Continued…..Since 7 October, more than 13,000 children have been killed, with women and children making up 80 per cent of deaths. Lack of fuel, medical supplies and clean water, as well as the threat of being held hostage, tortured and/or killed, are among the challenges hospital staff face.

Maynard was travelling last week with a delegation of doctors headed to Washington to meet with US officials to press for an immediate ceasefire.

Then, on 25 March, after more than five months of attempts, the UN Security Council voted in favour of an immediate ceasefire. Only the United States abstained. However, the ceasefire will only be effective for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends in two weeks. The resolution also calls for the flow of aid and the release of 134 Israeli hostages held in Gaza. However, it did not mention the more than 2,000 Palestinians held without charge in Israeli prisons.

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ISRAEL EYES SENEGAL ELECTIONS?

Days before Senegal’s much-anticipated presidential election took place, this journalist, @MilliePinch, said an Israeli military brokerage firm was closely watching because of long-standing business relations.

According to Mondafrique, Israel-based A.D. Consultants CEO Gaby Peretz developed a close relationship with President Macky Sall before winning office. A.D. Consultants allegedly provided a 100 million euro (or $109 million) package of military equipment.

According to a US government document via WikiLeaks, Peretz was born in Morocco. His parents moved with him to occupied Palestine at the age of five.

Continued….In 1987, he retired as an Israeli Air Force battalion commander after a 19-year military career and established A.D. Consultants to represent foreign defence companies in Israel. However, after a meeting with Togo’s leaders, he began to realise the potential of business opportunities in Africa.

According to the Wikileaks dump, Peretz once served as the Honorary Consul of Burundi in Israel. US officials were alerted A.D. Consultants did business in Togo, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Nigeria, Mauritania, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The WikiLeaks document showed that the company claims its activities are approximately 55 per cent defence-related, while 45 per cent is geared toward civilians, though it is unclear what that means.

How do you think the yet-to-be-finalised defeat of Sall’s preferred candidate in Sunday’s election will affect Israel’s dealings in Senegal? Let us know in the comments.

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ISRAEL TO IGNORE UNSC CEASEFIRE DEMAND?

Will the breakthrough Gaza ceasefire vote at the UN Security Council work? After the US finally agreed not to wield its veto, its envoy said the resolution is non-binding. So, does that mean its ally Israel will ignore what the world thinks and continue to bombard the Gaza Strip?

Applause rang around the UNSC chamber after the resolution was passed demanding a halt in the fighting during Ramadan. But that relief is now turning to despair with the US apparently green-lighting further Israeli atrocities.

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed since Tel Aviv launched its assault in October 20233. The UNSC vote was seen as a vital moment, a chance to get much-needed aid into Gaza. Amar Bendjama, the Algerian ambassador, said, “Finally, the Security Council is shouldering its responsibility”.

However, has that brief sense of hope been shattered by Washington’s ‘non-binding’ comment?

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ISRAEL CEASEFIRE: PERMANENT OR NOT?

After more than five months involving several attempts, the United Nations Security Council on 25 March passed a resolution for an immediate ceasefire of Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.

However, the Russian representative claimed the United States deleted the word ‘permanent’ from the draft resolution just before voting. Russia then failed at attempting to pass an oral amendment adding ‘permanent’ to the resolution. That makes the ceasefire only effective for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends in two weeks.

The final resolution also calls for the release of 134 Israeli hostages held in Gaza. However, it did not mention the more than 2,000 Palestinians held without charge in Israeli prisons.

Continued….This resolution is legally binding, just as any international law. UN Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted that a failure to implement it would be ‘unforgivable.’

Only the United States abstained, leading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a meeting in Washington between two Israeli officials and the Biden administration to discuss the military operation.

So far, Israel’s attacks have killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, injured more than 74,000 and destroyed about 70 per cent of homes. Further, the United Nations has warned famine is imminent in northern Gaza between now and May. The international body has reported that 27 children have died of malnutrition and dehydration and that one out of three children now suffer acute malnutrition, up from 15.6 per cent in January.

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YOUTH FAVE WINS SENEGAL ELECTION

Opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye is poised to become Senegal’s youngest president at age 44.

During Sunday’s election, Faye secured 53.7 per cent of the vote, while Amadou Ba, the ruling coalition’s candidate, earned 36.2 per cent.

Ba conceded defeat, and President Macky Sall extended congratulations.

Faye and opposition political leader Ousmane Sonko helped spark mass uprisings starting in 2019. While campaigning for office, Faye vowed to develop a sovereign currency to move out of coloniser France’s sphere, among other promises that won the hearts of the country’s primarily unemployed youth.

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UN RAPPORTEUR: ‘ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER, SANCTION ISRAEL NOW’

Michael Fakhri, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, recently spoke to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council in Geneva about Israeli violations taking place in the Gaza Strip.

The UN has said the northern Gaza Strip’s people are at risk of famine. The international body has reported 27 children have died of malnutrition and dehydration since 7 October in the Gaza Strip. Further, one out of every three children in northern Gaza suffer acute malnutrition, a spike from the 15.6 per cent figure reported in January.

Reports say Israel has blocked aid trucks from entering. Those that have entered have faced military assault, as in the case of the ‘Flour Massacre’ that killed 118 Palestinians on 29 February. This came a month after the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel was ‘plausibly’ committing genocide in a case South Africa argued.

Continued….The court asked Israel to take steps to avoid genocidal acts. However, Israel has killed more than 6,000 people since that provisional ruling, bringing the total deaths to more than 32,000.

Fakhri called on these states to impose sanctions on Israel and cut financial aid, weapons shipments and diplomatic ties.

On 25 March, the United Nations Security Council approved an immediate ceasefire to last through the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, which is set to end in two weeks. It also called for the flow of aid and the release of 134 Israeli hostages in Gaza.

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WALES’ FIRST BLACK LEADER’S MESSAGE TO RACISTS

Zambian-born Vaughan Gething has become the first African to lead a European country, Wales.

Welsh parliamentarians voted on 20 March to replace First Minister Mark Drakeford, who stepped down after five years. A few days earlier, the Welsh Labour Party chose Gething as its leader. His path to First Minister was clear because the party holds the most parliamentary seats.

Gething, a trade-union lawyer, was born in 1974 in Lusaka, Zambia, to a Welsh veterinarian father and a Zambian chicken farmer mother. The family moved to Wales, where he joined the Labour Party in 1992.

Continued…..Not all have welcomed Gething’s election in the tiny country, where white people made up more than 90 per cent of the population as of 2021. Social media trolls soon went into overdrive. However, Gething said he is up to the task.

African leaders in other predominantly-white countries have served ruling-class interests. Do you think Gething’s election is progress for Africans? Let us know in the comments.

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DREADS AGAINST DRESS CODE?

Why is it so hard to adopt laws banning hair discrimination against Black people? So far, just over 20 states in America have embraced the Crown Act that bars employers and schools from penalising people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles, including Afros, braids, locs, twists and Bantu knots.
But why not more? Just last week, West Virginia politicians turned down the chance to put their state on the list over fears of potential legal costs.

There have been plenty of high-profile cases showing why such laws are needed. Sadly, here’s another one. Kanaan is a Black student at Brigham Young University in Hawaii, which hasn’t adopted the Crown Act. He’s been told to cut his dreadlocks which breach the university’s dress code. His story’s been picked up by Black Menaces, a coalition of students that fight to empower marginalised communities.

By the way, we reached out to BYU for comment, but so far they haven’t replied.

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Fueling the Congo crisis is a brew of geopolitics, western greed, ethnic and national rivalries, and competition for control of the eastern DRC's abundant natural resources. African Stream is hosting two staunch pan-Africanists - Professor PLO Lumumba and Chakabars - with widely different views on who is ultimately responsible for the crisis and how to best resolve it, stay tuned, lets engage in the comments section!

TINUBU’S NIGERIA: KIDNAPPINGS SOAR AS NAIRA TUMBLES

Nigeria’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu was re-elected on the back of promises to reign in the cost-of-living crisis - but over a year on, it’s making life an ever greater misery for millions in the country. With the naira in apparent free fall and subsidies axed, prices have made everyday living a real struggle, if not impossible. Against this backdrop, there’s been a spike in kidnappings across the country - with ransom seemingly the main motivation. African Stream’s Nigeria correspondent Poloum David reports from Abuja.

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GADDAFI’S SPOKESPERSON: WEST ACHIEVED ITS GOALS IN LIBYA

What was the West hoping to achieve by removing Gaddafi from power 13 years ago? In this clip from our exclusive interview with the Libyan leader’s former spokesman and communications minister, Moussa Ibrahim sheds light on how, since the 2011 NATO intervention, some 600-billion dollars of Libyan wealth have gone missing - held in European and American banks, where Libyans can’t access it. But besides the wealth extraction, he says (citing a UN official’s admission) there’s the fact that foreign troops are now firmly installed in Libya, with military bases across the country. You can catch the full interview on our YouTube channel.

What do you think NATO’s 7,000 bombing sorties over 8 months were really for?

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GAZA’S ROAD OF DEATH

America’s planned pier to get aid into Gaza is being built with rubble from destroyed Palestinian homes. Excavators and bulldozers are also being used while Gazans dig for loved ones trapped under bombed buildings with their bare hands. Human rights activist Sarah Wilkinson highlights the sick irony in this video.

America and the UN describe the pier as a humanitarian effort to relieve suffering in the besieged enclave. They ignore it’s suffering caused by the US funding and arming Israel’s bombardment and Tel Aviv’s blockade of supplies.
Sarah dubs the pier and nearby jetty on Gaza’s beach the ‘Road of the Dead’. It’s hard to disagree.

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ZIONISTS IN HAITI & AFRICA!

Zionism, a political ideology that many say has hijacked Judaism to pursue settler-colonialism in occupied Palestine, does not end at the borders of the state of Israel. Zionist businessmen Gilbert Bigio and Dan Gertler cast a shadow over the economies of Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and occupied Palestine.

Bigio’s business in Haiti, the GB Group, has been involved in ‘infrastructure development’ projects, telecommunications services, oil and gas, and real estate ventures. That has raised questions about Zionist interests in a predominantly African country struggling to overcome the legacies of colonialism and foreign intervention. Bigio, born in 1935 to a Sephardic Jewish family in what is now Syria, is considered a de facto leader of Haiti’s Jewish community and is an honorary consul to Israel.

Continued….Like many other Zionists, Bigio is reportedly not religious but participates in Jewish cultural activities.

Similarly, human rights activists have criticised Gertler for disregarding environmental and human rights standards as he does business in the DRC. The United States imposed sanctions on Gertler in 2017 for human rights abuses and corruption. However, Israeli financial media outlet @TheMarker claims to have a recent recording of Gertler admitting he skirted those sanctions to pursue a $1.5 billion mine in the DRC. Gertler was born in 1973 in Tel Aviv, learned the diamond trade through his father and grandfather, and started a diamond business after completing mandatory military service.

Since the late 1800s, foreign forces have collaborated with Congolese leaders to exploit the heart of Africa, worsening existing socio-economic disparities and fueling violence. More than 7 million people are internally displaced in the DRC while conflict rages in the country’s eastern provinces.

In this video, TikTok creators iamlaurachung (of @theslowfactory) and @kevin.ug make the connection between Zionist entrepreneurs like Bigio and Gertler and our liberation struggle.

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DIASPORA NEEDS AN AFRICAN CULTURAL RENAISSANCE

Activist and academic Ramona Edelin - famous for popularising the term ‘African-American’ - has died at the age of 78.

She argued that the diaspora must draw inspiration from its African roots. Too much emphasis is given, she claimed, to the dark side of our history - especially slavery and the socio-economic problems faced by Africans in America.

In this clip from a TV appearance a while back, she reminds us how rich Africa’s past is in mathematics, science, music, art and religion. Focusing on this, she hoped, would lead to a cultural renaissance within diaspora communities.

Rest in power, sister!

Please keep Edelin’s ideas alive by letting us know your views. Do you agree with her that the diaspora needs to reconnect more positively with the continent?

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TEARFUL SOCCER STAR VOWS TO FIGHT RACISM

Racism reduced Brazilian footballer Vinicius Jr. to tears at a press conference this week. The Real Madrid star says he faces constant abuse during games in Spain, but little is done about it.

There were 10 incidents of racism against him in La Liga last season, from monkey chants to death threats. Authorities handed out fines and stadium bans to a handful of offenders, but that’s done nothing to the stop the racism. This season the 23-year-old has been targeted by fans at Sevilla, Barcelona, Valencia and Athletic Madrid. Last week, Real filed a complaint against a referee who omitted from his match report alleged racist abuse towards Vinicius during the game against Osasuna. Last night, Brazil played Spain in a friendly in Madrid, with organisers promoting the anti-racism slogan ‘One Skin.’

Continued….While Vinicius was applauded by reporters during his tearful press conference, others accuse him of ‘provoking’ players and fans. It’s a vile situation, which the player admits he can’t do anything about, apart from keep playing.

Brazi’ls coach, Dorival Júnior, says clubs and police should be doing more to address issues like this. He recently told the Guardian ’It should be possible to track down the people if the police put their mind to it.’

What would you do? What should be done? Tell us in the comments.

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