Beyond Colonial Legacies – Africa & CARICOM Forge New Path in Reparatory Justice

By Samiya Mohammed 

Addis Ababa, September 28, 2025 (ENA) -- The recent Second Africa-CARICOM Summit in Addis Ababa marked a historic turning point in transcontinental relations, potentially reshaping how Global South nations collaborate on issues of justice, development, and collective sovereignty. 

Convened under the powerful theme Transcontinental Partnership in Pursuit of Reparatory Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations, the summit represented more than a diplomatic ceremony; it signified a fundamental reimagining of Africa-Caribbean relations beyond colonial constructs toward a future built on mutual interests and shared historical experiences.

The gathering built upon the foundation laid by the first summit held in 2021, but with heightened urgency and more concrete mechanisms for collaboration. As articulated by Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, who currently chairs the African Union, the summit aimed to "transform past injustices into solidarity, cooperation, and justice". This sentiment echoed throughout the proceedings, reflecting both regions' determination to leverage their collective strength in addressing the enduring legacies of slavery, colonialism, and ongoing structural inequalities in the global system.

The Africa-CARICOM relationship is steeped in history, connected by the forced migration of millions of Africans during the transatlantic slave trade that created the Caribbean's demographic landscape. Despite this connection, post-colonial relationships between the regions have often been mediated through former colonial powers and limited by geographical distance. 

The institutionalization of Africa-CARICOM summits represents a conscious effort to overcome these constraints and establish direct South-South partnerships based on shared aspirations rather than colonial inheritance.

The choice of Addis Ababa as host city carries symbolic weight, positioning the African Union headquarters as the center of this renewed partnership. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali emphasized the deliberateness of this partnership, noting that "Africa and the Caribbean bring complementary strengths, and together these are multiplied". His reference to Ethiopia's philosophy of "Medemer," meaning "coming together," aptly captured the summit's spirit, a belief in progress through connection, culture, innovation, knowledge, and collective effort rather than through isolation or dependency.

The summit's focus on reparatory justice represented a maturation of both regions' longstanding but previously parallel efforts toward addressing historical wrongs. The CARICOM Reparations Commission, established in 2013, has pioneered a comprehensive approach through its Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, which has inspired similar movements globally, including the National African American Reparations Commission in the United States. Similarly, the African Union's designation of 2025's flagship theme as "Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations" signalled the continent's institutional commitment to this agenda.

Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of CARICOM, powerfully framed the summit as a "homecoming for the Caribbean, reconnecting people separated by ocean, colonialism, and economic systems, but united through shared heritage". 

This emotional resonance underpinned the political urgency of the reparations agenda, transforming historical trauma into a catalyst for contemporary solidarity.

Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Terrance Drew, incoming President of CARICOM, articulated the moral imperative behind the reparations movement: "Repentance alone is no longer sufficient; demands for reparations are legitimate in addressing structural inequalities". His statement scored the summit's rejection of symbolic gestures in favor of substantive restitution that addresses the multidimensional impacts of colonialism and slavery.

Beyond the moral and historical dimensions, the summit demonstrated practical commitment to building institutional architecture that sustains cooperation beyond symbolic gatherings. The adoption of a Joint Communiqué articulating shared development priorities and global policy positions created a roadmap for collaboration. The establishment of an African Caribbean Joint Mechanism on Reparative Justice, based on resolutions from the Global African Diaspora Summit held in South Africa in 2012, provided an institutional vehicle for maintaining momentum.

The presence of leaders from multilateral financial institutions, including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and African and Caribbean Development Banks, signalled recognition that financial architecture reform must be part of any meaningful reparations discussion. Mr. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the African Union, highlighted the compounded injustices facing both regions: "the impact of colonialism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the fact that we were under colonial domination when today's multilateral system was created". This analysis reframed the reparations debate beyond compensation for historical wrongs to include the transformation of global systems that perpetuate inequality.

The health sector collaboration exemplified through the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean demonstrated how functional cooperation could yield immediate benefits for both regions. Similarly, trade initiatives like the Afrexim Bank office in the Caribbean and the Afro-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum created tangible economic pathways that reduce dependency on former colonial powers

The Second Africa-CARICOM Summit represents a paradigm shift in South-South cooperation, moving beyond traditional economic development frameworks to embrace a comprehensive approach that addresses historical justice, cultural reconnection, and global structural reform. By centering reparations within their partnership, both regions have positioned moral justice as the foundation for future collaboration rather than treating it as a separate issue.

The summit's emphasis on unity of purpose between Africa and the Caribbean creates unprecedented potential for advancing shared interests in an increasingly multipolar world. As Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed noted, despite adversity, "both regions now choose to face challenges together, defining their own solutions and future". This assertion of agency and self-determination represents the most significant outcome of the gathering, the declaration that two regions with deeply intertwined histories are now writing their next chapter together rather than through intermediaries.

As the implementation phase begins, the world will watch whether this ambitious partnership can transform historical grievances into a future of shared prosperity and dignity. The journey from Addis Ababa will undoubtedly face challenges, but the summit has undoubtedly created a foundation for transformation that could redefine transcontinental relations for generations to come.

Ethiopia Urges Stronger BRICS Unity to Tackle Global Crises at UN Meeting

Addis Ababa, September 28, 2025 (ENA) -- Ethiopia called on BRICS member states to intensify collective action to address global challenges during the 3rd BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting held on the margins of the 80th UN General Assembly.

In his remarks, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Hadera Abera thanked India for convening the session as incoming BRICS Chair in 2026 and commended Brazil for its successful leadership during the 2025 Rio Summit.

Highlighting the current global context marked by armed conflicts, humanitarian crises, and disruptions to development, the State Minister stressed that these challenges disproportionately impact developing countries. 

He said BRICS has a historic opportunity to ease tensions, foster peace, strengthen multilateralism, and advance sustainable development goals.

The State Minister praised the adoption of key declarations at the Rio Summit on climate finance, artificial intelligence governance, and combating socially determined diseases, noting that these will guide concrete BRICS actions. 

He also welcomed India’s initiative for a joint media statement outlining BRICS priorities in economic, financial, and trade matters.

Underscoring the expanding membership of BRICS, Ambassador Hadera outlined three priorities: transforming declarations into tangible results, pushing for fair reform of global financial institutions to better serve the Global South, and leading by example through fostering peaceful and friendly relations among countries. 

“Maintaining peace and security enables all people to enjoy equal opportunity to lead a decent life,” he said, affirming Ethiopia’s commitment to collective efforts towards sustainable peace and development. 

The BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting concluded with the adoption of the Foreign Ministers' Joint Media Statement.

American Journalist Hails GERD as Symbol of African Self-Reliance, Pathway to Regional Unity

Addis Ababa, September 28, 2025 (ENA) -- An American journalist, Ann Garrison, remarked that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is more than a hydropower project; it is a symbol of hope for Ethiopia and Africa, promising to power industrialization, reduce poverty, and strengthen regional cooperation. 

Ann Garrison, a Black Agenda Report Contributing Editor and contributor to The Grayzone, has been following the GERD closely for years. In an interview with the Ethiopian News Agency, the American Journalist sees the GERD as an aspiration of African self-reliance and resilience. 

“It’s not just a dam; it’s a pathway to industrialization, sustainable development, and regional unity. It’s one of the most exciting stories in Africa today,” she stated. 

Garrison described the dam as “hugely exciting,” stressing that access to electricity is essential for breaking Africa’s cycle of economic dependency and underdevelopment.

“Electricity is one of the most important things needed to escape the economic trap,” she explained. “The GERD can deliver power across the Horn of Africa, generate revenue for the Ethiopian government, and improve daily life by lighting homes, helping children study, powering schools, factories, and industries, and most importantly, lifting people out of subsistence farming.”

One of the dam’s most remarkable features, Garrison highlighted, is its financing. Unlike many large African infrastructure projects that depend on foreign donors or international lenders, the GERD was fully funded by Ethiopians themselves.

Despite various challenges, ordinary Ethiopians contributed to its construction, whether by buying bonds or through other means. “I don’t know of another major project of this scale financed entirely by the people. That’s why the GERD transcends politics—it is a national achievement,” she said.

Turning to Egypt’s opposition, Garrison dismissed reliance on outdated colonial-era treaties that gave Egypt exclusive rights to the Nile. “More than 85 percent of the Nile’s waters originate in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has every right to use them,” she argued, adding that the dam can also help regulate floods in Sudan and Egypt so that the GERD should be seen as a tool for cooperation.”

On the issue of climate change, Garrison emphasized that Africa should not be pressured by industrialized nations, responsible for the bulk of global carbon emissions, on what kind of energy to use. 

“Africa should pursue energy sources that work for Africa. Since the continent is especially vulnerable to climate change, it makes sense to develop renewable energy that won’t make the crisis worse like the GERD,” the American Journalist said.

For her, the GERD embodies exactly that: a massive renewable, eco-friendly, and sustainable energy source that is vital for Africa’s future. 

“The idea of a unified Horn of Africa, industrializing and working together, is precisely what the region needs,” she stressed.

Calling herself “the biggest fangirl of the GERD in the United States,” Garrison shared how awareness of the project is growing even beyond Africa. 

“At a party recently, people were asking me about GERD. Many already knew about it. It’s rare these days to hear good news, but this great news about the completion and functioning of the GERD is truly transformative for Africa,” she emphasized. 

As the largest hydropower plant on the continent, the GERD has the capacity to meet domestic demand and export surplus electricity to neighboring countries. 

For Garrison, this makes cooperation among the Nile Basin nations not optional, but essential.

“Land of Origins” Exactly Describes Historic, Cradle of Humanity Ethiopia, Say Kenyan Journalists

Addis Ababa, September 30, 2025 (ENA)— The brand "Land of Origins" exactly describes Ethiopia, a country rich in history and natural wonders; also known as the cradle of humanity, Kenyan journalists visiting Ethiopia told ENA.

The official “Ethiopia: Land of Origins” depicts the country which is rich in history and natural wonders, and where human ancestors first walked on two legs.

Kenyan journalist John Riaga said the one thing that I have really appreciated is my understanding of why Ethiopia is called the Land of Origins.

Based on what we have seen on the ground and the explanations, it makes sense to call Ethiopia a Land of Origins, he added.

"I have confirmed that there is every reason to refer Ethiopia, with its rich history, culture, and heritages among others, impressive."

According to Riaga, the history of humanity rises from here and what we have in Kenya and Tanzania originated from here. So, there is a human history getting back to millions of years and that is awesome. 

 ''I will tell people when I go back to Nairobi about the rich knowledge that I would not have gained had I come here.''

 The other visitor from Kenya, Agatha Ngotho, visited the National Museum of Ethiopia for the first time.

 The journalist said she used to hear about Ethiopia’s National Museum, especially the history of Lucy. 

''It's quite exciting. So I'm happy to come here where anyone coming to Addis should start from. Then they can move around the city to understand all about it, and Addis Ababa means a new flower or something beautiful."

Ngotho recommended to tourist who come to Ethiopia to first visit the museum, which is enlightening and interesting.

 “It's always good to go somewhere, first understand the history at the Museum and then see the evolution from where it was some years back to where it is now and move around to the urban development."

According to her, Addis Ababa city has become very beautiful, especially when walking around the night. "It's quite beautiful." 

The street light makes it very beautiful. So it is worth coming to visit the city, Ngotho underlined. 

Greater Cooperation Essential to Ensure Sustainable, Self-reliant Social Protection in Africa: Minister

Addis Ababa, September 30, 2025 (ENA)— Greater continental cooperation and commitment are essential to ensure a sustainable and self-reliant social protection system in Africa, Ergogie Tesfaye, Women and Social Affairs Minister said.

Her remarks came during the opening of the International Training Programme on Social Protection for Sustainable Development (ITP322) underway in Addis Ababa.

 Participants from Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe are attending the workshop funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency to enhance technical capacities in social protection design, results-based management, and innovative financing.

 In her opening address, the Minister noted that the workshop is taking place in a nation recognized for its resilience and diversity. 

 In this regard, she recalled Ethiopia’s National Social Protection Policy adopted in 2014 based on five key pillars: Safeguarding vulnerable households, promoting livelihoods, providing social insurance, ensuring access to essential services, and protecting marginalized populations. 

 According to her, Ethiopia has made significant strides in its social protection framework in recent years.

 The notable initiatives include the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) that supports around 8 million people annually and integrates nutrition-sensitive interventions. 

The country has also developed shock-responsive mechanisms to address crises and enhance household resilience.

The Minister pointed out that the workshop serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, allowing countries to share best practices and learn from one another's experiences in social protection.

Ethiopia is committed to learning and sharing experiences while strengthening regional cooperation, Ergogie added.  

On his part, Swedish Ambassador Magnus Lennartsson said Sweden understands, through experience, that social protection is a cornerstone of an inclusive society where all individuals are cared for regardless of their circumstances.

The Ambassador stated that Sweden is committed to supporting Ethiopia's efforts in developing the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), a robust, homegrown social protection program.

 The gathering drawn from nations with which Sweden shares decades of political ties and common values would facilitate the exchange of insights on the development of respective social protection systems, Ambassador Lennartsson underlined.

 He further underlined the importance of learning from one another, noting that understanding what works and what needs adjustment is essential for effective social protection.

Ethiopia Rejects Egypt’s Unfounded Claim on GERD at UN General Assembly

Addis Ababa, September 28, 2025 (ENA) -- Ethiopia has firmly rejected what it described as unfounded claims made by Egypt regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Ethiopia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Yoseph Kassaye, exercised the Right of Reply in response to remarks delivered by Egypt’s representative in the Assembly’s general debate. 

Ambassador Yoseph underscored that Egypt’s claims against the GERD have also been communicated to the UN Security Council, despite being baseless and misleading.

Ethiopia, he said, has consistently provided responses grounded in truth, principle, and international law.

“The stark contrast between Ethiopia’s long-standing policy of cooperation and Egypt’s continued hostility is clear,” Ambassador Yoseph told the Assembly, stressing that Ethiopia’s position on the Nile is anchored in the international principle of equitable and reasonable utilization.

Ethiopia criticized Egypt for attempting to impose so-called “historic rights” rooted in colonial-era treaties that excluded most Nile Basin countries.

 “While Ethiopia seeks to develop the Nile to uphold the basic human rights of its people, access to clean water, food security, and electricity, Egypt insists on denying these necessities through outdated claims of monopoly over the river,” the Ambassador said.

He also recalled that Ethiopia had engaged Egypt throughout the GERD’s planning and construction process, in contrast to Egypt’s unilateral construction of the Aswan High Dam, which displaced communities and destroyed ancient civilizations.

Despite multiple rounds of negotiations, Ethiopia noted that Egypt has repeatedly sought unreasonable concessions without demonstrating genuine interest in a mutually beneficial agreement. “Egypt’s entire focus has been to extract recognition of colonial-era entitlements and secure absolute control over the Nile Basin,” Ambassador Yoseph stated.

Highlighting Ethiopia’s commitment to peace and regional integration, he accused Egypt of undermining these efforts by fueling instability in neighboring countries through arms shipments and political interference. 

“There is no parallel comparison between Ethiopia and Egypt. Our determination to cooperate comes from the just nature of our cause and the shared future we envision with our neighbors,” he emphasized.

Ethiopia further criticized Egypt for attempting to internationalize the GERD issue, calling it “an effort to exploit the UN platform for narrow political purposes and to deflect attention from its own internal and regional challenges.”

Concluding his remarks, Ambassador Yoseph called on Egypt to abandon hostile approaches and instead play a constructive role in fostering regional cooperation. 

Hostility only breeds division and missed opportunities that is why Ethiopia remained being committed to building a future of shared prosperity with all Nile Basin countries.

Ethiopia Claims its Dam Helped Reduce Sudan’s Floods as Speculation it Caused the Deluge Rises

A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jackson Njehia)

By FATMA KHALED and EVELYNE MUSAMBI

9:46 AM EDT, September 29, 2025

CAIRO (AP) — Ethiopia claimed Monday that its recently inaugurated dam has helped lessen floods that have hit Sudan, as speculation rose over whether it has actually caused the deluges.

Sudan on Saturday issued a flood alert citing rising water levels along the Nile River’s two main tributaries, the Blue and White Nile. Sudanese authorities maintained the alert on Monday.

The Sudanese irrigation ministry said late Sunday that the water level has been high for four consecutive days as dams in the area discharged excess water. It urged residents in the provinces of Khartoum, River Nile, White Nile, Sennar and Blue Nile to remain vigilant as floods may affect agricultural lands and houses.

Water levels are expected to decrease throughout the week, Abbas Sharaky, a Professor of Geology and Water Resources at Cairo University, said on Monday.

Earlier this month, Ethiopia inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or GERD, Africa’s largest dam, to boost the economy. The nearly $5 billion dam, located on the Blue Nile near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan, will produce more than 5,000 megawatts and is expected to double Ethiopia’s electricity generation capacity, according to officials.

But some have accused the dam of causing the floods in Sudan.

“The situation is the result of a man-made error,” Sharaky told The Associated Press.

Although Sudan benefits from the dam’s water flow during the agricultural season, “the current situation is causing more harm than good because the harvest season has almost ended,” Sharaky said. He added that the GERD wasn’t emptied gradually as it stored water during Ethiopia’s rainy season between June and August, which also burdens the dam.

Four turbines that were supposed to help reduce the dam’s reservoir failed to operate, preventing Ethiopia from releasing excess water, which led to excessive water flow into Sudan this week, Sharaky said.

“Ethiopia was stubborn and has repeatedly said that the dam’s turbines are working, but seeing the stored water not decreasing says otherwise,” Sharaky said.

Ethiopia’s Water Minister Habtamu Itefa Geleta said Monday: “The flood in Sudan could be from White Nile. If GERD was not there, the magnitude could have been devastating. GERD played a significant role in reducing the catastrophic effect.”

When asked about the turbines not operating, the minister did not answer the question but acknowledged: “We did not release the excess water.”

Egypt says Ethiopia has consistently lacked the political will to reach a binding agreement on the dam, undermining the Nile River water rights of Egypt and Sudan.

On Sept. 4, before GERD’s inauguration, Tamim Khallaf, spokesperson to the Egyptian foreign ministry, said Ethiopia built the dam “unilaterally without any prior notification, proper consultations, or consensus with downstream countries, thereby constituting a grave violation of international law and posing an existential threat.”

___

Musabi reported from Nairobi, Kenya.

Madagascar’s President Fires the Government Following Days of Deadly Gen Z Protests

By SARAH TÉTAUD and GERALD IMRAY

3:45 PM EDT, September 29, 2025

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina fired the prime minister and the rest of his government Monday in response to days of deadly Gen Z-led protests in the Indian Ocean island over the failure of the electricity and water supplies.

Rajoelina said in a speech on national television that Prime Minister Christian Ntsay and other government officials would stay on an interim basis until a new government is formed. He invited applications for government positions and gave a three-day time frame to review proposals for a new prime minister.

“Your demands have been heard, and I apologize if there are members of the government who have not done the work that the people expected,” Rajoelina said.

The protesters had called for the resignation of both Ntsay and Rajoelina, but Rajoelina gave no indication that he would step down.

The protests against chronic electricity and water cuts began on Thursday and drew thousands onto the streets, prompting the government to order nighttime curfews in the capital, Antananarivo, and other major cities. The demonstrations gathered momentum on social media and have mirrored recent youth-led anti-government protests in Nepal and Kenya.

The United Nations human rights office said earlier Monday that 22 people had been killed in clashes surrounding the protests. The U.N. agency blamed a “violent response” by security forces. More than 100 people also have been injured in the protests, the agency said.

Protesters and bystanders were killed by security forces, but some of the deaths also came in violence and looting by gangs not associated with the protesters, the U.N. rights office said in a statement.

U.N. high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk was shocked “at the violent response by security forces to the ongoing protests in Madagascar,” the U.N. rights office said. It said the protests began peacefully on Thursday, “but the security forces intervened with unnecessary force, lobbing tear gas and beating and arresting protesters. Some officers also used live ammunition.”

Madagascar Foreign Minister Rasata Rafaravavitafika disputed the U.N.'s death toll in a statement, saying “the government strongly denies” that 22 people had died. Yet Madagascar authorities have not given any figures of their own for how many people died or were injured.

Rajoelina said that he sympathized with anyone who had lost a loved one in the protests but also didn’t offer a death toll on Monday.

Thousands of protesters had returned to the streets in Antananarivo and other cities earlier on Monday, prompting security forces to again fire tear gas at the crowds.

Over the last five days, protesters have barricaded roads with burning tires and rocks, while several stations for Antananarivo’s new cable car public transport system were set on fire. Local media reported that the homes of some politicians known to be close to Rajoelina were attacked by protesters.

The government has imposed a nighttime curfew in Antananarivo since Thursday and in other major cities since Friday.

Madagascar is a large island of 31 million people off the east coast of Africa. Protesters have been angered by widespread poverty as well as the failure of authorities to provide reliable supplies of water and electricity. The World Bank has recorded a sharp rise in poverty levels in urban areas in Madagascar in recent years.

Protesters have been carrying flags or wearing T-shirts with a cartoon skull and bones image from the Japanese anime TV series “One Piece” that was used by anti-government protesters in Nepal and parts of Southeast Asia recently. The Madagascan protesters carried placards reading “Justice for Madagascar,” “Leo” — which means “we’re fed up” — and “We want to live, not just survive.”

Rajoelina, 51, has been president since 2019 and was previously the leader of a provisional government following a 2009 coup. He was reelected in 2023 in a vote that was boycotted by most opposition candidates.

___

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

DR Congo Military Court Sentences Former President Kabila to Death for Treason

By SALEH MWANAMILONGO

4:56 PM EDT, September 30, 2025

A high military court in Congo convicted former President Joseph Kabila of treason and war crimes Tuesday on accusations of collaborating with anti-government rebels and sentenced him to death.

It was not immediately clear how the sentence could be carried out because the whereabouts of Kabila, who has been on trial in absentia since July, have been unknown since he last was seen in public in a rebel-held city earlier this year. Kabila’s political party called the verdict politically motivated.

The court in Kinshasa ordered his immediate arrest.

The government said Kabila collaborated with Rwanda and the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23, which seized key cities in a lightning assault in January in Congo’s mineral-rich east.

Kabila has denied the allegations, though he expressed support for the rebels’ campaign in an op-ed published in February in the South African newspaper Sunday Times.

The high military court in Kinshasa ruled Tuesday that Kabila was guilty of treason, war crimes, conspiracy and organizing an insurrection together with the M23. It also ordered Kabila to pay $29 billion in damages to Congo, as well as $2 billion to the country’s province of North Kivu and $2 billion to South Kivu.

The court said prosecutors presented testimony implicating Kabila from Eric Nkuba, the imprisoned former chief of staff of rebel leader Corneille Nangaa. Nkuba was convicted on rebellion charges in August 2024.

The court cited Nkuba as saying that Kabila regularly communicated with Nangaa by phone about how to overthrow the government of current President Felix Tshisekedi.

The head of Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy called the verdict “a political, unfair decision.”

“We believe that the clear intention of the dictatorship in power is to eliminate, to neutralize, a major political actor,” the party’s permanent secretary, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Richard Bondo, a lawyer who represented the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, said he was “satisfied” with the court’s decision. “Justice rendered in the name of the Congolese people gives satisfaction to its people,” he added.

Kabila led Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office at the age of 29 — after his father and former President Laurent Kabila was assassinated — and extended his mandate by delaying elections for two years after his term ended in 2017. His candidate lost in December 2018 to Kabila’s long-term political rival, Tshisekedi, who has ruled the country since 2019.

In May, the country’s Senate voted to repeal Kabila’s immunity from prosecution, a move Kabila denounced at the time as dictatorial.

Kabila had lived outside of Congo in self-imposed exile but returned in April to Goma, one of the cities held by the rebel group. His current location is unknown.

Congo’s decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu, which they took in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and worsened what was already one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with around 7 million people displaced.

Gabon’s President’s Party Wins Most Seats in First Legislative Elections Since 2023 Coup

By YVES LAURENT GOMA

12:48 PM EDT, September 30, 2025

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — The party of Gabon’s president Tuesday won the most seats in the first round of the country’s first legislative elections since a 2023 military coup ended a 50-year-old political dynasty.

The Democratic Union of Builders, or UDB, a party founded in July by Gabon’s leader Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, won 55 of the 145 seats in the National Assembly, according to provisional results released by the Interior Ministry.

The Gabonese Democratic Party, or PDG, the party of former president Ali Bongo Ondimba, won three seats. The UDB and PDG, running on a joint ticket in some constituencies, won four seats.

Oligui Nguema had toppled Bongo, who was accused of irresponsible governance, in a 2023 coup, and in April won the presidential election that signaled a return to constitutional democracy.

A second round election is set for Oct. 11 in 77 constituencies where no candidate won an absolute majority, most of them pitting the UDB against the PDG.

The country is ruled by a presidential system under the constitution adopted by referendum last year. The legislative power is limited and parliament cannot topple the government.

Gabon’s parliament had also adopted a contentious new electoral code earlier this year, which allowed military personnel, including Oligui Nguema, to run in the April presidential vote.

South Africa’s Ambassador to France is Found Dead in Paris

12:54 PM EDT, September 30, 2025

PARIS (AP) — The South African ambassador to France, Emmanuel Nkosinathi Mthethwa, known as Nathi Mthethwa, was found dead on Tuesday morning at the foot of a luxury hotel tower in western Paris, a French prosecutor said.

The 58-year-old ambassador had been reported missing on Monday evening, after his wife said she received a worrying message from him “in which he apologized and expressed his intention to take his own life,” Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement.

On Tuesday morning, a security guard at the Hyatt hotel discovered Mthethwa’s body in the inner courtyard, Beccuau said, adding an investigation has been opened.

Mthethwa had booked a room on the 22nd floor of the hotel, where the window’s safety mechanism had been forced open, Beccuau said. The statement said investigators found no signs of a struggle, nor traces of medication or illegal drugs.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his sadness at the death of Mthethwa “in tragic circumstances.”

In a statement released by his office, Ramaphosa offered his deep condolences to Mthethwa’s wife and family.

South Africa’s foreign ministry said Mthethwa had been appointed ambassador to France in December 2023, tasked with strengthening bilateral ties.

Mthethwa previously served as minister of police and minister of sports, arts and culture.

Top US Researchers Rush to Relocate to Europe

U.S.-based applicants to a prestigious EU research scheme have increased five-fold.

September 29, 2025 6:13 pm CET

By Pieter Haeck, Politico

BRUSSELS — A recent call for a multimillion-euro program run by the EU’s top research council saw a fivefold increase in U.S.-based applicants seeking to relocate to European institutions to pursue their research ambitions, according to new data seen by POLITICO.

The fresh wave of interest from U.S.-based researchers for European research grant money comes amid an increasingly hostile climate for academic research under the Trump administration.

It marks a win for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has personally driven efforts to attract U.S. researchers in a direct response to the Trump administration’s deep cuts to academic programs. Europe has positioned itself as a safe haven by emphasizing academic freedom and increasing the funds available for those who wish to relocate.

The European Research Council, the bloc’s funding arm for fundamental research, announced this past spring it would double the additional amount available for researchers who wanted to relocate from the U.S. from €1 million to € 2 million. That means those researchers are now eligible for up to a total of €4.5 million in funding over a maximum period of 5 years.

The incentive has proven extremely popular, according to data from the latest application round that closed at the end of August. There were 114 applications from the U.S., a 400 percent increase compared with the 2024 round when the EU received 23 U.S.-based proposals.

The total number of proposals increased by only 31 percent, from 2,534 to 3,329. That included 538 proposals from the U.K., while within the EU the most proposals came from Italy (445) and Spain (240).

Europe-wide, countries, regions, universities and research institutes have all initiated programs to benefit from the U.S. funding cuts. “There are now over 70 national and regional initiatives designed to attract researchers,” said European Research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva at a gathering in Brussels in mid-September.

The Austrian Academy of Sciences this week celebrated what it described as a “brain gain” directly attributable to the Trump administration’s policies on academic and scientific research, as it announced 25 researchers who will relocate from U.S. institutions under a new 4-year fellowship scheme launched in June.

“They are bringing new ideas, new perspectives, and international networks — this is a great gain for Austrian science and an important boost for the visibility of our research location abroad,” said the academy’s president, Heinz Faßmann, in a statement. “Thanks to Trump we are seeing this brain gain.”

Trump Says Deal Reached to End Feud with Harvard

The president later said some details are still being finalized, but the university would pay $500 million, support trade schools and take other unspecified actions.

By Mackenzie Wilkes

09/30/2025 06:14 PM EDT

President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration has reached a tentative deal with Harvard University, the Ivy League school that’s been embroiled in a bitter feud with the White House.

“We reached a deal with Harvard today,” Trump said during an unrelated executive order signing.

The president initially said all that was left was for Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “paper it out,” but later said McMahon “is finishing up the final details” and he thinks the administration has “a good chance of getting that closed.”

The deal could include Harvard paying $500 million, operating trade schools, teaching artificial intelligence and other unspecified actions: “And then their sins are forgiven,” Trump said.

A Harvard University spokesperson did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

Harvard notched a victory earlier this month after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze more than $2 billion in research grants was illegal. But the administration has continued to take steps to choke off funding for the nation’s oldest university, as recently as Monday, when the Department of Health and Human Services said it was referring the school to proceedings that could ultimately block Harvard from receiving federal funds.

A deal could cap the feud with the Trump administration that has threatened the finances, enrollment and business practices of the nation’s oldest university.

The news of a potential deal comes after other Ivy League schools made deals with the administration to restore their funding.

Brown University, for instance, agreed to pay $50 million in grants over 10 years to workforce development organizations in Rhode Island, and Columbia University’s settlement included a $200 million payment to the federal government over three years. Other non-Ivy League schools, like the University of California, Los Angeles, are facing pressure from the Trump administration to pay a settlement to restore federal research cash.

Judge Excoriates Trump in Blistering Decision Calling Efforts to Deport Pro-Palestinian Academics Illegal

The Reagan-appointed judge decried Trump’s “great threat to Americans’ freedom of speech.”

By Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein

Politico

09/30/2025 04:16 PM EDT

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s effort to deport pro-Palestinian academics is a deliberate attack on free speech meant to “strike fear” into non-citizen students and chill campus protests.

“The effect of these targeted deportation proceedings continues unconstitutionally to chill freedom of speech to this day,” U.S. District Judge William Young concluded, in a scathing, 161-page opinion that he described as the most crucial he’s delivered in his 30 years on the bench.

Young, a Reagan appointee based in Boston, did not immediately order changes to administration policies, but said he will hold further proceedings on how to rein in the practices he found to violate First Amendment free-speech rights.

The ruling is the long-awaited result of a lawsuit brought by university professors who say the Trump administration is illegally chilling free speech by targeting prominent pro-Palestinian campus activists — like Mahmoud Khalil — and others who have expressed pro-Palestinian views. It followed a two week trial that featured testimony from top Trump administration officials, who described orchestrating the arrests of these activists and taking cues from an anonymously run website.

Perhaps more remarkable than the blistering ruling is Young’s assessment of President Donald Trump himself, condemning him as a bully who “ignores everything,” engages in “hollow bragging” and uses his power and gifts of communication to strip away constitutional rights.

“The President’s palpable misunderstanding that the government simply cannot seek retribution for speech he disdains poses a great threat to Americans’ freedom of speech,” Young wrote, describing the courts as the most crucial bulwark to this threat.

“I fear President Trump believes the American people are so divided that today they will not stand up, fight for, and defend our most precious constitutional values so long as they are lulled into thinking their own personal interests are not affected,” Young added. “Is he correct?”

The White House denounced the decision as “an outrageous ruling that hampers the safety and security of our nation.”

“Studying in the United States is a privilege that the Trump Administration will not allow to foreign nationals who endanger America’s national security or imperil campus safety,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston wrote.

Young has repeatedly tangled with the administration over policies he has described as discriminatory, one of a handful of old-guard Reagan-era judges to sound off about Trump’s approach to governing.

In August, two members of the Supreme Court — Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — rebuked Young for blocking the Trump administration’s decisions to cut off medical research grants it deemed related to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The two Trump appointees said recent rulings on other grant-related cases on the high court’s emergency docket made clear Young’s ruling was impermissible.

“When this Court issues a decision, it constitutes a precedent that commands respect in lower courts,” Gorsuch wrote, joined by Kavanaugh.

Young later apologized, saying it wasn’t his intention to defy the Supreme Court, and he was simply unaware that the justices considered their emergency-docket rulings to be precedents lower courts are bound to follow.

Trump and Hegseth’s Backward-facing Message to the Generals

A preoccupation with “woke” culture and “enemies” won’t prepare the military for the high-tech demands of 21st-century war.

September 30, 2025 at 6:38 p.m. EDT

Washington Post

Here’s the scariest part about Tuesday’s military pep rally: President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — in their focus on grooming, fitness standards and “the enemy within” — seem oblivious to the reality that 21st-century combat will be dominated by drones and artificial intelligence, plus commanders who understand these high-tech weapons.

America’s generals and admirals sat stone-faced as they listened to Trump and Hegseth. They had been summoned to Washington at a moment when they’re struggling to adapt America’s military to dizzying changes in combat systems and doctrine. What they got was a lecture from Hegseth about the threat of facial hair, “fat generals” and lax training — along with a meandering speech from Trump bashing his political enemies.

Trump’s and Hegseth’s speeches were an exercise in military nostalgia. Trump talked about bringing back battleships, a Navy fighting platform that was already outmoded during World War II. Hegseth urged military leaders to apply “the 1990 test” — meaning any standard that had changed since then was suspect. He celebrated generals of the last century — George Patton and Norman Schwarzkopf — who shared his flair for showmanship.

Watching this political theater, the audience of senior military leaders was properly silent. They applauded, politely, at the end. But what must they have thought about the directives they received from a defense secretary whose views were shaped as a National Guard officer in Iraq 20 years ago and a commander in chief who avoided service because of a medical exemption?

The implicit message of Tuesday’s “key leaders all-call,” as it was officially termed, was to get on board with Team Trump or get out. “If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” said Hegseth. Hopefully, those gathered at Marine Corps Base Quantico will ignore that guidance. It would be a national disaster to lose the battle-tested leaders who understand the military’s true challenges in the decades ahead.

For Trump and Hegseth, the issues facing the military seem more symbol than substance. Thus, their emphasis on rebranding the enterprise as the Department of War. And their endless rehashing of culture-war issues: “No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction or gender delusions,” said Hegseth.

Okay, got it. Clear away the modest elements of “woke” culture that developed in the Pentagon. But what are you building for the future?

Hegseth is so intent on creating a tough military that having a smart one appears secondary. He wants to restore the old-time, gung ho imagery. Basic training that’s “scary, tough and disciplined.” Drill sergeants who can “instill healthy fear” and “put their hands on recruits.” Hegseth seems convinced that how soldiers fight depends on how they look. “The era of unprofessional appearance is over,” he said. “No more beardos.” Maybe he doesn’t remember the unshaven “dogfaces” of Bill Mauldin’s cartoons during World War II.

Hegseth wants to overturn more than grooming standards. Among the 10 directives he issued Tuesday is a review of standards for bullying and hazing, so that leaders can “enforce high standards without fear of reprisal.” Yikes. That sounds like a blank check for behavior that could drive away, say, the math-and-science whiz who could design and operate future combat systems.

Another unpinned grenade is Hegseth’s directive to revise an inspector general process that he claimed has been “weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues and poor performers in the driver’s seat.” If a commander makes “honest mistakes,” those can be expunged from their record. For the military, Tuesday was “liberation day,” he said. “We are attacking and ending the walking on eggshells and zero-defect command culture.”

Hegseth’s vision of a hard-ass military might be compelling if you believed that future combat would be a reprise of landing on Omaha Beach or Iwo Jima. But the nature of military conflict is changing — on the drone-saturated battlefields of Ukraine and in the scenarios for deterring a tech-savvy China in the future. Beijing would be delighted if America focused on how many push-ups a soldier can do rather than how many computer tools he or she can use.

There was a broader conceptual failure in Tuesday’s presentations. Trump focused repeatedly on using the military to fight the “enemy from within,” by which he seemed to mean illegal immigrants, and perhaps also the “radical left lunatics” who might sympathize with their plight. Using the military for domestic law enforcement is illegal under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act. But beyond that, it’s just dumb at a time when Russia and China pose a growing military threat to the United States.

The military commanders in Trump’s audience are obliged to obey a commander in chief’s orders — so long as they are legal. What did those senior officers think as Trump explained to them his rules of engagement for domestic protest — “They spit, we hit” — and his repeated claims that “we’re under invasion from within”? Hopefully, they’ll seek good legal advice about what constitutes a proper order for deployments on U.S. soil.

The U.S. military is a jewel. Trump and Hegseth are right about that. Its excellence is rooted in values that transcend politics. As the U.S. Military Academy at West Point motto puts it: “Duty. Honor. Country.” Each of the people who listened to Trump and Hegseth swore an oath to the Constitution — and they aren’t promise breakers, no matter who’s leaning on them.

Palestinian Operation in al-Quds Leaves Injuries, Martyr

By Al Mayadeen English

30 Sep 2025 17:06

A Palestinian operation near Beit Lahm left several Israelis injured before the attacker was martyred, amid rising resistance and Israeli annexation in al-Quds.

Israeli media reported on Tuesday that a Palestinian carried out a combined ramming and shooting operation in occupied al-Quds.

According to the reports, the attack took place at the tunnel checkpoint between al-Quds and Beit Lahm, leaving several Israelis wounded, some in critical condition.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health later announced the martyrdom of 32-year-old Mahdi Mohammed Awad Diriyeh, who was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces south of Beit Lahm and identified as the man who carried out the operation.

In a statement, the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas said the operation represents “a message from our resisting people, who will never remain silent in the face of the occupation’s crimes of genocide in Gaza and destruction in the West Bank.”

The movement stressed that “the escalating resistance operations are a clear message that our people will not stand idly by in the face of genocide and settlement policies.”

The operation comes amid escalating Israeli measures to consolidate control and occupation over Palestinian lands in occupied al-Quds.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with West Bank settler leaders in New York on Sunday evening, ahead of his scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump. According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu told the delegation that he intended to raise the issue of “Israel" annexing the West Bank during his talks at the White House.

At the same time, Netanyahu reportedly acknowledged the “complicated reality,” suggesting that any move toward annexation is unlikely in the immediate future. 

His remarks come as Netanyahu faces mounting pressure from settler leaders and far-right allies, whose calls for annexing occupied Palestinian land grow louder in response to recent Western recognition of a Palestinian state; a move he continues to resist publicly while enabling on the ground.

The meeting included senior settler figures such as Israel Ganz, head of the Yesha Council, and Yossi Dagan, who chairs the Samaria Regional Council. Both have been vocal advocates of annexation, framing it as the ultimate rejection of Palestinian statehood.

Netanyahu: We have a supportive [US] president

Meanwhile, Trump has publicly ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank, while the United Arab Emirates, a key regional partner that normalized ties with “Israel” five years ago, has warned that such a move would cross a “red line.”

In the meeting, Netanyahu contrasted Trump’s stance with that of former US President Barack Obama, who had pushed for a freeze on settlement expansion. “We have a supportive president,” Netanyahu reportedly said. “Remember the Obama era, when he told us not to lay even one brick.”

It is worth noting that Ganz has lately shared on X that he and other settler leaders had visited the New York gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late head of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He said the visit was made to pray for the "application of Israeli sovereignty" to the West Bank. In his post, Ganz wrote: “The clear message of settlement is, no to a Palestinian state, yes to applying sovereignty.”

This is happening amid heightening Israeli aggression in the occupied West Bank, as "Israel" is still launching raids across Palestinian towns and villages, detaining Palestinian youths with no formal charges, arbitrarily killing Palestinians, and demolishing homes.

IOF Kill Mother, Her Six Children in Gaza, Death Toll Surpasses 66,000

By Al Mayadeen English

30 Sep 2025 17:24

The Israeli occupation continues committing horrific massacres across Gaza, killing dozens and injuring hundreds every day.

The Israeli occupation continues its genocidal war and starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, killing dozens and injuring hundreds on a daily basis. 

Israeli forces bombed a home west of Deir al-Balah, committing a massacre that left a mother and her six children martyred. 

In a separate incident, six other citizens were martyred and several wounded after the Israeli occupation targeted aid distribution centers in the central Gaza Strip once again.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza reported on Tuesday that 50 Palestinians, most of them starving civilians in the central Gaza Strip, were martyred since dawn.

Deah toll soars past 66,000

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, 42 martyrs and 190 injuries arrived at hospitals in the past 24 hours. The Ministry’s daily report confirmed that the total number of martyrs since the start of “Israel’s” war of genocide on October 7, 2023, has reached 66,097, with 168,536 others injured.

Since the collapse of the ceasefire on March 18, "Israel" has killed 13,229 Palestinians and injured 56,495 others.

The Ministry also reported that Israeli occupation forces killed five Palestinians and injured 56 others while they waited to receive humanitarian aid at allocated sites. This brings the total death toll arsising from aid massacres to 2,576 martyrs and 18,873 injuries. 

Meanwhile, 453 Palestinians have been starved to death, including 150 children, as a result of the suffocating and fatal Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, which has blocked the entry of essentials needed to counter the lethal impact of malnutrition that has infested the Palestinian territory. 

Iran Condemns US Deportation of 120 Nationals Under Trump Crackdown

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Iran Foreign Ministry

30 Sep 2025 16:16

Iran condemned the US deportation of 120 nationals under Trump's immigration crackdown as a politically motivated act of discrimination, accusing Washington of violating human rights and targeting Iranian citizens amid escalating tensions.

A senior Iranian official confirmed Tuesday that 120 Iranian citizens are being repatriated from the United States as part of President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign, a move Tehran denounced as discriminatory, politically motivated, and a violation of international human rights law.

Hossein Noushabadi, the Parliamentary Director General of Iran's Foreign Ministry, said in remarks to local media that the group, many of whom reportedly entered the US through Mexico, will arrive in Iran within the next two days via Qatar. He revealed that the US Immigration Service has plans to expel roughly 400 Iranians, describing the operation as part of Washington's "anti-immigrant approach."

"The US Immigration Service is planning to expel about 400 Iranians currently living in the United States, most of whom entered illegally, in light of the new approach of the US government, which has an anti-immigrant approach," Noushabadi said.

According to Iranian officials, the deportations, carried out aboard US-chartered flights via third countries, mark the largest mass expulsion of Iranian nationals in decades. Some of those deported were held in US detention centers for months, while others were reportedly coerced into "voluntary return" after being denied asylum or residency rights.

Tehran says that several of the deportees possessed valid residence permits yet were inexplicably added to removal lists by US immigration authorities. "Some of those facing deportation also had residence permits, but for reasons stated by the US Immigration Service, they decided to include them on the list," Noushabadi noted.

He added that Iran has demanded Washington uphold international obligations, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ensuring fair hearings and access to consular services.

"The US should not deprive them of appropriate consular services and the right to a fair trial and the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Human Rights," he said.

Political Hostility

Iran's Foreign Ministry has framed the deportations as part of a broader pattern of US hostility toward Iranian nationals, entrenched in Trump's anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policies. The move follows years of discriminatory measures, from the "Muslim ban" targeting travelers from Iran and other Muslim-majority nations, to expanded visa denials for students and professionals.

Officials in Tehran argue that such actions expose the hypocrisy of Washington's human rights rhetoric, as Iranian migrants are stripped of due process and denied protection under international law.

Noushabadi affirmed that all deported citizens will be welcomed home without restriction, stressing that their rights remain intact.

"As Iranian citizens who left the country legally, they face no restrictions on returning to their homeland. We provide appropriate consular services to citizens who are returning to their homeland," he added.

Trump's Policy Under Fire

Trump has defended his immigration crackdown as an effort to "restore law and order," but rights groups have denounced it as a politically charged campaign aimed at appeasing his nationalist base. His administration's sweeping operations have disproportionately targeted immigrants from Muslim and developing countries, while dismantling asylum pathways and narrowing visa categories.

The latest expulsions of Iranians come amid heightened US-Iran tensions, raising concerns that Washington is using immigration enforcement as a tool of political coercion. Analysts note that deporting Iranian nationals, including those with legal residency, undermines diplomatic norms, especially given the absence of formal consular relations between the two nations.

International observers have also warned that forced returns may endanger individuals who sought refuge from persecution or economic hardship, and that collective deportations violate the principle of non-refoulement under international law.

Iran's Response

Tehran has pledged to facilitate the safe return and reintegration of its citizens while monitoring US actions through diplomatic channels. Officials reiterated that Iran will not tolerate discriminatory treatment of its nationals abroad, and that Washington must be held accountable for violating immigrant rights.

The mass deportation of Iranians, Iranian officials argue, symbolizes a broader moral and political failure within US policy, one that conflates migration with criminality and punishes citizens of nations unwilling to submit to American pressure.

Hezbollah Condemns E3, US for Imposing Snapback Sanctions on Iran

By Al Mayadeen English

Hezbollah denounces the US and European troika for reimposing snapback sanctions on Iran, accusing them of collusion with "Israel" and undermining international law.

The Arab and International Relations Unit of Hezbollah issued a statement denouncing the reactivation of snapback sanctions on Iran, placing responsibility squarely on the United States and the European troika: Britain, France, and Germany.

The statement clarified that it was not the Islamic Republic of Iran that withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement, but rather the United States, under President Donald Trump, that unilaterally tore up the accord. It also highlighted that the European troika failed to uphold their obligations under the deal, effectively abandoning their commitments.

Hezbollah blasted the E3’s decision to reimpose international sanctions under the so-called snapback mechanism as the final blow to the credibility of these Western powers. The move, the statement asserted, exposes their lack of seriousness in dealing with critical international agreements and responsibilities.

Despite Iran's extensive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Cairo, and the proposals of diplomatic alternatives such as extending deadlines or facilitating further negotiations, the insistence on reinstating sanctions demonstrates clear alignment between US policies and those of the European troika.

E3 complicit in US-Israeli aggression on Iran

Hezbollah accused the European powers of complicity in the aggression against Iran, carried out in coordination with the United States and the Israeli entity. The objective of this aggression, the statement asserted, goes beyond targeting Iran’s nuclear capabilities and seeks to destabilize the Islamic system itself.

The statement emphasized that the Israeli leadership had openly called for regime change in Tehran, with the European troika adopting similar rhetoric and policies under the guise of diplomatic pressure.

The statement pointed to comments made by the German chancellor during the aggression against Iran, in which he stated that “Israel is doing the dirty work for us,” as evidence of deep Western involvement.

It also highlighted the failure of most Western nations, including members of the troika, to condemn the Israeli aggression, instead framing it as “Israel’s right to self-defense.”

Hezbollah further accused European governments of hosting meetings to discuss post-conflict scenarios in Iran, calling these actions a blatant violation of sovereignty and a continuation of efforts to impose Western control.

Call to resist Western domination

The European troika's alignment with the United States and the Israeli entity in reactivating the snapback sanctions, Hezbollah argued, reflects an extension of the aggression that failed to break Iran’s will. The Islamic Republic’s resilience forced its enemies to request a ceasefire, marking a strategic victory for Tehran.

Hezbollah warned that the step taken by the E3 reaffirms the transformation of the UN Security Council into a platform for the world’s dominant powers to pursue their agendas under the cover of international law. It called into question the legitimacy of such bodies in addressing global peace and security.

In closing, Hezbollah expressed unwavering support for the Islamic Republic of Iran, under the leadership of Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and affirmed solidarity with the Iranian people and armed forces.

The statement praised Iran’s steadfastness in the face of war and sanctions, noting that the country continues to serve as a model for nations resisting imperialist agendas. It concluded by asserting that, through unity, wisdom, and faith, Iran will overcome this latest round of aggression and remain a beacon for free peoples worldwide.

Iraq at a Crossroads: A New War Front?

By Lea Akil

Source: Al Mayadeen English

Today 21:15

Amid Israeli threats, US pressure, and border risks, Iraq stands at a crossroads; resistance, disarmament, security, and regional stability are on the line

West Asia is marked today by heightened instability, with Iraq once again drawn into the center of regional turbulence. At the United Nations podium, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed explicit threats toward the resistance factions in Iraq, raising questions about “Israel’s” objective and the nature of the message.

These developments unfold against the backdrop of Iraq’s internal debate over the weapons of its resistance factions, the upcoming elections, and persistent threats emanating from its Syrian border. This convergence of pressures has positioned Iraq at a critical juncture. Is Baghdad on the verge of becoming the next front in the Israeli occupation’s wars, or has it carved out a fragile but sustainable role as a stabilizing player in the region? 

Netanyahu’s speech on September 26 at the UN General Assembly explicitly named Iraq among the states where resistance factions would face Israeli consequences. In response, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein condemned the threats as “unacceptable,” affirming that any attack on an Iraqi citizen would be treated as an attack on the entire nation.

Speaking to Al Mayadeen Iraq, independent politician Abu Miithaq al-Masar dismissed Netanyahu’s threats as nonsensical, born of weakness, pointing out that Netanyahu has failed to achieve decisive victories in Gaza or secure the release of captives. “From where does he claim the power to act with impunity?” According to Al-Masar, any aggression against Iraq would only mire the occupation in another costly quagmire. 

Without Western and US backing, Netanyahu wouldn’t dare, according to Ammar al-Azzawi of the Sovereignty Alliance party in Iraq, “If he had not found support, including from the US, to back his crimes, he would not have dared to speak.” To back up his statement, he added that Netanyahu is currently at his weakest, underscored by the empty UN hall during his speech, and is desperately trying to deflect attention from his failures. Al-Azzawi further stressed that Iraq has become a foundational pillar of the resistance axis, with factions deeply rooted in Iraqi society and politics. Far from weakening them, Netanyahu’s threats have strengthened their electoral prospects. In his words: “The entity cannot remain silent in the face of Iraq, but it also cannot withstand the consequences.” 

Analysts agree that while Israeli rhetoric is reckless, an actual military confrontation with Iraq remains unlikely. As political analyst A’ed al-Hilali explains to Al Mayadeen Iraq, the relative calm has been preserved by agreements between Baghdad, the resistance factions, and Washington, agreements underpinned by international concerns over oil stability and global investments in Iraq. 

Disarming the resistance: A futile endeavor? 

The question of disarming Iraq’s resistance factions has long been a central issue in the country’s politics. Amid rising regional tensions and efforts to weaken the axis of resistance, the US has intensified pressure on Baghdad to “disengage from Iran”. In line with this strategy, the US Department of State recently announced putting four Iraqi resistance groups, al-Nujaba Movement, Kata’ib Sayyed al-Shohada, Ansarullah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib Imam Ali, on its so-called terror list.

Al-Azzawi argued that weakening Iraqi factions has been a consistent Israeli objective since 1948, pursued through wars, terrorism, and political infiltration. But disarmament, he insisted, is little more than media rhetoric: “Disarming on fraction or ten would not change the reality that all Iraqis reject Israel and if pushed, would arm themselves against it.” Iraq serves as the strategic depth for the axis of resistance in its stance toward the Israeli occupation, and together, they represent a constant source of concern for the occupation. Consequently, any attempt to weaken Iraq is closely tied to efforts to undermine the broader resistance. 

Speaking to Al Mayadeen Iraq, political analyst Hussein al-Kinani emphasized that the US has been forced to coexist with the Iraqi reality: “The key was that US interests themselves were at risk. The agreement that stopped resistance operations against US bases in Iraq played the decisive role.” For many Iraqis, the idea of “disarmament” is not even an option. The resistance factions are not armies with tanks and fighter jets, but groups that carry the will to fight for their national dignity and the readiness to confront the occupation. Any forced attempt to strip these weapons, like previous US operations in Iraqi cities, risks plunging the country into internal conflict.

Syrian front: Spillover threats and border dilemmas

Beyond direct Israeli threats and domestic debates, Iraq also faces persistent security concerns from Syria, where armed groups backed by both the US and “Israel” operate near its borders, creating not only a risk of spillover violence but also a potential pretext for Israeli escalation against Baghdad. 

Baghdad has responded with a careful diplomatic posture, positioning itself as a mediator between Iran and the US, allowing Iraq to de-escalate tensions while preserving strategic autonomy, maintaining internal and local calm while calculating external actions. According to al-Kinani, “There is a clear international will for Iraq to remain stable, especially on the Iraqi-Syrian border. This is not because Washington suddenly sided with the resistance, but because Israel is already facing multiple fronts.” 

Moving to the al-Hawl camp in northeastern Syria, he emphasized that it underscores the aforementioned vulnerabilities. Housing thousands of former ISIS fighters and their families, the camp remains a breeding ground for extremist ideologies that threaten Iraq’s security. The camp is under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its civilian arm, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). 

After the latest CENTCOM meeting on Saturday, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the US Central Command, stressed that the repatriation of foreign nationals detained and displaced in Syria’s al-Hawl camp is a critical strategic measure to counter ISIS and prevent its resurgence. While Baghdad has sought to dismantle the camp, analysts highlight the logistical and political obstacles, particularly the refusal of foreign governments to repatriate their citizens. The issue encapsulates Iraq’s broader challenge: managing security threats that are simultaneously domestic, regional, and international in scope. 

Today, Iraq’s position is precarious, and Netanyahu’s threats, while reckless, are unlikely to translate into direct Israeli aggression, constrained by Iraq’s strategic importance to global oil flows and a fragile balance maintained through US mediation. Attempts to disarm resistance factions remain impractical, not only because of their integration into Iraqi society but also because of their role as a national deterrent against both occupation and extremism. Meanwhile, the Syrian border continues to pose risks that Iraq can only manage, not eliminate, through diplomacy and cautious security policy. 

At this crossroads, Iraq is both vulnerable and indispensable. Its stability rests on a delicate interplay of domestic resilience, resistance legitimacy, and global acknowledgment. Whether Baghdad emerges as a new front in the regional confrontation or a stabilizing player will depend not only on its own decisions but also on the calculations of its allies and adversaries. 

Assata Shakur (1947-2025), A Revolutionary Life

Veteran of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, former political prisoner, spent decades in Cuba under the protection of the socialist government

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Monday September 29, 2025

Political Review

On Thursday September 25, 2025, indications began to appear over social media that Assata Shakur, a longtime activist in the Black Liberation Movement, had died while living in exile in the Republic of Cuba.

Over the last few years, the whereabouts of Assata was not widely known due to the escalation of the news reports which focused on her being granted political asylum in Cuba.

The State of New Jersey and the United States government had placed a substantial bounty to be paid for her capture dead or alive. When she was captured earlier in May 1973, the corporate media in the U.S. had labelled her as a dangerous terrorist out to kill law-enforcement personnel. 

Although she was accused in the killing of a New Jersey state patrolman, Assata always maintained that she did not shoot anyone. Assata also conveyed that when arrested she had already been shot twice while her hands were up. Another BLA comrade, Zayid Malik Shakur was killed during the incident. Sundiata Acoli, also a member of the BLA, was captured and spent nearly five decades in prison. (https://www.nytimes.com/1973/05/08/archives/panther-buried-in-us-cemetery-shakur-navy-veteran-died-in-jersey.html)

This was by no means an isolated incident. Hundreds of African American activists were hunted down and placed in prison on trumped-up charges. Dozens were killed after being targeted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and various police agencies. 

Between 1967-1973, innumerable clashes occurred that led to the deaths of African Americans and law-enforcement personnel. The Justice Department under successive administrations conducted counter-intelligence operations against domestic political groupings. These armed battles involving the police, national guard and other law-enforcement agencies stemmed from the efforts to prevent a viable revolutionary movement in the U.S.

During this period in the mid-to-late 1960s and into the 1970s, other organizations were also subjected to campaigns of disruption and liquidation. Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fred Hampton, Mark Clark, among many others lost their lives as a result of government machinations. 

Consequently, it is not surprising in retrospect that a section of the African American people would take up arms as a defensive measure against political repression. Assata explains in detail her transformation from being a student organizer, to joining the BPP and eventually the BLA in her autobiography entitled: “Assata, An Autobiography.” (https://files.libcom.org/files/assataauto.pdf)

After the 1970s, there was exponential growth within the prison-industrial complex in the U.S. This expansion of prisons and the further criminalization of the African American people took place during the same decades as the reemergence of imperialist military interventions in Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other geo-political regions in the aftermath of the defeat of U.S. imperialism in Southeast Asia in 1975. 

Repression Breed Resistance

The narrative put forward by the New Jersey police, the U.S. Justice Department and the corporate press sought to turn the public away from supporting Assata, the Black Panther Party and the BLA as a whole. Nonetheless, it was the repressive apparatus of the U.S. government which forced African American revolutionaries underground and into an armed posture. 

Yet those who met Assata while she was still in the U.S. or during visits to Cuba, described the veteran Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army organizer as a warm and kind individual. There are numerous oral interviews, articles and documentaries which reveal her motivations for joining the Black Liberation struggle during the late 1960s.

While attending the Borough of Manhattan Community College, Assata joined an African American student organization which placed a strong emphasis on African history and cultural heritages. During the late 1960s, these organizations arose at thousands of high schools and higher educational institutions around the U.S. 

These African American student organizations put forward the demands for Black Studies and Pan-African Studies programs on predominantly white campuses as well the HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). The demand for Black Studies prompted other proposals to establish Latin American, Asian, Women’s Studies programs on urban and elite colleges and university campuses. These demands for curriculum reforms were made with the backdrop of urban rebellions and the advent of broader community organizations which would serve as a political rear base for the youth challenging the Eurocentric and capitalist-oriented educational system. 

Assata and Sundiata Acoli after 1973, were convicted and placed in prison. Assata was liberated by her BLA comrades and members of the Weather Underground in November 1979. She was granted political asylum in Cuba in 1984.

Black Liberation and International Solidarity

It is not surprising that Assata Shakur would be granted political asylum in revolutionary Cuba under its co-founder and longtime President Fidel Castro Ruz. Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in early 1959, legal edicts were issued abolishing racism and discrimination inside the country.

Early on in the revolutionary process, a policy of Pan-African solidarity and internationalism became enshrined in the foreign policy of Cuba. When the Congolese government under Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was overthrown at the aegis of its former Belgian colonial rulers aided by U.S. government, Che Guevara, the Minister of Economic Planning in Cuba denounced the assassination of Lumumba and threw his support behind the revolutionary forces still operating in the former Belgian Congo. 

In subsequent years, the Cuban government assisted the newly formed National Liberation Front administration in Algeria to defeat an attempted coup against their revolution. The Cubans would assist the revolutionaries in Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Guinea, etc. to achieve and maintain their anti-colonial gains. 

This solidarity held firm in relations to the attempts to isolate African American revolutionaries during the 1960s through to the 1980s and beyond. People such as Robert and Mabel Williams took refuge in Cuba when they were forced into exile as a result of racial incidents in Monroe, North Carolina. Others such as Eldridge Cleaver, Huey P. Newton, Nehanda Abiodun, etc. were granted political asylum in Cuba. 

During the 2000s, President Castro announced a program to award scholarships to students in the U.S. from nationally oppressed communities to study medicine free of charge in Cuba. The program represented a repudiation of the cancellation and even outlawing of affirmative action admissions policies at universities in the U.S.

The Significance of a Revolutionary Life

With the transition of Assata Shakur in this monumental year of 2025 warrants a pause to reflect on the importance of her life and the inter-generational struggles to end racism, colonialism, imperialism and all forms of oppression and exploitation. The Black Panther Party during the late 1960s warned African Americans and all peoples in the U.S. about the potential of a fascist state.

In July 1969, the BPP called for and held a National Revolutionary Conference for a United Front Against Fascism. This dayslong event was held in Oakland, California, the birthplace of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in October 1966. The conference was attended by thousands of activists from the Bay Area and around the country. 

At this time the full force of the U.S. military and intelligence structures were focused on defeating the revolutionaries fighting for the total liberation of Vietnam along with suppressing the African American people in their genuine aspirations for complete freedom. This dual war domestically and internationally continues today albeit in different forms.

In the U.S., the administration of President Donald Trump has moved with rapid speed in dismantling the gains made by working and oppressed peoples over the last 70 years. The attempted erasure of African American history and that of other oppressed and exploited peoples is occurring right before the eyes of the world. 

The genocide in Gaza against the Palestinians serves as a warning about the dangers of imperialist impunity in the 21st century. With the expansion of the BRICS Plus Summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and others), along with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other alternative plans for global development, is forcing U.S. imperialism into a desperate situation.

These current threats to the development and well-being of the majority of the world’s population will require the building of revolutionary organizations and alliances. Therefore, the work and experiences of Assata Shakur and the period in which she grew out of, will prove quite instructive to the battles facing the people in the 21st century.