Redi Tlhabi examines the DRC’s ongoing conflict and its potential effects on regional stability.
Political instabilities, armed conflict, and humanitarian crises have plagued the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for several decades. At least 7, 000 people have been killed and millions have been displaced in the country due to a resurgence of violence in recent months.
Goma, a city in a strategic, mineral-rich province, was under the control of M23 rebels, an armed group supported by Rwanda.
Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, has denied involvement in the conflict.
What does the DRC have in store for them then? Will the conflict between Rwanda and the DRC ever come to an end?
Is artificial intelligence beyond its capabilities and out of control? Author and activist Cory Doctorow speaks with Redi Tlhabi.
Elon Musk’s rise to power in the United States, according to critics, is an example of how powerful Big Tech is getting, and it might threaten democracy.
How significant is Big Tech’s influence on US politics now that Donald Trump is on his side in the White House and as concerns grow about monopolies restricting free speech? Is it a reinvention?
Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza – For the third consecutive day, Hassan Saad, 38, and hundreds of others took to the streets in Beit Lahiya, demanding an end to their suffering and a halt to the war on Gaza.
Saad is one of the protest coordinators, working with 14 others who he says came together spontaneously to organise the demonstrations.
The main trigger, Saad explains, was a Facebook discussion after new Israeli eviction orders were issued last Monday.
“The nightmare of displacement once again was the primary reason that pushed us to do something to demand an end to the war on Gaza,” Saad told Al Jazeera by phone from Beit Lahiya on Thursday.
“The idea of taking to the streets in protests, holding signs calling for an immediate end to the war, was born.”
Saad was forced to flee Beit Lahiya two months into Israel’s war on Gaza. On January 27, when hundreds of thousands of displaced residents were allowed back to northern Gaza, he returned to the rubble of his home.
Going back to bombings and eviction notices from the Israeli army was more than the Facebook group’s members could bear, Saad added.
He attributes the response to the sense of abandonment felt by Palestinians, as the world, in his words, has left them to face displacement, starvation, killing, bombardment, and arrests alone.
On Tuesday, videos began to appear on social media of hundreds of people in Gaza, particularly in Beit Lahiya, chanting against the war and calling for Hamas to step down.
‘We raise our children, only to lose them’
The demand for Hamas to relinquish power was not an official goal, Saad clarified, rather, the call came spontaneously from protesters.
“It’s difficult to control people’s opinions during protests, especially when they are exhausted and deeply frustrated,” Saad added.
“The people’s demands stem from an unbearable reality … If ending the war requires Hamas to step aside, then so be it.”
However, Saad added, he rejects any political exploitation of the protests to attack Hamas and the Palestinian resistance.
“Whether we agree or disagree with Hamas, they’re ultimately part of our people … They’re not from another planet,” he added.
Commenting on the protests, Hamas Political Bureau member Basem Naim said on Facebook: “Everyone has the right to cry out in pain and raise their voice against the aggression against our people and the betrayal of our nation.
“Whether our people have taken to the streets or not, we are part of them and they are part of us,” he continued, denouncing any exploitation of the situation, “whether to advance dubious political agendas or to deflect responsibility from the criminal aggressor, the occupation and its army.”
Hisham al-Barawi protested in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, on March 26, 2025 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash, Al Jazeera]
As images of the demonstrations in Beit Lahiya circulated, commentators inside and outside Gaza offered differing interpretations.
Some see them as a natural expression of the majority’s demands – an end to Israel’s war of extermination against Gaza.
Others focused on the call for Hamas to relinquish control of the Strip and allow a restructuring to facilitate an end to the war.
Munthir al-Hayek, Gaza spokesperson for Fatah – Hamas’s political rival that dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA) – wrote on Facebook, urging Hamas to “heed the people’s voice” and step down, enabling the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization to assume responsibility.
On the Israeli side, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee expressed support for the protests, framing them as wholly anti-Hamas.
In Gaza, these varying framings have sown confusion about the demonstrations’ motivations, but organisers – and al-Barawi – insist that the core demand is ending the war.
Hisham al-Barawi, 52, a protest participant, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that, contrary to media claims, they were not “led” into the streets by any external forces.
“We’re here to say: ‘enough oppression and death.’ Every two years, we go through wars. We raise our children for years, only to lose them.
“We build our homes, only for them to be bombed in seconds. We’re exhausted … we’re only human!” al-Barawi shouted.
“Hamas … we do not hate them. But I call on them to step down. Their 18 years of rule were filled with wars and escalations. We want to live in peace.”
Mahmoud Jihad Al-Haj Ahmed, 34, a doctor at Kamal Adwan Hospital, joins the protest calls for an end to the war on March 26, 2025 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash, Al Jazeera]
‘We just want to live’
Marching near al-Barawi was Mahmoud Jihad al-Haj Ahmed, 34, a doctor at Kamal Adwan Hospital.
“Our protests are independent. We want the war to stop. We refuse to have our lives gambled with any further,” he said.
“We need humanitarian aid. We need border crossings to open. We need a dignified life.”
Al-Haj Ahmed recounted Israel killing his parents and sister, but he did not have time to grieve as his work at the hospital consumed him until the day the Israeli army forced everyone inside to leave.
“We have so many children and youngsters who are amputees … so many wounded people who need to travel for treatment, but they’re blocked from leaving,” he said.
“It’s dire.”
Regarding the calls for Hamas to relinquish power, al-Haj Ahmed said that if Hamas stepping down would alleviate people’s suffering, he would support that without hesitation.
“This requires prioritising the greater public interest. The suffering is unbearable,” he said.
Saed Falafel, 60, a resident of Beit Lahiya, takes part in the protest on March 26, 2025 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
“I believe the solution is a completely independent local administration with no political affiliations to govern Gaza and lead us out of this crisis.
“I urge our brothers in Hamas to give others a chance to govern Gaza. The next leadership does not have to be against Hamas, we have many competent national figures who can manage the Strip.”
Saed Falafel, 60, has also been protesting, demanding an end to Israel’s war.
“We want to live. That is our main demand,” Saed said.
“If you walk through Gaza’s markets, you wouldn’t find a single tomato or egg. We’re starving and being killed in every way possible. Within a week, we will be in the grip of a major famine.
“We have no interest in being anyone’s enemies. We are civilians who just want to live in peace and have a life worth living. We want a solution to this catastrophe.
“Anyone in the world with an ounce of humanity and compassion would feel our pain. Act now to help us.
Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, will be charged with fraud next week after allegedly failing to report income to the tax office in Spain.
The 65-year-old Italian is accused of costing Spain’s Treasury more than $1.1 million in unreported earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015 and is being sought after receiving a four-year and nine-month jail sentence.
A court spokesman said on Friday that the trial will begin on Wednesday and will likely last two days.
Ancelotti, who has won a record five Champions League titles, including three with Real Madrid, must be present, the spokesman added.
Even though he claimed to be a tax resident in Spain and claimed his place of residence was in Madrid, the prosecution accuses him of only declaring the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid in his tax returns for those two years.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly starting a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to stifle his extra income from both his image rights and those of others, including real estate.
According to the prosecution, Ancelotti made $ 3.33 million in 2014 from the sale of his image rights, and $ 3.19 million in 2015.
Kylian Mbappe, a superstar from France, was added by Angelo Ancelotti to his Real Madrid squad that won the LaLiga and the Champions League last year.
Ancelotti was ordered to go on trial for the affair in Spain in 2023, but there was no date set.
When asked about the case, Angelotti claimed last year that the affair was “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon.”
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being hired by Bayern Munich the following year.
The former international midfielder from Italy, who won the European Cup twice with AC Milan before making his Real Madrid debut in 2021.
Along with his success in the Champions League, he has also won domestic titles with Real Madrid and Milan, Chelsea in England, Bayern Munich in Germany, and Paris Saint-Germain in France.
In recent years, Spain has taken action against notable football players who have not made their dues.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both admitted tax evasion and received first-time offender waivers from prison sentences.
After entering a guilty plea for tax fraud in 2019, former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was given a one-year suspended sentence.
In order to settle a tax fraud case and avoid trial, Colombian superstar artist Shakira in 2023 agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and pay $ 7.86 million in fines.
A multi-story building was leveled by an Israeli air attack in Beirut on video. After Hezbollah was charged with firing rockets, Israel’s military detonated a number of bombs on Friday in the capital of Lebanon.
Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters and family have staged rallies all over the country to celebrate his 80th birthday and protest his arrest in The Hague on suspicion of crimes against humanity for his notorious drug use.
Police in Manila, where they were parked next to the Philippine presidential palace, on Friday, told the AFP news agency that they had surrounded a convoy of at least 100 motorcycle riders carrying signs that read “Bring Him Home.”
In one of the more than 200 birthday celebrations in the southern city of Davao, thousands of the ex-president’s supporters gathered in a candle-lit rally demanding his release.
According to 44-year-old supporter Darbie Bula, “Almost all Filipinos love him and are very sad for him right now.”
His eldest daughter, Sara Duterte, a vice president of the Philippines, has been in The Hague since March 11 when he was arrested, and she described how the support “makes the challenges he is facing today more bearable.”
Numerous calls for Duterte’s release abound outside the detention center in The Hague.
According to organiser Aldwin Villarta, “We hope that he will be back in the Philippines as soon as possible.” He doesn’t appear to have a case to respond, he said. He’s doing this, in my opinion, is unfair.
The client was informed of the events in Davao and The Hague, according to Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s lead defense attorney, who spoke to AFP.
He expressed his happiness at the supporters’ overwhelming support for this significant birthday, and he said via email that we will work to make sure he will celebrate their upcoming engagements.
Before his scheduled September 23 court appearance, Duterte will have to wait six months inside the United Nations Scheveningen facility.
He will be able to contest the allegations and have them confirmed during the court hearing.
Duterte is accused of a crime against humanity for his years-long anti-drug and dealer campaign, which human rights groups claimed claimed claimed claimed to have resulted in up to 30 000 deaths.
