Since Donald Trump’s re-election as United States president, there has been growing discussion about what his incoming administration’s policies towards Afghanistan might look like. Many anticipate a tougher stance against the Taliban, but a closer look at Trump’s track record and statements on the issue indicates he is unlikely to make any drastic changes to…
In October 2018, a “migrant caravan” bound for the United States set out on foot from Honduras. The group was comprised of refuge seekers of all ages fleeing contexts of acute violence and poverty – a regional reality shaped by decades of punitive foreign policy machinations by none other than the US itself. Then-president Donald…
Winter used to be a beloved season in Gaza. It was thought to bring “khayr” and “baraka” – goodness and blessings. Children and adults alike looked forward to the arrival of the cold season for relief from the summer heat. When the rain would finally come, children would rush into the streets, joyfully singing “Shatti…
“I can’t keep calm. I’ve been chosen for Chevening.” It’s a little blue poster that Chevening awardees like to be photographed with. I also followed the trend. After all, I, too, was a Chevening scholarship recipient. Or almost was. Earlier this year, I was selected for the prestigious Chevening Scholarship given out by the British…
As discussions at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku over how to finance climate action remain gridlocked, Southern Africans are learning that some “renewable energy” might not be renewable after all in an age of climate age. This year, Zambia and Zimbabwe experienced a major drought that devastated both countries. It destroyed harvests…
“All the world is a stage,” Shakespeare wrote. But on this stage today, there seems to be no place for one part of the world – Gaza. Instead, the lights are shining brightly on Donald Trump for his victory in the US presidential election and the Democrats for their defeat. As the world’s attention focuses…
The Israeli war on Gaza has manifested in a variety of brutal forms and the most insidious and devastating one of them has been the weaponisation of starvation. On October 9, 2023, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that “there will be no electricity, no food, no fuel” allowed into Gaza. The justification was that…
In August 1864, a small group of nations adopted a convention in Geneva, Switzerland aimed at ameliorating the condition of the wounded in war. The First Geneva Convention laid the foundation for the legal framework referred to as international humanitarian law (IHL). Also known as the “rules of war”, IHL seeks to reduce the harms…
On October 7, the Tahrir Coalition, a union of pro-Palestinian organisations at the University of Michigan, posted on social media what it said was a recording of the university’s president, Santa Ono. In the audio file, a man’s voice can be heard talking about pressure from “powerful groups” and the threat of withholding federal funding…
