Africa
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From Chi-Town bagman to ECOWAS chairman: meet the former money launderer leading the push to invade Niger
SINCE THE OVERTHROW OF NIGER’S US-FRIENDLY GOVERNMENT, WEST AFRICAN NATIONS OF THE ECOWAS BLOC HAVE THREATENED AN INVASION OF THEIR NEIGHBOR. BEFORE LEADING THE CHARGE FOR INTERVENTION, ECOWAS CHAIR BOLA TINUBU SPENT YEARS LAUNDERING MILLIONS FOR HEROIN DEALERS IN CHICAGO, AND HAS SINCE BEEN ENSNARED IN NUMEROUS CORRUPTION SCANDALS. Continue reading
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Ruling class strikes back in Africa
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said on Thursday, August 10 that “no option had been taken off the table,” in terms of addressing the coup in Niger. Tinibu made this statement at the conclusion of the second emergency ECOWAS summit on the situation in Niger. ECOWAS… Continue reading
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Niger rejects rules-based order
The coup in the West African state of Niger on July 26 and the Russia-Africa Summit the next day in St. Petersburg are playing out in the backdrop of multipolarity in the world order. Seemingly independent events, they capture nonetheless the zeitgeist of our transformative era. Continue reading
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Burkina Faso & Mali Vow to Defend Niger’s New Leadership with Force
(OrinocoTribune.com)—Burkina Faso and Mali have declared their willingness to defend Niger with armed force if France, Nigeria, or ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) were to intervene in Niger following the recent change of power. Continue reading
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Did France attack Niger’s National Guard?
The French military has been charged with striking Niger’s National Guard, according to the country’s new military government. Continue reading
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In Haiti, Kenya Chooses Servitude Over Pan-African Solidarity
AUGUST 3, 2023—The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) condemns in the strongest possible terms Kenya’s proposal to lead what amounts to a foreign armed intervention in Haiti. Continue reading
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Niger Coup Explained: West Points to Russia, Ignores Neocolonialism
On July 26, former President Mohamad Bazoum was removed from power by a military general, Tchiani. This has set off a wave of condemnation and threats of military intervention from the U.S. and France, for whom Bazoum proved to be a reliable ally. Thousands have rallied to support Niger’s new leadership since July 26, reportedly… Continue reading
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US Shoots Itself in the Foot in Africa
In Africa as in the rest of the world, US machinations undermine its goals and bring other nations together as they seek to protect themselves from a desperate empire. Continue reading
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Was Malcolm X Betrayed By an African American CIA Agent Posing as a Mozambican Freedom Fighter?
New revelations breed suspicion that a campaign of CIA surveillance and attempted assassination of Malcolm during his travels in Africa was orchestrated by a member of the Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) named Leo Milas. Continue reading
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US Africa Leaders Summit promises more exploitation for Africa, record profits for US mining firms
Recent deals between US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and African heads of state promise eye-popping profits for US mining multinationals and fewer protections for African laborers “toiling in subhuman conditions” to drive the digital revolution. Continue reading
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NATO will confront Russia in West Africa
Why Mauritania is turning into an alliance outpost in the region – a recent report by Nikolay Dmitrievich Plotnikov outlines the potential for a new NATO front with Russia with Mauritania converted into a NATO alliance outpost in the region. Continue reading
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The Hope of a Pan-African-Owned and Controlled Electric Car Project Is Buried for Generations to Come: The Fifty-Second Newsletter (2022)
The United States government held the US-Africa Leaders Summit in mid-December, prompted in large part by its fears about Chinese and Russian influence on the African continent. Rather than routine diplomacy, Washington’s approach in the summit was guided by its broader New Cold War agenda, in which a growing focus of the US has been… Continue reading
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Biden Opens Africa Summit With Sanctioning African Leaders
The Biden administration is holding a summit with some 40 leaders of African countries. The New York Times headline of its reporting on the summit is revealing: Biden Is Bringing Africa’s Leaders to Washington, Hoping to Impress Continue reading
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Mali’s Break with France Is a Symptom of Cracks in the Transatlantic Alliance: The Forty-Eighth Newsletter (2022)
On 21 November 2022, Mali’s interim prime minister, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, issued a statement on social media announcing the government’s decision ‘to ban, with immediate effect, all activities carried out by [French] NGOs operating in Mali’. This announcement came a few days after the French government cut Official Development Aid (ODA) to Mali, alleging that Mali’s government is ‘allied… Continue reading
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Food, Farming, and Africa: An Open Letter to Bill Gates
We, 50 organizations focused on food sovereignty and justice worldwide, want you to know there is no shortage of practical solutions and innovations by African farmers and organizations. We invite you to step back and learn from those on the ground. —Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa Continue reading
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Africa Does Not Want to Be a Breeding Ground for the New Cold War: The Forty-Fourth Newsletter (2022)
On 17 October, the head of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), US Marine Corps General Michael Langley visited Morocco. Langley met with senior Moroccan military leaders, including Inspector General of the Moroccan Armed Forces Belkhir El Farouk. Since 2004, AFRICOM has held its ‘largest and premier annual exercise’, African Lion, partly on Moroccan soil. This past June, ten countries participated in… Continue reading
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Ibrahim Traore takes over as Burkina Faso’s leader amid worsening crisis and anti-French sentiment
34-year-old Capt. Ibrahim Traore, who deposed his senior Lt. Col Paul-Henri Damiba in a military coup on September 30, was sworn in as the new president of the transitional government of Burkina Faso on Friday, October 21. Continue reading
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The Other Russia-West War: Why Some African Countries are Abandoning Paris, Joining Moscow
The moment that Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was ousted by his own former military colleague, Captain Ibrahim Traore, pro-coup crowds filled the streets. Some burned French flags, others carried Russian flags. This scene alone represents the current tussle underway throughout the African continent. Continue reading
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When Will the Stars Shine Again in Burkina Faso?: The Forty-First Newsletter (2022)
Thursday, 13 October 2022 — The Tricontinental Wilfried Balima (Burkina Faso), Les Trois Camarades (‘The Three Comrades’), 2018. Dear friends, Greetings from the desk of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. On 30 September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré led a section of the Burkina Faso military to depose Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had seized power in a coup d’état in… Continue reading
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Exclusive: How Shell and BP financed Britain’s Cold War propaganda machine
“Handsome” sums were provided by BP and Shell to the Information Research Department (IRD), which was Britain’s Cold War propaganda arm between 1948 and 1977, declassified files show. The IRD used the secret subsidies to fund British covert propaganda operations during the 1950s and 1960s across the Middle East and Africa, where Britain’s oil interests were substantial. Today,… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 