SOMALIA & CUBA’S ROCKY RELATIONSHIP

The presidents of Cuba and Somalia were all smiles at the recent COP 28 summit in Dubai. They met on the sidelines as if old-time friends. But it wasn’t always like that. For decades the relationship between their countries was on the rocks over geopolitics.

But things have been patched up, their interests have married again and a win-win future is being promised.

Let us know your thoughts below.

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NIGER SEVERS MORE FRENCH LINKS

Niger’s new military government continues to sever ties with former coloniser France. It's now completely pulled out of The International Organisation of the Francophonie, which promoted French language, culture and co-operation on foreign policy issues. The move comes after Niamey expelled French troops and diplomats following last summer’s coup.

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This is Margaret Douglass. She was jailed in Virginia in 1854 for teaching Black children in the U.S. how to read - something that was illegal under anti-Black literacy laws in force in many southern states at the time.

Despite the law, a year earlier, she and her daughter had set up a school for free African children in Norfolk, VA. Twenty-five kids enrolled.

But then the police turned up, and the school was shut down. Douglass and her daughter were up before a grand jury, and she received a one-month jail sentence.

After her release, she wrote a memoir. In it, she shed light on White anxieties about educated Blacks - saying many southerners feared that this would lead to more slave revolts. They feared the idea of Africans acquiring knowledge, and this did not end with slavery.

Continued….Kwame Nkrumah's editorial assistant, June Milne, claimed his book 'Neo-Colonialism, The Last Stage of Imperialism' spurred the US into sponsoring the coup that removed him. It caused such a stir on its release that America cancelled its aid to Ghana before the CIA sponsored a coup to remove Nkrumah from office.

Knowledge is power, and power is what they couldn't stomach us having.

Tupac Shakur said it best when he rapped:
"It just don't pay to be, a truth-tellin' MC
They won't be happy 'til I'm banned
The most dangerous weapon: an educated Black man"

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ARGENTINA NOT JOINING BRICS - CHANCE FOR AFRICA?

Argentina did not join the BRICS economic club on New Year's day as planned - after its new president, Javier Milei, cancelled the move in late December 2023.

Argentina was among six countries invited in August 2023 during the BRICS summit in South Africa to join the group.

Milei has embarked on a radical policy shift away from a rising multipolar world, and is hedging Argentina's bets with the US. He is also a staunch supporter of Israel, pledging to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem.

Now Argentina will miss out on friction-freer trade with BRICS members, who account for 46% of the global population.

Continued….That, say analysts, means it will be less able to profit from its vast lithium reserves, as demand for batteries for electric vehicles and energy-storage systems grows. Argentina is forecast to surpass Chile to become the second-largest lithium producer in the world by 2030. It currently has 13 lithium projects in the pipeline, more than any other country.

Could Argentina’s BRICS exit open the door for a resource-rich African country to take its place? There is no shortage of African states that can offer what Argentina was set to bring in.

Think of the Democratic Republic of Congo. With its abundant mineral resources, is this a chance for Kinshasa to free itself from the clutches of Western hegemony and join BRICS? Can Zimbabwe, with a lithium reserve of 42-million tonnes - one of the world’s largest hard-rock lithium resources - finally escape US sanctions by becoming a BRICS member? Namibia, Ghana and Mali also have considerable lithium resources to meet global demand.

Let us know what you think!

Cartoon Credit @vicmann.

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POPE CALLS OUT ‘USELESS SLAUGHTER’ IN PALESTINE

Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, has spoken out against the ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza by Israeli forces, humanising the victims by saying the world needs to look them in the eye to see the ugliness of war.

This is a significant message coming from the spiritual leader of around 1.3 billion church members worldwide, 256 million of them in Africa alone.

Africa has added the greatest number of Catholics to the church’s membership over the years, according to Vatican statistics.

Continued….Pope Francis has also given more pastoral attention to Africa recently, making a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo—heavily Catholic—and South Sudan in early 2023.

Pope Francis’ message also coincides with the start of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 11-12 January. South Africa filed a case on grounds that Israel is violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

As of press time, a total of 23,357 Palestinians and 1,139 Israelis have been killed since 7 October. Israel declared a total blockade of Gaza, cutting off food, water, electricity and medical supplies, in violation of Geneva Conventions that prohibit collective punishment of civilians during war. That is an escalation of a blockade that began in 2007. Israel also has routinely bombed schools, hospitals, refugee centres and residential buildings, in what it says are operations to eliminate Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

What do you think of the pope’s message? Let us know in the comments.

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US LAYWER: SA WILL WIN ISRAEL GENOCIDE HEARING

All eyes will be on The Hague tomorrow (January 11th). The International Court of Justice will begin hearing South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel following its brutal bombing of Gaza that’s killed over 22,000 Palestinians.

But what are the chances Israel will face any kind of prosecution? Have a listen to American human rights lawyer Francis Boyle who outlines how it could result in Israel’s suspension from the UN, sanctions and individuals convicted of war crimes. He also says the US could find itself on the hook, after funding, arming and backing Israel’s massacre.

However, there’s one caveat. He also warns the court’s president has the power to influence the proceedings in favour of America and its Middle East ally.

Continued….Whatever happens, Pretoria’s application has widespread global support, including from Bolivia, Venezuela and Jordan. And we shouldn’t forget South Africa’s former apartheid regime was once supported by the West, but finally crumbled under international pressure. Could Israel’s leaders suffer a similar fate? Watch this clip and give us your assessment.

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On the 10th of January 1942, simmering racial tensions in Alexandria, Louisiana - where unsuspecting Black US servicemen found themselves in the ‘wrong’ part of town - boiled over into a violent confrontation known as the Lee Street Massacre. The spark, apparently, was a White woman’s accusation that one of the soldiers had stepped in front of her car. After a disagreement with a White military police officer, a chaotic - and deadly - bloodbath ensued, as he ordered his men to open fire on the unarmed crowd.

While official reports claimed no fatalities, eyewitness accounts painted a darker picture. Witnesses spoke of bodies scattered along the pavement - with an estimated 20 Black servicemen dead. The sanitised narrative was challenged, and the truth about the incident - fuelled, as it was, by the racist treatment of Black soldiers, both in Alexandria and within the military itself - eventually emerged.

Continued…..The legacy of the Lee Street Massacre stands as a testament to the challenges faced by all African soldiers during World War II, even those serving in the U.S army. While they selflessly gave their blood and sweat to the struggle against Nazi fascism in Europe, they were still considered subhuman back home in the good ol’ U.S. of A., second-class citizens at best.

But it resonates further. Racism is still very much prevalent in America today - as evidenced, for example, by rampant extrajudicial killings of Blacks in the US and a disproportionate representation in America’s ‘prison-industrial complex.’

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GLYNN SIMMONS: 48 YEARS FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTION

Can you imagine going to prison for 48 years for a crime you did not commit? The United States has ruined the life of an African man who was taken by the system for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and for having the wrong skin color. Systemic racism permeates through every institution within the United States. The story of Glynn Simmons is just one example of its impact on the lives of ordinary human beings who are descendants of enslaved Africans. Simmons is the longest-held prisoner to have been exonerated in the United States. Not only was he wrongfully convicted, but his compensation by the courts may be minimal, if anything at all. He is now supporting himself through GoFundMe donations, paying for his cancer treatment that was neglected until his release.

NAS: AFRICA IS NOT A ‘HORROR STORY’

Watch hip-hop great Nas talk about his experiences visiting Africa and how he was surprised to find that it was not the ‘horror story’ that he had been led to believe. He also talks about the lack of communication and understanding between Africans in the United States and Africans on the continent.

If you live outside Africa, what was your experience on the continent? Let us know in the comments.

OUR AFCON 2024 FAVOURITES - AND YOURS?

After a two-year break, the Africa Cup of Nations will kick off in Ivory Coast this weekend. Twenty-four teams are vying for glory, but there are four main contenders for the trophy. We’ve detailed who we fancy and why. Have a read and tell us if you agree. After all, there’s no certainty in football, and AFCON has a history of upsets.

SENEGAL:

The defending champions are gunning to retain their noscript. And attacker Sadio Mane, who missed out on the World Cup through injury, will be hungry for success. Critics argue he might have lost
his edge playing in the Saudi Pro League, but we don’t. And we reckon neither will their former Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy, who’ll be vital between the sticks. Manager Aliou Cisse has a good side, make no mistake. And they are the bookies’ narrow favourite to go all the way.

KATT WILLIAMS ON WHY FARRAKHAN IS FEARED

US-based comedian and actor Katt Williams recently told former Geto Boys rapper Willie D that African unity scares the establishment. He said that may be the reason why Facebook, YouTube and Instagram have banned Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in recent years for allegedly making anti-semitic and homophobic statements.

Farrakhan is most famous for helping organise the 'Million Man March' in 1995, the largest gathering of African men in Washington, DC. The march was convened to depict a positive image of African men, and help unite our people in the struggle for a self-sufficient, fortified African community in the United States.

Could Farrakhan's ability to mobilise Africans be behind the social media bans? What do you think about silencing such an influential figure from social media platforms? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.