WORLD - The African Mirror

May

04

2026

$334 Million and a city built on conquest: Israel formalises its war crime in the Golan

WORLD

THE Israeli cabinet’s approval of a 334-million-dollar development plan for the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is not, by itself, the beginning of a new policy. It is the financial and institutional crystallisation of a dispossession that has been under construction since 1967. What is new - and what demands the world’s attention - is the scale of the ambition, the timing of the announcement, and the near-total silence of the powers best positioned to stop it. The plan, adopted by the Israeli government, earmarks funding to expand the settlement of Katzrin - founded in 1977 on Syrian land occupied in…

May

02

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Middle East crisis pushes aid, food and fuel further from reach of millions, UN warns

WORLD

UNITED Nations agencies have sounded an urgent alarm over the worsening humanitarian fallout from the Middle East crisis, warning that disruptions to key Gulf shipping routes are driving up the cost of food, fuel, and emergency supplies - and that the people least able to absorb those shocks are already feeling the consequences. Heightened insecurity around the Strait of Hormuz has driven freight rates from relief-item source countries up by nearly 18 percent since the start of the crisis, while the transport capacity of the UN Refugee Agency's global providers has fallen from 97 to 77 percent since the beginning…

May

02

2026

By SAM EDWARDS

The king’s state visit was a success – but there is still a chasm to bridge between UK and US outlooks

WORLD

AS King Charles concludes his transatlantic travels with a visit to Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, he can take pride in a job well done. His four-day state visit to the US – which concluded with a wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery and a block party in Virginia – appears to have been a success. Amid a period of heightened tension between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the king’s carefully calibrated speech to a joint session of Congress has secured praise on both sides of the Atlantic (and on both sides of the Congressional aisle). It was…

May

02

2026

By TOBY MATTHIESEN

The Iran war has brought many old Gulf faultlines to the fore – and is creating new ones

WORLD

THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on April 28 that it will leave the global oil producers’ cartel OPEC. Its decision is the latest sign that the war in the Middle East has not only deepened animosities between Iran and its Gulf neighbours, but among the Gulf states too. Founded in 1960, OPEC is a rare success story among multilateral organisations in the region. Its policies paved the way for Gulf oil producers to have enough funds to buy back or renationalise their oil resources and finance the spectacular development of their states. The organisation has survived all major revolutions…

May

01

2026

By MICHAEL A. ALLEN

Can the nearly $1 trillion‑a‑year US military really be depleting key weapons in Iran?

WORLD

THE fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced on April 7, 2026, after 40 days of war, came at an opportune time for the United States. Several reports indicate it is running out of weapons amid the conflict. As a scholar focused on U.S. military deployments, these reports are concerning and somewhat surprising. After all, the United States spends more money on its military – nearly US$1 trillion annually – than the next nine highest-spending countries combined. How can the U.S. military be depleting its weapons against a largely isolated country that spends less than 1% of what the United States does? I…

May

01

2026

By ADI IMSIROVIC

UAE’s departure from OPEC tells a story about the limited future of oil production

WORLD

THE decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the oil producers’ cartel OPEC after 59 years is more than a symbolic break. It highlights a growing divide among major oil producers over how to respond to a changing energy landscape, and will weaken the group’s ability to manage global supply. In the short term, the impact of the UAE’s exit will be limited. The world still needs every available barrel of oil, and the UAE accounts for some 3-4% of global production. But the forces behind the decision are more significant than the move itself. They are both economic…

May

01

2026

By CLODAGH HARRINGTON

Is Trump losing the support of his MAGA base?

WORLD

IN an interview with NBC News in January 2026, Donald Trump said: “MAGA is me. Maga loves everything I do.” Until recently, this statement was true. But over the past several months, cracks have begun to appear in the loyalty of the US president’s “Make America Great Again” base. Two of the movement’s most prominent figures – former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson – have voiced their discontent with the leader they previously lavished with unconditional support. Greene’s falling out with Trump was rooted in her advocacy for releasing the investigative files related to late…

Apr

30

2026

By PHILIP MURPHY

How King Charles charmed the US while taking digs at Trump

WORLD

KING CHARLES’S speech to the US Congress – only the second such address by a British monarch – demonstrates how much both the US and the UK have changed in the last three decades. The first speech was in May 1991 during his mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s, third state visit to the US. The underlying purpose of both speeches was the same: to stress the enduring links between Britain and the US. But the circumstances in which they were delivered were very different. The late queen’s speech came in the wake of joint action by US and British forces, along…

Apr

30

2026

By The African Mirror

Gaza: six months of ceasefire have left the territory in rubble and little vision for the future of its people

WORLD

MUNICIPAL elections in the occupied West Bank and in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah on April 25 have been quickly framed by Fatah, the dominant faction within the Palestinian Authority (PA), as a sweeping victory. But it’s worth taking a closer look at how the election was organised. Candidates were required to commit to the political programme of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which includes the recognition of Israel, the renunciation of terrorism, and the pursuit of a two-state solution. It was a condition that was widely seen as effectively excluding Hamas, which does not support these policies.…

Apr

29

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENTS

World Cup 2026: football’s biggest party is being hosted by a country gripped by fear

WORLD

FORTY-five days before the world's biggest football tournament kicks off on American soil, a damning new report has cast a long shadow over what was meant to be football's most inclusive World Cup in history. Human Rights Watch released a 79-page guide on Monday, warning journalists, fans, players, and workers that the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup is unfolding against a backdrop of abusive immigration enforcement in the United States, new threats to media freedom, discrimination, and unmet human rights commitments by FIFA and host cities. The tournament - the first to span three countries, opening on June 11 across…