ANGOLA: SLEEPY JOE DREAMING OF AFRICAN LOOT?

The latest video of US President Joe Biden falling asleep during a summit - in Africa, this time - has been branded yet another ‘embarrassment’ for the outgoing US leader.

However, the incident is also emblematic of a deeper issue - namely, how the US and wider West merely feign interest in establishing genuine partnerships built on mutual benefit and respect. In reality, the African continent continues to be viewed primarily as a resource-extraction hub, fuelling the development of Western infrastructure. Its people, including impoverished Africans whose labour actually extracts these resources, are left to bear the social, economic and environmental costs, while the benefits are reaped mostly by those ensuring the poverty persists.

Continued……Biden’s summit-snooze happened in Angola. It was his first visit to Africa as US President - and he was there for talks with heads of state and investors regarding the US-funded Lobito Corridor. This is a rail road that’s set to link African mines to ports, thus providing greater convenience for modern-day European plunderers when it comes to getting our minerals out of the continent and onto Western markets.

Doubts over Biden’s mental fitness at 82 to govern saw him drop out of the presidential race - and his dropping off at the Lobito summit was no doubt due in part to his frailty. But he may as well have been telling his audience: “Just give us the minerals already, I’m tired of these formalities and having to pretend I care about Africa!”

Video credit: @FoxNews (on X)

Sources:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14157877/sleepy-joe-biden-africa-trains.html

https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2024-12-04-u1-e43231-s27061-nid293237-biden-queda-dormido-medio-reunion-presidentes-africa

COLOMBIA APOLOGISES FOR MERCENARIES ROLE IN SUDAN WAR

Following the discovery of Colombian identity papers by Sudan's army after an ambush, an investigative report by Colombian media outlet La Silla Vacia has found that mercenaries from Colombia are being recruited to fight alongside the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary in Sudan. The ex-soldiers are allegedly being promised jobs as security guards at United Arab Emirates oil sites, only to find themselves at the centre of the proxy war in Sudan.

Colombia's foreign minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, and Ambassador to Egypt, Anne Melania de Gaviria, have formally apologised to Sudan following the revelation that Colombian mercenaries are fighting for the RSF. The Bogotá officials emphasised that the mercenaries acted independently and would work with Sudanese authorities to address the issue. According to La Silla Vacia, Colombia's President Petro has also called for a ban on mercenary activities.

Continued……Sources:

https://sudantribune.com/article294166/

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/sudan-says-colombia-apologized-for-participation-of-some-of-its-citizens-as-mercenaries-within-rsf/3411567

https://northafricapost.com/82286-colombia-apologizes-for-involvement-of-some-of-its-citizens-as-mercenaries-within-rsf-militia-in-sudan.html

https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/invisible-and-severe-death-toll-sudan-conflict-revealed

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/14/sudan-war-death-toll-much-higher-than-previously-recorded-new-study-finds

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/25/us-un-sudan-aid-war
https://www.lasillavacia.com/silla-nacional/el-engano-del-coronel-quijano-asi-envian-a-exmilitares-colombianos-a-sudan/

SYRIA ON AMERICA’S ‘HIT LIST’
OF NATIONS

Syria's back in the news, hot on the heels of the fragile 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah announced on 27 November.

Turkish-backed rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Syria, made a lightning advance on the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo, capturing much of it within hours. HTS, and another Turkish-backed group, the Syrian National Army (SNA), aim to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad and establish strict Islamic rule in Syria.

Continued……. But there could be more at play in the suddenly active anti-Assad campaign, as this video featuring retired senior US military officer Wesley Clark reveals. General Clark relates how he first found out about an early 2000s US hit list of places to be 'taken out.' Most, if not all, of the counties he names have since been on the receiving end of some heavy-duty US meddling. Syria is on that hit list.

Bashar al-Assad has been in the crosshairs of US imperialists and Israel, their allies in the region. The anti-Assad war first broke out in 2011, led by the Nusra Front, the official al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Western media lent a cloak of acceptability to a hodgepodge of anti-Assad jihadist groups, often referring to them as ‘moderate rebels.’

Though this video is mainly in the context of the Iraq invasion, Syria gets a mention - as do some African countries.

Video credit: Democracy Now

Sources:

https://theconversation.com/what-is-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-and-how-did-the-islamist-group-evolve-into-a-key-player-in-syrias-civil-war-245017

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/12/1/syrian-rebels-seize-control-of-aleppo-city-in-a-lightning-offensive

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/02/nx-s1-5211873/hts-islamist-syria-aleppo-assad-hayat-tahrir-al-sham

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241129-syria-jihadists-allies-shell-aleppo-in-shock-offensive

Continued….. Mali is Africa's third-largest gold producer and aims to increase revenues as gold prices rise. Since ousting Western-aligned leaders in recent years, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—comprised of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger—has undergone a decolonisation process that includes reclaiming natural resources.

SOURCES

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mali-issues-arrest-warrant-barrick-gold-ceo-document-shows-2024-12-05/?taid=67520faa555a1b0001ad834f&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/frances-orano-says-it-has-lost-control-uranium-mine-niger-2024-12-04

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mali-junta-arrests-four-employees-barrick-gold-say-sources-2024-09-27

https://www.miningweekly.com/article/mali-issues-arrest-warrant-for-barrick-gold-ceo-2024-12-06

https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wire/654493

Continued……https://www.barrick.com/English/news/news-details/2024/barrick-confirms-arrest-of-four-malian-employees-reaffirms-commitment-to-resolution-of-disputes/default.aspx

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/four-barrick-gold-employees-face-101705170.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mali-issues-arrest-warrant-barrick-153351282.html

IS LOBITO CORRIDOR A RESOURCE EXTRACTION PATHWAY?

Outgoing US President Joe Biden's visit this past week to the port city of Lobito in Angola has sparked debate on the 1,300-km, US-financed Lobito Corridor. The rail line, which aims to connect Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Angola's Atlantic coast, raises eyebrows.

While some argue the 'partnership' between the three African states, and the US and the EU, will boost their economies, others, like podcast host and Congo activist Hadija (@readingafricana on X), consider it another neo-colonial Western move to syphon African minerals at its people's expense.

Do you agree with Hadija's analysis? Take the poll below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.