WORLD - The African Mirror

Dec

09

2025

Breaking point: Thailand-Cambodia border conflict erupts into dangerous new phase

WORLD

THE predawn silence along the Thai-Cambodian border was shattered at 5:00 a.m. Monday with artillery fire and the roar of warplanes - a chilling reminder that peace in Southeast Asia remains precarious. For the first time in months, Thai jets streaked across disputed territory to strike Cambodian military positions, marking a dramatic escalation in a conflict that diplomatic efforts have failed to contain. Just weeks after what appeared to be a breakthrough peace agreement, the 817-kilometre frontier has once again become a war zone. The ceasefire brokered throborder conflictugh intensive diplomacy by U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister…

Dec

09

2025

By JAMES HORNCASTLE

Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace deal would leave the country vulnerable to future Russian attacks

WORLD

UNITED States President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and a key adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, recently agreed to a 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. Such an agreement, on the surface, would be cause for good news. The human toll of the conflict, although shrouded in secrecy by both Russia and Ukraine, is high. Just one problem: the U.S. and Russia did not include Ukraine in the deliberations. Not only is that patronising, no matter how the Trump administration has sought to spin it, but it means the agreement reflects Russian demands and…

Dec

09

2025

By The African Mirror

At Donald Trump’s prompting, Benjamin Netanyahu seeks a pardon – but insists he has done nothing wrong

WORLD

THE interesting thing about Benjamin Netanyahu’s call on Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, to pardon him for charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, is that he has not been found guilty on any of them. The trial is made up of three separate but related cases and began in May 2020. They’ve been paused regularly, especially since the country began its military campaign in Gaza, and are thought likely to continue for years. Netanyahu’s 111-page pardon application does not admit guilt. Instead, it’s a sustained attack on Israel’s legal system. In particular, it alleges that the cases against him…

Dec

08

2025

By TOM HARPER

Why China is watching Trump’s Venezuela campaign closely

WORLD

DONALD Trump’s campaign against Venezuela escalated recently with the US president announcing that the country’s airspace should be considered “closed”. This is a move that has preceded US military interventions in the past, perhaps most notably in Iraq in 2003. It remains to be seen whether Trump’s declaration will be followed by military action or is just a means of raising the pressure on the Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in an attempt to force him from office. But regardless of what happens next, what has been notable is the reaction of China. In a December 3 briefing, Chinese foreign ministry…

Dec

08

2025

By DANIELA MOHOR

Haiti in-depth: The new Gang Suppression Force and what it means for Haitians

WORLD

WHO will fund it? Which countries will troops come from? How will it coordinate with the police and other actors? What role will Erik Prince's private drone fleet play? These are just some of the questions facing Haiti's new Gang Suppression Force (GSF). After the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission failed to stem Haiti’s rapidly deteriorating security situation, the UN Security Council approved Resolution 2793 on 30 September to replace the MSS with a new force. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Daniela Mohor Slated to eventually number 5,500 police and military officers, the GSF officially…

Dec

06

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

BRICS giants converge: Putin-Modi summit signals deepening multipolar ambitions

WORLD

THE ceremonial embrace between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi's airport on Thursday evening carried profound symbolic weight far beyond diplomatic protocol. As two of the founding members of BRICS convened for their 23rd annual summit, their meeting crystallised the bloc's accelerating transformation from an economic grouping into a geopolitical counterweight to Western-dominated institutions. Putin's first visit to India in four years arrives at an inflexion point in the global order. BRICS now encompasses approximately half the world's population and accounts for more than 41 percent of global GDP measured by purchasing power…

Dec

06

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

UN agencies appeal for $763m to aid Latin American migrants and refugees

WORLD

UNITED Nations agencies are seeking $763 million to assist 1.2 million refugees and migrants across Latin America and the Caribbean in 2026, as migration patterns in the region undergo significant shifts. The Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants, jointly led by the International Organisation for Migration and UNHCR, launched the appeal on Tuesday as part of its 2026 Refugee and Migrant Response Plan covering 17 countries. The funding request comes as the region experiences a reversal in traditional migration flows, with northward movements declining while southbound migration increases. Overall, 4.2 million migrants and refugees of various nationalities need immediate…

Dec

06

2025

By MEL LEONOR BARCLAY

Democrats bring resolution condemning ICE treatment of pregnant, postpartum immigrants

WORLD

REP. Delia Ramirez, a Democrat from Illinois, introduced a resolution Wednesday calling on the Trump administration to permanently reinstate policies protecting pregnant immigrants and to closely monitor reproductive health care quality and access across all detention facilities. Ramirez said she is calling on her Democratic colleagues to take a firm stance against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions, particularly when it comes to the treatment of pregnant and postpartum immigrants. Ramirez added that her resolution is meant to broadly highlight how the administration's enforcement policies are impacting immigrants’ access to reproductive health care, including access to contraception and abortion, both…

May

31

2024

By JESSIE PANG and JAMES POMFRET

‘Hong Kong 47’ trial: 14 democrats found guilty in landmark subversion case

WORLD

FOURTEEN Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were found guilty and two were acquitted in a landmark subversion trial that critics say could deal another blow to the city's rule of law and its reputation as a global financial hub. The verdicts in Hong Kong's biggest trial against the democratic opposition come more than three years after police arrested 47 democrats in dawn raids at homes across the city. They were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under a national security law imposed by China. Sentencing will come at a later date for those found guilty, with prison terms ranging from three years to…

Dec

05

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

UN mine action teams face funding crisis as child casualties mount worldwide

WORLD

UNITED Nations demining programs are facing severe funding shortfalls that threaten to close operations in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Ethiopia by March, leaving vulnerable populations exposed to deadly explosives, UN officials warned Wednesday. Speaking at an international meeting on landmine action in Geneva, mine clearance experts detailed the devastating human toll across conflict zones, with children accounting for 46 percent of all casualties in 2024. The situation in Afghanistan is particularly dire, where 77 percent of casualties last year were children, according to the UN-partnered Landmine Monitor report. "It tends to be kids, mostly boys in the hills tending sheep and…