WORLD - The African Mirror

Oct

05

2024

One year of war in Gaza

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Eric Reidy EVENTS in the Middle East are spinning toward a terrifying precipice with alarming speed. Following the relentless pace of expanding conflict, destruction, and death is both mind-bending and soul-crushing for anyone with some sort of connection to the region or who cares about the well-being of its people. Amid the torrent, the fact that Israel has been waging total war against the entirety of the Gaza Strip and its population for one year now is at risk of somehow – unimaginably – being overshadowed. Where is the time to…

Oct

04

2024

By The African Mirror

Israel’s Lebanon assault: A double suffering for Syrian refugees

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. As Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon intensifies, forcing more than a million people from their homes, among the most vulnerable communities are Syrian refugees, who have faced a long history of hostility and discrimination. Fleeing two weeks of Israeli airstrikes and a growing ground assault, around 100,000 people have crossed the border into Syria from Lebanon, according to UN figures. Syrian authorities have put the number higher, saying in a social media post that 132,000 Lebanese and 54,000 Syrians have crossed since last week. But for many of the roughly 1.5…

Oct

05

2024

By BARBARA RODRIGUEZ

Political expectations for celebrities are changing. Enter Chappell Roan

WORLD

CHAPPEL Roan announced last week that she had cancelled two festival performances, shortly after the rising pop megastar faced backlash over her views on political endorsements. “Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it,” the 26-year-old singer wrote to fans after the cancellation. “I feel pressure to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health.” In an interview with the Guardian in September, Roan said she did not “feel pressured” to endorse anyone for president, citing problems on “both sides.” Internet users began circulating out-of-context clips, prompting the…

Oct

04

2024

By NOUR ELASSY

Amid all the darkness: How kindness helped me survive one year of Israel’s genocide in Gaza

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Nour ElAssy As I watch the full moon rise above the dark skies of Gaza, all I can think of is the state of moral bankruptcy in the world that has allowed this genocide to go on for one year. Amid all of this, how do we – Palestinians still surviving in Gaza – preserve our humanity? How do we maintain our moral compass when everything around us is urging us to let it go? I keep looking at my people, and perhaps the greatest blessing throughout the entire calamity being…

Oct

04

2024

By SHEFALI LUTHRA

Melania Trump supports and defends abortion rights in new memoir

WORLD

FORMER first lady Melania Trump defends abortion rights in her new memoir, The Guardian reported Wednesday. Melania Trump wrote in the book, set to publish Tuesday, that abortion is a “personal freedom” — a framing similar to that used by Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and one that is in line with the views of most American women between the ages of 18 and 49. Melania Trump has been largely absent on the campaign trail and rarely expresses political views. The former first lady also defended the right to an abortion later in pregnancy, noting that many of those abortions involve wanted…

Oct

03

2024

By MATTHEW CARL IVES and NATALIE SUM YUE CHUNG

China leads the net zero transition – here’s what we can learn from its progress in Beijing and Hong Kong

WORLD

CHINA is winning the clean energy race. It has spent ten times more on clean energy than either the US or Europe over the past five years. It dominates the rapidly growing renewables manufacturing market, producing 90% of all solar panels, over 70% of all lithium batteries, and 65% of all wind turbines. That’s a very smart move. Our recent research shows there’s no evidence that solar and wind cannot continue their recent spectacular growth rates. Renewables could become a multi-trillion-dollar global industry in the near future. The eye-watering investments of the European Green Deal and the US’s Inflation Reduction…

Oct

02

2024

By The African Mirror

Lebanon: UN launches $426 million appeal as conflict threatens ‘humanitarian and human rights catastrophe’

WORLD

AMID the start of a reported Israeli ground offensive against the Hezbollah armed group in southern Lebanon and fears of more civilian suffering, the UN launched an urgent humanitarian appeal on Tuesday to support those most in need in the country. The three-month, $426 million flash appeal launched by the UN and partners together with the Lebanese Government, will address “rapidly escalating” needs for food and other survival supplies, shelter, education and protection of civilians, said UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke. Widespread Israeli shelling has already forced one million people to flee their homes and Mr…

Oct

02

2024

By AMANDA BECKER and SARA LUTERMAN

After Harris visited the border, Trump mocked her as ‘mentally disabled’

WORLD

ON Saturday, the day after Vice President Kamala Harris’ first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border as a presidential candidate, her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, used a new insult against her at a campaign event in Wisconsin, describing Harris as “mentally impaired” and “mentally disabled.” By Sunday, despite objections from disability rights groups and against advice from members of his own party, Trump had incorporated the snub into his stump speech. “Joe Biden became mentally impaired,” he said of the president in meandering remarks that lasted nearly two hours before a crowd in Pennsylvania. “But lyin’ Kamala Harris, honestly? I believe she was born…

Sep

30

2024

By AMANDA BECKER

Vance attends town hall hosted by anti-LGBTQ+ Christian nationalist pastor

WORLD

REPUBLICAN vice presidential nominee JD Vance attended a town hall outside Pittsburgh on Saturday hosted by a Christian nationalist televangelist who believes that Democrat Kamala Harris has an “occult spirit” that runs through her, that she represents the “spirit of Jezebel,” and that she used “witchcraft” during the September presidential debate. Vance spoke to the crowd in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, about his upbringing in a working-class family in Ohio and about how drug use within his family and his conversion to Catholicism have shaped his life. He also tied the country’s opioid crisis and crime to illegal immigration while praising the United States as the…

Sep

30

2024

By The African Mirror

UN Human Rights Commission calls for an end to “senseless criminality” in Haiti

WORLD

THE United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) has called on the world to help tackle insecurity in Haiti where hundreds have been killed, thousands displaced as a result of gang violence. At a media briefing, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UNHRC said the latest figures documented by the UN Human Rights Office indicated that at least 3,661 people have been killed since January 2024, maintaining the high levels of violence seen in 2023. Shamdasani said: “Tackling insecurity in Haiti, where hundreds have been killed, injured, or displaced as a result of gang violence, must be the utmost priority,” said spokeswoman…