Mwana Lisa

Who is M23? The Rwanda-backed rebel movement now controls large parts of eastern Congo and was linked by Reuters sources to the September 17 ambush in South Kivu that wounded Tim Kennedy; Reuters reported he suffered three gunshot wounds to the leg. Led militarily by Sultani Makenga and politically by Bertrand Bisimwa, M23 emerged in 2012 from former rebels integrated into Congo’s army after a failed 2009 peace settlement. Rooted largely in Congolese Tutsi grievances, it has evolved into an increasingly sophisticated insurgency challenging Kinshasa: controlling cities and mineral territory, collecting taxes, administering populations, and benefiting from extensive Rwandan military support. Français : Qui est le M23 ? Ce mouvement rebelle soutenu par le Rwanda contrôle aujourd’hui de vastes zones de l’est du Congo. Des sources citées par Reuters l’ont lié à l’embuscade du 17 septembre au Sud-Kivu, durant laquelle Tim Kennedy a été blessé de trois balles à la jambe. Dirigé militairement par Sultani Makenga et politiquement par Bertrand Bisimwa, le M23 est né en 2012 d’anciens rebelles intégrés dans l’armée congolaise après l’échec d’un accord de paix. Issu principalement de revendications tutsies congolaises, il est devenu une insurrection sophistiquée capable de contrôler des villes, administrer des territoires, prélever des taxes et exploiter les ressources minières, avec un important soutien militaire rwandais. #TimKennedy #Congo #ErikPrince #Africa

Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran. The target would be Pickax Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the Iranian government has restarted its nuclear enrichment program. No conventional weapon in the American arsenal can penetrate 300 feet of solid granite to destroy the tunnels where enrichment is supposedly taking place. The only military option is a nuclear strike. Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one. “Bibi calls Trump about it every day,” says an informed observer. Netanyahu is cornered and desperate. After last week’s election results, he can’t form a government unless Trump intervenes directly in Israeli politics and brokers a deal with other parties that gives Netanyahu 61 seats in the Knesset. Otherwise, he is out as prime minister and on his way to ignominy, investigations and possibly jail. Netanyahu must stay close to Trump. He needs this war. To that end, he’s applied maximum pressure to his closest allies in the administration, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper. Both oppose a negotiated settlement to the war they’ve so grievously mismanaged; both are pushing to restart major combat operations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA director John Ratcliffe are also following Netanyahu’s lead, as are leaders of the Democratic Party. In a recent meeting on the subject, former president Barack Obama said he opposes the current Iran peace deal being drafted in Doha. The rest of America’s longtime allies in the Middle East are terrified by the prospect of more war. On September 27th, Netanyahu flew secretly to Abu Dhabi to enlist the UAE in his lobbying effort for a final attack on Iran. The Emiratis refused. After eight months of conflict, Gulf economies are teetering. So are global energy and fertilizer markets. They won’t recover soon. Globally, there are a total of about 850 supertankers used to transport oil from producers to the rest of the world. In October alone, 11 of them were badly damaged in Hormuz. At this pace, a global depression is imminent. A nuclear strike would radically accelerate the destruction. Fallout from a ground explosion at Pickax Mountain would contaminate the Persian Gulf, poisoning the water supply for 100 million people. And those are just some of the immediate consequences for the region. The rest of the world is every bit as exposed. No country other than the United States has ever used a nuclear weapon in war. Some would like to. An American nuclear attack on Iran would set a new precedent. The Russians have already told at least two other governments that an American nuclear strike on Iran would free them to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Pakistan and India would be tempted to do the same against each other, as would North Korea against Seoul. After the first nuclear strike, World War Three is inevitable. That war would be short and final. We’ve been sleepwalking toward this moment for months. Since February, the administration has quietly rewritten America’s nuclear doctrine to make first use of so-called “battlefield nukes” easier and therefore more likely. No one in Washington in either party seems bothered by this. Now we’re on the brink of it. Close observers say Trump is likely to decide by next weekend whether or not to use nuclear weapons. That would be November 7, six days from now. To his credit, he’s hesitating. At the moment, Trump is listening to his vice president, JD Vance, and to his envoy and friend Steve Witkoff, both of whom argue a deal with Iran can be made. They’re right, though it won’t be simple. The Iranians are famously frustrating to negotiate with under any circumstances, and elements of that government have become more radical since Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family were killed in February. After decades of isolation, even relatively moderate Iranian leaders seem confused by how decisions are made in the West. (There is a widespread belief in Tehran, for example, that the United States government controls Israel.) But overall, people who have spoken to decision-makers in Iran say there is consensus there that more war is bad for everyone and a deal is worth making. One group that hasn’t been consulted so far is the global population — the hundreds of millions of people who will be killed along with their children if Trump is pushed by Netanyahu into launching a nuclear strike next week. Now would be the time for them to speak up.

The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away. Javits Frimpong’s mother deserves to say goodbye to her son in person. I just got off the phone with President Trump and he has agreed to grant her visa immediately.  All of New York City is mourning this tragedy.

Heartbreaking 💔😭

The father of a teen killed in a shooting in the Bronx spoke through tears as he remembered his son. Read more: pix11.com/news/crime/teen-ki…

🇷🇼 🇺🇸 Living in the United States, where the First Amendment protects freedom of expression, including criticism of the government, Patrick Niyonshima @TofeRwanda is calling on Rwandan authorities to screen people at borders and airports based on their social media activity. He enjoys the freedom to express his political opinions in a country that protects dissent, while advocating restrictions against those who challenge the official narrative in Rwanda. In #Rwanda, criticism of the government can expose individuals to detention, prosecution and other forms of retaliation. Even critics living abroad have faced intimidation and transnational repression. theelephant.info/analysis/20… His call to “Protect our country’s narrative”, while tagging @Rwandamigration, @Cybersec_Rwanda, @Rwandapolice, @RIB_Rw and @RwandaMFA, raises serious concerns about the use of state institutions to police political opinions rather than protect fundamental rights. Criticism of a government is not a threat to national security. Dissent is not a crime. And freedom of expression cannot be a privilege reserved for those who support those in power. A country’s reputation should be built on respect for human rights, the rule of law and accountability, not on suppressing critical voices. #Africa #FreedomOfSpeech

Sanctioning Rwanda is an important step toward ending Kagame's brutal invasion of Congo. Europe's inaction on this subject risks damaging its already limited credibility on the world stage.

🇺🇸🇷🇼🇨🇩 Weeks after Tim Kennedy was shot three times in eastern Congo... Washington sanctioned the army he was fighting Treasury hit Rwanda’s Ministry of Defense for deploying thousands of troops alongside the M23 rebels in North and South Kivu, and Zigama Credit and Savings Society for moving the money that buys their weapons and launders the gold that comes out of rebel-held mines into Rwanda. That is the same war Erik Prince’s contractors are in on the Congolese side, under a contract to secure and tax the mining areas Washington wants American companies in, and the September ambush that wounded Kennedy and killed a former New Zealand commando happened on one of those mining-revenue operations. The sanctions put the US government where Prince already was: on Tshisekedi’s side against Kigali, which was Washington’s Africa partner until the minerals deal made Congo worth more. Rwanda now has a choice between pulling its troops out of the Kivus or watching its defense ministry get cut off from dollars, and M23 has to decide whether to keep fighting with its bank frozen. Source: Reuters, New York Times / Writer: Daniel

Obama’s aura isn’t large, it’s gravitational

Today, the United States makes good on President Trump’s promise to hold Rwanda accountable for its commitments under the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity. Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC.

A Cleveland pastor introduces her husband’s second wife to the congregation at Lifeworks Church in Cleveland, Ohio, yesterday.

Lil' legend too fire, he already got haters at 3 yrs old ☹️