iran says Natanz nuclear site hit by terrorism

WORLD

PARISA HAFEZI AN incident at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility on Sunday was caused by an act of "nuclear terrorism", the country's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said, according to state TV, adding that Tehran reserves the right to take action against the perpetrators. Israel's Kan public radio cited intelligence sources, whose nationality it did not disclose, as saying that Israel's Mossad spy agency had carried out a cyber attack at the site. There was no official Israeli comment on the incident. Earlier on Sunday, the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) had said that a problem with the electrical…

Jul

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Ghislaine Maxwell says Cosby’s freedom justifies hers

WORLD

JONATHAN STEMPEL LAWYERS for Ghislaine Maxwell said the overturning of Bill Cosby's 2018 sexual assault conviction justifies throwing out sex trafficking and other charges stemming from her relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Cosby, 83, was released from prison on Wednesday after Pennsylvania's Supreme Court said a prosecutor's 2005 agreement not to charge him with drugging and assaulting Temple University employee Andrea Constand meant the actor and comedian should not have been charged a decade later. In a Friday letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan, Maxwell's lawyers said the British socialite's case was similar to Cosby's…

Apr

12

2021

By The African Mirror

‘This is their blood’: Civil rights lawyer Crump fights for George Floyd’s family

WORLD

MAKINI BRICE AS the world follows the often emotional testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering George Floyd, members of Floyd's family watch a live feed in a separate room in the courthouse. Frequently by their side is civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who heads the family's legal team. Floyd and his brothers often slept in the same bed as children, with Floyd playing the role of protector, Crump says. "For us, it's a case. It's a cause. It's a hashtag," Crump told Reuters. "For them ... it's their family. This is…