WORLD - The African Mirror

Dec

04

2024

Ceasefires are not a panacea. Here are 4 reasons to be concerned about the Israel-Hezbollah deal

WORLD

THE announcement of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah is welcome news for a region torn apart by more than a year of warfare. Hopefully, when implemented, the ceasefire will offer some respite for both Lebanese and Israeli civilians. The deal came into effect at 4 am local time on Wednesday. However, the previous 24–48 hours had seen a dramatic increase in violence on both sides. This is part of a well-established pattern in warfare in which fighting increases in intensity just before a ceasefire comes into force. My research has shown that while ceasefires may be the least-worst…

Dec

04

2024

By The African Mirror

Russian jets pound Idlib after Syrian rebels’ Aleppo gains

WORLD

RUSSIAN and Syrian government jets reportedly hit the rebel-held northwest Syrian city of Idlib Monday, as rebel groups appeared to hold large parts of the city of Aleppo following a quick assault on government territory that began last week. The rebels, led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) began their biggest offensive in years on 27 November, progressing quickly to take the key Damascus-Aleppo highway and heading for the city. President Bashar al-Assad has said his government is capable of “defeating and eliminating” who he referred to as “terrorists and their supporters”, with the help of Syria’s allies and friends. Various international powers are taking sides,…

Dec

05

2024

By RILEY SPARKS, HAJAR HARB, OMAR NABIL ABDEL HAMID, and ERIC REIDY

Targeted aid killings: How Israel starved a population and sowed chaos in northern Gaza

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Riley Sparks, Hajar Harb, Omar Nabil Abdel Hamid and Eric Reidy EARLIER this year, as northern Gaza hurtled towards famine under Israeli bombardment and siege, UN agencies undertook an emergency effort to try to deliver food aid safely to hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of starvation. To secure deliveries, the agencies – including the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN’s aid coordination body, OCHA – turned to the local Palestinian community, which formed emergency committees composed of members of prominent families and tribes, and other volunteers. For…

Dec

03

2024

By SHABIA MANTOO

UNHCR warns of devastating spike in risk of gender-based violence for women and girls forced to flee

WORLD

ACROSS the world, more than 60 million women and girls who are forcibly displaced or stateless face high risks of gender-based violence. While gender-based violence remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations worldwide, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that the risks are heightened for women and girls experiencing situations of conflict, or who have been forced to flee their homes. According to UN Data, reports of conflict-related sexual violence increased shockingly by 50 per cent last year compared to the previous year. Women and girls accounted for 95 per cent of verified cases. These numbers represent a small…

Dec

03

2024

By NADRA NITTLE

McMahon would oversee student safety — but advocates worry about her own misconduct allegations

WORLD

EDUCATION leaders and advocates are speaking out against Linda McMahon, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to become education secretary, as a sexual misconduct lawsuit involving the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) garners increased interest. In October, attorneys filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of five men accusing McMahon and her husband, WWE co-founder Vince McMahon, of ignoring the sexual abuse by a male WWE employee that they endured as teen boys during the 1980s and 1990s. The men worked as “ring boys” who set up and broke down wrestling rings at WWE matches. They allege that WWE officials…

Dec

03

2024

By ANNA BARFORD and JAKOB T. PRUESS

Five fairness flaws the UN’s new plastics treaty must change

WORLD

THE UN’s new plastics treaty is about to be finalised – marking a crucial opportunity to form an international agreement to tackle the plastic pollution crisis. Plastic waste is ubiquitous – damaging human health and livelihoods, as well as ecosystems in water and on land; yet plastic production is at an all-time high. This week, the intergovernmental negotiating committee is meeting in Busan, Korea. The goal? To agree on an international legally binding way to curb harmful plastic production and pollution, including in the marine environment. Today’s plastics economy is largely fossil-based, extractive and rooted in the take-make-waste model that…

Dec

01

2024

By The African Mirror

Myanmar junta chief faces ICC arrest warrant

WORLD

THE International Criminal Court has filed for an arrest warrant against the leader of Myanmar’s military government, Min Aung Hlaing, for what the court’s chief prosecutor said are crimes against the nation’s long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. In the court’s statement, issued on Wednesday, the prosecutor, Karim Khan, accuses the military leader of “criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya, committed in Myanmar, and in part in Bangladesh”. The charges date back to 2016, when the military, along with police, border guards, and non-Rohingya civilians were accused of systematic killings of up to 10,000 Rohingya civilians, which the UN referred to as a…

Dec

01

2024

By The African Mirror

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on plight of civilians in Ukraine as result of attacks on energy infrastructure

WORLD

THE UN Rights Office on Friday warned about the plight of civilians in Ukraine after further attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure. “This week’s massive missile and drone attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukraine’s power network have heightened serious concerns about the plight of civilians, who are facing a winter of hardship and misery,” spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told the biweekly briefing in Geneva. Thursday’s missile and long-range drone strikes reportedly caused damage in at least 13 regions, in addition to Kyiv City, and resulted in blackouts affecting more than one million consumers across the country. In some regions, essential…

Dec

01

2024

By The African Mirror

International panel set up to help protect undersea cables

WORLD

AN international panel has been set up to protect undersea communications cables that are crucial for international trade and security, the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said on Friday. The creation of the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience comes amid an ongoing investigation into the severing of two fibre optic cables in the Baltic Sea, in less than 24 hours between 17 and 18 November. Beijing has denied any involvement but expressed its readiness to cooperate with Sweden in an investigation, after reports that a Chinese vessel was in the vicinity at the time both incidents occurred. The…

Nov

30

2024

By MICHAEL FRADLEY; ANDREW PETERSEN and BILL FINLAYSON

Gaza’s cultural heritage has been devastated by the conflict with Israel – this is how we’re documenting the damage

WORLD

SITUATED at the junction between Africa and Asia, Gaza is a critical archaeological landscape. But the region’s heritage is currently facing an unprecedented risk of loss. Alongside the widespread loss of life, homes and livelihoods in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel of October 7 2023, the rich cultural heritage of the region has been laid waste by military strikes and intentional demolition. As Israeli military attacks continue, it is not possible to provide a definitive assessment. But at present, based on our experience documenting the area, we can confidently estimate that around 50%…