KENYAN COPS FIRED LIVE AMMO AT PROTESTERS - AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Amnesty International Kenya's executive director Irungu Houghton says Kenyan police unlawfully used lethal and non-lethal force during protests against IMF-backed tax proposals in July and August.

The rights group’s conclusions relate primarily to events on 25th June, when un-uniformed Kenyan officers without official identification fired live rounds at protesters at the country's parliament complex in the capital, Nairobi.

Amnesty says it reconstructed the day's events with five partners and interviewed 23 witnesses. It also analysed dozens of videos and photographs. More than 50 people were killed in months-long protests led by largely young demonstrators over a controversial finance bill. Pressure from these protests eventually succeeded in getting the legislation shelved.

Continued... Amnesty's report said images showed groups of men in civilian clothes carrying weapons and working alongside the police. Amnesty also said Kenyan police that day unlawfully fired tear gas and beat and arbitrarily detained peaceful demonstrators. In response, some protesters threw back tear gas canisters at officers, hurled stones, broke windows and took flags.

Sources:

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/kenyas-parliament-set-fire-protests-150335972.html

https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/national/kenyan-police-in-plainclothes-fired-on-protesters-amnesty-says/video/1d81c69bfe078bf3a392ccb4aaa831f0

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenyan-police-plainclothes-fired-nairobi-protesters-amnesty-says-2024-09-25/

SENEGAL DEFENDS PALESTINE AT U.N.

Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the president of Senegal, boldly defended Palestine at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On 25 September, Diomaye Faye reminded listeners that Palestinians, including children, are living under oppression and war. As he mentioned, Senegal is the chair of the UN's Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

So far, Israel has k*lled more than 41,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli military and settler brutality have escalated in the West Bank. Multiple human-rights organisations have said Israel operates an apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Continued... The people of Senegal have come out to mobilise in defence of Palestine over the past year. Perhaps this pushed Diomaye Faye to speak openly in defence of Palestinian people, an intervention that will be received favourably back home. However, Senegalese protests have also called for the closure of French military bases. Diomaye Faye has not yet responded favourably to those calls.

Sources:

https://www.un.org/unispal/committee/bureau/

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-189913/

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/the-status-of-jerusalem/

https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/children-gaza-need-lifesaving-support

https://arabstates.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/peace-and-security-2/facts-and-figures-women-and-girls-during-the-war-in-gaza

https://apanews.net/senegal-activists-detained-over-ukraine-protest/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5EL0j2YeDc

https://www.africanews.com/2021/05/22/protesters-in-dakar-express-solidarity-with-palestinians

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/israel-attacks-west-bank-cities-amid-genocide-gaza

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1588181/politique/au-senegal-bassirou-diomaye-faye-nenvisage-pas-de-rupture-brutale-avec-la-france/

https://thisisapartheid.btselem.org/eng/index.html#6

Continued... Williams, 55, had spent over 23 years on death row for the 1998 murder of a Missouri journalist. He faced legal battles, including two stays of execution in 2015 and 2017. Over time, he converted to Islam, became an imam in the prison and began writing poetry, including a recent one noscriptd, 'The Perplexing Smiles of the Children of Palestine.'

On Monday, the Missouri Supreme Court agreed with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's rejection of Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell's attempt to bring a motion to commute Williams' death sentence to life without parole. On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court declined to intervene, leaving Williams to face death that evening.

A 2022 report by the US-based National Registry of Exonerations found 'Black people are about 7-½ times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder in the US than are whites, and about 80 per cent more likely to be innocent than others convicted of murder.' This indicates Williams' case is sadly all too common in the US context.

Williams' final statement read, 'All Praise Be to Allah in Every Situation!!!'

Sources:

The case of Marcellus
https://innocenceproject.org/who-is-marcellus-williams-man-facing-execution-in-missouri-despite-dna-evidence-supporting-innocence/

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/24/us/marcellus-williams-execution-missouri.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9p518j0nqo

https://www.instagram.com/palestinianyouthmovement/p/DAUDsPZvg5X/?img_index=2

The case of George Stinney Jr
https://allthatsinteresting.com/george-stinney-jr

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/report-black-people-7-5-times-more-likely-to-be-wrongfully-convicted-of-murder-than-whites-risk-even-greater-if-victim-was-white

WHAT IS THE PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Israel's seizure in May of the Philadelphia Corridor - that is, of Gaza’s border with Egypt - is reshaping relations with Cairo.

The move not only violates the 1979 Camp David Accords, under which the area is supposed to be demilitarised, it also makes it harder for aid to enter Gaza, with Tel Aviv now in control of the key Rafah crossing.

Additionally, it makes a ceasefire less probable, with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu relying ever more on the far-right elements in his cabinet, which helped him authorise the seizure.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/03/what-is-the-philadelphi-corridor-israel-gaza-egypt-netanyahu

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gazas-philadelphi-corridor-its-importance-ceasefire-talks-2024-09-06/

https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-philadelphi-corridor-gaza.html

Open displays of racism from America’s politicians are becoming increasingly common - the latest being from Republican Congressman Clay Higgins, who lashed out at Haitians. In response to media reports that a non-profit organisation is pursuing criminal charges against Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance over racist and bogus claims about Haitians eating pets, he took to X to post this vile message.

There was an immediate backlash, including from members of the Congressional Black Caucus, prompting Higgins to delete his message hours later. However, the apparent change of heart was only momentarily as, not long after, the politician was on CNN defending his post, claiming everything he said was true and that he was merely exercising his freedom of speech.

It’s not the first time that Haitians have been targeted by Trump and his followers. In 2018, while serving as US President, he referred to Haiti and other African nations as 'sh*thole countries.'

Continued... What these racists fail to acknowledge, however, is the fact that most of the problems that the island nation faces today are a result of imperial exploitation by Western countries such as the US and France.  The US occupied and pillaged Haiti from 1915 to 1934.  Prior to that, the country was forced to pay France for the 1791 revolution that ended French slavery on the Island.  A 2022 report by the New York Times said the amount paid out was equivalent to $115 billion in today's money.

Before vomiting up racist diatribes against Haiti, the likes of Trump and Higgins should grab a book - but, of course, facts mean nothing to racists.

BURKINA FOILS ‘FOREIGN-BACKED COUP PLOT’

On 23 September 2024, Burkina Faso’s minister of security, Mahamadou Sa, said that the country had foiled another conspiracy to overthrow the government. This time, the plot allegedly involved former president Paul-Henri Damiba - working with terrorist organisations in the country, former ministers from previous administrations and elements from within Ivory Coast.

According to Burkina’s intelligence, the plotters met twice in Ghana (in the Achimota section of Accra as well as in Tamale) to discuss their plans - and intended to meet again in Nigeria. They communicated via WhatsApp in a group called ‘Ibrahim Traoré Dégage’ (Ibrahim Traoré Get Out).

Continued... Since president Ibrahim Traoré came to power in 2022, the West African state has charted a new path, a path away from Western domination and manipulation. One consequence seems to be that those who miss neo-colonialism will stop at nothing to restore the old order.

But Traoré enjoys widespread support across Burkina Faso. Organised citizens take to the streets regularly to defend and protect the revolution. This includes the Citizen's Night Watch (the Wayiyans), who stay up every night across all 13 regions of the country to serve as the eyes and ears of the revolution and prevent destabilisation efforts.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEXim

https://www.yenisafak.com/fr/video/international/burkina-faso-les-wayiyans-la-garde-civile-du-capitaine-ibrahim-traore-24624

DAVID HUNDEYIN EXPLAINS U.S. ATTACK ON AFRICAN STREAM

To make sense of social-media giants Meta, TikTok and YouTube recently suspending African Stream and other alternative media outlets, Breakthrough News’ Eugene Puryear (@eugenepuryear) and Rania Khalek (@raniakhalek) spoke to Nigerian investigative journalist David Hundeyin (@davidhundeyin). However, at the time of this interview, TikTok had not yet permanently banned African Stream.

Hundeyin explained how the bans proves the point African Stream has long maintained: That the US is an imperialist power. With the flick of a finger, 1.5 billion continental Africans and 200 million in the diaspora lost access to a critical source of information that sought to build a Pan-African future that would help unify and build economic freedom for the continent. Hundeyin also laid out the historical context behind the seemingly incessant US desire to control the narrative.

Video credit: @BTnewsroom

Continued... However, he offered a glimmer of hope as the US is notorious for scoring its own goals. For example, recent US attempts to stifle China’s economic rise have backfired by disrupting the China-US supply chain, increasing operating costs and reducing US companies' competitiveness, according to a recent US Federal Reserve Bank of New York report.

Have a watch, and please share your thoughts.

Sources:
Total African digital TV subscribers of 33 million: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/africa-pay-tv-market-forecasts-100100649.html

Multichoice's 22 million subscribers: https://www.ft.com/content/62071de0-e323-4672-8821-eae4f9b9c06e

US strategy on China backfiring: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202408/1318138.shtml

Information manipulation campaigns: Africa cannot think for itself

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2024)757654

Blinken announcing censorship on African Stream:
https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-remarks-to-the-press-29/

Drapetomania
https://allthatsinteresting.com/drapetomania

Three fifths a man
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-new-jim-crow/quotes

Aboriginals regarded as flora and fauna
https://bloggingtheology.net/2017/09/07/australia-until-60s-aborigines-came-under-the-flora-and-fauna-act-classified-them-as-animals-not-human-beings/

The Royal Niger Company (RNC) and the Making of Modern Nigeria,
https://infinitypress.info/index.php/jsss/article/download/2206/855

Kwame Ture moves to Africa
https://hoodcommunist.org/2021/11/18/why-did-kwame-ture-move-to-africa/

FBI trying linkng MLK to the USSR
https://www.history.com/news/martin-luther-king-jr-fbi-j-edgar-hoover-communism

France24 claims Nkrumah-Soviet links
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20230720-soviet-spies-in-africa-how-the-kgb-expanded-russian-influence-during-the-cold-war

NYT draws Lumumba Soviet links
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/02/magazine/the-cia-and-lumumba.html

Blacks are happy in South Africa under apartheid
https://www.thoughtco.com/quotes-pw-botha-43577

No Problem' With Chinese Involvement in Ghana's Economy
https://en.sputniknews.africa/20230525/no-problem-with-chinese-involvement-in-ghanas-economy-president-says-1059476147.html?ysclid=m1kcfulqo1172844295

US plans to hobble others backfire
https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/americas-chip-curbs-on-china-appear-to-have-backfired-14914615

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-05-13/russian-economy-stays-strong-amid-sanctions-ukraine-war-spending

US to tighten China chip squeeze with old Cold War rule
https://asiatimes.com/2024/08/us-to-tighten-china-chip-squeeze-with-old-cold-war-rule/

China breaks through chip development
https://theconversation.com/chinas-chip-industry-is-gaining-momentum-it-could-alter-the-global-economic-and-security-landscape-222958

Meta censorship
https://x.com/african_stream/status/1837135639059308802

2023 total African subscribers: 33 million (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/africa-pay-tv-market-forecasts-100100649.html)

Multichoice's 22 million subscribers (https://www.ft.com/content/62071de0-e323-4672-8821-eae4f9b9c06e)

Canal + ownership of Multichoice
https://techcentral.co.za/canal-takes-its-stake-in-multichoice-beyond-30/222030/

Europe upholds RT ban
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/27/european-court-upholds-broadcasting-ban-on-russias-rt

Africa refuses to pick a side
https://www.vox.com/23156512/russia-ukraine-war-global-south-nonaligned-movement
African Stream website
http://africanstream.media

The effects of neocolonialism on Africa’s development
https://journals.ju.edu.et/index.php/panjogov/article/view/4846

Lobito Corridor and its focus on getting African minerals out
https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/08/lobito-corridor-us-bet-africas-critical-mineral-development

Kenya’s protest expose African fury wih IMF
https://www.ft.com/content/0e1be993-90e1-4477-9c29-41400c0d1c98

Youngest continent in the world
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-median-age-of-every-continent/

Internet access in Africa
https://www.diplomacy.edu/resource/report-stronger-digital-voices-from-africa/internet-access-connectivity-africa/

US kicked out of Sahel
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/19/1252380146/us-troops-leave-niger

WORLD TOURISM DAY - AFRICA'S TOP SITES!

Today is World Tourism Day! Before you book your next trip, here are a few breathtaking sites you should visit in Africa on your next holiday. From the sacred groves in Nigeria and the mausoleums in Timbuktu to one of the one of the seven wonders of the ancient world in Egypt, Africa has it all. Grab your passport, Africa is where it’s at!

GAZA ENDURING MODERN HISTORY'S 'DARKEST CHAPTER'

The Prime Minister of Palestine, Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, reminded the world that the besieged enclave of Gaza is experiencing modern history's 'darkest chapter.'

During his recent remarks at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mustafa gave a summary of the past 11 months of Israel's military onslaught on Gaza, which has k*lled over 41,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children. According to the Lancet medical journal, that figure may have hit more than 186,000 in early July.

Tel Aviv also has blockaded the Gaza Strip since 2007. At the onset of the 7 October escalation in the 76-year-old conflict, Israel declared a total blockade of Gaza, cutting off food, water, electricity and medical supplies, amounting to collective punishment, which the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits.

Continued... According to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), two out of three buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Israeli settlers' violence aiming to drive Palestinians off their land has escalated. According to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli settlers in the West Bank have launched more than 1,000 attacks against Palestinians since 7 October, with at least 1,390 people—including 660 children—displaced.

Apart from the massacres in Gaza, multiple human-rights organisations have said Israel enforces an apartheid regime in the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. They say Israeli policies systematically promote Jewish supremacy over Palestinians through spatial, legal and political divisions.

The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion in July that called Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank a violation of international law and called for the immediate evacuation of settlers.

Despite these horrific experiences, the people of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are steadfast in their resistance against occupying forces, according to Mustafa.

Sources
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/18/israel-unlawful-gaza-blockade-deadly-children

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/2-3-of-gaza-buildings-damaged-or-destroyed-social-fabric-torn-apart-un-official/3299775

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/04/state-backed-deadly-rampage-by-israeli-settlers-underscores-urgent-need-to-dismantle-apartheid/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnd0e5w7l96o

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/21/israel-approves-plan-to-transfer-gaza-tax-funds-to-norway

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/17/west-bank-israel-responsible-rising-settler-violence

https://thisisapartheid.btselem.org/eng/index.html#6

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/5141/2022/en

Is the writing on the wall for Egypt, literally?

A poignant graffiti message of solidarity with Gaza has been spotted in Egypt's capital, Cairo. The statement in Arabic reads, 'Sorry, oh Palestine, we are occupied like Gaza.' It seems to allude to the North African country's inability to defend the Gaza Strip—with whom it shares a 14-km (8.5-mile) border—from an Israeli military onslaught that has k*lled over 41,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children.

Much to the dismay of ordinary Egyptians, Egypt signed a treaty with Israel in 1979 that established diplomatic relations and a détente (easing of hostilities). Since then, Egypt has received $1.3 million in US military aid almost every year, leaving it indifferent while Israel bombs and holds Gaza siege.

However, the Egyptian people relate to Palestinians as kin, opposed their government's 1979 turn, and hold massive demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Continued... Israel seized control of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in May as part of an offensive against the southern city of Rafah and in defiance of international pressure. Shortly after, Israel's military confirmed it had taken control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a buffer zone between the Gaza-Egypt border. Now, Israel controls Gaza's entire border with Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.

As things heat up in the region, with Lebanon and Israel nearly at an all-out war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently visited Cairo to hold talks on a ceasefire in Gaza that Egypt, Qatar and the US are mediating.

Egypt has also said it doesn't want to host large numbers of Palestinians, as they may continue their resistance against the Israeli occupying force on Egyptian soil, which would jeopardise relations with Tel Aviv. Further, it would rile Egyptians, as accommodating Palestinians would be considered a capitulation to Israel. Further, if Palestinians cross into Egypt, they are not likely to be able to return to their land as Israel has indicated plans to develop the Gaza Strip as an Israeli annexation.

As this graffiti shows, ordinary Egyptians in the street see the larger picture and have concluded that as long as their country pockets US money, they won't be able to help the suffering Palestinians across the border.

What do you think of the situation? Let us know in the comments.

Sources
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/egypt-israel-gaza/

https://www.newarab.com/analysis/why-egypt-has-been-missing-action-during-gaza-war

https://apnews.com/article/palestinian-jordan-egypt-israel-refugee-502c06d004767d4b64848d878b66bd3d

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/reviewing-egypts-gains-its-peace-treaty-israel

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/7/israel-takes-control-of-rafah-crossing-gazas-lifeline-whats-going-on

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-rafah-crossing-gaza-pier-end-historic-leverage

https://www.voanews.com/a/blinken-visits-egypt-for-talks-on-securing-gaza-cease-fire-/7788680.html

https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/19/egypts-rulers-have-a-new-friend-in-dc-the-israel-lobby/

https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/north-africa/egypt-israelpalestine/b91-egypts-gaza-dilemmas