WORLD - The African Mirror

Aug

25

2025

By TATISHE NTETA; ADAM EICHEN; ALEXANDER THEODORIDIS; JESSE RHODES, and RAYMOND LA RAJA

Trump’s Epstein problem is real: New poll shows many in his base disapprove of his handling of the files, and some supporters are having second thoughts about electing him

WORLD

HAS President Donald Trump survived the latest and most serious firestorm of controversy over the Epstein scandal? Or has the Trump administration’s handling of the release of information concerning the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sex trafficker and Trump’s former friend, hurt the president? A number of journalists, pointing to recent public opinion polls, have claimed that the scandal has hurt Trump. Others have argued that the public has largely moved on and the Epstein controversy no longer presents a political liability for Trump. But both of these conclusions are based on limited polling about the Epstein controversy…

Aug

23

2025

By The African Mirror

UN confirms famine in Gaza as half a million face catastrophic hunger

WORLD

THE United Nations officially confirmed Friday that famine has taken hold in the Gaza Governorate, marking the first declared famine in the Middle East and affecting more than half a million Palestinians facing catastrophic hunger conditions. The declaration came from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a 21-agency partnership that serves as the global authority on food security assessments. An additional one million people in the Gaza Strip are experiencing emergency-level food insecurity, according to the report. "This is irrefutable testimony… It is a famine, the Gaza famine," UN relief chief Tom Fletcher told reporters in Geneva as the…

Aug

23

2025

By RASHA ABOU JALAL

Will we ever return? Facing down Israel’s invasion of Gaza City

WORLD

A few days ago, I stood by the window of our destroyed home in Gaza City and watched with deep sorrow as buyers carried away the last of our remaining furniture. We purchased it during the ceasefire earlier this year when we thought this war was over and we could resume our lives. Now, we have decided to start selling it for cheap rather than leave it behind to be destroyed by the Israeli army, which is poised to invade and take full control of the city. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Rasha Abou Jalal Already,…

Aug

23

2025

By SARA LUTERMAN

What it means to have a woman in a wheelchair featured on U.S. currency

WORLD

THE late disability justice co-founder and activist Stacey Park Milbern is the latest pioneering woman to receive her own quarter from the U.S. Mint. Milbern is the first woman in a wheelchair featured on U.S. currency and the first person whose wheelchair is actually shown. This story was originally reported by Sara Luterman of The 19th. Meet Sara and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. On August 13, nearly 100 disability advocates, family and friends gathered at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to celebrate the quarter’s release. “Stacey is not the first wheelchair user…

Aug

22

2025

By RAN PORAT

With eyes on re-election, Netanyahu’s fights with world leaders aim to distract from many political problems

WORLD

AS the longest-serving Israeli prime minister (17 years), Benjamin Netanyahu is famous for his political wizardry and survival skills. But he is also a highly controversial figure with questionable moral standards and a legacy. His latest term in office, beginning in late 2022, has been particularly challenging, thanks to the far-right radical elements of his governing coalition and the unprecedented national disaster Israel experienced at the hands of Hamas on October 7 2023. Yet, Netanyahu has managed to neutralise almost all immediate domestic threats to his power. At times, he has done this by manoeuvring rivals and partners into postponing…

Aug

22

2025

By ANNA BATTA

Even if Trump succeeds in bringing Putin and Zelenskyy together, don’t expect wonders − their only previous face-to-face encounter ended in failure

WORLD

DONALD Trump has raised the prospect of direct talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, in what would be the first such encounter in more than three years of war between the two countries. In a social media post on Aug. 18, 2025, the U.S. president announced that he had begun “the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined.” Whether the proposed meeting goes ahead, given the animosity between the two men, remains to be seen. Previous speculation earlier in 2025 that Putin and Zelenskyy might engage in face-to-face talks led nowhere.…

Aug

21

2025

By The African Mirror

UN condemns Israeli Minister’s taunting of Palestinian prisoner Barghouti

WORLD

THE United Nations Human Rights Office has condemned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for verbally confronting Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti in his prison cell and posting video footage of the encounter online. The footage shows Ben-Gvir "berating and taunting Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi face-to-face inside an Israeli jail", according to UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan. "The minister's behaviour and the publication of the footage constitute an attack on Barghouthi's dignity," Al-Kheetan said in a statement. The UN official emphasised that "international law requires that all those in detention be treated humanely, with dignity, and their human rights respected…

Aug

21

2025

By SONIA MYCAK

Zelensky leaves Washington with Trump’s security guarantees, but are they enough?

WORLD

THE last time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House earlier this year, he was berated by Donald Trump. On Monday, he returned with European leaders by his side. He emerged with some signs of progress on a peace deal to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. The presence of the European leaders no doubt had a great impact on the meeting. Following Trump’s recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, there was concern that he was aligning the United States with Russia's position by supporting Putin’s maximalist demands. We see from Trump’s statements over the last couple…

Aug

20

2025

By STEFAN WOLFF

Transatlantic unity at the White House disguises lack of progress towards just peace for Ukraine

WORLD

AT a high-stakes meeting at the White House on August 18, the US president, Donald Trump, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, tried to hammer out the broad contours of a potential peace agreement with Russia. The tone of their encounter was in marked contrast to their last joint press conference in Washington back in February, which ended with Zelensky’s humiliation by Trump and his vice president, J.D. Vance. The outcomes of the presidential get-together and the subsequent, expanded meeting with leaders of the European coalition of the willing were also a much more professional affair than Trump’s summit with…

Aug

20

2025

By The African Mirror

UN reports deadly conditions in Gaza as displacement orders continue

WORLD

THE United Nations Human Rights Office has documented severe humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where Palestinians face deadly risks while seeking basic necessities amid ongoing displacement orders and restricted aid access. "The Israeli military has also continued to issue displacement orders for Palestinians, including those in Gaza City, telling them to move to the Al Mawasi area, even as strikes on this area continue. On 16 and 17 August, we recorded five attacks on tents of internally displaced people in Al Mawasi, killing at least nine people," Al-Kheetan said. "Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced to Al Mawasi have little or…