WORLD - The African Mirror

Feb

06

2026

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…

Feb

05

2026

By GRACE PANETTA

Melania Trump documentary marks a post-#MeToo comeback for its director

WORLD

WHEN Donald Trump was elected to the presidency in 2024 after being found liable for sexual abuse, his political victory set in motion another comeback — for director and producer Brett Ratner. Ratner, who has directed films including the “Rush Hour” movies, “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “Tower Heist,” was all but cast out of Hollywood after being accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, whose allegations he denied, in 2017 at the height of the #MeToo movement. This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th. Meet Grace and read more of their reporting on gender, politics…

Feb

04

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

WHO reports first Gaza medical evacuation through Rafah in over a year

WORLD

FIVE critically ill patients were evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Monday, marking the first medical evacuation through the border point in more than a year, the World Health Organisation has announced. The crossing reopened Monday as part of a U.S. peace plan introduced in September 2025, following a closure that lasted throughout most of 2025. WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva that the UN health agency and partners facilitated the evacuation of five patients and seven companions to Egypt. WHO's role focused on ensuring safe patient transfer from Gaza to the border crossing. Christian Lindmeier…

Feb

04

2026

By CHABELI CARRAZANA

When one mother was taken by ICE, another stepped in to donate breastmilk

WORLD

A newborn in Minneapolis hadn’t eaten for a day and a half. Her mother had risked going into work to get just enough money for more diapers when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stopped her car and took her away. At home waiting for her were her 16-year-old daughter and the baby — just barely 3 months old. With their mother gone, the teenager tried to feed the baby, who was exclusively breastfed, formula to no avail. So they called Bri. For over a month and a half now, Bri, a mother of two in Minneapolis, has run an…

Feb

04

2026

By AMY MCAULIFFE

Russia’s drone pipeline: How Iran helps Moscow produce an ever-evolving unmanned fleet

WORLD

WITH Russian ground troops bogged down in a grinding war of attrition, Moscow is striving to press home its advantage in the skies – through an ever-evolving army of drones, courtesy of Iran. In early January, wreckage of a drone found in Ukraine hinted at a new high-speed model of drone being deployed by Russia in the conflict. It prompted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to air fears over failing to keep pace. “We produce (drones) at about 1,000 a day. We really produce them, but it’s not enough. It’s still not enough,” he told an audience of political business leaders…

Feb

03

2026

By AMANDA BECKER

Journalist Georgia Fort arrested over reporting on anti-ICE protest

WORLD

GEORGIA Fort, an independent journalist in Minnesota, was arrested by federal agents on Friday morning in connection with her coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a church this month. Fort, an award-winning journalist with a focus on social justice issues who has worked in commercial and nonprofit television and radio news for more than 15 years, filmed and shared her own arrest. In 2022, she co-founded the Centre for Broadcast Journalism to increase diversity across Minnesota media outlets. She is also vice president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, or NABJ. This story was originally…