WORLD - The African Mirror

Jun

07

2025

Syrian Alawites flee to Lebanon, with little aid to meet them

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Hanna Davis NEARLY 40,000 people have fled Syria’s sectarian violence for neighbouring Lebanon over the past three months. With many fearful of returning anytime soon, their arrival adds a new layer to Lebanon’s protracted humanitarian crisis at a moment when aid groups are badly underfunded and overstretched. Most of the new arrivals are Alawites, a religious minority who were the target of an early March wave of killings that saw forces affiliated with the new Syrian government carry out retaliatory massacres in Alawite-majority areas. This came after groups loyal to the…

Jun

06

2025

By MING GAO JOANNA and ELFVING-HWANG

South Korea election: Lee Jae-myung takes over a country split by gender politics

WORLD

LIBERAL candidate Lee Jae-myung has won South Korea’s snap presidential election with a clear lead. With all of the ballots counted, Lee won almost 50% of the vote, ahead of his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on 41%. He takes over a country that is deeply divided along gender lines. Lee’s campaign effectively channelled voter anger. He focused on resetting South Korea’s politics after impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was from the same party as Kim, unleashed chaos by declaring martial law in December 2024. However, gender conflict has continued, subtly but powerfully, to shape voter behaviour, campaign strategies…

Jun

05

2025

By The African Mirror

UN condemns deadly attacks on Gaza aid seekers, demands investigation

WORLD

THE United Nations has issued a forceful condemnation following a series of deadly attacks on civilians seeking food aid in Gaza, calling for immediate investigations and warning that such incidents may constitute war crimes under international law. For the third consecutive day, dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured near an aid distribution site operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Rafah, southern Gaza. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 27 people were killed and nearly 90 wounded in the latest incident on Tuesday, bringing the death toll around controversial aid hubs to over 100 since late…

Jun

05

2025

By The African Mirror

Diddy Trial: Former escort breaks silence, bolstering Cassie Ventura’s harrowing testimony

WORLD

A new and chilling chapter has unfolded in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, as a former male escort, Shawn Dearing—known professionally as “Skyler”—has stepped forward to corroborate star witness Cassie Ventura’s explosive testimony about the mogul’s notorious “freak off” parties. Dearing’s decision to speak publicly came only after his photo and alias were revealed in court. In an emotional interview, he described his experiences at more than a dozen sex sessions with Ventura and Combs, dating back to late 2014 or early 2015. Dearing, who had never intended to share his story, said he felt compelled…

Jun

05

2025

By The African Mirror

Unbroken by a decade of war, Yemen’s Taiz seeks help to rebuild

WORLD

PERCHED at an altitude of 1,400 metres, at the point where Yemen’s highlands begin their steep descent to the southwest coast, the historic walled city of Taiz is renowned for its breathtaking views and ornate architecture. For Sawsan Alashwal, 38, who was born and grew up surrounded by family and friends in Yemen’s third-largest city, Taiz has always been simply home. But the outbreak of Yemen’s ongoing civil conflict in 2015 transformed the city and the lives of its residents. Neighbourhoods became front lines as parties to the conflict battled for control. Infrastructure was shattered. Food and water became scarce.…

Jun

03

2025

By The African Mirror

Global Crime Crackdown: Interpol-led operation smashes international art trafficking network

WORLD

IN one of the largest international crackdowns on cultural heritage crime in recent years, a coordinated global operation has resulted in 80 arrests and the seizure of nearly 38,000 stolen artefacts, coins, and artworks across 23 countries. Operation Pandora IX, spearheaded by Interpol with support from Europol and the World Customs Organisation, exposed the vast scope of international criminal networks exploiting humanity's cultural treasures for profit. The year-long investigation culminated in raids that recovered 37,727 cultural items ranging from ancient Roman coins to Byzantine icons. "This operation demonstrates the power of international law enforcement cooperation in dismantling criminal enterprises that…

Jun

03

2025

By NOUR ELASSY

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a grotesque theatre of cruelty

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Nour ElAssy A starving person has no choice but to run after food. Families, especially parents, will take great risks to try to get aid, despite knowing they might not return. There is no other way to feed their kids. People know they will die from either malnutrition or gunfire. I don’t think that should be considered as having options. But that is where we are today in Gaza, after more than 600 days of genocide. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) aid distribution hubs, which began operating on…

Jun

03

2025

By NADRA NITTLE and MARIEL PADILLA

Hundreds of ‘DEI’ books are back at the Naval Academy. An alum and a bookshop fought their removal

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Nadra Nittle and Mariel Padilla of The 19th. Meet Nadra and Mariel and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. WHEN the U.S. Naval Academy stripped 381 books tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from its library, retired Commander William Marks saw more than censorship — he saw a threat to the Navy’s future. But last week, after immense public outcry, most of those books returned to Nimitz Library shelves. “Do you believe it?” asked Marks, a 1996 alum who spearheaded a campaign to maintain student access to the books.…

May

31

2025

By The African Mirror

Gaza ‘hungriest place on earth’ with aid stymied – UN humanitarians

WORLD

STARVING Gazans continue to be deprived of aid as international relief efforts are being severely constrained by the Israeli authorities, the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office, OCHA, said. “Gaza is the hungriest place on Earth,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva, stressing that it is the only defined territory in the world where the entire population is at risk of famine. “The aid operation that we have ready to roll is being put in an operational straitjacket that makes it one of the most obstructed aid operations, not only in the world today, but in recent history,” he…

May

31

2025

By The African Mirror

Mother nature’s wrath: The day Blatten was buried

WORLD

ON a late May morning in 2025, the tranquil Swiss village of Blatten in the Lötschental valley became the latest victim of a rapidly changing climate. For weeks, geologists had warned of instability in the mountains above the Birch Glacier. The villagers—about 300 in total—were evacuated on May 19, heeding the urgent calls of scientists who had detected ominous shifts in the rock and ice above their homes. Nine days later, the warnings proved tragically prescient. A massive chunk of the Birch Glacier broke away, unleashing a cataclysmic torrent of ice, mud, and rock. The landslide thundered down the mountainside…