WORLD - The African Mirror

May

10

2025

With Israel’s expanding war and plan to take over aid, my colleagues and friends in Gaza fear a “death blow”

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Arwa Damon EARLIER this week, Israel announced plans to intensify its war on the Gaza Strip, including indefinitely seizing control of large parts of the territory and, once again, forcibly displacing the population – potentially permanently. Alongside this escalation, Israeli officials have privately put forward a plan to take over aid distribution in Gaza, shutting down the existing UN-led system and replacing it with one that UN officials say deliberately weaponises aid as part of a military strategy of control. For the people of Gaza, the objective is clear: to permanently…

May

10

2025

By MARIEL PADILLA

What Pope Leo XIV has said about LGBTQ+ people, immigration and abortion

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Mariel Padilla of The 19th. Meet Mariel and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. AFTER a little more than 24 hours of anticipation, the telltale white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel on Thursday — signalling that the Roman Catholic Church’s 133 eligible cardinals had come to a two-thirds majority vote on who the next pope should be. The bells of St. Peter’s Basilica chimed, the crowd in St. Peter’s Square waved flags from different continents and chants could be heard: “Viva il Papa!” Long live the pope. About an…

May

09

2025

By NATASHA LINDSTAEDT

Why are India and Pakistan on the brink of war and how dangerous is the situation? An expert explains

WORLD

INDIA says another ten people on the Indian side of the Kashmir region have been killed by shelling from Pakistan in the same period. The exchange comes two weeks after a terrorist attack in Kashmir killed 26 people. The group Resistance Front (TRF), which India argues is a proxy for the Pakistani-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack. India claimed that Pakistan had indirectly supported the terrorist attack, but Pakistan vehemently denies this. The escalating conflict between two of the world’s major military powers has the potential to destabilise Asia and beyond. Already, many countries around the world,…

May

09

2025

By NADRA NITTLE

Why this nonprofit made a $1.2 million decision to reject federal funding under Trump

WORLD

This story was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of The 19th. Meet Nadra and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. MANY nonprofits are in no position to turn away any federal funding, let alone $1.2 million of it, but Advocates for Youth decided to do just that after Donald Trump became president again. Established in 1980 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organisation works with youth leaders and their adult allies to help young people protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV and unintended pregnancy. Much of the nonprofit’s outreach targets queer youth and youth…

May

09

2025

By EVE WARBURTON and OLGA BOICHAK

Why Zelensky – not Trump – may have ‘won’ the US-Ukraine minerals deal

WORLD

LAST week, the Trump administration signed a deal with Ukraine that gives it privileged access to Ukraine’s natural resources. Some news outlets described the deal as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “caving” to US President Donald Trump’s demands. But we see the agreement as the result of clever bargaining on the part of Ukraine’s wartime president. So, what does the deal mean for Ukraine? And will this help strengthen America’s mineral supply chains? Ukraine’s natural resource wealth Ukraine is home to 5% of the world’s critical mineral wealth, including 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as vital…

May

08

2025

By The African Mirror

War erupts between India and Pakistan: A new chapter in a bitter rivalry

WORLD

THE skies above the Indian subcontinent have darkened once again with the thunder of warplanes and the roar of artillery, as India and Pakistan-two nuclear-armed neighbours-stand on the precipice of a conflict more perilous than any in recent memory. The world watches anxiously as the old wounds of history bleed into the present, threatening to engulf South Asia in a crisis with global consequences. The immediate trigger for this latest conflagration was a brutal attack on April 22, 2025, in Indian-administered Kashmir, where gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists. India swiftly blamed Pakistan, identifying the attackers as Pakistani nationals…

May

08

2025

By JAMES SMITH

Israel’s massacre of Gaza paramedics was not an aberration

WORLD

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By James Smith IN a three-and-a-half-minute barrage of continuous gunfire, the Israeli military massacred 15 Palestinian first responders on 23 March in Rafah, southern Gaza. Eight of them were medical staff with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). I knew some of these men. We worked together last April and May when I was in Gaza to support the provision of trauma care as part of a small international emergency medical team. The attack that killed them was not an aberration. Nor was it the result of “professional failures”, as the Israeli…

May

08

2025

By The African Mirror

She didn’t feel safe as a trans woman in America. So she found peace on the Atlantic Ocean

WORLD

This story was originally published in Uncloseted Media, an LGBTQ-focused investigative news outlet. (Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media) At 6 years old, Kelsey Granger was obsessed with Ariel’s character in “The Little Mermaid.” “[I think it] had something to do with the transform[ation] and the feeling of being trapped in a world that you don't feel that you belong in,” she told Uncloseted Media. Now 32 years old, Granger’s reality is surprisingly close to Ariel’s: She lives full-time on a boat, far away from her landlocked American town, often swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and enjoying sunsets from her boat’s deck.…

May

07

2025

By The African Mirror

UN Humanitarians reject Israeli plan to take over aid delivery

WORLD

THE reported Israeli proposal to deliver humanitarian supplies through hubs controlled by the military would be a breach of the core principles of neutral, impartial and independent aid delivery, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said. “Israeli officials have sought to shut down the existing aid system run by 15 UN agencies and 200 NGOs and partners,” said Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Laerke referred to a verbal brief the Israeli authorities gave to UN partners on Monday, 5 May, in which they offered to deliver supplies through Israeli hubs under conditions set by the military,…

May

07

2025

By The African Mirror

LIGHTS, CAMERA, TARIFFS: Trump’s Hollywood gambit sends shockwaves through tinseltown

WORLD

IN a dramatic plot twist that has left Tinseltown reeling, President Donald Trump has unveiled his most ambitious sequel to America First policy - a staggering 100% tariff targeting foreign-produced films. This blockbuster announcement has sent tremors through studio boardrooms from Burbank to Bollywood, threatening to rewrite the script for global entertainment economics overnight. "The American film industry is facing a very fast death," declared Trump in a performance that captivated media attention, casting foreign nations as villains in an elaborate heist of American cinematic glory. With the flourish of a seasoned showman, he framed the tariff as nothing short…