WORLD - The African Mirror

May

30

2026

Is the ‘Quad’ dying a slow death? Even with Trump, it still has a vital role to play

WORLD

ANALYSTS have tried to make sense of US President Donald Trump’s second term with countless, sometimes contradictory, labels. He’s isolationist and transactional. He’s a populist. Or, more recently, a neoconservative. One way to make sense of both him and the broader state of geopolitics at the moment is to understand the difference between structure and agency. Trump has undoubtedly exercised his agency in expansive ways since beginning his second term. Yet, at the same time, he has been constrained by structural limitations. The Supreme Court’s ruling against his Liberation Day tariffs is one example. Another is Congress’s release of the…

May

30

2026

By BENJAMIN ISAKHAN and ELEANOR CHILDS

When wars destroy heritage, women lose more than monuments – new research

WORLD

AS conflict continues in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran and elsewhere, the cost is being recorded not only in deaths and displacement, but also in ruined libraries, mosques, churches, museums, archives and historic neighbourhoods. UNESCO has verified damage to 527 cultural sites in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion; 164 sites in Gaza since October 7 2023; and damage to the World Heritage-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran following a nearby airstrike. These losses are usually described as attacks on “history”, “civilisation” or “the past” and sometimes as a “loss for all humanity”. But as our new research details, such destruction can also negatively…

May

30

2026

By CHABELI CARRAZANA

How generations of nannies and cleaners fought for — and won — their rights

WORLD

IN subway stations and under the shade of trees across New York City, Allison Julien met with domestic workers. She wanted to talk to them about their basic rights — the ones they’d been denied for decades. It was the early 2000s, and nannies, home cleaners and home health aides across the state were in the midst of a years-long campaign to pass the nation’s first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, a document that would guarantee protections such as a minimum wage and paid time off after labor laws shut these workers out. Julien, then a nanny without permanent legal…

May

29

2026

By SIMON MABON

Trump’s call to expand Abraham Accords is destined to fail

WORLD

AS negotiations to end the Iran war continued on May 25, Donald Trump made a series of phone calls in which he pressed key leaders from the Middle East to join the Abraham Accords. Announced in 2020, these accords established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states, beginning with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. The US president reiterated his proposal in a social media post later that day: “After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these countries, at a…

May

29

2026

By HAMIDEH KHALEGHI MOHAMMADI and ALI ABBASI

How Iran uses billboards as wartime propaganda – we selected 5 to explain what they mean

WORLD

SINCE the US–Israel war against Iran began in late February, images of giant billboards in Tehran have been ubiquitous across traditional and social media. These billboards have been placed in some of the busiest and most visible parts of the city, and are constantly being updated to reflect current events. Iran has long used public spaces as a tool of political communication. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – and especially during the Iran–Iraq War – the regime has erected murals and billboards to display revolutionary imagery, war memorials and ideological messages. Today, these billboards are designed not only for local…

May

29

2026

By The African Mirror

India is a ‘country of countries’ – NZ business needs a regional strategy to make the trade deal work

WORLD

THE recently signed free trade agreement between New Zealand and India has so far been discussed and debated in very broad terms: the size of the Indian market, opportunities for exporters, and implications for immigration. Much of this is understandable. Preferential access to a market larger than the European Union and ASEAN countries combined, with purchasing power forecast to grow exponentially by 2050, is indeed an opportunity. Realising that opportunity, however, is another matter entirely. The real test for New Zealand businesses lies in how they now approach the regionally complex and dynamic Indian market. While the free trade agreement…

May

28

2026

By SHANNON BOSCH

Taunting and degrading civilians in armed conflict is a clear violation of international law

WORLD

IN a video posted by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday night, detained activists from dozens of countries are shown kneeling on the ground with their foreheads on the floor and hands zip-tied behind their backs. Some of the activists, who had been intercepted by Israeli forces on a flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea, are then pushed and dragged by Israeli personnel. Ben-Gvir is seen waving an Israeli flag and taunting them. The video on his X account had a simple message in English: “Welcome to Israel”. The video sparked widespread international condemnation. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong…

May

28

2026

By FARHANG MORADY

Methanol, pistachios, and cement: the other Iranian exports being choked by the war

WORLD

THE war between Iran, the US, and Israel has escalated into a major global crisis, with consequences that are reaching far beyond the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 25% of the world’s oil ordinarily passes, has rattled global energy markets. This has only been worsened by the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, which was imposed on April 13 in an attempt to restrict Iran’s ability to export its oil. In early May, the US Defense Department estimated that Iran had been denied nearly US$5 billion (£3.7 billion) in oil revenue due to…

May

28

2026

By RICHARD NIMIJEAN

Why Mark Carney is pushing ‘Fortress North America’ amid deep Canadian distrust of the U.S.

WORLD

PRIME Minister Carney recently said that “like Mexico, Canada remains open to deeper integration, including options for Fortress North America in (certain) sectors.” He added that “offers are on the table,” though he did not specify what they were. Even with a review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on the horizon, Carney is surely aware that it’s politically risky to advocate for closer ties with the United States when the country under President Donald Trump is considered a threat to Canadian sovereignty. There is historical precedent for Canadian politicians to face backlash after calling for deeper integration with the U.S.…

May

27

2026

By JAMES HORNCASTLE

Trump’s ‘largely negotiated’ truce with Iran exposes a deeper crisis in U.S. strategic thinking

WORLD

UNITED States President Donald Trump has announced via social media that a peace deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated.” While Trump and his allies have been trumpeting the agreement for days, details are vague, and Iranian authorities insist the two parties have yet to reach a formal deal. In fact, it appears much more negotiation is still required between Iran and the U.S. The confusion likely stems from one of Trump’s fixations: that the U.S. is winning the conflict, an assertion that’s at odds with the actual evidence. Insisting the U.S. is winning Trump, in his various statements on…