WORLD - The African Mirror

Apr

17

2021

Queen shows strength as Philip is laid to rest

WORLD

ANDREW MacASKILL and GUY FAULCONBRIDGE QUEEN Elizabeth and her family paid their last respects to Prince Philip at a funeral that celebrated his naval past, his international heritage and seven decades of service in which he helped guide the queen through repeated crises. Elizabeth, dressed in black and in a white trimmed black mask, stood alone as her husband of 73 years was lowered into the Royal Vault in a service attended by senior royals including heir Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry. The queen was placed alone in the ceremony at St George's Chapel with her…

Apr

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Modi’s “biggest crisis yet”

WORLD

RAJENDRA JADHAV INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival symbolic, amid worries about the spread of COVID-19 infections as the country reported more than 200,000 new cases for a third straight day. Criticism has mounted over the Indian government's handling of the health crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies continue despite reports of shortages of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and vaccination doses. India reported 234,692 COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to nearly 14.5 million, second only to the United States. Deaths from the…

Apr

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar releases 23 184 prisoners for New Year

WORLD

MYANMAR’S junta released 23,184 prisoners from jails across the country on yesterday, under a New Year amnesty, a Prisons Department spokesman said, though few if any democracy activists arrested since a February 1 coup were thought to be among them. Saturday is the first day of the traditional New Year in Myanmar and the last day of a five-day holiday that is usually celebrated with visits to Buddhist temples and rowdy water throwing and partying in the streets. Pro-democracy activists called for the cancellation of the festivities this year and instead for people to focus on a campaign to restore…

Apr

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Toddler airlifted to hospital after dingo attack on Australia’s Fraser Island

WORLD

A two-year-old boy was airlifted to a hospital with bites to his head and body after a dingo attacked him on a popular Australian holiday island yesterday, rescue services said. "It's believed the child, who was holidaying with his family, had been playing outside a house, when neighbours heard a commotion," RACQ LifeFlight Rescue said in a statement. "They reportedly went to investigate and saw a dingo attacking the toddler." The boy, accompanied by his mother, was flown to a hospital from Fraser Island off the eastern coast and is in stable condition. The dingo is a protected species on…

Jun

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Rescue workers make slow progress at Florida building collapse

WORLD

GABRIELLA BORTER SEARCH-and-rescue operations have stretched into a sixth day at the site of an oceanside Florida condominium complex that partially collapsed, although with no survivors found since last week hopes are dim for the 150 people still missing. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters that no bodies had been recovered from the rubble since Monday, keeping the official death toll at 11. What caused a major section of the 40-year-old high-rise to crumble into a heap remains under investigation. Initial attention has focused on structural deficiencies described in a 2018 engineer's report. In April 2021, the condo…

Jun

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Stung by pandemic, G20 foreign ministers urge greater cooperation

WORLD

CRISPIAN BALMER and HUMEYRA PAMUK G20 foreign ministers have called for multilateral cures for global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate emergency at their first face-to-face meeting in two years. The one-day gathering in the heat-soaked southern city of Matera focused on how to improve cooperation and revive the world's economy following the pandemic and how to boost sustainable development in Africa. "The pandemic has highlighted the need for an international response to emergencies that transcend national boundaries," Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told his counterparts from the Group of 20 major economies. The G20 members account for…

Jun

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Dutch defence minister: “irresponsible” Russian jets harassed frigate in Black Sea

WORLD

THE Netherlands' defence minister said on Tuesday that Russian fighter jets armed with air-to-surface missiles had harassed a Dutch navy frigate in the Black Sea earlier this month, conducting mock attacks and jamming communication systems. The Russian actions took place over the span of five hours on June 24 and violated rights to free use of the sea, the ministry said. The frigate, Evertsen, was sailing with Britain's Carrier Strike Group, which was carrying out a patrol in the area at the time. Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten called the Russian action "irresponsible". The "Evertsen has every right to sail there,"…

Apr

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Latest U.S. mass shooting claims eight victims

WORLD

MARIA CASPANI A gunman killed at least eight employees at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis and wounded several other people before taking his own life, police said early on Friday, in the latest in a rash of mass shootings across the United States in recent weeks. At least 30 individuals have been killed in U.S. mass shootings in the last month alone, reigniting a fiery debate over gun violence and the U.S. constitutional right to bear arms as the country struggles to emerge from a lingering coronavirus pandemic. The rampage unfolded at a FedEx operations center near the Indianapolis International…

Apr

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics: ‘Tokyo will rekindle hope like 1920 Games after war, Spanish flu’

WORLD

THE Tokyo Olympics will give hope to humanity in its battle against COVID-19 just as the 1920 Antwerp Games brought people together in the aftermath of World War One and the Spanish flu pandemic, Tokyo's governor Yuriko Koike has said. Tokyo is hosting the July 23-August 8 Games after they were pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed more than 3.1 million people worldwide. "We are approaching the newest edition of the games at a time when humanity suffered heavy human losses, with some people completely losing hope," Koike told beIN Sports. "A century ago,…

Apr

16

2021

By The African Mirror

No admiral outfits: UK royals to eschew military uniforms for Philip’s funeral

WORLD

BEN MAKORI BRITAIN’S senior royals will eschew tradition and wear morning suits rather than military uniforms for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip, in an attempt to prevent embarrassment for Princes Andrew and Harry. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died aged 99 last week and his funeral - a ceremonial royal funeral rather than a state funeral - will be held entirely at Windsor Castle on Saturday. The service will feature much of the original planning made by the prince himself, but has had to be scaled back and modified because of restrictions brought in to curb…