(2020-11-27). Britain's Class War on Children. counterpunch.org 
When I first reported on child poverty in Britain, I was struck by the faces of children I spoke to, especially the eyes. They were different: watchful, fearful. In Hackney, in 1975, I filmed Irene Brunsden's family. Irene told me she gave her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes. "She doesn't tell me she's hungry, she
(2020-11-27). Escaping the Armed Madhouse. counterpunch.org 
A review of Robert Anton Wilson's The Starseed Signals "To remain in the neuro-semantic insanity of larval society, without laughing hysterically or otherwise giving away the secret of one's mutation, is the path of the Boddhisattva, who, like Father Demian going to live among the lepers, steels himself against the risk of contagion and returns
(2020-11-27). Four Days in Occupied Western Sahara — A Rare Look Inside Africa's Last Colony as Ceasefire Ends. democracynow.org 
In this special rebroadcast of a Democracy Now! exclusive documentary, we break the media blockade and go to occupied Western Sahara in the northwest of Africa to document the decades-long Sahrawi struggle for freedom and Morocco's violent crackdown. Morocco has occupied the territory since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. Thousands have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the Moroccan occupation. A 1,700-mile wall divides Sahrawis who remain under occupation from those who fled into exile. Earlier this month, a three-decade ceasefire in Western…
(2020-11-27). Arabic press review: 'Mass corruption' probe at Saudi defence ministry. middleeasteye.net 
Arabic press review: 'Mass corruption' probe at Saudi defence ministry | Meanwhile, French foreign minister says France is being defamed, a plane full of dollars arrives in Damascus from the UAE, and Egypt's prisoners denied visits | Fri, 11/27/2020 – 14: 45 | Saudi authorities are reportedly investigating 158 criminal cases involving 226 Saudi citizens and residents suspected of squandering hun…
(2020-11-27). Britain's Class War on Children. globalresearch.ca In this abridged article published by the London Daily Mirror & based on his 1975 film, Smashing Kids, John Pilger describes class as Britain's most virulent disease, causing record levels of child poverty. | *** | When I first reported on child …
(2020-11-27). Maradona: The Fragile God of the Global South. globalresearch.ca His life was a running planetary pop opera for the ages. From Somalia to Bangladesh, everyone is familiar with the basic contours of his story — the pibe from Villa Fiorito, a poor suburb of Buenos Aires ("I am a …
(2020-11-27). First of four UN humanitarian airlifts for Ethiopia refugees lands in Khartoum. news.un.org An airplane loaded with humanitarian supplies for people fleeing violence in Ethiopia's Tigray region has arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, the UN refugee agency (UNCHR) said on Friday, in an appeal for international assistance to cope with the growing numbers seeking shelter in Sudan.
(2020-11-27). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Youth and workers shut state-run phosphate plant in Tunisia demanding jobs; four-hour national public sector strike in Italy in protest at pandemic social and health catastrophe; months-long strike of nurses in Zimbabwe sold out by unions; community health workers continue stoppages and protests for pay rise and improved conditions…
(2020-11-27). Court in Tunisia sentences blogger to two years in prison over social media posts. peoplesdispatch.org Blogger Wajdi Mahouechi was reportedly arrested after he criticized the public prosecutor in Tunisia. On November 12, the Tunis First Instance Court convicted him of all charges and sentenced him to two years in prison along with a fine of 1,000 Tunisian Dinars (USD 300)…
(2020-11-27). Rising hunger in drought-stricken southern Madagascar forcing families to eat insects: WFP. news.un.org Hunger is on the rise in southern Madagascar due to consecutive years of drought, affecting half the region's population, or 1.5 million people, and forcing most families to eat insects, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Friday.
(2020-11-27). If maliciously defying voting doesn't justify another impeachment, what does? nationofchange.org Where are widespread calls to arms that defying a legitimate election qualifies as the crisis of crises?>
(2020-11-26). Egyptian rights activist Hafez Abu Seada dies after contracting Covid-19. middleeasteye.net 
Egyptian rights activist Hafez Abu Seada dies after contracting Covid-19 | Co-founder of Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights was diagnosed with coronavirus in mid-November | Thu, 11/26/2020 – 16: 35 | Hafez Abu Seada and wife Nehad Abo El Komsan (Facebook) | Hafez Abu Seada, a leading Egyptian human-rights activist, has died after contracting Covid-19, his wife said on Thursday. | Seada, co-f…
(2020-11-26). Inaugural Dubai-Tel Aviv commercial flights touch down amid normalized relations between UAE and Israel. rt.com 
A flydubai flight from Tel Aviv touched down in Dubai on Thursday, marking the first scheduled commercial service between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, in a continuation of the two states' normalized relations. | Passengers on the Dubai-Tel Aviv leg earlier on Thursday were greeted on arrival by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who hailed the inaugural four-hour journey as the "realization of a dream." | Some 200 Israelis then boarded the plane for its return leg to the UAE and were greeted with the message "Welcome to Dubai" as they disembarked. The airline will operate twice-daily fights bet…
(2020-11-26). Morocco says Bahrain will open consulate in Western Sahara. middleeasteye.net 
Morocco says Bahrain will open consulate in Western Sahara | More than dozen African nations have opened consulates in Western Sahara as Rabat musters support for its control over area contested by Polisario | Thu, 11/26/2020 – 19: 55 | Decision to open consulate came after phone call between King Mohammed VI and King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain (AFP/File photo) | Bahrain will open…
(2020-11-26). Egyptian human rights activist dies after contracting Covid-19. middleeasteye.net Egyptian human rights activist dies after contracting Covid-19 | Hafez Abu Seada, co-founder of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, was diagnosed with coronavirus in mid-November | Thu, 11/26/2020 – 16: 35 | Hafez Abu Seada and his wife Nehad Abo El Komsan (Facebook) | Hafez Abu Seada, a Leading Egyptian human rights activist, has died after contracting Covid-19, his wife announced on Th…
(2020-11-26). Egyptian human-rights activist dies after contracting Covid-19. middleeasteye.net Egyptian human-rights activist dies after contracting Covid-19 | Hafez Abu Seada, co-founder of Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, was diagnosed with coronavirus in mid-November | Thu, 11/26/2020 – 16: 35 | Hafez Abu Seada and wife Nehad Abo El Komsan (Facebook) | Hafez Abu Seada, a leading Egyptian human-rights activist, has died after contracting Covid-19, his wife said on Thursday. | Sea…
(2020-11-26). Gaza blockade has pushed more than one million people below poverty line. middleeasteye.net 
Gaza blockade has pushed more than one million people below poverty line | UN report says that 11-year blockade of the coastal enclave cost Palestinians $16.7bn | Thu, 11/26/2020 – 12: 03 | Vehicles transporting Palestinians about to cross onto the Egyptian side wait at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt (AFP) | Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip has pushed more th…
(2020-11-26). Egyptian artist Ramy Essam's new song inspired by poet jailed for 1,000 days. middleeasteye.net 
Egyptian artist Ramy Essam's new song inspired by poet jailed for 1,000 days | Ramy Essam, who was at the forefront of the 2011 protests in Egypt, has released a new song to highlight Galal El-Behairy's imprisonment | Thu, 11/26/2020 – 10: 52 | Essam has released a new song to raise awareness of the imprisonment of Galal El-Behairy (MEE/Patrick Fore/Ganzeer) | Egyptian artist and musician Ramy Essam rele…
(2020-11-25). Libya: US sanctions Kaniyat militia suspected of killing hundreds. middleeasteye.net 
Libya: US sanctions Kaniyat militia suspected of killing hundreds | Armed group, which is part of Haftar's LNA, accused of human rights abuses in the Libyan town of Tarhuna | Wed, 11/25/2020 – 15: 27 | Mohammed al-Kani and his brother Abdul Rahman al-Kani (Social media) | The United States on Wednesday unilaterally sanctioned the Kaniyat, a militia accused of murdering hundreds of civilians in the…
(2020-11-25). Headlines for November 25, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Sees Deadliest Day in Pandemic in Over 6 Months as Hospitalizations Reach Record High, U.S. to Begin Pfizer Vaccine Distribution by Mid-December, France Readies to Ease Restrictions as Italy and Spain Record Highest Death Tolls of Second Wave, Russia Says Sputnik Vaccine Over 95% Effective, Biden National Security Appointments Focus on Multilateralism, International Cooperation, Trump Takes Credit for Historic Dow Jones Surge, Plans Election Hearing with Giuliani at Gettysburg, Donors Pledge $12 Billion in Afghan Aid as 14 Killed in Bamiyan in Latest Act of Violence, Ethiopia Warns of Imminent Attack in Tigr…
(2020-11-25). Ethiopia: Death and Despair as Divisions Erupt Into Violent Conflict. dissidentvoice.org Grandmothers carrying babies, mothers, children, men young and old with nothing but the clothes on their backs are fleeing fighting in northern Ethiopia and making their way to Sudan, where emergency camps await them; according to the UNHCR 5,000 a day are making the journey. Ethiopians are killing one another in the Tigray region of …
(2020-11-25). Health workers in Kenya set to embark on strike on December 7. peoplesdispatch.org Doctors, nurses, and clinical officers in Kenya are all set to down tools on December 7 on a range of demands from the government, including provision of health insurance, quality PPEs, isolation and treatment centers for health workers…
(2020-11-25). Putin Talks Global Stability and Coronavirus Vaccine with Ambassadors. globalresearch.ca While receiving newly arrived Ambassadors accredited to the Russian Federation from different foreign countries including Rwanda, Gambia and Central African Republic, President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of coordinating global efforts to ensure stability and halt the spread of coronavirus …
(2020-11-25). Alert over growing use of cluster munitions, despite stockpile reductions. news.un.org Lethal cluster munitions are still being used in old and new conflicts around the world, from Syria to Libya, to Nagorno-Karabakh, a UN-backed civil society report said on Wednesday.
(2020-11-25). Ex-Sudanese Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi Dies of COVID-19 in UAE – Reports. sputniknews.com Al-Mahdi, the leader of the largest opposition party in Sudan, became head of the country's government in 1986 but was overthrown in a military coup in 1989 that led the now ex-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to power.
(2020-11-24). Egyptian rights group says jailed director is in 'danger' from inhumane treatment. middleeasteye.net 
Egyptian rights group says jailed director is in 'danger' from inhumane treatment | The arrest of EIPR staff has triggered rare western condemnation of the Sisi government's crackdown on human rights | Tue, 11/24/2020 – 14: 02 | Gasser Abdelrazek was detained on 19 November, a few days after two of his colleagues were arrested over a human rights seminar their organisation held with western diplomats (EIPR)…
(2020-11-24). EXCLUSIVE: Ilhan Omar calls for end to American sponsorship of police brutality. middleeasteye.net 
EXCLUSIVE: Ilhan Omar calls for end to American sponsorship of police brutality | Congresswoman to introduce resolution condemning police brutality, which could have implications for arms sales to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, MEE can reveal | Tue, 11/24/2020 – 16: 55 | Draft resolution urges US arms manufacturers to stop the sale of lethal and non-lethal weapons to countries with documented patterns of police bruta…
(2020-11-24). Juan González Remembers NYC's Only Black Mayor David Dinkins & Vieques Activist Carlos "Taso" Zenón. democracynow.org 
We speak with Democracy Now! co-host Juan González about the deaths of two leading figures he reported on: New York City Mayor David Dinkins and beloved Puerto Rican social leader Carlos "Taso" Zenón. "Most people forget [Dinkins] was a Democratic Socialist before democratic socialism was in vogue," notes González. He also recalls how Dinkins backed the movement against apartheid in South Africa, ordering the city to divest its pension fund from companies doing business there, and brought Nelson Mandela to the city right after he was freed. González also recalls how Zenón was a longtime activist who for decades l…
(2020-11-24). Egypt: Singer suspended by music syndicate over photo with Israeli celebrities. middleeasteye.net 
Egypt: Singer suspended by music syndicate over photo with Israeli celebrities | Mohamed Ramadan also faces a court case over accusations of normalisation with Israel | Tue, 11/24/2020 – 13: 36 | Egyptian singer Mohamed Ramadan has come under fire after posing for a photo with Israeli celebrities (AFP) | Egyptian singer Mohamed Ramadan was suspended by Egypt's Union of Artistic Syndicates on Mon…
(2020-11-24). South Africa's constitutional Court protects domestic workers. peoplesdispatch.org 
"It's unbelievable. We feel like flying, we are so happy. I nearly broke into song inside [the Constitutional Court], breaking the law…" These were the words of 77-year-old Eunice Dhladhla, a domestic workers' union organizer, after the court ended years of unfair exclusion and discrimination against domestic workers. | Twenty-six years into democracy, and still domestic workers could not claim compensation for contracting a disease, being injured or disabled, or even dying while at work. The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Disease Act expressly excluded domestic workers from the class of workers who…
(2020-11-24). Egypt urged to release two women whose pretrial detention has expired. middleeasteye.net 
Egypt urged to release two women whose pretrial detention has expired | On 21 November, the two-year pretrial detention limit of Hoda Abdelmonem and Aisha al-Shater ended, making their continued imprisonment unlawful, says rights group | Tue, 11/24/2020 – 13: 40 | Abdelmonem (L) and Shater were held in November 2018 as part of a wave of detentions which targeted nearly 40 human rights w…
(2020-11-24). Malawi is Just the Beginning: How Israel Changed the Political Narrative of an Entire Continent. mintpressnews.com 
The Palestinian cause was pivotal on the agenda of many African political parties in the 1970s and '80s. Over the last three decades, however, it has been pushed to the fringes of political discourse save for a handful of countries on the continent.
(2020-11-24). Terrorism Advances in Mozambique. globalresearch.ca Terrorism is advancing strongly in Africa, while international society remains silent. Jihadist penetration in Mozambique is absolutely out of control and threatens to spread across southern Africa. The barbarism of Islamist extremism brutally confronts the power of the national government, …
(2020-11-24). Fears of Desert Locust resurgence in Horn of Africa. news.un.org The Desert Locust crisis which struck the greater Horn of Africa region earlier this year threatening food supplies for millions, could re-escalate as recent strong winds carried mature swarmlets from southern Somalia into eastern and northeastern Kenya, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday.
(2020-11-24). Persecution of political prisoners and activists intensifies in Egypt. peoplesdispatch.org Imprisoned human rights activist Gasser Abdel-Razek has been subjected to cruel treatment in prison, claimed his lawyers. Meanwhile, on Monday, a criminal court in Cairo designated 28 Egyptians, including prominent activists, as terrorists…
(2020-11-24). Confrontation Versus Trade. strategic-culture.org Around the world there is movement to improve levels of trade and to ease formalities in order to make multilateral commerce simpler, less costly and beneficial to all participants. Naturally, individual countries want to protect their particular specialities while continuing to profit from their attraction (think French wine and Scotch whisky, for example), but negotiations can solve such problems, and it is apparent that more and more countries are prepared to engage in dialogue rather than flouncing away from compromise. | Except, most notably, the US and Britain which seem to consider that concession in negot…
(2020-11-24). Fears of Desert Locust resurgence in Horn of Africa, reports UN agency. news.un.org The Desert Locust crisis which struck the greater Horn of Africa region earlier this year threatening food supplies for millions, could re-escalate as recent strong winds carried mature swarmlets from southern Somalia into eastern and northeastern Kenya, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday.
(2020-11-24). Second round of UN-sponsored peace talks between Libyan factions kicks off. peoplesdispatch.org The talks, which are being held virtually, aim to identify criteria for selecting authorities to administer the country till the elections. In the first round of talks, it was decided that elections will be held in December 2021…
(2020-11-24). Protect civilians uphold human rights, UN tells warring parties in Ethiopia. news.un.org The UN's top human rights official has called on the parties to the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region to give "clear and unambiguous orders" to their forces not to target civilians, and protect them from assault.
(2020-11-24). Netanyahu in Saudi Arabia. thealtworld.com The Arab-Israeli normalisation fad will not last long. And the regimes involved will live to regret it. | With all the Israeli media confirming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks with Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin-Farhan's awkward denial that any such meeting took place was unconvincing in the extreme. | True, Netanyahu's office refused to confirm or deny the gathering held at the complex of royal palaces in north-eastern Saudi Arabia at the site of the planned 'mega-city' of Neom. It su…