Our jobs as journalists are changing profoundly...
The level of disinformation and propaganda is through the roof.
Sometimes, I feel that we don't even have any impact on people anymore... And now social media have been turned against us too.
For all these reasons, I've decided to stop using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
I'm active on LinkedIn and on Bluesky.
Issued on:
In this edition of the Spotlight on Africa podcast, experts and analysts delve into Africa's evolving diplomacy as the continent approaches 2025. Topics include South Africa's G20 leadership, the division within the West African bloc ECOWAS, and emerging partnerships with the US and China.
And from Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/africas-changing-diplomacy-as-g20-ecowas-divisions/id1241972991?i=1000685000813
How will 2025 shape up for African nations and their global partnerships? Will Africa secure a more central role in the global diplomatic landscape? To understand what's at stake on the continent, the Spotlight on Africa podcast consulted three experts in African politics and diplomacy.
Cameron Hudson from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CISC) in Washington DC discusses priorities for South Africa as it takes on the rotating presidency of the G20 group, and in particular its relationship to the United States.
Michael Dillon from King's College, London, UK, looks at China's new strategy that aims to deepen its influence in Africa.
Thierry Vircoulon from IFRI in France analyses the legacy of France in Africa, notably in the Sahel where French troops have been pushed out by military juntas of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
These countries have since established their own Alliance of Sahel States and made the decision to withdraw from the West African bloc Ecowas. Set to take effect on 29 January, security experts and members of the diaspora have voiced concern over what lies ahead.
Listen from here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20250122-africa-s-changing-diplomacy-as-g20-ecowas-divisions-and-new-global-alliances-loom
And from Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/africas-changing-diplomacy-as-g20-ecowas-divisions/id1241972991?i=1000685000813
When you're disappointed at a friend for letting you down when you needed someone...
And their response is to be mad at you...
I guess you know they're not a friend anymore?
Hello,
I can see this blog has had so many more readers from Asia and South American recently, this is nice and intriguing, thanks for reading!
Comment if you are from there (and of course from any part of Africa, the UK, Greece, Sicily, or wherever actually).
Today is my birthday and I just feel like the world is falling apart... Luckily, there is a ceasefire starting for Gaza, but will it hold and will it be enough? Scary times there.
...and in North America, on social media, and even in Europe, where the far right is gaining a country per semester...
Everything I love is getting destroyed, from nature, forests, oceans to democracy, freedoms and safety. Most people don't want to fight for these, just want to run away, save their 'mental health' by not reading anymore, or hide.
Every people I love to bits is now in a different country from me, apart from my mother and my new best friend...
And work... is hard work.
Tomorrow is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year, and coincidently the day when Trump era part II begins.
At this stage, I don't need luck, I need a miracle...
But if you read these lines, I thank you and please come back for news from Africa and other parts of the global south.
Stay strong, stay involved and love your people like there is no tomorrow...
January 16, 2025
A glimmer of relief to Palestinians who have been victims of the genocide perpetrated by Israel.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International
Israel and the OPT: The long-awaited ceasefire will not repair the lives of Palestinians shattered by Israel’s genocide in Gaza
In response to reports that Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement set to take effect on January 19, 2025, Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said:
“The news of a ceasefire agreement will bring a glimmer of relief to Palestinians who have been victims of the genocide perpetrated by Israel. But this agreement has been cruelly long overdue.
“For Palestinians who have endured more than 15 months of devastating and relentless bombardments, who have been repeatedly displaced from their homes, and who are struggling to survive in makeshift tents without food, water, or basic necessities, the nightmare will not end with the bombings.
“For Palestinians who have lost countless loved ones, for those whose entire families have been wiped out or whose homes have been reduced to rubble, the end of the fighting will not suffice to repair their shattered lives or heal their trauma.
“The release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees will bring joy to families in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, but it will not erase the suffering they endured in captivity.
“There is no time to lose. Israel has consistently and deliberately blocked and hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza: civilians have faced unprecedented levels of famine, and children have died of starvation. The international community, which has so far failed to persuade Israel to fulfil its legal obligations, must ensure that it immediately allows the delivery of vital supplies to all areas of the occupied Gaza Strip to ensure the survival of the Palestinian population.
“This includes guaranteeing the entry of essential medical supplies to treat the wounded and the sick and facilitating the repair of medical centres and critical infrastructure. If Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza is not quickly lifted, this suffering will continue. Finally, independent human rights observers must be allowed access to Gaza to gather evidence and reveal the extent of violations.
“For Palestinians who have lost so much, there is little reason for optimism in the absence of guarantees that they will receive justice and reparations for the crimes committed against them.“
Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire agreement meant to end 15-month Gaza war
The Gaza ceasefire deal is to take effect on 19 January 2025.
The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
The agreement follows months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the backing of the United States, and came just ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
Hamas, Gaza's dominant Palestinian militant group, told Reuters its delegation had handed mediators its approval for the ceasefire agreement and return of hostages.
A Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters earlier Hamas had given verbal approval to the ceasefire and hostage return proposal under negotiation in Qatar and was waiting for more information to give final written approval.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was cutting a visit to Europe short and flying back to Israel overnight to take part in security cabinet and government votes on the deal - meaning the votes would likely be by or on Thursday.
Israeli troops invaded Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen broke through security barriers and burst into Israeli communities on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and abducting more than 250 foreign and Israeli hostages.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 people, according to Gaza health ministry figures, and left the coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble with hundreds of thousands surviving the winter cold in tents and makeshift shelters.
As his inauguration approached, Trump repeated his demand that a deal be done swiftly, warning repeatedly that there would be "hell to pay" if the hostages were not released. His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff worked with President Joe Biden's team to push the deal over the line.
In Israel, the return of the hostages may ease some of the public anger against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government over the 7 October security failure that led to the deadliest single day in the country's history.
The conflict spread across the Middle East, with Iran-backed proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen attacking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.
The deal comes after Israel killed the top leaders of Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah in assassinations which gave it the upper hand.
The European Green Party (EGP) welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, marking a step that will hopefully end the cycle of violence that has caused immense suffering.
Ahead of the announcement, far right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir admitted to scuppering previous ceasefire deals numerous times. As a result, hostages remained in captivity and Gazans continued to suffer indiscriminate violence from the Israeli Defence Forces.
Vula Tsetsi, co-chair of the European Green Party, said: “We can only hope that today’s ceasefire will finally break the cycle of violence. While nothing can bring back the tens of thousands of Palestinians, including women and children who have been killed, nor Israeli victims of the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, we hope that an agreement will serve as the foundation for a lasting peace and a two-state solution."
Ciarán Cuffe, co-chair of the European Green Party, emphasized the importance of international efforts in ensuring a fair and lasting peace: “We have witnessed 465 days of destruction during which Gaza has been devastated beyond recognition. We urge European institutions and national governments to actively engage in diplomatic efforts to ensure that the ceasefire agreement holds, that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is addressed immediately and that both sides work constructively towards an enduring peace.”
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... and, at least I, loved it.
Extremely timely issue, but film in a very visually arresting and sometimes surreal, detached intellectual way, all with a musicality that is so Almodovarian, even if displaced.
Provocative and unmatchable.
It also made me wonder if, ever, anywhere, anyone had such a wonderful friend...
We'll need it, there is few in life we'll ever need that much.
