2020-12-03: News Headlines

Staff (2020-12-03). Ethnic Cleansing Feared as Ethiopia Wages War on Tigray Region Amid Communication Blackout. democracynow.org The United Nations has reached a deal with Ethiopia's government to allow humanitarian access to the northern Tigray region and start providing aid. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched military action against regional forces one month ago, setting off a bloody conflict and adding to the already alarming number of displaced people and refugees in the country and neighboring nations. Ethiopia has declared victory after announcing it took control of the capital of Tigray, but the Tigray People's Liberation Front says they are continuing to fight. CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir says what…

Ramzy Baroud (2020-12-03). Moving Past Apartheid: One-State is not Ideal Justice, but It is Just and Possible. counterpunch.org Once again, Europe's top diplomats expressed their 'deep concern' regarding Israel's ongoing illegal settlement expansion, again evoking the maxim that Israeli actions "threaten the viability of the two-state solution". This position was communicated by EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell, on November 19, during a video-conference with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki. All Israeli

Staff (2020-12-03). A Massacre in Lagos: Nigerian Military Forced to Admit It Fired Live Rounds at Peaceful Protesters. democracynow.org A CNN investigation has exposed the Nigerian Army's role in a deadly attack on protesters in the capital city of Lagos in October, when soldiers opened fire on protesters gathered at Lekki toll gate, a key roadway and protest site. At least 12 people were killed in the massacre, which the Army initially denied, and capped weeks of demonstrations against the notorious Nigerian police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS. Senior CNN international correspondent Nima Elbagir says the massacre "had a chilling effect" on the protest movement and enraged many Nigerians. "We kept hearing from these famil…

MEE staff (2020-12-03). Egypt releases three human rights advocates after international outcry. middleeasteye.net Egypt releases three human rights advocates after international outcry | Arrests of top advocates at Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights drew rebuke from rights groups and Western governments | Thu, 12/03/2020 – 20: 01 | Rights advocates Gasser Abdelrazek, Karim Ennarah and Mohamed Basheer were released on Thursday (AFP/File photo) | Egypt has released three prominent rights defenders whose detention last…

Israel Shahak (2020-12-03). "Greater Israel": The Zionist Plan for the Middle East. globalresearch.ca When viewed in the current context, the war on Iraq, the 2006 war on Lebanon, the 2011 war on Libya, the ongoing wars on Syria and Iraq, the war on Yemen, must be understood in relation to the Zionist Plan for the Middle East…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-03). No matter who wins Dec. 7 elections, Ghana will continue on a neoliberal path. peoplesdispatch.org Kwesi Pratt Jnr. of Pan African Television analyzes the political situation in Ghana ahead of the national elections of December 7. He talks about essential continuity between the two leading parties that dominate the country's politics…

news.un (2020-12-02). Ethiopian Government and UN strike deal for 'unimpeded' humanitarian access in Tigray. news.un.org The UN on Friday announced that agreement has been reached with the Ethiopian Government to allow "unimpeded, sustained and secure access" for humanitarian supplies to reach those in need across areas now under its control in Tigray.

MEE and agencies (2020-12-02). Egypt: Amnesty condemns 'horrifying execution spree'. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Amnesty condemns 'horrifying execution spree' | Dozens of people have been put to death in the past two months according to UK-based rights group | Wed, 12/02/2020 – 08: 14 | Amnesty said the 'execution spree' followed an incident in September at Cairo's Tora prison in which several policemen and death-row prisoners were killed in a botched breakout attempt (AFP) | Amnesty Internati…

John Oller (2020-12-02). hCG Found in WHO Tetanus Vaccine in Kenya Raises Concern in the Developing World. globalresearch.ca Of relevance to the current debate on vaccines, originally published in 2017 | Abstract | In 1993, WHO announced a "birth-control vaccine" for "family planning". Published research shows that by 1976 WHO researchers had conjugated tetanus toxoid (TT) with human chorionic gonadotropin …

_____ (2020-12-02). Is the U.S. Actually a 'Police State'? strategic-culture.org Eric ZUESSE | Is the phrase "police state" anything more than propaganda that a government uses against a foreign government that it wants to overthrow — such as the U.S. did against Iraq before invading it in 2003, and against Libya and Syria since 2011, and against Venezuela since 2012, and against Ukraine since 2013, and in all instances destroyed those countries, allegedly to 'bring democracy and human rights and the rule of law, and fight against corruption' there (as if that were honestly the intention)? | The phrase "police state" is used propagandistically to denigrate a foreign nation that one's ow…

sputniknews (2020-12-02). North Korean Hackers Reportedly Conduct Attacks on COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Across the World. sputniknews.com Stories of North Korea-affiliated hacker groups attacking firms and laboratories involved in the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for the disease have been circulating for months. Pyongyang always dismisses the allegations, claiming that no evidence of malign cyber activity has been produced.

_____ (2020-12-02). Ethiopia: The TPLF's Precipitous Fall. popularresistance.org The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) is facing a "final and conclusive" offensive against it by Ethiopian federal forces. On Tuesday, November 17, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia's Prime Minister, declared that, "The three-day ultimatum given to Tigray special forces and the militia to surrender to the national defence…ended today. Following the expiration of this deadline, the final critical act of law enforcement will be done in the coming days." The dire situation that the TPLF now finds itself in reflects just how precipitous its fall from power has been.

teleSUR (2020-12-02). Cuba: 8th Communist Party Congress Convened for April 2021. telesurenglish.net With the attendance of José Ramón Machado Ventura, the second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the main event was held for the 64th anniversary of the Disembarkment of the Granma yacht and the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the party's system of schools.

_____ (2020-12-02). Provisional Government Of West Papua Won't Bow Down To Jakarta. popularresistance.org Today, we announce the formation of our Provisional Government of West Papua. We are ready to take over our territory, and we will no longer bow down to Jakarta's illegal martial rule. From today, December 1, 2020, we begin implementing our own constitution and reclaiming our sovereign land. | On this day in 1961, the elected West New Guinea Council raised the Morning Star flag in Jayapura. Our national anthem and name, West Papua, were accepted. Diplomats from Australia, the Netherlands and the UK, and a delegation from colonised Papua New Guinea had already witnessed the formation of the Council on April 5, 196…

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-02). Death toll of Boko Haram's latest terrorist attack at 79. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 02 (MNA) — According to the latest data, Saturday's terror attack of Boko Haram on rice farmers in Borno, north of Nigeria, has killed 79 innocent people.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-02). Sudan struggles to cope with refugees of war in Ethiopia's Tigray region. peoplesdispatch.org As many as 43,000 refugees crossed over from Tigray into Sudan during the two-and-a half week-long military conflict between November 4-28. They are mainly in the El Gedaref and Kassala States…

news.un (2020-12-02). Foreign fighters a 'serious crisis' in Libya, UN mission chief tells high stakes political forum. news.un.org The 20,000 foreign fighters now in Libya represent "a serious crisis" and "a shocking violation of Libyan sovereignty", UN Acting Special Representative Stephanie Williams said on Wednesday, during the latest meeting under the country's political dialogue forum.

Ramzy Baroud (2020-12-01). Moving Past Apartheid: One-State is not Ideal Justice, but It is Just and Possible. dissidentvoice.org Once again, Europe's top diplomats expressed their 'deep concern' regarding Israel's ongoing illegal settlement expansion, again evoking the maxim that Israeli actions "threaten the viability of the two-state solution". This position was communicated by EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell, on November 19, during a video-conference with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki. All Israeli …

Nur Ayoubi (2020-12-01). Egypt: Photographer and model arrested over pyramid photoshoot. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Photographer and model arrested over pyramid photoshoot | Latest instance of detentions by Egyptian forces over images of women deemed too 'provocative' has garnered mixed reactions online | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 52 | Model Salma al-Shimi in one of the images taken at the Saqqara site (Screengrab/Twitter) | Photos of an Egyptian model have sparked intense debate online, after both the photographer an…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). US accuses UAE of funding Russian mercenaries in Libya. middleeasteye.net US accuses UAE of funding Russian mercenaries in Libya | A US Africa Command says Wagner Group's support of Khalifa Haftar may have been paid for by its ally the United Arab Emirates | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 21 | The US Pentagon said Wagner had deployed 2,000 mercenaries in Libya to prop up Haftar's attempt to take control of Tripoli (AFP) | The United States has accused its ally the UAE of funding Russian merc…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). US accuses UAE of funding Russian mercenaries in Libya. middleeasteye.net US accuses UAE of funding Russian mercenaries in Libya | A US Africa Command says Wagner Group's support of Khalifa Haftar may have been paid for by its ally the United Arab Emirates | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 21 | The US Pentagon said Wagner had deployed 2,000 mercenaries in Libya to prop up Haftar's attempt to take control of Tripoli (AFP) | The United States has accused its ally the UAE of funding Russian merc…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report. middleeasteye.net Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report | Conditional on its removal from US's terror sponsors list, Sudan agreed last month to normalise ties with Israel. Now the future of the diplomatic deal hangs on Congress | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 18: 12 | Side-by-side images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP/File photos) | Sudan h…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Israel High Court authorises takeover of Palestinian land near Jerusalem. middleeasteye.net Israel High Court authorises takeover of Palestinian land near Jerusalem | Court's decision reportedly paves the way for the retroactive formalisation of a number of illegal outposts and settlements | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 12: 09 | The Palestinian Qalandiya refugee camp (foreground) and the Jewish settlement of Kokhav Yaakov (background), in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 6 July 2017 (AFP) | Israel's High Court a…

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Israel High Court authorises takeover of Palestinian land near Jerusalem. middleeasteye.net Israel High Court authorises takeover of Palestinian land near Jerusalem | Court's decision reportedly paves the way for the retroactive formalisation of a number of illegal outposts and settlements | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 12: 09 | The Palestinian Qalandiya refugee camp (foreground) and the Jewish settlement of Kokhav Yaakov (background), in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 6 July 2017 (AFP) | Israel's High Court a…

Daniel Hilton (2020-12-01). The killer mines of Libya: How they work, what they do. middleeasteye.net The killer mines of Libya: How they work, what they do | After a decade of upheaval, Libya is awash with arms. But mines found since Haftar's assault on Tripoli are of a new type likely brought in by the Wagner Group | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 14: 31 | A diagram in a Tripoli military base of a OZM-72 found in situ by GNA forces (MEE/Daniel Hilton) | Fourteen months of fighting in Tripoli has turned the Li…

MEE staff (2020-12-01). Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report. middleeasteye.net Sudan to pull out of Israel deal if US fails to pass terror delisting: Report | Conditional on its removal from US's terror sponsors list, Sudan agreed last month to normalise ties with Israel. Now the future of the diplomatic deal hangs on Congress | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 18: 12 | Side-by-side images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (AFP/File photos) | Sudan h…

Daniel Hilton (2020-12-01). Booby-trapped bodies and trip-wire toys: The perils of clearing Tripoli of mines. middleeasteye.net Booby-trapped bodies and trip-wire toys: The perils of clearing Tripoli of mines | Libya's capital and its suburbs were pounded during Haftar's assault. But danger remains in the tonnes of explosives left behind | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 14: 47 | Having packed sandbags over a grenade, Colonel Naji al-Garabli describes the upcoming blast (MEE/Daniel Hilton) | When Colonel Naji al-Garabli pushes the detona…

RT (2020-12-01). Iran 'aggressively' challenging regional security, Bahrain claims, calls for 'unrelenting pressure' on Tehran. rt.com Bahrain's foreign minister has condemned what he termed Tehran's heightened interference and aggression in the Middle East, saying it's essential the international community confront Iran's behavior "with unrelenting pressure." | Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani said on Tuesday that Iran's aggression was a regional security challenge that needs to be confronted head-on. | Iran today challenges regional security as aggressively as at any time in recent history. | Al-Zayani made the remarks during a virtual meeting for US-Bahrain Strategic Dialogue. | The minister said that Iran's "malign intent and activities are…

MEE correspondent (2020-12-01). Detained Egypt rights lawyer seriously ill and 'at risk' in detention, says family. middleeasteye.net Detained Egypt rights lawyer seriously ill and 'at risk' in detention, says family | Hoda Abdelmoneim's husband and daughter are urging authorities to release her after her pretrial detention period has expired | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 15: 51 | Human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim's pretrial detention expired on 21 November, but she remains in custody (Supplied) | The family of detained huma…

RT (2020-12-01). Iran 'aggressively' challenging regional security, Bahrain claims, calls for 'unrelenting pressure' on Tehran. rt.com Bahrain's foreign minister has condemned what he termed Tehran's heightened interference and aggression in the Middle East, saying it's essential the international community confront Iran's behavior "with unrelenting pressure." | Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani said on Tuesday that Iran's aggression was a regional security challenge that needs to be confronted head-on. | Iran today challenges regional security as aggressively as at any time in recent history. | Al-Zayani made the remarks during a virtual meeting for US-Bahrain Strategic Dialogue. | The minister said that Iran's "malign intent and activities are…

John Pilger (2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …

Nur Ayoubi (2020-12-01). Egypt: Photographer and model released after arrest over pyramid photoshoot. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Photographer and model released after arrest over pyramid photoshoot | Latest instance of detentions by Egyptian forces over images of women deemed too 'provocative' has garnered mixed reactions online | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 13: 52 | Model Salma al-Shimi in one of the images taken at the Saqqara site (Screengrab/Twitter) | Photos of an Egyptian model have sparked intense debate online, after both the ph…

MEE correspondent (2020-12-01). Detained Egypt rights lawyer seriously ill and 'at risk' in detention, says family. middleeasteye.net Detained Egypt rights lawyer seriously ill and 'at risk' in detention, says family | Hoda Abdelmoneim's husband and daughter are urging authorities to release her after her pretrial detention period has expired | Tue, 12/01/2020 – 15: 51 | "> | Human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim's pretrial detention expired on 21 November, but she remains in custody (Suppl…

news.un (2020-12-01). Mali: COVID-19 and conflict lead to rise in child trafficking. news.un.org Child trafficking is rising in Mali, along with forced labour and forced recruitment by armed groups, due to conflict, insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.

Matthew Ehret-Kump (2020-12-01). The Nuremberg Tribunal: 75 Years Later and Still the Basis for Humanity's Survival. globalresearch.ca "The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating, that Civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated. That four great nations, flushed with victory and …

news.un (2020-12-01). UNHCR asks Ethiopia for urgent access to 96,000 Eritreans cut off without food. news.un.org The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, appealed to Ethiopia on Tuesday for urgent access to 96,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia's Tigray region, saying the month-long conflict in Tigray had left them without vital supplies.

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-01). Iranian envoy submits credentials to FM of Congo. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 01 (MNA) — The new Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran presented a copy of his credentials to the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday.

Abdel Bari Atwan (2020-12-01). Kushner's 'farewell' Gulf tour. thealtworld.com Why is Trump's son-in-law visiting Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the dying weeks of their administration? | One of the best things about Joe Biden's election as US president is that we will no longer have to see the face of the avaricious Jared Kushner, or at least not for the next four years. Whatever we may think of the incoming US administration and its policies, this disciple of Benjamin Netanyahu, orchestrator of normalisation and plunderer of Arab coffers should hopefully disappear from the limelight. | Kushner, who has spent the past four years exploiting his position as son-in-law of the most pro-Zionist and…

Jasmine Norden (2020-12-01). As the Ethiopian government claims victory over Tigray, the UN warns the conflict isn't over. thecanary.co The United Nations (UN) has warned that hundreds of thousands of displaced people could still be in danger, after the Ethiopian government declared victory over Tigray. | The UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi Abduction reports remain unconfirmed, but Grandi told journalists refugee abductions: would be major violations of i…

WSWS (2020-12-01). Dozens feared dead in mine collapse as pandemic-fueled social catastrophe wracks Zimbabwe. wsws.org Thirty informal miners were trapped after the November 25 collapse of the abandoned gold mine where they were working. Six were rescued alive a few hours after the collapse.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-12-01). Majority of COVID-19 deaths in Khartoum, Sudan are undetected. imperial.ac.uk The majority of COVID-19 Deaths in Khartoum, Sudan are not detected, according to a new report from Imperial's researchers.

sputniknews (2020-12-01). Ethiopian Prime Minister Announces End of Military Operations in Tigray Region. sputniknews.com Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Saturday said military operations were over in the Tigray Region after the army captured the regional capital of Mekelle, but the Tigray People's Liberation Front said it will keep fighting.

MEE staff (2020-11-30). New Delhi accuses OIC of indulging in anti-India propaganda. middleeasteye.net New Delhi accuses OIC of indulging in anti-India propaganda | Indian government issues strong rebuke of Organisation of Islamic Conference following resolutions passed on Kashmir during annual meeting in Niger | Mon, 11/30/2020 – 17: 52 | The OIC is the world's second-largest inter-governmental organisation after the UN, with 57 member states (AFP/File photo) | The Indian government has issued a strong rebuke…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-30). Egyptian man returns to Australia after 10 month imprisonment in Egypt over Facebook post. middleeasteye.net Egyptian man returns to Australia after 10 month imprisonment in Egypt over Facebook post | Waled Youssef was accused of belonging to a banned political group and imprisoned in the notorious Tora prison in Cairo

| Mon, 11/30/2020 – 07: 35 | Youssef's return home comes as Egypt continues to three rights activists from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights after meeting with E…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-30). Egyptian man returns to Australia after jailing in Egypt over Facebook post. middleeasteye.net Egyptian man returns to Australia after jailing in Egypt over Facebook post | Waled Youssef was accused of belonging to a banned political group and imprisoned in the notorious Tora prison in Cairo

| Mon, 11/30/2020 – 07: 35 | Youssef's return home comes as Egypt continues to imprison rights activists from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights after meeting with European dip…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-30). Egyptian man returns to Australia after jailing in Egypt over Facebook post. middleeasteye.net Egyptian man returns to Australia after jailing in Egypt over Facebook post | Waled Youssef was accused of belonging to a banned political group and imprisoned in the notorious Tora prison in Cairo

| Mon, 11/30/2020 – 07: 35 | Youssef's return home comes as Egypt continues to imprison rights activists from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights after meeting with European dip…

MEE staff (2020-11-30). Egypt prosecutor 'temporarily' closes file on Giulio Regeni murder case. middleeasteye.net Egypt prosecutor 'temporarily' closes file on Giulio Regeni murder case | No suspects have been identified in case of slain Italian student who was tortured and killed four years ago, Egyptian prosecutor says | Mon, 11/30/2020 – 19: 31 | Activists of human rights organisation Amnesty International take part in a demonstration in Piazza Castello in Turin on 25 January (AFP/File photo) | Egypt's public prosecuto…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-30). Egyptian man returns to Australia after 10 month imprisonment in Egypt over Facebook post. middleeasteye.net Egyptian man returns to Australia after 10 month imprisonment in Egypt over Facebook post | Waled Youssef was accused of belonging to a banned political group and imprisoned in the notorious Tora prison in Cairo

| Mon, 11/30/2020 – 07: 35 | Youssef's return home comes as Egypt continues to three rights activists from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights after meeting with E…

MEE staff (2020-11-30). Egypt prosecutor 'temporarily' closes file on Giulio Regeni murder case. middleeasteye.net Egypt prosecutor 'temporarily' closes file on Giulio Regeni murder case | No suspects have been identified in case of slain Italian student who was tortured and killed four years ago, Egyptian prosecutor says | Mon, 11/30/2020 – 19: 31 | Activists of human rights organisation Amnesty International take part in a demonstration in Piazza Castello in Turin on 25 January (AFP/File photo) | Egypt's public prosecuto…