African Union Summit: Guterres hails 'shared values, mutual respect and common interests' of UN partnership
news.un.org | 2020-02-08
The UN chief on Saturday called on the international community to recognize the need for African counter-terrorism operations, backed by the UN Security Council, to tackle the growing threat of extremist violence across the continent, and "predictable funding, guaranteed by compulsory contributions".
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056972

Egypt's President Says Consensus on Libya Being Violated by 'Well-Known Regional Sides'
sputniknews.com | 2020-02-08
ADDIS ABABA (Sputnik) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi on Saturday accused several unspecified countries of violating the consensus on Libya, reached this January in Berlin.
sputniknews.com/africa/202002081078263630-egypts-president-says-consensus-on-libya-being-violated-by-well-known-regional-sides/

Nigerian Police Kills 250 militants in Combat Operation
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-07
Up to 250 militants of an extremist group were killed in a combat operation by the police in Nigeria's central northern state of Kaduna, a police spokesman said on Thursday. | RELATED: | Around 500 Men, Boys Rescued From 'Horror' Camps in Nigeria | High profile members of the outlawed Ansaru group were among those killed when a combined team of the police forces, bac…
telesurenglish.net/news/Nigerian-Police-Kills-250-militants-in-Combat-Operation-20200207-0014.html

Libya is Being Torn Apart By Outsiders
Vijay Prashad | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-07
With the United States walking out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)–more commonly known as the Iran accord–we all enter into a heightened zone of danger. Trump is threatening a war on Iran through his statements and tweets, and now by his actions, assassinating serving Iranian and Iraqi generals on Iraqi soil. Assassinations…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/07/libya-is-being-torn-apart-by-outsiders/

28 militiamen sentenced in Central African Republic for murder of civilians, UN peacekeepers
news.un.org | 2020-02-07
The sentencing of 28 militia members on Friday in the Central African Republic (CAR) for an array of violent crimes, including the murder of civilians as well as 10 UN peacekeepers, has been hailed as a major step forward in the fight against impunity there.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056962

Milwaukee area law enforcement kill two people in one week
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-02-07
Milwaukee, WI – The Milwaukee Police Department, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and other law enforcement departments in the surrounding suburbs are notorious for their treatment of Milwaukee's African-American residents, who make up nearly 40% of the population. This fact has been confirmed by this last week, where two people lost their lives due to negligence and criminal misuse of deadly force. | During the morning of January 25, Ceasar Stinson, 47, was killed in a car crash precipitated by an unmarked MCSO squad car. Stinson was a long-time community advocate and a lobbyist for Milwaukee Public…
fightbacknews.org/2020/2/7/milwaukee-area-law-enforcement-kill-two-people-one-week

New Report Details How Fossil Fuel Industry's Climate Destruction Also Exacerbates Human Rights Abuses
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-07
In addition to having a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities around the globe which have contributed the least to climate-warming fossil fuel emissions, the climate crisis has exacerbated the human rights violations already perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry, according to a new report. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/1._ogoniland_nigeria_1.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/07/new-report-details-how-fossil-fuel-industrys-climate-destruction-also-exacerbates?cd-origin=rss

Central African Republic: One year after peace deal, a 'long, steep' road ahead to ensure child rights protections
news.un.org | 2020-02-06
A year since the signing of a peace deal between the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 armed groups, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Thursday that millions of children across the country remain threatened by violence and a lack of access to food, health care and other basic needs.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056842

'Convergence' over lasting Libya ceasefire, as negotiator urges against 'provocative' acts
news.un.org | 2020-02-06
On day four of UN-led talks to transform an uncertain truce in Libya into a permanent ceasefire, veteran negotiator Ghassan Salamé on Thursday welcomed the "progress" that had been made so far, before urging an end to any "provocative" military action that might dash the chance of a successful outcome.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056882

Libya is being torn apart by outsiders
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2020-02-05
Ghassan Salamé is the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. He took over this job in 2017, six years after the catastrophic NATO war on Libya. What Salamé inherited was a country torn into shreds, two governments in place–one in Tripoli and one in Tobruk–and one civil war that had too many […] | Source…
mronline.org/2020/02/05/libya-is-being-torn-apart-by-outsiders/

FROM THE FIELD: Chad returnees' reluctant homecoming
news.un.org | 2020-02-05
Citizens of Chad who have spent most of their lives as refugees in neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) have been talking to the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, about the challenges they have faced returning to their home country.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056632

Africa's Sahel: Act now before the crisis 'becomes unmanageable', urges Grandi
news.un.org | 2020-02-05
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is stepping up response in Africa's Sahel region where escalating violence has forced a rising number of people to flee their homes.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056782

Both sides in Libya conflict agree need for lasting ceasefire: UN negotiator
news.un.org | 2020-02-04
The UN negotiator leading talks in Geneva to secure an end to fighting in Libya said on Tuesday that high-ranking officials from both sides of the conflict have agreed on the need for a "permanent and lasting" ceasefire to replace an uncertain truce.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056642

South Sudan: UN official welcomes release of women and children abducted by armed group
news.un.org | 2020-02-04
The expert leading UN efforts to stamp out sexual violence committed during wartime has welcomed the release of 78 women and 50 children by an armed group in South Sudan.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/02/1056712

ACLU: Trump Is Expanding His Racist Travel Ban, This Time Targeting Africans
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-02-03
The Trump administration has expanded its contested travel ban to six additional countries

"Coded Bias": New Film Looks at Fight Against Racial Bias in Facial Recognition & AI Technology
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-30
A new documentary looks at the dangers of artificial intelligence and its increasing omnipresence in daily life, as new research shows that it often reflects racist biases. Earlier this month, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the latest major city to ban facial recognition technology, joining a growing number of cities, including San Francisco, to ban the artificial intelligence, citing flawed technology and racial and gender bias. A recent study also found that facial recognition identified African-American and Asian faces incorrectly 10 to 100 times more than white faces. The film "Coded Bias" begins with Joy B…
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/30/coded_bias_shalini_kantayya_joy_buolamwini

Weekend Read: 2020: African Americans and the Vote
splcenter.org | 2020-01-29
Historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926 established "Negro History Week" to celebrate the contributions to our nation made by Black people.
splcenter.org/news/2020/02/01/weekend-read-2020-african-americans-and-vote