CARICOM Calls for Nominations for 2025 Women, Youth Energy Awards

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has announced the opening of nominations for the 2025 editions of the Women in Sustainable Energy Awards (WISE) and the Sustainable Energy Youth Awards (SEYA), aimed at celebrating excellence, innovation, and inclusivity in the energy sector.

In a statement, the CARICOM Secretariat said nominations will remain open until 31 August 2025, urging citizens and residents across the region to either apply or nominate deserving peers, mentors or mentees.

The awards, organised in partnership with the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), are designed to spotlight the roles of women and youth as professionals, entrepreneurs, policy advocates and community champions driving the clean energy transition.

According to CARICOM, WISE seeks to honour women who have made outstanding contributions at community, national, regional, or international levels. Submissions will be assessed in four categories: Business/Entrepreneurship; Social Impact, Community and Advocacy; Policy and Regulations; and Utilities and Industry.

On the other hand, SEYA focuses on individuals between 16 and 35 years old, recognising young innovators and advocates whose work reflects creativity, leadership, and commitment to the sustainable energy movement across public, private, and civil society sectors.

Both awards will be presented at the 9th Caribbean Sustainable Energy Forum (CSEF IX) scheduled to hold in Grenada from 28 to 30 October 2025.

The Secretariat noted that the initiative also seeks to promote gender diversity and intergenerational leadership as critical elements for the success of the region’s energy transition agenda.

Grief, Fear and Silence as Rebels Kill 140 in Eastern DR Congo

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused M23 rebels of killing at least 140 people, including women and children, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last month, describing it as one of the worst atrocities since the group resurfaced in late 2021.

The rights group, in a report released Wednesday, said the killings took place between July 10 and 30 in at least 14 villages near the Virunga National Park in Rutshuru territory.

Witnesses alleged that Rwanda-backed fighters used machetes and gunfire to attack residents, largely from the Hutu ethnic group, during an offensive against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Accounts from survivors detailed harrowing scenes. One man said he lost five members of his family on July 11 in Katanga area.

A woman recounted how rebels killed her husband with a machete before forcing about 70 women and children to sit along a riverbank, where they were shot at.

Another survivor told HRW he watched helplessly as his wife and four young children were murdered.

Victims’ families were reportedly ordered to bury corpses in nearby fields or leave them exposed, while several bodies were dumped into the Rutshuru River.

While HRW estimates at least 140 people were killed, it warned the death toll may exceed 300, citing corroborating findings by the United Nations earlier this month.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had reported that the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) backed the M23 in killings of at least 319 civilians across four villages in Rutshuru between July 9 and 21.

M23 has denied the allegations, accusing HRW of falsifying evidence and serving as “an instrument of propaganda” for the Congolese government. Its political allies in the AFC opposition bloc also dismissed the report as “hearsay” and “deceptively interpreted imagery.”

Rwanda, for its part, rejected the UN and HRW reports, insisting that it has no control over the rebels.

“The M23 is not Rwanda-controlled, and these questions should be raised with them,” Kigali said in a statement, warning that “sensational allegations” risk undermining peace efforts.

Fighting in eastern DRC escalated in January after M23 captured swathes of territory, including areas around Goma, the provincial capital.

The conflict has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes and left thousands dead, despite peace initiatives led by the United States and Qatar.

Last month, Kinshasa and the M23 signed a ceasefire agreement in Doha. But the truce faltered after the rebels pulled out of talks, accusing the government of reneging on its commitments. The Congolese army has also accused the M23 of fresh violations.

HRW has urged the UN Security Council, the European Union and partner governments to condemn the atrocities, impose sanctions, and ensure the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

Xenophobia Betrays Pan-Africanism, Says South Africa’s Malema 

South Africa’s opposition leader and President of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has, in Enugu, Nigeria denounced xenophobia in his country, warning that attacks on fellow Africans were a betrayal of the spirit of Pan-Africanism.

Delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference, themed “Stand Out, Stand Tall”, Malema described Nigeria and South Africa as the twin engines of Africa’s prosperity, insisting that the continent’s industrialisation and global relevance depend on their unity.

“Xenophobia is a sickness born of poverty, inequality and government failure. It is anti-African unity. A Nigerian in Johannesburg is not a foreigner; a Ghanaian in Cape Town is not a stranger. We must educate our people that unity, not division, is the answer to Africa’s crisis,” he said to loud applause from over 20,000 lawyers.

Malema praised Nigeria’s historic role in dismantling apartheid, recalling the financial sacrifices of ordinary Nigerians and the diplomatic weight carried by successive governments.

He cited Nelson Mandela’s 1990 visit to Lagos and Abuja to thank Nigerians as proof of that solidarity, stressing that such bonds must now be translated into economic cooperation.

He urged Nigeria and South Africa to jointly industrialise, combine resources and expertise, and free the continent from colonial economic dependency.

“We cannot continue exporting raw materials cheaply only to import finished goods at crazy prices. Imagine South African mining know-how with Nigerian oil wealth creating African-owned energy giants. That is the Africa we must build,” he noted.

The EFF leader also condemned Africa’s reliance on Western loans, describing them as debt traps.

He restated his radical vision for a borderless Africa, with a single currency, one parliament and a unified military command.

Malema further called for freer movement of people and goods across the continent, including visa-free travel between Nigeria and South Africa, harmonised trade policies, and shared infrastructure.

He also pledged solidarity with oppressed peoples worldwide, from Palestine to Western Sahara, warning against what he termed the hypocrisy of international justice.

“If the international community will not give us justice, Africa must create its own tribunals and instruments of solidarity. Our liberation will remain incomplete if we turn a blind eye to the struggles of the oppressed,” he said.

Rounding off his fiery speech, Malema declared: “Together, Nigeria and South Africa can lead Africa into a future where we are not beggars but giants. Our destiny will not be decided in Washington or Brussels, but here, in Lagos, Pretoria, Abuja and Johannesburg.”