Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Thembisa Fakude
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Time for Qatar to review its hosting of US Al Udeid military air base
The assassination of one of the highest-ranking Generals and the Commanders of Al Quds Force – part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) – Qasem Soleimani, opened an unprecedented form of conflict in the Gulf region. Soleimani was killed in Iraq on 3 January 2020 by an US drone…
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From one anti-apartheid activist to another, a South African pays tribute to Ismail Haniyeh
In 1998 I led a delegation of senior South African Muslim leaders to Palestine. Amongst those who joined the delegation was the former President of the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), Maulana Ihsaan Hendricks and Yousuf “Tara” Seedat. Maulana Hendricks was a great advocate of the Palestinian cause in South Africa.…
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Palestinian solidarity and support for Israel in South Africa
The support for the Palestinians in South Africa is likely to increase as long as pictures of brutalised women and children continue to be broadcast on television screens. Nevertheless, the Palestine-Israel conflict continues to be a divisive issue around the world. It has, though, been a unifying issue around the…
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BRICS Plus has more to it than meets the eye
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa is a man known to be committed to due process, often to the annoyance of many South Africans. This has earned him a number of nicknames, including “Ramapostpona”, the one who always postpones matters. Flip-flopping in its international relations in the recent past, including…
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Turkiye should continue its rapprochement with Africa after the elections
The geographical importance and the role of Turkiye in global politics, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has increased. The role and significance of Turkiye as a member of NATO has also gained prominence. After Turkiye’s green light, NATO has expanded to include Finland. Sweden is likely to follow once…
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The conflict in Sudan demonstrates why Africa must reject military ‘dualism’
The convenience of pairing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan alongside the Sudanese Army for the sake of “peace and stability” was not, it is now apparent, such a great idea after all. The RSF is made up of the remnants of the infamous Janjaweed, a paramilitary force…
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It’s time for the Arab states to renounce the Abraham Accords with Israel
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan must surely renounce the Abraham Accords with Israel because of the occupation state’s ongoing atrocities against the Palestinians and violations of their legitimate rights. The normalisation deals were cobbled together in September 2020 by Jared Kushner, the son in-law and former advisor…
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Qatar chose to avoid domestic unrest over Western World Cup demands
One of the political challenges in Qatar is that most of the population is left behind when the royal family forges ahead with socio-political modernisation. Unlike in most countries where change is often driven by civil society, in Qatar it is the royal family which has that role. Hence, the…
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Saudi Arabia is losing the war in Yemen after seven years of mayhem and destruction
According to the United Nations (UN), the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and the Houthis have extended their truce for a further two months. This follows an initial two-month truce reached between the warring parties in April 2022. The war in Yemen started in 2015, following the ousting of President Abdrabbuh…
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Keep the Palestinian struggle out of Putin’s war in Ukraine
With the focus on Ukraine, it is easy to forget that Russian President Vladimir Putin supports his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad’s continuing destruction of his country, and the maiming of women and children, including thousands of Palestinian refugees in Syria. Since March 2011, pro-government forces have killed 3,196 Palestinian refugees,…
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Archbishop Desmond Tutu: A man of God who liked to laugh
Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed away this morning. He will be remembered differently by many people around world. He was a Nobel Prize Laureate, a man of God, a fervent freedom fighter and a man of peace with an amazing sense of humour. Tutu was an architect of the South African…
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Qatar gets the ultimate vote of confidence from the US for its pragmatic foreign policy
Qatar’s foreign policy has been described by many as “maverick”. Unlike most countries in the region which have at best been regarded as client states, Qatar has demonstrated a confident and pragmatic foreign policy in its dealings with powerful Western governments, including the US. When Qatar decided to support the…
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Behind AUKUS security pact: a new perspective on the US’ rushed exit from Afghanistan
The President of the United States (US) Joe Biden has suffered huge reputational damage following the secret pact signed between Australia, the UK and the US, which has become known by its acronym, AUKUS. While the world was still trying to make sense of the events in Afghanistan; the AUKUS…
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Ties between Turkey and Ethiopia have been strengthened by their latest agreements
The visit to Ankara of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on 18 August was significant. The signing of bilateral agreements between Turkey and Ethiopia introduces another world power into Horn of Africa politics. Turkey’s bilateral agreements with Ethiopia are likely to tilt the balance of power in the ongoing negotiations…
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Qatar’s deep pocket foreign policy could produce a miracle in Afghanistan
Qatar has continued to set political and other trends in the Middle East. The small oil and gas rich Gulf state launched Al Jazeera TV in 1996, for example, which has grown to become a multimedia news network admired and loathed in almost equal measure by governments in the region.…
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Netanyahu’s exit brings some slight optimism
Changes in the makeup of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, hardly cause for Palestinian optimism, even at the best of times. All governments of Israel since 1948 have pushed the Palestinians and their legitimate aspirations to near oblivion. The ousting of now-former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday was received with…
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Stop comparing Israel to Apartheid South Africa; it is worse
It is common these days to compare the institutional racism in Israel, and its occupation of Palestine, to Apartheid South Africa. Up to a point, it’s a reasonable comparison. Up to a point. For all its horrors and brutality, the apartheid regime in South Africa never used fighter jets and…
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Iran is under siege, and has a growing concern about the enemy within
A number of people have been arrested in Iran over the years accused of spying against the government. Last year, the authorities arrested five Iranians on charges of spying for Israel, Britain and Germany. They were convicted and at least two were given prison sentences. In July 2017, the authorities…
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Blame the dictatorship in Egypt for the Suez Canal fiasco
Impunity rules the day when those assigned with responsibilities are allowed to abandon them without consequences. This happens frequently in dictatorships, where economic opportunities favour those within the inner circles; bribery and corruption are prevalent, and widespread injustices are commonplace. The rule of law is compromised as those charged to…
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Speculation grows about the launch of Al Jazeera’s Rightly digital US platform
News emerged last night that Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) is to launch a new online channel called Rightly. This was confirmed by the network today. “Al Jazeera Media Network today announced the launch of Rightly, a new US-based digital platform that will generate content for audiences currently under-represented in…
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Qatar could replace Saudi Arabia as an important ally of the US in the Gulf
The former administration of Donald Trump has widened the political divide in the US, leaving behind unprecedented political challenges for the future of the country. Trump might have lost the elections, but he will not disappear from US national politics. His shadow will continue to linger heavily over the US…
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The hacking of Al Jazeera journalists’ phones should be of great concern to Qatar
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt started their blockade of the State of Qatar in mid-2017. They accused their neighbour of, amongst other things, “supporting terrorism and creating instability in the region”. More recently, Qatar has been part of reconciliation efforts led by the former Emir of…
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An attack against Iran seems likely as Trump prepares to leave the White House
The war drums started beating when Joe Biden was declared to be US President-elect, and Iran is again the target. Senior American officials made unprecedented trips while the country was still digesting the defeat of sitting President Donald Trump, raising suspicions that he is planning something in the Middle East…
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The UAE has bought Sudan’s normalisation with Israel
The UAE has been accused of complicity in Sudan’s internal political turmoil for quite some time. Some believe that even the political machinations in eastern Sudan are actually sponsored and sustained by the government of the Emirates in Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Ali Al-Jazouli, the head of the State of Law…