2020-02-16: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-16). Africa's largest oil nation could see production drop 35%. rt.com Africa's largest oil producer could see oil production fall by 35 percent as low oil prices and regulatory uncertainty threaten to prompt oil majors to postpone final investment decisions. | OPEC member Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and it pumped 1.776 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in January 2020, according to OPEC's secondary sources in its monthly report published this week. Adding condensate production, Nigeria's total oil output exceeds 2 million bpd. | However, three deepwater projects offshore Nigeria, operated by oil majors Exxon, Shell, and Total, could see their start-up dates…

RT (2020-02-16). UN deputy envoy to Libya at Munich conference: Ceasefire hangs by thread & arms embargo is a 'joke'. rt.com The fragile truce in Libya is at risk of falling apart, and efforts to stop the flood of weapons into the war-torn country have been completely ineffective, the deputy head of the UN mission to Libya warned on Sunday. | Stephanie Williams told attendees at the Munich Security Conference that the ceasefire between Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) and the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is perilously close to collapsing. She added that an arms embargo put in place by the UN Security Council to prevent the flow of weapons into Libya "has become a joke." | Noting that the economic situ…

African American Art & Culture Complex (2020-02-16). Buchanan Mall Pop-Up Market. indybay.org African American Art & Culture Complex | 762 Fulton St., San Francisco, CA…

California State Parks (2020-02-16). Major Renovation Project at Negro Bar. indybay.org 170 years ago the Gold Mining Town of Negro Bar was established along Historic Rancho Rio De Los Americano, owned by the "African Founding Father of California" Don Guillermo Leidesdorff or William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr.

Staff (2020-02-16). US-Linked South African "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" Spread Harmful Misinformation. truthout.org A senior South African health official has today vowed action as openDemocracy Supported by US Christian campaigners who claim close links to the Trump White House, around the world these centres appear to offer pregnant women unbiased "advice…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Roadside bomb kills 3 soldiers in Somalia. yenisafak.com At least three Somali soldiers were killed after a blast struck a military vehicle on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu on Sunday.Local police officer Feysal Mohamed told Anadolu Agency that the source of the explosion was a roadside bomb."The blast was a roadside explosion which targeted a national army vehicle carrying soldiers. At least three were killed in the attack and more than four others wounded," said Mohamed.Police and other security personnel reached the site of the incident and began investigations, he added.No group has yet claimed responsibility for either attack, but al-Qaeda-affiliated group…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Turkey says Haftar's aggressions must be stopped. yenisafak.com Turkey's top diplomat said on Sunday that the country underlined the importance of a political solution to the conflict in Libya, as well as stopping Haftar's aggression at the first follow-up meeting to a recent cease-fire in the north African country."As Turkey, we stressed that the only solution is a political one, and to achieve this, Haftar's aggression and violations must be stopped," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters after the ministerial meeting.The next meeting on Libya will take place in Rome, though the date is yet to be decided, he added.Foreign ministers and top diplomats from across t…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). Libya arms embargo a 'joke,' says UN official. yenisafak.com An arms embargo aimed at curbing fighting in Libya has become meaingless because of violations and it is imperative that those who breach it are held to account, a senior U.N. official said on Sunday."The arms embargo has become a joke, we all really need to step up here," U.N. Deputy Special Representative to Libya Stephanie Williams said after a meeting of foreign ministers to follow up on a Berlin summit last month that agreed to uphold the embargo. Fighting has continued despite a call for a truce."It's complicated because there are violations by land, sea and air, but it needs to be monitored and there needs…

yenisafak (2020-02-16). International actors reaffirm commitment to cease-fire in Libya. yenisafak.com World powers and regional actors have launched on Sunday an international committee to oversee pledges made for an arms embargo and cease-fire in Libya.Speaking to reporters after a meeting of more than a dozen foreign ministers and top diplomats in Munich, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said participants reaffirmed their commitment to the conclusions of the Berlin Conference last month."Today we launched the International Follow-up Committee on Libya [IFCL], and thereby we put into practice one of the most important conclusions of the Berlin Conference," he said."This committee would now work to ensure that…

sputniknews (2020-02-16). Munich Security Conference Hosts Follow-Up Committee Meeting on Libya – Video. sputniknews.com The 2020 Munich Security Conference is hosting a news conference after the first meeting of the follow-up committee on Libya in Munich.

sputniknews (2020-02-16). Members of Berlin Conference on Libya Launch International Follow-up Committee. sputniknews.com MUNICH (Sputnik) – Top diplomats from Berlin conference on Libya participant-nations and organisations on Sunday launched the International Follow-up Committee on Libya (IFCL) which looks to exert diplomatic and technical efforts to implement the agreements penned in the January conference.

Eds. (2020-02-16). Marxism and the Climate Crisis: African Eco-Socialist Alternatives. mronline.org There is a rich inheritance of emancipatory Marxism in Africa, which includes Frantz Fanon, Ruth First, Samir Amin, Sam Moyo, Harold Wolpe and many others. Today, Satgar argues, the challenge is to defeat carbon capitalism accelerating the climate crisis and fomenting exclusionary nationalisms and for this there has to be a return to Marx. |

teleSUR (2020-02-15). Armed Gang Kills at Least 30 in Northwest Nigeria. telesurenglish.net An armed gang on motorbikes killed at least 30 people in attacks on two villages in the northwestern Nigerian state of Katsina, police said on Saturday. | RELATED: | Twenty-one people were burnt to death and nine villagers were shot dead on Friday evening in the villages of Dankar and Tsauwa as the assailants made off with food and livestock, the police said. | The ward head of Tsauwa, Salisu Lawal, said residents were preparin…

teleSUR (2020-02-15). Over 6,000 Bodies Found in Burundi's Mass Graves. telesurenglish.net Burundi's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has found more than 6,000 bodies in six mass graves in Karusi Province, the largest finding since the government launched a nationwide excavation in January. | RELATED: | The commission chairman Pierre Claver Ndayicariye told journalists on Friday that the remains of 6,032 victims as well as thousands of bullets were recovered. Clothes, glasses and rosaries were used to identify some of the v…

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-02-15). Israeli Soldier Shoots Child in the Head in Jerusalem. imemc.org A Palestinian child was shot and injured by a rubber-coated steel bullet, on Saturday, when Israeli forces opened fire toward civilians in occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA). Witnesses said the minor, Malik Issa, while walking home from school in al-'Isawiyah neighborhood, was struck …

Yves Engler (2020-02-15). Canadian NGO Coalition aligns with Imperialism. dissidentvoice.org The Canadian Council for International Co-operation (CCIC) exists primarily to lobby for increased aid. As a result, the NGO umbrella group broadly aligns with Canadian imperialism. When Justin Trudeau recently set off for an African Union Summit to build support for the government's bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council the CCIC …

Staff (2020-02-14). Detroit Overtaxed Residents by $600M, Causing Foreclosure Crisis. Residents Are Now Fighting Back. democracynow.org In Detroit, a showdown between progressive lawmakers and the city is taking on racist housing policies that robbed African Americans in Detroit of their homes and widened the racial wealth gap. On Thursday, the Coalition for Property Tax Justice announced a class-action lawsuit against the city of Detroit, Wayne County and the state of Michigan in response to unfair property tax foreclosures. One in four Detroit properties have been subject to property tax foreclosure, a level comparable only to tax foreclosure rates during the Great Depression. According to legal experts, many of the foreclosures were caused by…

news.un (2020-02-14). Guinea-Bissau: Swearing-in of new President unlikely to bring stability, says UN representative. news.un.org Political discord in Guinea-Bissau could hamper the first-ever peaceful transfer of power to a democratically elected leader, the top UN official in the West African country told the Security Council on Friday.

news.un (2020-02-14). Newly licensed vaccine, 'milestone in the fight' against Ebola in Africa, UN health agency. news.un.org Four countries in Africa have licensed an Ebola vaccine to "cement hard-fought progress" in keeping their people safe from the deadly disease, the UN health agency said on Friday.

Staff (2020-02-14). Residents of Detroit Are Fighting Back After Foreclosure Crisis. truthout.org In Detroit, a showdown between progressive lawmakers and the city is taking on racist housing policies that robbed African Americans in Detroit of their homes and widened the racial wealth gap. On Thursday, the Coalition for Property Tax Justice announced a class-action lawsuit against the city of Detroit, Wayne County and the state of Michigan in response to unfair property tax foreclosures. One in four Detroit properties have been subject to property tax foreclosure, a level comparable only to tax foreclos…

Eds. (2020-02-13). Catastrophe is upon us—the grim view from Southern Africa. mronline.org The word catastrophe is being used more and more by institutions reporting on the effects of extreme weather in the two regions of Africa, Southern and South Eastern Africa, and of late Australia. The word means a number of things: tragic; fiasco; utter failure; sudden and violent change in a feature of the Earth. All […] |

teleSUR (2020-02-13). UN Warns Desert Locusts Spreading in East Africa. telesurenglish.net The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ( RELATED: | "Breeding continues in the Horn of Africa, which will cause locusts to increase further in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya with new swarms forming in March and April. Consequently, there is an unpre…

news.un (2020-02-13). Year-old peace agreement must be implemented for 'lasting peace' in Central African Republic. news.un.org Following a visit to the Central African Republic, a UN independent expert said that everyone must take all measures necessary to effectively implement the peace agreement that was signed in Bangui a year ago.

Staff (2020-02-13). Did Amy Klobuchar Send an Innocent Teenager to Life in Prison? Questions Mount over Her Record as DA. democracynow.org After a surprising third-place finish in the New Hampshire primary, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is attempting to gain ground in the national polls. But Klobuchar is also facing mounting scrutiny over her record as a district attorney in Minnesota. The Minneapolis NAACP, Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and other racial justice groups recently called on Klobuchar to suspend her presidential campaign following a shocking investigation by the Associated Press. The AP report centered on the case of Myon Burrell, an African-American teenager who was sentenced to life in prison over the 2002 murder of 11-year-old Tye…

news.un (2020-02-12). DR Congo Ebola outbreak still an international public health concern. news.un.org The Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains an international public health concern, experts meeting in Geneva concluded on Wednesday.

news.un (2020-02-12). Libya: Security Council demands commitment to 'a lasting ceasefire'. news.un.org After what has reportedly been weeks of diplomatic negotiation, the UN Security Council passed a resolution on Wednesday aimed at stemming rising violence across Libya, demanding the warring parties commit to "a lasting ceasefire" according to terms agreed by military representatives from both sides at recent talks in Geneva.

news.un (2020-02-12). Libya's cities left 're-contaminated' by months of fighting, warn landmine clearance experts. news.un.org Ongoing hostilities in Libya have left numerous cities severely "re-contaminated" with unexploded ordnance, threatening schools, universities and hospitals, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Wednesday.

Staff (2020-02-12). Feminist Scholar Barbara Smith on Identity Politics & Why She Supports Bernie Sanders for President. democracynow.org We speak with the legendary African-American feminist scholar Barbara Smith. She is a founder of the Combahee River Collective and of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. Barbara Smith recently wrote a column in The Guardian newspaper titled "I helped coin the term 'identity politics'. I'm endorsing Bernie Sanders." Her latest book is "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith."

Staff (2020-02-12). South Bend Politician: I Worked with Pete Buttigieg. He Did Not Respect Black Residents' Struggles. democracynow.org 2020 presidential candidate and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg has surprised many with his strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, two of the country's whitest states. But as the race moves on to South Carolina and Nevada, Buttigieg continues to poll extremely low with African-American voters. His own former constituents are condemning his treatment of the black community in South Bend during his time as mayor, calling out systemic racism in the police force. During Buttigieg's tenure, black residents were 4.3 times more likely to be arrested for possessing marijuana than white people. We…

news.un (2020-02-11). 'Don't forget Madagascar's children', UN appeals for long-term help as emergency worsens. news.un.org Since 2012, the plight of children in Madagascar has not improved and is in many cases getting worse, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Staff (2020-02-10). "Our Very Existence Is the Resistance": An Hour w/ AOC, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib & Ilhan Omar. democracynow.org On Friday, Democracy Now! co-host Nermeen Shaikh sat down for a rare joint interview with the Squad, the group of four freshmen Democratic congresswomen who have taken Capitol Hill by storm: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Omar and Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar is a former refugee from Somalia, and Tlaib is the first female Palestinian-American member of Congress. Ayanna Pressley is the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Ocasio-Cortez was just 29 years old w…

splcenter (2020-01-29). Weekend Read: 2020: African Americans and the Vote. splcenter.org Historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926 established "Negro History Week" to celebrate the contributions to our nation made by Black people.