WORLD - The African Mirror

Jun

20

2026

Israel escalates East Jerusalem home demolitions, evictions in Silwan as discriminatory laws drive forced displacement

WORLD

ISRAELI authorities have sharply stepped up home demolitions and forced evictions of Palestinian residents in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, human rights groups say, in what critics describe as an orchestrated campaign to change the city’s demographics that may amount to international crimes. According to Human Rights Watch, the demolitions and eviction enforcement in Silwan — a cluster of neighborhoods immediately south of Jerusalem’s Old City — have accelerated since October 2023 and surged again during recent hostilities in Gaza and Israel’s 2026 confrontation with Iran. United Nations data shows 587 Palestinians have been displaced by demolitions since…

Jun

20

2026

By The African Mirror

Iran ceasefire deal confirms what we’ve been saying for years: military might doesn’t work

WORLD

WHAT a disaster the war against Iran has been for Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, signed on June 17, has formally brought a halt to the devastating war. Yet, as the ink dries on the 14-point preliminary framework, the reality of the document stands in stark contrast to the grandiose, megalomaniac rhetoric that defined the start of the conflict. Only a handful of analysts and scholars that I know of foresaw what is now unfolding, stressing the realities of Iran’s resilience in the face of international pressure for decades.…

Jun

20

2026

By MICHELLE OBAMA

“Barack, there are no words to express how proud I am of the way you showed up and continue to show up every single day”

WORLD

YOU told me all those years ago you couldn't promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life. And of course, you outdid yourself and managed to give me both. I know it hasn't always been easy, but there hasn't been a single second through this experience that standing by your side hasn't left me in awe. Eight years in the crucible, and not once did you melt from the heat. Not once did you let it harden you. Instead, you used it to reveal your truest essence - your stubborn optimism and unflinching courage, your dazzling…

Jun

19

2026

By REZA HASMATH

How China’s ‘red lines’ are quietly shaping global news reporting

WORLD

IN late 2013, Bloomberg’s then editor-in-chief, Matthew Winkler, spiked an investigation into the hidden wealth of China’s elite. Publishing it, he warned reporters on a call, would “wipe out everything we have tried to build.” More than a decade on, that trade-off, access versus accuracy, has hardened into habit. Reporters have learned where the lines are, and words quietly vanish from drafts. This is not a distant problem for Canadians. In 2022, the CBC closed its Beijing bureau after more than 40 years, not through any expulsion, but because authorities simply stopped issuing visas to its correspondents. As editor-in-chief, Brodie…

Jun

19

2026

By MIREILLE REBEIZ

US‑Iran deal leaves the future of Lebanon uncertain – and subject to Israel playing the spoiler

WORLD

THE United States and Iran inked a long-awaited provisional ceasefire deal on June 17, 2026. After months of uncertainty, the people of the Gulf region can, potentially, breathe a sigh of relief, and global markets look set to be boosted by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. What about those who have endured the war’s spillover in Lebanon? After all, the memorandum of understanding signed is not just a peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran alone. Rather, on Tehran’s insistence, the deal is intended to provide a cessation of hostilities on all fronts – including in Lebanon. President…

Jun

19

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Sweden retreats on child jail plan – but Human Rights Watch urges full reversal as gang violence fuels political pressure

WORLD

SWEDEN’S right-wing government has abandoned its controversial proposal to imprison 13-year-olds for serious violent crimes, a major policy reversal triggered by insufficient parliamentary support and fierce opposition from legal experts, police authorities, and the prison service. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer announced the withdrawal on June 11, saying the government "decided to act responsibly" by withdrawing the bill when it became clear the measures lacked the votes needed to pass. Instead, officials will propose lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14- a move Human Rights Watch (HRW) says is still "the wrong move". The original proposal, part of…

Jun

18

2026

By SHADI ROUHSHAHBAZ

The Iran peace deal must demand the release of Narges Mohammadi and other prisoners of conscience

WORLD

FEW Iranian women are as celebrated for defending freedom in Iran as Narges Mohammadi. She is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Andrei Sakharov Prize, the Olof Palme Prize, and the PEN and UNESCO press freedom awards, among others. Yet, like thousands of other political prisoners in Iran, her own freedom still matters little to the powerful forces around her. As US President Donald Trump’s administration negotiates a deal with the Iranian regime to end their nearly four-month war, Mohammadi’s fate has not received even a mention. There has been no commitment from Iran to release political prisoners…

Jun

18

2026

By SIMON MABON

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have different war aims – can the Iran peace deal survive?

WORLD

THE clock is ticking on the Iran peace deal. A memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US is due to be signed in Geneva on June 19, allowing for a 60-day ceasefire extension and the opening of the strategically vital waterway, the Strait of Hormuz. But key questions remain unresolved that could yet scupper the agreement. For Washington and Tehran, the memorandum also includes Lebanon. Iran has made the signing of the deal contingent on an Israeli undertaking to withdraw from the territories it has occupied in southern Lebanon during the war. And the US president, Donald Trump, has…

Jun

18

2026

By AMANDA BECKER

As men fought in cages at the White House, women urged Americans to take a ‘deep breath’

WORLD

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Tina Koumoutsos was inside a downtown events space organizing postcards about voting rights for the women's issues group she leads for the county Democratic Party when she noticed a familiar face on the big screen Sunday night. "Oh, that's Jane Fonda!" Koumoutsos said as the actor and longtime liberal political activist kicked off "Rise Up, Sing Out," an event honoring free speech that was livestreamed during President Donald Trump’s birthday cage matches. “They come for one of us, by God, they come for all of us!” Fonda said — and Koumoutsos joined the chorus of cheers and…

Jun

17

2026

By BAMO NOURI and INDERJEET PARMAR

US‑Iran war: what the ‘peace deal’ really means

WORLD

THE announcement of a new agreement between the United States and Iran has been greeted with relief across global markets. Oil prices have eased, shipping insurers have relaxed and politicians have rushed to hail a diplomatic breakthrough. The memorandum of understanding, which both sides have agreed to and are expected to formally sign in Switzerland on June 19, has even been described by some as a peace deal that will formally end the conflict. Yet that risks overstating what has actually been achieved. What has reportedly been agreed is a diplomatic framework intended to guide future negotiations, not a peace…