African Whistle

10/15/2026

NewYorkers, you have the right to in your language! You may bring an interpreter to the voting booth.

New York City Civic Engagement Commission will have interpreters in select languages and poll sites on October 30 (Yiddish only), October 31, November 1, and on Election Day, November 3.
Visit on.nyc.gov/vla to learn more!

10/15/2026

NewYorkers! With the launch of a new cycle of The People’s Money, NYC’s citywide participatory budgeting process.

All New Yorkers age 11 and up, regardless of immigration status, can decide how to spend part of the city budget in their borough by submitting ideas for community projects.

Visit on.nyc.gov/pb to submit an idea or find an upcoming Idea Generation Workshop near you!

10/15/2026

NewYorkers! The New York City Civic Engagement Commission has announced that a new cycle of The People’s Money, NYC’s citywide participatory budgeting process, has officially begun!

Interestingly For the fifth year, New Yorkers can decide how to spend $4 million of the City budget by submitting ideas for community projects.

Visit on.nyc.gov/pb to submit an idea or find an upcoming Idea Generation Workshop near you!

Visit the online voting site for NYC’s citywide participatory budgeting process to help decide how city funds are spent on resident-proposed projects.

10/14/2026

Navi Pillay Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize has sparked controversy after it was awarded to Navi Pillay, a former United Nations human rights chief who led an inquiry that concluded Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

Pillay, an 85-year-old South African jurist who grew up under apartheid, was honoured for her decades of work defending human rights and promoting international justice.

Her achievements include defending Nelson Mandela and chairing a 2025 United Nations commission of inquiry into the occupied Palestinian territory.

According to the Nobel Committee, Pillay has demonstrated how international law can help prevent war and violence.

However, the award has drawn sharp criticism from Israel and US President Donald Trump.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the decision, describing it as a misuse of the Nobel Peace Prize to promote what it called anti-Israel hatred and prejudice.

The 2025 United Nations inquiry found that statements by Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, and Isaac Herzog provided grounds to establish genocidal intent.

The report also recommended that the International Criminal Court consider adding genocide charges to its arrest warrants against Israeli officials.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump strongly criticised Pillay’s Nobel victory, describing it as disgraceful and an indelible stain on Norway.

Speaking at a rally in Syracuse, New York, on October 9, Trump argued that he deserved the award for his efforts to resolve international conflicts.

He cited the Abraham Accords and his involvement in efforts concerning Russia, Ukraine, and Iran, claiming he had settled eight wars.

In another major development, hours after the Nobel announcement, the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on the International Criminal Court, where Pillay previously served as a judge.

Pillay herself responded with humour when colleagues informed her of the award. She jokingly said that, as a lawyer and judge, she still wanted to verify whether the news was true.

She also joked that she might share the prize with Trump if the applause continued long enough.

10/11/2026

TRUMP CALL FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF ZELENSKYY

US President Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to get a new president, accusing Volodymyr Zelenskyy of repeatedly missing opportunities to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.

Speaking on Saturday, Trump said Ukraine needed a leader who could reach a peace deal with Moscow.

He claimed Zelenskyy had several opportunities to end the conflict but failed to take them.

“I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump said.

The US president also insisted that the war would never have started if he had been in office at the time.

Trump further criticized Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, particularly oil refineries.

He warned that strikes on fuel facilities could worsen global diesel shortages and drive up costs for American farmers and ranchers.

According to Trump, his administration had urged Ukraine to avoid targeting diesel supplies because of concerns about fuel shortages.

On Friday, Trump announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to purchase diesel from Russia, in a move aimed at addressing rising fuel prices ahead of the US midterm elections.

However, the reported deal has drawn criticism from Ukrainian and European officials, who argue that buying Russian fuel would help finance Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Meanwhile, diesel prices have surged amid disruptions to global oil supplies, particularly difficulties transporting oil from the Middle East since the start of the Iran war.

With Trump calling for a change in Ukraine’s leadership and criticizing Kyiv’s military strategy, tensions over how to end the war continue to grow.

Do you think a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is possible under the current circumstances? Share your thoughts in the comments.

10/04/2026

A 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO GROW UP… AND HER KILLER HAS NOW BEEN EXECUTED.

Jeremy Williams has been put to death for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of little Kamarie Holland.

In December 2021, Williams paid Kamarie’s mother $2,500 for access to her daughter. He took the innocent 5-year-old to an abandoned house in Phenix City, Alabama, where prosecutors said he assaulted and strangled her before leaving her body under a tarp.

A jury convicted him of multiple counts of capital murder.

Before his ex*****on, Williams said he wanted to thank God for forgiving his sins so he could meet Him in peace.

But the prosecutor had a chilling response:

“That baby didn’t die in peace.”

Williams waived his appeals and was executed in 2026.

Authorities also said he had confessed to killing his infant daughter in Alaska and sexually assaulting other young children.

Kamarie was only five years old. She should have had a lifetime ahead of her.

10/01/2026

Terrifying moment as Pilot Allegedly Tries to Crash Israel-Bound Plane

Chaos erupted at 30,000 feet after a pilot allegedly stabbed his co-pilot and appeared to try to crash the aircraft.

The shocking incident happened aboard a Flydubai flight travelling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the pilot attacked his co-pilot and then tried to disable the aircraft’s controls.

Passengers described scenes of panic as the plane suddenly descended about 17,000 feet in just two minutes.

One passenger, Yaniv Hayoun, said he and others heard screaming and felt the aircraft rapidly losing altitude.

The passengers then forced their way into the cockpit, where they reportedly found the attacker at the controls.

Hayoun said he grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold and dragged him away from the instruments.

He also said the attacker appeared to be trying to destroy the controls and disable the plane.

As other passengers struggled with the attacker, Hayoun said he grabbed the controls and pulled them in the direction he had seen on television, before other crew members took over.

The injured co-pilot was identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar.

Despite being seriously wounded, Machchhar reportedly managed to make an emergency call, open the cockpit door and help passengers and crew members overpower the attacker.

Netanyahu credited the pilot and the passengers with helping prevent what could have been a catastrophic disaster involving 174 people onboard.

The aircraft was eventually forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The two pilots were injured, but the other passengers were reported safe.

The pilot accused of carrying out the stabbing was questioned by Saudi authorities, while Israel said a joint investigation would be conducted.

So far, authorities have not confirmed what motivated the apparent attack.

The passengers later arrived safely in Israel on a replacement aircraft, about eight hours after the emergency landing.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has praised the courage of the crew and passengers who helped bring the terrifying situation under control.

09/30/2026

50-Year-Old Woman’s Ex*****on Halted Just One Hour Before Death

A US appeals court has halted the ex*****on of 50-year-old Christa Pike, just about an hour before she was due to be put to death by lethal injection.

The ex*****on would have made Tennessee the first US state to execute a woman in more than 200 years.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a classmate at a job training camp for young people.

Pike was just 18 at the time of the killing.

The case attracted national attention after Slemmer’s body was found with a pentagram carved into her chest.

Pike’s lawyers have argued that she suffered childhood sexual abuse and serious mental health problems, and that these factors should be considered before carrying out the ex*****on.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has now ordered a temporary stay while it reviews whether allegations of childhood sexual abuse were fully considered.

The US Supreme Court had rejected Pike’s request for a stay just one day earlier.

Pike was the only woman on Tennessee’s death row and had been scheduled to die at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

UN human rights experts had also called for the ex*****on to be stopped, citing Pike’s history of abuse and nearly three decades on death row.

The latest court ruling means her ex*****on will not go ahead as scheduled while the appeals court reviews the case.

09/22/2026

TOP US MEDIA REACT TO TRUMP BAN
In an extraordinary move, major US television networks have effectively boycotted White House coverage after President Donald Trump banned three major media outlets from the White House.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico have also gone to court, challenging the decision.

On Monday, the top five US broadcasters — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC — announced that they were suspending the White House press pool.

The press pool is a system where one broadcaster provides coverage on behalf of other television networks.

The networks said the public has a vital interest in receiving accurate and independent information about the US government.

They also argued that no administration should restrict a news organization simply because it disagrees with its reporting.

The boycott means there was no television pool coverage of Trump’s trip to New York on Monday for the United Nations General Assembly, where he was scheduled to meet several foreign leaders.

Meanwhile, CNN and MS NOW have filed a lawsuit seeking the immediate reversal of the ban.

The networks argue that the decision violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

But President Trump rejected the criticism.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the White House was not attacking the free press, but was instead targeting what he described as “fake news.”

Vice President JD Vance also defended the decision, accusing the affected outlets of spreading what he called left-wing propaganda.

Vance said the outlets could still report on the administration, but would no longer have offices inside the White House.

Trump’s announcement of the ban on Friday reportedly shocked journalists and even caught some members of his own administration by surprise.

Journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were later denied access to the White House grounds, with their passes reportedly confiscated.

The three outlets said their journalists’ credentials were revoked without notice or due process because the White House objected to their reporting.

They warned that, if left unchallenged, the move could threaten press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism without government interference.

Trump has not provided detailed reasons for the ban, but accused the affected outlets of trying to weaken Republicans and his administration.

He also warned that other media organizations could face similar restrictions.

The dispute has now sparked a major debate in the United States over press freedom, presidential power and access to the White House.

09/17/2026

Veteran Nollywood actor Olu Jacobs has died at the age of 84.

The death of the highly respected Nigerian actor was announced by his son, Olusoji Jacobs, in an Instagram post shared on Wednesday, September 16.

Olu Jacobs was one of Nigeria’s most celebrated actors, with a legendary career spanning more than five decades across Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

Born in 1942, Jacobs was trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, before appearing in several British television productions, including The Goodies and The Professionals, as well as international films.

He returned to Nigeria in the 1980s and became one of the pioneers of the Nigerian film industry, later known as Nollywood.

Jacobs became particularly famous for portraying kings, traditional rulers, fathers, and other authoritative characters, becoming a beloved figure among generations of Nigerian movie lovers.

Together with his wife, veteran actress Joke Silva, Olu Jacobs co-founded the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, helping to train and develop aspiring performers in Nigeria.

Throughout his remarkable career, Jacobs received numerous honours, including the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and several lifetime achievement awards.

In 2011, he was also conferred with the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MFR, in recognition of his contribution to the Nigerian film industry.

In his later years, Jacobs largely stayed away from the public spotlight due to health challenges.

In 2021, his wife, Joke Silva, revealed that he had been diagnosed with Dementia with Lewy Bodies, a progressive neurodegenerative condition.

Silva described the condition as a degenerative disease affecting the brain and said caring for her husband had been difficult for both him and the family.

There had also been several rumours about Olu Jacobs’ death over the years.

In June 2024, his eldest son, Soji, appeared on television to dismiss reports that his father had died, confirming at the time that he was still alive.

Sadly, the family has now announced the death of the legendary actor at the age of 84.

Olu Jacobs is survived by his wife, fellow veteran actress Joke Silva, and their children.

His death marks the loss of one of the most recognisable and influential figures in Nigerian cinema.

May his soul rest in peace.