CASTRO: AFRICA’S HERO

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro would’ve been 98 years old today. He was a key figure in the fight against apartheid, colonialism and exploitation in Africa. During his time he sent Cuban soldiers to fight side by side with Africans to secure their independence and sent civil support as well.His unwavering commitment to the struggle against Western imperialism earned him love and respect across the continent.Happy birthday Fidel Castro, continue to rest in peace.

‘PRAISE GOD ALGERIA SUPPORTED ME’

There’s probably no sweeter place than home right now for Algeria’s first female Olympic boxing champion, Imane Khelif. As you’ll see from these pics, she got a hero’s welcome when she returned to Algiers after her scandal-hit triumph in Paris. Imane faced a barrage of false accusations she was a man, while competing in the women’s 66kg. But she stayed strong to claim her Olympic crown and silence her critics.

Also enjoying the homecoming were fellow Algerian medalists, gymnast Kaylia Nemour and runner Djamel Sedjati. Algeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Abderrahmane Hammad met them, and they’re due to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune later this week.

Continued….. Speaking to the press, Imane said she wanted to show the strength of Algerians and women in particular. She certainly did that. From her first step inside the ring in Paris there was controversy, with her Italian opponent quitting over the power of Imane’s punches. Speculation she was a man then went into overdrive, with media outlets focusing on her disqualification from last year’s world championships. Organisers of that, the International Boxing Federation, said she’d failed ‘eligibility tests’ without giving details.
Olympic chief, Thomas Bach, then came out swinging and defended Imane’s right to compete as a woman.

The whole saga saw the fighter face a torrent of online hate and her lawyers filed a lawsuit with French authorities over the abuse.

Quite a couple of weeks for the boxer who, somehow, kept her focus to become a sporting legend of Algeria.

Continued…. An online uproar changed their mind. They’ve now decided he can have £28k, while the remainder will go to good causes. Activists, though, have set up another collection for Nwabichie - promising he’ll get ‘every penny’ to rebuild his life.

What do you think? Was it right to cap the amount he’d get so that money could go towards other charitable causes? Or should all the money donated for him have actually gone to him?

PALESTINE FLAGS GREET ISRAELI CYCLISTS AT SPANISH RACE

A protest display of Palestinian flags greeted Israeli cyclists along the 236-km Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa cycling race on 10 August in Spain's autonomous community of Basque Country.

This came after months of protests in Spain against the Israeli military onslaught that has k*lled nearly 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Plus, more than 91,700 people have been injured since the 7 October escalation in the 76-year Israeli occupation of Palestine.

On 28 May, Spain joined more than 140 countries in recognising Palestine as a state.

Continued……By April, reports said Israel had dropped an estimated 70,000 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza, flattening buildings and destroying civilian infrastructure. It has tightened a 17-year blockade of the enclave, cutting off food, clean water, and medical supplies. Further, Tel Aviv has ignored International Court of Justice orders to end its onslaught and avoid acts of gen*cide.

Video credit: @leylahamed (X)

BURKINA’S NEW FLEET OF MOBILE MEDICAL VEHICLES

Burkina Faso recently proudly put its brand new fleet of mobile medical vehicles on display in the capital, in front of Ouagadougou’s iconic Monument of National Heroes. It’s a clear signal that President Ibrahim Traoré means business when it comes to improving the lives of his people.

Traoré has prioritised technology transfers, industrialisation and the importation of new equipment. But he has also made it clear that, in the long run, his goal is to be able to produce everything locally. He’s focused on new partnerships after de-linking from France - with a view to building new factories, refineries and even power plants.

One TikToker who happened upon the new fleet of mobile medical vehicles got very excited by what he saw. In this clip, he sings Traoré‘s praises for making it happen, and says the new kit will be deployed nationwide.

Do you like what you see happening in Burkina Faso?

Video credit: @mamadi_lejeune

Miss South Africa 2024 has concluded, but the ugly race row surrounding the beauty pageant is still simmering.

It was won by Mia Le Roux (left) who became the first deaf contestant to win the noscript. She has European heritage (some outlets report she's a descendant of Dutch settlers) and her eligibility was never debated. However, that wasn’t the case for fellow contestant Chidimma Adetshina (right).

She pulled out just hours before the final following weeks of online abuse over claims she wasn’t South African enough. Even though she was born in the country and brought up in Soweto, her father was Nigerian and her mother had Mozambican roots. It even saw Gayton Mckenzie, the country's Arts and Sports Minister, post a message on X venting his anger there was a hint she was ‘Nigerian’. Claims then surfaced Chidimma’s mom may have faked her own South African identity, although officials made clear Chidimma had not committed any offence.

Continued….. Online vitriol reached such a level, Chidimma quit the event, even though organisers insisted she met all criteria to compete.

Global news platform Semafor says her experience highlights a ‘very particular type of bigotry in South Africa: Afrophobia.' We agree. It’s a story that reveals a sad reality. Some South Africans have no problems being represented by citizens with European ancestry, but they draw the line at those who have heritage of other African countries.

Btw Gayton Mckenzie was quick to congratulate Mia's victory adding 'I know you will represent us well.'

AJAMU BARAKA ON VENEZUELA ELECTIONS

Western nations, led by the United States, have continued to assert Venezuela's elected president, Nicolás Maduro, 61, must step down over what they allege to be electoral fraud in the 28 July elections.

The South American country's National Electoral Council announced Maduro won 51 per cent of the vote, beating his closest challenger, Edmundo González Urrutia, the 74-year-old candidate of the Western-aligned right-wing opposition, who obtained 44 per cent. The opposition claims it won based on its count, accusing the electoral body of fraud.

Continued……However, on 10 August, Venezuela's highest court said the opposition had failed to present evidence of the alleged fraud, warning that the court's decision on the winner would be final.

On the 2 August episode of our flagship podcast, 'Pan-African Attitude,' we spoke to Ajamu Baraka, a pan-African activist, as well as a spokesperson and coordinating committee chairman for the Black Alliance for Peace (@blackallianceforpeace on IG, @blacks4peace on X). Baraka (@ajamubaraka on IG and X) observed the elections in Venezuela and had much to say about the election's validity and the opposition's claims. 

Let us know what you think in the comments.

LINFORD CHRISTIE’S BATTLE AGAINST RACIST SEXUALIZATION

Racism takes many forms, and for Britain’s most decorated athlete one tabloid headline changed his life forever. When sprinter Linford Christie won Olympic gold in 1992, The Sun newspaper called his manhood ‘Linford’s Lunchbox’. It was a racist stereotype that also included a picture of a Black man and a banana to depict his private body parts.Over 30 years later, Linford talks about how the ‘derogatory’ portrayal affected his life, during a BBC documentary. It also includes interviews with veteran Sun reporter Colin Hart who defends the paper, saying the headline was never meant it to be racist, ‘it was just amusing.’ Racism should never be ‘brushed off’ and it’s something Linford’s suffered throughout his glittering career.

Continued……After winning gold in 1986 European Championships the Jamaican-born star remembers wearing a Union Jack on the track, only to be told by a British official it’s not the done thing for a Black person to do. Even when he returned home and wore a British tracksuit with pride, he remembers being asked by a policeman: ‘What’s a n*gger like you doing wearing a British tracksuit?’ Linford Christie has won successive golds at the Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships, and Commonwealth Games. He’s a champion whose success should’ve been celebrated without prejudice. As you’ll see from this clip, the psychological scars remain.The documentary, called Linford, aired on July 25th.Pile in with your comments.Video credit: BBC

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RWANDA ADMITS ROLE IN DRC EXPLOITATION

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was sworn in for a fourth term on Sunday and said he’d keep ‘improving’ his country. But has there been improvement?

In terms of politics, critics have questioned the fairness of July’s election after two opposition leaders were barred from running.

In terms of finances, Rwanda’s GDP is set to grow 7.2% by 2026, making it Africa’s fourth-fastest growing economy behind Niger, Senegal and Libya. However, at what cost to its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Kagame has long denied UN accusations he’s supporting M23 rebels in Eastern DRC. In case you need reminding, that’s a region suffering massacres and the forced displacement of thousands of people from mineral-rich land. That land is often illegally mined, and the extracted metals are sold to multinational companies via Rwanda.

Continued….. In this speech in 2022, at the swearing-in ceremony of new ministers, Rwandan President Paul Kagame tacitly admits his country’s role in the illegal exploitation of resources from neighbouring war-torn DRC.

There’s nothing like hearing it from the horse’s mouth

He doesn’t hide that stolen minerals are funnelled through Rwanda before being sold on international markets. He says his country is doing nothing wrong, unlike those buying, such as Israel, the UAE and Belgium.

Meanwhile, the UN has called on Rwanda to stop supporting M23 rebels in Eastern DRC amid massacres and the forced displacement of thousands of people from mineral-rich land. Often, that land is then illegally mined, and the extracted metals are sold to multinational companies in Rwanda. For the record, Kagame denies supporting M23. Maybe, one day, he’ll tacitly admit that, too.

TAXING CATS, NOT ‘FAT CATS’?

Cat owners in Nairobi, Kenya, might soon have to start paying an annual fee for each of their beloved feline friends. Failure to comply could lead to fines or even imprisonment. While the stated goal of this proposed fee is to ‘enhance animal welfare,’ it has sparked anger among cat owners, who view it as an unfair additional financial burden during a cost-of-living crisis. The country is still reeling from the Ruto government’s efforts to force through IMF-backed tax hikes, which mass protests managed to get scrapped. Additionally, there is frustration among Kenyans regarding the reappointment of wealthy, allegedly corrupt politicians - aka fat cats - to a coalition government. African Stream’s Wambura Mwai wonders whether a new ‘cat tax’ should not perhaps apply to them instead…

ISRAELI JOURNO JUSTIFIES PALESTINIAN PRISONER R*PE

Here’s another example of the level hate towards Palestinians in Israel. In this clip journalist Yehuda Schlesinger says Israeli soldiers should be allowed to s*d*mize Palestinian prisoners. He was speaking on Channel 12 about the arrest of ten reservists over the alleged gang-r*pe of an inmate at the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility.

Thankfully, there was push back from another member of the panel and Schlesinger has since retracted his comments saying they were wrong and a mistake.

However, such extremism shown by the Hayom newspaper writer isn’t rare. Israeli politicians have also expressed similar sentiment in the Knesset, while far-right mobs descended on Sde Teiman to demand the release of the detained soldiers.

‘GO HOME? RETURN THE LOOT FIRST!’

Social-justice advocate and writer Ishmahil Blagrove has always been vocal about the injustices against immigrants in the UK. As the country reels from the latest outburst of racist violence, here’s a flashback to him speaking at London’s famous Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park. A heckler shouts out, “Go back home!” - and, off the cuff, Blagrove destroys him with a witty tale to remind him that it was the enslaving, looting Brits who came uninvited to Africa, overstaying their welcome for hundreds of years… so he (Blagrove) has got every right to stay on in the UK, thank you very much. Enjoy!

Video credit: ISHMAHIL BLAGROVE @ SPEAKERS’ CORNER

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BOTSWANA OLYMPIANS GET HERO'S WELCOME

Thousands have lined the streets of Botswana to give their Olympians a jubilant homecoming. Sprint king Letsile Tebogo led an open-top bus parade after running his way into the record books. He won the men’s 200 metres in Paris, grabbing Africa’s first-ever gold in the event and Botswana’s first at an Olympics. He then helped the Southern African nation claim silver in the men’s 4x400 metre relay.

President Mokgweetsi Masis greeted the athletes when they arrived at the International Airport in the capital Gaborone. Huge cheering crowds also turned out, after the government gave people the afternoon off to celebrate their sporting heroes.

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