WORLD - The African Mirror

Jun

22

2026

With Iran and the US signing a peace deal, where does that leave Benjamin Netanyahu?

WORLD

THE peace deal between the US and Iran calls not just for the cessation of hostilities between the two countries, but also between Israel and Hezbollah. It also calls for Lebanese territorial integrity and sovereignty to be respected. This places Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a political conundrum, because ceasing hostilities against Hezbollah runs contrary to his government’s determination to finally crush its nemesis. Netanyahu now faces difficult decisions. Does he kowtow to the US, Israel’s longstanding ally and security guarantor, in an election year? Or does he defy the US and continue Israel’s military onslaught against Hezbollah? An…

Jun

22

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

France’s ticket to nowhere: how Paris turns Black and Arab boys into lifelong debtors

WORLD

AT 13 years old, a French boy guilty of nothing more than standing outside his own front door became a debtor of the French Republic. By the time he reached manhood, that first fine had multiplied into a debt he may spend his working life trying to extinguish. He is not alone. Across the housing estates ringing Paris, Lyon and Grenoble, a generation of Black and Arab boys is discovering that in France, simply existing in public space carries a price — and the bill never stops growing. A damning new report released this week by Human Rights Watch, the…

Jun

22

2026

By KAITLYN RABE

Western troops have been expelled from Africa’s Sahel – so why are Italy’s Carabinieri still there?

WORLD

WESTERN forces have largely beaten a hasty retreat from Africa’s coup-prone Sahel region in recent years. In 2022, French forces departed Mali as insurgents made incursions into the capital, Bamako. A United Nations peacekeeping mission also left, with the security void filled by Russian forces. Burkina Faso and Chad followed suit, ordering French troops out in 2023 and 2025, respectively. But Niger presents a different scenario. While the junta that came to power there in 2023 has expelled many Western forces from its borders, there is one exception: a contingent of about 350 Italian troops. As a geopolitical security analyst…

Jun

20

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Israel escalates East Jerusalem home demolitions, evictions in Silwan as discriminatory laws drive forced displacement

WORLD

ISRAELI authorities have sharply stepped up home demolitions and forced evictions of Palestinian residents in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, human rights groups say, in what critics describe as an orchestrated campaign to change the city’s demographics that may amount to international crimes. According to Human Rights Watch, the demolitions and eviction enforcement in Silwan — a cluster of neighborhoods immediately south of Jerusalem’s Old City — have accelerated since October 2023 and surged again during recent hostilities in Gaza and Israel’s 2026 confrontation with Iran. United Nations data shows 587 Palestinians have been displaced by demolitions since…

Jun

20

2026

By The African Mirror

Iran ceasefire deal confirms what we’ve been saying for years: military might doesn’t work

WORLD

WHAT a disaster the war against Iran has been for Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, signed on June 17, has formally brought a halt to the devastating war. Yet, as the ink dries on the 14-point preliminary framework, the reality of the document stands in stark contrast to the grandiose, megalomaniac rhetoric that defined the start of the conflict. Only a handful of analysts and scholars that I know of foresaw what is now unfolding, stressing the realities of Iran’s resilience in the face of international pressure for decades.…

Jun

20

2026

By MICHELLE OBAMA

“Barack, there are no words to express how proud I am of the way you showed up and continue to show up every single day”

WORLD

YOU told me all those years ago you couldn't promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life. And of course, you outdid yourself and managed to give me both. I know it hasn't always been easy, but there hasn't been a single second through this experience that standing by your side hasn't left me in awe. Eight years in the crucible, and not once did you melt from the heat. Not once did you let it harden you. Instead, you used it to reveal your truest essence - your stubborn optimism and unflinching courage, your dazzling…

Jun

19

2026

By REZA HASMATH

How China’s ‘red lines’ are quietly shaping global news reporting

WORLD

IN late 2013, Bloomberg’s then editor-in-chief, Matthew Winkler, spiked an investigation into the hidden wealth of China’s elite. Publishing it, he warned reporters on a call, would “wipe out everything we have tried to build.” More than a decade on, that trade-off, access versus accuracy, has hardened into habit. Reporters have learned where the lines are, and words quietly vanish from drafts. This is not a distant problem for Canadians. In 2022, the CBC closed its Beijing bureau after more than 40 years, not through any expulsion, but because authorities simply stopped issuing visas to its correspondents. As editor-in-chief, Brodie…

Jun

19

2026

By MIREILLE REBEIZ

US‑Iran deal leaves the future of Lebanon uncertain – and subject to Israel playing the spoiler

WORLD

THE United States and Iran inked a long-awaited provisional ceasefire deal on June 17, 2026. After months of uncertainty, the people of the Gulf region can, potentially, breathe a sigh of relief, and global markets look set to be boosted by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. What about those who have endured the war’s spillover in Lebanon? After all, the memorandum of understanding signed is not just a peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran alone. Rather, on Tehran’s insistence, the deal is intended to provide a cessation of hostilities on all fronts – including in Lebanon. President…

Jun

19

2026

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

Sweden retreats on child jail plan – but Human Rights Watch urges full reversal as gang violence fuels political pressure

WORLD

SWEDEN’S right-wing government has abandoned its controversial proposal to imprison 13-year-olds for serious violent crimes, a major policy reversal triggered by insufficient parliamentary support and fierce opposition from legal experts, police authorities, and the prison service. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer announced the withdrawal on June 11, saying the government "decided to act responsibly" by withdrawing the bill when it became clear the measures lacked the votes needed to pass. Instead, officials will propose lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14- a move Human Rights Watch (HRW) says is still "the wrong move". The original proposal, part of…

Jun

18

2026

By SHADI ROUHSHAHBAZ

The Iran peace deal must demand the release of Narges Mohammadi and other prisoners of conscience

WORLD

FEW Iranian women are as celebrated for defending freedom in Iran as Narges Mohammadi. She is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Andrei Sakharov Prize, the Olof Palme Prize, and the PEN and UNESCO press freedom awards, among others. Yet, like thousands of other political prisoners in Iran, her own freedom still matters little to the powerful forces around her. As US President Donald Trump’s administration negotiates a deal with the Iranian regime to end their nearly four-month war, Mohammadi’s fate has not received even a mention. There has been no commitment from Iran to release political prisoners…