Continued......Unfortunately, refugees do not find the safety they seek. On 3 May, at least five rockets targeted camps on the outskirts of the city of Goma, killing 35 people and injuring 37, according to the North Kivu province’s government, which blamed M23.

Please visit ACH’s social media accounts to find out how you can support their important work in the Congo.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

‘ICC IS FOR AFRICA’, SENIOR LEADER TOLD ME -KARIM KHAN

‘The ICC [International Criminal Court] is built for Africa and thugs like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.’ That’s allegedly what one unnamed leader told the ICC’s Prosecutor, Karim Khan.

Khan recently spoke to CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour following his headline-grabbing move to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant. Khan also issued warrants against three H*mas officials. 

However, Khan’s statement alludes to threats he may have faced over the court’s decision, saying the ICC has ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ the Israeli officials and H*mas’ ‘bear criminal responsibility for … war crimes and crimes against humanity.’ Members of the US Congress who’ve supported Israel’s military onslaught on Gaza have joined Netanyahu in condemning the ICC. US President Joe Biden has characterised Khan’s move as ‘outrageous,’ affirming Washington’s support for Israel.

Continued……The Rome Statute, an international treaty that 124 states are party to, entered into force on 1 July 2002, forming the International Criminal Court. Based in The Hague, Netherlands, it is the first and only permanent international tribunal for violations of international law, including war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

The ICC has been accused of having an ‘African problem,’ taking advantage of the continent’s weak global position to target its leaders, yet turning a blind eye to Western countries’ illegal wars in places like Iraq.

In its first 13 years, the ICC prosecuted only Africans. Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and current president, William Ruto; Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir; the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo; Liberia’s Charles Taylor; Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and his son, Saif Al-Islam, are some of the notable African defendants wanted by the court in the past.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

CAIRO’S DOUBLE-DEALING OVER GAZA

When it comes to Israel and Palestine, which side is Egypt on? Cairo says it will join South Africa’s case of g*n*cide against Tel Aviv at the International Court of Justice. But at the same time, pro-Palestinian protesters have faced a crackdown in the North African country. According to the Egyptian Network for Human Rights, dozens of citizens have been detained. On top of that, Gazans seeking refuge in Egypt are reportedly being charged $5,000 dollars to cross the border.

Ahmed Gonheim looks at the duplicitous stance of Israel’s neighbour.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

Zimbabwe says four leading lithium mining companies have finally submitted plans to start processing the mineral within the country's borders.

This follows a government directive issued in November, ordering companies to prepare to end exports of the mineral in its raw form. They were given until the end of March 2024 to submit plans to set up lithium refineries inside Zimbabwe. The ultimatum was then extended for two months.

The move aims to ensure that the mineral is exported as battery-grade lithium, which fetches higher prices - and hence, should yield more cash for the country's coffers.

Continued….. Lithium is in high demand around the world and is used in appliances from mobile phones to electric cars. It’s a market that’s only set to grow, as countries switch from fossil fuels to greener sources of energy.

Zimbabwe holds the largest lithium reserves in Africa and the seventh largest in the world. Between January and September 2023, it sold raw supplies worth $209m.

Why isn’t every mineral-rich African nation fast-tracking plans like this?

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

BIBI BLASTS ICC ARREST THREAT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted a bid for his arrest for war crimes. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court wants him detained, along with his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for a list of alleged atrocities. They include the ‘starvation of civilians’ and ‘intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population’. Netanyahu accused the ICC of creating ‘a twisted and false moral equivalence’ with H*mas.

Karim Khan also filed applications for the arrest of three H*mas leaders, accusing them of murder, taking hostages, rape and other acts of sexual violence. The resistance group also hit back, saying Khan was trying to ‘equate the victim with the executioner.’

US President Joe Biden doubled down on support for Tel Aviv, saying the allegations against its ally were ‘outrageous’.

Continued….. In terms of what happens next, ICC pre-trial judges will now weigh up if there’s enough evidence to issue arrest warrants. It could take months before a decision is made.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza has hit 35,562 - mostly women and children- since the October 7 escalation in the 76-year occupation of Palestine by Israel. Over 7,000 are missing, believed to be buried under the rubble. Ninety-seven journalists and 224 humanitarian aid workers, including 179 staff from UN relief agency UNRWA, have also been killed.

Israel’s 17-year blockade of the strip has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, where the entire population is starving, and one in three children is severely malnourished. On Friday, a UN agency report said only 300 aid trucks had entered Gaza since Israel began its recent assault on Rafah. Its population of 1.3-million desperate Palestinians are trapped on the border with Egypt.

Whatever Netanyahu says, he cannot hide the scale of devastation he’s unleashed.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

BLACK PROFESSOR ARRESTED AT PRO-PALESTINE RALLY SPEAKS

On 15 May, 10 police agencies arrested several people, including Professor Tiffany Willoughby-Herard, at the University of California, Irvine, during a pro-Palestine protest that began occupying a university building. Police also cleared a more than 2-week-old student encampment outdoors. UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman’s statement said students’ escalation required police action.

The demonstrators, like many across the US, demand the University of California (UC) system divest $32 billion, or 18 per cent of its $175 billion in assets, from Israel.

Continued…. The system invests in weapons manufacturers, asset manager BlackRock, Coca-Cola, Disney and 22 other companies that either do business or invest in Israel, according to an EdSource.org review of the UC system’s investments. In April, Gillman stated the institution would not boycott or divest from Israel.

The UC system educates 280,000 students on 10 campuses in California and other facilities outside the US state.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

NEW CALEDONIA RAGES AGAINST FRENCH IMPERIALISM

It’s kicking off on the Pacific island of New Caledonia - colonised by France in the 1850s. The indigenous Kanak people are furious about French plans roll out greater electoral rights to newcomers to the island - meaning people who likely moved from the mainland and are in favour of keeping the island part of France. The independence movement narrowly lost two referendums a few years back, and boycotted a third, and now fears planned amendments to the constitution could see the political representation of Kanaks reduced. Of course, France is dressing it up as a would-be win for democracy, but look closer, and you’ll find the real neo-colonial motive: nickel. It’s a key element and New

Continued….. Caledonia has heaps of it - meaning heaps of profits for the masters back in Paris. So naturally, islanders are out protesting. They’ve been met with a huge security response, leading to violence and six deaths - as well as a good deal of rioting. France has declared a state of emergency, imposing a curfew and banning TikTok.

In this clip, TikTok political commentator @beautymrked walks us through an article that neatly summarises what’s going on, adding his own observations. Your insights into the situation are of course most welcome in the comments!

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

NIGERIAN BILLIONAIRE NEEDS 35 VISAS FOR AFRICA!

Here’s proof of how difficult it is for Africans to travel around their own continent. Nigerian Billionaire, Aliko Dangote, says he needs 35 different visas just to do business here. And he points out a French national would require far less! The award-winning entrepreneur was speaking at the recent CEO Forum Annual Summit in Rwanda and even gave President Kagame an earful over the bureaucratic madness.

We’d also like to point out the insanity isn’t just strangling economic growth, it also impacts society. Many communities from the same ethnic groups are separated due to colonial-made boundaries and can’t interact because of visa requirements. It’s time something’s done.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

ABORIGINAL CLAPBACK TO WHITE AUSTRALIAN GOES VIRAL

When a white Australian politician decided to protest a ban on climbing a sacred rock, an Aboriginal person's clapback went viral.

In August 2019, Pauline Hanson, a senator who's made headlines with her racist remarks, travelled with a TV crew to protest a ban on humans trekking up Uluru, an 863-metre-high sandstone monolith that juts out of the flat landscape of Australia’s Northern Territory. The rock is sacred to the Aboriginal Pitjantjatjara people.

But what came next earned public praise. The 69-year-old politician, known for founding the far-right One Nation party, told two Aboriginal café workers near Uluru that she was indigenous to the land and questioned why they were working there if they were Aboriginals from other regions. She accused the two of taking away jobs from ‘locals.’ However, the women stood their ground, and one named Faith Saylor checked Hanson by raising that the senator might actually be indigenous to England.

WHY AFRICANS SHOULD BE ANTI-ZIONIST

As African people, we often feel a close connection with others fighting colonialism and imperialism. But the anti-Zionist current within the Pan-African movement is not only about empathising with Palestinians, it’s about Israel's role as an oppressive power on the African continent.

In this video, Ahjamu Umi of @aaprpinternational, gives some clear examples of both. From Uganda’s clash with Israel in the 1970s to Tel Aviv arming Ethiopia to counter a pro-Palestinian Eritrea. He also highlights how Israel, along with the US, arms and trains African police. That’s why you’ll see them kitted out like the Israeli Defence Forces. Israel's links to the continent run deep and Ahjamu ends by saying, 'a conscious African needs to be anti-Zionist.' Do you agree?

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

BIDEN DEFENDS BIBI AFTER ICC ISSUES ARREST WARRANT

US President Joe Biden has slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) for seeking arrest warrants against top Israeli officials. The ICC's prosecutor, Karim Khan, stated on 20 May that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are wanted because the ICC has 'reasonable grounds to believe' the two Israeli officials' bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity.'

Continued….. In its 26 January interim ruling, the International Court of Justice, the UN's highest court, said Israel's military onslaught on the Gaza Strip's more than 2 million Palestinians could be plausibly gen*cidal and ordered Tel Aviv to ensure it takes measures to abide by the 1948 UN Gen*cide Convention. Since then, Israel has gone on to k*ll an additional 9,000 Palestinians, bringing the death toll to over 35,000, with most being women and children.

So far, Israel has displaced over 1.7 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, some of whom in the north are now in the grip of a catastrophic famine, according to the UN.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

MOROCCANS: SEVER TIES WITH ISRAEL!

Pressure’s piling up on Morocco to end ties with Israel over its war on Gaza. There’ve been demonstrations across the North African Kingdom, with the latest in Casablanca.

In 2020, Morocco became the fourth Arab state to resume diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv under the Abraham Accords. There are now demands for that to be scrapped in the face of Tel Aviv’s onslaught that’s killed over 35,000 Palestinians in seven months.

Rabat has strongly condemned the massacre, but has stopped short of abandoning the normalisation agreement.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio