FINLAND THREATENS AID CUTS TO AFRICA

In July, Finland's foreign trade and development cooperation minister, Ville Tavio, blasted African countries' support of Russia in the war taking place in Ukraine. He threatened to cut billions in development aid and redirect the savings to Ukraine. African Stream's xxx breaks down NATO's coercive diplomacy against an emerging Africa-Russia alliance.

What do you think of the Finnish minister's remarks? Let us know below.

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FOREIGN AID DOES NOT HELP AFRICA

Africa is portrayed as corrupt by the West. But what is missed is that much of the corruption is enabled - if not actively encouraged - by the West. In fact, it’s Western greed for Africa’s resources that often drives this.

The point is well made in this clip from - perhaps surprisingly - a US investor working in Africa. Brad Rohrs notes that so-called aid for Africa is often nothing more than a way of disguising bribes for officials. Obviously depositing large amounts of cash into their bank accounts is going to trigger anti-money laundering security systems, but dress up the kickback as a bit of do-gooder charity and things are easier.

So next time you hear about African corruption, remember also how the West is deceptively securing favourable resource contracts!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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WILL KING CHARLES ADMIT TO CRIMES?

Kenya’s set to host the United Kingdom's King Charles on a state visit later this month, but will he bring along one item Kenyans really want: A formal apology for crimes committed under colonial rule? The Kenyan people would like him to go beyond ‘acknowledging painful aspects of Britain’s past actions’ in the country. The monarch’s visit coincides with Kenya’s 60th anniversary of independence from British rule, which came after a brutal crackdown of the Mau Mau armed struggle for self-rule.

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Continued - WILL KING CHARLES ADMIT TO CRIMES?

The Kenya Human Rights Commission estimates colonial authorities tortured, maimed or killed more than 90,000 Kenyans between 1952 and 1960. In 2013, the British government made a statement of regret over colonial abuses and paid £19.9m to 5,200 elderly victims. However, historian and international relations expert Professor Macharia Munene said in a television interview last week that the visit will be meaningless if King Charles fails to issue a formal apology. Like his mother’s visit to Kenya in 1952—when she lodged in the Treetops Hotel as Kenyans were shedding blood for their freedom—King Charles may well choose to soak in the honours while glossing over grave historical injustices.

Join the conversation and tell us what you think about calls for the British monarch to apologise for crimes of empire in Kenya.

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WHEN GUINEA BROKE FREE FROM FRANCE

This month marks 65 years since Guinea-Conakry broke free from French colonial rule. It was a mammoth moment that put leader Ahmed Sékou Touré at loggerheads with France. In the 1950s, France was desperate to hold on to its former colonies in West and Central Africa. But, unlike other leaders, Touré rejected the offer of pseudo-sovereignty which still gave Paris great power. As a result France launched Operation Persil in a bid to get rid of him. Nothing was off the table, from sabotaging sewer networks to trashing Guinea’s currency. But, despite France’s best efforts, Touré remained in power until his death in 1984. Here’s a reminder of how this small, resilient West African nation stood up to French oppression.

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AFRICANS SUPPORT PALESTINE

Thousands of protesters across Africa took to the streets for the second week in a row in support of Palestinians. Demonstrators have condemned Israel killing civilians, including children, with the most recent escalation that began 7 October. Since then, 5,087 Palestinians have been killed and more than 15,273 wounded, while more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed. About 1 million Palestinians have been displaced, too. Demonstrators across the Maghrebi region of Africa and Egypt have called for an end to the Zionist state's occupation of Palestine.

Let us know if you have joined a recent demonstration, too.

CNN JOURNO LAMBASTED OVER PALESTINE

Watch a CNN reporter get lambasted by an Egyptian podcaster over the channel’s bias coverage of the Israel-Palestine war. In a video that’s gone viral, journalist Clarissa Ward gets singled out by Rahma Zein while filming at the Rafah crossing.

She accuses Western media of lacking humanity following Israel’s assault on Gaza which has killed nearly 2,000 Palestinian children so far. Tel Aviv is also threatening a full ground offensive following Hamas’ surprise October 7th attack which killed over 1,400 Israelis. Zein was among hundreds of protesters who held pro-Palestinian banners, including one that said“CNN wake up.”

They'd gathered at the Egypt-Gaza border after Israel's refusal to allow the delivery of aid. It's often said journalists are the watchdogs of society and hold the powerful to account. But this exchange shows how that perception is crumbling.
The sense of injustice over this conflict is running so high, the public are now acting as watchdogs over the media

DUTCH ROYALS HECKLED IN SOUTH AFRICA

In this clip Dutch royals get a barrage of abuse while visiting a slavery museum in South Africa.

Demonstrators waited outside the Slave Lodge, in Cape Town, holding signs that said ‘Respect Us’ and ‘We Want Compensation.’
A few months ago King Willem-Alexander apologised for his country’s colonial past and may have thought he’d be well received during his latest trip. But that clearly wasn’t the case with many still demanding reparations.

He gets an earful from the members of the Khoisan indigenous community as he leaves the building with Queen Maxima. The pair are then whisked away by security before things get ugly. However, it’s not hard to understand this hostile reception.

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Continued - DUTCH ROYALS HECKLED IN SOUTH AFRICA

Modern-day South Africa’s still scarred by its complicated history
Despite apartheid ending three decades ago, it remains the most economically unequal country in the world, according to the World Bank. On average Whites earn three times more than Blacks.

And if you’re wondering how that happened, here’s a quick history lesson: Apartheid stemmed from colonial legislation imposed during Dutch rule in the 17th century.

And it was continued and expanded when the British tcontrol.

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BRITAIN'S MINI ISRAEL IN EAST AFRICA

Over a century ago, anti-Semitism again reared its head in Europe, so Jews needed to flee. But where could they go? The British had a suggestion: Africa. What was then called British East Africa was quickly proposed as a haven by the founding father of Zionism, Theodor Herzl. Speaking at the Sixth Zionist Congress in 1903, he stunned nearly 600 delegates with a proposal he dubbed the “Uganda Scheme,” even though the territory was part of present-day Kenya.

The proposal led to heated, often acrimonious, debate among Zionists and British East African settlers. Yet, no one consulted the Africans whose land was in question. Confusion surrounding the region offered to the Zionists persists today: Uganda and the British East Africa Protectorate were both in East Africa and under the control of the British Foreign Office, but they were distinct and independent of each other. That is even though the former is wholly in today’s Kenya.

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Continued - BRITAIN'S MINI ISRAEL IN EAST AFRICA

The confusion may have arisen because the offer was linked to the Uganda railway, the principal means of travel from the coast inland. Although the railroad was located in Kenya between the sea and Lake Victoria, it terminated in what was then known as the Uganda Protectorate. Even some contemporary sources erred about the location, though Herzl called it the “Nairobi Plan,” referring to the present-day capital of Kenya. In a June 1903 diary entry, Herzl’s assistant and official representative, Leopold Greenberg, met with British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain on 20 May 1903 and asked him: “Do you mean Uganda?”

Ultimately, the Uganda Plan was officially rejected at the Seventh Zionist Congress held in 1905. Other areas reported to have been considered for a settlement include Crimea, Siberia, Alaska, Madagascar, Japan, Jordan, Sinai, British Guiana, Poland and Tasmania. If the Uganda plan had been successful, it would have meant Israel would today be an occupier on African soil, and perhaps the conflict in Palestine would be playing out in Africa. African writer DJ Bwakali breaks it down for us.

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WHY CIA TARGETED NKRUMAH

In the late 1950s and 1960s, an anti-colonial wave swept across the African continent. Many former British and French colonies emerged as newly independent nations, but before the flags of the new nations were even hoisted, the West was already plotting to take down 'problematic' African leaders, which basically meant any leader who refused to play by its rules.

In this clip, George the Poet (@georgethepoet) - a British spoken-word artist - looks at how then-US President Dwight D. Eisenhower unleashed CIA agents into newly independent Ghana as part of a scheme to topple its revolutionary leader Kwame Nkrumah. If you like what you hear, check out his podcast series exploring African history with words and music.

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NOBEL PRIZE WINNER RUNS FOR PRESIDENT

Denis Mukwege has been a source of pride for DRC since winning the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.

And his popularity makes him a favourite to win the upcoming presidential elections in December.

But even if the 68-year-old defeats incumbent Felix Tshisekedi, can he really turn the country around?

We look at the doctor many hope will heal a country suffering from conflict and poor economic health.

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ANGELA DAVIS ON PALESTINE SUPPORT

Black radical scholar and activist Angela Davis is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause. In this clip, she talks about how Palestinians also came out supporting the BLM movement in the wake of the Ferguson unrest and about why it’s important to reciprocate the solidarity and support.

At the time of this interview in 2019, she had been given an award by Alabama’s Birmingham Civil Rights Institute - only for it to rescind it over her support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Movement, which works to end Israeli oppression of Palestinians. (The Institute later apologised and reinstated the honour.)

Davis draws a parallel between BDS and the Anti-Apartheid Movement launched in 1959, which saw people and institutions worldwide turn their backs on South African goods in protest against the country’s racist policies at the time.

As blues legend Solomon Burke sang, “None of us are free, [if] one of us are chained.”

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The Economist and other western journals are bemoaning the loss of democracy in Africa. But how are they defining democracy? For the first time in decades African civilians are pouring out into the streets of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to rally behind their governments with leadership that is more popular than ever. Meanwhile the "democratic" leaders that the west supports seem to be eternally submissive to the IMF and the World Bank. Does the west miss "democracy" in Africa or do they miss African submission to the US, France and the rest of the EU? Did The Economist decry the undemocratic NATO invasion of Libya? What side did the Economist take during western covert regime change operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo under Lumumba or in Ghana under Nkrumah or in Burkina Faso under Sankara?

Continued - Those operations certainly weren't democratic. It seems as the word democracy has come to mean "governments favourable to western interests" and if a government isn't favourable... well... who cares whether or not they're supported by African people. Only the west is allowed to call the shots. How's that for democracy.

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ODINGA: I STAND FOR THE OPPRESSED!

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has torn into President Ruto over the latter’s failure to condemn Israel. Speaking at a prayer service in Kajiado, Odinga said the mass civilian death and destruction inflicted on Gaza by Tel Aviv should be condemned by all humanity - adding that it’s the only way to bring about peace.

While Ruto unequivocally condemned attacks by Hamas carried out in southern Israel, he's remained tight-lipped during Tel Aviv’s brutal bombing campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 5,100 Palestinian civilians - including over 2,000 children.

His stance triggered an avalanche of criticism. While some objected to his pro-Israel position, others said Kenya shouldn’t take sides. But many share Odinga’s sentiment.

Do you agree with Odinga?
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