WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

22

2026

Carney’s Davos watershed: Canada’s Prime Minister declares the end of American-led order

WORLD

IN a remarkable display of diplomatic candour that sent ripples through the World Economic Forum, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered what may prove to be a defining speech of the post-American era, declaring that the decades-old bargain underpinning Western global dominance has irretrievably collapsed. Speaking to assembled global leaders, Carney stripped away the diplomatic niceties that typically characterise international discourse, offering instead a stark autopsy of the rules-based order that has governed global affairs since 1945. "We knew the story of the international rules-based world order was partially false," Carney stated bluntly, acknowledging what many developing nations have long…

Jan

22

2026

By FIROUZEH NAHAVANDI

Iran’s crackdown: why security forces are shooting demonstrators straight in the eye

WORLD

IN Iran, protestors and especially militants are being subjected to an extremely violent crackdown with shots aimed at their eyes. Blinding the enemy who dares to dispute the powers that be is the latest act of repression to go down in the country’s long history. Over the course of the Iranian dissident action in recent years, and during the nationwide Women, Life, Freedom movement in 2022, the frequency of eye injuries inflicted upon protestors has come under public scrutiny. Women, young people and students, often passers-by, even, have literally lost an eye, or their – eyesight – from buckshot or…

Jan

22

2026

By CARLOS GUTIÉRREZ HITA

Spain high-speed train crash: signalling vulnerabilities could be key to understanding the accident

WORLD

A tragic accident on the high-speed train line between Andalusia and Madrid has exposed the urgent need to upgrade Spain’s railway system. At 19:45 on Sunday, January 18, a modern Iryo high-speed train collided with a Renfe train at the switch (turnout) leading into Adamuz station in Córdoba province, Andalusia. The Iryo 6189 service, travelling from Málaga to Madrid, had registered for the track change, but the current information is that the last three carriages literally jumped over the diverted switch that gives access to the track adjacent to the platform, leaving the main track clear. This caused the last…

Jan

21

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

When elephants collide: Trump’s Greenland gambit pushes Atlantic alliance to the brink

WORLD

THE transatlantic order that has anchored Western power for eight decades now faces its gravest test not from external adversaries, but from within. President Donald Trump's escalating campaign to seize Greenland from Denmark has ignited a confrontation between Washington and Brussels that threatens to shatter the very foundations of the NATO alliance and plunge global markets into chaos. This is no longer diplomatic theatre or negotiating posture. Two geopolitical giants are hurtling toward collision, and the wreckage could reshape the international system. The Ultimatum Trump's threat is stark and unprecedented: impose escalating tariffs on seven European nations—Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany,…

Jan

21

2026

By SHIRIN KHAYAMBASHI

What Iran’s latest protests tell us about power, memory and resistance

WORLD

FOR Iranians, the past year has meant contending with everyday necessities slipping further and further out of reach. The cost of living has surged beyond what many households can manage, and what felt like economic strain became an economic freefall. On Dec. 28, 2025, the Iranian rial plummeted to a historic low of 1.4 million rials per American dollar. The unprecedented inflation ignited nationwide protests demanding economic stability. The movement began with a peaceful sit-in at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar but was immediately met with a violent response by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The grassroots initiative — made up…

Jan

21

2026

By RITA BAROUD

Israel’s suspension of Gaza aid NGOs will have deadly consequences

WORLD

ISRAEL’S decision to suspend 37 international humanitarian organisations working in the Gaza Strip beginning on 1 January is not a technical or administrative measure. It is a political act that is deepening the already catastrophic humanitarian collapse caused by Israel’s genocidal war. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Rita Baroud The organisations that have been suspended represent nearly every established and credible aid group that has been involved in the humanitarian response in Gaza over more than two years – from Médecins Sans Frontières and Mercy Corps to World Vision and the Danish Refugee Council. Israel’s excuse?…

Jan

20

2026

By SHANNON BRINCAT

Trump has threatened European countries with higher tariffs if he doesn’t get Greenland. Will it work?

WORLD

IN an extraordinary escalation of his bid to claim Greenland, US President Donald Trump has threatened eight European countries – Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Great Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands – with a 10% tariff on all goods coming into the United States from February 1 until he is able to buy the semi-autonomous Danish territory. That tariff will then increase to 25% on June 1. On the one hand, Greenland is potentially rich in raw materials and rare earth minerals, highly desirable for US tech giants who control key levers of power in Washington. On the other hand,…

Jan

20

2026

By AMANDA MENG; ALBERTO DAINOTTI, and ZACHARY BISCHOF

Iran’s latest internet blackout extends to phones and Starlink

WORLD

THE Iranian regime’s internet shutdown, initiated on Jan. 8, 2026, has severely diminished the flow of information out of the country. Without internet access, little news about the national protests that flared between Dec. 30, 2025, and Jan. 13, 2026, and the regime’s violent crackdown has reached the world. Many digital rights and internet monitoring groups have assessed the current shutdown to be the most sophisticated and most severe in Iran’s history. We are a social scientist and two computer scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Internet Intelligence Lab who study internet connectivity. Through the Internet Outage Detection and…

Jan

20

2026

By STEFAN WOLFF

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine outlasts the Soviet fight with the Nazis – here’s what history tells us about Kyiv’s prospects

WORLD

RUSSIA’S so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine passed a significant milestone on January 13. It has now outlasted the 1,418 days it took Vladimir Putin’s notorious predecessor, the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, to bring his war against Nazi Germany to a successful conclusion. The two wars are hard to compare in any reasonable way. But there are nonetheless some important parallels worth pointing out. Perhaps the most wishful parallel is that aggression never pays. After some initial setbacks, Stalin’s Soviet Union turned things around on the battlefield and drove the German aggressors and their allies out of the country. This…

Jan

19

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

The Atlantic fracture: America’s allies face an unprecedented test

WORLD

THE foundations of the Western alliance are being stress-tested in ways unimaginable even during the Cold War's darkest hours. President Donald Trump's Saturday ultimatum - demanding eight European nations accept escalating tariffs until the United States acquires Greenland - has thrust NATO into uncharted territory where the language of partnership has been replaced by the vocabulary of coercion. This is not a negotiation between allies. It is an ultimatum that treats sovereign democracies as obstacles to be overcome rather than partners to be consulted. The Mechanics of Pressure The tariff scheme reveals calculated escalation. Beginning February 1, an additional 10%…