WHO CHIEF: WORLD MUST HELP SUDAN OUT OF NIGHTMARE

The world cannot ignore the disaster unfolding in Sudan any longer. That’s the message from World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom, who’s urging greater international action - in terms of aid and diplomacy.

The armed power struggle ripping apart Sudan has claimed tens of thousands of lives and created the world’s largest displacement crisis. Devastating floods and disease outbreaks have added to the misery. Additionally, the war has led to widespread conflict-related s*xual abuse.

Previous efforts to negotiate a peace have led nowhere. Sudan’s military boycotted a conference involving the United Arab Emirates, which backs its rival, the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary - and has vowed to fight for 100 years if that’s what it takes to take out the RSF.

What do you think is the best way to end the fighting?

On this date, 10 September, in 1979, Angola’s first President, António Agostinho Neto, passed away just a week before his 57th birthday while undergoing cancer treatment in Moscow.

Neto led the communist and anti-colonial organisation Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA), assuming the presidency in 1975 when Angola gained independence from Portuguese rule.

His path to power was marked by hardships. As a medical student in Portugal, he was imprisoned multiple times between 1951-1957 due to his anti-colonial activism, which he continued upon his return to Angola. On 8 June 1960, Portuguese authorities in Angola arrested him. His supporters rallied for his release but were stopped when Portuguese soldiers opened fire, k*lling 30 and injuring 200 in what is now remembered as the Massacre of Icolo e Bengo.

Continued……Neto was exiled to the Portuguese colony of Cape Verde and later to another prison in Portugal. He was then placed under house arrest, from which he escaped in 1962 and fled to Morocco. As President, Neto valiantly defended against attacks by Western-backed nationalist groups such as UNITA, who were also supported by Apartheid South Africa’s notorious Battalion 32.

Long live the spirit of António Agostinho Neto!

MEDIA HIDES LIBYA FLOODS CONTEXT

One year ago today, Storm Daniel made landfall in Libya, bringing heavy rainfall that put the spotlight on infrastructure failures that developed in the aftermath of the 2011 US-led NATO invasion of Libya.

Two dams failed in the early-morning hours of 11 September 2023 in the eastern port city of Derna, k*lling 11,300 people and displacing more than 40,000, including some 16,000 children, according to UNICEF.

The dams were due for inspection in 2012, according to Libya’s former information minister, Moussa Ibrahim Gaddafi.

Continued……. However, NATO’s 2011 illegal military intervention led to the chaos that prevented Libyan authorities from being able to carry out needed infrastructure work, he said.

For that reason, Max Blumenthal, founder of independent media outlet The Grayzone, argued in this 2023 clip that the flooding was an ‘unnatural disaster.’ Blumenthal said Samantha Power, who worked as a senior aide at the US National Security Council, and former US President Barack Obama are responsible for Libya’s post-2011 destruction. He added they must be held accountable for the flooding deaths.

Do you agree with Blumenthal? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Video credit: The Grayzone (@thegrayzonenews on IG, X, TikTok)

ARSONISTS TARGET BLACKS
IN ‘APARTHEID’ TOWN

Racial tensions are running high in a small resort town in South Africa, after arson attacks on Black-owned businesses. The latest targeted Bubbles restaurant, in Hartbeespoort, in North West Province, last month.
In this clip anti-racist South African content creator @lindizaca points out another Black-owned restaurant was burned down recently in the area, with both owners claiming White residents are trying to drive them out of business.

Continued……Hartbeespoort is known for its vibrant tourism and has historically been dominated by White residents, with a population that has remained somewhat unchanged for decades. However, an influx of Black business owners has led to significant racial tensions and animosity from White south africans towards the Black businesses.

Local non-profit, Hartbeespoort Community Development Initiative, says many Black citizens are still suffering the ‘legacy of apartheid.’ It also alleges many face discriminatory policies that stop their firms from securing permits to operate freely. The organisation has lodged a formal complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against the Department of Water and Sanitation for discriminating against Black lease applicants in the region.

video credits /@lindizaca

WHAT TO THE SLAVE IS 4TH OF JULY

When James Earl Jones was on stage or on screen, his voice rumbled, his presentation poured forth and his craft was unmistakably powerful. The world learned Jones (1931-2024) passed away on 9 September at 93. His legacy will be remembered in how he orated monologues, such as freedom fighter Frederick Douglas’s speech, ‘What to the Slave Is Your 4th of July,’ during a 5 July 2004 performance of Voices of a People’s History of the United States.

In the speech Douglass gave to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society in 1852 in New York, he chastised the United States’ biggest holiday, the Fourth of July, a day marking US independence from Britain. Despite the Declaration of Independence being predicated upon ‘equality of men,’ Africans remained slaves until 1865. What freedom then, Douglass asks, is there to celebrate?

Frederick Douglass was born in 1818 on a plantation owned by then Maryland governor and US senator Edward Lloyd V.

Continued……. He escaped at age 20, and dedicated his life to fighting for abolition of slavery. He was a dedicated reader and powerful orator. He wrote hundreds of essays, a novel, three autobiographies and thousands of speeches.

When the civil war broke, Douglass lobbied President Lincoln to free and arm all enslaved Africans. ‘End slavery right now. Free them and arm them. They know the South far better than anyone else.’ It is argued that had Lincoln’s administration heeded the advice earlier, the war would have been concluded sooner.

Douglass’ words, like many of our ancestors’, ring as true today as it did then. The United States is still divided along racial lines. Africans in the United States are disenfranchised economically, with the average African household being 10 times less wealthy than their white counterparts. The gap is only widening. What then, as Douglass asked, is the 4th of July to a slave?

Video credit: @democracynow

LEGENDARY JAMES EARL JONES PASSES AWAY AT 93

On Monday, the great American born African actor James Earl Jones passed away at the age of 93. This clip is from a 1987 performance of the broadway hit Fences and showcases his amazing talent - and why critics have described him as an “elemental force” on stage. Jones continued to perform on stage up until his mid-80s, sometimes putting in eight performances a week with a discipline and stamina that could put younger actors to shame. He tackled some of the biggest roles in theatre - including Shakespeare’s Othello and King Lear.

Jones also starred in many films, among them Field of Dreams, Coming to America and Conan the Barbarian.

Continued….. His distinct and powerful voice brought to life King Mufasa in the Lion King and will always be remembered as that of Star Wars supervillain Darth Vader.

Jones was born 17th January 1931 in Arkabutla. He was the son of boxer and actor Robert Earl Jones and Ruth Williams, a tailor. Early in life he had a stutter, something that he was determined to overcome. The Oscar-nominated actor said in a 2014 interview with The Times: “If I hadn’t been a stutterer, I would never have been an actor.”

In 1965, Jones became one of the first African-American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama (As the World Turns). In 1971, he became the second Black man to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best actor, after Sidney Poitier.

Jones once said, “I realised early on, from people like Athol Fugard [an anti-apartheid South African playwright], that you cannot change anybody’s mind, no matter what you do … As a preacher, as a scholar, you cannot change their mind. But you can change the way they feel.”

Indeed, his performances have created powerful feelings in generations of theatre and movie goers. He will be deeply missed.

Rest easy, James Earl Jones!

Video credit: Fences, 1987, 46th Street Theatre

WHAT ARE RUSSIA’S INTERESTS IN THE SAHEL?

People often point out Africans should be cautious about trading with Russia because Russia has its interests in mind. African Stream’s Inemesit Richardson argues in a recent episode of ‘This Week in Africa’ that it’s normal for countries to look out for themselves. While geopolitics and trade are rarely built upon selflessness and deep love, mutually beneficial interests can drive partnerships in the best of cases. 

In the case of African countries that recently underwent revolutions that ousted Western-aligned leaders, such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, they have not turned to Russia because they adore Russian culture but because they value Russia’s support in the areas of security and defence as well as Russia’s technological know-how. Is a Russian-built gold refinery that allows Mali to transform golden nuggets into sparkling metal worth giving Russia a bit of unrefined gold? Most people in the country think so. 

Continued……It brings to mind the old adage, ‘Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’ With Russia’s support, these African countries plan to depend significantly less on Russia, the West and the rest of the world. 

Is this deal with Russia better than exporting raw materials abroad to import the finished goods at a higher price? Let us know in the comments.

To watch the complete conversation, head to our YouTube channel’s playlist for ‘This Week in Africa’ for the episode noscriptd ‘US, Ukraine, France Failed Coup In Burkina Faso | The West Is Trying To Destabilize AES.’

Often we talk about racism, or White supremacy, as if it is a question of attitude or individual bias. But in reality, as the late revolutionary Kwame Ture reminds us, it’s always a question of power. The only way Africans can counter its devastating effects, he claims, is by gaining power through the "organised masses."

A strong proponent of socialism, Ture once said that "anti-colonialism is nothing but anti-capitalism, because colonialism is nothing but an offshoot, an aspect of capitalism." Therefore, he thinks, "if you are anti-colonialism, you must be anti-capitalism."

According to a study by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (pinned), before the colonial project - where Europe, through capitalist expansion, extracted vast amounts of wealth from its colonies - there was "little inequality and small differences between poor and rich countries," a gap that has since deepened and widened substantially.

Continued….. Ture argued that the emancipation of all Africans globally is directly tied to a powerful Africa.

The question remains: how does Africa regain enough power to clip the wings of White supremacy? And relatedly: what economic system serves Africans best? Your views in the comments are always appreciated.

BURKINA FASO STRONGMAN BREAKS WORLD RECORD AGAIN

Does Burkina Faso have the world’s strongest man?
Its star athlete ‘Iron Biby’ has just broken his own world record for log lifting by hoisting 231 kilograms above his head!

He’s a man-mountain and, as you’ll see from these pictures, stunned the crowd at the World Log Lift in the UK last weekend.

Biby, who’s real name is Cheick Ahmed Al-Hassan Sanou, also holds the world record for the most number of overhead presses in a minute.

It’s hard to believe he was bullied at school, lol. And he’s now been embraced by his country’s President Ibrahim Traoré who posted on X: “This victory by our Stallion, Burkina Faso’s ambassador in this discipline, testifies to the resilience and determination of the Burkinabe people to stand firm in the face of adversity and continue to meet the challenges of their march towards happiness.

Continued….. May our hero’s victory not only bring the people of Burkina Faso together, but also stir our patriotic spirit in the defence of our homeland and fuel the courage of our fighting forces as they battle to regain our territory and our total sovereignty.”

A leaked Israeli Foreign Ministry cable reveals Tel Aviv is lobbying US members of Congress to pressure South Africa to drop its g*nocide case against Israel at the UN’s top court.

US-based news outlet, Axios, claims it’s seen the message disclosing Israel wants Congress to threaten Pretoria with ‘consequences’ should it persist with the case at the International Court of Justice.

Israeli officials are reportedly hopeful that South Africa’s new coalition government, which was formed after elections in May, will take a different approach to the war in Gaza.

In its January ruling, the ICJ found it plausible that Israel’s acts could amount to g*nocide and ordered Israel takes steps to prevent g*nocidal acts.

Continued……They included preventing and punishing incitement to g*nocide, ensuring aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza, and preserving evidence of crimes committed in Gaza.

Israeli military operations in Gaza have k*lled over 40,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children, and virtually flattened the besieged enclave. In a July report, The Lancet, a British medical journal, estimated the death toll could be more than 186,000.

South Africa has until 28 October 2024 to present to the ICJ its reasons for continuing legal action against Israel over alleged violations of the G*nocide Convention. Israel rejects the accusations.

Do you think South Africa’s new coalition government will drop its case at the ICJ?

DO MULTINATIONALS CONTROL NIGERIA’S CRUDE-OIL MARKET?

With Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery online and producing gasoline, talks with the authorities on what the market price should be are still underway. Nigeria has heaps of crude (i.e., unrefined) oil but accessing it hasn’t been straightforward for Dangote - even though the local market desperately needs petroleum products and the country wastes fortunes importing them. In this clip, a Ghanaian activist sheds light on why oil multinationals have an interest in ensuring the price of Nigerian crude is hiked for Dangote - alleging also they pull the strings behind the scenes. Do you think Dangote will be (allowed to be) a success?

Video credit: @kofialiabdul

IBRAHIM TRAORÉ’S MESSAGE TO BURKINA FASO’S CHILDREN

On 23 August, President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso delivered a simple message to children: Work hard and love your country. 

Burkina Faso is a state in Africa’s Sahel region, where shrubs dot the arid landscape. After a successful military coup d’état that ousted a Western-aligned leader in 2022, it has been working to increase productivity, development and national sovereignty. And everybody has a role to play. 

Children may not be able to do the work of adults, but Traoré pushes back by encouraging them to help their parents.

Outsiders may be shocked to see children able to navigate farmlands or forestlands with a machete at hand. However, for many people like Traoré, raised within Burkinabé culture, children have household responsibilities and obligations known in the West as ‘chores.’