WORLD - The African Mirror

Sep

04

2025

Gaza is dying slowly. And I am dying with it

WORLD

A land under siege Gaza is being starved, bombed, and forgotten. Nearly two years of relentless war has shattered homes, families, and hope. Two million people – half of them children – are living in tents, under siege, without food, electricity, or medical care. I am one of them. This is my story. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Dina al-Najjar A mother in the middle of war I’m a 29-year-old woman from Gaza. Like so many others, I have been displaced time and time again. I’m now in western Gaza City. Israel’s army is advancing. The…

Sep

04

2025

By The African Mirror

Florida man sentenced to 25 years for racist terror plot against Jewish and Black communities

WORLD

A federal judge sentenced a Margate man to 25 years in prison for amassing an arsenal of weapons and developing detailed attack plans targeting Jewish and Black Americans throughout South Florida. John Kevin Lapinski Jr., 41, received the 300-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith after pleading guilty to multiple federal firearms charges, including possession of weapons as a convicted felon and possession of an unregistered silencer. The case unravelled on Halloween night 2024 when Margate Police responded to reports of gunfire in a residential neighbourhood. Officers identified Lapinski—who was legally prohibited from possessing firearms—as the shooter and discovered…

Sep

04

2025

By IAN HALL

Donald Trump was once India’s best friend. How did it all go wrong?

WORLD

JUST months into President Donald Trump’s second term in office, one of the United States’ most important strategic partnerships is in crisis. Relations between the US and India are at their lowest ebb in a quarter of a century. Things are so bad that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly refused to accept calls from Trump for more than two months. In recent days, Trump labelled trade ties with India a “totally one-sided disaster” and a report emerged that he is no longer planning to visit India later this year for a summit of the Quad partners (India, the…

Sep

03

2025

By The African Mirror

The Beijing Axis: How China, Russia, and North Korea are reshaping global security

WORLD

A New Alliance Emerges from the Shadows The sight of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un standing together at Beijing's massive military parade represents more than diplomatic theatre—it signals the crystallisation of a new authoritarian axis that fundamentally challenges the Western-led international order. This unprecedented trilateral convergence, occurring as North Korean soldiers die fighting for Russia in Ukraine and Chinese gas pipelines extend Moscow's economic lifeline, marks a pivotal moment in 21st-century geopolitics. The Strategic Calculus Behind the Alliance The timing of this meeting is no coincidence. As President Trump's "America First" policies strain traditional Western alliances, these…

Sep

02

2025

By SIMON LEVETT

Local journalists and fixers are dying at unprecedented rates in Gaza. Can anyone protect them?

WORLD

JOURNALIST Mariam Dagga was just 33 when she was brutally killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on August 25. As a freelance photographer and videographer, she had captured the suffering in Gaza through indelible images of malnourished children and grief-stricken families. In her will, she told her colleagues not to cry and her 13-year-old son to make her proud. Dagga was killed alongside four other journalists – and 16 others – in an attack on a hospital that has drawn widespread condemnation and outrage. This attack followed the killings of six Al Jazeera journalists by the Israeli Defence Forces…

Sep

03

2025

By ELISABETH HASLUND and CHADI OUANES

Attacks continue to force displacement from frontline areas in Ukraine

WORLD

EVEN with two small children and pregnant with her third, 20-year-old Viktoriia struggled to make the difficult decision to flee the hostilities and leave her home in the Dnipropetrovsk region in eastern Ukraine. She kept postponing the moment. “But then a heavy attack began with about 20 strong explosions close by. That’s when I realised that it was better to leave immediately. My son was in distress. He jumped at every loud sound, even when something fell in the kitchen. That's how bad it got,” recalled Viktoriia, whose husband is in the army. Viktoriia and her children are among tens…

Sep

02

2025

By GRACE PANETTA

Trump revokes Kamala Harris’ extended Secret Service protection

WORLD

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has revoked former Vice President Kamala Harris’ extended Secret Service protection as she prepares to head out on a book tour. A senior White House official confirmed the decision, first reported by CNN, to The 19th. Former vice presidents typically get Secret Service protection for six months after leaving office, which would have been July 21 for Harris. Former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s Secret Service protection ended July 21. This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th. Meet Grace and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. But before he left…

Sep

02

2025

By ADELIYA BISSENBAYEVA and ANNA K. DULSKA

Deceitful, cold and unempathetic: 25 years on, the Kursk submarine disaster reveals a lot about Putin’s personality

WORLD

DURING his first term, Vladimir Putin had to confront a raft of political and economic challenges, including the Chechen wars, conflict in Iraq, and the unchecked power of Russia’s oligarchs. He also faced a major tragedy that he handled disastrously, and which undermined his image as a strong and competent leader: the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine. On August 12 2000, the Kursk sank during exercises in the Barents Sea. The 118 sailors on board sent signals to the command centre, but received no response. They remained in complete darkness, with only enough oxygen to last a few hours.…

Sep

01

2025

By MILDA ŽILINSKAITE and AIDA HAJRO

How tariff wars are reshaping migration and raising the risk of human rights abuses in supply chains

WORLD

THE tariff wars between the US and its trade partners have rarely been out of the news since the US president, Donald Trump, revealed his plans for sweeping “liberation day” levies back in April. The uncertainty that followed for businesses worldwide has now morphed into a battle over global supply chains, as the US and China seek dominance over resources and manufacturing. At the same time, the subject of migration has been high on many countries’ news agendas. In the US especially, there has been growing anger over federal immigration raids and controversial deportations to “third countries”. Yet it appears…

Sep

01

2025

By FAIZA HIRJI

Netflix’s ‘Mo’ delivers humour, heartache as it explores Israel-Gaza war and Palestinian and Mexican migrant life in the U.S.

WORLD

I recently watched both seasons of the Netflix drama-comedy Mo (2022-25), expecting a good laugh, since the show is headlined and written by funny and smart comedian Mohammed Amer. Mo does provoke a lot of laughter, but it also stirs deep emotions, including despair, loneliness and helplessness, as the episodes explore life in America for people on the margins. Mo is a semi-autobiographical depiction of Amer’s life. He’s a Palestinian who grew up in Houston, Texas, immigrating to that city when he was nine years old by way of Kuwait. In the series, Amer plays Mo Najjar as he navigates…