WORLD - The African Mirror

Jun

11

2025

Trump orders Marines to Los Angeles as protests escalate over immigration raids, demonstrating the president’s power to deploy troops on US soil

WORLD

PRESIDENT Donald Trump ordered a contingent of about 700 Marines to Los Angeles on June 9, 2025, in response to what Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth described as “increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings.” This dramatic escalation of the military presence in Los Angeles followed Trump’s June 7 order to send about 2,000 National Guard troops into the city. Both measures were Trump’s response to what he called “numerous incidents of violence and disorder” by those protesting his administration’s actions, rounding up and deporting immigrants in the Los Angeles area. State and local officials decried Trump’s…

Jun

11

2025

By The African Mirror

Austria School Shooting: Gunman Kills 10 at Graz Secondary School

WORLD

AT least 10 people, including the gunman, have been killed in a shooting at the BORG Dreierschützengasse secondary school in Graz, Austria's second-largest city, authorities have confirmed. The victims comprise six females and three males, excluding the shooter, who was a 21-year-old former pupil of the school. The attacker died by suicide at the scene, reportedly found in a bathroom. The shooting occurred around 10 a.m. local time, with the gunman armed with a pistol and a shotgun targeting students in two classrooms, one of which he had previously attended. At least 28 others were injured, including students and teachers,…

Jun

11

2025

By The African Mirror

Nearly 1 million refugees granted entry permits through legal pathways, UNHCR-OECD report reveals

WORLD

NEARLY one million people from eight countries with high asylum recognition rates were granted entry permits to 38 destination countries between 2019 and 2023, according to a landmark report released today by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report, titled OECD-UNHCR: Safe Pathways for Refugees, highlights a significant increase in the use of work, family, and study permits by refugees, marking a shift towards integrating refugees into regular migration systems. “Behind these numbers are refugees using the same systems that millions of people use every day to migrate for work, study…

Jun

10

2025

By BRIAN VANDEMARK

From Kent State to Los Angeles, using armed forces to police civilians is a high-risk strategy

WORLD

RESPONDING to street protests in Los Angeles against federal immigration enforcement raids, President Donald Trump ordered 2,000 soldiers from the California National Guard into the city on June 7, 2025, to protect agents carrying out the raids. Trump also authorised the Pentagon to dispatch regular U.S. troops “as necessary” to support the California National Guard. The president’s orders did not specify rules of engagement about when and how force could be used. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who did not request the National Guard and asserted it was not needed, criticised the president’s decision as “inflammatory” and warned it “will only…

Jun

10

2025

By JONATHAN ESTE

Inside Ukraine’s remarkable drone attack

WORLD

YOU can generally tell when Vladimir Putin appears rattled by an adverse event in his war on Ukraine. He (or one of his proxies) ramps up the bloodcurdling rhetoric. And so it is with Ukraine’s “Spiderweb” drone attack on four airbases inside Russia, which reportedly destroyed or damaged as many as 40 warplanes, a good chunk of Russia’s fleet of strategic nuclear-capable bombers. These aircraft have been used during the war to deliver cruise missiles at targets within Ukraine and have been kept on airbases far enough from Ukraine to be well out of range of anything Kyiv could fire…

Jun

10

2025

By DONALD ROTHWELL

Can Israel still claim self-defence to justify its Gaza war? Here’s what the law says

WORLD

ON October 7 2023, more than 1,000 Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel and went on a killing spree, murdering 1,200 men, women and children and abducting another 250 people to take back to Gaza. It was the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. That day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the country, “Israel is at war”. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) immediately began a military campaign to secure the release of the hostages and defeat Hamas. Since that day, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children. Israel has maintained that its response is…

Jun

09

2025

By The African Mirror

The Uprising in Los Angeles: A Story of defiance and hope

WORLD

THE city of Los Angeles awoke to the sound of sirens and the acrid scent of smoke drifting above its skyline. It was Saturday, June 7, 2025 - a day that would be etched into the city’s memory as thousands poured into the streets, their voices rising in a chorus against President Trump’s latest crackdown on immigration. The spark came on Friday, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents swept through the Fashion District, detaining dozens of workers outside a clothing warehouse. News spread quickly: federal agents had raided multiple workplaces, and hundreds, including children, were reportedly held in the…

Jun

07

2025

By The African Mirror

Trump and Musk feud erupts, sending shockwaves through markets and Washington

WORLD

A once-powerful alliance between U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk spectacularly collapsed into a public feud this week, sending Tesla’s stock into a historic tailspin and threatening to upend Republican political strategy ahead of next year’s midterm elections. The rift burst into public view Thursday after Trump, frustrated by Musk’s vocal opposition to his sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, threatened to terminate lucrative government contracts with Musk’s companies. “The simplest method to conserve funds in our budget, saving billions, is to eliminate Elon’s governmental subsidies and contracts,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. Musk, who had been…

Jun

07

2025

By ERRIN HAINES

From reckoning to backlash, Black women reflect on the stakes of the moment

WORLD

IN 2020, as the world was gripped by the coronavirus, the killing of George Floyd shocked Americans into action and into the streets by the millions, protesting the unrelenting killing of Black people by police. This story was originally reported by Errin Haines of The 19th. Meet Errin and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. The moment sparked a nascent reckoning in America around systemic racism and institutional inequality, in many cases, with Black women at the centre. They led protests and were hired to fix broken institutions and diversify boards. They also did the emotional…

Jun

06

2025

By IRIT KATZ

Lethal humanitarianism: why violence at Gaza aid centres should not come as a surprise

WORLD

AT least 27 Palestinians were reported to have been killed on the morning of June 3 amid chaotic scenes at an aid distribution centre in the southern Gaza Strip. This follows a similar incident on June 1 when around 30 civilians were reportedly killed as people scrambled to get food supplies at an aid centre near Rafah in southern Gaza. The Israeli and US governments and Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – the private contractor backed by Israel and the US to take over aid distribution in Gaza – previously denied reports that Israeli troops had fired on civilians queuing for…