Continued…..Israel has levelled most of the Gaza Strip’s landscape, killing more than 28,000 people and internally displacing more than 2 million Palestinians in what Israel says are operations to root out H*m*s militants. Tel Aviv claims the militants’ last stronghold is in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where 1.4 million Palestinians are trapped after having been pushed south as Israel bombards the 41-kilometre-long enclave. The Israeli military has vowed to mount a ground invasion of Rafah, which many analysts say will turn the overcrowded city into a mass graveyard.

Lula’s visit to Egypt coincides with the 100th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries; both are now members of the BRICS economic alliance.

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Grumbles are now also being heard in the US Congress over a Kenyan police mission to provide ‘security’ in Haiti - at the request of, and bankrolled by, Washington. Six members have written to State Secretary Blinken, calling the venture ‘misguided.’

They say it lacks a clear purpose and should really be Haitian-led. But they’re also worried about the moral standing of Kenyan officers - citing allegations they carry out extrajudicial killings and other rights abuses. The deaths of 23 protesters during a rally last year are blamed on the Kenyan force.

Kenyan President William Ruto has agreed to send a thousand of his police officers to Haiti - despite his own security woes at home. And he vows to defy the Kenyan Supreme Court, which ruled the deployment plans unconstitutional.

Do you think opposition in the US Congress could grow?

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SAHEL CONFEDERATION TAKING SHAPE

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are moving forward with plans for a Sahelian confederation following a meeting in the Burkinabé capital, Ouagadougou. This comes after they formed a mutual defence and economic pact in September called the Alliance of Sahel States. Then, last month, they announced their collective withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The three Sahelian states see the new alliance as a way to increase the region’s autonomy and prosperity outside of colonial parameters most African countries continue to abide by.

The states have accused ECOWAS of being a proxy for foreign interests. Some have accused the regional body of dragging its feet on security matters, with the 5,900-kilometre-long Sahelian region accounting for 35 per cent of worldwide terrorism deaths in 2021.

Continued…..Continued……Further, when a widely popular coup overthrew Niger’s Western-favoured president, Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS was quick to take action, including imposing sanctions, denying electricity, closing borders, banning regional bank transactions, and threatening invasion.
Meanwhile, some have accused ECOWAS of duplicity, as it has not equally condemned recent civilian coups in Guinea-Bissau and Senegal.

The new Alliance of Sahel States is, in many ways, already operating. Military coordination has helped recover territory so-called rebels had used to conduct cross-border attacks. Meanwhile, Burkina Faso and Mali are constructing gold refineries, with Mali’s set to be West Africa’s largest ever. It is expected to produce 200 tonnes of gold annually. Niger is revisiting its mining concessions, while a pipeline linking Niger oilfields to international markets has been hooked up. The International Monetary Fund projects a positive outlook for all three states, with economists saying Niger could experience as much as an 11 per cent GDP growth.

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ISRAELI HIGH-TECH WEAPONS AT PLAY IN DRC?

High-tech weaponry has been spotted at play amid the minerals conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

A recent UN report posted photos of arms the global body found. They look similar to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit’s weapons.

This raises more doubts about Rwanda’s alleged innocence, even though the DRC neighbour insists it does not back the M23 militant group and other groups that the DRC’s army has been battling. Weapons like laser-guided mortar rounds are considered too expensive and complex to end up in the hands of such groups.

Israel supplied different sides in Rwanda’s 1994 conflict, training Rwanda’s military and paramilitaries before the bloodbath. In 2021, a leak alleged Rwanda used Israeli spyware Pegasus to keep tabs on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa starting in 2019.

Where do you think these weapons might have come from? Let us know in the comments.

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WHY ARE MALAWIANS PLUGGING ISRAEL’S LABOUR SHORTAGE?

Since the October 7th Hama attacks, thousands of foreign workers have left Israel, creating a major labour gap that has been worsened by Israel’s decision to bar Palestinian workers from entering the country.

To plug this gap, Israel has turned to the African nation of Malawi as a source of labour. Despite concerns about safety, the Southern African country has sent hundreds of workers to Israel and is reportedly preparing to send thousands more during the course of 2024.

African Stream’s William Sakawa breaks down this controversial deal and the related intricacies of Malawi’s diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.

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NYERERE: BETTER IF WHITE SETTLERS LEAVE THAN FIGHT

Tanzania’s first president was Pan-African socialist leader Julius Nyerere, who turned Dar es Salaam into a regional headquarters for the southern African liberation struggles.

During Nyerere’s time, members of the armed anti-colonial freedom forces flocked to Tanzania to establish a base for their fight against White supremacist rule. This included the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) - in what is now Namibia - and the African National Congress of South Africa.

In this video, Julius Nyerere explains his position on whether or not White settlers should or would stay in southern Africa once majority rule was established to place Africans in seats of power.

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Continued….Many years later, a member of the Black Guerilla Family gang shot and killed Newton on 22 August 22 1989 in Oakland. In 2021, a commemorative plaque that read, 'Dr. Huey P. Newton Way,' was applied to a three-block section of the city's 9th Street at the corner he was murdered.

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AFRO-GERMANS: A HISTORY OF PERSECUTION

From human zoos during the colonial era, to Nazi concentration camps - Africans have suffered at the hands of Germany. Today, the country celebrates diversity, but it wasn’t always like that. Here’s a short history of the persecution, racism and dehumanisation Afro-Germans have had to endure.

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WOULD YOU TRADE PLACES WITH A BLACK PERSON?

There are many ways to raise awareness about racism - including being invited out to dinner! A group called Race to Dinner, run by US social justice campaigners, offers White women the chance to confront their prejudices and privilege during a soirée of fine wine and food. (The fact that participants can each afford the $2,500 attendance fee might be their first clue to their privilege!)

In this clip from one such dinner, the women round the table are asked if they’d trade places with a Black person. Most refuse - a clear indication that they are in fact already well aware of the advantages their Whiteness gives them. While the few that do say they would, appear to be naive - or feigning naïveté - about the realities of racism… something the Race-to-Dinner organiser quickly schools them on.

Have a watch and then let us know: would you ever trade places with… a White person?

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