ISRAELI WOMAN ATTACKS BUSES CARRYING PALESTINIAN CHILDREN

Independent news organisation Middle East Eye posted this video. It claims to show an Israeli woman attacking Israeli buses transporting Palestinian children from Gaza to an orphanage centre in Bethlehem in the West Bank. They were reportedly being moved to safety after pressure from the German embassy in Tel Aviv.

It's not an isolated case of depraved behaviour. Recently, CNN reported on Israeli settlers blocking aid from getting into Gaza, even as children die from malnutrition in the besieged city.

Continued….Israel’s massacre of Gaza has taken a heavy toll, with more than 31,000 dead so far, the majority being women and children. The number of children killed in Gaza in four months is higher than the number killed in four years of global wars. The horrifying slaughter has also given rise to a terrible new acronym, WCNSF: Wounded Child No Surviving Family.

All this is happening with the complicity of the West, which gives the occupation a blank check, no questions asked. Germany has shipped at least 10,000 tank shells; the UK has conducted surveillance flights above Gaza, and the U.S. approved $14-billion to Israel after October 7th. It has also repeatedly vetoed UN calls for a ceasefire and even threatened action against South Africa for taking Israel to the ICJ for 'genocide'.

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KEMI SEBA BURNS FRENCH PASSPORT

Pan-Africanist Kémi Séba has burned his French passport after authorities threatened to revoke it. The French-born Beninese activist performed the stunt at a press conference at the weekend. He also aimed a fiery speech at the French state, claiming it treated Black people ‘like dogs.’

Séba’s strong anti-imperialist views on Africa and the Caribbean have long been a source of irritation for Paris. He’s the founder of the international Pan-African organisation, Urgences Panafricanistes, and has travelled the world fighting French neo-colonialism. In 2018, he set fire to CFA franc banknotes in Senegal to protest the use of the French colonial currency.

Continued….Clearly, his activism got too much for French authorities, who recently sent him a letter stating: “A French person who actually behaves as a national of a foreign country may, if he has the nationality of that country, be declared to have lost French nationality by decree with the assent of the Conseil d’État.”

But should they make threats like this? Séba makes his views loud a clear. Give us yours.

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NIGER CANCELS MILITARY AGREEMENTS W/ U.S.

Niger has cancelled all military cooperation with the United States. During a 16th March address, Niger's military spokesperson, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, called the 2012 agreement unconstitutional, saying it violated Nigerien sovereignty, given the people had not consented. He further criticised the United States' condescending attitude and its threats to retaliate. The move comes just three months after Niger forced the French military to pack its bags.

The announcement follows the unannounced visit of a US delegation that included Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee and US Africa Command head Michael Langley. Niger said the group broke diplomatic protocol, but received it 'out of courtesy.'

Continued…..According to Abdramane, the United States has required Niger to pay billions in CFA francs for bills linked to taxes on US military aircraft. The United States is not obligated to report on the base's activities, so Niger does not know how many US military and civilian personnel and equipment are present. Plus, the US military is not required to respond to requests for support in the fight against terrorism.

Niger was from where the United States conducted military activities in North Africa and West Africa. Airbase 201 in Agadez, 920 kilometres from the capital of Niamey, is the US military's most expensive construction project at $110 million. The White House announced in December that about 650 troops were on site. Aneliese Bernard, a former State Department adviser, told the New York Times that the Ivory Coast and Ghana are possibilities for new bases.

In 2023, conflict fatalities increased by 38 per cent, while civilian deaths spiked by more than 18 per cent across Africa's central Sahel region, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. The 2011 NATO-led ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi flooded the Sahara Desert and Sahel with armed insurgents.

Take a look and let us know what you think.

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IBRAHIM TRAORÉ ON FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré recently visited students in the rural commune of Bagré. They are students of a state-led initiative known as the Technology Incubator Project. They work on agro-silvo-pastoralism, a form of production that combines pastoralism and agriculture in lightly forested areas.The government supplies seeds, water pump wells, and other resources. So far, the students have grown tomatoes, potatoes, wheat and onions.

Continued….Traoré has emphasised food sovereignty since the September 2022 military coup that ousted a Western-aligned leader. Burkina Faso imports 11 per cent of food, according to the collective data of the World Bank compiled by tradingeconomics.com. The Ivory Coast, the United States and France account for the most food exports by dollars into the country. The US Agency for International Development says agriculture generates one-third of Burkina Faso’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). About 20 per cent of the population is food insecure, while approximately 50 per cent of rural households are not producing enough food for themselves.

Does your country have a programme similar to Burkina Faso’s? Let us know in the comments.

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ISRAELI AUDIENCE APPLAUDS ‘BURN THE VILLAGE’ CALL

This clip of an Israeli TV audience applauding the call to burn Palestinian villages has gone viral.

The clip, posted on X (formerly Twitter), shows several guests during the 10 March episode of a talk show on Israel’s Channel 14 discussing Israeli soldiers recording themselves singing Israeli artist Kobi Peretz’s song ‘May Your Village Burn.’ One guest said that may be used against Israel in the ongoing South Africa-initiated genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

Continued……The court issued a provisional ruling on 26 January that Israel was ‘plausibly’ committing genocide against Palestinians.

Other guests disagreed with him, applauding Israel burning Palestinian villages. Then, the audience reacted with cheers and whistles.

In February 2024, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the Israeli military destroying Gaza Strip buildings that are within a kilometre of the Israel-Gaza fence to create a ‘buffer zone’ constituted a ‘war crime.’ The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees said in February that Israel’s military operation had destroyed 70 per cent of civilian infrastructure since 7 October. The attacks have killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, with about 80 per cent being women and children.

Let us know what you think of the call to burn Palestinian villages.

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YOUNGSTER'S CALL FOR GAZA CEASEFIRE

The truth speaks loudly, no matter who says it. This clip shows a young girl at her city council’s public meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina. Over 200 people packed the chamber calling for their local authority to pass a resolution for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine and Israel. Some council members, including the mayor, were against it. And it prompted this girl to accuse them of: “Supporting Israel solely for the reason that they look like you. Light hair. Light eyes. We all know that the only people who successfully get to cry victim are people who look like that.” She then reels off historical examples of Whites killing natives and stealing land. It’s a powerful speech as she calls on politicians to stop repeating mistakes of the past. Will the message ever get through?

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YOU CAN’T BEAT THE STEALING! ARTWORK PARODIES COCA-COLA

This resistance artwork in London spotlights how beverage giant Coca-Cola profits from Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

The firm operates an Israeli franchise and has a distribution centre in the Atarot Industrial Zone in East Jerusalem. It’s regarded ‘occupied territory’ under international law, making all Jewish settlements there illegal.

According to the UN, there are up to 750,000 Israeli settlers living in at least 279 Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank. It includes 14 in occupied East Jerusalem, with a total population of more than 229,000 people. At least 147 of these settlements are outposts, illegal even under Israeli domestic law.

Continued…..The fizzy drinks maker was officially boycotted by the Arab League from 1967 to 1991 for building a bottling plant in Israel. In November, 2023, Turkey’s parliament voted to remove its products from shops and restaurants, resulting in a 22% drop in earnings for the year’s last quarter.

PS What words would you add on the artwork, if you could? Let us know.

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AFRICA’S BIGGEST MUSLIM POPULATIONS

Muslims worldwide are observing the holy month of Ramadan, culminating with the Eid al-Fitr festival after one lunar month. It’s an important period for many millions of Africans. In this map, we’ve indicated our continent’s largest Muslim populations - to give you a sense of how significant the Muslim presence is in our continent. You may notice we’ve combined the count for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. That’s because the three nations are integrating ever more closely via their Pan-African, anti-imperialist Alliance of Sahel States - which looks well on its way to unification. Together, they boast 69.2 million - 84% of whom are Muslim, which would make it the third-largest Muslim population in Africa.

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PALESTINE MURAL GOES UP IN NAIROBI

A mural in solidarity with Palestine went up on 14 March in the poor neighbourhood of Mathare, a collection of slums home to about 500,000 people in Kenya's capital of Nairobi.

Present at the event were Palestine's ambassador to Kenya, Hazem Shabat (@palestinekenya), and members of the grassroots group Women Collective Kenya (womenco_ke) and the Mathare Social Justice Centre. The mural also contains a social media handle for graffiti artist Wama (@artbywama).

Heavily African-inspired, this mural shows people raising the victory sign with their fingers and waving a Palestine flag through a heart-shaped hole in a wall. So far, Israel's military operation since 7 October has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Continued….Mathare has long been a hub for progressive politics, hosting events about Sudan's civil war and Kenya's independence-era heroes, among other issues. It's also home to a vibrant social justice centre.

Being the oldest and second-largest of Kenya's urban slums, Mathare's legacy predates Kenya's independence, as it was through here that weapons found their way into Mau Mau independence fighters' hands in the mid-20th century.

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REMEMBERING OYINKANSOLA ABAYOMI

It’s been 34 years since Lady Oyinkansola Abayomi passed away. But her gallant efforts in championing the development of women in Nigeria have not been forgotten.

She was a feminist and nationalist and campaigned for their education. She also founded Nigeria’s Women’s Party which fought for equal rights and opportunities.

Born in 1897; her parents may have had an inkling she was going to stand out from the crowd and gave her six names: Ajibati,Ajibike,Morenike,Moronkeji, Olaosebikan and Oyinkansola.

She travelled to London in her early life and studied music at the Royal Academy of Arts. While in the UK she also joined the Girl Guides and later became the chief commissioner of the organisation in Nigeria.