WORLD - The African Mirror

Sep

01

2025

Forcing Zelensky to hand Putin Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’ in Donetsk will lose it the war

WORLD

IN the recent summit talks in Alaska designed to halt the Russia-Ukraine war, Vladimir Putin demanded that Kyiv cede control of the entirety of its Donetsk oblast (region) to Russia. But this would effectively be tantamount to an acceptance of overall defeat for Ukraine. In giving up this region, Kyiv would also be giving up its principal defensive barrier against further Russian encroachment into the whole of Ukraine – that is, it will lose its “fortress belt”. This is the name given (by the Russians themselves) to a series of fortified Ukrainian-held cities, towns and settlements in the west of…

Aug

30

2025

By SAM PHELPS

Israel’s ‘double-tap’ hospital strike probably breached rules of war

WORLD

A video broadcast earlier this week captured the horrifying moment rescuers and journalists were killed in a “double-tap” strike on the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza. They had rushed to the scene of an initial Israeli attack, only for the same location to be bombed minutes later. Five journalists and several medical staff were killed by the second strike. The attack prompted a wave of international condemnation. UK foreign secretary David Lammy wrote on social media: “Horrified by Israel’s attack on Nasser hospital. Civilians, healthcare workers and journalists must be protected. We need an immediate ceasefire”. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin…

Aug

30

2025

By The African Mirror

Why Donald Trump’s plans to prosecute flag burning divides his supporters

WORLD

“IF you burn a flag, you get one year in jail. No early exits. No, nothing.” This is what US President Donald Trump announced in the Oval Office in the last week in August. Ever the master media manipulator, America’s communicator-in-chief issued this as an executive order. An executive order is issued by the president and doesn’t need to be passed by Congress. They are, however, expected to relate to existing law. Trump so far has signed 196. His latest directive, which aims to restore “respect, pride and sanctity” to the US flag, instructs the Department of Justice to investigate…

Aug

30

2025

By ALI M. LATIFI

“I lost all hope for my life”: Arakan Army accused of detaining Rohingya in forced labour camps

WORLD

AFTER nearly three months in what he described as a prison labour camp, *Sharif said he and dozens of other Rohingya received an ultimatum in mid-July from the Arakan Army (AA): remain in captivity in their native Myanmar or be expelled to overcrowded and increasingly unsafe refugee camps in Bangladesh, where rations are dwindling. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Ali M. Latifi and Anonymous Rohingya researcher The 29-year-old told The New Humanitarian these unthinkable options were presented to 78 people – including 20 women and 33 children – while they were being detained in a prison…

Aug

29

2025

By JAMES SWEENEY

Was the ‘double tap’ attack on Gaza’s Nasser hospital a war crime? Here’s what the laws of war say

WORLD

THERE has been widespread international outrage at Israel’s attack on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, northern Gaza, on August 25. The attack took the form of a “double tap” strike. The first attack killed at least one person, then – as medics, journalists and other responders rushed to the scene – a second attack on the same location killed another 20 people. This included five journalists and several medical staff treating people injured in the first attack. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called the incident a “tragic mishap”. But whether or not the attacks on the hospital were intentionally…

Aug

29

2025

By RILEY SPARKS

How Israel’s new NGO registration rules seek to divide the international aid response

WORLD

NEW guidelines for international aid groups threaten to further bend the humanitarian system in Palestine to serve Israeli political and military goals by muzzling advocacy and dividing NGOs between those willing to play by Israeli rules and those who refuse, aid workers in Gaza and the West Bank say. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Riley Sparks Those who refuse to play by Israel’s rules are increasingly being frozen out, several international aid workers told The New Humanitarian. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns that Israeli authorities will retaliate against organisations that speak up.…

Aug

29

2025

By GRACE PANETTA

Who is Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve governor targeted by Trump?

WORLD

BEFORE she was targeted by President Donald Trump, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook published research centring on race and inequality and advocated for other Black women in economics. Trump on Monday said he intended to fire Cook, who in 2022 was confirmed as the first Black woman to serve on the independent Federal Reserve Board, which sets U.S. monetary policy and regulates financial markets. Over 100 people have served as governors on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board since it was founded in 1913. This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th. Meet Grace and read more…

Aug

28

2025

By CLARE CORBOULD

‘There’s no such thing as someone else’s children’ – Omar El Akkad bears witness to the destruction of Gaza and the West’s quiet assent

WORLD

OMAR El Akkad does not want you to look away. An award-winning journalist and novelist, El Akkad was born in Egypt, lived as a teenager in Qatar and Canada, and migrated as an adult to the US, where he now lives with his family in the Pacific Northwest. His essay collection, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, draws on his life, from childhood to new fatherhood. He combines these reflections with a sharp grasp of modern history to examine responses in the West to “the world’s first livestreamed genocide” in Gaza. Finding that response wanting, he urges…

Aug

28

2025

By ANA CAROLINA GARRIGA and CRISTINA BODEA

Trump’s push to fire Fed governor threatens central bank independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)

WORLD

THE fate of Lisa Cook, who is fighting attempts by President Donald Trump to remove her from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, has huge implications for a keystone of good economic policy: central bank independence. At the heart of her firing attempt – and other moves to undermine the Fed by the Trump administration – is a power struggle. Central banks, which are public institutions that manage a country’s currency and its monetary policy, have an extraordinary amount of power. By controlling the flow of money and credit in a country, they can affect economic growth, inflation, employment and…

Aug

28

2025

By NATASHA LINDSTAEDT

Why a new ‘iron curtain’ is being built across Europe. This time it’s to keep Russia out

WORLD

IN 1946, Winston Churchill announced an “iron curtain” had descended across Europe, from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic. This time, it is the West that is building the barriers. Every European nation bordering Russia and its ally Belarus is accelerating plans to construct hundreds of miles of fortified border to defend against possible Russian aggression. The reasons are clear. The post-Cold War European security framework – which relied on strengthening international institutions and trade, NATO expansion and US military guarantees – is being eroded. Finland Sharing an 832-mile border with Russia, Finland proposed building a wall…