2020-10-13: News Headlines

MEE and agencies (2020-10-13). Bodies recovered after migrant boat capsizes off coast of Tunisia. middleeasteye.net Bodies recovered after migrant boat capsizes off coast of Tunisia | Thirteen people, including three children, have drowned while seven have been rescued, say authorities | Tue, 10/13/2020 – 10: 38 | Tunisian coastguards patrol the area off Tunisia's northern town of Bizerte on 30 March 2017 (AFP) | At least 13 people have been confirmed drowned after a migrant boat sank off the coast of T…

Patrick Cockburn (2020-10-13). Wars and Pandemics Produce the Same Sort of Lethal Government Bungling. counterpunch.org Watching the antics of Trump and the blunders of Boris Johnson in failing to cope with the virus, I have the same feeling I had repeatedly over the last 20 years when reporting on wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Libya. In all cases, arrogant assumptions of competence and strength were brutally exposed by complicated and dangerous realities on the ground.

Frances Madeson (2020-10-13). Cameroonian Asylum Seekers Said to be One Day Away From Deportation Back to the Oppression They Fled. counterpunch.org There is a peaceful room in a safe, joyful home in the Washington metro area waiting for Micah, an English-speaking Cameroonian refugee who spent his 20th birthday on hunger strike in Pine Prairie Detention Center. His 19th birthday was also spent in ICE detention. His uncle, who raised him, has been counseling patience while waiting

_____ (2020-10-13). How To Stuff The Middle East With Weaponry. popularresistance.org The United States has the dubious distinction of being the world's leading arms dealer. It dominates the global trade in a historic fashion and nowhere is that domination more complete than in the endlessly war-torn Middle East. There, believe it or not, the U.S. controls nearly half the arms market. From Yemen to Libya to Egypt, sales by this country and its allies are playing a significant role in fueling some of the world's most devastating conflicts. But Donald Trump, even before he was felled by Covid-19 and sent to Walter Reed Medical Center, could not have cared less, as long as he thought such trafficking…

MEE staff (2020-10-12). Israel-UAE deal: Vast majority of Arabic social media posts on pact negative, says report. middleeasteye.net Israel-UAE deal: Vast majority of Arabic social media posts on pact negative, says report | Report says posts were 'part of an organised campaign' by pro-Palestinian groups to denounce the deal | Mon, 10/12/2020 – 11: 40 | Representatives of Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed a normalisation agreement in Washington, DC on 15 September (AFP) | A study of Arabic-language social media conducted b…

MEE staff (2020-10-12). Kuwait deports three Egyptian dissidents to Cairo: Report. middleeasteye.net Kuwait deports three Egyptian dissidents to Cairo: Report | The dissidents have reportedly shown support for anti-Sisi protests that erupted across rural Egypt in September | Mon, 10/12/2020 – 13: 30 | Kuwait has reportedly handed over three Egyptian dissidents to Interpol over charges of 'incitement to chaos and calls for protests through social media' (AFP) | Kuwait has deported to Cairo three Egyptians who…

MEE correspondent (2020-10-12). Egyptian writer and Sisi critic Amin el-Mahdy dies days after release from jail. middleeasteye.net Egyptian writer and Sisi critic Amin el-Mahdy dies days after release from jail | The publisher was detained last month after calling president Sisi a 'murderer' and a 'thief' in a Facebook post | Mon, 10/12/2020 – 11: 04 | Mahdy was opposed to both Sisi and the Muslim Brotherhood (Facebook) | The Egyptian author Amin el-Mahdy died on Sunday, soon after his release from a brief detentio…

David Hearst (2020-10-12). Hamas's Haniyeh: 'No mercy' for Arab states who betray Palestinian cause. middleeasteye.net Hamas's Haniyeh: 'No mercy' for Arab states who betray Palestinian cause | Speaking to MEE, Ismail Haniyeh decries UAE 'normalisation' deal with Israel, and hails 'positive' talks with Fatah | Mon, 10/12/2020 – 09: 33 | History will show no mercy to the Arab nations that recognise Israel, Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, has told Middle East Eye. | Asked about the recent "normalisation"

Mohammad Ayesh (2020-10-12). Arabic press review: Germany seeks to support Arab-Israel normalisation process. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Germany seeks to support Arab-Israel normalisation process | Meanwhile, an Israeli pop singer performs religious rituals at a synagogue in Dubai, and Kuwait is set to spend $4bn on businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic | Mon, 10/12/2020 – 16: 04 | German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, currently on a visit to Riyadh, tells a Saudi paper that his country seeks to 'bene…

MEE staff (2020-10-12). Al-Qaeda operative Adel Abdel Bary set for UK return after release from US jail. middleeasteye.net Al-Qaeda operative Adel Abdel Bary set for UK return after release from US jail | Abdel Bary had been sentenced to 25 years in jail for disseminating al-Qaeda's claim of responsibility for bombings targeting US embassies in east Africa | Mon, 10/12/2020 – 22: 15 | Site of bombing of US embassy in Nairobi, 8 August 1998 (AFP/File photo)
| Adel Abdel Bary, a British Egyptian who served as a spokesman for al-…

MEE staff (2020-10-12). Israel's cabinet approves normalisation deals ahead of visits to UAE, Bahrain. middleeasteye.net Israel's cabinet approves normalisation deals ahead of visits to UAE, Bahrain | An Israeli delegation will fly to Bahrain and the UAE later this week, as Netanyahu hints at future meeting with Emirati crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed | Mon, 10/12/2020 – 14: 42 | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed (AFP) | The Israeli cabinet approved on Monday the Abrah…

teleSUR (2020-10-12). World COVID-19 Updates – October 12. telesurenglish.net Europe eyes stricter measures as countries set all-time daily records | – Brazil reports least daily deaths since April | – Ecuador's largest hospital ready for potential spike in cases | – Egypt confirms 129 new infections, 104,516 in total | – Qatar reports 206 new cases, 128,191 in total | – Myanmar reports 1,344 new cases, 18 more deaths…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-12). Teachers' strike enters third week in Zimbabwe. peoplesdispatch.org The strike by Zimbabwe's public school teachers entered its third week on Monday, October 12. Zimbabwe's teachers pointed out that with their salaries, they cannot even afford to go to work.

teleSUR (2020-10-12). Africa's Tallest Mountain 'Kilimanjaro' Is on Fire. telesurenglish.net Tanzania National Park Sunday reported that Mount Kilimanjaro, which is the highest mountain in Africa, caught fire in an area hundreds of meters above sea level. | RELATED: | Residents of the communities nearby have joined the firefighters in their effort to halt the fire, which started at Whona, one of the mountain's camps for climbers. | The students and staff of Mweka Wildlife College are among the volunteers who are joining hands in the f…

Sophia Purdy-Moore (2020-10-12). Nigerian government officially disbands notorious police unit, but the fight against police brutality is far from over. thecanary.co The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is a unit of the Nigerian Police Force. Over the years, evidence has mounted of SARS units unlawfully arresting and detaining young people across the country. That evidence includes accounts of kidnapping, extrajudicial executions, stealing property and extorting money. | Since 2016, Amnesty International has documented at least 82 cases of torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial executions by SARS. In a

MEE and agencies (2020-10-11). Cairo court begins high-profile 'Egyptian MeToo' case. middleeasteye.net Cairo court begins high-profile 'Egyptian MeToo' case | Accusations against former student prompted wave of shocking revelations in Egypt | Sun, 10/11/2020 – 10: 07 | An Instagram post reveals accusations against former student Ahmed Zaki (AFP) | An Egyptian court on Saturday began hearing a high-profile case of blackmail and sexual assault that released a wave of accusations against promi…

MEE staff (2020-10-11). Most Arab citizens do not earn enough to live on: Survey. middleeasteye.net Most Arab citizens do not earn enough to live on: Survey | Arab Opinion Index also says more than 60 percent believe Israel and United States are biggest threats to the Arab world's security | Sun, 10/11/2020 – 13: 03 | A man receives subsidized food items in Egypt (Reuters) | The majority of citizens in Arab countries believe they do not earn enough for their family's needs, according to a survey across 13 co…

Elijah Magnier (2020-10-11). Difficult negotiations between Lebanon and Israel ahead. thealtworld.com Amid the domestic split between members of different political groups in Lebanese society, the country is preparing to start an indirect negotiation with Israel, pursuing a decades-old border dispute. After nine years of indirect discussion, both sides have agreed on a road map negotiated by the Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri. The negotiations over the final borders are expected to begin in the week starting 14 October in the neighbouring Lebanese city of Naqoura at the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and under its auspices. The negotiation is far from being a Lebanese normalisa…

Pavan Kulkarni (2020-10-11). In Zimbabwe, teachers defy president's threat and continue protest into third week. peoplesdispatch.org Teachers in Zimbabwe, who are finding it to even difficult to travel to schools due to the decline in the value of their salaries, began staying off from work from September 28…

Abdel Bari Atwan (2020-10-11). The Saudi campaign against the Palestinians. thealtworld.com A concerted effort is underway to prepare public opinion for normalization with Israel | In June 2006, about a week after Israel's assault on Lebanon began, a Saudi delegation visited Washington and met with President George Bush Jr., who made an exception to receive them at the White House on a Sunday. The delegation was led by the then foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, and included the national security advisor and former ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar bin-Sultan, and the serving ambassador and ex-intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal. | The day after that meeting, the three princes sent a…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-11). South African workers strike against govt corruption, COVID-19 failures, job losses. peoplesdispatch.org A historic general strike was held in numerous cities and towns across South Africa on October 7 against corruption, job losses, govt failures during the pandemic, and its refusal to honor the wage agreement it had signed with public servants.

MEE and agencies (2020-10-10). Coronavirus pandemic hits Tunisians with 165,000 job losses. middleeasteye.net Coronavirus pandemic hits Tunisians with 165,000 job losses | Key tourism industry has collapsed, with curfew latest step in bid to contain rise in Covid-19 cases | Sat, 10/10/2020 – 14: 15 | Tunisia is struggling with high unemployment amid record economic contraction (AFP) | The coronavirus pandemic has plunged Tunisia into an economic crisis that has cost tens of thousands of jobs and c…

Abdul Rahman (2020-10-10). Israel's man in Washington. peoplesdispatch.org It's election season in the United States and one aspect of president Donald Trump's record that is not up for debate is his role in sustaining and strengthening the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Trump has left no stone unturned to win the support of pro-Zionist groups in his country by subordinating US foreign policy interests to that of Israel. | Trump's use of US power, including its military and financial resources, has helped Israel achieve some of its long-term diplomatic and strategic goals. This includes recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the "normalization" of the relationship with Arab…

WSWS (2020-10-10). Dutch government's malign neglect accelerates resurgence of COVID-19. wsws.org The Netherlands has become a major hot-spot in western Europe for COVID-19 infections, with record numbers of confirmed infections each day.

WSWS (2020-10-10). Anger as UAW rams through 12-hour, 7-day schedule for FCA Sterling Heights Assembly skilled trades workers. wsws.org Skilled trades workers at the Fiat Chrysler Sterling Heights Assembly Plant are livid over the move by the UAW to force them into an inhuman work schedule without the formality of a vote.

Steve Horn (2020-10-10). Trump getting COVID is his Hurricane Sandy October Surprise for science denial. nationofchange.org From COVID-19 to the hurricanes of the climate crisis, even "moderate" Republicans have continually displayed a willingness to ignore and malign science.

_____ (2020-10-10). When Confronted By Hungry Bellies, Us Imperialists Reach For Their Guns. popularresistance.org In 1965, Ghana's Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah published a bold book, Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism. In this book, Nkrumah documented in great detail the way in which European and North American multinational firms — in close collaboration with their governments — continued to smother the aspirations of the new nations of Africa. As an example, Nkrumah took up his own country, Ghana, which had been known by the colonial name 'the Gold Coast' until 1957. | One of the old colonial companies, Ashanti Goldfields (a British company) continued to make fabulous profits from the hard labour of…

MEE staff (2020-10-09). Palestinians outraged by Saudi prince's barbed criticism of leadership. middleeasteye.net Palestinians outraged by Saudi prince's barbed criticism of leadership | Ex-Saudi spy chief's rant prompts suspicions Riyadh is clearing the way for Israeli normalisation | Fri, 10/09/2020 – 13: 26 | Bandar bin Sultan during an interview with Al-Arabiya channel (Screengrab) | Palestinians have reacted furiously to comments by top Saudi royal, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, a former Saudi spy chief and…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-09). Prominent Hirak protester Yacine Mebarki sentenced to 10 years in jail in Algeria. peoplesdispatch.org Yacine Mebarki is the latest in a long line of Hirak protesters and supporters, and journalists to face the wrath of the Algerian establishment. He has been charged with inciting atheism and undermining national unity…

WSWS (2020-10-09). One-day nationwide strike against South African ANC government. wsws.org The mass walkout is part of a broader wave of struggles by workers in recent months that have seen repeated actions by healthcare workers, municipal workers, bus drivers, teachers and workers in meat processing plants, steel works and warehouses.

WSWS (2020-10-09). Zimbabwean teachers refuse to work as government reopens schools without COVID-19 protection. wsws.org Teachers are demanding that as frontline workers they should have regular testing, adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and risk allowances before they are prepared to start work again.

WSWS (2020-10-09). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Thousands of South African workers held a nationwide strike Wednesday, while the PCS union ended the stoppage at the Tate art galley's commercial arm after 42 days of strike action, with a deal that includes job losses.

news.un (2020-10-09). The World Food Programme: a three-year experiment that became indispensable. news.un.org The need for the World Food Programme, the recipient of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, to exist is starker than ever. From conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to flooding in South Sudan, and the civil war in Yemen, man-made and natural disasters are leaving tens of millions of people unsure if they will have enough food for themselves and their families to survive on.

Cédric B. Chesnais, Sébastien D. Pion, Charlotte Boullé, Jacques Gardon, Nathalie Gardon-Wendel, Joà´l Fokom-Domgue, Joseph Kamgno, Michel Boussinesq (2020-10-09). Individual risk of post-ivermectin serious adverse events in subjects infected with Loa loa. thelancet.com By enabling the prediction of post-ivermectin SAE risk in communities with known distribution of L loa MFDs, our results can guide decisions on the choice of ivermectin-based treatment strategies. They also predict that 37 SAEs were prevented in 2015 by using a Test-and-Treat strategy in the Okola District of Cameroon.

sputniknews (2020-10-09). Swiss Hostage Killed by Terrorists in Mali — Foreign Ministry. sputniknews.com ZURICH (Sputnik) — A Swiss female citizen, who had been a hostage of terrorists in Mali for four years, has been killed, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said.