WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

15

2026

Saudi Arabia executes record 356 people in 2025, surpassing previous year’s high

WORLD

SAUDI Arabia executed at least 356 people in 2025, marking the highest number of executions in a single year since monitoring began and breaking the record set just one year earlier, Human Rights Watch has reported. The 2025 total surpasses the 345 executions recorded in 2024, representing the second consecutive year Saudi authorities have set a new execution record. Foreign nationals convicted of nonlethal drug offences accounted for the majority of executions, according to data compiled by Reprieve and the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights. Of the 356 executed, 240 had been convicted of drug-related offences, with 188 of…

Jan

15

2026

By BAMO NOURI

The use of military force in Iran could backfire for Washington

WORLD

DONALD Trump is weighing military action in Iran over the state’s crackdown on protesters. Reports suggest that more than 600 people have been killed since the protests began in late December, with the US president saying the US military is now “looking at some very strong options”. Trump has not yet elaborated on what these options are and has said that Iranian officials, keen to avoid a war with the US, had called him “to negotiate”. But he added that the US “may have to act before a meeting” if the deadly crackdown continues. There is a wide spectrum of…

Jan

15

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Clintons defy congressional subpoena in unprecedented confrontation over Epstein probe

WORLD

IN an extraordinary act of defiance that could land them in prison, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton refused to appear before Congress, releasing a blistering letter accusing House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of weaponising his power for partisan purposes while the nation faces mounting crises. The standoff marks an unprecedented escalation in the Republican-led investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with Comer announcing contempt of Congress proceedings will begin next week - a rarely invoked enforcement tool that carries up to one year in prison and fines of up to…

Jan

14

2026

By AMIN NAENI

This is the playbook the Iranian regime uses to crack down on protests – but will it work this time?

WORLD

IN late December, Tehran’s bazaar merchants began protesting against Iran’s theocratic rulers over the sharp collapse of the currency. These protests quickly spread nationwide, although the level of participation remained limited initially. The situation changed when Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, issued a public call for demonstrations last Thursday and Friday. This altered the dynamics of the protest movement. The authorities appeared not to take Pahlavi’s call seriously, suggesting they did not believe the US-based Pahlavi had significant influence among the population. State media openly mocked the call. Yet, Pahlavi’s message spread rapidly online. His video…

Jan

14

2026

By The African Mirror

The unraveling: How Saudi Arabia dismantled the UAE’s regional ambitions in ten days

WORLD

FOR over a decade, the United Arab Emirates under Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan cultivated an image as the Middle East's indispensable power broker - a nimble operator whose military bases, proxy forces, and chequebook diplomacy punched far above the tiny nation's weight. From the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, Abu Dhabi's fingerprints were everywhere: ports in Somalia, militias in Yemen, and a shadow network of influence that often operated independently of - and occasionally at odds with - its ostensible Saudi allies. That carefully constructed empire is now collapsing with breathtaking speed. In what can only be…

Jan

14

2026

By JENNIFER SAUL and TIM KENYON

Why Donald Trump is telling such obvious lies on the ICE Minneapolis killing

WORLD

BY now, many of us have probably seen the video of a Minneapolis woman whose last words were a calm “It’s fine, dude; I’m not mad at you,” before she was shot three times in the head as she turned her car to drive away from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Renee Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defence.” Vice-President JD Vance declared, “The reason this woman is dead is that she tried to ram somebody with her car… You have…

Jan

13

2026

By LUIS GÓMEZ ROMERO

Venezuela’s leader may be gone, but his regime remains – with a new chief in Washington

WORLD

US President Donald Trump has insisted the United States will now be “running” Venezuela after US forces bombed the capital on January 3 and whisked Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife out of the country to face federal charges in New York. Trump has promised that “large US oil companies” would be going into Venezuela to “start making money”. And in passing, he has also declared that with Maduro gone, Venezuelans “are free” and the country is already becoming “rich and safe” again. But autocratic regimes do not depend on their leaders alone. They get their strength from the…

Jan

13

2026

By DAVID HASTINGS DUNN MBE; MARK WEBBER, and STEFAN WOLFF

US action against Greenland would undermine Nato, but now is not the time to panic

WORLD

SHORTLY after the US military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on January 3, US President Donald Trump restated his claim to Greenland. The White House sees Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, as crucial for national security and is reportedly considering a range of options to acquire the island. This includes “utilising the US military”. Trump’s proclamations have led to a sense among Europeans that US aspirations for dominance over the western hemisphere extend beyond Latin America. And the fact that Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, told congressional leaders in Washington that the administration…

Jan

13

2026

By MARIEL PADILLA

Women and children are being digitally undressed on social media

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Mariel Padilla of The 19th. Meet Mariel and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. THE social media platform X has been flooded with AI-generated sexualized images of women and children in recent weeks and months, before a new law aiming to ban the spread of nonconsensual intimate imagery goes into effect. Elon Musk, the owner of X, announced a new feature with a post on Christmas Eve, encouraging users to try editing images and videos with Grok, the app’s chatbot. Then, a few weeks later, as the new year began,…

Jan

12

2026

By ARASH BEIDOLLAHKHANI

Iran protests have put the country’s political system on trial

WORLD

PROTESTS that began in late December over rising prices and a collapsing currency have now spread to most of Iran’s 31 provinces, with demonstrators taking aim at the country’s rulers. The demonstrations signal a deep challenge to a political order that many Iranians see as incapable of delivering stability, dignity or a viable future. The unrest poses the most serious challenge to Iran’s political establishment since 2022. That year, nationwide protests erupted over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested for violating hijab rules. Those demonstrations were ultimately suppressed through force. Iran’s political establishment…