WORLD - The African Mirror

Feb

09

2026

How much trouble is Keir Starmer in?

WORLD

KEIR Starmer is in the middle of his worst crisis yet following further damaging revelations about Peter Mandelson’s friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Emails released by the US government revealed the depth of Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein and confirmed that it continued after Epstein’s conviction in 2008. Starmer insists that Mandelson lied to him and to the team responsible for vetting him as a candidate to be the UK ambassador to the United States. According to Starmer, Mandelson’s answers gave the impression that he barely knew Epstein. When emails came to light in September showing that the relationship was…

Feb

09

2026

By BAMO NOURI

Why it would be a big mistake for the US to go to war with Iran

WORLD

REPORTS of a growing US naval presence in the Gulf have prompted speculation that the US could be preparing for another Middle East war, this time with Iran. The US president, Donald Trump, has warned of “serious consequences” if Iran does not comply with his demands to permanently halt uranium enrichment, curb its ballistic missile program and end support for regional proxy groups. Yet, despite the familiar language of escalation, much of what is unfolding appears closer to brinkmanship than preparation for war. The US president’s own political history offers an important starting point for understanding why this is. Trump’s…

Feb

07

2026

By MINA FAKHRAVAR

‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ hasn’t faded in Iran — it’s being actively eliminated

WORLD

Anti-government protests in Iran have killed thousands of people. The relative calm in the country today was imposed by force. Protests that began over economic collapse quickly evolved into an overt political uprising, as chants moved from demands for survival to outright rejection of the regime. Since early January, repression has intensified sharply. Human rights organisations report thousands killed and tens of thousands arrested, while warning that the real toll is likely far higher, concealed through enforced disappearances, secret burials and executions carried out without due process. The absence of reliable figures is one of repression’s central techniques. Disposing of…

Feb

07

2026

By CALEB H. WHEELER

Could Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor be compelled to testify in US Epstein investigation?

WORLD

THE release of more Jeffrey Epstein files has again brought Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his friendship with the convicted paedophile sex offender back into the spotlight. The tranche of files contains emails between the former prince, his wife, Sarah Ferguson, and Epstein, including after the latter’s house arrest for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Also included is a photo of Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman on the ground. A second woman, said to be in her 20s at the time, has now come forward with allegations that Epstein sent her to the UK for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor. The…

Feb

07

2026

By AMIR NAEEM

Pakistan’s Baloch students are vanishing, and no one is held accountable

WORLD

PAKISTAN’S Balochistan has just witnessed one of the province’s deadliest ever episodes: a wave of attacks and clashes across several cities that left dozens of civilians, fighters, and security personnel dead, with official but unconfirmed tolls as high as 200 overall. It marked the latest escalation in decades of conflict between separatist groups and the Pakistani state in Balochistan, where the central government has long been accused of exploiting rich resources while marginalising the local population. But before the region came under the shadow of the recent violence, public attention was focused on the abduction of a young Baloch student,…

Feb

06

2026

By SAM POWER

The British public has lost faith in politics – the Peter Mandelson scandal must be a wake-up call for Keir Starmer

WORLD

PETER Mandelson is under criminal investigation after documents released by the US government appeared to show that he released sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates while he was a government minister. He could potentially face charges of misconduct in public office. This is a law, as outlined by Spotlight on Corruption, that more often than not covers offences committed by serving police officers and prison staff. In Mandelson’s case, the police are likely to be looking at four specific elements: whether he was a public officer, whether he wilfully misconducted himself (which is a weird way to put…

Feb

06

2026

By GRACE PANETTA

Epstein tracked #MeToo fallout and advised accused men behind the scenes

WORLD

THE year was 2018, and Lawrence Krauss, the prominent physicist and scholar of the cosmos, was facing a Title IX investigation at Arizona State University. BuzzFeed News had just reported on allegations of sexual misconduct against him; he denied them. In March, he contacted a lawyer experienced in higher education cases. Krauss and Justin Dillon, the lawyer, exchanged a few friendly emails before speaking on the phone. Then, Krauss presented him with an “unusual request” — he wanted Dillon to call a disgraced financier who had, 10 years before, pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution of a minor. “I have been advised…

Feb

06

2026

By PAUL VAN HOOFT

New Start’s expiration will make the world less safe – even if it doesn’t spark another nuclear arms race

WORLD

THE New Start nuclear arms control treaty has expired, opening up the way for a period of great power uncertainty and the possibility of a new arms race. The US-Russian agreement, negotiated in 2010 and extended in 2021, limited the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550, with roughly 3,500 non-deployed warheads in reserve. It was the last of the arms control agreements that were rooted in the legacy of the Cold War negotiations between the US and the Soviet Union, and the era of relative optimism that followed it. The current US administration has shown little appetite for extending…

Feb

05

2026

By RACHAEL JOLLEY

Drastic water shortages and air pollution are fuelling Iran’s protests

WORLD

“IRAN is experiencing not one environmental crisis but the convergence of several: water shortages, land subsidence, air pollution and energy failure. All added together, life is a struggle for survival.” This is the situation inside Iran as described by Nima Shokri, an environmental engineer who works on global challenges related to the environment. Shokri highlights a rarely discussed factor in relation to this year’s massive protests across Iran: the severe challenges Iranians are struggling with every day, affecting their ability to simply carry on living. This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage was first published in our award-winning weekly climate…

Feb

05

2026

By BEATRICE ERIKSSON

Repatriating children from Syria’s IS camps is the right thing and the smart thing to do

WORLD

RECENT clashes in northeast Syria have once again thrust the unresolved situation of children in detention camps holding people suspected of being affiliated with the so-called Islamic State (IS), their families, and some of the group’s victims into international headlines. Following years of inaction, it is time for governments to finally address this issue once and for all by repatriating these children. A vast body of good practice and experience shows that this is the best way to both answer security concerns and uphold these children’s fundamental rights. Since 2019, the al-Hol and al-Roj camps in northeastern Syria have caused…