United States - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

South African man shot dead in Hawaii

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER A South African man has been shot and killed by police in Hawaii.. Lindani Myeni, a rugby player, who was living in Hawaii with his wife Lindsay and two children, was shot several times after a scuffle at his home in Nuuanu. According to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD), Myeni was allegedly shot after a scuffle with three police officers. HPD chief Susan Ballard told local media that Myeni punched an officer after he was ordered to lie down. “The second officer tried to intervene and the third officer used a taser. The first officer then fired…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. imposes visa curbs on Ugandan election officials

NEWS

THE United States is imposing visa bans on Ugandan government officials accused of human rights violation and repressive acts that tainted the January election, putting pressure on longtime Western ally President Yoweri Museveni. The visa restrictions will apply to "those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process" during the January 14 election and its preparations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. "There are consequences for interfering in the democratic process," Blinken wrote later on Twitter. The statement did not name those targeted. The Ugandan government rejected the allegations and accused the United…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. won’t force NATO allies into ‘us or them’ choice on China

WORLD

ROBIN EMMOTT THE United States will not force any NATO ally to choose sides between Washington and Beijing, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, although he warned that the West needed to show authoritarian states that democracy was superior. European allies France and Germany are looking for a strategic balance in relations with Beijing and Washington that ensures the European Union is not so closely allied with one of the world's two big powers that it alienates the other. "The United States won't force allies into an 'us-or-them' choice with China," Blinken, on his maiden voyage to…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Sudan requests mediation over Ethiopian dam

NEWS

SUDAN’S prime minister has written to the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States to formally request their mediation on the Nile water being used to fill Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the Sudanese foreign ministry announced yesterday. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok expressed concern over Ethiopia's stated intention of adding more water to the reservoir behind the hydropower dam for a second year in letters sent on Saturday, the statement added. Sudan had already floated the idea of the four-party mediation with Egyptian support after an African Union-led mediation effort stalled.

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

It is official: U.S. back in the Paris climate club

WORLD

VALERIE VOLCOVICI THE United States officially rejoined the Paris climate agreement on Friday, reinvigorating the global fight against climate change as the Biden administration plans drastic emissions cuts over the next three decades. Scientists and foreign diplomats have welcomed the U.S. return to the treaty, which became official 30 days after President Joe Biden ordered the move on his first day in office. Since nearly 200 countries signed the 2015 pact to prevent catastrophic climate change, the United States was the only country to exit. Former President Donald Trump took the step, claiming climate action would cost too much. U.S.…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. cancels its observation of Uganda’s presidential election

NEWS

THE United States has cancelled its observation of Uganda's presidential election because most of its accreditation requests were denied and said today's vote would lack accountability and transparency. The announcement adds to a growing chorus of concern over the credibility of the election pitting Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, against 10 candidates including opposition frontrunner Bobi Wine, a popular singer. While previous elections have been marred by crackdowns on the opposition, campaigning this time has been particularly violent. Scores of people have been killed and opposition candidates, supporters and campaign staff have been repeatedly arrested and intimidated. The…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

China senior diplomat says U.S. relations at ‘new crossroads’

WORLD

CHINA's relationship with the United States has reached a "new crossroads" and could get back on the right track following a period of "unprecedented difficulty", senior diplomat Wang Yi said in official comments. Relations between the world's two biggest economies have come under increasing strain amid a series of disputes over trade, human rights and the origins of COVID-19. In its latest move, the United States blacklisted dozens of Chinese companies it said had ties to the military. Wang, China's state councillor and foreign minister, said in a joint interview with Xinhua news agency and other state media outlets that…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE -U.S. preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown – sources

WORLD

HUMEYRA PAMUK and MATT SPETALNICK THE United States is preparing to impose sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing's disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong, according to three sources, including a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The move, which could come as soon as Monday, will target officials from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as President Donald Trump's administration keeps up pressure on Beijing in his final weeks in office. President-elect Joe Biden takes over on January 20. The State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Biden says U.S. ‘ready to lead’ again on global stage

WORLD

TREVOR HUNNICUTT and HUMEYRA PAMUK PRESIDENT-ELECT Joe Biden says the United States will be "ready to lead" again on the global stage after he succeeds President Donald Trump in January, pledging to work together with Washington's allies abroad. Introducing his new foreign policy and national security team, the Democratic former vice president signaled that he intends to steer the United States away from the unilateralist "America First" agenda pursued by Trump. The Republican incumbent has unsettled many U.S. allies, especially in Europe, with an antagonistic approach toward the NATO alliance and trade relations, abandonment of international agreements and warm relationships…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

U.S. says Google breakup may be needed to end violations of antitrust law

WORLD

DIANE BARTZ and DAVID SHEPARDSON The U.S. sued Google on Tuesday, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals in the biggest challenge to the power and influence of Big Tech in decades. The Justice Department lawsuit could lead to the break-up of an iconic company that has become all but synonymous with the internet and assumed a central role in the day-to-day lives of billions of people around the globe. Such an outcome is far from assured, however, and the case is likely to take years to resolve. The lawsuit marks the first…