2020-11-17: News Headlines

Andrew Korybko (2020-11-17). Russia's Red Sea Base in Sudan Is a Recalibration of Its Intra-Ummah Balancing Act. globalresearch.ca Russia's draft deal to open up a Red Sea naval base in Sudan amounts to a strategic recalibration of its careful "balancing" act between the GCC and Turkey after moving more closely to the latter following the end of the …

MEE and agencies (2020-11-17). Russia to build naval base in Sudan, ushering in new foothold in Africa. middleeasteye.net Russia to build naval base in Sudan, ushering in new foothold in Africa | Port Sudan facility will be Moscow's first substantial military presence on the continent since the fall of the Soviet Union | Tue, 11/17/2020 – 12: 15 | The new facility will make it easier for the Russian navy to operate in the Indian Ocean (AFP) | Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Monday approvin…

Alex MacDonald (2020-11-17). Barack Obama's legacy in the Middle East: Six things we learned from 'A Promised Land'. middleeasteye.net Barack Obama's legacy in the Middle East: Six things we learned from 'A Promised Land' | In his latest memoir, the former president discusses being pressured by the Israel lobby, Bahrain's assault on the pro-democracy movement, and the vagaries of having 12 wives | Tue, 11/17/2020 – 16: 21 | Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) and his US counterpart Barack Obama take part in a welcoming ceremon…

_____ (2020-11-17). Nigerian Government Revealing Its True Character In Response To Youth Protests. popularresistance.org Youth protests against police violence in Nigeria, the #EndSARS movement, gained international attention with solidarity protests around the world. To understand those protests and the context of the political, economic and social environment in Nigeria, I speak with Comrade Abiodun Aremu, the general secretary of the Joint Action Front and the co-coordinator of the Amil …

Roland Roth (2020-11-17). Democracy beyond Corona. indybay.org Diverse democracy immunizes against authoritarian impositions. | Whether the experiences of the lockdown will result in lasting damage in the sense of a democratically consumptive "new normality" depends not least on whether it is possible to take up and strengthen the very existing democracy-building impulses and initiatives – from "Black Lives Matter" to "Fridays for Future".

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-17). Organizations across the globe condemn Moroccan aggression in Western Sahara. peoplesdispatch.org Progressive groups from across the world have expressed their solidarity with people of Western Sahara in the wake of Morocco's aggression and breach of three-decade long ceasefire agreement on November 13. The organizations have condemned Moroccan aggression and called the international community to intervene to resolve the issue. | On Monday, November 16, Venezuelan social movements gathered in the center of the capital Caracas to express their solidarity with the Sahrawi people and their cause and denounce Moroccan aggression. The demonstrators demanded that the UN should intervene in a more decisive way in th…

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-17). People protest in Nigeria in support of Sheikh Zakzaky. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 17 (MNA) — A number of people, as supporters of Nigeria's top Shia Cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, staged peaceful demonstration, demanding the immediate release of leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and his wife.

_____ (2020-11-17). The New US War On Western Sahara. popularresistance.org There is a new U.S. war in Western Sahara, being waged by Morocco with the support of the U.S. military. The U.S. military, unbeknownst to most people in the United States — it's perfectly knowable but few give a damn — arms and trains and funds the militaries of the world, including almost all of the most brutal governments of the world. I can't compare this with the outrage in the U.S. media over the U.S. government feeding a few hungry people in the United States, because there isn't any outrage over it at all.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-17). Libyan warring factions agree to protect oil production facilities. peoplesdispatch.org The talks in Brega led to an agreement to create a joint force to protect the facilities. The political talks that were going in parallel did not lead to an agreement on a transitional government…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-17). What is happening in Ethiopia? peoplesdispatch.org The conflict in Ethiopia's northern region Tigray is intensifying. Hundreds have reportedly died and the fighting has now spilled across the country's national borders into neighboring countries. As the conflict spreads, it is feared that it could have a destabilizing effect on the broader region. | How did this conflict begin?

Sierra Club (2020-11-17). Thursday 11/19: African Diaspora and Climate Change from Kenya to New Orleans. indybay.org Online via livestream…

Staff (2020-11-16). Ceasefire Ends in Occupied Western Sahara After U.S.-Backed Moroccan Military Launches Operation. democracynow.org A nearly three-decade-old ceasefire has ended in occupied Western Sahara — what many consider to be Africa's last colony. Fighting has broken out in several areas between the Moroccan military and the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi liberation movement seeking independence, after the Moroccan military broke into a no-go buffer zone in southern Western Sahara. For the past three weeks, Sahrawi civilian protesters had blocked a Morocco-built road in the area that Sahrawis consider to be illegal. The peaceful blockade backed up traffic for miles and cut off trade between Morocco and Mauritania to the south. The P…

Dennis Laumann (2020-11-16). Jerry John Rawlings, 73; revolutionary leader of Ghana. peoplesworld.org The revolutionary and statesman Jerry John Rawlings, former President of Ghana, died on Thursday at the age of 73 and after a short illness. Seven days of mourning have been declared in the West African nation and campaigning for next month's general elections has been suspended. African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat declared: "Africa …

WSWS (2020-11-16). Ethiopia slides towards civil war as Tigray conflict escalates. wsws.org Politicians of all stripes have whipped up ethnic tensions to prevent a unified struggle by the impoverished masses against the Ethiopian elites.

sputniknews (2020-11-16). Sudanese Rebel Holdout Reportedly Preparing to Join Peace Talks in Juba. sputniknews.com Many of the rebel groups that refused to lay down arms after the 2019 overthrow of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir have recently signed peace agreements with the new government, but others with more hardline positions have remained ambivalent about giving up the fight.

_____ (2020-11-16). War in Ethiopia Threatens to Engulf Horn of Africa. strategic-culture.org The two-week-old civil war in Ethiopia is now embroiling neighboring Eritrea. The two countries previously fought a two-year border war (1998-2000) which resulted in 100,000 dead. But in a bizarre twist, the Ethiopian central government in Addis Ababa is siding with Eritrea to now wage a war against its own people in the northern Tigray region. | The Ethiopian central government has also

teleSUR (2020-11-16). Tigray Conflict Escalates, Gov't Rejects External Mediation. telesurenglish.net Ethiopian authorities confirmed on Monday the occupation of a town in the northern Tigray region following two weeks of armed conflict that has forced thousands of civilians to escape to neighboring Sudan. | RELATED: | The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) reported via Twitter that is carrying out "precision targets attacks on the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) weapon depots with no targeting of civilians populations and locations."