Continued….. As Shay Golden warned, Israel has indeed k*lled on a scale ‘you never imagined possible’ despite being ostracised on the world stage.

Of course, there’s one caveat. The US continues to bankroll Israel’s slaughter and in April Congress approved another $14-billion in ‘security assistance’. Now we have US presidential candidates doubling down on Washington’s support ahead of elections in November.

Video credit: @now14

A LOOK AT NIGER 1 YEAR AFTER COUP

Today marks one year of Niger’s revolutionary military coup d’état bringing to power President Abdourahamane Tiani and a new government known as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP). History has been made with Niger charting a path of sovereignty and self-determination.

The CNSP not only followed in the footsteps of Mali, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso in expelling the French military, it also became the first African country in history to give the boot to the US military, operating under the US Africa Command (AFRICOM). Some US forces have already left the country, evacuating Air Base 101 in Niamey and working to leave Air Base 201 near Agadez by 15 September. 

Niger has also implemented economic policies that put control of its resources back in its hands, such as nationalising its drinking water and ending French exploitation of the Imouraren mine, one of the world’s largest uranium reserves.

Continued….. Niger has co-founded the Alliance of Sahel States confederation with Burkina Faso and Mali. The confederation aims to unify the three countries’ foreign policies, facilitate the free circulation of people and goods, and create and execute a shared defence plan to set the foundation to unite into a single Pan-African federated state.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Niger was expecting a 10.6 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase this year due in part to an increase in oil exports and agricultural production. Compare this to last year’s 7.3 per cent growth.

More control over land and resources appears to benefit African states.

What do you think of Niger’s CNSP government? Let us know in the comments.

Continued….. It has not all been rosy, though. The party has faced numerous challenges, including a lukewarm performance in the May 2024 elections, which saw its electoral support dip to 9.5%. This has led to the party being dislodged from its position as the country’s third-largest party. Some attribute the decline in the EFF’s popularity to its refusal to jump on the anti-migrant bandwagon. Despite that, the party looks set to remain a force to be reckoned with on South Africa’s political scene and beyond.

WE ASK NIGERIENS: HOW DO YOU LIKE COUP GOVERNMENT?

Things are changing rapidly in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) confederation made up of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. African Stream sent our French-speaking journalist, Inem Richardson, to the three countries to hear from the people on the aftermath of coups that occurred in recent years to oust Western-aligned leaders. Do the people support these governments, or are propagandists exaggerating?

For the second stop of our tour, we went to Niamey, Niger. There, we interviewed market vendors, taxi drivers, pedestrians and Pan-African organisers. The energy in Niamey was electric. Almost everywhere we turned, we heard tremendous support for the AES.

Niger is the third country in the Sahel to expel the French military and the first country in Africa to expel the US military. This follows the 26 July coup that welcomed President Abdourahamane Tiani and a new government known as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP).

Continued…. Nigeriens we met were overwhelmingly ecstatic about the changes underway. While we were in Niger, the government decided to expel the French mining company, Orano, from one of its uranium mines.

In Bamako, we found a minor opposition. But we encountered practically none in Niamey. One man we spoke to, Mamadou Nomou Mecri, hinted at the existence of an opposition. However, throughout dozens of interviews across the countries, we came across no disagreement with the CNSP. Mohammad, a taxi driver, offered constructive criticism on how the government can more effectively communicate. However, he, too, supported Niger’s new leadership.

The people in Niamey were incredibly passionate, well-versed in the history of Pan-Africanism, and well-organised to defend their country and the AES.

Let us know in the comments what you think of these interviews.

Here’s excellent editing work by X user @punishedpants on US Vice President Kamala Harris’ statement condemning this week’s protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He visited the US following an invitation by the Republican and Democratic Party leaders of the US House of Representatives and Senate to shore up support for Israel’s 10-month-long gen*cidal onslaught against Gaza. 

On 24 July, tens of thousands of protesters marched on Washington’s streets, where a Netanyahu effigy was burned at Union Station, which Harris references. The night before, protesters reportedly released maggots (fly larvae), mealworms and crickets at the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu stayed. Protesters said they set off the luxury hotel’s fire alarms ‘to ensure there will be no rest’ the night before the Israeli leader’s speech to a joint session of the US Congress.

Continued….. Harris, notably absent during Netanyahu’s address, condemned the protests, but in no way has she exercised the same energy to pressure Israel to cease its onslaught on Gaza. 

It should be a sobering reminder not to expect a change from the presidential hopeful as she serves in a government that has armed, funded and provided diplomatic cover to the entity bombing hospitals, schools and refugee camps, and starving children. 

While Gaza authorities report Israel has k*lled more than 39,000 Palestinians, the British medical journal Lancet states the figure is likely more than 186,000. Meanwhile, the UN estimates 1.9 million Palestinians—or 90 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s people—are displaced.

As a result, protests have raged throughout the world.

Let us know in the comments what you think about @punishedpants’ edits.

PALESTINIAN CONGRESSPERSON PROTESTS NETANYAHU

How depressing must it be to be the lone voice of dissent against the man killing your people while everyone else gives him a standing ovation? Palestinian US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@rashidatlaib on IG and X) held a sign to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the US Congress on 24 July.

While Democrats and Republicans fundamentally disagree on many issues, foreign policy is usually the exception. Some have described the US as a handful of corporations in a trenchcoat masquerading as a country. As such, it advances the interests of a narrow global elite, such as US-based multinationals and the military-industrial complex. 

Others have referred to Israel as the United States’ unsinkable aircraft carrier in West Asia, a tool to destabilise and control the region.

Continued…. While the Democratic Party is supposedly the entity in US politics that is more empathetic towards Palestinians, many of its members have been instrumental in Israel’s onslaught on Gaza. 

Since October 2023, the US has provided Israel diplomatic cover at the UN, as well as arms and tens of billions of dollars. Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, has come out condemning this week’s protests that have drawn tens of thousands of demonstrators against Netanyahu’s presence in the US.

Ultimately, Democrats and Republicans make up two sides of the imperialist coin.

Please have a watch and let us know what you think.

Video credits: @SkyNews and @USAtoday.

PROTESTERS UNLEASH INSECTS & FIRE ALARMS FOR NETANYAHU

On the night of 23 July, pro-Palestine protesters brought chaos to the luxurious Watergate Hotel in Washington, where Benjamin Netanyahu is staying during his visit to the United States.

The Israeli prime minister met with US legislators and addressed a joint session of the US Congress. Protesters reportedly released insects on multiple floors of the hotel. X user @redactedrosalia says this video shows maggots (fly larvae) and mealworms wriggling on a conference room table, crickets crawling on the floor, and fire alarms set off for more than 30 minutes. 

Continued….. Netanyahu’s visit comes more than 10 months after the Israeli military onslaught began on the Gaza Strip, which has attracted widespread international criticism. On 24 July, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Washington.

So far, Israel has k*lled more than 39,000 Palestinians, or as many as 186,000, per the British medical journal Lancet. The International Criminal Court seeks Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. 

Video credit: @RedactedRosalia (X)

BIDEN LIES ABOUT THE U.S. NOT BEING AT WAR

US President Joe Biden claims that he is the first US president in this century to report his country is not at war ‘anywhere in the world.’

However, a quick perusal of the news shows otherwise.

While the US may not have officially declared wars on any country, it is actively involved in several bloody conflicts across the globe.

Continued….. Under the Biden administration, the US has intensified its bombing campaigns in Syria, Somalia, Yemen and several other places in the Global South. Despite the Pentagon’s repeated claims that strikes have targeted ‘terrorists,’ most of the victims have been civilians.

The US is also bankrolling and arming the Israeli onslaught of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the escalation in the Israeli occupation of Palestine began on 7 October. Plus, it has diplomatically shielded Israel from being held responsible by international bodies, such as the United Nations.

However, for Biden, all this apparently does not count. As long as profits continue to amass for US corporations and US geopolitical objectives are met, the US government is at peace.

Video credit: @whitehouse

BLACK MOTHER K*LLED IN POLICE ALTERCATION

Sonya Massey’s heartbreaking ordeal began with a call for help to the police on 6 July in Springfield, Illinois, about a possible intruder in her home. Instead of assistance, she was k*lled.

After a short dispute over a pot of hot water on the stove, officer Sean Grayson abruptly drew his firearm and threatened the 36-year-old mother of two teenagers. Despite her compliance, he fired three shots, striking her in the head as she sought refuge behind a kitchen counter. After calling for an ambulance, Grayson told his partner that grabbing a medical kit wasn’t worth it as he had shot Massey in the head, considered a fatal wound.

This incident underscores a troubling pattern of police brutality against Black people in the United States, where police k*ll about 1,000 people every year.

Continued…. Already this year, US police have k*lled 746 people, according to the Mapping Police Violence Project, which says Black people are 2.9 times more likely than white people to be k*lled in police interactions.

From famous cases like that of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Sonya Massey, to the police k*llings we don’t hear about, millions of people are clear Africans and other marginalised groups are at risk in a country founded on the displacement of Indigenous people and the enslavement of Africans.

While the officer in question has been fired, charged with murder, arrested and remains in detention until his next court date, 26 August, the masses are urgently calling for justice.

Will this latest incident get swept under the rug or serve as a catalyst for systemic transformation? Let us know in the comments.

Video: Illinois State Police (@ilstatepolice on IG and X)

BRAZIL'S MARIELLE FRANCO IN HER WORDS

Today, 27 July, would have been Marielle Franco's 45th birthday.

Brazilian authorities have charged several people in the 14 March 2018 assassination of Franco, an Afro-Brazilian political leader and sociologist.

According to federal police investigators, the motivation behind her assassination was political animosity between Marielle, who defended affordable housing for low-income families in Rio de Janeiro's western zone, and special interests that favoured legalising plots in the same area for middle-class and large enterprises.

While Franco became somewhat of a household name, her own words rarely did, not surprising considering the depth to which African women are routinely silenced.