In the most recent of the country’s recent rail accidents, a passenger train derailed in western Egypt, killing at least three people and injuring 94 others, according to authorities.
The train slammed on Saturday as it headed for Cairo’s capital from Matrouh, a province in the western Mediterranean, according to railway officials, who issued a statement.
Two of its wagons slammed into the tracks, leaving only one more.
The Health Ministry provided a detailed list of deaths and injuries, and 30 ambulances were dispatched to transport injured people to hospitals.
According to a statement from the railroad authorities, an investigation is currently being conducted to determine the accident’s cause.
The location of a passenger train accident in Matrouh, Egypt, on August 31, 2025, is depicted in this video.
Egypt’s ageing railway system, which has also been plagued by mismanagement, has a high rate of train accidents and derailments.
At least one person was killed and several others were hurt when a train crashed into the tail of a Cairo-bound passenger train in southern Egypt last October.
At least 32 people died and more than 100 were hurt in a collision between two trains in southern Egypt in 2021, which resulted in the deaths of at least 32 people and injuries.
Relief workers carried out a massive rescue operation in eastern Pakistan, reporting that nearly half a million people had been displaced by flooding after days of heavy rain had swollen rivers.
More than 2,300 villages have been affected by the swollen transboundary rivers that pass through Punjab province, which borders India.
The Punjab government’s relief services, led by Nabeel Javed, announced on Saturday that 481 000 people had been evacuated along with 405 000 livestock and that 481 000 had been stranded by the floods.
More than 1.5 million people, including those in Lahore, the provincial capital and the second-largest city, have been affected by the flooding overall.
At a press conference, Irfan Ali Khan, the provincial’s director of disaster management, said, “This is the biggest rescue operation in Punjab’s history.”
He claimed that more than 800 boats and 1,300 rescuers were evacuating families from the affected areas, the majority of which were rural areas close to the three rivers.
He claimed that there have been 30 fatalities in the most recent monsoon flooding since the start of the week, with hundreds more still missing throughout the heavier-than-usual season that started in June.
“No one is unattended with their lives,” the statement read. According to Khan, “every kind of rescue effort is still going on.”
Families and their livestock can now find shelter in more than 500 relief camps. Difficulty families gathered in a school in the impoverished town of Shahdara, which is near Lahore, after fleeing their homes’ rising water.
More than 400 Pakistanis were killed in just a few days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the only province held by the opposition to the federal government, in the course of a matter of days as a result of torrential rain on the other side of the nation.
As the Global Sumud Flotilla prepares to leave for Gaza from Barcelona, activists addressed the media and urged the region to receive urgent food and supplies. Diffusion of boats and “deliberate denial of basic survival needs” has been reported by Greta Thunberg in her report.
Pierre-Francois Lardet, a French journalist-turned-entrepreneur, traveled to Nicaragua in 1909 with the intention of making a beverage there that he had tasted.
Banania was born in August 1914, five years later.
France was at war when the chocolate-flavored banana powder beverage arrived.
A Black soldier in a red fez-clad mascot from the following year first appeared on an advertising poster.
On the front lines of Europe, Africa, and Anatolia during World War One, 200 000 African soldiers fought for France. They were originally from West and Central Africa’s French colonies. Many people were compelled to recruit.
On the Banania poster, the African soldier wore a signature red fez and resembled Senegalese Tirailleurs (riflemen). Because its initial recruits from Senegal were the first ones to join this military corps, which was established in 1857, it was given the name.
For their bravery, the tirailleurs were renowned. They served in World War One (1914) and later in the colonial wars in West and Central Africa. They served in France, North Africa, and the Middle East during World War II (1939-1945). During the First World War, there were at least 30 000 tirailleurs killed, and an estimated 8 000 died in the Second.
Banania’s tirailleur is smiling, seated by his side, with a bowl of the powdered drink in hand, and a rifle on the grass. His exaggerated smile and facial features resemble racial stereotypes that were prevalent in the time and in shoe polish, soap, and chocolate advertisements.
The poster’s slogan, “Y’a bon,” which means “C’est bon” (this is good) in French, was used to promote the racist caricature of the cheerful but simple African. The Y’a bon friend, or “L’ami Y’a bon,” was used as the company’s mascot.
Lardet’s Mascot tapped into a sense of pride and patriotism in the midst of World War One. According to Sandrine Lemaire, a historian and co-author of several books on French colonization, it also helped to promote public acceptance of African soldiers who were fighting on French soil. Banania was not the only one. Through propaganda, postcards, and news articles, the French government attempted to use images that depict the loyalty and military traits of France’s African soldiers.
First World War: The Refugees of Senegalese Rifles. The inspiration for Banania’s first mascot, [Roger Viollet via Getty Images], came from these soldiers.
During a 2010 discussion about Banania and colonial oppression, Pap Ndiaye, a politician and historian, claimed that “the tirailleur was an opportunistic advertising invention from Lardet… which made the consumption of Banania a quasi-patriotic act.
Banania was promoted through mascot-themed children’s comics. In one, he travels back to France and presents two boxes of Banania to Africans in loinclothes. He travels to the West Indies, the Canary Islands, and French colonial Indochina to establish banana plantations in an illustrated booklet published in 1933.
“In the 20s, 30s, 40s, Banania was everywhere. In a 2014 documentary about Banania, branding expert Jean Watin-Augouard argued that there were touchpoints throughout the industry: “it had touchpoints in every domain, including notebooks, packaging, promotional items, and cinema.”
Production at Banania tripled between the late 1930s and the early 1950s, according to the only book about Banania’s history that was published. Before Nesquik entered the market in the 1960s, these were Banania’s golden years.
According to Etienne Achille, associate professor of French and Francophone studies at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, the mascot, which appeared in advertisements, packaging, and collectible items like toys, was popular throughout the 20th century because it reinforced French people’s pride in their colonial empire and their “subjects'” contribution to the war effort.
A 1979 Tour de France sign and a Renault Estafette with Banania branding [Creative Commons]
Decolonization has left a mark on the continent.
However, Banania was also shattered by decolonization as the French colonies in Africa fought for and gained independence in the 1950s and early 1960s.
With its slogan and stereotypical mascot, Banania has grown to be synonymous with racism and colonialism. The tirailleur embodies the injustice that anti-colonial movements have condemned as being a result of soldiers’ forced engagements in France.
In a 1948 poem dedicated to the tirailleurs, Leopold Sedar Senghor, who became Senegal’s first president in 1960, declared, “I will tear up the Banania smiles from all the walls of France.”
In his 1952 book Black Skin, White Masks, Martinique-born philosopher-psychiatrist Frantz Fanon made a number of references to “Y’a bon Banania” to illustrate how racist tropes are used to depict Black people in France.
The mascot remained, though with updates, despite the criticisms.
A brown triangular face with cartoon eyes and a red rectangular hat on a yellow background was introduced in 1967 as advertising promoted modern, aspirational lifestyles. However, the phrase was withdrawn in 1977.
Some brand-owned products featured a cartoonish child’s face in the 1980s and 1990s, while others retained the mascot.
[Clement Girardot/Al Jazeera] The “grandson” of the original tirailleur adorns contemporary packaging.
A new mascot, the “grandson” of the 1915 tirailleur, was unveiled in 2004 after Banania was sold to French company Nutrial under the name Nutrimaine, who, according to Nutrimaine, represented diversity and the successful integration of migrant communities into French society. His ecstatic smile, white teeth, and red fez weren’t all that dissimilar from his predecessor’s, though.
The French brand never relinquished its position of dominance in the final decades of the 20th century, and it kept losing ground to rivals like Nesquik. It struggled financially as millennials lost interest in it.
To save the business, they had to go back to the brand’s golden era. Returning to the emblem was the only option available. Few companies have such a strong brand identity,” Achille remarked. The idea of superposition is effectively explored in this revitalized version. You immediately recall the old tirailleur when you see it.
The website Grioo.com, an online platform for the French-speaking Black community in Europe and Africa, also gained readers and activists’ attention. Can we accept that we are still represented as we were a generation ago, 90 years? Grioo launched an online petition against Banania in response to its readers.
Awatif Bentahar, a graphic designer, redesigned the packaging for a beverage from her childhood.
Heritage that is “Horrible”
The “grandson” still smiles on Banania boxes in French supermarkets more than 20 years later.
Banania’s marketing, in the eyes of Achille, epitomizes France’s lack of public discussion of colonialism and postcolonial racism. Only the complete insertion of the colonial into popular culture can explain why Banania can continue to operate impunity, he said. This would not be possible in other nations.
Nutrimaine’s spokesperson declined to comment on this article.
Awatif Bentahar, 37, was a child who occasionally drank Banania and saw it on the shelves of supermarkets. She claims that the business hasn’t understood how a large portion of the population can be harmed by their heritage.
The French “children of immigrants” are aware of the agonizing history of colonization and the struggle we wage today to be respected in a society that cannot help but make references to our status as “different” French.
Bentahar wants to see Banania develop as a French woman of Moroccan descent. She removed the mascot and incorporated playful eyes and a smile as a personal project, and she made alternative decolonized packaging.
“I tried to rebrand Banania because I really like the concept of what it could be, not because I hate it. She wrote on her blog that “brands are a part of our lives, whether or not we like it.”
For a change, I’d like to see this one being on the positive side of history. “This one happened to be from my childhood.
This article is included in the series “Ordinary items, extraordinary stories,” which explores the surprising happenings that surround well-known items.  ,
Read the entire series’ more:
How the bouncy castle’s creator saved lives
How a well-known Peruvian soft drink and Coca-Cola “toe-toe” went.
How a drowning victim turned into a hero for life
How a father’s love and pandemic led to the development of a household name
Barcelona, Spain – In the main hall of one of Spain’s oldest labor unions, the , UGT, a registration center for foreign volunteers who fought fascism during the Spanish Civil War, volunteers from all over the world gathered to pay homage.
The nonviolent international volunteers who support Palestine, support activists, journalists, and politicians who will sail on the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza on Sunday have been trained by the organization.
“We are not heroes,” he said. The story is not ours. Before the ships set sail, organiser Thiago Avila, a lifelong supporter of Palestine and environmental justice, addressed the crowds for a press conference. “The story is the people of Gaza.
Their goal is to provide humanitarian aid, which is the only cargo on board, and to establish a humanitarian corridor for Palestinians who are facing Israeli starvation and assassination.
More than 63, 000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in less than two years of conflict, with tens of thousands more still being injured and missing.
sailing into the unknown
Around 26 000 applications from all over the world were received, and the hundreds were narrowed down. The roughly 100 flotilla boats will be used for this purpose.
The flotilla will begin in Barcelona before heading to Tunisia, where additional vessels will be on Thursday to join it.
It will converge with more boats leaving Italy and other undisclosed ports once more, and they will sail together in formation to the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s air strikes and ground forces, as well as a man-made famine that it has imposed, are all known to be deadly against them, according to the organizers.
Israeli forces have been attempting to intercept or attack all freedom flotillas to Gaza since 2010.
The ship Madleen was illegally intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters in the region of 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Gaza, where Israel has no authority. Greta Thunberg, a climate activist, was on its crew, and they were arrested or expelled.
Israeli commandos stormed the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in Mediterranean waters in 2010 carrying more than 600 passengers and humanitarian aid.
Several people were hurt and 10 activists were killed by the commandos.
Israel thwarted several attempts in 2025, including the Conscience, which was struck twice by drones 25 kilometers (14 nautical miles) off Malta, in 2011, 2015, 2018, and 2018.
The Global March to Gaza, a previous land-based effort, set out in June to deliver aid to Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Many of those volunteers have since moved to Tunisia to gather ships for the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera facilitated training and panel discussions centered on the non-violent nature of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
determined volunteers
Delegations from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, and the United States were a part of the Barcelona gathering, which reflected a sizable international audience.
The volunteers, some of whom have served on multiple flotillas, are focused on achieving their collective goal of removing Israel’s occupation of Gaza and providing aid to its citizens.
In Barcelona, intensive training sessions were held to prepare participants for situations like interception in international waters, arrest, detention, deportation, violent assault, or bureaucratic tactics to halt boat departures.
However, they’re putting nonviolence back into any of these situations as the foundation of their preparation, which the organizers repeatedly highlighted and warned against breaking that principle.
Every volunteer has a strict code of conduct that, throughout the mission, will reject oppressive and exploitation systems.
From Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership in India’s independence movement to Rosa Parks’ defiance of racial segregation, workshops covered the history of nonviolent struggle.
Luna Valentina, a 24-year-old Colombian volunteer, was one of the participants. She has lived in exile herself after being targeted in Colombia for her activism against the right-wing former president Ivan Duque and is married to a Palestinian refugee.
The flotilla [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera] will include Colombian activist Luna Valentina, 24, who is currently living in exile in Jordan.
She told Al Jazeera that the couple, who had faced racism in Europe, now reside in Jordan.
Valentina traveled to Rafah along with other Colombians during the Global March to Gaza. She recalled the support, strength, and care she found among Colombian female activists who will support the mission from land and those who will now sail with her.
getting ready to sail
As the countdown for their departure drew near, a three-day celebration of the volunteers and their work began on Barcelona’s Moll de la Fusta, a port walkway.
As the crowds gathered for a festival of music, culture, and art to show their support for the Palestinians in Gaza and the volunteers of the flotilla, drums filled the air, hundreds of Palestinian flags fluttering, and crowds gathered, it was a warm outpouring of support.
Everyone is hoping that Israel’s blockade of entering Gaza’s coast will be met with humanitarian aid.
This flotilla continues a legacy for Avila, the father of a young child: “We cannot leave a world like this because of the love we have with our daughter. He told Al Jazeera, “We must change the society that allows a genocide to occur.”
“With every child in Gaza that passes away, I think anyone who is not dead inside dies a little bit,” he said.
An Australian mother of four who has also joined the flotilla shared that view. No one should live and perish like this, she said in a sour voice. Everyone is deserving of the same respect and freedom.
[Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera] Thiago Avila speaks during a training session for the Sumud Flotilla crew.
After confirming that their prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sanaa, along with several other ministers, Yemen’s Houthis have pledged “vengeance” against Israel. Hamdah Salhut, a journalist for Al Jazeera, explains.
![Luna Valentina [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/576A6746-1756632046.jpg?w=696&ssl=1)
