WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

14

2024

Over 91 Palestinians killed, Gaza officials say, as Israel targets Hamas military chief

WORLD

PALESTINIAN health officials in Gaza reported that over 91 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, as Israel launched a military operation targeting a senior Hamas commander. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed they had initiated strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, but did not immediately comment on specific casualty figures. The operation, which began in the early hours of Saturday, reportedly aims to eliminate a high-ranking member of Hamas' military wing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a brief address: "We are taking decisive action against those who threaten the security of our citizens." The Gaza's…

Jul

14

2024

By DR PATRICIA GOSSMAN and FERESHTA ABBASI

How to engage with the Taliban, if you have to

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Dr Patricia Gossman and Fereshta Abbasi SINCE the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghanistan has once again come under scrutiny for consistent allegations of human rights violations perpetrated mainly by the group. At the same time, given that Afghanistan was completely dependent on foreign assistance before 2021, aid cutbacks, sanctions, and banking restrictions imposed by foreign governments – including the United States – have fuelled an economic and humanitarian crisis in the country since the Taliban’s return. While donors should continue to press Taliban leaders to end their violations…

Jul

13

2024

By MENNA FAROUK

Gaza’s pregnant women defy odds to give birth, protect babies

WORLD

IN a flimsy tent crouched low among the smashed buildings of Rafah, Palestine Bahr felt her contractions begin early one day in May. Her baby was coming but how would she make her way through the rubble-strewn streets to a hospital without a car? She managed to find a donkey cart and rattled her way through the streets of the city in southern Gaza as her contractions got stronger. When she arrived at the Al Helal Al Emirati Maternity Hospital, she was tenth in line and had to wait for three hours before even getting to see a doctor. It…

Jul

13

2024

By The African Mirror

US blocks Diego Garcia asylum seekers detention hearing

WORLD

The US has blocked a British judge from holding a hearing on the British-held island of Diego Garcia to determine whether a group of asylum seekers is being unlawfully detained there. Around 60 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers have been confined to a fenced camp the size of a football pitch on Diego Garcia for nearly three years after fleeing Sri Lanka and India by boat. Diego Garcia hosts a large US-UK military base where the local commander of US forces on the island controls access to the facility. The Supreme Court of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes Diego Garcia,…

Jul

12

2024

By The African Mirror

US President Joe Biden under pressure to withdraw from presidential race amid health concerns

WORLD

IN a dramatic turn of events, US President Joe Biden is facing increasing calls to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, marking the biggest electoral crisis for the Democratic Party in recent history. Concerns about Biden's health have intensified, leading to a series of high-profile defections and a Republican-led investigation. On Wednesday, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee subpoenaed three senior White House aides—Anthony Bernal, Annie Tomasini, and Ashley Williams—to testify about President Biden's health. The panel's chair, Republican Representative James Comer, has accused Biden of being "unfit" for office and alleged that his staff has been less…

Jul

12

2024

By The African Mirror

A glimmer of good news for Gazans as health centre reopens in Khan Younis

WORLD

A glimmer of good news emerged from Gaza as patients returned to a newly reopened UN health centre in Khan Younis, six months after it was severely damaged and forced to close by heavy fighting, the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said. The UNRWA Japanese Health Center in Khan Younis offers primary healthcare services and houses a pharmacy and medical staff who had previously fled as fighting and Israeli tanks rolled through the streets outside. Now rehabilitated, the clinic can respond to the needs of thousands of displaced people who have returned to Khan Younis seeking shelter. There are…

Jul

11

2024

By NIZAR AL RIFAI

A Ukraine diary: Reflecting on two years of war

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Nizar Al Rifai TWO years after Russia launched its attempted full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I finally feel safe enough to publish my experiences using my real name. During the first month of the Russian invasion, which began on 24 February 2022, the small village I live in with my family west of the capital Kyiv, was directly in the line of attack. I kept a diary of writing and artwork during that time, which The New Humanitarian published shortly after Ukrainian resistance forced the Russian military to withdraw from the…

Jul

11

2024

By The African Mirror

Iraq sentences wife of ISIS leader to death

WORLD

AN Iraqi court has sentenced the wife of the late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to death, according to Reuters. The woman, who remains unnamed, was convicted for her involvement with the terrorist group and for holding Yazidi women captive in her home. The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council reported that the Yazidi women were initially abducted by Islamic State militants in the Sinjar district of Nineveh Governorate before being imprisoned in the woman's house in Mosul. A court official, speaking anonymously to Reuters due to lack of authorization, stated, "The criminal court today sentenced Baghdadi's wife to death by…

Jul

11

2024

By ERIC REIDY

What is life like in northern Gaza?

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Eric Reidy WHEN the Israeli military issued evacuation orders on 13 October last year, telling 1.1 million Palestinians in the north of the Gaza Strip to head south, Mahmoud Shalabi decided he wasn’t going to leave. “I would rather die in my home than in a tent,” Shalabi told The New Humanitarian in a recent interview, explaining his decision. Shalabi, 39, lives in Beit Lahia, just a few kilometres from the Israeli border, with his wife, their three children, and his elderly parents. He is the deputy programme director in…

Jul

10

2024

By The African Mirror

UN deplores Russia attack on hospitals for women and children which left over 40 dead

WORLD

UNITED Nations Human Rights Commission has deplored Russia's attack on two Ukraine hospitals which have left 41 dead. Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence made the following comment on the latest attacks in Ukraine, specifically on the children’s hospitals in Kyiv. “Last night, the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk described as abominable the deadly blasts at two Kyiv hospitals that treat children and women,” Jeremy Laurence said. The Russian Federation launched a wave of strikes on densely populated areas of Ukraine, including the cities of Kryvi Rih, Pokrovsk and Dnipro. As well as the hospitals, we have received reports that key energy…