WORLD - The African Mirror

Jun

25

2025

My husband was nearly killed trying to get aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Rasha Abou Jalal “The sky was full of buzzing drones. I saw a young man fall to the ground near me. Blood was gushing from his neck. I heard a woman scream: ‘Help me!’, but no one went near her. Fear had taken over.” This is what my husband, Abdullah, told me about what happened when Israeli forces opened fire on him and thousands of other people who went to try to retrieve food from one of the distribution sites run by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). As of 18…

Jun

24

2025

By DONALD ROTHWELL

Why the US strikes on Iran are illegal and can set a troubling precedent

WORLD

AFTER the United States bombed Iran’s three nuclear facilities on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said its objective was a “stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror”. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed this justification, saying: The president authorised a precision operation to neutralise the threats to our national interest posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defence of our troops and our ally Israel. Is this a legitimate justification for a state to launch an attack on another? I believe, looking at the evidence, it is not. Was it…

Jun

24

2025

By DARIUS VON GUTTNER SPORZYNSKI

A Ukranian writer – her life cut short – and a seasoned reporter show the heroism of the ‘people’s war’

WORLD

“I have just bought my first gun in downtown Lviv,” begins Ukrainian writer and war crimes researcher Victoria Amelina’s book, on February 17, 2022. “I’ve heard that everyone is capable of killing, and those who say they aren’t just haven’t met the right person yet. An armed stranger entering my country might just be ‘the right person’.” A week later, on February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine. The following July, Amelina died from injuries sustained in a Russian missile strike on a pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. Yet the war she bore witness to continues, with no ceasefire in sight.…

Jun

24

2025

By JENNIFER GERSON and JASMINE MITHANI

This third-generation civil rights lawyer wants to pave the way for humanity-focused tech

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Jennifer Gerson and Jasmine Mithani of The 19th. Meet Jennifer and Jasmine and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. AMERICA is in the middle of a technological transformation, with artificial intelligence reshaping education, labour and creative output — all with major implications for social justice and personal liberties. In response, the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm, has updated its mission to help shape a future in which technology reflects and serves a diverse, equity-oriented population. Michele Jawando, a former civil rights lawyer, policymaker and Big Tech alumna, will drive the…

Jun

23

2025

By The African Mirror

The Middle East on a knife’s edge: After the US strike on Iran

WORLD

The world awakened Sunday to a fundamentally altered Middle East. In the pre-dawn hours, American B-2 stealth bombers delivered precision bunker-busting bombs to Iran's most crucial nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—marking the first direct US military action against Iran's nuclear program in decades. What began as Israel's campaign against Iranian nuclear capabilities has now exploded into a direct US-Iran confrontation that threatens to reshape regional power dynamics and global security. President Trump's declaration that Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities were "completely and totally obliterated" represents more than a tactical victory—it signals America's willingness to abandon decades of diplomatic restraint. The strikes,…

Jun

23

2025

By IAN PARMETER

The US has entered the Israel-Iran war. Here are 3 scenarios for what might happen next

WORLD

AFTER prevaricating about whether the United States would enter Israel’s war on Iran, President Donald Trump finally made a decision. Early Sunday, US warplanes and submarines struck three of Iran’s nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Natanz, Isfahan where the Iranians have a uranium enrichment plant buried about 80 metres beneath a mountain. These strikes have to be viewed as part of an overall continuum that began with the Gaza war following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and then continued with Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah (the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon) and the fall of the Iran-backed…

Jun

21

2025

By HESSOM RAZAVI

Friday essay: ‘my heart is full of sparks’ – as war escalates, can I hope for Iran’s liberation from a tyrannical regime?

WORLD

WE are at a dinner party in suburban Perth, a home away from home for our diaspora. As guests arrive, a Persian ballad plays in the background: Morq-e Sahar (Dawn Bird), a freedom song, a century-old protest against dictatorships and tyranny in Iran. This version was sung by the late Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, Iran’s most decorated maestro. Dawn bird, lament!Make my brand burn even more.With the sparks from your sigh, breakAnd turn this cage upside down.< Shajarian’s virtuoso voice frames an old question. One I’ve heard, it seems, at every Iranian gathering since my childhood. It hangs in the air like…

Jun

21

2025

By The African Mirror

When survival means scavenging: A Gaza family’s daily battle against starvation

WORLD

ISLAM Abu Taeima and her 9-year-old daughter, Waed, begin their day before sunrise in Gaza City. Their home was destroyed months ago, so they now live in a crowded school-turned-shelter with hundreds of other displaced families. With nothing left in the communal pot and no aid in sight, Islam and Waed set out on a desperate journey: searching through piles of trash for anything edible. They walk past the ruins of familiar neighbourhoods, now reduced to rubble. The air is thick with the smell of decay and burning debris. Flies buzz around overflowing garbage bags. Islam, who holds a bachelor's…

Jun

21

2025

By ERRIN HAINES

‘We don’t wait to be celebrated’: What Juneteenth means this year

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Errin Haines of The 19th. Meet Errin and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. THURSDAY marks the first national observance under President Donald Trump of Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States that became a federal holiday in 2021. This year, it comes as Trump’s presidency has been marked by attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion and attempts to erase and minimise Black history as part of the American story. What does it mean to claim resistance and resilience in an age of exclusion? For…

Jun

20

2025

By ALI MAMOURI

Who are Iran’s allies? And would any help if the US joins Israel in its war?

WORLD

AS Israel continues its attacks on Iran, US President Donald Trump and other global leaders are hardening their stance against the Islamic Republic. While considering a US attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, Trump has threatened Iran’s supreme leader, claiming to know his location and calling him “an easy target”. He has demanded “unconditional surrender” from Iran. Meanwhile, countries such as Germany, Canada, the UK and Australia have toughened their rhetoric, demanding Iran fully abandon its nuclear program. So, as the pressure mounts on Iran, has it been left to fight alone? Or does it have allies that could come to…