10,000-PERSON LAND CONVOY TO BREAK ISRAEL'S SIEGE

An aid convoy of about 10,000 Algerians, Egyptians, Libyans, Moroccans, Mauritanians and Tunisians left Tunisia on 9 June as it headed toward Gaza to break Israel's ongoing blockade. Organised by Tunisian civil society groups, the ‘Soumoud’ convoy, which means ‘steadfastness’ in Arabic, is transporting food, medicine and everyday supplies. It also has a political agenda: Defying what the organisers term the collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza.

Since October 2023, Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, stripping it of electricity, water, fuel, and humanitarian aid. Israel’s onslaught and escalated siege have k*lled over 62,000 Palestinians, with the majority being women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The UN and international rights groups have repeatedly called for lifting the blockade and providing unbridled humanitarian access.

Continued…….. Convoy members include doctors, lawyers, students and human rights activists, who say they're stepping in where governments have failed. The convoy will attempt to access Rafah via Egypt, but no word yet on whether Egypt will allow entrance through its borders.

This convoy carrying a symbolic load of supplies for Gaza set off from Italy on the day Israeli forces seized a boat, the Madleen, of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC). It carried 12 activists, including Sweden's Greta Thunberg. While Israel released her and a few activists, the others remain in Israeli custody.

This is not the first go-around for activists trying to defy Israel's occupation. In early May 2024, Israel struck another Gaza-bound FFC boat containing supplies. In 2010, Israel had k*lled 10 activists attempting to transport 10,000 tonnes of aid to Gaza. In 1988, the night before the al-Awda ('The Return' in Arabic) was set to sail to an Israeli port to highlight the plight of Palestinian refugees, a bomb destroyed and sunk the ship in a Cyprus harbour, k*lling no one.

Video/image credits: @landpalestine (IG) & @pal.actions_tn (IG)

Sources

https://conectas.org/en/noticias/international-community-calls-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/

https://www.euronews.com/2025/06/09/land-convoy-sets-off-for-gaza-from-tunisia-to-protest-against-israeli-blockade-of-strip

https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-170-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem

https://www.euronews.com/2025/06/09/land-convoy-sets-off-for-gaza-from-tunisia-to-protest-against-israeli-blockade-of-strip
https://www.africanews.com/2025/06/09/land-convoy-leaves-tunisia-for-gaza-in-an-effort-to-break-israels-siege/

https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-170-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/12/un-chief-urges-immediate-ceasefire-in-gaza-as-35000-palestinians-killed#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations'%20Secretary%2DGeneral,began%20in%20October%2C%20say%20officials.

https://conectas.org/en/noticias/international-community-calls-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/
https://www.euronews.com/2025/06/09/land-convoy-sets-off-for-gaza-from-tunisia-to-protest-against-israeli-blockade-of-strip

'YOU WENT TO GAZA AS A GUEST OF ISRAELI MILITARY'

In a 21 May episode of ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ (@piersmorgan on X), journalist and founder of media organisation Zeteo (@zeteo_news on X) Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan on X) engaged in a heated debate with John Spencer (@SpencerGuard on X), chair of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute over Israel’s military onslaught in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

Spencer, who served in the US Army for over two decades, including during the invasion of Iraq that the US launched on a false pretext, defended Israel’s actions, claiming his personal experience on the ground informs his perspective.

Hasan swiftly challenged this, accusing Spencer of acting as an embedded soldier with Israeli forces and promoting pro-Israel narratives, especially given that Israel has barred foreign journalists from Gaza.

Continued…….. Hasan’s rebuttal draws on accounts from testimonials of others who have been at the epicentre of Israel’s massacres, such as foreign doctors volunteering in Gaza hospitals, who provide harrowing details on the siege.

Moreover, he pointed out that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that in 2024, Israeli forces were responsible for k*lling nearly 70 per cent of all journalists worldwide, making it the ‘deadliest year for journalists’ in its history of monitoring. More journalists have been k*lled in Gaza in the less than two years since 7 October 2023 than had been killed in the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the US war on Korea, the US war on Vietnam (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the US war in Afghanistan, according to journalist Nick Turse’s analysis of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ data. 

Despite Tel Aviv’s attempts to conceal the extent of its crimes, the world, as Mehdi astutely noted, has witnessed widespread atrocities in real-time, thanks both to Palestinian journalists targeted by Israeli forces and to ordinary Palestinians.

Video credit: Piers Morgan Uncensored (YouTube) / @piersuncensored (X)

Sources

https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2024/11/22/icc-issues-arrest-warrants-for-netanyahu-and-gallant-whats-next

https://truthout.org/articles/israeli-officer-promoted-after-he-ordered-killing-of-white-flag-holders-in-gaza/

https://time.com/6330210/israel-hamas-gaza-families-amnesty-international/

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/4/2/israeli-strike-kills-seven-world-central-kitchen-workers

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/damning-evidence-of-war-crimes-as-israeli-attacks-wipe-out-entire-families-in-gaza/

https://zeteo.com/p/televised-slaughter-uk-doctor-on-gaza-devastation

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges

https://rsf.org/en/iraq-war-heaviest-death-toll-media-world-war-ii-march-2003-august-2010

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/world/middleeast/30embed.html

https://cpj.org/reports/2008/07/journalists-killed-in-iraq/

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2024/12/31/know-their-names-the-palestinian-journalists-killed-by-israel-in-gaza

https://cpj.org/special-reports/2024-is-deadliest-year-for-journalists-in-cpj-history-almost-70-percent-killed-by-israel

https://www.johnspenceronline.com/bio

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2025/Turse_Costs%20of%20War_The%20Reporting%20Graveyard%204-2-25.pdf

https://mwi.westpoint.edu/learning-to-learn-lessons-for-the-us-army-from-the-israel-defense-forces-wartime-adaption

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czt56KqORNg

On 12 June 1956, the US House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee summoned anti-imperialist freedom fighter and singer Paul Robeson (1898-1976) after he refused to sign an affidavit affirming that he was not a communist. 

The committee was formed in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty to the US and those suspected of communist ties. Robeson’s testimony during the hearing is legendary due to his eloquence and refusal to be intimidated. He invoked the US Constitution’s Fifth Amendment right to remain silent to avoid incrimination on multiple occasions. When he did speak, he masterfully challenged the committee’s legitimacy, lecturing them on Black people’s history in response to the representatives’ bigotry.

Continued……For example, when asked why he had not remained in the former Soviet Union following a trip, he replied, ‘Because my father was a slave, and my people died to build this country, and I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you. And no f*scist-minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear? I am for peace with the Soviet Union, and I am for peace with China, and I am not for peace or friendship with the f*scist Franco, and I am not for peace with f*scist Nazi Germans. I am for peace with decent people.’

He argued so effectively that the hearing adjourned.

In 1955, Robeson lost a court appeal to force the US State Department to grant him a passport after the US government had confiscated it in 1950 due to his political beliefs. Before that, he had travelled often, including to the 1949 World Peace Conference in Paris with Pan-Africanist WEB Du Bois. The US restored his passport in 1958.

Two decades after his testimony, Robeson died of complications due to a stroke in 1976. Throughout his life, he was both a target and a thorn in the side of US politicians, consistently challenging their anti-communist crusades and their repression. According to Professor John L Puckett, ‘no individual in the twentieth century endured more sustained persecution and harassment from the federal government than Robeson in the 1950s.’

Sources

https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/17937

https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/stories/paul-robeson-part-iii-freedom%E2%80%99s-price

https://andscape.com/features/jackie-robinson-was-asked-to-denounce-paul-robeson-before-huac-instead-he-went-after-jim-crow

https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/25-the-cold-war/paul-robesons-appearance-before-the-house-un-american-activities-committee-1956

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/paul-robeson-testifies-before-huac

https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6440

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/paul-robeson

https://biography.wales/article/s14-ROBE-LER-1898

THIS IS FOR YOU, CARRAGHER!

The English national football team may be nicknamed The Three Lions, but they were out-roared at home on Tuesday by some real lions - Senegal, aka The Lions of Teranga. The Senegalese side made history by becoming the first African team to defeat England, winning 3-1 in a friendly at City Ground in Nottinghamshire. One of those celebrating there was former Senegalese player El Hadji Diouf, who used the occasion to taunt former England player Jamie Carragher (@Carra23 on X).

Recall that a few months back, Carragher had seemed to suggest that the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) was not a major tournament. He was participating in a TV discussion on the odds of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah winning the coveted Balon d’Or. According to Carragher, Salah playing in the AFCON was a hindrance as Balon d’Or voters do not hold the competition in high regard.

Continued……. Well, how’s that for your low regard, Carragher - an AFCON country beating England 3-1 at home? Have a watch of Diouf’s message for Carragher and let us know what you think.
Video credits: Sky News and tv2.no

Sources

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c1lpv46pm3vo

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/SportsArchive/This-one-s-for-Carragher-Diouf-mocks-Liverpool-icon-after-Senegal-batter-England-post-AFCON-jibe-1987487

KEMI BADENOCH: 'NO G*NOCIDE IN GAZA'

During a 25 May interview on Sky News, UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch on X) claimed Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza will end upon H*mas returning Israeli hostages, insisting a ceasefire cannot occur until they are freed. However, this narrative collapses when accounting for statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has stated that military operations will continue regardless of the hostages' release.

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

Video credit: ‘Sunday Morning,’ @SkyNews (X)

Sources

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-wont-end-gaza-war-even-if-hamas-releases-all-hostages-national-security-adviser/3236362

https://www.timesofisrael.com/months-after-bodies-recovered-idf-says-3-hostages-killed-as-byproduct-of-strike/

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-fighting-human-animals-defence-minister

Continued……. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/1/14/intent-in-the-genocide-case-against-israel-is-not-hard-to-prove

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

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/over-760-palestinians-arrested-in-israeli-raids-in-west-bank-in-february/3505348

MALEMA ON HOW THE WEST BLOCKS SOUTH AFRICA INDUSTRIALISATION

Every year, tens of thousands of Africans undertake dangerous journeys to migrate from the continent to other lands, hoping to find 'greener pastures.'

Many die during these journeys, and those who make it to their destinations soon realise that the other side is nothing as they imagined. Aside from the alienation of being one of a few in a new land, many Africans are subjected to r*cism and harassment by right-wing elements who claim newcomers are taking their jobs.

However, many don't acknowledge that the West exploiting the continent for centuries has created the conditions that lead people to leave Africa. 

In this 2024 clip with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (@sabcnews on X), South African politician Julius Malema (@Julius_S_Malema on X) used his country as an example, explaining how the West coerces African countries into exporting raw materials to the Global North instead of manufacturing finished products on the continent.

Continued…….. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) (@EFFSouthAfrica on X) president argued that if South Africa and other African states were processing their natural resources instead of exporting them in raw form, they would be able to create more jobs for the continent's youth.

Video credit: @sabcnews (X)ens

Sources

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/13/young-africans-want-to-move-abroad-survey-suggests
https://ecdpm.org/work/youth-a-shared-priority-for-europe-and-africa

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/african-migrants-in-europe-trade-one-hardship-for-another-feature

https://www.unhcr.org/us/news/news-releases/unhcr-sounds-alarm-mediterranean-sea-deaths-pass-1-500-mark

https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/what-we-do/world-migration-report-2024-chapter-3

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1231600/number-of-emigrants-from-africa/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20nearly%2041%20million%20people%20emigrated,originated%20especially%20from%20Eastern%20and%20Northern%20Africa.

13 JUNE 1980: WALTER RODNEY MURDERED IN CAR BOMBING

Revolutionary Guyanese writer and activist Walter Rodney (1942-1980) was assassinated on this day (13 June) 45 years ago in a car bombing in Georgetown.

A multi-disciplinary scholar, his intellectual journey began at university in Jamaica, where he rejected the path of a technocrat and instead focused his curiosity on Africa during its period of independence.

Continued……He went on to earn his PhD from London’s School of Oriental and African Studies aged 24 with his research challenging established narratives on Europe’s role in the slave trade.

Rodney's determination to make a difference took him to Tanzania‘s Dar Es Salaam University, where, in the late ‘60s, he taught and left his mark on a generation of historians living under the leadership of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. Returning to Jamaica, he embraced the struggles of the marginalised and connected with students and the working poor through his teachings and community engagement. His ability to bridge the gap between intellectuals and the masses was met with government surveillance and eventual expulsion from Jamaica. This sparked widespread riots and cemented his radical legacy.

Throughout his life, Rodney remained dedicated to the cause of social justice, forming alliances with intellectuals, including Rastafarian leaders and Black-power activists. Notably, his impact extended to figures such as Ralph Gonsalves, who now serves as the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

After his expulsion from Jamaica, Rodney returned to Tanzania, where he played a key role in the Dar Es Salaam school of intellectual inquiry. There, he completed his chief work: How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. This continues to provoke passionate debates among historians and pan-Africanists today. The acclaimed book exposed the detrimental effects of European colonialism on Africa's development.

30,000 people showed up to send him off at his funeral, illustrating how dearly he was held by the people. We remember the guerrilla intellectual as a key figure who left a lasting legacy on academia and the struggle for social justice.

Sources

https://www.walterrodneyfoundation.org/coi

https://baystatebanner.com/2021/08/12/the-killing-of-walter-rodney/

https://roape.net/2022/07/05/walter-rodney-a-revolutionary-for-our-time/

https://portside.org/2021-11-12/walter-rodney-murder-mystery-guyana-40-years-later

https://www.walterrodneyfoundation.org/june-13th-2023

https://smallaxe.net/sxsalon/reviews/remembering-rodney

https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/human-rights/2020-06-13/the-walter-rodney-murder-mystery-in-guyana-40-years-later

https://www.change.org/p/guyana-government-justice-for-walter-rodney

KENYAN STAR BIEN TALKS POLITICS

Art is especially powerful when it is used to hold up a mirror to society. Kenyan artist Bien (@bienaimesol on IG) shared his views on the current state of his home country with US radio show @breakfastclubam (X/IG) on New York’s Power 105.1 FM. In this segment, he highlights the marriage of convenience between Kenyan president William Ruto and former opposition leader Raila Odinga in the face of a movement against bad governance. An example of this unofficial coalition was the state's response to protests against the IMF-backed Finance Bill 2024, which saw arrests, abductions and killings without any immediate political repercussions for Ruto.

Have a watch and please share your thoughts.

Continued……
Sources

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/inside-ruto-raila-handshake-deal-that-has-split-azimio-4685278

https://www.dw.com/en/why-abductions-in-kenya-pose-a-threat-to-national-security/a-71191494

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/what-s-next-after-kenya-withdraws-finance-bill-amid-protests-4671446

GERMANY RETURNS BLACK PEOPLE’S SKULLS TO NEW ORLEANS

Nearly 150 years after the skulls of 19 Black people had been transported to Germany for pseudoscientific experiments, the University of Leipzig returned the remains to the US city of New Orleans for a proper memorial on 30 May at Dillard University.

The return of these remains reminds us of the widespread use of pseudoscience in the 19th century to justify racial hierarchies that continue to buttress capitalism to this day.

Video credit: @dillarduniversity (IG)

Sources

https://abcnews.go.com/US/remains-19-black-americans-returned-new-orleans-150/story?id=122343834

https://apnews.com/article/namibia-germany-genocide-commemoration-indigenous-herero-nama-abe931fbab90756a8717f1e235871e47

https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/genetics-generation/america-s-hidden-history-the-eugenics-movement-123919444/

https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/gsc/view/journals/gscj/2/2/article-p168.xml

SNOW AND FLOODS LEAVE TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa is grappling with the aftermath of deadly floods and snowfall that have left at least 78 people dead and thousands displaced. The weather disaster has also cut power and washed away bridges and roads, especially in the country's Eastern Cape province, the epicentre of the disaster.

Many residential areas remain submerged in water, forcing residents to spend nights in makeshift shelters that offer very little protection from the cold weather.

The damage to critical infrastructure has hampered search-and-rescue efforts by emergency-response services.

Continued…….. On 12 June, health experts warned that the flooding could also lead to waterborne diseases, such as typhoid and cholera if the government fails to address the situation in a timely manner.

While snow is common in parts of South Africa during this time of the year, it has rarely resulted in widespread damage and loss of life.

Sources

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgqwg9gej7o

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250612-death-toll-in-s-africa-floods-rises-to-78

https://x.com/Newzroom405/status/1933400809246515260