WORLD - The African Mirror

Oct

07

2025

‘We heard you’: Judge addresses victims after handing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs a 4-year sentence

WORLD

CONTENT WARNING: This story depicts details of physical and psychological abuse. A federal judge sentenced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs on Friday to 50 months in prison — just over four years — marking an end to a trial against one of the most influential names in entertainment. Combs must also pay a $500,000 fine. “To Ms Ventura and the other brave survivors that came forward, I want to say first: We heard you,” Judge Arun Subramanian said after he pronounced the sentence. Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office sought an 11-year sentence for Combs to “reflect the substantial…

Oct

04

2025

By RASHA ABOU JALAL

“We live as if we are in a barren desert”: Rasha Abou Jalal’s Gaza City diary, part 3

WORLD

RASHA Abou Jalal, her husband, and their five children were forced out of Gaza City by Israel’s ongoing invasion in mid-September. After an exhausting, dangerous, and demoralising journey south, they have been trying to figure out how to navigate life in the Nuseirat area of the central Gaza Strip. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Rasha Abou Jalal In addition to the violent assault on Gaza City, Israel tried to persuade Palestinians to leave for the south by promising that there would be more food and services available. But with 82% of the enclave designated as military…

Oct

04

2025

By JASMINE MITHANI

Shooting his partner, then himself: How firearm access fuels domestic violence tragedies

WORLD

ROUGHLY 19 women are killed with a firearm in domestic violence homicide-suicides each month, according to a new report released Thursday from Everytown for Gun Safety shared exclusively with The 19th. “When we look at the public discourse on gun violence or on gun violence prevention, it tends to surround very public mass shootings,” said Sonali Rajan, senior director of research at the gun violence prevention nonprofit that advocates for gun control. The type of violence covered in the new report is a “conflation of two public health and public safety crises” — intimate partner violence and suicide. Ninety-nine percent…

Oct

04

2025

By NUURRIANTI JALLI

From anime to activism: How the ‘One Piece’ pirate flag became the global emblem of Gen Z resistance

WORLD

FROM Paris and Rome to Jakarta, Indonesia, and New York, a curious banner has appeared in protest squares. With hollow cheeks, a broad grin and a straw hat with a red band, the figure is instantly recognisable and has been hoisted by young demonstrators calling for change. In Kathmandu, Nepal, where anger at the government boiled over in September 2025, the flag became the defining image as flames spread through the gates of Singha Durbar, Nepal’s ornate palace complex and seat of power. The Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger flies in front of the Singha Durbar after people set fire…

Oct

02

2025

By ZEENAT HANSROD

Israeli forces intercept humanitarian flotilla sailing to Gaza

WORLD

SEVERAL vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian convoy sailing towards Gaza, have been intercepted and boarded by Israeli forces during the night as they attempted to push through the naval blockade. RFI spoke to a French surgeon on board one of the 44 ships and the wife of a UK activist whose boat was intercepted. “The Israeli military is trying to terrorise us by relentlessly attacking us with water cannons, blasting bright flashing lights and shrilling sirens,” Dr Yacine Haffaf, a French surgeon on board the Jeannot III, told RFI this morning. He is one of the 450…

Oct

03

2025

By DONALD ROTHWELL

Israel’s interception of the Gaza aid flotilla is a clear violation of international law

WORLD

THE Israel Defence Force has intercepted a flotilla of humanitarian vessels seeking to deliver aid to Gaza, taking control of multiple vessels and arresting activists, including Greta Thunberg. The interceptions took place in the Mediterranean Sea between 70-80 nautical miles off the Gaza coast. These are international waters where international law recognises high seas freedom of navigation for all vessels. Israel has countered by arguing it has a maritime blockade, which prohibits entry to Gaza by foreign vessels. Israel has also suggested the flotilla was supported by Hamas – an assertion the flotilla organisers have rejected. Gaza humanitarian aid flotillas…

Oct

03

2025

By LEONIE FLEISCHMANN

As Hamas considers a peace deal, the man most Palestinians want to lead them sits in an Israeli jail

WORLD

SINCE the White House released Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza conflict on September 29, the chances of an end to Israel’s war on Gaza are as high as they have ever been. If it succeeds, the idea of a Palestinian state being established alongside Israel will also be on the table for the first time in decades. Palestinians were notably excluded from drafting the plan, and no measures exist to hold Israel accountable for the destruction it has caused. But the 20-point plan includes clauses that could eventually lead to Palestinian self-determination. Under the terms of the plan,…

Oct

02

2025

By SCOTT LUCAS

Where does the Arab and Muslim world stand on Trump’s Gaza peace plan? Expert Q&A

WORLD

THE US president, Donald Trump, unveiled a 20-point proposal to end the war in Gaza on September 29. The plan proposes an immediate end to the fighting and the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of detained Gazans. It also includes the promise of humanitarian aid for Palestinians and reconstruction in Gaza. Whether Israel and Hamas ultimately reach a deal remains to be seen. Trump’s proposal has been accepted by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, though it has been rejected by hard-right members of Israel’s governing coalition. Hamas is yet to respond. More…

Oct

02

2025

By JIAO WANG

Tariffs may bring a US$50 billion monthly boost to the US government. But ordinary Americans won’t feel the benefit

WORLD

DONALD Trump’s recent state visit to the UK ended without the removal of steel tariffs, which the host nation had been hoping for. For months, the US president’s array of “liberation day” tariffs has sparked controversy and caused chaos for America’s trading partners. Ultimately, the US expects to collect more than US$50 billion (£37 billion) a month in revenues from these tariffs. This figure, from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, might sound like a fiscal triumph – a rare instance of a government growing revenue without raising taxes. But behind the headline lies a far more complex and troubling economic…

Oct

02

2025

By OWN CORRESPONDENT

The Inexorable Fall of an Empire: How Diddy’s world collapsed

WORLD

THE gavel struck with finality on Tuesday, and with it, another chapter closed in one of the most spectacular falls from grace in American entertainment history. When U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian rejected Sean "Diddy" Combs' desperate bid to overturn his criminal conviction, he didn't just deny a legal motion - he drove the penultimate nail into the coffin of an empire built on beats, swagger, and an image of untouchable success. The judge's words rang out like an indictment of everything Combs had become behind closed doors: "overwhelming evidence of Combs' guilt." Not merely sufficient evidence. Not just adequate…