(2019-07-07). High-Impact Opportunities Exist to Restore Tropical Rainforests Around the World. truthout.org The green belt of tropical rainforests that covers equatorial regions of the Americas, Africa, Indonesia and Southeast Asia is turning brown. Since 1990, Indonesia has lost 50% of its original forest, the Amazon 30% and Central Africa 14%. Fires, logging, hunting, road building and fragmentation have heavily damaged more than 30% of those that remain. | These forests provide many benefits: They store large amounts of ca…
(2019-07-07). AU Summit Reaches Historic Free Trade Deal. plenglish.com Niamey, July 7 (Prensa Latina) The 12th Extraordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) began on Sunday with the approval of the Continental Free Trade Zone (AfCFTA) by the Heads of State and Government of over 50 nations.
(2019-07-06). I Spent 16 Months in Solitary Confinement and Now I'm Fighting to End It. commondreams.org I was just 17 years old when I was sent to solitary confinement in "Camp J," one of the most severe lockdown units at one of America's most brutal prisons, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. I languished in solitary for 16 months.
(2019-07-06). As a Lesbian of African Descent, I Am Not an American—Not Completely. commondreams.org The Fourth of July, Independence Day, is a conundrum for me. I am happy to have it as a federal holiday but do not celebrate it, for reasons I will try to explain.
(2019-07-06). Experts Mapped Global Hotspots Where Restoring Tropical Rainforests Would Be Most Beneficial and Least Costly and Risky. commondreams.org The green belt of tropical rainforests that covers equatorial regions of the Americas, Africa, Indonesia and Southeast Asia is turning brown. Since 1990, Indonesia has lost 50 percent of its original forest, the Amazon 30 percent, and Central Africa 14 percent. Fires, logging, hunting, road building, and fragmentation have heavily damaged more than 30 percent of those that remain.
(2019-07-05). Six children among 53 confirmed fatalities after Libya detention centre airstrikes: Security Council condemns attack. un.org The toll from Tuesday's reported airstrikes on a detention centre in the suburbs of Tripoli has risen to 53 dead and more than 130 injured among the "severely traumatized" surviving migrants and refugees, UN aid agencies said on Friday, reiterating their appeal to close all such facilities in the embattled country.
(2019-07-05). Nearly 1,000 Killed, 5,000 Injured in Pursuit of Tripoli: WHO. telesurenglish.net Over 100,000 people have been displaced, 5,000 injured and nearly 1,000 killed since the rogue military leader Khalifa Haftar set his eyes on the Libyan capital of Tripoli last April, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday. | RELATED: | Libya: 40 Dead and 80 Wounded in Airstrike on Migrant Center | Three months ago, Haftar launched a military offensive to capture the city of Tripoli from the U.N.-backed forces of the Government of National Accord (GNA). | Air strikes and skirmishe…
(2019-07-05). Friday's Daily Brief: Sudan power-sharing deal welcomed, hope for Venezuela talks, Rohingya camps flooded, Libya airstrikes update. un.org Friday's main news stories include: Guterres welcomes Sudan power-sharing deal; six children are among 53 confirmed dead after Libya detention centre airstrikes; Monsoon rains wreak havoc in Rohingya camps; and Bachelet calls for "time and space" in Venezuela.
(2019-07-05). UN chief welcomes power-sharing deal between Sudanese military and opposition. un.org UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday he was "encouraged" by reports of a newly-inked power-sharing deal between the Forces for Freedom and Change — a coalition of opposition and protest groups — and Sudan's ruling military council.
(2019-07-05). Canadian Firm's Lobbying Contract with Sudan Military Rulers May Face Police Probe. globalresearch.ca Canada's government has referred a lobbying contract between a Montreal-based firm and Sudan's ruling military council to federal police to determine whether the deal violates Canadian sanctions on the country. | A spokeswoman for the Canadian foreign ministry, Global Affairs Canada, …
(2019-07-05). What's really happening in Sudan? cgtn.com On the latest episode of The Heat Podcast, guest host Mike Walter joins columnist and activist Azaz El Shami to discuss the uprisings in Sudan and the road toward peace.
(2019-07-05). Post-Bouteflika Algeria: For a Democratic Transition. counterpunch.org In Algeria, the slogan Yatnahaw ga', "that they all blow off", sums up the widely shared popular will to put an end to the "Bouteflika system". It is a question of setting in motion a process of transition to a Second Republic. In homage to Ramzi Yettou, a victim of repression who died at the More
(2019-07-05). Africa and Palestine: A Noble Legacy That Must Never Be Betrayed. counterpunch.org Europe's "Scramble for Africa" began in earnest in 1881, but never ended. The attempt at dominating the continent using old and new strategies continues to define the western relationship with this rich continent. This reality was further validated when I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on June 23. Although my objective was to address various Kenyan More
(2019-07-05). Iran Threatens Seizure of UK Oil Tanker if Iranian Oil Tanker Not Released. theantimedia.com (ZH) — Iran has called for the "immediate release" of its oil tanker after British Royal Marines boarded and seized it off Gibraltar a day ago after it took a long 90-day trek around the tip of Africa, presumably to evade sanctions enforcement en route to Syria. Authorities had accused the Grace 1 supertanker of illegal smuggling …
(2019-07-05). What Happened When the EU Moved Its Fight to Stop Migration to Niger. thenation.com What Happened When the EU Moved Its Fight to Stop Migration to Niger…
(2019-07-04). Libya's Civil War is Becoming a Proxy War. therealnews.com 
The shooting down of a Turkish drone near Tripoli and the capture of six Turkish sailors by Gen. Haftar's forces reveals the Turkey's and Egypt's involvement on both sides of the civil war. Meanwhile Haftar's forces are accused of bombing a migration detention center near Tripoli, killing 44 and injuring 130…
(2019-07-04). Freedom, justice and peace for Sudan. greenleft.org.au 
The Sudanese community and supporters turned out across Australia on June 22 and 30 in support of the revolution in Sudan. | Rallies in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney have featured energetic dancing, poetry and singing, with protesters chanting "Peace, justice, freedom in Sudan" and "End the killings now". | Dozens of protesters have been killed by the military regime in Sudan. One of the victims was 26-year-old engineer Mohamed Mattar, whose favourite color was blue. This prompted #BlueForSudan, with people wearing blue clothes at rallies around the world to remember the victims. | Speakers call…
(2019-07-04). Africa and Palestine: A Noble Legacy That Must Never Be Betrayed. dissidentvoice.org Europe's "Scramble for Africa" began in earnest in 1881, but never ended. The attempt at dominating the continent using old and new strategies continues to define western relationship with this rich continent. This reality was further validated when I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on June 23. Although my objective was to address various Kenyan audiences …
(2019-07-04). Danny Glover & Ta-Nehisi Coates Make the Case for Reparations at Historic Congressional Hearing. democracynow.org 
On June 19, a subcommittee of the House Judiciary held a historic hearing on reparations for slavery—the first of its kind in over a decade. The hearing coincided with Juneteenth, a day that commemorates June 19, 1865, when slaves in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that the Emancipation Proclamation had abolished slavery. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the transatlantic slave trade. Lawmakers are considering a bill titled the "Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act." It was introduced by Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, after former Congressm…
(2019-07-04). Burnt workers are the newest wave of climate casualty. mronline.org 
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has just released a brief—but very important—report on the impact of heat stress on workers. What the ILO finds is that the areas of the world most threatened by heat deaths of workers are Southern Asia and Western Africa. | Source
(2019-07-03). Libya detention centre airstrike could amount to a war crime says UN, as Guterres calls for independent investigation. un.org An airstrike on a detention centre in Tripoli that killed scores of migrants and refugees "deserves more than condemnation", UN agencies said on Wednesday, as both the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the head of the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL), insisted that it may amount to a war crime.
(2019-07-03). Headlines for July 3, 2019. democracynow.org DHS Watchdog: "Dangerous Overcrowding" and Dire Conditions at Texas Migrant Jails, 30-Year-Old Honduran Migrant Dies in U.S. Custody, Federal Judge Blocks Trump Plan to Deny Bail to Asylum Seekers, DHS Fining Immigrants Up to $500,000 for Not Leaving the U.S., Nationwide Protests Demand Lawmakers #CloseTheCamps, Cory Booker Vows to End Immigrant Detention in 2020 Proposal, In Defeat for Trump Admin, 2020 Census Will Not Include Citizenship Question, House Dems Sue Treasury and IRS over Trump's Tax Returns, Airstrike Hits Migrant Detention Center in Libya, Killing At Least 40, Ethiopian-Israeli Community Protests…
(2019-07-03). Wednesday's Daily Brief: Libya 'war crime' attack, Sudan, Myanmar rights violations continue, 'xenophobia' in Assam, South Sudan update. un.org In the news this Wednesday: "Outraged" Guterres demands independent inquiry into fatal Libya migrant centre airstrike deaths; Violence and broken promises in Sudan and South Sudan, while Rohingya violations continue in Myanmar; "xenophobia" and citizenship in India's Assam state.
(2019-07-03). Restrictions, unmet promises, unbridled violence in Sudan, a 'recipe for disaster', says Bachelet. un.org After nationwide protests across Sudan on Sunday, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday called on Sudanese authorities to lift restrictions on the internet and launch independent investigations into all acts of violence against demonstrators, and allegations of excessive force, including attacks on hospitals.
(2019-07-03). I Spent 16 Months in Solitary Confinement and Now I'm Fighting to End It. aclu.org A new report proves that the degrading conditions in solitary confinement continue to harm people and communities. | I was just 17 years old when I was sent to solitary confinement in "Camp J," one of the most severe lockdown units at one of America's most brutal prisons, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. I languished in solitary for 16 months. | Back then I didn't know that Louisiana was the solitary confinement capital of the world. All I knew was that I'd been convicted of a crime I didn't commit, and I had to maintain my humanity in one of the most dehumanizing places on earth. | It's called "23 and…
(2019-07-03). Africa and Palestine: A Noble Legacy That Must Never Be Betrayed. mintpressnews.com 
Netanyahu's diplomatic conquests in Africa have been celebrated by Israeli media as "historic", while the Palestinian leadership remains oblivious to the rapidly changing political landscape.
(2019-07-03). Waiting to Be An American. progressive.org In terms of how I feel, as a lesbian of African descent, I am not an American, not completely.
(2019-07-02). Namwali Serpell's Postcolonial Epic. thenation.com 
The Old Drift tells the multigenerational story of Zambia coming into being.
(2019-07-02). Tuesday's Daily Brief: Hunger crisis in DR Congo, Swine Fever in Asia, Venezuela death investigation call, updates on Eritrea and Syria. un.org This Tuesday, UN News covers: Growing food crisis in DR Congo; Swine Fever threatens millions of livelihoods in Asia; Human Rights Council told of persistent violations in Eritrea; and the humanitarian impact of on-going fighting in Syria.
(2019-07-02). DR Congo: UN food agency triples aid in strife-hit Ituri province. un.org Food aid is being tripled for troubled Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to respond to what the World Food Programme (WFP) has described as the world's second largest hunger crisis in the world, after Yemen.
(2019-07-02). US Scholars: 'An American attack on Iran would be an unmitigated disaster for the US, Iran, and the world'. greenleft.org.au 
A number of Middle East and Islamic Studies scholars in the United States have signed this open letter below, calling on US President Donald Trump to pull back from war with Iran. | We, the undersigned scholars of the Middle East and North Africa and broader Muslim world, call on President Trump to immediately pull back from the brink of a war with the Islamic Republic of Iran. | It is clear to us that the human, diplomatic, legal, political, and economic costs to both countries, the Persian Gulf and larger Middle East, the global economy and the global system of international humanitarian law of a US attack woul…
(2019-07-02). Livelihoods of millions in East and Southeast Asia at risk from Swine Fever epidemic. un.org The rapid spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) across East and Southeast Asia is threatening the food security and livelihoods of millions of households in the region which rely on pig farming, The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, reported on Tuesday.
(2019-07-01). Headlines for July 1, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Sets Foot in North Korea in Historic First, Hong Kong Protesters Take to Streets, Enter Gov't Building, U.S. and China Ease Trade Tensions, Trump Lavishes Praise on MBS at G20 Summit, At Least 10 Killed in Sudanese Anti-Gov't Protests, Afghanistan: Violent Attacks Kill 100s in Recent Days as U.S.-Taliban Peace Talks Resume, Italian Police Arrest Captain of Migrant Ship After She Rescues 53 Refugees, Senate Rejects Effort to Prevent Trump from Attacking Iran Without Congressional Approval, Charles Koch and George Soros Team Up to Fund New Anti-Interventionist Think Tank, SCOTUS Rejects Alabama Ban on Most Co…
(2019-06-28). Florida Man Arrested for Racist Threats Once Attacked an African American Police Officer. splcenter.org A long string of felony charges and a tip-off from the Department of Homeland Security led to the arrest of a Florida man for racist and antisemitic threats posted to Gab and Bitchute.
(2019-06-14). Sandy Cioffi on Nigerian Oil, Riki Ott Looking Back at Exxon Valdez Spill. fair.org 
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