WORLD - The African Mirror

Feb

17

2025

We ask women voters: Is the president protecting women?

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Errin Haines of The 19th. Meet Errin and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. This column first appeared in The Amendment, a biweekly newsletter by Errin Haines, The 19th’s editor-at-large. Subscribe today to get early access to her analysis. FIVE days before the election, Donald Trump declared before his cheering supporters that as president, he wanted to “protect the women of America.” “I said, well, I’m gonna do it — whether the women like it or not,” Trump announced, after saying that some members of his campaign told him the statement was…

Feb

17

2025

By LINA EKLUND; HE YIN and JAMON VAN DEN HOEK

Gaza: we analysed a year of satellite images to map the scale of agricultural destruction

WORLD

THE ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas makes provisions for the passage of food and humanitarian aid into Gaza. This support is much needed given that Gaza’s agricultural system has been severely damaged over the course of the war. Over the past 17 months, we have analysed satellite images across the Gaza Strip to quantify the scale of agricultural destruction across the region. Our newly published research reveals not only the widespread extent of this destruction but also the potentially unprecedented pace at which it occurred. Our work covers the period until September 2024 but further data through to January…

Feb

15

2025

By JENNIFER GERSON

Elon Musk brought his 4-year-old to the Oval Office. It wasn’t just a photo op

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Jennifer Gerson of The 19th. Meet Jennifer and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. BILLIONAIRE tech mogul Elon Musk appeared alongside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday night, making a string of bold — and thus far unsubstantiated claims — about widespread government fraud and corruption recently discovered by him and his team. With the president and Musk was Musk’s 4-year-old son, X Æ A-Xii, often called Lil X. Throughout Musk’s stop by the Oval Office, X knelt by the Resolute Desk, picked his nose and whispered…

Feb

15

2025

By CELINE SCHMITT and VIVIAN TOUMEH

Returning refugees find comfort in home amid destruction in southern Syria

WORLD

SITTING in the living room of their shell-damaged home in the southern Syrian town of Sheikh Miskeenin in Dar’a governorate, Ibtihal, 52, described the surge of emotion she felt three weeks ago when she and her husband finally crossed back into Syria after a dozen years living as refugees in Jordan. “When I first arrived and stood at the border, I was overjoyed and moved, I started crying,” Ibtihal said. “I was so happy and excited to return … I hadn’t seen my country or my family for 12 years.” Having been separated from her home and loved ones for…

Feb

15

2025

By DAVID SMITH

35 years after The Satanic Verses controversy, newly unearthed letters reveal some uncomfortable truths

WORLD

FORMER Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is famous for his forthright statements to other world leaders. In March 1989, Mahathir wrote a letter to then UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that was blunt even by his standards. Unlike a lot of his angry letters, this one wasn’t published. Mahathir’s letter was about Salman Rushdie’s controversial book, The Satanic Verses. He wrote: I do not think I am a Muslim fanatic. Yet I find I cannot condone the writings of Salman Rushdie in his book […] And I find the attitude of the “Western Democracies” most patronising, arrogant and insensitive. In…

Feb

14

2025

By LEE MORGENBESSER

Is Elon Musk taking over the US government? Here’s how ‘state capture’ works – and why we should be concerned

WORLD

MANY Americans have watched in horror as Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has been permitted to tear through various offices of the United States government in recent weeks. Backed by President Donald Trump, and supported by a small team of true believers, he has successfully laid siege to America’s vast federal bureaucracy. On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order giving Musk even more power. It requires federal agencies to cooperate with his “The Department of Government Efficiency” (known as DOGE) in cutting their staffing levels and restricting new hires. In his first comments to the media since joining the…

Feb

14

2025

By NILS MALLOCK and JEREMY GINGES

We interviewed hundreds of Israelis and Gazans – here’s why we fear for the ceasefire

WORLD

AS the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas enters its fourth week, attention is now focusing on its more difficult second phase. And already the prospects of this proceeding as originally planned are looking extremely fragile. Hamas said it would delay the release of more Israeli hostages, arguing that Israel has breached the ceasefire conditions. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has responded with the threat that if the hostage exchange doesn’t take place as scheduled then the fighting in Gaza would start again. Any agreement can only hold if it is supported by ordinary people, and if it reflects…

Feb

13

2025

By The African Mirror

Bangladesh: UN report finds brutal, systematic repression of protests, calls for justice for serious rights violations

WORLD

BANGLADESH’S former Government and security and intelligence services, alongside violent elements associated with the Awami League party, systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations during last year’s student-led protests, a report by the UN Human Rights Office has found. Drawing on testimony of senior officials and other evidence, it also found an official policy to attack and violently repress anti-government protesters and sympathisers, raising concerns as to crimes against humanity requiring urgent further criminal investigation. Based on deaths reported by various credible sources, the report estimates that as many as 1,400 people may have been killed between…

Feb

13

2025

By AMANDA BECKER

Rep. Nancy Mace accuses four men of sexual misconduct in explosive House floor speech

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Amanda Becker of The 19th. Meet Amanda and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. FOR nearly an hour on Monday night, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina gave an unprecedented speech on the House of Representatives floor accusing four men — including her ex-fiancé — of rape, sex trafficking and sexual misconduct against her and other women. Mace, who is considering a gubernatorial run, also said that her likely Republican rival in that race, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, did not prosecute the men despite her giving his…

Feb

13

2025

By The African Mirror

Unconditional love: How dogs are healing the hearts of children in Ukraine

WORLD

A library in Odesa is full of children accompanied by their parents, though they are not there to scour the shelves for books. Today is a special day for them, the books are left untouched as they await the arrival of four-legged friends. Most of the attendees are strangers to one another, and the room is quiet as they wait for the event to begin. Children interacting with a Beagle from Kherson during IOM's dog-assisted psychosocial support activity in Ukraine. Photo: IOM Ukraine 2024/Stanislav Kalach The children eventually gather around waiting for the long-anticipated arrival of two furry friends. Initially…