French defense minister warns Pentagon against cutting US military assistance in W. Africa
rt.com | 2020-01-28
French Defense Minister Florence Parly has warned her US counterpart during a visit to the Pentagon that counter-terrorism efforts in West Africa would be negatively affected by a reduction in US military assistance. | "The US support is critical to our operations and its reduction would severely limit our effectiveness against terrorists," Parly said a joint news conference, standing alongside US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday. | Esper said no decisions had been made. However, he did not suggest any reconsideration of potential cuts to US forces in the region as he looks to focus more on challenges fr…
rt.com/newsline/479349-france-us-military-africa/

African Americans & The Vote: Film Screening & Exhibit Opening
Citizen Film | indybay.org | 2020-01-28
San Francisco African American Historical & Cultural Society | 762 Fulton Street, 2nd Floor | San Francisco, CA 94102…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/01/27/18830116.php

Libya's Tripoli-based government says it downed Haftar's drone, 'must be your own' his forces respond (PHOTOS)
rt.com | 2020-01-28
The UN-recognized Libyan government said it downed a drone operated by the UAE on behalf of Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar. But his forces said Tripoli must have shot down its own aircraft. | Photos of the drone wreckage, as well as the presumed moment of its downing near the northwestern city of Misrata, have been circulating online, but its ownership remains disputed. The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) said the drone was operated by the United Arab Emirates, the allies of Haftar. But his Libyan National Army (LNA) said the aircraft was not theirs and presumably belonged to Turkey…
rt.com/news/479378-unidentified-drone-downed-libya/

African Union says coronavirus not confirmed on continent
yenisafak.com | 2020-01-28
Surveillance and screening on the novel coronavirus is being enhanced across Africa as reports of the existence of the virus on the continent remain yet unconfirmed, a senior African Union (AU) official said Tuesday.Diseases Control and Prevention director John Nkengasong told reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa that "rumors" would likely circulate around suspected coronavirus cases, without rejecting the risk of Africa importing the virus given the continent's strong links with China.Concerns have mounted after reports emerged on a suspected coronavirus case in Ivory Coast on Monday."It is very possib…
yenisafak.com/en/world/african-union-says-coronavirus-not-confirmed-on-continent-3510679

Russia urges Libyan military committee to convene soon
yenisafak.com | 2020-01-28
Russia has urged to convene the Libyan military committee at the earliest to address the issue of cease-fire.Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Tuesday he expects a dialogue within the format in Geneva will pave the way for lasting peace in the region."We urge that they convene as soon as possible. […] The main thing is to stop the fighting and establish an inclusive, inter-Libyan dialogue. The main and primary task is to initiate contacts between Libyans so that they reach a consensus on all these proposals," Bogdanov told reporters in Moscow.He added that the cease-fire in Libya following the ca…
yenisafak.com/en/world/russia-urges-libyan-military-committee-to-convene-soon-3510678

Shells fired by Haftar forces kill, injure children in Libya
yenisafak.com | 2020-01-28
Several children were killed and injured on Tuesday as forces loyal to renegade commander Khalifa Haftar targeted a school compound in the capital Tripoli, according to the UN-recognized government."The tragedy occurred due to the fall of indiscriminate shells fired by the war criminal Khalifa Haftar, one of which landed in the backyard of a school in the Al-Hadba Badri area," said a statement by the Government of National Accord."Initial reports suggest a number of children were killed and injured," the statement added.
yenisafak.com/en/news/shells-fired-by-haftar-forces-kill-injure-children-in-libya-3510684

Algeria president holds meeting with military officials
yenisafak.com | 2020-01-28
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune held a meeting with the country's military leadership, the presidency said in a statement on Tuesday."The President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune in his capacity as Commander in Chief of the armed forces and Minister of Defense has visited the headquarters of the National Defense Ministry and held a work-meeting," the statement said.It was Tebboune's first meeting with the military leadership since he took the office in Dec. 19.On Dec. 23, Algerian military's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ahmed Gaid Saleh died at the age of 79 following a heart attack.Gen. Said Chengriha,…
yenisafak.com/en/news/algeria-president-holds-meeting-with-military-officials-3510686

US to Grant $35 Million to Promote Its "Fake News Bubble" in Syria and Control Local Media
Eva Bartlett | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-27
Although Western media has a shoddy track record of lying on Syria (and Libya, Iraq…), the US State Department will pump $35 million more into future war propaganda on Syria, under the guise of promoting honest reporting. | A US State | …
globalresearch.ca/us-grant-35-million-promote-fake-news-bubble-syria-control-local-media/5701830

Libya: UN report urges accountability for deadly attack against migrant centre
news.un.org | 2020-01-27
Warring parties in Libya, as well as foreign governments supporting them, are being urged to investigate deadly airstrikes last July which killed at least 53 migrants and refugees at a detention centre in the northwest of the country.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1056052

Tunisia's 2011 Revolution Symbol, Lina Ben Mhenni Dies Aged 36
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-27
Tunisian human rights activist and blogger Lina Ben Mhenni, one of the principal symbols of the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, died Monday at the age of 36, of the consequences of a long illness, her family said. | RELATED: | Tunisians Protest After Man Sets Himself Alight Due to Poor Living Conditions…
telesurenglish.net/news/Tunisias-2011-Revolution-Symbol-Lina-Ben-Mhenni-Dies-Aged-36-20200127-0012.html

Colombia: Ex-FARC Member and Peace Deal Signatory Assassinated
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-26
Former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) member and peace agreement signatory John Freddy Vargas was murdered Saturday after attending a meeting in a church in Huila. | RELATED: | Colombia's Indigenous Demand Justice After 20 Leaders Killed | Vargas, 42, was shot multiple times while he was on a motorcycle with his girlfriend, after the meeting with officials from the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN). | "The event took place when the victim was ridin…
telesurenglish.net/news/colombia-ex-farc-member-john-freddy-vargas-assassinated-20200126-0014.html

FROM THE FIELD: Niger supporting the most vulnerable, as crises mount
news.un.org | 2020-01-24
The number of people requiring humanitarian assistance in Niger, a country which the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, says is "being assaulted on all fronts", is expected to increase in 2020.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1055831

President plans to expand travel ban to more countries
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-01-24
Minneapolis, MN – The Wall Street Journal reported this week that President Trump wants to expand his travel ban to Nigeria, Sudan, Belarus, Myanmar, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Eritrea. January 27 will be the third anniversary of Trump's first executive order, which was his first attempt at a Muslim ban. AP, BuzzFeed, CNN and other media outlets have previously reported that the White House could announce a dramatic expansion of the ban on or around that date. | The MN Anti-War Committee organized multiple protests, including one of 15,000 people in downtown Minneapolis in January 2017, to protest the Trump's Musli…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/1/24/president-plans-expand-travel-ban-more-countries

"The New Colossus": In New Play, Tim Robbins Tackles Immigration & Xenophobia
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-23
President Trump said Wednesday that he would expand his highly controversial travel ban, which already bars citizens from seven countries, most of which have Muslim-majority populations

'Abolish the billionaires' say high school climate activists
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2020-01-23
Climate Pip HinmanIssue 1250 AustraliaJanuary 23, 2020″It is time to abolish billionaires … because we cannot afford them, the planet cannot afford billionaires," Kenyan climate activist Njoki Njoroge Njehu told 10,000 protesters in Lausanne, Switzerland on January 17. She is right. It is the billionaire class that is blocking moves to make t…
greenleft.org.au/content/abolish-billionaires-say-high-school-climate-activists

Joint UN-Congolese strategy needed to address insecurity following deadly attacks
news.un.org | 2020-01-21
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the UN peacekeeping operation in the country, MONUSCO, are being urged to develop a comprehensive joint strategy to address insecurity in Beni territory, located in the east.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/01/1055741