Continued………. In February 2024, a Dutch court ruled that the Netherlands must halt sending parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel due to its ongoing attacks on Gaza. The government is now evaluating military and dual-use exports to Israel case-by-case.

The Netherlands’ traditional support for Israel is also under pressure within the ruling coalition. Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), holds the most parliamentary seats and is a strong pro-Israel advocate. Wilders has accused pro-Palestine demonstrators of supporting H*mas, saying they are ‘confused.’ 

In contrast, Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp of the centre-right New Social Contract (NSC) party has adopted a more critical stance, urging the EU to reassess its trade deal with Israel due to the Gaza aid blockade, which he views as a violation of international law.

Israel’s Western-backed onslaught on Gaza and the Palestinian people has k*lled over 61,700, according to Gaza authorities, but other analysts put the figure much higher. In July 2024, British medical journal The Lancet estimated the death toll at over 186,000.

Will the people’s voices be heard, or will they be ignored?

Sources

https://www.timesofisrael.com/huge-protest-in-the-hague-demands-dutch-government-draw-red-line-on-gaza-war/

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/-draw-a-red-line-for-gaza-protesters-rally-in-the-hague-demanding-dutch-action/3572458#

https://x.com/nourdeenw/status/1924132136598098080

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/5/19/tens-of-thousands-march-in-the-netherlands-to-protest-against-gaza-genocide

https://paxforpeace.nl/news/majority-of-dutch-people-oppose-to-arms-supplies-to-israel/

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/arms-exports-israel-must-stop-immediately-un-experts?ref=tumbleweird.org

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/dutch-far-right-leader-seeks-to-legitimize-israels-genocide-with-anti-islamism/3350708

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/19/tens-of-thousands-protest-in-the-hague-to-demand-dutch-government-action-on-gaza-war

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/dutch-court-order-to-halt-f-35-part-exports-to-israel-may-influence-other-nations-says-oxfam-policy-advisor/3135423

https://www.politico.eu/article/the-netherlands-will-control-arms-exports-to-israel-more-closely

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/23/netherlands-tilts-to-the-right-with-geert-wilders-poll-victory

https://www.government.nl/government/members-of-cabinet/caspar-veldkamp

https://www.yalejournal.org/publications/crossing-the-red-line-international-legal-limits-on-policy-options

RSF LOSES LAST BASE IN KHARTOUM STATE

Momentum in Sudan’s proxy war appears to be with the country’s army. On Monday, it claimed another critical victory against the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, forcing the United Arab Emirates proxy out of its remaining stronghold in Khartoum State.

This video, which has emerged online, purports to show locals in the Al-Salha district celebrating the national military’s entry. Fighting there has been raging for weeks.

According to a group of researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, more than 61,000 people were k*lled in Khartoum State during the first 14 months of the war (which started 15 April 2023).

Continued…….. Al-Salha is strategically essential. It contains key infrastructure - roads, a train station and a military camp. At the end of March, the army recaptured most of Khartoum’s capital - including the airport and Presidential Palace. In January, it wrested back control of Wad-Madani - a vital commercial, agricultural and transport hub in central Sudan, which raised hopes that the devastating war could be concluded.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over two years of fighting have displaced more than 14 million people. Over 3 million Sudanese have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, and nearly half of the country’s population is facing acute malnourishment. According to the UN, Sudan is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, but it gets relatively little coverage compared to other conflicts.

Sources

https://sudantribune.com/article301092/

https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2024/invisible-and-severe-death-toll-sudan-conflict-revealed

https://theconversation.com/the-battle-for-khartoum-tracking-sudans-war-over-two-years-253242

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/12/could-the-sudanese-armys-capture-of-wad-madani-be-a-turning-point-of-war

THOMAS SANKARA MAUSOLEUM UNVEILED IN BURKINA FASO

Burkina Faso’s revolutionary former president, Captain Thomas Sankara (1949 - 1987), remains a towering presence in his home country - figuratively and, now, also literally.

On 17 May 2025, Ouagadougou unveiled its new Thomas Sankara Mausoleum. Designed by acclaimed Burkinabe architect Francis Kéré, the 87-metre-tall structure is a bold statement on African self-reliance, unity and resilience.

The 14-hectare site includes the building in which Sankara drew his last breath. It’s now encircled by a reflective water feature. And a tower offers panoramic views of the capital.

The space includes green parks, community centres and educational hubs, where Sankara's radical ideas will continue to inspire generations. Our short video gives you a glimpse.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

The concept of white supremacy emerged as an ideology to dehumanise African and Indigenous peoples worldwide, thereby justifying their exploitation in the service of capitalist imperial expansion. Capitalism inherently depends on hierarchical structures. As Pan-Africanist Malcolm X (1925-65) astutely pointed out, it cannot exist without r*cism, since the ruling class employs race as a tool to cement and perpetuate these hierarchies. Moreover, r*cism functions as part of a divide-and-conquer strategy against the working class to prevent collective resistance as a united front against the minority ruling elite.

The founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity would have turned 100 on 19 May. Six decades since his tragic assassination, his speeches and words still resonate deeply and reflect present-day realities.

Continued……Sources

https://www.lasairdhearg.com/you-cant-have-capitalism-without-racism/

https://www.socialistalternative.org/2005/07/01/you-cant-have-capitalism-without-racism-looking-back-at-malcolm-x-1925-1965/

POWERFUL U.S. THINK TANK PUSHES NIGERIA CARVE-UP

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is an influential think tank that has pushed multiple recommendations into US government policy. Now, it’s turned its attention to Balkanising - dividing - Africa’s most populous country. Over the past nine months, AEI’s senior policy fellow, Michael Rubin, has published a series of articles on the AEI website. These urge Washington to use its diplomatic and military power in favour of Biafran separatists in Nigeria’s gas-rich southeast, which would facilitate the country’s breakup, ostensibly to ‘protect oppressed Christians’ against Nigeria’s ‘hostile Islamic majority.’

Continued……. There is indeed a recorded pattern of violence in Nigeria’s Northern and Middle Belt regions that disproportionately affects Christians, a problem that needs urgent resolution. However, it is also a completely different issue from Biafran separatism - a detail Rubin conceals in his articles. He omits critical information, such as the fact that Nigeria’s population is almost evenly split between Christianity and Islam. He also fails to note that the geographical areas affected by religious violence are ethnically and geographically distinct from those linked to Biafran separatism.

Rubin forgets to mention that modern Biafran ethnic separatism is heavily influenced by and associated with Zionism, with the modern Biafran flag featuring a Star of David. The separatists themselves have never characterised their struggle as Christian nationalism. Most dangerously of all, Rubin makes multiple references to violent separatist leader Simon Ekpa - currently on trial for terrorism in Finland - as a ‘persecuted African dissident.’

Why is Rubin intentionally muddying up issues and mischaracterising violent extremists as ‘dissidents’? Some suspect he’s creating a fictitious premise for intervention, laying the groundwork for a destructive, US-led neo-colonial resource-exploitation war. Any such intervention would Balkanise Africa’s most populous country and create a serious setback for African unity.

Our colleague @DavidHundeyin breaks it down.

Sources

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/virtue-signaling-gets-people-killed-there-are-no-shortcuts-to-palestinian-statehood/

https://israelrising.com/why-an-independent-igbo-israelite-state-is-necessary-in-west-africa/

https://israelrising.com/israel-biafra-strategy/

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/can-christianity-survive-nigerian-unity/

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/biafra-declares-independence-a-renewed-quest-for-freedom/

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/finlands-persecution-of-african-dissidents-betrays-its-top-freedom-ranking/

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Enterprise_Institute

https://dailypost.ng/2024/08/22/simon-ekpa-commends-aei-fellow-rubin-over-calls-for-us-support-of-biafra-liberation/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nigerian-civil-war

https://yle.fi/a/74-20162231

https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/12/458372

U.S. REFUGEE POLICY: WHITE - ALL RIGHT, BLACK - GO BACK

They’re calling it ‘asylum.’ But what it really looks like is apartheid in disguise.

Under Donald Trump’s administration, White farmers from one of the wealthiest demographics in South Africa began arriving in the US as ‘refugees.’ They weren’t fleeing war. Nor famine. They were ‘escaping’ supposed ‘persecution’ in a country where they still own more than 70% of private farmland, despite making up barely 7% of the population. No gen*cide. No invasion. Just grievance politics dressed up as humanitarian crisis.

Continued…….. Meanwhile, Sudan is suffering from the world’s worst humanitarian and displacement crises - with over 14-million people having fled their homes due to war. The DRC is bleeding from decades of foreign-backed conflict. In October 2024, the UN’s special rapporteur for human rights in Palestine said the world must recognise what is happening in Gaza as a gen*cide. The Lancet medical journal estimated that, by July 2024, the number of deaths may have exceeded 186,000 (mostly women and children). By the end of 2024, around 1.8-million Palestinians reportedly experienced critical levels of hunger. But where are the US refugee programmes for them?

Let’s not forget: Trump gutted refugee quotas, demonised Latin-American migrants and built a wall to keep Black and Brown people out. Yet somehow, the door was flung open for White South Africans who felt ‘unsafe’ in a country they economically dominate.

This is not about safety, it’s about race. It’s about who gets to claim pain and be believed; who gets to flee and find refuge; and who gets left to die in silence.

So we ask the question: do you have to be White and disgruntled to be recognised by the US as a refugee?

Sources

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-faces-criticism-prioritizing-white-south-african/story?id=121755687

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/13/nx-s1-5395887/afrikaners-refugees-trump-episcopal-church


https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/sudan/#:~:text=Learn%20More%20About%20the%20Conflict%20in%20Sudan&text=Since%20the%20conflict%20in%20Sudan,have%20fled%20to%20neighboring%20countries.


https://press.un.org/en/2024/gapal1473.doc.htm
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/gaza-death-toll-exceeds-52-900-as-israel-kills-20-more-palestinians/3567486

DOES THE WEST HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH?

Is the BBC free to report on matters as they are? Not if you ask former footballer and outgoing BBC host of ‘Match of the Day’ Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker on X). 

In this video, he accuses the BBC of answering to lobbyists in reply to BBC presenter Amol Rajan (@amolrajan on X). Indeed, Lineker's comparison of the UK’s immigration policy to N*zi Germany forced him off a TV programme. That raises the question: Does the West uphold free speech?

Lineker is expected to leave the British broadcaster by the end of this month and won't be hosting its coverage of the 2026 World Cup. Some accused him of anti-Semitism over a now-deleted post, with senior BBC leadership reportedly considering his position 'untenable.'

Continued…….. Looking at incidents such as the US detention of pro-Palestine protester Mahmoud Khalil, the US/UK persecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (@wikileaks on X), and the US chasing whistleblower Edward Snowden (@snowden on X) tells a different story. The West tolerates speech only if it doesn’t threaten Western interests.

Have a watch, and let us know what you think.

Check out the complete conversation on Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Kaballo’s YouTube channel (@ahmedkaballo4170).

Soundbite credit: @BBC

Sources
https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-440828980a4ee7bf4ddcf3d123e02b3e

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/20/julian-assange-appeals-in-most-important-press-freedom-case-in-the-world

https://www.thereviewgeek.com/where-is-edward-snowden-now/

https://www.football365.com/news/gary-lineker-set-early-bbc-exit-date-revealed-position-untenable-deleted-post

LARGEST REMAINING ANTEBELLUM PLANTATION MANSION BURNS DOWN

On 15 May, the Nottoway Plantation in the US state of Louisiana, the largest remaining antebellum (pre-Civil War) mansion in the US South, was reduced to ashes. 

Built in 1859 by enslaved Africans for sugar plantation owner John Hampden Randolph, the 4,923-square-metre mansion containing dozens of rooms stood as a stark symbol of the United States' history of slavery. 

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the incident elicited reactions online. While some recognised the mansion’s seeming grandeur and painful racial past, Black people viewed the destruction as a form of symbolic justice, with the ashes representing their ancestors' suffering.

Sources

https://nypost.com/2025/05/16/us-news/fire-guts-nottoway-plantation-largest-antebellum-mansion

https://www.foxnews.com/us/americas-largest-remaining-antebellum-mansion-burns-down-devastating-fire.amp

Continued……. https://www.thedailybeast.com/souths-biggest-antebellum-mansion-nottaway-plantation-mysteriously-burns-to-ground

https://www.nottoway.com

https://betweennapsontheporch.net/tour-nottoway-plantation-in-white-castle-louisiana

https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/21083

'Lost Plantations of the South' (2009), pages 184-185 and 191: https://archive.org/details/lost-plantations-of-the-south-by-marc-r-matrana-2009

Continued……Sudan recently cut diplomatic relations with the UAE, accusing it of aiding the RSF with advanced weaponry. Despite UAE denials, the UN and media sources point to evidence of Abu Dhabi supplying weapons to the RSF-controlled parts of Sudan, using neighbouring Chad as a transit hub.

While the RSF reportedly launched drones that targeted civilian and military infrastructure in military-controlled areas over the past two years, they had not reached Port Sudan, the army's wartime capital and a humanitarian and diplomatic hub, until the 4 May attack, according to Reuters.

The UN says the foreign-backed proxy war has caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 25 million Sudanese facing ‘acute food insecurity’ and 5 million children and mothers suffering ‘acute malnutrition.’ The UN’s International Organization for Migration estimates the war has internally and externally displaced 15 million Sudanese, with 4 million outside the country. 

Accurate death toll estimates are difficult to come by because the war has destroyed Sudan’s health infrastructure. However, a year into the war, US envoy Tom Perriello reported the figure as high as 150,000.

Sources

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/north-africa/sudan-accuses-uae-of-may-4-drone-attacks-on-port-sudan-5049734#google_vignette

https://archive.ph/KL5wA

https://www.mwakilishi.com/article/diaspora-news/2025-05-13/kenyan-pilot-killed-as-aircraft-shot-down-in-sudans-darfur-region

https://archive.ph/Lu9sH

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1162096#:~:text=Half%20the%20population%20facing%20hunger,and%20mothers%20suffering%20acute%20malnutrition.

https://archive.ph/OkgaW

https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/conflict-resources/how-the-rsf-got-their-4x4-technicals-the-open-source-intelligence-techniques-behind-our-sudan-expose/

https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/sudan/humanitarian-crisis-sudan-statement-humanitarian-coordination-forum-hcf

https://dtm.iom.int/reports/two-years-conflict-sudan-visualizing-worlds-largest-displacement-crisis

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crln9lk51dro

https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1a/k1aa8blq7d

TREASON IN TANZANIA? OR DICTATORSHIP?

Tanzania is facing growing scrutiny as the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu fuels concerns about a potential slide into authoritarian rule.

The 57-year-old, a prominent figure in the CHADEMA party, faces charges of treason - a crime that carries the death penalty in Tanzania. He was arrested in April for allegedly inciting Tanzanians to disrupt the upcoming presidential elections in October, from which his party is barred.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration is now under intense criticism for what many perceive as a systematic erosion of civil liberties and the deployment of heavy-handed tactics to silence dissent. She is also under fire for her crackdown on Lissu’s external supporters. Kenyan activists were barred from showing their solidarity with Lissu in court and deported from Tanzania shortly after their arrival. Among them were Kenya’s former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, ex-justice minister Marth Karua and human-rights advocates.

Continued…….. The situation in Tanzania reflects a troubling trend in East Africa. Uganda’s opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, also faces treason charges in the lead-up to the January 2026 presidential elections. Transnational repression is rising, with opposition figures pursued across East African borders, abducted and imprisoned back home. Last November, Besigye was pursued by Ugandan security agents in Nairobi and forcibly taken back home to face treason charges.

Tanzania, under the stewardship of pan-African leader Julius Nyerere (1922-1999), was a secure refuge and sanctuary for liberation movements, particularly from southern Africa. Guided by the Arusha Declaration of 1967, which shaped Nyerere’s domestic and foreign policies, Tanzania cooperated with African liberation movements and worked with other states to achieve African Unity. 

Sources

https://issafrica.org/iss-today/samia-suluhu-hassan-drops-the-pretence-of-reform

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/elections-in-tanzania-a-model-african-country-slides-into-dictatorship-a-4eebde15-1c80-47b4-af8d-66f4e0b24d25

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/tanzanian-tundu-lissu-in-court-to-face-treason-charges-5047478

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/24/tanzania-tundu-lissu-court-treason-opposition-detained

https://archive.ph/T2eQ4

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czdynd8l4pqo

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/tanzania-stop-repression-of-opposition-leaders-and-immediately-release-tundu-lissu/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4vdkmpg04o

https://archive.ph/nUNGz

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/11/ugandas-opposition-politicians-abduction-in-kenya-continues-a-growing-and-worrying-trend-of-transnational-repression/

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO FOR TRAORÉ!

The show of solidarity that was on display recently around the world for Burkina Faso’s president was a powerful moment for pan-Africans.

Revolutionary leader Ibrahim Traoré appears to be in the West’s sights. Allegations coming out of Washington and another failed coup attempt in April created a sense of urgency. People gathered in Accra and in London and beyond to send a message to any would-be imperialist interventionists: hands off Traoré!

During a US Senate hearing, Michael Langley, the Pentagon's top commander for the Africa region, had accused Traoré of using national gold reserves to pay for private security. The allegation of corruption was apparently intended to tarnish the leader’s reputation as a man dedicated to improving the lives of his people. Worse, many saw it as the start of an opinion-shaping propaganda campaign ahead of possible US action.