Continued….. According to website Numbeo, as of July 9th, 2024, Libya couldn’t be beaten for price across the globe. Africa’s other top oil producers weren’t far behind with Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt and Angola charging a few cents more.

As for the most expensive, Hong Kong topped the charts. There, motorists had to fork out $3.10 per litre. Ouch.

Of course, the on-going political crisis in Libya could have an impact on price in the near future. Some oilfields have halted production amid a fight for control of the country’s central bank.

Video Credit: @dnzh.travels

ALGERIA BUSTS ALLEGED MOROCCAN SPY RING

Algeria has arrested seven people - including four Moroccans - on charges of espionage. With the country heading to the polls in less than a week, it comes amid allegations from one presidential hopeful (Abdelaali Hassani) that Rabat has “historically conspired against Algeria.”

The potential Moroccan spy-ring bust will no doubt worsen already sour relations between the two countries, which have fallen out over the status of Western Sahara: Rabat claims sovereignty over the territory, while Algiers backs its independence movement. Additionally, Algeria - which backs the Palestinian cause - is unhappy about Morocco normalising relations with Israel (which Rabat did in exchange for the US backing its claims to Western Sahara.)

BACKLASH AFTER NIGERIAN BEAUTY QUEENS PROMOTE SKIN WHITENING

African model Chidimma Adetshina has been crowned Miss Universe Nigeria.
And event organisers have been praised for offering her a last-minute invite after she pulled out of a similar event in South Africa over xenophobic abuse.

Unfortunately, there was also an ugly side to the pageant in Lagos. Organisers faced a backlash after telling their Black contestants to promote skin-whitening products.

Wambura Mwai looks at the disturbing and dangerous decades-old trend where African women are pressured to change their natural appearance to mimic European beauty standards.

‘IF YOU’RE NOT LOOKING FOR SMART IMMIGRANTS, YOU WON’T FIND THEM!’

In this clip, celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson makes a good point on the Joe Rogan Experience about young African immigrants, especially Nigerians, to the UK: namely, that they often out-perform their counterparts in their host country when it comes to academic tests. The case no doubt generalises, and his main point is actually that this is widely ignored by those who wish to paint African immigrants as a drain on the host nation’s resources.

According to a 2021 report by the UK’s Sutton Trust and the Social Mobility Commission, African-origin students, particularly those of Nigerian descent, have a high rate of progression to university and academically outperform other ethnic groups, including White British students from the same socio-economic class. A 2020 report by the UK Department for Education highlighted that students of African origin, particularly Nigerians, often outperform their peers in academic settings.

Continued….. And the ‘Race Disparity Audit’ released by the UK government in 2017 also showed that African children had higher percentages of achieving top grades (A* - C) in state exams (GCSEs) compared with other ethnic groups, including White working-class students.

It’s the kind of data that the racists behind the recent anti-immigrant riots in the UK would rather ignore. But unfortunately, even non-racists tend to ignore it because it’s not made much of in the media. As Tyson exclaims, “If you’re not looking for smart immigrants, you won’t find them!” Do you think greater awareness would change attitudes?

Video credit: @PowerfulJRE

‘EUROPE IS THE SOURCE OF EVERY EVIL’

‘Europeans have killed more people than natural disasters,’ according to damning statistics presented by @a.rebel.with.a.cause. The content creator broke down global massacres thanks to European slavery and colonisation. 

Here are a few examples: The European slave trade, often coined the ‘Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade’ even though the Atlantic Ocean didn’t enslave anyone, trafficked 15 million Africans, k*lling about 4 million along the way. Plus, Belgian King Leopold II’s brutal occupation k*lled about 10 million people in the Congo. European and North American fingerprints have also been found in recent wars that have k*lled and displaced millions of people.

Any thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

Video credit: @a.rebel.with.a.cause (TikTok)

WHY DOES AFRICA LET OUTSIDERS PRICE OUR RESOURCES?

According to South African economist Nthabiseng Moleko, Africans are not fixing the price of our resources, and as a result, we remain excluded from the economy. 

Colonial powers structured African economies around extracting raw materials for export to manufacture finished products in places like Europe. Then, we imported those goods at high costs.

Continued….. This continues to this day, making Africa vulnerable to global price fluctuations. While we don’t like the term ‘sub-Saharan,’ the World Bank’s 2022 report showed that ‘sub-Saharan Africa’ exported $133.5 billion in raw materials in 2021 alone. Meanwhile, it imports more than $469 billion worth of goods.

However, during a debate at Nelson Mandela University (@mandelauniversity on IG, @mandelauni on X), Moleko (@drnthabimoleko on IG, X and TikTok) raised the example of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), comprised of oil-exporting countries that coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries. OPEC’s decisions impact the global economy.

Video credit: Nelson Mandela University (YouTube)

IDF ACCUSED R*PIST SCORES INTERVIEWS IN TEL-AVIV

An Israeli soldier detained over the r*pe of a Palestinian inmate has received a celebrity welcome on TV shows in Israel.

Meir Ben-Shitrit has talked to media about his interrogation by police, reportedly saying: ‘The military police treated us really nice...You see the support.. With a hand on their heart, like, telling you “thank you.”’

He also said the allegations against him were baseless and called for the release of all suspects in the case.

Earlier this year, ten Israeli soldiers were questioned over the incident at the Sde Teiman Prison, which left the victim needing hospital treatment.

Continued……At the time, a lawmaker in the Knesset said soldiers should be allowed to r*pe detained Palestinians, further fuelling anger over Israel’s disregard for humanitarian law.

Sde Teiman doubles as an Israeli military base and detention centre for Palestinians arrested in Gaza. Prisoners are held indefinitely without charge, and the site has been dubbed Israel’s Guantanamo Bay.

Video credits: Channel 14 (Israel) and Keshet 12 (Israel)

PRO-PALESTINE SUPPORTERS ATTACKED IN S.A.

This viral video shows two men carrying Israeli flags attacking pro-Palestinian activists near Cape Town. It was posted on X in April and, as far as we know, no arrests have been made.

At the time, Shameemah Salie, a spokesperson for South Africa’s Al Jama-ah political party, told reporters: ‘Allegations are that, last weekend, one of the pro-Zionist members made a statement to females in the pro-Palestinian group that they are beautiful and had they been in Gaza Hamas would r*pe them’

She also said her party was aware of threats being made to individuals speaking against Zionism and genocide in Gaza.

Tensions had been rising in Simon’s Town, after pro-Palestinian protesters were met by counter pickets at weekends.

THE GENIUS OF WU TANG

An entire generation grew up on the music and rhymes of hip-hop giants Wu-Tang Clan, coming of age to such memorable hits as ‘Protect Ya Neck,’ ‘Method Man’ and ‘Bring Back the Ruckus.’ The New York City-formed collective has continued strong since its debut in 1993. In this clip, British-born hip-hop artist and Pan-African activist Akala was asked if he struggled to understand the works of William Shakespeare as a child. He responded no because he listened to the Wu-Tang Clan with artists like RZA, who was rapping about physics, so Shakespeare seemed simple.

Watch him reel off a line from the clan’s hit ‘Triumph’: “I bomb atomically, Socrates’ philosophies and hypotheses/Can’t define how I be droppin’ these mockeries..” What is your favourite lyrical bar the Wu?

Video credit: @southbankcentre and @akalamusic

WHY NIGERIANS ‘FARMED’ THEIR KIDS OUT TO BRITS

Nigerian children were temporarily adopted en masse by White British families during the post-WWII depression. Basically, the UK pushed on its colonies to provide an economic boost by providing manpower, and brain power, but those coming over to work or study often needed help with looking after their children. So these children were ‘farmed out’ to foster parents across the country. Many of those who came, came from Nigeria. British-born, Yoruba-origin actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (@therealadewale) was one of those kids who was raised by British parents - and even made (and starred in) a film about it, based on his own experiences. In this clip from an interview with Larry King he elaborates on the phenomenon and what he went through.

Continued…….. In the film, which co-stars Snowfall star Damson Idris, a Nigerian boy is made to steal for his White foster family and is taught to hate his skin - so much so, that he even ends up joining a White skinhead gang led by a White supremacist.

It sheds light on some of the complex identity and self-hate issues that many of these young people must have struggled with during that time.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Video credit: @Larry King

COULD IMPERIALISM EXPLAIN THE SLOW MPOX RESPONSE IN AFRICA?

Since its emergence, mpox has been largely ignored, even as it threatens to become a full-blown crisis in Africa and beyond. Vaccines have been available since 2022, but remain largely inaccessible for much of the continent, with critics arguing a strategy of containing the outbreak in Africa rather than solving the crisis, has been deployed.

The mpox outbreak in Africa has made one thing clear: The continent’s continued dependence on external powers for its health.

Hundreds of thousands of vaccines are being pledged by the West to counter the spread of the virus across Africa.
It’s killed over 600 people and there are currently nearly 23,000 cases.

So, why can’t the continent find its own solutions, instead of relying on others? William Sakawa explains how imperialism, old and new, has played its part.

Continued…. Colonialism dismantled African health practices, while unethical Western experiments on Africans undermined trust. Even today, IMF reforms enforce austerity that cuts investment in local health systems.

There is a cure, though. Africa needs to break its dependency on foreign powers for the sake of its own wellbeing.

Have a watch and share your thoughts.

Israel is not allowed to fight its enemies to the finish, British journalist Jake Wallis Simons opines in an article for the right-wing leaning Daily Telegraph newspaper.

He argues that while the West ‘is happy to win wars for itself, whether against Nazi Germany, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq or the Islamic State, different rules apply to the Jews.’ The implication is that Israel is hamstrung by international laws that prevent it from ‘winning’ against its foes.

Simons, who also edits The Jewish Chronicle believes this has to change, even though Israel’s war on Gaza has k*lled over 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children officially and as many as 186,000 as of early July, according to a Lancet medical-journal report. .

Continued….. Tel Aviv has also ignored orders by the International Court of Justice to prevent g*nocide.

The Telegraph is regarded as a mouthpiece for Conservatives (Tories) and is nicknamed the ‘Torygraph’ by some. Under Conservative leadership, the UK sent $53.2m of military hardware to Israel in 2022 and $22.8m in 2023. London also granted over 100 arms export licences with undisclosed amounts between 7th October 2023 and May 2024. Something that new Labour leader Kier Starmer has no interest in stopping anytime soon.

We’ve fixed the Telegraph’s headline for a more accurate presentation of the facts. Let us know what you think in the comments

Today, we remember the 1875 massacre in Clinton, Mississippi, where a white militia shot more than 50 Black people during a post-Civil War Reconstruction-era political gathering.

According to the Mississippi Encyclopedia, white Democrats provoked the riot to reclaim control of the state from recently enfranchised freedmen (once enslaved Africans) whom the Republican Party supported ahead of the 1875 election. This reportedly paved the way for Jim Crow discriminatory laws. At the time, Republicans presented themselves as the liberal party in complete contrast to today’s Republicans, and sought to garner support in the US South after the Civil War devastated the landscape and economy. Meanwhile, white people of the losing Southern Confederacy comprised the Democratic Party. It was quite different from the dynamics of today’s parties.

Continued……But, back to what happened on 4 September of that year. At least 1,500 Black Republicans convened on the grounds of the former Moss Hill plantation for a barbecue and political rally. Approximately 100 white people also attended, including a few Democrats. To ensure peace prevailed, the hosts banned alcoholic beverages and w*apons, and invited both a Democratic and Republican candidate to speak.

When Republican speaker and editor of the Jackson Times, Captain H.T. Fisher, gave his remarks, shots filled the air, leading the crowd to run frantically. At least five Black people—including two children—and three white people, were k*lled, and nearly 30 others were wounded. Sadly, the shooting was a prelude to the violence that was to come.

Later that night, a white militia (named ‘Modoc’ after an Indigenous tribe in what is now California and Oregon) associated with the Mississippi Democratic Party began a hunt for Black people in Clinton. Violence and bloodshed marked the following days, as the white mob indiscriminately shot and k*lled nearly 50 Black people in the area. Many of our people hid in the woods and swampland. Meanwhile, US President Ulysses Grant denied requests for a federal troop deployment and adopted a policy of non-intervention.

May the victims of this massacre continue to rest in peace.

‘DON’T OUTSOURCE SECURITY TO THOSE WHO WANT OUR MINERAL RICHES!’

Why buy weapons or other ‘security solutions’ from the very people who have an interest in destabilising your country so that they can carry on exploiting it? That, essentially, is the question put to a recent security symposium in Kigali, Rwanda by Zimbabwean Pan-African activist Brian Kagoro. Likewise, guns-for-minerals swaps ought to be abandoned, he argues. As he elaborates in this clip, we should instead be guided by the freedom fighters who brought us independence - whose ideals focused on bringing about and protecting a better society. Given what was (and is) going on in neighbouring DRC - whose east is in an ongoing crisis of violence amid a battle for control of resources, fuelled, it’s widely believed, by Rwandan backed rebels - did his words strike a chord at the symposium? What do think of them?