WORLD - The African Mirror

Jan

03

2026

Global outrage, alarm follow U.S. Military strikes on Venezuela and abduction of President Maduro

WORLD

THE international community reacted with shock, condemnation, and alarm to Saturday's extraordinary U.S. military operation that saw multiple sites in Venezuela's capital bombed and President Nicolás Maduro and his wife forcibly removed from the country to face criminal charges in New York. Latin America United in Condemnation Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned the U.S. bombings and capture of Maduro as crossing "an unacceptable line," warning that attacking countries "in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism." Lula's statement…

Jan

02

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENTS

When celebration turns to catastrophe: 40 dies, 100 injured in nightclub fire in a Swiss resort

WORLD

IN the span of seconds, joy transformed into terror. What began as New Year's Eve revelry at Le Constellation bar in the exclusive Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana ended in one of Switzerland's deadliest fires in recent memory. Around 40 people are confirmed dead, with approximately 100 others injured - many critically - after flames engulfed the packed nightclub in the early hours of January 1, 2026. The tragedy has left Switzerland in mourning and raised urgent questions about nightclub safety standards, emergency preparedness, and the deadly combination of pyrotechnics and flammable materials in crowded venues. The Anatomy of Disaster…

Jan

02

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

There’s an African in New York: When the city of dreams crowned its first son of the continent

WORLD

IN the hushed moments after midnight on New Year's Day, beneath the vaulted ceilings of a century-old subway station that once welcomed America's huddled masses, New York City did what it does best: it reimagined itself. Zohran Mamdani, born in Kampala, Uganda, placed his hand on a Quran and became the first African-born mayor of the city that has long styled itself as the world's capital. At 34, this son of a filmmaker and an academic took an oath in the Old City Hall station - a jewel of civic architecture abandoned to time - and in doing so, breathed…

Jan

02

2026

By JUSTIN BERGMAN

Like strongmen the world over, Donald Trump’s power grab required a crisis – and a scapegoat

WORLD

DONALD Trump has sounded the alarm, over and over again, that the United States is facing an “invasion” by dangerous gang members. He blames immigrants for the country’s economic problems and claims protesters are destroying US cities. Trump is not the first would-be autocrat to manufacture a crisis to seize extraordinary powers. As Natasha Lindstaedt, an expert in authoritarian regimes at the University of Essex, says in episode 3 of The Making of an Autocrat, a strongman “loves a crisis”. A crisis is the way that they mobilise their base, the way that they can depict themselves as the saviour,…

Jan

01

2026

By The African Mirror

The great Gelsenkirchen grinch job: a new year’s heist for the ages

WORLD

WHILE most of Germany was nursing their Glühwein hangovers and quietly digesting their third helping of Stollen, a band of decidedly unholiday-spirited individuals were hard at work in Gelsenkirchen. Their Christmas wish list? Oh, just a casual €10 million (and counting) from several thousand safe deposit boxes at the local Sparkasse bank. The Scene of the Crime: A Masterclass in Festive Larceny Picture, if you will, the aftermath: A gaping wound in solid concrete that screams "industrial drill" louder than a Black Friday sale announcement. Brick dust everywhere - like someone shook the world's most expensive snow globe and forgot…

Dec

31

2025

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Taiwan: The flashpoint in America’s strategic contest with China

WORLD

AS Chinese rockets splashed into waters surrounding Taiwan on Tuesday, the island nation found itself once again at the epicentre of an escalating strategic confrontation between Washington and Beijing - a role it never sought but cannot escape. The "Justice Mission 2025" war games represent more than routine sabre-rattling. They are the latest move in a high-stakes competition where Taiwan has become both prize and proxy, its 23 million people living on terrain that U.S. and Chinese strategists view as critical to dominance in the Indo-Pacific. The Arms Package That Triggered a Response Beijing's decision to launch its most extensive…

Dec

31

2025

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Middle east peace efforts enter new phase as 2025 closes

WORLD

AS the year draws to a close, the Middle East peace process stands at a critical juncture, with U.S. President Donald Trump meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to advance a fragile ceasefire deal and address mounting regional tensions. The discussions at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate focused on transitioning the Gaza ceasefire into its second phase, a complex undertaking that would require international peacekeeping forces and the disarmament of Hamas. The militant group has refused to lay down its weapons and has been reasserting control in Gaza as Israeli troops remain deployed across roughly half the territory. Trump issued…

Dec

31

2025

By VICTORIA JULIE SCHOU

When a crisis leaves no ruins behind

WORLD

BY the harbour in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, a statue of the Mother of the Sea, Sassuma Arnaa, sits on a small rock, half-submerged in the sea. In Inuit mythology, she governs the ocean and its creatures. When people act with greed or ungratefulness, her hair becomes tangled, trapping the animals and leaving people with nothing to catch or eat. Only when an angakok, a shaman, travels down to untangle her hair, the animals are released again. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. By Victoria Julie Schou Ifyou follow her gaze 50 metres up the hill,…

Dec

30

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

FBI Director Kash Patel: An analysis of mounting accusations and questions of judgment

WORLD

FBI Director Kash Patel faces intensifying scrutiny over his stewardship of taxpayer resources and leadership judgment as revelations emerge about luxury vehicle purchases, failed jet upgrade requests, and a pattern of behaviour that former Justice Department officials characterise as image-driven rather than mission-focused. The BMW Controversy: Breaking With Tradition The FBI has purchased armoured BMW X5 vehicles at Patel's request, marking a departure from decades of tradition in which FBI directors travelled in Chevrolet Suburbans. The purchase raises fundamental questions about fiscal responsibility and the symbolism of leadership choices at America's premier law enforcement agency. Patel reportedly pressed for the…

Dec

30

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Freed activist’s apology fails to quell firestorm over resurfaced tweets

WORLD

THE jubilation surrounding Alaa Abdel Fattah's return to Britain has collapsed into political turmoil within days, as the British-Egyptian dissident scrambles to contain the fallout from inflammatory tweets that have transformed his homecoming into a full-blown crisis. What should have been a moment of triumph for a man who spent years in Egyptian prisons has instead become a cautionary tale about the permanence of digital footprints and the perils of incomplete vetting. Now, politicians from across the spectrum are demanding his citizenship be stripped and calling for his deportation from the very country that fought to secure his freedom. The…