💡 SPOTLIGHT
Africa must stop using France as an excuse for not taking any responsibility
Conspiracy theories about France's involvement in every twist and turn of African politics abound. Yet, writes Adama Wade for Dakar-based Financial Afrik, using leftover grievances of colonial influence is often a way for Africans to make excuses for their political failings.
As the students at the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, who complained to Emmanuel Macron in 2017 about the malfunctioning air-conditioning, a famous Cameroonian activist recently distinguished herself with a humorous display or — who knows — the most incisive political analysis of the century.
A self-proclaimed sovereignist on social networks, she claims that Macky Sall's postponement of Senegal's presidential elections was aimed at enabling opposition politician Karim Wade, designated as Sall's successor — according to her! — by Emmanuel Macron, to take part in the election.
Such an allegation — which would have been considered a suitable joke for a humor festival such as the international "Marrakech du Rire" — is taken seriously in the virtual Africa of social networks. While such bubble is not to be confused with the real continent, it is clear that many virtual influencers attribute the responsibility of every political event to France.
Given the defeat of the Malian army in Kidal in March 2012 and the prolonged presence of foreign forces in the country, some saw in this the hand of France, accused of plundering Malian gold, even though northern Mali is, until further notice, deprived of this precious metal. In Chad, the rehabilitation of Succès Masra was linked to the underground networks of the Quai d'Orsay, despite mediation being largely led by Arab and African countries, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) playing a crucial role.
Interestingly, in the DRC itself, the French and U.S. embassies were singled out for "non-assistance to a country in danger" by the public opinion, which seemed to spare the state from any questioning of its action plan for peace in Kivu. In Gabon, during the military takeover in August 2023 by General Brice Oligui Nguéma, attention focused more on his interactions with the French ambassador than on his political program.
It seems that we Africans can neither elect a president nor orchestrate a coup on our own. This way of thinking denies us any responsibility for our own history. Instead of analyzing crises globally, identifying the interests at stake and the root causes, we are simply obsessively tracking down the slightest trace of foreign influence, particularly French. [...]
— Read the full article by Adama Wade for Financial Afrik, translated into English by Worldcrunch.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• No ceasefire breakthrough in Gaza, UN finds evidence of sexual abuse of hostages : Ceasefire talks between Hamas and mediators ended on Tuesday in Cairo with no breakthrough. Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said the militant group now waits for a response from the Israelis after presenting its proposal for an agreement. Israel didn’t take part in this round of negotiations. Meanwhile, a UN team says it has found “clear and convincing” information that hostages in Gaza were sexually abused and that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the sexual violence is ongoing.
• Super Tuesday vote setting up Trump-Biden rematch: U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump are poised to move much closer to winning their party's nominations as Super Tuesday elections are being held in 16 states and one territory, potentially setting a historic rematch in November’s vote. This comes after the Supreme Court ruled Monday that Trump can’t be kept off the ballot in Colorado, following months of debate over whether the former president violated the “insurrectionist clause” of the 14th Amendment.
• Ukraine claims critical strike on Russian warship in Black Sea: Ukraine’s military intelligence unit says it has destroyed the Sergey Kotov, a Russian military ship, with sea drones in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the Black Sea. Kyiv reported that the ship had sunk, making it the latest victim in a series of attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The Kremlin has yet to comment.
• China sets ambitious growth target of around 5% for 2024: China has set an ambitious economic expansion target of “around 5%” for 2024, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced at the opening of the annual gathering of the National People’s Congress (NPC). Beijing also vowed to “transform the growth model” as the country faces several challenges, including a property crisis, slowing exports and population decline.
• Panama ex-President Martinelli barred from May elections: Panama’s Electoral Tribunal has annulled former president Ricardo Martinelli’s candidacy in the presidential election set for May, due to a 10-year prison sentence for money laundering he received last year. The supermarket tycoon, who was president of Panama from 2009 to 2014, has taken asylum in the Nicaraguan embassy after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal against his sentence last month.
• Iran executions hit highest level since 2015: Iran executed at least 834 people in 2023, the second-highest number of executions in two decades, according to a report by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). The number of executions was up some 43% compared with the previous year, with the report suggesting the spike came in reaction to nationwide protests prompted by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022. For more, read this article by Karim Shafiq for Daraj: With The World Diverted By Gaza, Iran Quietly Executes Its Domestic Opponents.
• Gouda news for the Netherlands: With 3.1 kilograms of cheese imported per person each year in a small country of 17 million and 38 varieties produced there, the Netherlands has been named the “cheesiest nation” in the world. According to a new report by market research agency Mintel, the Dutch are also thinking about the delicacy more than anyone else in the world, with the most monthly Google searches for the word “cheese” in native languages per capita.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Korean newspaper The Dong-a Ilbo dedicates its front page to South Korea and the United States’ annual Freedom Shield joint military drills. The live exercises and simulations last 11 days and aim to deter North Korea’s nuclear threats and to increase combat readiness and regional security.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
With Ukraine's coal miners called to war, women step in to fuel the nation
With men leaving for the front, Ukrainian women have stepped in to fill the void, notably in the coal industry. A reportage by Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda from the mines of the Dnipropetrovsk region to see how women are faring in this male-dominated field.
🏭 Miners are traditionally resistant to change. But the outbreak of the war with Russia brought a significant shift: women, who were previously prohibited from underground work, began to join the industry. This was necessary; over the past two years, some 3,500 miners from Pavlohrad became soldiers, representing a fifth of the workforce. It is now impossible to mine coal in Western Donbas without women. There are hardly any qualified specialists willing to work in our conditions. The war has depleted our manpower,” said Andriy Chernetskyi, deputy director of DTEK Pavlohradvuhillya.
⛏️ Anastasia, who had worked in mine security, says she was initially apprehensive about working underground but quickly got used to it. She relocated from Luhansk Region to Pavlohrad, where she joined colleagues who had also moved due to Russian aggression and found employment at the mine. "It's hard to find decent work; there's a constant influx of people everywhere," she said.
👨👩 On a personal level, male miners initially struggled to accept female colleagues underground. Women were seen as outsiders who disrupted the traditional male-dominated environment. But trust is crucial in mining, so men and women gradually adapted and improved their interactions. Female workers noted changes in male behavior, with less cursing and fewer outdated jokes about women underground.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
39 years and 100 days
Bert Janssen, a 57-year-old Dutch man, has set a Guinness World Record as the longest-surviving heart transplant recipient, living for 39 years and 100 days after the surgery. Diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at 17, he underwent the transplant in 1984 at Harefield Hospital in England. This number surpasses the previous record set in 2021, which Janssen’s cardiologist attributes to his healthy lifestyle.
📣 VERBATIM
“If you are a company who’s dominant and you do something illegal, it will be punished.
— The European Union has slapped Apple with a hefty €1.8 billion fine ($1.95 billion), after an inquiry found the U.S. tech giant had broken the bloc’s competition laws by restricting music streaming services. European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said Apple had “abused its dominant position,, leaving European consumers with no choice “as to where, how and at what prices to buy music streaming subscriptions.” The Guardian notes that this first-ever antitrust penalty imposed on Apple is nearly four times higher than expected, as the EU seeks to send a strong warning to the mostly U.S.-based technology platforms. Apple announced it plans to appeal the fine.
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
People near Paris’s Eiffel Tower celebrate the country’s decision to enshrine voluntary interruption of pregnancy in the French Constitution. — Photo: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s official Instagram account.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Our Palestinian Future, Lost Between Fatah And Hamas — DARAJ
• Power Cliques And Hedging: Why Ukrainians Are Losing Faith In Zelensky — DIE WELT
• Lost In (English) Translation: The Problem With U.S. Domination Of Foreign Book Markets— LA STAMPA
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