WORLD - The African Mirror

Mar

13

2025

US and Ukraine sign 30-day ceasefire proposal – now the ball is in Putin’s court

WORLD

LESS than a fortnight after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky had their now-notorious row in the Oval Office and US-Ukrainian relations appeared irretrievably damaged, the two countries have reached an agreement. After nine hours of negotiations behind closed doors in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, negotiators signed off on a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, allowing the resumption of military aid and intelligence-sharing by the US. This does not mean that the guns in the war will now immediately fall silent. No ceasefire agreement between the warring parties – Russia and Ukraine – has been signed. In fact, it is not…

Mar

13

2025

By The African Mirror

Blood in the coastal cities: Syria’s new sectarian nightmare

WORLD

THE executions came without warning. Armed men moved through neighbourhoods in Tartus, Latakia, and Hama, knocking on doors in the dead of night. The question was simple: "Are you Alawite or Sunni?" The answer determined who would live and who would die. By the time the sun rose over Syria's coastal regions, 111 civilians lay dead—entire families erased, children executed alongside their parents, and the wounded killed in their hospital beds. And officials believe the true death toll is much higher. "They made us watch," one survivor whispered, eyes vacant with shock. "They shot my husband in front of our…

Mar

13

2025

By RITA BAROUD

“No war and no peace”: Gaza’s ongoing suffocation

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Rita Baroud SINCE I last wrote for The New Humanitarian, I finally returned to northern Gaza, where I grew up and lived all of my life before this war. There was no plan, no prior thought. The decision was spontaneous, even though we had been debating whether to go to the north for weeks. It was as if something was pulling me back to what remained of my old life even though I knew our home no longer existed – that it had been turned into rubble like thousands of…

Mar

12

2025

By KRISTOFER ALLERFELDT

How the US has tried to annex Canada before – and why some Canadians wanted to become American

WORLD

“CANADA never, ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” said Canada’s new prime minister-in-waiting, Mark Carney, after winning the race to lead the country’s Liberal party. Carney’s message was a response to repeated statements from Trump in the past few months that he wanted Canada to become part of the US, and for the border between the two to be erased. There is historical precedent to the idea of this specific land grab. Since its founding, the United States has frequently expressed an interest in merging with its northern neighbour. Even before the United States…

Mar

12

2025

By JULIAN COOPER

Russia’s economy is stagnating – but that won’t force it to end the war

WORLD

IN recent months, many Western media commentators have suggested the Russian economy is in such serious trouble that President Vladimir Putin will soon have little choice but to end the war in Ukraine. In December, the Washington Post reported fears among Russian businesses that interest rate hikes to combat inflation could bring the economy to a halt in 2025. More recently, an article in Politico suggested the reason Putin now seems ready to negotiate an end to the war is because he wants to “avoid a humiliating bankruptcy”. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago and the subsequent…

Mar

12

2025

By ORION RUMMLER

Gavin Newsom, self-described leader for LGBTQ+ issues, signals interest in restricting trans women athletes

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Orion Rummler of The 19th. Meet Orion and read more of his reporting on gender, politics and policy. CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and one-time star surrogate for former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow Californian, asked conservative activist and commentator Charlie Kirk for advice on how his party can build its own version of the frenetic support of the MAGA movement. Kirk’s immediate answer was that Newsom, and other Democrats, should vocally support bans on transgender women playing sports with other women. “Would you do something like…

Mar

11

2025

By The African Mirror

UNHCR urges more support in Syria as 1 million displaced in north-west yearn for home

WORLD

UP to 1 million internally displaced people (IDPs) living in camps and displacement sites across north-west Syria intend to return to their areas of origin within the next year, 600,000 of them in the next six months, according to a new survey. The survey showed that 51 per cent of households intend to return to their areas of origin, with 93 per cent planning to go home within three to twelve months. It was carried out between 26 January and 23 February. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and partners surveyed 4,800 households – more than 29,000 individuals – in 514…

Mar

11

2025

By JULIA KHREBTAN-HÖRHAGER

Is a united European voice possible in the age of Trump, Putin and far-right politics? Germany’s new leader intends to find out

WORLD

“WHO do I call if I want to speak to Europe?” The question was famously attributed to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and refers to the historical inability of the political entity of Europe to coordinate on a united front in the global arena. And despite decades of integration under the European Union, who speaks for Europe – or what the bloc desires to be – is perhaps less clear now than at any point in recent years. Internal cleavages over immigration, right-wing nationalism, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s return to the White House all challenge…

Mar

11

2025

By IAN HORWOOD

What is the value of US security guarantees? Here’s what history shows

WORLD

UKRAINE’S president, Volodymyr Zelensky, argues that any US-organised peace agreement would have to be accompanied by “security guarantees” from the US to prevent Russia from resuming its offensive in the future. However, Donald Trump has so far said the US will not commit to sending troops to Ukraine if Russia doesn’t stand by any such deal. Another way of assuring a security guarantee would be for Ukraine to be allowed to join NATO. As a NATO member, Ukraine would be protected by Article 5 which states that if one member is attacked, others will come to its aid. But Trump…

Mar

09

2025

By The African Mirror

Breaking the final glass ceiling: A call for female leadership at the United Nations

WORLD

IN a world torn by conflict, the time has come for transformative leadership at the United Nations. After eight decades of male Secretaries-General, we stand at a critical juncture where women's voices are not merely welcome but essential for global peace and security. Russia's brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues unabated into its third year. The Elders remain unwavering in our solidarity with the courageous Ukrainian people and their democratically-elected leader, President Zelenskyy. Yet we cannot ignore the rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, particularly with the new administration in the United States. As this conflict enters a pivotal phase, Ukraine's direct…