WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

17

2025

Renovating homes helps rebuild lives in northern Syria

WORLD

WHEN Abdel Hamid Al-Hashimi returned to his small village of Barneh in northern Syria, close to the city of Aleppo, he found a home in ruins. The 51-year-old farmer and imam had been forced to flee five years earlier, suffering a series of displacements as he sought safety for himself and his extended family. When they came back in 2020, the house they had called home was a wreck. “We returned with nothing,” said Al-Hashimi. “We left all our belongings behind. We had nothing at all.” The house, he added, “had no doors or windows”. Every winter, as temperatures plummeted,…

Jan

17

2025

By DAVID ROGER MARPLES

Can Trump deliver on his promise to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

WORLD

IN the months prior to the November 2024 presidential election in the United States, Donald Trump claimed that if elected to office, he would end the war in Ukraine “in one day.” By Christmas Eve, the president-elect had moderated his claim, suggesting only that he would bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table. On several counts, Trump’s chances seem slim if the object is to find a solution acceptable to both sides. Russia’s war is costly in terms of human losses for territory gained. A recent report stated that the Russian army was losing 1,500 troops per day in…

Jan

16

2025

By The African Mirror

Syria: Tragedy ‘at every step’ as millions of children face landmine threat – UNICEF

WORLD

IN Syria, landmines and other explosives left over from years of conflict present an ever more lethal threat to children, accounting for over 100 child deaths and injuries last month alone, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday. Ricardo Pires, UNICEF Communication Manager for Emergencies, told journalists from Damascus that in the last nine years, at least 422,000 incidents involving unexploded ordnance – or UXO - were reported in 14 governorates across Syria, “with half estimated to have ended in tragic child casualties”. “Girls and boys in the country continue to suffer the brutal impact of unexploded ordnance (UXO)…

Jan

16

2025

By DAFYDD TOWNLEY

Joe Biden’s legacy: four successes and four failures

WORLD

THE Biden administration comes to an end on January 20. Joe Biden joins Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush on the list of single-term presidents in the modern era. So, how will the Biden presidency be remembered? His average job approval rating of 42% across his term suggests he would be ranked well below average by the US public right now. He was rated at 39% in December – exactly the same as his predecessor Donald Trump’s rating just before he left office. But in many ways, Biden’s rating is a better representation of the political schism in…

Jan

16

2025

By JAPHY WILSON

Buried alive? The surreal story of how COVID took over a remote city in the Amazon

WORLD

JUAN Pablo Vaquero was pronounced dead in the Peruvian Amazonian city of Iquitos in the first wave of COVID-19 in April 2020. His sister wasn’t allowed to see his body. Three days later he appeared at her home, after having allegedly awoken in a pile of corpses in the jungle. Uncle Covid, as Vaquero came to be known, became a local media sensation. His story was dismissed as an urban myth by the political and professional elites of the city. But it struck a chord with an impoverished majority trapped in an unprecedented crisis. As my new research on the…

Jan

15

2025

By ZAYDEE SANCHEZ and JESSICA KUTZ

‘I just really want my home back’

WORLD

THE Eaton Fire devastated the unincorporated Los Angeles suburb of Altadena, reducing homes to rubble and scattering families. As of press time, the fire had burned over 14,000 acres. In Altadena, a historically Black community, it has killed at least 17 people and destroyed thousands of structures — homes, churches, businesses, and schools. During the civil rights movement, Altadena was one of the few places offering home loans to Black people. As a result, the number of Black residents in the town went from 4 percent, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act of 1968, to 27 percent…

Jan

15

2025

By WILLIAM A. STOLTZ and MICHAEL ROGERS

As China expands its cyber espionage and sabotage operations, how will the Trump administration respond?

WORLD

US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. These include positions like national cyber director, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and National Security Council cyber lead. These figures will be vital in securing America’s cyber security at a crucial time. We believe there are three flashpoints that could be particularly troublesome for the incoming administration: how Trump will balance his economic and security priorities how his administration can effectively deter Chinese digital disruption how it…

Jan

15

2025

By ROBERT KLUIJVER

Is it time to recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan?

WORLD

IS it justifiable to continue not recognising the Taliban government, which has been in power for more than three years? This stance does nothing to improve the situation of Afghan women and prevents the international community from fully engaging on other critical issues in the country. Report from the field by a UN consultant. Working for the United Nations in Afghanistan Working for the United Nations in Afghanistan today presents curious challenges. The Taliban government, in power since August 15, 2021, is not recognised. Despite this non-recognition, the UN maintains a considerable political presence in the country, while UN agencies, primarily…

Jan

14

2025

By DANIEL DRACHE and MARC D. FROESE

Billionaires and loyalists will provide Trump with muscle during his second term

WORLD

META’S announcement that it will abandon fact-checking in the United States — in what appears to be an appeasement to fact-averse Donald Trump — is just the latest illustration of the importance of billionaires in the president-elect’s second term. Some of the world’s wealthiest business leaders have lined up to support Trump, while his cabinet choices also reflect his penchant for the wealthy. To an unprecedented degree, Trump has stacked his cabinet with conspicuous loyalists. The fact that most are rich white men isn’t out of step with previous Republican administrations. Titans of finance and captains of industry have always…

Jan

14

2025

By MORGIANE NOEL

Syria: how the fall of Assad has affected the asylum debate in Europe

WORLD

AFTER the fall of Bashar al-Assad and his family’s 50-year dynasty of fear, several European countries announced a suspension of asylum application procedures. Germany, France and Sweden are among the countries which have also paused all pending asylum requests from Syrians. Austria, meanwhile, has signalled it will soon order refugees to return. Across Europe, Syrians presently make up one of the largest groups of asylum seekers. As the primary host country for Syrian refugees within the European Union, Germany has provided shelter to nearly 1 million Syrian nationals. So its decision to declare a halt to processing asylum applications from…