Daily Archives: 2020-08-12

2020-08-12: News Headlines

Staff (2020-08-12). Headlines for August 12, 2020. democracynow.org Joe Biden Taps Kamala Harris as Vice-Presidential Running Mate, Florida, Georgia Record Record Coronavirus Deaths as U.S. Colleges Delay Fall Sports Season, Bodies of COVID-19 Victims Lie Unclaimed Outside Chapel in La Paz, Bolivia, QAnon Conspiracy Theorist Wins Georgia 14th Congressional District GOP Primary, Rep. Ilhan Omar Fends Off Primary Challenger Who Dramatically Outraised Her, Clintons, Obamas Among Top Speakers at Democratic National Convention, Beirut Vigil Marks One Week Since Catastrophic Port Explosion, Thousands of Protesters in Mali Demand President's Ouster, Chicago Man Accused of Firing at Poli…

_____ (2020-08-12). Meatpacking Workers Continue To Struggle During The Pandemic. popularresistance.org Five thousand plant workers have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nebraska, representing nearly 20 percent of cases statewide, and at least 21 of those workers have died. Plants predominantly employ immigrants and refugees, consisting mostly of Latinos, but also Sudanese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and other groups. Even though workers' pay increased at the plants, so too did their workload. With many still out sick, workers have been expected to keep up with line speeds operating at full capacity. Many workers live in multigenerational homes, and the coronavirus case and death figures cited by Sen. Vargas do not acco…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-12). Algerian journalist Khaled Drareni sentenced to three years in prison for Facebook posts. peoplesdispatch.org An Algiers court handed journalist Khaled Drareni a three-year prison sentence. The verdict has been widely condemned by human rights groups and Hirak movement protesters…

Pan Africanism Today Secretariat (2020-08-12). Systemic corruption, mismanagement worsen Zimbabwe's economic crisis. peoplesdispatch.org The spread of COVID-19 has further exposed an already failing system, leading to an intensified political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. The government, however, seems busy cracking down on critics…

RT (2020-08-11). Western countries fighting 'info war' to discredit Russian Covid-19 vaccine are 'endangering lives of their citizens' — developer. rt.com Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine against Covid-19, has already become subject to coordinated information attacks from nations that have political differences with Moscow. | That's according to the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) which bankrolled the research. Kirill Dmitriev claims that, whether inspired by commercial concerns or just malice, the politicized approach of a number of Western countries ultimately jeopardizes the health and safety of their own citizens. | In the development and trials of the vaccine, Russia used a proven platform that had been tested on thousands of people over the…

news.un (2020-08-11). Violence in Sudan's Western Darfur forces 2,500 into Chad, reports UN refugee agency. news.un.org Recent clashes in Sudan's Western Darfur region has driven more than 2,500 people across the border into neighbouring Chad, the United Nations refugee agency has reported.

news.un (2020-08-11). Violence in Sudan's Western Darfur forces 2,500 into Chad: UN refugee agency. news.un.org Recent clashes in Sudan's Western Darfur region has driven more than 2,500 people across the border into neighbouring Chad, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has reported.

news.un (2020-08-11). Somalia: Draft law a 'major setback' for victims of sexual violence. news.un.org The UN official working to end rape during wartime is urging authorities in Somalia to scrap a proposed law that allows for child marriage, among other "very disturbing provisions".

Chad Marlow (2020-08-11). The U.S. Postal Service Was Never a Business. Stop Treating it Like One. aclu.org When the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General, our nation had not yet been founded. The Bill of Rights would not be drafted for another 16 years. Yet nearly two and a half centuries later, the United States Postal Service's ability to provide every person in America with a private, affordable, and reliable means to exchange information transformed it from a mail delivery service into a baseline for the exercise of American constitutional rights. , , Recent news that…

Staff (2020-08-10). Headlines for August 10, 2020. democracynow.org Lebanon Unrest Mounting as Death Toll from Catastrophic Port Blast Tops 200, Trump Signs Executive Orders After Coronavirus Bill Stalls, Dems Say They Are Unconstitutional , U.S. COVID-19 Cases Top 5 Million, with More Evidence of Infections in Children and Teens, Coronavirus Surging Across India, Brazil as Europe and Cuba Reimpose Containment Measures, Hong Kong Arrests Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai Under National Security Law, Protesters Take to Streets of Belarus, Accuse Officials of Fraud After Lukashenko Claims 80% of Vote, Mauritius in State of "Environmental Emergency" as Tanker Leeches Fuel into Protected Areas,…

news.un (2020-08-10). Political crisis in Guinea-Bissau: UN Representative urges political leaders to enact reforms. news.un.org Entrenched political divisions in Guinea-Bissau pose a serious threat to stability in the West African country, the top UN official there told the Security Council on Monday, as she called for continued international engagement and for reforms outlined in a four-year old agreement, to be enacted.

Binoy Kampmark (2020-08-10). Death From the Sky: Hiroshima and Normalised Atrocities. counterpunch.org When US President Harry S. Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by another on Nagasaki a few days later, he was not acting as an agent untethered from history. In the wheels of his wearied mind lay the battered Marines who, despite being victorious, had

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-10). VIDEO: Mauritius oil spill in Indian Ocean. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 10 (MNA) — The island of Mauritius is facing an environmental emergency as a wrecked ship is leaking tons of diesel and oil into the Indian Ocean. The island's government has declared an environmental emergency following the incident.

_____ (2020-08-10). Major New Study Calls For A Ban On Facial Recognition In Schools. popularresistance.org A new study from the University of Michigan on the use of facial recognition in schools is recommending that lawmakers and school administrators ban the use of this technology in educational settings. The researchers behind the study write that facial recognition in schools "will likely have five types of implications: exacerbating racism, normalizing surveillance and eroding privacy, narrowing the definition of the 'acceptable' student, commodifying data, and institutionalizing inaccuracy. Because FR is automated, it will extend these effects to more students than any manual system could." | "Using facial recogn…

yenisafak (2020-08-10). Gambia's health system near collapse amid pandemic. yenisafak.com The Gambia has seen over a 70% rise in coronavirus cases last week, and its health sector is crumbling under the weight of the deadly virus.The total number of confirmed cases in the country as of Aug. 7 stood at 1,235, with 23 deaths and 221 recoveries, according to the latest Health Ministry data released on Sunday. The Gambia's reporting of cases is two days behind due to lack of capacity to deal with the surge.The situation is "alarming" in the small West African country of around 2.4 million people, according to Modou Touray, communications director of the Gambia Red Cross Society, as the number of COVID-19…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-08-10). 'We Are Expecting the Worst': Alarm Over Eco Crisis Grows Amid Fears Ship Leaking Oil Near Mauritius Could Break in Two. commondreams.org Climate campaigers charge that "this oil leak is not a twist of fate, but the choice of our twisted addiction to fossil fuels." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1227940355.png

RT (2020-08-09). Six French tourists killed by gunmen in Niger giraffe reserve. rt.com A group of French tourists along with their local tour guide and driver have been shot and killed by gunmen in Niger. French President Emmanuel Macron's officer confirmed the deaths of the French citizens. | The shooting took place in the Koure region, which is home to the last herd of West African giraffes and a popular tourist destination. | The unidentified armed men were riding motorcycles and waited for the arrival of the tourists to the area, a source told AFP. "Most of the victims were shot… We found a magazine emptied of its cartridges at the scene," the source explained, adding that the tourists' ve…

General Wesley Clark (2020-08-09). Global Warfare: "We're Going to Take out 7 Countries in 5 Years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan & Iran.." globalresearch.ca Originally published in March 2007. | Global Research Editor's Note: | This interview serves as a reminder regarding the diabolical timeline of America's hegemonic project. Is Iran the next target "to be taken out"? | All these countries including Lebanon and Iran are …

Israel Shahak (2020-08-09). "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…

Pan Africanism Today Secretariat (2020-08-09). The lessons of South Africa's 1956 Women's March resonate to this day. peoplesdispatch.org On August 9, 1956, nearly 20,000 women marched in South Africa against apartheid-era Pass Laws. The struggles they waged and the demands they raised are especially relevant today…

yenisafak (2020-08-09). France to host fundraising conference for Beirut. yenisafak.com France's President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday will bring the international community together to raise funds for Beirut in the aftermath of the deadly blast earlier this week.The virtual conference will be held at 1200GMT with Macron hosting the conference from his vacation home in the south of France.The conference is backed by the United Nations and will involve major world leaders, including Lebanon's President Michel Aoun and US President Donald Trump.Leaders from the EU, Britain, China, Russia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE are also expected to participate.Two massive explosions tore through…

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-08). UN experts renew call for removal of US anti-human sanctions. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 08 (MNA) — A group of UN experts has once agian called for unilateral US sanctions to be lifted on countries including Iran, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, and Cuba.