Continued……The devastating war, which started on 15 April 2023, may have claimed over 60,000 lives in its first 14 months in just the capital city of Khartoum alone, according to the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine. It’s created the world's worst humanitarian and displacement crisis of the 21st century, with over 30-million people in need of assistance and over 12-million people displaced both internally and externally, according to the UN.

Moreover, an estimated $1 trillion will reportedly be needed for reconstruction in Sudan, whose infrastructure has collapsed due to the war, according to Sudanese authorities. Analysts argue that the widespread devastation of this war would not have been as severe without foreign interference and instigation.

Sources

https://x.com/AfriMEOSINT/status/1925244469663645698

https://sudantribune.com/article294166/

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/sudan-says-colombia-apologized-for-participation-of-some-of-its-citizens-as-mercenaries-within-rsf/3411567

https://northafricapost.com/82286-colombia-apologizes-for-involvement-of-some-of-its-citizens-as-mercenaries-within-rsf-militia-in-sudan.html

https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/invisible-and-severe-death-toll-sudan-conflict-revealed

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/14/sudan-war-death-toll-much-higher-than-previously-recorded-new-study-finds

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/25/us-un-sudan-aid-war

https://www.lasillavacia.com/silla-nacional/el-engano-del-coronel-quijano-asi-envian-a-exmilitares-colombianos-a-sudan/

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sudan-war-shatters-infrastructure-costly-rebuild-needed-2025-05-28/

https://www.rescue.org/article/crisis-sudan-what-happening-and-how-help

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1162096

16 June, 1971: HIP HOP ICON TUPAC SHAKUR IS BORN

On this day, 16 June, in 1971, legendary rapper Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in East Harlem, New York. Also known by his stage names Makaveli and 2Pac, Tupac became one the last century's most prominent politically conscious artists.

Some say his political education began in the womb. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was a former Black Panther Party member. When her son turned a year old, she named him Tupac Amaru Shakur, after the 18th-century Peruvian revolutionary Túpac Amaru II.

Continued……. In this clip, Tupac eloquently draws parallels between US foreign policy and the gang mentality prevalent on America's streets. His unique perspective sheds light on the aggressive nature of US interventions, whether it's in Cuba in the late 1950s and early ‘60s or in Yugoslavia in the 1990s (where war was raging when this interview took place). Since then, the US has continued its pattern of interventions, including the invasion and destruction of Libya in 2011.

Tupac was more than a hip-hop hero. He was an activist dedicated to the liberation of Black people in the US. Moreover, he often pointed out the class struggle and the marginalisation and disenfranchisement of people by the global elite. His music and speeches resonated with millions and earned him supporters far beyond the borders of the US.

Does his view of US foreign policy strike a chord with you? Have a listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Sources

https://thevogue.com/artists/2pac/

https://www.gq.com/story/tupac-politics-art-exhibit-wake-me-when-im-free

https://hiphophero.com/the-strange-origin-of-tupac-shakurs-name/

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/220-bombing-to-bring-peace

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-91206-6_52-1

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tupac-Amaru-II

CRIMES OF APARTHEID: SOWETO STUDENT MASSACRE

South Africa commemorates 16 June as National Youth Day in remembrance of the school children massacred by the apartheid regime on this day 49 years ago.

The atrocity began on the morning of 16 June 1976, when over 20,000 students in Soweto township, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, took to the streets to protest against the apartheid regime's education policy - in particular, the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction.

The students attempted to march to Orlando Stadium for a rally to register their displeasure, but heavily armed police officers and soldiers confronted them.

Continued……After a brief standoff, police fired teargas and live ammunition on the peaceful march, killing at least 176 students and injuring nearly a thousand. Some estimates of the death toll are even higher.

A government commission in 1980 concluded that 575 people had been k*lled and 3,907 wounded, but the official count still stands at 176 massacred.

One still painful aspect of the Soweto massacre is that, like many other apartheid-era atrocities, the perpetrators were never brought to justice. Many have since died peacefully in their sleep on their farms on land violently stolen from African people.

Nearly 50 years later, the question remains: will the children massacred on that cold morning for merely standing up against an oppressive regime ever get justice?

Sources

https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2025-05-08-100-years-of-afrikaans-a-language-of-diversity-and-complexity/

https://archive.ph/yucaM

https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/afrikaans-is-officially-a-gogo-now-a-full100-years/

https://www.fairplanet.org/story/anger-as-south-african-court-restores-language-of-the-oppressor-at-largest-university/

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/soweto-uprising/

https://time.com/6087699/south-africa-wealth-gap-unchanged-since-apartheid/

https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/51977/south-africas-unanswered-land-question

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/soweto-riots-the-day-our-children-lost-faith-africa-media-online/rgXRWni4ZpOiLA?hl=en

https://www.britannica.com/event/Soweto-uprising

https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/afrikaans-celebrates-100-years-as-official-language-346950?srsltid=AfmBOopZaWld7y2Wgs9dfH-GfdBqlccc3vwdFH9HwQkW-nHArDdfZF8E

TUPAC: SISTERS, KEEP YA HEAD UP

The great Tupac Shakur - rapper, actor and activist - was born on this day fifty four years ago - on 16 June 1971. He met his untimely death in 1996 but today we celebrate his music, his legacy and his unwavering love for his people.

There’s no better tribute to the legendary artist than his own music. In this clip, he delivers an ‘unplugged’ rendition of his classic ‘Keep Ya Head Up’ - performed in the intimate setting of a classroom of students.

And what an education the lyrics are. The song’s message - about respect for women and female empowerment - still packs a punch.

Tupac was a master at articulating the struggles of his community, particularly the marginalised Black people in America.

An authentic music revolutionary, he deserves to be remembered and celebrated for his life and the passion of his powerful lyrics.

Rest in power, brother!

Video credit: @Adzmoose (YouTube)

NIGER KICKS OUT RED CROSS FOR HELPING T*RRORISTS

Lately, Nigerien President Abdourahamane Tiani has been exposing imperialist tactics and manoeuvres. 

For example, in this clip from a lengthy interview on 31 May, he called out the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for assisting t*rrorist organisations in Niger by funnelling money through its operations in Niger, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire (formerly the Ivory Coast). Tiani said he has evidence in the form of written and signed letters, which led the Red Cross to shutter its offices and send its foreign staff back home.

If true, this scandal would not be the first time this year that a government official has accused an organisation associated with humanitarian aid or seemingly philanthropic assistance of backing t*rrorism in West Africa.

Continued………Earlier this year, US Congressman Scott Perry alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) financed B*ko Haram and other t*rrorist organisations worldwide. In response, Niger's ally, Mali, called for the US to take legal action against institutions and bodies that use foreign aid to fund such criminal activities. 

Video credit: @ortntele (X)

Sources

https://www.icrc.org/en/article/niger-icrc-forced-suspend-humanitarian-activities-behalf-local-communities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9EEm7XRoxs

On this day in 1944, the tragic execution of the United States’ youngest victim, George Stinney, Jr, took place via electric chair. 

Authorities had wrongfully accused the 14-year-old Black child of murdering Betty June Binnicker, 11, and Mary Emma Thames, 7. 

On 23 March 1944, the girls, who had been riding bicycles in search of passion flower berries, stopped to ask Stinney and his younger sister if they knew where to find ‘maypops.’ That was the last time the girls were seen alive, as their bodies were found the next day.

Following an interrogation without Stinney’s parents present, plus a rushed investigation, a coerced confession and no proper legal defence, an all-white jury convicted Stinney in just 10 minutes after a two-hour trial on 24 April 1944. Despite widespread pleas for mercy, he was sentenced to death by electrocution. On 16 June 1944, the state of South Carolina strapped Stinney to an adult-sized electric chair, too large for his 95-pound frame, making his death horrific.

Continued……His siblings and a former cellmate maintained his innocence for decades. But it was not until 70 years later, in 2014, that new evidence revealed authorities had coerced Stinney’s confession and that he had an alibi, placing him elsewhere during the crime. Judge Carmen Mullen ultimately overturned his conviction, calling it a ‘great and fundamental injustice.’

While some might call the 2014 ruling a victory, wrongful raids, violent arrests and violations of rights continue to mark Black people’s existence as an internal colony in the US. From George Stinney (1929-44) to Breonna Taylor (1993-2020), George Floyd (1973-2020) and countless others, state violence against Black people in the US isn’t an anomaly but a pillar of its racial capitalist system.

Sources

https://allthatsinteresting.com/george-stinney-jr

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30529890

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1382796/stinney-ruling.pdf

EGYPT CRACKS DOWN ON GAZA HUMANITARIAN CONVOY

Egypt's role in the ongoing devastation of Gaza has come under scrutiny as hundreds of pro-Palestine activists attempting to join the Global March to Gaza have been detained, interrogated or deported. Thousands of people worldwide aimed to join the Al-Somoud convoy driving from Tunis to the Egyptian border at Rafah to deliver aid in a challenge to the Israeli siege on Gaza. Activists report that Egyptian authorities confiscated their passports and blocked people from moving beyond checkpoints near Cairo. People also claimed Egypt forced them onto aeroplanes against their will.

While Egypt publicly criticises Israel's actions in Gaza, its security forces have cracked down on activism, arresting at least 180 people since October 2023.

Continued……Authorities justified the most recent clampdown by citing visa violations and national security concerns. Despite the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, where Israeli forces have k*lled 274 people and wounded more than 2,000 since Israel forcefully took control of aid deliveries in May, Cairo's policies appear more aligned with Israeli security interests than with the cries for Palestinian relief. 

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

Video credits: @Africa4Pal on X, @doamuslims on TikTok, @Palestine001 on X and @thecrispinflintoffshow on YouTube

Sources

https://archive.ph/5iz1e#selection-2319.1-2319.39

https://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/egypt-deports-activists-march-gaza/