WORLD - The African Mirror

Dec

16

2024

Some disabled workers are making pennies per hour. Will that change under Trump?

WORLD

UNDER section 14(c) of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, some people with disabilities can legally be paid pennies an hour. A new rule proposed by the Department of Labor would end the practice. In a proposal released last week, the federal government would stop issuing new certificates that allow companies to pay a subminimum wage to disabled workers while phasing out old certificates over a three-year period. The proposal is a first step toward fulfilling one of President Joe Biden’s longstanding campaign promises. But before it can take effect, the rule will have to go through a public comment…

Dec

16

2024

By The African Mirror

Brazil’s Lula leaves hospital after surgery

WORLD

IN a dramatic chapter of Brazilian political resilience, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva emerged from the hospital, after surviving a health scare. Reuters reports that the 79-year-old political leader stood before reporters after emergency surgeries, wearing a jaunty hat and radiating optimism. "I'm here, whole," he proclaimed, in comments first documented by Reuters. According to Reuters, Lula's medical team advised caution: no long-haul international flights and limited physical exertion for a month. The president was discharged from São Paulo's Sirio-Libanes Hospital on Sunday, as Reuters initially reported. Reuters documented Lula's commentary on the arrest of Walter Braga Netto,…

Dec

14

2024

By The African Mirror

Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country

WORLD

SINCE the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centres have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday. Quoting from a statement by Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen, she described these scenes as a “testament to unspeakable suffering and pain beyond comprehension endured by those detained, their families, and their loved ones.” These images, however, reveal just a glimpse…

Dec

14

2024

By EDEN TURNER

For Native American women, stepping into leadership starts with reclaiming their past

WORLD

WHEN Susan Masten was growing up in Northern California, her familial traditions were lost in a confusion of cultures. Native American communities pass down traditions through the matrilineal line, and Masten’s grandmother was a basket-maker, spoke Yurok — the language of her tribe of the same name — and organized tribal ceremonies with her family. But when she was sent to boarding school along with more than 60,000 other children between 1869 and the 1960s through the federal Indian boarding school policy, that culture was punished out of her, replaced by the dominant language, religion and traditions. When she came home, Masten’s grandmother…

Dec

13

2024

By BARBARA RODRIGUEZ and JASMINE MITHANI

AI enters Congress: Sexually explicit deepfakes target women lawmakers

WORLD

MORE than two dozen members of Congress have been the victims of sexually explicit deepfakes — and an overwhelming majority of those impacted are women, according to a new study that spotlights the stark gender disparity in this technology and the evolving risks for women’s participation in politics and other forms of civic engagement. The American Sunlight Project (ASP), a think tank that researches disinformation and advocates for policies that promote democracy, released findings on Wednesday that identify more than 35,000 mentions of nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII) depicting 26 members of Congress — 25 women and one man — that…

Dec

13

2024

By UNHCR staff

What do recent events in Syria mean for Syrian refugees?

WORLD

AN offensive by armed opposition groups that began in northwest Syria on 27 November and quickly spread to other parts of the country, reached the capital, Damascus, early on Sunday morning. By the end of the day, President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule had collapsed, leaving Syria at a crossroads. Over the past 14 years of conflict and crisis, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed or injured and more than 13 million have been forced from their homes – half the pre-war population. Over 7 million Syrians are displaced inside the country while more than 6 million are living…

Dec

12

2024

By The African Mirror

Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams

WORLD

THE historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday. Since 28 November, “more than one million people – mostly women and children – have been displaced across Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Homs. Some have reportedly been gone returning home in recent days,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)…

Dec

12

2024

By The African Mirror

Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law

WORLD

FOUR independent human rights experts jointly called on Wednesday for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms which regulate the conduct of war. The four Special Rapporteurs - independent experts advising the Human Rights Council in their personal capacities – were speaking at a press conference in Geneva…

Dec

12

2024

By THOMAS GIFT

Trump wants to shake up the FBI – here’s why he nominated Kash Patel to do it

WORLD

KASH Patel, Donald Trump’s nominee to direct the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), once declared that his first act in power would be to “shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state”. Trump appears to agree with the sentiment, but not the solution: why shut the FBI down when you can use it to harass your political enemies? Trump plans to install Patel as FBI director to replace Christopher Wray, whom he appointed in 2017 after dismissing his predecessor, James Comey. Patel made a name…

Dec

11

2024

By SARA HARMOUCH

Abu Mohammed al-Golani may become the face of post-Assad Syria – but who is he and why does he have $10M US bounty on his head?

WORLD

THE fall of President Bashar al-Assad has left a critical question: After a half-century of brutal dynastic rule has come to an end, who speaks for Syrians now? One group staking a major claim for that role is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which, under the leadership of Abu Mohammad al-Golani, spearheaded the opposition advance that toppled Assad. But what does the group stand for? And who is al-Golani? The Conversation turned to Sara Harmouch, an expert on Islamist militant groups, for answers. What is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has its roots in the early stages of the Syrian civil…