The Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Union Ministry of Rural Development, will launch the second batch of Phase 2 of the National Geospatial Knowledge-Based Land Survey of Urban Habitations (NAKSHA) Capacity Building Programme on Monday. The week-long training will be held across four National Centres of Excellence to enhance the skills of Urban Local Body (ULB) and district-level officers in modern land survey techniques.
The programme will be virtually inaugurated by DoLR Secretary Manoj Joshi at 10:00 A.M. A total of 128 officers from 74 ULBs have been nominated for this round of training, which will take place at Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) Pune, Administrative Training Institute (ATI) Mysuru, Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA) Chandigarh, and the Northeast Region Centre of Excellence (Guwahati).
This follows the successful completion of Phase 1 and the first batch of Phase 2, which together trained over 300 Master Trainers and ULB officers. The training will focus on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Electronic Total Station (ETS) based surveying, Web-Geographic Information System (GIS) applications, land parcel mapping, and the legal and administrative frameworks governing urban land records.
The NAKSHA programme is a technology-driven initiative aimed at modernising urban land records. Launched as a pilot in 157 ULBs across 27 States and 3 Union Territories, it is being implemented by DoLR in collaboration with the Survey of India, National Informatics Centre Services (NICSI), Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation (MPSeDC), and five Centres of Excellence.
A tragic helicopter crash in Uttarakhand on Sunday morning claimed seven lives, including an infant and the pilot. The helicopter operating on the Kedarnath–Guptkashi sector, is believed to have crashed near the Gaurikund area between 5:30 and 5:45 AM due to poor weather conditions.
The aircraft had taken off from Guptkashi at 5:10 AM, landed briefly at Kedarnath at 5:18 AM, and departed again at 5:19 AM. Preliminary findings suggest that the accident may have been caused by Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT), as the helicopter flew into an area with low visibility and heavy cloud cover. A detailed investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is underway.
Rescue operations are being carried out by NDRF and SDRF teams at the crash site. Following the incident, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami convened a high-level emergency meeting with officials from the state government, DGCA, and Civil Aviation Ministry.
In response, Aryan Aviation’s operations for the Char Dham Yatra have been suspended immediately. Additionally, the licenses of two pilots from TransBharat Aviation, found flying in similarly unsuitable weather conditions, have been suspended for six months.
All helicopter operations in the region have been halted on June 15 and 16 as a precautionary measure. The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) has been directed to conduct a comprehensive safety review with all operators and establish a Command-and-Control Room for real-time monitoring of flights.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has emphasized that aviation safety is paramount, instructing DGCA to strictly enforce weather-related and operational protocols and ensure full compliance to prevent further tragedies.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
CAIRO, June 15 (Xinhua) — Egypt has postponed the long-awaited grand opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) due to the escalation of military confrontation between Israel and Iran, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference during a tour of the northern province of Beheira, Madbouly said the current regional climate was not conducive to hosting a major international event. The museum’s opening, originally scheduled for July 3, has now been postponed to the fourth quarter of this year.
“Tensions in the region could persist for several weeks,” Madbouly said. “We have concluded that the right decision is to postpone this major event so that it gains the right global momentum and takes place in the right atmosphere.”
He added that a new opening date will be announced depending on future developments in the region.
Madbouly also issued a stark warning about the wider implications of the Israeli-Iranian conflict, noting the growing risk of a wider confrontation in the Middle East.
Situated near the famous Giza pyramids and covering an area of almost 500,000 square meters, the Grand Egyptian Museum is considered the world’s largest archaeological museum dedicated to a single civilization. According to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, it will house some 57,000 artifacts. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TEHRAN, June 15 (Xinhua) — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a “large-scale combined offensive operation” against Israel late on Saturday, using a large number of missiles and drones, the IRGC’s official Sepah News reported.
The IRGC’s aerospace unit carried out the attack, saying it was in response to Israel’s “repeated aggression” against Iran, Sepah reported.
A rocket hit a residential building in a northern community in Israel, killing one woman and wounding 13 others, the national emergency medical service Magen David Adom reported. Several others were moderately and lightly wounded, and four were treated for anxiety, the service said.
Earlier in the day, Magen David Adom reported that at least three people had been killed and 204 others wounded since the Iranian offensive began.
Following the latest wave of attacks, Israel’s Home Front Command advised residents outside Haifa and areas in the north of the country to leave bomb shelters but remain near secure areas.
The Israeli military said its air defense systems were actively intercepting incoming projectiles while Israeli Air Force units were striking military targets in Tehran.
Iran’s Oil Ministry confirmed that two oil depots in Tehran were damaged in the attacks. Residents reported two powerful explosions in the capital that were felt in both western and northern areas. The ministry said the situation was under control.
Meanwhile, Jordan temporarily closed its airspace late on Saturday as a precaution following a rocket attack from Iran. The country’s Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission said the move was taken to ensure the safety of civil aviation.
The Iranian offensive was in response to Israeli airstrikes early Friday in Tehran and several other cities. Iranian officials said the Israeli strikes killed several senior military commanders, nuclear scientists and dozens of civilians. –0–
His Majesty King Mohammed VI has sent a message of condolence and compassion to the President of the Republic of India, Droupadi Murmu, following the crash of an Air India plane which caused multiple casualties.
In this message, His Majesty the King says that He was deeply saddened by the news of the Air India passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad, in which many people unfortunately lost their lives.
On this sad occasion, the Sovereign expresses His heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy to President Murmu, the grieving families and the people of India.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
His Majesty King Mohammed VI has sent a congratulatory message to HM King Charles III, Sovereign of the United Kingdom, on his birthday.
In this message, the Sovereign expresses His warmest congratulations and His wishes of good health and happiness to HM King Charles III, Her Majesty Queen Camilla and all members of the Royal Family, and of further progress and prosperity to the British people.
“I should like to thank this opportunity to commend the special, long-standing relations enjoyed by our two countries. I am sure Your Majesty shares my strong desire to consolidate and expand our ties in all sectors, for the mutual benefit of our peoples,” HM the King writes.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated the Proteas on their historic victory in the International Cricket Council’s Test Championship, after five-wicket win over Australia at Lord’s, England, on Saturday.
South Africa beat Australia on the fourth day, through a superb team effort at the home of cricket.
“Your win is a major boost for cricket in South Africa, and you have inspired a new generation of cricketers. I call on the nation to come and greet the Cricket World Champions when they arrive back in the country this week,” the President said in a statement on Saturday.
The President described the win as being built around excellent performances by the batsmen in the second innings.
There was the brilliant batting by Aiden Markram who scored 136 and the captain, Temba Bavuma with his 66 runs.
Their match-winning partnership was pivotal in the team’s success.
The bowlers, led by Kagiso Rabada, also kept the pressure on the Australian batsmen and never allowed them to dominate.
“Coach Shukri Conrad, captain Bavuma and the team have done South Africa proud. They started the match as underdogs but that indomitable spirit, that is a characteristic of our nation, carried the team through. The Proteas underlined the importance of being focussed on the field and triumphed,” the President said. –SAnews.gov.za
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, has welcomed the return of 249 South African troops who were deployed to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC).
The first group of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) heroes and heroines arrived at the Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria on Friday from Tanzania, following South Africa’s phased withdrawal from the regional peacekeeping mission.
“The idea of seeing our soldiers in good spirits and genuinely excited to be home not only speaks volumes of their unwavering patriotism but is also a powerful expression of their steadfast commitment to defend the territorial integrity of the Republic and support its people – a constitutional mandate every member of the South African National Defence Force lives and serves by,” Motshekga said.
The withdrawal of the soldiers was announced by the Minister in May, following a “high level consultation with several role-players in the peacekeeping efforts within the eastern DRC”.
Earlier this year, 14 troop members lost their lives and others sustained injuries during clashes with the M23 rebel group, as fighting in the Goma region escalated.
The rebel group fought intensely against the Congolese armed forces, resulting in the deaths of soldiers from 23 to 27 January 2025 during M23’s advance on Sake and Goma.
The South African soldiers were part of the SAMIDRC, which aims to help restore peace, security, and stability in Africa’s second-largest country.
Motshekga noted that part of the meticulous withdrawal process includes safe retrieval of all Prime Mission Equipment (PME), which is currently underway.
“As stated by the Chief of the SANDF during our last media briefing on this matter, we shall not leave even a pin behind. All necessary logistical support will continue until the withdrawal is fully completed.
“We are fully aware that half the work is done in terms Prime Mission Equipment movement, hence we are working around the clock with our counterparts in the region to ensure that the process runs expeditiously with minimal logistical risks,” the Minister said.
She assured the people of South Africa that government will continue to provide the latest developments as the process unfolds.
“Our main focus from now on is to prioritise their standard procedure of demobilisation. This will include crucial psychosocial sessions, after which they will return to their respective units and, thereafter, be reunited with their families,” the Minister said.
Motshekga reaffirmed South Africa’s continued commitment to a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Southern African region. –SAnews.gov.za
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 12, 2025) U.S. Navy Capt. Mark B. Stefanik, center, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2025 (PP-25), and Lt. j.g. Derek Chipmon, left, medical planner of PP-25, sit down with Breakfast at Fiji One broadcast show host Mr. Tevita Nawadra for an interview in Suva, Fiji, June 12, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 12, 2025) Lt. Corey Day, left, and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Mercedes Loor, both assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command, collect mosquito larvae for use in insecticide resistance testing in support of Dengue control efforts for the Fiji Ministry of Health & Medical Services in Suva, Fiji, June 12, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Courtesy Asset)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 12, 2025) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Mercedes Loor, assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command, works with an environmental health officer from the Fiji Ministry of Health & Medical Services to collect mosquito larvae for use in insecticide resistance testing in support of Dengue control efforts in Suva, Fiji, June 12, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Courtesy Asset)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
NADI, Fiji (June 11, 2025) U.S. Navy Musicians with the Pacific Fleet “Big Wave” Brass Band perform at St. Thomas High School during Pacific Partnership 2025 in Nadi, Fiji, June 11, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
NADI, Fiji (June 11, 2025) U.S. Navy Musicians with the Pacific Fleet “Big Wave” Brass Band perform at St. Thomas High School during Pacific Partnership 2025 in Nadi, Fiji, June 11, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 10, 2025) Capt. Mark B. Stefanik, right, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2025, and Lt. j.g. Derek Chipmon, medical planner of PP-25, observe the live production process at Breakfast at Fiji One radio show in Suva, Fiji, June 10, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
SUVA, Fiji (June 10, 2025) Capt. Mark B. Stefanik, right, mission commander of Pacific Partnership 2025, and Lt. j.g. Derek Chipmon, medical planner of PP-25, observe the live production process at Breakfast at Fiji One radio show in Suva, Fiji, June 10, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday visited an exhibition of local handicrafts and handloom products by Self Help Groups (SHG) and local entrepreneurs of the Ladakh region.
She interacted with artisans, women-led SHGs and local entrepreneurs showcasing traditional crafts, handloom textiles and sustainable innovations at their stalls.
The Finance Minister appreciated the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity of the artisans, highlighting their role in preserving cultural heritage and boosting rural livelihoods in the Union Territory.
The initiative is part of the Centre’s policy of inclusive development to empower women and local entrepreneurs and create more jobs.
The Finance Minister is on a four-day visit to Ladakh. She will chair a credit outreach programme emphasising the vital role of credit in promoting financial inclusion and economic development in the region.
Sitharaman is scheduled to interact with councillors of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and the Ladakh administration. She will also inaugurate various developmental projects during her tour.
The Modi government has succeeded in mobilising more than 10.04 crore women into over 90.76 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) nationwide to promote financial inclusion under the flagship Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) poverty alleviation scheme.
Over 52 crore loans worth Rs 32.61 lakh crore have been sanctioned under the PM Mudra Yojana for the poor, with the scheme having completed 10 years of its launch this year.
The scheme has led to the empowerment of women in small towns and villages, as nearly 70 per cent of Mudra loans have been availed by women entrepreneurs, enhancing their financial independence and contributing to gender equality.
In the last nine years, while per-woman PMMY disbursement amount increased by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 per cent to Rs 62,679, the per-woman incremental deposits increased by a CAGR of 14 per cent to Rs 95,269, data compiled by the Finance Ministry shows.
The IMF has also lauded the PM Mudra Yojana (PMMY), with a report of the UN arm stating that the scheme, which extends collateral-free loans with a special focus on women’s entrepreneurship, has helped boost the number of women-owned MSMEs, which now stands at more than 2.8 million.
The report said that an enabling policy environment for entrepreneurship through various programs, such as the PMMY is contributing to increased self-employment and formalisation through credit.
Secretary for Transport ＆ Logistics Mable Chan will begin a two-day duty visit to Shanghai tomorrow to promote Hong Kong’s strengths in maritime services to the Mainland shipping sector.
During the visit, Ms Chan will also inspect an automated port terminal to explore collaboration opportunities, and meet local government officials to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.
Ms Chan will return to Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon. During her absence, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau will be Acting Secretary for Transport & Logistics.
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
SUVA, Fiji – Pacific Partnership has returned to Fiji to conduct the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster response preparedness mission in the Indo-Pacific region, June 8, 2025.
Pacific Partnership fosters collaboration to enhance natural disaster response preparedness and builds lasting relationships between Fiji, the United States, and participating nations. Engagements for this year’s iteration will occur in the cities of Suva and Nadi.
At Fiji’s invitation, Pacific Partnership’s mission is to collaborate in several humanitarian and civic readiness workshops in areas such as engineering, natural disaster response, public health, and Fijian community outreach projects. This year’s mission, featuring about 58 personnel, is primarily a collective effort between Fiji, New Zealand and the United States.
“I am honored to oversee this year’s return of Pacific Partnership to the nation of Fiji,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Mark B. Stefanik, mission commander. “The continued opportunity to build upon our enduring relationship with the Fijian community further emphasizes a shared support of a free and resilient Indo-Pacific.”
While in Fiji, the Pacific Partnership 2025 team will focus on subject-matter exchanges and community education in permaculture, spearhead emergency preparedness and disaster response training, and conduct the foundational construction of a local schoolhouse. Additionally, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band, accompanied by members of the Scots Guard, Royal Australian and Royal Canadian navies, will perform during a variety of community outreach engagements.
“We really appreciate Fiji welcoming us for Pacific Partnership 2025,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Robert Gibson, Officer in Charge for the Fiji mission. “It’s awesome to be working alongside our Fijian counterparts, building a stronger, healthier, and more resilient Indo-Pacific together.”
Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific.
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
Issued by: on
NADI, Fiji (June 11, 2025) U.S. Navy Musician 1st Class Jonathan Starr, trumpetist with the Pacific Fleet “Big Wave” Brass Band, performs at St. Thomas High School during Pacific Partnership 2025 in Nadi, Fiji, June 11, 2025. Now in its 21st iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo- Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/Released)
War is good for business and geopolitical posturing.
Before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington in early February for his first visit to the US following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, he issued a bold statement on the strategic position of Israel.
“The decisions we made in the war [since 7 October 2023] have already changed the face of the Middle East,” he said.
“Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. But I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further.”
How should this redrawn map be assessed?
Hamas is bloodied but undefeated in Gaza. The territory lies in ruins, leaving its remaining population with barely any resources to rebuild. Death and starvation stalk everyone.
Hezbollah in Lebanon has suffered military defeats, been infiltrated by Israeli intelligence, and now faces few viable options for projecting power in the near future. Political elites speak of disarming Hezbollah, though whether this is realistic is another question.
Morocco, Bahrain and the UAE accounted for 12 percent of Israel’s record $14.8bn in arms sales in 2024 — up from just 3 percent the year before
In Yemen, the Houthis continue to attack Israel, but pose no existential threat.
Meanwhile, since the overthrow of dictator Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, Israel has attacked and threatened Syria, while the new government in Damascus is flirting with Israel in a possible bid for “normalisation“.
The Gulf states remain friendly with Israel, and little has changed in the last 20 months to alter this relationship.
According to Israel’s newly released arms sales figures for 2024, which reached a record $14.8bn, Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates accounted for 12 percent of total weapons sales — up from just 3 percent in 2023.
It is conceivable that Saudi Arabia will be coerced into signing a deal with Israel in the coming years, in exchange for arms and nuclear technology for the dictatorial kingdom.
An Israeli and US-assisted war against Iran began on Friday.
In the West Bank, Israel’s annexation plans are surging ahead with little more than weak European statements of concern. Israel’s plans for Greater Israel — vastly expanding its territorial reach — are well underway in Syria, Lebanon and beyond.
Shifting alliances On paper, Israel appears to be riding high, boasting military victories and vanquished enemies. And yet, many Israelis and pro-war Jews in the diaspora do not feel confident or buoyed by success.
Instead, there is an air of defeatism and insecurity, stemming from the belief that the war for Western public opinion has been lost — a sentiment reinforced by daily images of Israel’s campaign of deliberate mass destruction across the Gaza Strip.
What Israel craves and desperately needs is not simply military prowess, but legitimacy in the public domain. And this is sorely lacking across virtually every demographic worldwide.
It is why Israel is spending at least $150 million this year alone on “public diplomacy”.
Get ready for an army of influencers, wined and dined in Tel Aviv’s restaurants and bars, to sell the virtues of Israeli democracy. Even pro-Israel journalists are beginning to question how this money is being spent, wishing Israeli PR were more responsive and effective.
Today, Israeli Jews proudly back ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza in astoundingly high numbers. This reflects a Jewish supremacist mindset that is being fed a daily diet of extremist rhetoric in mainstream media.
There is arguably no other Western country with such a high proportion of racist, genocidal mania permeating public discourse.
According to a recent poll of Western European populations, Israel is viewed unfavourably in Germany, Denmark, France, Italy and Spain.
Very few in these countries support Israeli actions. Only between 13 and 21 percent hold a positive view of Israel, compared to 63-70 percent who do not.
The US-backed Pew Research Centre also released a global survey asking people in 24 countries about their views on Israel and Palestine. In 20 of the 24 nations, at least half of adults expressed a negative opinion of the Jewish state.
A deeper reckoning Beyond Israel’s image problems lies a deeper question: can it ever expect full acceptance in the Middle East?
Apart from kings, monarchs and elites from Dubai to Riyadh and Manama to Rabat, Israel’s vicious and genocidal actions since 7 October 2023 have rendered “normalisation” impossible with a state intent on building a Jewish theocracy that subjugates millions of Arabs indefinitely.
While it is true that most states in the region are undemocratic, with gross human rights abuses a daily reality, Israel has long claimed to be different — “the only democracy in the Middle East”.
But Israel’s entire political system, built with massive Western support and grounded in an unsustainable racial hierarchy, precludes it from ever being fully and formally integrated into the region.
The American journalist Murtaza Hussain, writing for the US outlet Drop Site News, recently published a perceptive essay on this very subject.
He argues that Israeli actions have been so vile and historically grave — comparable to other modern holocausts — that they cannot be forgotten or excused, especially as they are publicly carried out with the explicit goal of ethnically cleansing Palestine:
“This genocide has been a political and cultural turning point beyond which we cannot continue as before. I express that with resignation rather than satisfaction, as it means that many generations of suffering are ahead on all sides.
“Ultimately, the goal of Israel’s opponents must not be to replicate its crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, nor to indulge in nihilistic hatred for its own sake.
“People in the region and beyond should work to build connections with those Israelis who are committed opponents of their regime, and who are ready to cooperate in the generational task of building a new political architecture.”
The issue is not just Netanyahu and his government. All his likely successors hold similarly hardline views on Palestinian rights and self-determination.
The monumental task ahead lies in crafting an alternative to today’s toxic Jewish theocracy.
But this rebuilding must also take place in the West. Far too many Jews, conservatives and evangelical Christians continue to cling to the fantasy of eradicating, silencing or expelling Arabs from their land entirely.
Pushing back against this fascism is one of the most urgent generational tasks of our time.
War is good for business and geopolitical posturing.
Before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington in early February for his first visit to the US following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, he issued a bold statement on the strategic position of Israel.
“The decisions we made in the war [since 7 October 2023] have already changed the face of the Middle East,” he said.
“Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. But I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further.”
How should this redrawn map be assessed?
Hamas is bloodied but undefeated in Gaza. The territory lies in ruins, leaving its remaining population with barely any resources to rebuild. Death and starvation stalk everyone.
Hezbollah in Lebanon has suffered military defeats, been infiltrated by Israeli intelligence, and now faces few viable options for projecting power in the near future. Political elites speak of disarming Hezbollah, though whether this is realistic is another question.
Morocco, Bahrain and the UAE accounted for 12 percent of Israel’s record $14.8bn in arms sales in 2024 — up from just 3 percent the year before
In Yemen, the Houthis continue to attack Israel, but pose no existential threat.
Meanwhile, since the overthrow of dictator Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, Israel has attacked and threatened Syria, while the new government in Damascus is flirting with Israel in a possible bid for “normalisation“.
The Gulf states remain friendly with Israel, and little has changed in the last 20 months to alter this relationship.
According to Israel’s newly released arms sales figures for 2024, which reached a record $14.8bn, Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates accounted for 12 percent of total weapons sales — up from just 3 percent in 2023.
It is conceivable that Saudi Arabia will be coerced into signing a deal with Israel in the coming years, in exchange for arms and nuclear technology for the dictatorial kingdom.
An Israeli and US-assisted war against Iran began on Friday.
In the West Bank, Israel’s annexation plans are surging ahead with little more than weak European statements of concern. Israel’s plans for Greater Israel — vastly expanding its territorial reach — are well underway in Syria, Lebanon and beyond.
Shifting alliances On paper, Israel appears to be riding high, boasting military victories and vanquished enemies. And yet, many Israelis and pro-war Jews in the diaspora do not feel confident or buoyed by success.
Instead, there is an air of defeatism and insecurity, stemming from the belief that the war for Western public opinion has been lost — a sentiment reinforced by daily images of Israel’s campaign of deliberate mass destruction across the Gaza Strip.
What Israel craves and desperately needs is not simply military prowess, but legitimacy in the public domain. And this is sorely lacking across virtually every demographic worldwide.
It is why Israel is spending at least $150 million this year alone on “public diplomacy”.
Get ready for an army of influencers, wined and dined in Tel Aviv’s restaurants and bars, to sell the virtues of Israeli democracy. Even pro-Israel journalists are beginning to question how this money is being spent, wishing Israeli PR were more responsive and effective.
Today, Israeli Jews proudly back ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza in astoundingly high numbers. This reflects a Jewish supremacist mindset that is being fed a daily diet of extremist rhetoric in mainstream media.
There is arguably no other Western country with such a high proportion of racist, genocidal mania permeating public discourse.
According to a recent poll of Western European populations, Israel is viewed unfavourably in Germany, Denmark, France, Italy and Spain.
Very few in these countries support Israeli actions. Only between 13 and 21 percent hold a positive view of Israel, compared to 63-70 percent who do not.
The US-backed Pew Research Centre also released a global survey asking people in 24 countries about their views on Israel and Palestine. In 20 of the 24 nations, at least half of adults expressed a negative opinion of the Jewish state.
A deeper reckoning Beyond Israel’s image problems lies a deeper question: can it ever expect full acceptance in the Middle East?
Apart from kings, monarchs and elites from Dubai to Riyadh and Manama to Rabat, Israel’s vicious and genocidal actions since 7 October 2023 have rendered “normalisation” impossible with a state intent on building a Jewish theocracy that subjugates millions of Arabs indefinitely.
While it is true that most states in the region are undemocratic, with gross human rights abuses a daily reality, Israel has long claimed to be different — “the only democracy in the Middle East”.
But Israel’s entire political system, built with massive Western support and grounded in an unsustainable racial hierarchy, precludes it from ever being fully and formally integrated into the region.
The American journalist Murtaza Hussain, writing for the US outlet Drop Site News, recently published a perceptive essay on this very subject.
He argues that Israeli actions have been so vile and historically grave — comparable to other modern holocausts — that they cannot be forgotten or excused, especially as they are publicly carried out with the explicit goal of ethnically cleansing Palestine:
“This genocide has been a political and cultural turning point beyond which we cannot continue as before. I express that with resignation rather than satisfaction, as it means that many generations of suffering are ahead on all sides.
“Ultimately, the goal of Israel’s opponents must not be to replicate its crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, nor to indulge in nihilistic hatred for its own sake.
“People in the region and beyond should work to build connections with those Israelis who are committed opponents of their regime, and who are ready to cooperate in the generational task of building a new political architecture.”
The issue is not just Netanyahu and his government. All his likely successors hold similarly hardline views on Palestinian rights and self-determination.
The monumental task ahead lies in crafting an alternative to today’s toxic Jewish theocracy.
But this rebuilding must also take place in the West. Far too many Jews, conservatives and evangelical Christians continue to cling to the fantasy of eradicating, silencing or expelling Arabs from their land entirely.
Pushing back against this fascism is one of the most urgent generational tasks of our time.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kim Gurney, Senior Researcher, Centre for Humanities Research — Platform: SA-UK Bilateral Digital Humanities Chair in Culture & Technics, University of the Western Cape
Independent art spaces are collectives of artists (and others) who club together to set up a communal space – often in former industrial sites and more affordable parts of the city – to further their practice. These spaces are DIY art institutions, if you like, that operate largely under the radar. In art world lingo, “offspaces”.
Designed for purpose over profit, they encourage experimental work and creative risk-taking. They also favour art in public space, which provides an intriguing lens on the city.
My Africa-wideresearch took me to five such spaces, each at least 10 years old, so that I could learn their secret sauce of sustainability. I found it’s largely about shapeshifting, a capacity for constant reinvention. The key ingredient is artistic thinking, made up of five key principles highlighted in the examples below.
Offspaces are found everywhere but have notably grown across Africa over the past couple of decades, along with fast-changing cities and a resurgent art scene. One big picture point is crucial, and that’s about urbanisation. Globally, more and more people are moving to cities and most of them are young – by 2050, one in three young people in the world will be of African origin and the continent will be largely urban.
There can be a lack of imagination about what all this means and that’s where artists come in. They offer new ideas to help build the world we want to live in, rather than reinforce the one we already have.
Offspaces in Africa have to navigate prevailing uncertainty, which is a daily reality for most people living in cities. In response, artists band together to build their own pseudo institutions, bit by bit. These self-made pathways offer useful navigational tactics for others – or “panya routes”, as Kenyans call the trails that motorbike taxis invent.
The spaces I visited were all moving away from reliance on foreign donor funding (given little or no state support) towards a hybrid model that blends with local philanthropy, collaborative economies and self-generated income schemes. They also want to own their own land and hold assets so that they can think about the future.
1. The GoDown Arts Centre – Nairobi, Kenya
Murals at the former GoDown (2010), currently being rebuilt. Katy Fentress/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA
The GoDown Arts Centre was established in 2003. Previously a large compound of repurposed warehouses (“godowns”) in Nairobi’s industrial area, right now it’s a construction site as it morphs into an iconic cultural hub. GoDown 2.0 is a multipurpose vision that works at different scales, like a fractal. There will be a large, welcoming facade leading into a semi-public section for music and dance, with artist studios at the heart. Plus galleries, library, museum, auditorium, offices, hotel, a restaurant, conference facilities and parking.
Its rebuild is a great example of how artists create public space: in phases. It follows a radical “design-with-people” approach, starting with years of input from all directions to reconsider the building and its relationship to the city.
This ground-up ethos of horizontality, the first key principle, also shapes its signature event, an annual public arts festival called Nai Ni Who? (Who is Nairobi?). Local residents are the curators, and the everyday city is the artwork. Participants are taken around neighbourhoods on foot to experience the good, the bad, and the possibilities. These grounded insights also inform ongoing engagements GoDown has with policymakers about the shape of a future Nairobi.
2. ANO Institute – Accra, Ghana
ANO, established in 2002, repurposed a former workshop for car repairs into a gallery, after starting life in a public park. On the other side of the road, opposite the gallery, stood its office, residency space and growing library.
Most intriguingly, a striking rectilinear structure was positioned alongside. This Mobile Museum mimics the trading kiosks that line every street. Many are also shapeshifters: kindergarten by day, church by night, for example.
ANO’s empty museum, collapsible and see-through, went on a countrywide adventure in 2018 and 2019, asking people to imagine its contents, and later revisited with the results. It signalled a larger and ongoing effort, Future Museum, to find a more relevant exhibition form that’s alive to the fluid way culture is threaded here into everyday life.
ANO demonstrates the second principle of performativity – that is, not only saying things with art but doing things too. More recently, it rebuilt on a new site in central Accra, designed by 87-year-old Ophelia Akiwumi, entirely from raffia palm in a focus on indigenous knowledge systems.
3. Townhouse Gallery – Cairo, Egypt
I visited Townhouse just after it reclaimed its inner-city premises following a partial physical collapse. But this turned out to be a false restart. It closed for good not long after, citing a complex brew of factors that ended 21 years of various battles and resurrections. That it survived so long – from 1998 until 2019 – is remarkable for an offspace.
Part of the reason was its solidarity networks, including with neighbourhood communities – mostly mechanic shops and other artisanal trades who even helped Townhouse rebuild. In its heyday, Townhouse comprised an art gallery, library, theatre and performance venue, and notably hatched other spaces.
The latest rose like a phoenix from its ashes – Access Art Space, which reanimates the same physical space with visual art exhibitions. The legacy of Townhouse is the third principle of elasticity – responding nimbly to constant flux but also being able to refuse impossible conditions with “the right no” (a necessary response in certain situations).
4. ZOMA Museum – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ZOMA Museum has also lived many lives. Starting small, its roots were in a three-day public arts festival called Giziawi #1 (Temporary). It comprised performances and exhibitions across the city but focused on Meskel Square, a key public space.
Zoma Contemporary Art Centre grew out of that in 2002, followed in 2019 by Zoma Museum when its co-founders bought a plot of polluted land. Its rehabilitation into an ecological haven has become a case study in sustainable architecture.
Zoma is built by local artisans from mud and straw using indigenous technologies going back centuries. Yet its elegant buildings look futuristic. Zoma is all about the fourth principle of convergence – the past, present and future all happening at once. It’s also about doing multiple things, like running Zoma School, an inherited kindergarten. The land is part of the curriculum.
Just a year after it opened, Zoma spawned yet another life, an offshoot in a newly opened park blending nature with culture and recreation.
5. Nafasi Art Space – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Nafasi is Swahili for opportunity or chance, which fittingly describes the workings of Nafasi Art Space, established in 2008 – that is, second chance. This fifth and final principle of artistic thinking means giving materials, people and situations another go.
A good example of this is Nafasi’s new art school, built using repurposed shipping containers, like the rest of its premises – artist studios, a spacious gallery and performance arena. In the 2022 academy cohort, a general practice lawyer and an accountant were learning alongside artists, with a biologist at the helm.
Nafasi Art Academy cites the city’s biggest local market, Kariakoo, as design reference, particularly its distinctive elevated canopy and swirling stairwell. The curriculum also takes local context as a starting point, structured in themes to answer community-led questions. Its key function, like all the other offspaces, is storytelling. And the story it tells best is about institution-building as art.
The research behind this article was supported by the South African Research Chair in Urban Policy at UCT’s African Centre for Cities, where the author was previously affiliated.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kim Gurney, Senior Researcher, Centre for Humanities Research — Platform: SA-UK Bilateral Digital Humanities Chair in Culture & Technics, University of the Western Cape
Independent art spaces are collectives of artists (and others) who club together to set up a communal space – often in former industrial sites and more affordable parts of the city – to further their practice. These spaces are DIY art institutions, if you like, that operate largely under the radar. In art world lingo, “offspaces”.
Designed for purpose over profit, they encourage experimental work and creative risk-taking. They also favour art in public space, which provides an intriguing lens on the city.
My Africa-wideresearch took me to five such spaces, each at least 10 years old, so that I could learn their secret sauce of sustainability. I found it’s largely about shapeshifting, a capacity for constant reinvention. The key ingredient is artistic thinking, made up of five key principles highlighted in the examples below.
Offspaces are found everywhere but have notably grown across Africa over the past couple of decades, along with fast-changing cities and a resurgent art scene. One big picture point is crucial, and that’s about urbanisation. Globally, more and more people are moving to cities and most of them are young – by 2050, one in three young people in the world will be of African origin and the continent will be largely urban.
There can be a lack of imagination about what all this means and that’s where artists come in. They offer new ideas to help build the world we want to live in, rather than reinforce the one we already have.
Offspaces in Africa have to navigate prevailing uncertainty, which is a daily reality for most people living in cities. In response, artists band together to build their own pseudo institutions, bit by bit. These self-made pathways offer useful navigational tactics for others – or “panya routes”, as Kenyans call the trails that motorbike taxis invent.
The spaces I visited were all moving away from reliance on foreign donor funding (given little or no state support) towards a hybrid model that blends with local philanthropy, collaborative economies and self-generated income schemes. They also want to own their own land and hold assets so that they can think about the future.
1. The GoDown Arts Centre – Nairobi, Kenya
Murals at the former GoDown (2010), currently being rebuilt. Katy Fentress/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA
The GoDown Arts Centre was established in 2003. Previously a large compound of repurposed warehouses (“godowns”) in Nairobi’s industrial area, right now it’s a construction site as it morphs into an iconic cultural hub. GoDown 2.0 is a multipurpose vision that works at different scales, like a fractal. There will be a large, welcoming facade leading into a semi-public section for music and dance, with artist studios at the heart. Plus galleries, library, museum, auditorium, offices, hotel, a restaurant, conference facilities and parking.
Its rebuild is a great example of how artists create public space: in phases. It follows a radical “design-with-people” approach, starting with years of input from all directions to reconsider the building and its relationship to the city.
This ground-up ethos of horizontality, the first key principle, also shapes its signature event, an annual public arts festival called Nai Ni Who? (Who is Nairobi?). Local residents are the curators, and the everyday city is the artwork. Participants are taken around neighbourhoods on foot to experience the good, the bad, and the possibilities. These grounded insights also inform ongoing engagements GoDown has with policymakers about the shape of a future Nairobi.
2. ANO Institute – Accra, Ghana
ANO, established in 2002, repurposed a former workshop for car repairs into a gallery, after starting life in a public park. On the other side of the road, opposite the gallery, stood its office, residency space and growing library.
Most intriguingly, a striking rectilinear structure was positioned alongside. This Mobile Museum mimics the trading kiosks that line every street. Many are also shapeshifters: kindergarten by day, church by night, for example.
ANO’s empty museum, collapsible and see-through, went on a countrywide adventure in 2018 and 2019, asking people to imagine its contents, and later revisited with the results. It signalled a larger and ongoing effort, Future Museum, to find a more relevant exhibition form that’s alive to the fluid way culture is threaded here into everyday life.
ANO demonstrates the second principle of performativity – that is, not only saying things with art but doing things too. More recently, it rebuilt on a new site in central Accra, designed by 87-year-old Ophelia Akiwumi, entirely from raffia palm in a focus on indigenous knowledge systems.
3. Townhouse Gallery – Cairo, Egypt
I visited Townhouse just after it reclaimed its inner-city premises following a partial physical collapse. But this turned out to be a false restart. It closed for good not long after, citing a complex brew of factors that ended 21 years of various battles and resurrections. That it survived so long – from 1998 until 2019 – is remarkable for an offspace.
Part of the reason was its solidarity networks, including with neighbourhood communities – mostly mechanic shops and other artisanal trades who even helped Townhouse rebuild. In its heyday, Townhouse comprised an art gallery, library, theatre and performance venue, and notably hatched other spaces.
The latest rose like a phoenix from its ashes – Access Art Space, which reanimates the same physical space with visual art exhibitions. The legacy of Townhouse is the third principle of elasticity – responding nimbly to constant flux but also being able to refuse impossible conditions with “the right no” (a necessary response in certain situations).
4. ZOMA Museum – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ZOMA Museum has also lived many lives. Starting small, its roots were in a three-day public arts festival called Giziawi #1 (Temporary). It comprised performances and exhibitions across the city but focused on Meskel Square, a key public space.
Zoma Contemporary Art Centre grew out of that in 2002, followed in 2019 by Zoma Museum when its co-founders bought a plot of polluted land. Its rehabilitation into an ecological haven has become a case study in sustainable architecture.
Zoma is built by local artisans from mud and straw using indigenous technologies going back centuries. Yet its elegant buildings look futuristic. Zoma is all about the fourth principle of convergence – the past, present and future all happening at once. It’s also about doing multiple things, like running Zoma School, an inherited kindergarten. The land is part of the curriculum.
Just a year after it opened, Zoma spawned yet another life, an offshoot in a newly opened park blending nature with culture and recreation.
5. Nafasi Art Space – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Nafasi is Swahili for opportunity or chance, which fittingly describes the workings of Nafasi Art Space, established in 2008 – that is, second chance. This fifth and final principle of artistic thinking means giving materials, people and situations another go.
A good example of this is Nafasi’s new art school, built using repurposed shipping containers, like the rest of its premises – artist studios, a spacious gallery and performance arena. In the 2022 academy cohort, a general practice lawyer and an accountant were learning alongside artists, with a biologist at the helm.
Nafasi Art Academy cites the city’s biggest local market, Kariakoo, as design reference, particularly its distinctive elevated canopy and swirling stairwell. The curriculum also takes local context as a starting point, structured in themes to answer community-led questions. Its key function, like all the other offspaces, is storytelling. And the story it tells best is about institution-building as art.
The research behind this article was supported by the South African Research Chair in Urban Policy at UCT’s African Centre for Cities, where the author was previously affiliated.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Seth Asare Okyere, Visiting lecturer, University of Pittsburg and Adjunct Associate Professor, Osaka University, University of Pittsburgh
Africa’s urban future will be shaped not only by large cities and capitals but also by its many small and medium-sized towns.
Large capital cities are no longer the hotspots of rapid urban growth. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat), small and medium-sized towns are growing faster than large cities. These smaller towns often start as rural settlements.
Despite their rapid growth, many small towns lack infrastructure and planning capacity, leaving them vulnerable to environmental risks.
Ghana offers a telling example. While the spotlight is often on the rapid growth of the two major cities, Accra or Kumasi, dozens of smaller towns across the country are booming. At the same time, they are struggling with environmental problems such as decline in green spaces, flooding and pollution, usually associated with much larger cities.
Our research examined this issue, arguing that overlooking small towns has put them on an unsustainable path. In Ghana, small towns often “rest in the shadows” of bigger cities when it comes to resource distribution and development priorities. They receive less funding, fewer services, and scant regulatory oversight compared to major urban centres.
We conducted research in Somanya, Ghana. It lies in the eastern region, about 70km from Accra, the national capital. Our aim was to establish whether emerging sites of urbanisation like Somanya were developing in ways that made them sustainable, or replicating environmental problems seen in large cities.
To identify the drivers of environmental risks in the town, we used geographic information data and interviewed residents, institutional representatives and local assembly members.
We found that the urban growth of Somanya was linked with a decline in vegetation cover and loss of biodiversity. The main factors at play were: pollution from mining, political neglect, and lack of infrastructure facilities and services.
We concluded that current realities pointed towards unsustainable futures where environmental problems will become pronounced and the impacts on everyday life will be destructive. Based on our findings we recommend that Ghana’s national urban sustainable development policies and international development programmes must not fixate solely on big cities. Small towns require attention and investment commensurate with their growth.
Environmental risks in a rapidly growing small town
Somanya’s population grew from 88,000 people in 2010 to over 122,000 by 2021. The proportion of the municipality’s population living in urban areas jumped from 31% to 47% in that period.
Local leaders and officials we interviewed painted a worrying picture of a town rapidly growing without proactive environmental planning, grappling with multiple hazards at once.
Declining ecological resources: Rapid expansion has led to the loss of green spaces and forests around Somanya. Hillsides that used to be covered with vegetation have been cleared for large mango plantations or speculative estate development. This situation has made the area more prone to erosion and flash floods. One community elder observed:
The trees on the hills are almost all gone now. Without those natural buffers, flooding has become more frequent and severe, threatening homes built in low-lying areas.
Pollution and toxicity from industry: Somanya’s growth has attracted extractive industries, notably stone quarries and small-scale mining. These bring jobs, but also environmental hazards. Residents described clouds of dust hanging over communities near a quarry. There are also reports of chemical runoff polluting local streams and soil. Heavy dust and particulate pollution have become part of daily life, and people worry about the health effects. One resident said:
The dusty conditions are not only an infrastructure problem, but also an environmental risk for us, especially if you have underlying health conditions.
Strained and inadequate infrastructure: Basic environmental infrastructure in Somanya has not kept pace with its growth. The town’s drains and gutters are few and often clogged, so even moderate rainstorms result in street flooding. Proper sewage and waste treatment facilities are non-existent. Piles of uncollected refuse are commonly seen, sometimes burnt in the open, posing health risks. One community leader remarked that:
It is only when there’s a major flood or disaster outbreak that they pay us attention.
These infrastructure deficits mean that as the town grows, so do the environmental health risks – from water-borne diseases to flooding and pollution.
Governance lapses and political indifference: Underlying many of these problems is a sense of neglect and weak institutional capacity. Local authorities in Somanya operate with limited funding and fragmented responsibilities, and higher-level support from the central government is minimal. As an Assembly member put it:
We live in a constant state of perpetual waiting for the crumbs after big cities have taken their lion’s share of available funding. If you are not connected to the ruling party, it’s hard to get the support you need.
All these factors put small towns on a path to unsustainable futures.
Steering towards sustainable urban futures
Our research highlights the need to adopt a cross-sector, integrated approach to environmental planning at the local level. In practice, that means urban planners, environmental agencies, and community leaders all working together on development plans. For example, in Koa Hill settlement, Solomon Islands, a community-led development team with support from local groups and university experts led to the successful pilot of nature-inspired disaster risk reduction programmes.
Therefore, communities should be involved in co-designing solutions, from problem identification to experimenting strategies and evaluating outcomes. After all, residents know the local risks and resources best.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Seth Asare Okyere, Visiting lecturer, University of Pittsburg and Adjunct Associate Professor, Osaka University, University of Pittsburgh
Africa’s urban future will be shaped not only by large cities and capitals but also by its many small and medium-sized towns.
Large capital cities are no longer the hotspots of rapid urban growth. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat), small and medium-sized towns are growing faster than large cities. These smaller towns often start as rural settlements.
Despite their rapid growth, many small towns lack infrastructure and planning capacity, leaving them vulnerable to environmental risks.
Ghana offers a telling example. While the spotlight is often on the rapid growth of the two major cities, Accra or Kumasi, dozens of smaller towns across the country are booming. At the same time, they are struggling with environmental problems such as decline in green spaces, flooding and pollution, usually associated with much larger cities.
Our research examined this issue, arguing that overlooking small towns has put them on an unsustainable path. In Ghana, small towns often “rest in the shadows” of bigger cities when it comes to resource distribution and development priorities. They receive less funding, fewer services, and scant regulatory oversight compared to major urban centres.
We conducted research in Somanya, Ghana. It lies in the eastern region, about 70km from Accra, the national capital. Our aim was to establish whether emerging sites of urbanisation like Somanya were developing in ways that made them sustainable, or replicating environmental problems seen in large cities.
To identify the drivers of environmental risks in the town, we used geographic information data and interviewed residents, institutional representatives and local assembly members.
We found that the urban growth of Somanya was linked with a decline in vegetation cover and loss of biodiversity. The main factors at play were: pollution from mining, political neglect, and lack of infrastructure facilities and services.
We concluded that current realities pointed towards unsustainable futures where environmental problems will become pronounced and the impacts on everyday life will be destructive. Based on our findings we recommend that Ghana’s national urban sustainable development policies and international development programmes must not fixate solely on big cities. Small towns require attention and investment commensurate with their growth.
Environmental risks in a rapidly growing small town
Somanya’s population grew from 88,000 people in 2010 to over 122,000 by 2021. The proportion of the municipality’s population living in urban areas jumped from 31% to 47% in that period.
Local leaders and officials we interviewed painted a worrying picture of a town rapidly growing without proactive environmental planning, grappling with multiple hazards at once.
Declining ecological resources: Rapid expansion has led to the loss of green spaces and forests around Somanya. Hillsides that used to be covered with vegetation have been cleared for large mango plantations or speculative estate development. This situation has made the area more prone to erosion and flash floods. One community elder observed:
The trees on the hills are almost all gone now. Without those natural buffers, flooding has become more frequent and severe, threatening homes built in low-lying areas.
Pollution and toxicity from industry: Somanya’s growth has attracted extractive industries, notably stone quarries and small-scale mining. These bring jobs, but also environmental hazards. Residents described clouds of dust hanging over communities near a quarry. There are also reports of chemical runoff polluting local streams and soil. Heavy dust and particulate pollution have become part of daily life, and people worry about the health effects. One resident said:
The dusty conditions are not only an infrastructure problem, but also an environmental risk for us, especially if you have underlying health conditions.
Strained and inadequate infrastructure: Basic environmental infrastructure in Somanya has not kept pace with its growth. The town’s drains and gutters are few and often clogged, so even moderate rainstorms result in street flooding. Proper sewage and waste treatment facilities are non-existent. Piles of uncollected refuse are commonly seen, sometimes burnt in the open, posing health risks. One community leader remarked that:
It is only when there’s a major flood or disaster outbreak that they pay us attention.
These infrastructure deficits mean that as the town grows, so do the environmental health risks – from water-borne diseases to flooding and pollution.
Governance lapses and political indifference: Underlying many of these problems is a sense of neglect and weak institutional capacity. Local authorities in Somanya operate with limited funding and fragmented responsibilities, and higher-level support from the central government is minimal. As an Assembly member put it:
We live in a constant state of perpetual waiting for the crumbs after big cities have taken their lion’s share of available funding. If you are not connected to the ruling party, it’s hard to get the support you need.
All these factors put small towns on a path to unsustainable futures.
Steering towards sustainable urban futures
Our research highlights the need to adopt a cross-sector, integrated approach to environmental planning at the local level. In practice, that means urban planners, environmental agencies, and community leaders all working together on development plans. For example, in Koa Hill settlement, Solomon Islands, a community-led development team with support from local groups and university experts led to the successful pilot of nature-inspired disaster risk reduction programmes.
Therefore, communities should be involved in co-designing solutions, from problem identification to experimenting strategies and evaluating outcomes. After all, residents know the local risks and resources best.
– Small towns are growing fast across Ghana – but environmental planning isn’t keeping up – https://theconversation.com/small-towns-are-growing-fast-across-ghana-but-environmental-planning-isnt-keeping-up-257766
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kim Gurney, Senior Researcher, Centre for Humanities Research — Platform: SA-UK Bilateral Digital Humanities Chair in Culture & Technics, University of the Western Cape
Independent art spaces are collectives of artists (and others) who club together to set up a communal space – often in former industrial sites and more affordable parts of the city – to further their practice. These spaces are DIY art institutions, if you like, that operate largely under the radar. In art world lingo, “offspaces”.
Designed for purpose over profit, they encourage experimental work and creative risk-taking. They also favour art in public space, which provides an intriguing lens on the city.
My Africa-wideresearch took me to five such spaces, each at least 10 years old, so that I could learn their secret sauce of sustainability. I found it’s largely about shapeshifting, a capacity for constant reinvention. The key ingredient is artistic thinking, made up of five key principles highlighted in the examples below.
Offspaces are found everywhere but have notably grown across Africa over the past couple of decades, along with fast-changing cities and a resurgent art scene. One big picture point is crucial, and that’s about urbanisation. Globally, more and more people are moving to cities and most of them are young – by 2050, one in three young people in the world will be of African origin and the continent will be largely urban.
There can be a lack of imagination about what all this means and that’s where artists come in. They offer new ideas to help build the world we want to live in, rather than reinforce the one we already have.
Offspaces in Africa have to navigate prevailing uncertainty, which is a daily reality for most people living in cities. In response, artists band together to build their own pseudo institutions, bit by bit. These self-made pathways offer useful navigational tactics for others – or “panya routes”, as Kenyans call the trails that motorbike taxis invent.
The spaces I visited were all moving away from reliance on foreign donor funding (given little or no state support) towards a hybrid model that blends with local philanthropy, collaborative economies and self-generated income schemes. They also want to own their own land and hold assets so that they can think about the future.
1. The GoDown Arts Centre – Nairobi, Kenya
Murals at the former GoDown (2010), currently being rebuilt.Katy Fentress/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA
The GoDown Arts Centre was established in 2003. Previously a large compound of repurposed warehouses (“godowns”) in Nairobi’s industrial area, right now it’s a construction site as it morphs into an iconic cultural hub. GoDown 2.0 is a multipurpose vision that works at different scales, like a fractal. There will be a large, welcoming facade leading into a semi-public section for music and dance, with artist studios at the heart. Plus galleries, library, museum, auditorium, offices, hotel, a restaurant, conference facilities and parking.
Its rebuild is a great example of how artists create public space: in phases. It follows a radical “design-with-people” approach, starting with years of input from all directions to reconsider the building and its relationship to the city.
This ground-up ethos of horizontality, the first key principle, also shapes its signature event, an annual public arts festival called Nai Ni Who? (Who is Nairobi?). Local residents are the curators, and the everyday city is the artwork. Participants are taken around neighbourhoods on foot to experience the good, the bad, and the possibilities. These grounded insights also inform ongoing engagements GoDown has with policymakers about the shape of a future Nairobi.
2. ANO Institute – Accra, Ghana
ANO Institute’s Mobile Museum in Accra.Kim Gurney
ANO, established in 2002, repurposed a former workshop for car repairs into a gallery, after starting life in a public park. On the other side of the road, opposite the gallery, stood its office, residency space and growing library.
Most intriguingly, a striking rectilinear structure was positioned alongside. This Mobile Museum mimics the trading kiosks that line every street. Many are also shapeshifters: kindergarten by day, church by night, for example.
ANO’s empty museum, collapsible and see-through, went on a countrywide adventure in 2018 and 2019, asking people to imagine its contents, and later revisited with the results. It signalled a larger and ongoing effort, Future Museum, to find a more relevant exhibition form that’s alive to the fluid way culture is threaded here into everyday life.
ANO demonstrates the second principle of performativity – that is, not only saying things with art but doing things too. More recently, it rebuilt on a new site in central Accra, designed by 87-year-old Ophelia Akiwumi, entirely from raffia palm in a focus on indigenous knowledge systems.
3. Townhouse Gallery – Cairo, Egypt
Townhouse Gallery in 2019, exhibiting paintings by Imane Ibrahim.Kim Gurney
I visited Townhouse just after it reclaimed its inner-city premises following a partial physical collapse. But this turned out to be a false restart. It closed for good not long after, citing a complex brew of factors that ended 21 years of various battles and resurrections. That it survived so long – from 1998 until 2019 – is remarkable for an offspace.
Part of the reason was its solidarity networks, including with neighbourhood communities – mostly mechanic shops and other artisanal trades who even helped Townhouse rebuild. In its heyday, Townhouse comprised an art gallery, library, theatre and performance venue, and notably hatched other spaces.
The latest rose like a phoenix from its ashes – Access Art Space, which reanimates the same physical space with visual art exhibitions. The legacy of Townhouse is the third principle of elasticity – responding nimbly to constant flux but also being able to refuse impossible conditions with “the right no” (a necessary response in certain situations).
4. ZOMA Museum – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
One of Zoma Museum’s buildings crafted by local artisans using time-honoured building techniques.Kim Gurney
ZOMA Museum has also lived many lives. Starting small, its roots were in a three-day public arts festival called Giziawi #1 (Temporary). It comprised performances and exhibitions across the city but focused on Meskel Square, a key public space.
Zoma Contemporary Art Centre grew out of that in 2002, followed in 2019 by Zoma Museum when its co-founders bought a plot of polluted land. Its rehabilitation into an ecological haven has become a case study in sustainable architecture.
Zoma is built by local artisans from mud and straw using indigenous technologies going back centuries. Yet its elegant buildings look futuristic. Zoma is all about the fourth principle of convergence – the past, present and future all happening at once. It’s also about doing multiple things, like running Zoma School, an inherited kindergarten. The land is part of the curriculum.
Just a year after it opened, Zoma spawned yet another life, an offshoot in a newly opened park blending nature with culture and recreation.
5. Nafasi Art Space – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The classroom at Nafasi’s self-built art school in Dar es Salaam.Kim Gurney
Nafasi is Swahili for opportunity or chance, which fittingly describes the workings of Nafasi Art Space, established in 2008 – that is, second chance. This fifth and final principle of artistic thinking means giving materials, people and situations another go.
A good example of this is Nafasi’s new art school, built using repurposed shipping containers, like the rest of its premises – artist studios, a spacious gallery and performance arena. In the 2022 academy cohort, a general practice lawyer and an accountant were learning alongside artists, with a biologist at the helm.
Nafasi Art Academy cites the city’s biggest local market, Kariakoo, as design reference, particularly its distinctive elevated canopy and swirling stairwell. The curriculum also takes local context as a starting point, structured in themes to answer community-led questions. Its key function, like all the other offspaces, is storytelling. And the story it tells best is about institution-building as art.
– 5 indie art spaces in African cities worth knowing more about – https://theconversation.com/5-indie-art-spaces-in-african-cities-worth-knowing-more-about-258009
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
NEW DELHI, June 15 (Xinhua) — Seven people, including two children, a pilot and four male passengers, were killed when a private helicopter crashed in India’s northern Uttarakhand state early Sunday, a senior state government official said.
The helicopter, owned by private company Aryan Aviation, was flying from Kedarnath, a famous Hindu pilgrimage site, to Guptkashi district.
Kedarnath-Guptkashi is a 7km stretch of jungle. Television footage shows smoke billowing from the wreckage of a crashed helicopter.
Spokesman Vinay Shankar Pandey said: “As per initial reports and eyewitness accounts, there is no hope that anyone survived the crash.”
He added that teams from the National Disaster Response Force and the state disaster response force had been dispatched to the crash site. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) — An article by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on managing economic and social development based on medium- and long-term planning will be published on Monday.
The article by Xi Jinping, who is also the president of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will be published in the 12th issue of this year’s leading journal of the CPC Central Committee, Qiushi. -0-
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities could last for at least two weeks.
His timing seems precise for a reason. The Israel Defence Forces and the country’s intelligence agencies have clearly devised a methodical, step-by-step campaign.
Israeli forces initially focused on decapitating the Iranian military and scientific leadership and, just as importantly, destroying virtually all of Iran’s air defences.
Israeli aircraft can not only operate freely over Iranian air space now, they can refuel and deposit more special forces at key sites to enable precision bombing of targets and attacks on hidden or well-protected nuclear facilities.
In public statements since the start of the campaign, Netanyahu has highlighted two key aims: to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, and to encourage the Iranian people to overthrow the clerical regime.
With those two objectives in mind, how might the conflict end? Several broad scenarios are possible.
A return to negotiations
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was to have attended a sixth round of talks with his Iranian counterparts on Sunday aimed at a deal to replace the Iran nuclear agreement negotiated under the Obama administration in 2015. Trump withdrew from that agreement during his first term in 2018, despite Iran’s apparent compliance to that point.
Netanyahu was opposed to the 2015 agreement and has indicated he does not believe Iran is serious about a replacement.
So, accepting negotiations as an outcome of the Israeli bombing campaign would be a massive climbdown by Netanyahu. He wants to use the defanging of Iran to reestablish his security credentials after the Hamas attacks of October 2023.
Even though Trump continues to press Iran to accept a deal, negotiations are off the table for now. Trump won’t be able to persuade Netanyahu to stop the bombing campaign to restart negotiations.
Complete destruction of Iran’s nuclear program
Destruction of Iran’s nuclear program would involve destroying all known sites, including the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, about 100 kilometres south of Tehran.
According to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, the facility is located about half a mile underground, beneath a mountain. It is probably beyond the reach of even the US’ 2,000-pound deep penetration bombs.
The entrances and ventilation shafts of the facility could be closed by causing landslides. But that would be a temporary solution.
Taking out Fordow entirely would require an Israeli special forces attack. This is certainly possible, given Israel’s success in getting operatives into Iran to date. But questions would remain about how extensively the facility could be damaged and then how quickly it could be rebuilt.
And destruction of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges – used to enrich uranium to create a bomb – would be only one step in dismantling its program.
Israel would also have to secure or eliminate Iran’s stock of uranium already enriched to 60% purity. This is sufficient for up to ten nuclear bombs if enriched to the weapons-grade 90% purity.
But does Israeli intelligence know where that stock is?
Collapse of the Iranian regime
Collapse of the Iranian regime is certainly possible, particularly given Israel’s removal of Iran’s most senior military leaders since its attacks began on Friday, including the heads of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian armed forces.
And anti-regime demonstrations over the years, most recently the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests after the death in police custody of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in 2022, have shown how unpopular the regime is.
That said, the regime has survived many challenges since coming to power in 1979, including war with Iraq in the 1980s and massive sanctions. It has developed remarkably efficient security systems that have enabled it to remain in place.
Another uncertainty at this stage is whether Israeli attacks on civilian targets might engender a “rally round the flag” movement among Iranians.
Netanyahu said in recent days that Israel had indications the remaining senior regime figures were packing their bags in preparation for fleeing the country. But he gave no evidence.
A major party joins the fight
Could the US become involved in the fighting?
This can’t be ruled out. Iran’s UN ambassador directly accused the US of assisting Israel with its strikes.
That is almost certainly true, given the close intelligence sharing between the US and Israel. Moreover, senior Republicans, such as Senator Lindsey Graham, have called on Trump to order US forces to help Israel “finish the job”.
Trump would probably be loath to do this, particularly given his criticism of the “forever wars” of previous US administrations. But if Iran or pro-Iranian forces were to strike a US base or military asset in the region, pressure would mount on Trump to retaliate.
Another factor is that Trump probably wants the war to end as quickly as possible. His administration will be aware the longer a conflict drags on, the more likely unforeseen factors will arise.
Could Russia become involved on Iran’s side? At this stage that’s probably unlikely. Russia did not intervene in Syria late last year to try to protect the collapsing Assad regime. And Russia has plenty on its plate with the war in Ukraine.
Russia criticised the Israeli attack when it started, but appears not to have taken any action to help Iran defend itself.
And could regional powers such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates become involved?
Though they have a substantial arsenal of US military equipment, the two countries have no interest in becoming caught up in the conflict. The Gulf Arab monarchies have engaged in a rapprochement with Iran in recent years after decades of outright hostility. Nobody would want to put this at risk.
Uncertainties predominate
We don’t know the extent of Iran’s arsenal of missiles and rockets. In its initial retaliation to Israel’s strikes, Iran has been able to partially overwhelm Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system, causing civilian casualties.
If it can continue to do this, causing more civilian casualties, Israelis already unhappy with Netanyahu over the Gaza war might start to question his wisdom in starting another conflict.
But we are nowhere near that point. Though it’s too early for reliable opinion polling, most Israelis almost certainly applaud Netanyahu’s action so far to cripple Iran’s nuclear program. In addition, Netanyahu has threatened to make Tehran “burn” if Iran deliberately targets Israeli civilians.
We can be confident that Iran does not have any surprises in store. Israel has severely weakened its proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas. They are clearly in no position to assist Iran through diversionary attacks.
The big question will be what comes after the war. Iran will almost certainly withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and forbid more inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel will probably be able to destroy Iran’s existing nuclear facilities, but it’s only a question of when – not if – Iran will reconstitute them.
This means the likelihood of Iran trying to secure a nuclear bomb in order to deter future Israeli attacks will be much higher. And the region will remain in a precarious place.
Ian Parmeter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with its partners, organized a National Tobacco Control Conference on 13 June at the National Confederation of Eritrean Workers Hall under the theme “Unmasking the Appeal – Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products.”
Dr. Andebrhan Tesfatsion, Acting Director General of Public Health, emphasized that tobacco and other addictive products are major contributors to non-communicable diseases. He underlined the need for coordinated efforts to raise public awareness and implement practical preventive measures.
Dr. Nonso Ejiofor, WHO Representative in Eritrea, urged society, especially parents, to take responsibility in educating youth about the severe consequences of tobacco use.
During the panel discussion, four research papers were presented, focusing on the National Strategy for Implementing Effective Tobacco Control Measures and the Implementation Status of Proclamation 143/2004, along with awareness-raising activities.
Participants held extensive discussions on the presented issues and adopted several recommendations.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.
