WORLD - The African Mirror

Apr

16

2026

They served their prison time. Then came deportation

WORLD

JJ had a five-year plan to turn his life around. After being released from prison in 2022, he completed an 18-month job training program with the Los Angeles-based organization Homeboy Industries and began working as a cook for the group’s onsite cafe. He enrolled in two different community college programs to study business administration and culinary arts. He volunteered with groups to help other trans Latinx and formerly incarcerated people get back on their feet. By the time he reached the five-year anniversary of his release date, JJ hoped he would have saved enough to buy a house with his…

Apr

15

2026

By LEON GOLDSMITH

Strait of Hormuz blockade: the complex regional realities the US ignores at its peril

WORLD

AFTER the breakdown of ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran, President Donald Trump has now ordered a blockade of the pivotal Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. It’s just the latest and most combustible phase of a broader regional conflict with global impacts and long, complex roots. But while there has been copious analysis of this “coronary artery” of global oil and gas trade, much less attention has been paid to the history and sociopolitical fabric of the Hormuz region itself. This is something of a blind spot, because understanding the deeper cultural dynamics of the strait…

Apr

15

2026

By MATTHEW SUSSEX

What Viktor Orbán’s election loss means for Putin, Trump and the rise of right‑wing populism

WORLD

HUNGARY’S most consequential election in decades has just delivered an important victory for democracy and accountability. For Hungarians, opposition leader Péter Magyar’s emphatic defeat of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz Party ends 16 years of corruption and quasi-authoritarianism. The outcome will also be felt widely, from Moscow to Washington and beyond. In a contest characterised as a referendum on whether Hungary should pivot west or continue its authoritarian drift, Magyar’s victory is a stern rebuke to the dark, transnational forces of nativism, division and the politics of resentment that have become part of mainstream political discourse. Perhaps…

Apr

15

2026

By DARIUS VON GUTTNER SPORZYNSKI

Pope Leo’s resolute response to Trump attack reveals a man of God, not politics

WORLD

WHEN Pope Leo XIV condemned threats to destroy Iranian civilisation as “truly unacceptable” in April 2026, the backlash was immediate. US President Donald Trump unleashed a tirade against the pope on social media, accusing him of being “weak on crime”, “terrible for foreign policy”, and acting like a politician rather than a religious leader. But the exchange that followed matters more than the accusation. Confronted with criticism from Trump, Leo did not retreat. He made his position explicit: he was not afraid to speak, because his task was to proclaim the gospel. Leo said he had “no fear of the…

Apr

14

2026

By SANJOY PAUL

Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade risks new costs for the global economy

WORLD

FOR weeks now, the world economy has been on tenterhooks, waiting for one outcome: reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In response to the war with Israel and the United States, Iran has effectively closed the narrow waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes. Some ships have passed through the strait during the war, but largely on Iran’s terms, including by reportedly paying tolls for safe passage. Opening the Strait back up to all shipping traffic was a key condition of the two-week ceasefire agreed to last week. But after “marathon” talks between the…

Apr

14

2026

By NATASHA LINDSTAEDT

Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia emerge as a new regional power bloc amid Iran war

WORLD

PAKISTAN’S prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, announced that a two-week ceasefire had been agreed between the US and Iran in the early hours of April 8. Delegates from both sides are expected to attend further talks in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Friday. This comes less than two weeks after Pakistan hosted talks with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey in which the four countries called for an end to hostilities in the Gulf. The meeting established the quartet as the primary negotiating channel between Tehran and Washington, and may signal the beginning of a new regional order designed to curb…

Apr

14

2026

By RUI DU

What a Chinese crackdown on corruption meant for Beijing’s high‑end restaurant market

WORLD

CORRUPTION crackdowns are bad for businesses that thrive on their proximity to political power centres. In fact, they can change the physical layout of an entire industry. That is what my colleagues and I found when we looked at the impact of a major Chinese government campaign against corruption on Beijing’s restaurants. In 2012, the Chinese Communist Party introduced its eight-point regulation initiative. This put in place new rules to stop public officials from enjoying lavish banquets and luxury travel, or having extravagant meetings at the expense of taxpayers and businesses. The sudden change in rules in China presented an…

Apr

13

2026

By JEFFREY TALIAFERRO

4 ways the war in Iran has weakened the United States in the great power game

WORLD

“NEVER interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Napoleon Bonaparte’s maxim may well have been in the minds of policymakers in Moscow and Beijing these past weeks, as the U.S. war in Iran dragged on. And now that a 14-day ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is in effect – with both sides claiming “victory” – Russian and Chinese leaders still have an opportunity to profit from what many see as America’s latest folly in the Middle East. Throughout the week-long conflict, China and Russia struck a delicate balance. Both declined to give Iran – seen to a varying…

Apr

13

2026

By SAMINA YASMEEN

In mediating the US‑Iran peace talks, Pakistan is flexing its geopolitical muscles

WORLD

WHEN news of the fragile ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran first broke, it came via a post on X by Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif. Securing such a big diplomatic win is highly significant for Pakistan, irrespective of how the agreement has since been tested. Pakistan will remain central to ongoing peace negotiations, with talks between the parties being held in the country on April 10. With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire…

Apr

11

2026

By SCOTT LUCAS

Why is Israel continuing to attack Lebanon, despite the ceasefire? Expert Q&A

WORLD

THE ceasefire in the Middle East is on shaky ground. Israel continued its bombardment of Lebanon on Wednesday, claiming its activities there are not part of the deal with Iran. These attacks killed at least 254 people across Lebanon and injured over 800 more in what was Israel’s largest offensive of the war so far. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz again and threatened a “regret-inducing response” if the strikes continue. Donald Trump subsequently warned that US strikes on Iran would resume if it did not comply with the ceasefire. We spoke to Scott Lucas, an expert in…