WORLD - The African Mirror

Dec

20

2025

Venezuela descends into authoritarian spiral as US military pressure mounts

WORLD

VENEZUELA is careening toward a full-blown humanitarian and human rights catastrophe as the government intensifies its authoritarian grip while navigating escalating confrontation with the United States, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned in a stark assessment to the Human Rights Council. The dire picture Türk painted reveals a nation where fear has become policy, where families are torn apart for political dissent, and where the most vulnerable—children, the elderly, Indigenous peoples—bear the brunt of state repression. Yet even as he catalogued these mounting abuses, the UN's top human rights official issued an urgent caution about the dangers…

Dec

20

2025

By KELLY KIMBALL, MORE TO HER STORY

Asian-American nurses were WWII heroes. History left them behind

WORLD

WHEN Maria Batulan Taguba died of cancer at the age of 81 in her home in Wahiawa, Hawaii, her son, retired Maj. Gen. Antonio “Tony” Taguba, sat beside her, trying to memorize every detail: the rhythm of her breath; the way she still barked orders from bed; the brief eruptions of laughter among him, his father, and his siblings; and the pieces of Maria’s life she managed to share until her final moments. This piece is published in partnership with More to Her Story, a nonprofit newsroom publishing features, op-eds and investigations centered on women and girls around the world…

Dec

19

2025

By ALEXANDER GILLESPIE

What NZ needs to watch as Australia reforms gun laws after the Bondi terror attack

WORLD

THE Bondi terror attack on Sunday has seen Australian federal, state and territory governments agree to the biggest overhaul of firearms regulations since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. For New Zealanders, with memories of the horrific 2019 Christchurch terror attacks still vivid, and with domestic gun laws now being rewritten again, how Australia responds will be of intense interest. Future terror attacks are always a possibility. The best jurisdictions can do is reduce their risk and scale, while balancing the liberties and freedoms central to liberal democracies. As Canada did with its Mass Casualty Commission following a 2020 rampage in…

Dec

19

2025

By SANWAL HUSSAIN

Which countries people are fleeing from – and why

WORLD

THE US government halted all applications for green cards, citizenship and asylum from 19 mostly African and Middle Eastern countries on December 2. This move came a week after President Donald Trump announced he would “permanently pause migration” from all “third-world countries” after two National Guard members in Washington were shot by an Afghan national. A cornerstone of Trump’s 2024 presidential election campaign was his promise to deport record numbers of migrants. And in September, his administration claimed to be on track to deport nearly 600,000 people by the end of Trump’s first year in office. But these latest announcements…

Dec

18

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Trump orders complete blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers, designates Maduro regime as terrorist organization

WORLD

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has announced a total blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, while designating the government of Nicolás Maduro as a foreign terrorist organisation. "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before." The president demanded that Venezuela return what he characterised as stolen U.S. assets. "Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and…

Dec

18

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Global refugee crisis hits “perfect storm” as UN chief warns of progress under threat

WORLD

A decade of hard-won advances in refugee protection is unravelling as conflicts multiply, foreign aid evaporates, and anti-refugee sentiment surges worldwide, the UN's outgoing refugee chief has warned. Filippo Grandi, who steps down as UN High Commissioner for Refugees on December 31 after a decade in the role, painted a stark picture of unprecedented challenges as he opened a major review of global refugee commitments in Geneva. "We are facing a perfect storm," Grandi told delegates, citing ongoing wars, rising hostility toward asylum seekers and what he called "drastic, irresponsible" cuts to foreign aid that are hammering both refugees and…

Dec

18

2025

By TARA-LYN CAMILLERI

After mass violence, trauma spreads socially. Here are 3 ways you can help reduce it

WORLD

AFTER mass violence such as the Bondi Beach terrorist attack on Sunday, distress does not stop with those directly affected. Fear, anger and uncertainty spread through the media and social networks. This can intensify harm for survivors and targeted communities. People closest to an event are often supported by services and the community. But the wider public also shapes what happens next. Here are three ways you can help reduce secondary harm. A ripple effect Research on disasters and mass violence shows distress can ripple beyond those directly affected. For many people, it’s real but temporary, while a smaller proportion…

Dec

17

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

When courage shatters stereotypes: the Bondi Beach hero who forced a global reckoning

WORLD

IN the chaos and carnage of Sunday's horrific antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach - where two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration, killing at least 15 people - one image has electrified the world. It shows a man in a white t-shirt sprinting toward danger, not away from it. In grainy but unmistakable footage that has been viewed millions of times, Ahmed al Ahmed launches himself at one of the gunmen, wrestling the rifle from the attacker's hands before pointing the weapon back at him. The 43-year-old Syrian Muslim father of two and fruit shop owner was shot multiple…

Dec

17

2025

By DANIEL E. ESSER; HEINER JANUS; MARK THEISEN, and TIM HAILER-RÖTHEL

2 superpowers, 1 playbook: Why Chinese and US bureaucrats think and act alike

WORLD

THE year 2025 has not been a great one for U.S.-Chinese relations. Tit-for-tat tariffs and the scramble over rare earth elements have dampened economic relations between the world’s two leading economies. Meanwhile, territorial disputes between China and American allies in the Indo-Pacific region have further deepened the intensifying military rivalry. This rift has often been portrayed as a clash of opposing ideological systems: democracy versus autocracy; economic liberalism versus state-led growth; and individualism versus collectivism. But such framing relies on a top-down look at the two countries, premised on statements and claims of powerful leaders. What it obscures is that…

Dec

17

2025

By TRUDY RING, ADVOCATE

Rob Reiner was a fierce advocate for marriage equality

WORLD

ESTEEMED actor, director, and marriage equality activist Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found dead in their Los Angeles home Sunday afternoon, numerous media outlets report. Police are calling their deaths a homicide, and their son Nick Reiner has been arrested on suspicion of murder, according to the Los Angeles Times. They had suffered stab wounds, local TV station KTLA reports. “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time,”…