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Daily Maverick
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
The pernicious association of coups d'etat as somehow unique to Africa
The word 'coup' has been dropped into the political lexicon of South Africa. The public lexicon, that is… The word, now dropped in public, seems to have provided grist to the mill of Afro-pessimists and those self-assured people who would insist that certain societies are 'not ready for democracy'. During a media briefing on SA's national security strategy for 2024-28, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni raised the spectre of a coup as part of the deliberations of the security community in government. 'One of the risks is the risk of a coup d'état. There is a potential risk of a coup d'état. We have identified it and put measures [in place] to mitigate against it,' Ntshavheni said. A few things may be discussed about this public statement, and about the idea of coups d'etat. One stand-out thing is that it is somehow an African thing (and it could not possibly be part of the European world with its deep history of democracy) – which simply cranks up the music for those who dance on South Africa's grave. Another, more important issue and potentially dangerous, is a type of stochastic messaging sent out by Minister Ntshavheni and the equally dangerous suggestion that the topic should be avoided. Let us start with the Europe-is-good-and-great notion, and that Africa is prone to coups d'etat. None of what follows justifies or even suggests that coups are necessary. It is, also, not a judgement call on 'good' or 'bad' coups… The mis-education about coups d'etat and democracy in Africa and Europe There is a quite wilful and pernicious association of coups d'etat with Africa as somehow unique to the continent, starting, as it usually does, by ripping it from the multiplicity of contexts that shape post-independence democracy on the continent. Consider the view of Abu-Bakarr Jalloh, an editor from Sierra Leone with the German news service, Deutsche Welle: 'The year 2021 went down in history as the year when military coups returned to Africa. In just a few months, the African continent witnessed dozens of coups and attempted coups in Mali, Guinea, Sudan and Chad. So far, 2022 has been no different. Last week, a military junta took power in Burkina Faso. For people who were around in the '60s, '70s and '80s — the heyday of coups across the continent — it feels a bit like déjà vu.' That last sentence bites. Given, especially, that it comes from a European news platform – as if the rise of the far-right and Nazism in Europe is not 'a bit like déjà vu'. European history of the past 100 years (at least) is pocked by attempted, planned, or actual coups and self-replacement – which basically refers to coups in which the leaders put themselves back in office. Over less than 100 years (since the Spartacus League's attempt to overthrow the Social Democrat-led government in 1919), Germany has had at least 10 coups or attempted/planned coups. The word does, indeed, weigh like ironwood on the imagination of Afropessimists, flagrant racists, Africans in the belly of the beast (paying for their national board and lodging), and those apparently sophisticated types who would have for decades insisted that some societies are not ready for democracy – and have to be saved from themselves. This 'not ready for democracy' claim was reproduced about Russia by (predictably) the Washington Post, and raised in discussions hosted by Eurasianet – a news service that covers the South Caucasus and Central Asia. It is thrown about, mainly in the West, with reference to Iran, and for most of the post-war period, there has been a to-and-fro over Africa's apparent incompatibility with democracy. There is nothing apophenic about seeing a pattern in all of this. Hint: It's always about the enemies of the West. Almost always, actually. There are among us Africans, too, who would have us believe that democracy tends to fail in Africa, as Aribiah David Attoe, of Wits University, wrote last year – as if democracy is one thing and one thing only. Let's set aside, for now, just what democracy actually is in the life world of people, and whether it is usually stable and progressive. A very cursory look at Europe shows that that continent, too (never mind Jolloh's suggestion that Africa is synonymous with coups d'etat), has had very many coups – at least over the past 100 years. There have, for instance, been at least 10 actual or attempted coups d'etat in Spain over the past 100 years – since the removal of Primo de Rivera on 15 September 1923. Early in the last century, Austria had a handful of attempted coups or 'self-removals' – and that famous July Putsch of 1934. French settlers in Algeria staged a putsch of the generals to prevent Algerian independence, because the settlers claimed that Algeria was part of France. Let's turn to Greece, which provides a segue to democracy, where we are reminded of extended periods of dictatorial rule over the course of the 20th century, most notably by the 4th of August Metaxas regime and the 21st of April military junta of 1967. That country which 'gave the world democracy' has been through about 19 coups d'etat in the 20th century. There is no need to look very far for evidence. Consider this; over four years (between 1924 and 1928), Greece, the purported birthplace of modern democracy, went through 10 prime ministers; two presidents were deposed and one resigned, with 'numerous military coups' – the most brutal of which was that of Theodoros Pangalos. The dude installed himself. It helps, then, to have a more complete appreciation for the extent of military coups around the world, including the civilised Europeans and their centuries of democracy and freedom, when compared with Africa's barely seven decades of independence – with the multiplicity of conditionalities and lingering chains to the European metropoles, how these have constrained democracy on the continent, and limited the abilities of African countries ' to make policy decisions and … ownership of national development strategies '. The dangers of stochastic messaging Minister Ntshavheni does not get away with her statement easily. The problem with what seemed like an honest and open statement about the likelihood or the real or actual threat of a coup in South Africa is that it is somewhat of a stochastic messaging which, in lay terms, puts ideas in the heads of the populists who were behind the violence and destruction of July 2021. Now, we should be careful. The state can choose to never mention the word 'coup', and leave it underground, so to speak. Or reference can be made to it in public. There's a downside to both. Let's get some definitional stuff out of the way. There is a danger, always, of messaging that works through suggestion or implication as opposed to explicit directives. Donald Trump's speech on 6 January 2021 is a good example of stochastic messaging, and has been described as ' ambiguously inciting '. At Trump's 'Stop the Steal' rally, before an armed crowd stormed the US legislature, he gave a speech urging the crowd to 'fight like hell'. Julius Malema is a better example. Malema has, on various occasions, said things (like) 'we are revolutionaries; revolutionaries are prepared to fight; revolutionaries are prepared to shed blood', and at some point he brandished a firearm. To his audience and followers who feel aggrieved and who believe they have been stripped of 'economic freedom', voice and/or access to power, all these statements may amount to an exhortation to violence – without Malema actually telling people to go and destroy things or shoot people. I am not a great supporter of censorship. I have always contested censorship, and I have the emotional, mental and physical scars to prove it. Kinda. I do, however, accept that there may be times when the state cannot share information with the public because any such exposure may jeopardise policy or bargaining processes, or, for example, throw a spanner in the works of criminal investigations. At best, government officials, or anyone for that matter, ought to know that words matter, and in the case of South Africa, there was a spike in sales of magnifying glasses and fine-tooth combs after 27 April 1994. And, the people behind the July 2021 unrest may pose an actual (or imagined) threat to the state. They ought to know, also, that context modulates the influence of action; we live in a period of increased public dissatisfaction; increased distrust in the ability of the state to provide the definitive of public goods, security and protection of the public; and the idealistic populism (not all populism is bad) led by ethno-nationalists of a particular kind, tribalists and nativists, and political leaders bearing grudges. In this multiplicity of contexts, of loose lips, when do you criminalise public statements or public incitement? Acts of violence and destruction, and liability for public statements, rest heavier on the state/government than they do on political parties or individuals in public. That the government's security community has investigated all threats to the state (actual or perceived) is necessarily a good thing. That a Cabinet minister has come out and mentioned the likelihood or possibility (not probability) of a coup d'etat is up for discussion. What is necessary, at the least, is to shake off those terrible confirmation biases and prejudices; notions that Africa is the home of coups d'etat; or that Africans are not ready for, or are 'too immature' for democracy. Democracy is not stable, nor static. For the record, states that claim to have been democracies for centuries have dark sides that they would prefer to conceal. varying degrees of 'democratic backsliding' in as many as 40 countries around the world – including the United States. DM
Telegraph
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Car crashes into first floor after hitting trampoline
A car veered off a road at high speed and struck a trampoline in a German town, seriously injuring a boy playing on it. In a bizarre accident, the vehicle left the road in the town of Bohmte, western Germany, on Saturday evening before colliding with another vehicle and tearing through a hedge. The car, said to be a Volvo SUV, hit a trampoline and embedded itself in the roof of a barn in a low-lying garden, Deutsche Welle, the German broadcaster, said. A 43-year-old female passenger and a seven-year-old boy, who had been playing on the trampoline at the time, were seriously injured. The boy was said to be in a critical condition in hospital. Pictures from the scene showed scattered debris and a twisted but intact trampoline. The car appears to have already been airborne when it hit the trampoline, due to the difference in height between the road and the lower-lying garden. It is understood it could not have bounced off the trampoline due to its weight. Volvo SUVs vary by model, but can weight between 1,600kg and 3,400kg (1.6 to 3.4 tons). 'There was a massive clatter and we just thought: 'Help! What has happened?'' a resident of Bohmte told Deutsche Welle. 'Then we ran outside and saw the car in the roof.' Another resident, Daniela Viss, told TV7 News: 'I heard this massive crash and thought: 'Holy cow, what just happened?' We rushed outside and saw the car stuck in the roof. The mother was just screaming. My boyfriend called the ambulance and police right away.' Olga Folik, a third resident, told German newspaper Focus: 'I went over to the neighbour's house; an ambulance was already there. I only saw the fence and the garden destroyed. And the car stuck in the barn on the second floor. I just thought, how can something like that happen?' She suggested that all the children involved in the car accident know each other and have previously played together. The car driver is said to be a 42-year-old man who was carrying three boys – aged 11, 12 and 13 – in the back seats. The driver and all three boys sustained only light injuries. Several dozen emergency service workers were sent to the crash scene, including 12 ambulance crews and two helicopters, Deutsche Welle reported. 'This is clearly an extraordinary deployment,' a fire bridgade spokesman said. It remains unclear what exactly caused the accident, but investigators ruled out drink-drinking after taking blood samples from the driver.
Middle East Eye
15-07-2025
- Middle East Eye
CNN crew attacked by Israeli settlers while reporting in occupied West Bank
CNN's Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond says he and his team were attacked by Israeli settlers while reporting in the occupied West Bank this week. Diamond had travelled to the area to interview the father of 20-year-old Saif Musallet, an American-Palestinian citizen and one of two Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers on Friday. 'As we were covering this story, my team & I were attacked by Israeli settlers. The back window of our vehicle was smashed, but we managed to escape unharmed,' he posted on X. He added: 'This is just a sliver of the reality many Palestinians face in the West Bank amid rising settler violence. Earlier this month two journalists from the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) were attacked by Israeli settlers while reporting in the occupied West Bank. The correspondent and cameraman came under assault in the Palestinian village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. They were covering a planned protest against mounting settler violence when a group of settlers hurled stones at them and chased them from the scene.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Doctors Are Warning That Ozempic's Severe Side Effects May Outweigh Its Benefits
As weight loss jabs like Ozempic and Wegovy become ever more popular, doctors are growing increasingly concerned about their gnarly side effects. As Germany's Deutsche Welle notes, people who take glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist/receptors, the class of drugs that the popular shots fall under, have reported everything from stomach issues and vision changes to erectile dysfunction and even suicide. Though clinical trials for these kinds of drugs didn't report tons of adverse effects, King's College London physician Penny Ward explained in an interview with DW that real-world patients will often experience more — and more disparate — side effects after trials have concluded. "Rarer side effects may emerge as more patients take these medicines in clinical practice, simply as a result of the much larger number of people treated than were included in the clinical development trials," the doctor noted. "This is why we continue to monitor the safety of medicines on the market." In the few years since GLP-1s have flooded the market, changed American food consumption, and utterly upended the weight loss industry, a handful of studies have looked into some of their scarier side effects — and their results aren't exactly inspiring. Last summer, Harvard researchers revealed a troubling link between semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a condition that blocks blood flow to the eyes and can cause blindness. In that study, people with diabetes who take semaglutide were found to be four times more likely to develop NAION than the average person — and although there are some complicating factors, that's nothing to scoff at. More recently, doctors at Washington University in St. Louis found that people who take GLP-1s have increased rates of kidney problems and pancreatitis — a disorder that the United Kingdom's medical regulator has, separately, begun investigating. While there's tons of studies into the constellation of health benefits these drugs can have outside of weight loss, there hasn't been as much research into their of adverse effects — and what's already out there might not represent the full population of people who take them. Though women make up an estimated 65 percent of GLP-1 users in the United States, per the healthcare market analysis group Real Chemistry, there have only been a few studies that take into account how different genders respond to the drugs. According to Karolina Skibicka, a neuroendocrinologist from the University of Calgary in Canada, that's a problem. "We need studies which include women," Skibicka told DW. "Women show unique side-effects to many pharmacotherapies, and still [in] most studies women are often underrepresented at various stages of testing." Though the Canadian neuroendocrinologist still believes that the "list of benefits for this drug, if taken as prescribed, is still significantly longer and more impactful than risks," doctors and patients alike need to be able to make that cost-benefit analysis together. And without sufficient study into risks, that analysis is skewed in the favor of high-grossing drug manufacturers — which is bad news for the people who may bear the brunt of these potentially serious side effects. More on Ozempic: Something Comically Bad Just Happened to the Inventor of Ozempic
Middle East Eye
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israeli settlers attack German journalists reporting on West Bank violence
Two journalists from the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) were attacked by Israeli settlers while reporting in the occupied West Bank, the outlet said on Saturday. The correspondent and cameraman came under assault on Friday in the Palestinian village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. They were covering a planned protest against mounting settler violence when a group of settlers hurled stones at them and chased them from the scene. The DW crew managed to escape without physical injury, but the cameraman's vehicle was severely damaged. According to DW, other international journalists present during the attack were also forced to flee after coming under a barrage of stones. DW director Peter Limbourg condemned the assault, calling for immediate accountability. "This attack cannot be justified by anything, and we demand quite clearly: the Israeli government must guarantee the safety of all journalists in the West Bank," he said in a statement. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Israel's military, which oversees security in the West Bank, did not initially comment. A spokesperson later said the incident would be reviewed. 'Israel's systematic assassination of Palestinian reporters' Attacks on journalists in the occupied West Bank are not new. In May, at least 13 reporters were injured during assaults by both Israeli forces and settlers. In one instance, a journalist was struck in the head with a stick by settlers while covering an attack in Al-Mughayyir village, east of Ramallah. The journalist lost consciousness and was taken to a medical centre in Ramallah. Western media enabling Gaza genocide and rewriting history, say experts Read More » In that same attack, six journalists suffered temporary asphyxiation after Israeli troops fired tear gas during a raid in Nablus. Another six were reportedly affected by tear gas in Bethlehem during clashes. The latest attacks comes as Israel continues to target and kill journalists in Gaza. In June a Palestinian photojournalist was killed in an Israeli air strike on western Gaza City. The Government Media Office confirmed the death of Ismail Abu Hatab, bringing the number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 228. In a statement, the office denounced 'Israel's systematic assassination of Palestinian reporters in Gaza' and urged media and rights organisations to 'condemn these systematic crimes against Gaza journalists.' Since 7 October 2023, settler violence in the occupied West Bank has sharply escalated. Armed settlers—often carrying rifles, clubs and stones—have raided Palestinian villages, torching homes, vehicles and farmland, often with the backing of the Israeli army. Roughly three million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, alongside more than 700,000 Israeli settlers residing in over 200 settlements, including in East Jerusalem. These settlements are considered illegal under international law.
