WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

29

2025

Tech giant Palantir helps the US government monitor its citizens. Its CEO wants Silicon Valley to find its moral compass

WORLD

CRITICS of those who misuse power tend to be outsiders. So, it’s striking that Alexander Karp, co-founder and CEO of data analytics giant Palantir Technologies, has written a book, with Palantir’s head of corporate affairs Nicholas Zamiska, calling on Silicon Valley to find its moral compass. Together, they upbraid fellow big tech companies for “building [things] simply because they can, untethered from a more fundamental purpose”. They argue that far too much creative brilliance in the private sector is wasted on producing endless consumer products, such as dating apps and online sales platforms, and on reducing the “inconveniences of daily…

Jul

29

2025

By BRIAN BRIVATI

Israel: Netanyahu considering early election but can he convince people he’s winning the war?

WORLD

ONE of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, Shas, has announced it will resign from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The party said its decision was made due to the government’s failure to pass a bill exempting ultra-Orthodox students from military service. Its exit increases the political pressure on Netanyahu. Days earlier, six members of another ultra-Orthodox coalition partner, the United Torah Judaism party, also quit the government, citing the same concerns. The moves leave Netanyahu with a minority in parliament, which will make it difficult for his government to function. Opposition leader Yair Lapid says the government now “has no authority”…

Jul

29

2025

By KATE SOSIN

Without public notice, U.S. Olympic officials exclude transgender women from competing

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Kate Sosin of The 19th. Meet Kate and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. AN announcement was never made, and the word “transgender” appears nowhere in the document. But effective June 18, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee updated its eligibility policy to bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports in order to comply with a February executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The move marks a profound turn of policy: The International Olympic Committee has long set the standard for world sports by including transgender women in…

Dec

24

2025

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

No peace by Christmas: Moscow bombing, Ukrainian strikes expose elusive path to ending the war

WORLD

THE dream of peace by Christmas lies shattered across two capitals this week, as a car bomb that killed a Russian general in Moscow and a massive Russian aerial assault on Ukraine laid bare the brutal reality: after nearly four years of war, the road to any settlement remains treacherous and distant. Russia hammered Ukraine with missiles and drones on Tuesday, killing at least three people, including a four-year-old child and triggering emergency blackouts nationwide. Just hours earlier, a sophisticated assassination in central Moscow claimed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's radiation, chemical and biological protection forces, sending shockwaves…

Jul

28

2025

By EMMA SHORTIS

Donald Trump cannot make the Epstein files go away. Will this be the story that brings him down?

WORLD

CONSPIRACY theories are funny things. The most enduring ones usually take hold for two reasons: first, because there’s some grain of truth to them, and second, because they speak to foundational historical divisions. The theories morph and change, distorting the grain of truth at their centre beyond reality. In the process, they reinforce and deepen existing divisions, encouraging hateful blindness. US President Donald Trump is perhaps the most successful conspiracy trafficker in modern American history. Trump built his political career by trading on conspiracy. These have included a combination of racist birther conspiracies about former president Barack Obama, nebulous ideas…

Jul

28

2025

By FATEME EJAREDAR and PALLAVI BANERJEE

Iranian Canadians watch the Israel-U.S. war in Iran from afar

WORLD

THE recent war waged by Israel and the United States on Iran killed at least 935 people and wounded another 5,332. There’s currently a ceasefire, but the conflict shocked the world and has had unique impacts on Iranians in the diaspora. Many Iranians in Canada were glued to their media feeds to stay close to Iran and their friends and families. Based on preliminary interviews with 30 Iranian activists in Canada, many in the diaspora have experienced what they call “survivor’s guilt.” The interviews are part of a PhD study conducted online or in person by one of the authors…

Jul

28

2025

By CIARA SMART

Kneecap’s stance on Gaza extends a long history of the Irish supporting other oppressed peoples

WORLD

LOVE them or hate them, there’s no doubt Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap are having a moment. Their music – delivered in a powerful fusion of English and Irish – is known for its gritty lyrics about party drugs and working-class life in post-Troubles Ireland. More recently, the group has made headlines for its outspoken support for the Palestinian people. British police have charged member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (known by his stage name Mo Chara) with a terrorism offence. Ó hAnnaidh was charged in May, after being accused of displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert in November. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zRQm9hW3k4o…

Jul

26

2025

By JONATHAN ESTE

Gaza and Ukraine are both waiting for action

WORLD

FOR the past few weeks, the headlines about Gaza have focused on the hundreds of people who have been killed while queuing for food. The aid distribution system put in place in May, backed by the US and Israel and run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has proved to be chaotic and allegedly resulted in violence, with both Israel Defence Forces personnel and armed Palestinian gangs blamed for killing about 1,000 people in the two months the new system has been operating. Now the headlines are focusing on the growing number of people dying of starvation. Harrowing reports from the…

Jul

26

2025

By Rita Baroud

Rita’s Gaza evacuation diary, part two: Crossing the gate to exile

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Rita Baroud I’M writing this now from Marseille, in the south of France. It’s been three months since my family – my mother, my father, my sister, and I – were able to evacuate from the Gaza Strip after surviving nearly 570 days of genocide. The last time I wrote, it was about how the final weeks I spent in Gaza were the hardest of the entire war – yet I didn’t want to leave. The last night, on 22 April, as relatives and friends gathered to say goodbye in the…

Jul

26

2025

By ALI M. LATIFI

Iran uses Israeli bombings to speed up Afghan expulsions

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Ali M. Latifi and Ariya Farahmand AFTER 28 years of struggle in Iran, Jaffar told his wife and adolescent son the risk had become too great and they had no choice but to finally pack up and return to their native Afghanistan, a country Jaffar hadn’t been to since he was a teenager himself. Since early June, tens of thousands of Afghans have left Iran and poured into Afghanistan’s western province of Herat. In May, Tehran set a 6 July deadline for all unregistered foreigners to leave the country, then came…