WORLD - The African Mirror

Jul

25

2025

Ex-Louisville police officer sentenced to 33 months in prison for role in Breonna Taylor raid

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th. Meet Grace and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. FORMER Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced to 33 months in prison for using excessive force in violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Black woman who died in a botched police raid of her apartment in March 2020. U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings handed down Hankison’s sentence of two years and nine months in prison, plus three years of supervised release, on Monday afternoon. The sentence was less than the…

Jul

25

2025

By SIMON MABON

Gaza is starving – how Israel’s allies can go beyond words and take meaningful action

WORLD

IN the past two months, more than 1,000 people seeking food have been killed, according to the UN Human Rights Office. While the figure has been disputed by Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was set up to distribute aid, 28 nations this week condemned the “horrifying” killing of Gazans trying to get food. As the Israel Defence Forces continues its assault in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, including an attack on the staff residence of the World Health Organisation on July 21, UN bodies are warning that the besieged strip’s last lifelines are collapsing. Already,…

Jul

25

2025

By ANDREW DODD and MATTHEW RICKETSON

Could Rupert Murdoch bring down Donald Trump? A court case threatens more than just their relationship

WORLD

IF Rupert Murdoch becomes a white knight standing up to a rampantly bullying US president, the world has moved into the upside-down. This is, after all, the media mogul whose US television network, Fox News, actively supported Donald Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election result and paid out a US$787 million (about A$1.2 billion) lawsuit for doing so. It is also the network that supplied several members of Trump’s inner circle, including former Fox host, now controversial Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth. But that is where we are after Trump filed a writ on July 18 after Murdoch’s financial…

Jul

24

2025

By The African Mirror

The Epstein Files: A political reckoning

WORLD

THE marble corridors of the Justice Department have witnessed many political storms, but few as personally threatening to a sitting president as the one now engulfing US President Donald Trump. What began as a routine review of closed files has exploded into the most serious internal revolt of Trump's presidency, threatening to fracture the very movement that carried him back to power. It started with a promise that seemed politically safe. Attorney General Pam Bondi, appearing on Fox News in February, had boldly declared that Epstein client lists were "sitting on my desk right now." The pledge to release "a…

Jul

24

2025

By SHANNON BOSCH and PHILIP GLOVER

UK bans Gaza protest group – could the same thing happen in Australia?

WORLD

MORE than 100 people were arrested in the United Kingdom on the weekend for supporting Palestine Action, a protest group that opposes Britain’s support of Israel. Palestine Action was recently proscribed as a terrorist organisation, placing it in the same category as Hamas, al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Many of those arrested were simply holding signs that read: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”. They were predominantly aged over 60. In recent weeks, an 83-year-old vicar, a former government lawyer and various pensioners have been taken into custody and could be jailed for up to 14 years if found guilty…

Jul

24

2025

By ASHLEY HUMPHREY and HELEN FORBES-MEWETT

‘Maybe this is the last minutes you are living’: how the war is impacting young Ukrainians

WORLD

NOW into its fourth year, the war that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taken a devastating toll. An estimated 60,000 to 100,0000 Ukrainian lives have been lost, and more than 10 million citizens have been displaced, and entire cities have been devastated. Daily life in Ukraine is disrupted by frequent power outages, significant interruptions to school and work routines and the recurrent warnings of air raid sirens. We sought to understand the war’s impact on young Ukrainians by interviewing those still in and outside of Ukraine. Stolen youth Young adults (aged 18-35) tend to be in a transitional phase…

Jul

23

2025

By The African Mirror

The MLK files: A seismic release that shakes America’s foundation

WORLD

IN a move that has sent shockwaves through American politics and civil rights communities, President Donald Trump has unleashed a documentary avalanche - more than 230,000 pages of federal records that have remained locked away for nearly sixty years. The files, detailing the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the government's sprawling surveillance apparatus that stalked America's most revered civil rights leader, now sit exposed to public scrutiny like never before. The decision represents far more than administrative housekeeping. It's a seismic political gambit that has ripped open old wounds, ignited fresh controversies, and forced America to confront…

Jul

23

2025

By The African Mirror

Gaza: SOS messages describe people fainting from hunger; UN health worker detained

WORLD

Worrying alerts from United Nations staff in Gaza who have been fainting from hunger and exhaustion over the past 48 hours have increased fears for people’s survival in the devastated enclave, UN humanitarians said. “Doctors, nurses, journalists, humanitarians, among them UNRWA staff, are hungry,” said Juliette Touma, Director of Communications of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA). Speaking from Amman, she stressed that many are now “fainting due to hunger and exhaustion while performing their duties, reporting atrocities or alleviating some of the suffering”. “Meanwhile, seeking food has become as deadly as the bombardments,” she warned. The UN human…

Jul

23

2025

By The African Mirror

UN agencies launch job training program for Asia-Pacific refugees

WORLD

TWO major United Nations agencies unveiled a new employment initiative designed to connect skilled refugees with international job opportunities, targeting labour shortages in wealthy nations while providing displaced populations with legal pathways to work. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced the 22-month "train-to-hire" program, funded by the Australian government and initially focused on the Asia-Pacific region. The initiative addresses a significant gap in global refugee assistance. While 183,000 skilled refugees from eight nationalities received job visas in developed countries between 2019 and 2023, according to OECD and UNHCR data, this represents only a…

Jul

22

2025

By WILL WORLEY

Big Aid sticks with Boston Consulting Group despite Gaza scandal

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Will Worley MAJOR humanitarian organisations appear reluctant to sever ties with the Boston Consulting Group, the US management consulting firm at the centre of a scandal around its work supporting Israeli war aims in Gaza. BCG has been accused of aiding Israeli starvation tactics that critics say amount to war crimes and genocide. The firm helped set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israel- and US-backed outfit operating food distribution sites at which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed attempting to access food. It also modelled the costs of relocating…