U.S. SCRAMBLES OVER IRAN-NIGER TALKS

The United States claims Iran and Niger are talking about a uranium deal.

The radioactive substance can bolster a country’s development and defence. And, with Niger being the world’s seventh-largest producer, Iran may have found a gold mine with which it may be able to escape decades of US/UN/EU sanctions.

US officials made this claim during an unannounced visit to the Sahelian country that broke diplomatic protocol. A few days later, Niger’s military government, which had ousted Western-aligned President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023, announced it was nullifying an agreement that another Western-aligned Nigerien president, Mahamadou Issoufou, had negotiated in 2014. The deal had allowed the US military to occupy a $110 million US-built drone base in Agadez.

Do you believe the US claim about an Iran-Niger uranium deal, and what do you think it means for the global order? Let us know in the comments.

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CHELSEA MIDFIELDER REFUSES TO HIGH FIVE BLACK BOY

Chelsea's star midfielder, Conor Gallagher, faces accusations of racism after this clip went viral. It shows the footballer apparently blanking a Black boy who was the match mascot for last Saturday’s game with Burnley.
The club says it was taken out of context and Gallagher was seen with his arm around the youngster as they walked onto the pitch. Blues coach Mauricio Pochettino also defended his player, putting it down to pre-match jitters. However, that hasn’t stopped the 24-year-old suffering an online backlash.

Continued…. Chelsea’s been marred by a string of recent racism scandals.
In 2018, their fans abused their current midfielder, Raheem Sterling, when he played for Man City. The year before that, four Chelsea supporters were convicted of racial violence after pushing a Black man off a train in Paris while fans chanted: 'We are racist and that’s the way we like it.' In 2012, the English FA fined Chelsea captain John Terry £220,000 and banned him for four games over racist comments made to fellow player Anton Ferdinand.

There’s no telling for certain why Gallagher ignored the Black boy's high five, but it’s not a good look. Have a watch and give us your view on what happened.

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FLORIDA OFFICER FRAMES BLACK MAN

In Tallahassee, Florida, body camera footage suggested a police officer opened a sealed bottle of alcohol and poured the liquid to charge a Black man, Calvin Riley Sr., with driving under the influence during a routine traffic stop last May.

Police began searching the 56-year-old’s car after they claimed to have discovered his driver’s licence was suspended.

During a pre-trial hearing, an officer cited a police department policy preventing officers from impounding liquids as evidence, although no such policy appears to exist.

Riley claims the incident cost him time to work, a $750 bail, and missing loan payments forced him to forfeit his car.

He is scheduled to stand trial today in Tallahassee.

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AKALA: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS A SOLUTION TO UK CRIME

The UK’s default response to violent crime, especially among Black Brits, is expulsion and incarceration. Rapper and activist Akala here argues that these punishments don’t address the root cause - namely, socio-economic factors.

In the past, the UK has successfully tackled violent crime through community engagement - in White-dominated districts of Manchester and (more recently) Glasgow. So why isn’t this being tried more in places like London?

It’s even led to concerns the UK is now drifting towards the kind of prison-industrial complex found in the US - one, moreover, disproportionately targeting minorities.

What do you think?

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EGYPT WORSENING PALESTINIAN PLIGHT?

Egypt has historically fought multiple wars in support of Palestinian liberation and its people remain staunch supporters of the Palestinian cause. However, many now accuse Cairo of worsening the plight of Gazans in the face Israel’s catastrophic bombardment.

President Sissi has closed his country’s borders amid reports Palestinians are being charged $10,000 to cross the frontier to safety.

Egypt’s also destroyed tunnels into the Gaza Strip that were used to counter Israeli aid restrictions and deliver essential goods.

With one of the strongest armies in the world and sharing a common culture, language, history and border with Gaza, shouldn’t Egypt do more to save Palestinians from an unfolding genocide and apartheid?

Tell us what you think in the comments below.

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NEW ORLEANS, BLACK INDIANS & HAITI

New Orleans is home to a unique cultural fusion of African and Native-American traditions - in the form of its so-called Black Masking Indians, who perform every year in the city’s Mardi Gras, wearing some of the most stunning costumes you’ll ever see. The exact origins of the Black Indians and their colourful rituals - full of rhythms and dance - are unclear, but one popular theory is that it began with the friendship that formed between two oppressed peoples, when Native Indians offered Black, on-the-run slaves shelter. New Orleans, of course, is also the city that saw a huge wave of arrivals from Haiti after its revolution, and this too has had its influence. African Stream’s Sefu Sanni takes a deep dive into a cultural mix like no other.

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NIGERIAN OFFICIAL ‘FAINTS’ DURING CORRUPTION PROBE

How far might one go to dodge accountability?

In 2020, Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei, then acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), caused a social media storm after he appeared to faint while members of the Nigerian House of Representatives questioned him over alleged corruption. Live television had captured the moment.

While only medical professionals can determine the authenticity of the occurrence, Nigerians were not so convinced. Many on social media saw it as Pondei’s attempt to avoid consequences after being caught dipping his fingers in the public’s cookie jar. Pondei appears only to have served during 2020.

Continued…. Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo formed the NDDC in 2000 to address the hostilities of several delta-inhabiting ethnic groups toward the London-based Shell oil company. Nigeria’s Supreme Court ruled in January in favour of hearing Shell’s appeal to overturn a 2022 ruling. That ruling required Shell to clean $12 billion in environmental degradation caused by oil spills before divesting—or selling—$2.4 billion in Nigeria-based oil assets. Stakeholders have lodged multiple cases against Shell in the courts of Nigeria, England and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Houston-based ExxonMobil and Rome-based Eni are other major extractors in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil exporter.

Let us know in the comments if you believe Pondei fainted and what you think about Nigerian resources being in foreign hands.

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UN EXPERT TRASHES ‘NO GENOCIDE’ CLAIM

Can a journalist ask a more ridiculous question?
This viral video shows a reporter from a pro-Israeli German paper asking a UN expert if the Israeli government has explicitly stated in a document its intent to commit genocide in Gaza. The suggestion being, without it, there’s no case against Tel Aviv.

Continued…. Well, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territories, gave the perfect comeback. The 47-year-old Italian lawyer lists past genocides where perpetrators never formally declared intent, and says there’s enough evidence against Israel to keep investigators busy for decades.

Germany, incidentally, is supporting Israel as it faces allegations of genocide at the International Court of Justice. The case was brought by South Africa, and in January the ICJ ruled the claims were plausible. At the time, the German government said it would intervene as a third party to argue Israel’s innocence.

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GAZA’S DESTRUCTION AND RWANDA GENOCIDE PARALLELS

As the horrifying bombardment of Gaza continues, we react to a sickening interview aired on Israeli TV. Guests casually talk about the ‘erasing’ of Palestinian villages. It reminds us of the Rwanda genocide. You can watch the full video on our YouTube channel.

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POPULAR OUSMANE SONKO IS SENEGAL’S NEW PM

Newly sworn-in President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has tapped his mentor and popular opposition figure, Ousmane Sonko, as Sénégal’s prime minister. This comes just a few years after a mass movement engulfed the small West African country, protesting undemocratic practices and French economic control.

Sonko caught public attention in 2016 as a whistleblowing tax inspector, who alleged a Canadian company was operating in Sénégal to evade $8.9 million in taxes.

In 2019, Sonko placed third in an election, running against then-incumbent President Macky Sall. The 49-year-old distinguished himself by railing against the neo-colonial West African CFA franc currency and French domination of the economy.

Continued…. In 2021, Sonko was arrested and charged with rape, a move many saw as political repression. This sparked mass protests that led to youth and workers pouring into the streets. In 2023, a court dismissed the rape charge, instead convicting Sonko of corrupting Senegal’s youth.

Last year, Sall announced he would not run for office and the Senegalese Constitutional Council maintained Sonko was also disqualified from running. Sonko endorsed 44-year-old Faye, who won the 24 March election and was sworn in as president on 2 April.

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