WORLD - The African Mirror

Jun

10

2021

Germany dismisses commando policemen over Nazi content

WORLD

GERMAN prosecutors have dismissed 19 policemen in a commando unit and suspended another over suspicions they had glorified violence and made references to a former Nazi organisation in online chats, a spokeswoman said. Investigators in the western state of Hesse found out about the 20 suspects in the course of a separate investigation of an officer in the same commando unit, known as SEK, who was suspected of sharing child pornography. "During an evaluation of the suspect's mobile phones, several chat groups where criminal content was shared by members were identified," Frankfurt Senior Public Prosecutor Nadja Niesen said in a…

Apr

23

2021

By The African Mirror

World leaders commit to gas emissions target

WORLD

JEFF MASON and VALERIE VOLCOVICI THE United States yesterday pledged at a global climate summit hosted by President Joe Biden to slash greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, a target it hopes will spark other big countries to raise their ambition to combat global warming. The United States, the world's second-leading emitter after China, seeks to reclaim global leadership in the fight against global warming after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to cut emissions. Biden unveiled the goal to cut emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels at the start of a two-day climate summit…

Apr

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Millions face hunger as Myanmar crisis worsens, United Nations says

WORLD

POPPY McPHERSON FOOD insecurity is rising sharply in Myanmar in the wake of the military coup and deepening financial crisis with millions more people expected to go hungry in coming months, the United Nations said yesterday. Up to 3.4 million more people will struggle to afford food in the next three to six months with urban areas worst affected as job losses mount in manufacturing, construction and services and food prices rise, a World Food Program (WFP) analysis shows. "More and more poor people have lost their jobs and are unable to afford food," country director Stephen Anderson said in…

Apr

23

2021

By The African Mirror

After milestone police verdict, Minneapolis lays to rest another Black man

WORLD

NATHAN LAYNE TWO days after a Minneapolis jury found a white police officer guilty of murdering George Floyd, the city will lay to rest Daunte Wright, another Black man whose violent death has raised fresh concerns over the way police treat people of colour. The funeral for Wright, 20, who was shot by a white police officer in a Minneapolis suburb on April 11 after a routine traffic stop, will be attended by a number of high-profile civil rights activists as well as family and friends. The service is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CDT (1:00 p.m. ET) at…

Jun

10

2021

By The African Mirror

I didn’t fear for my safety, says Macron after slap

WORLD

SUDIP KAR-GUPTA and MICHEL ROSE France's President Emmanuel Macron, who was slapped in the face during a walkabout in southern France, said he had not feared for his safety, and that nothing would stop him carrying on with his job. In a video circulating on social media, Macron reached out his hand to greet a man in a small crowd of onlookers standing behind a metal barrier as he visited a professional training college for the hospitality industry. The man, who was dressed in a khaki T-shirt, then shouted "Down with Macronia" ("A Bas La Macronie") and slapped Macron on…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Spy phones ‘in gangsters’ back pockets’ betray hundreds to police

WORLD

COLIN PACKHAM and TOBY STERLING A global sting in which organised crime gangs were sold encrypted phones that law enforcement officials could monitor has led to more than 800 arrests and the confiscation of drugs, weapons, cash and luxury cars, officials said on Tuesday. The operation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Australian and European police ensnared suspects in Australia, Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East involved in the global narcotics trade, the officials said. Millions of dollars in cash were seized in raids around the world, along with 30 tonnes of drugs including more than eight…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Genocide conviction upheld against former Bosnian Serb military chief Mladic

WORLD

STEPHANIE VAN DEN BERG and ANTHONY DEUTSCH UNITED Nations war crimes judges have upheld a genocide conviction and life sentence against former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic, rejecting all grounds of appeal against a lower tribunal's verdict. Mladic, 78, led Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. He was convicted in 2017 on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes including terrorising the civilian population of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo during a 43-month siege, and the killing of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995. He had been…

May

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Senior Hamas commander killed as Israel strikes Gaza, Palestinians fire rockets

WORLD

NIDAL al-MUGHRABI and JEFFREY HELLER ISRAEL said it killed 16 members of the Hamas military wing in an airstrike on Gaza yesterday and Palestinian militants rained rockets into Israel as global concern mounted over their most intense hostilities in years. At least 53 people have been killed in Gaza since violence escalated on Monday, according to the Palestinian territory's health ministry. Six people have been killed in Israel, medical officials said. Israel's Shin Bet security service said the brigade commander for Gaza City was among senior members of the Islamist militant group Hamas who had been killed. "This is just…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

FACTBOX-Back to pubs, gyms and movies: plotting the road back to normal

WORLD

AS the COVID-19 vaccine rollout gains momentum, many countries are planning a gradual return to normal, opening borders and letting people back into restaurants, shops and sports venues after more than a year of on-off lockdowns. Here are some of their plans, in alphabetical order: BRITAIN Non-essential retailers in England reopened on April 12 along with pubs and restaurants operating outdoors. Indoor hospitality, cinemas, theatres and sports halls reopened on May 17. Britain also allowed international travel to resume, with quarantine rules still in place for most arrivals. The government aims to lift most remaining restrictions in England on June…

May

13

2021

By The African Mirror

As COVID-19 ravages India, a slum succeeds in turning the tide

WORLD

ROLI SRIVASTAVA FARHANA Shaikh used to recoil in disgust when she went to the communal toilet in Dharavi. But since the pandemic struck, efforts to fight COVID-19 have dramatically improved public sanitation in one of Asia's largest slums. As Indian cities face record daily deaths, new cases have plunged in the Mumbai slum in recent weeks as officials bolstered anti-virus measures first put in place last year - from mass testing to disinfections in public areas, including bathrooms. "The toilet is being cleaned every day since the last year as against once a week earlier. There's soap and sanitiser and…