(2020-08-26). Israel bombs Gaza every day since UAE normalization announced. thegrayzone.com Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, about the recent announcement that Israel and the United Arab Emirates plan to normalize relations. They discuss the conditions which led to the deal as well as what the agreement will mean for Palestinians, particularly those in the besieged Gaza Strip.
(2020-08-26). Anti-corruption protests, health workers' agitations point to depth of Kenya's COVID-19 crisis. peoplesdispatch.org Very little progress has been made in resolving the issues raised by doctors and nurses in Kenya. Meanwhile, protests have broken out in many cities against alleged misappropriation of funds for COVID-19 equipment…
(2020-08-26). Common Ground Collective Teaches Us About Surviving Crisis Together. popularresistance.org It started in Malik Rahim's kitchen, as the waters from the broken levees continued to flow through New Orleans' lower 9th Ward. A small group of activists from the city and Austin, Texas, including former Black Panthers, began scratching down notes and trying to figure out exactly what they could do to provide support to the neighborhoods obliterated by Hurricane Katrina. | This was in 2005, just days after the storm had battered the city and demolished the levees, overwhelming the surrounding blocks with a toxic water sludge.
(2020-08-25). Headlines for August 25, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Claims Dems Trying to Steal Election, Biden Will "Destroy" Country, as RNC Kicks Off, WI Calls in National Guard as Protests Intensify over Police Shooting of Unarmed Black Man, FDA Head Says Plasma Treatment Results Were Overstated as Schools Grapple with Reopening, Hong Kong COVID-19 Patient Becomes Reinfected; Reports of Brutal Repression in Xinjiang Pandemic Response, Gaza Goes into Lockdown After New COVID-19 Cases; Libyan Doctors Warn System Can't Cope with Pandemic, Death Toll in Climate-Fueled California Wildfires Climbs to 7 as 600+ Blazes Burn Across the State, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Fails…
(2020-08-25). Pompeo finds himself under investigation after speaking at Republican convention from Israel. rt.com 
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's decision to record a speech for the Republican National Convention from Jerusalem has angered Democrats and the US foreign policy establishment, who are calling it unethical and maybe illegal. | Pompeo is currently on a tour of the Middle East. He left Israel for Sudan on Tuesday morning, but not before he recorded a message from Jerusalem that is scheduled to be shown at the Republican party convention later in the day. The message is supposed to be in his "personal capacity" but the Democrats and foreign policy think-tanks in Washington, DC aren't buying it. | "He doesn't…
(2020-08-25). Echo Chamber Politics. counterpunch.org It was hard to stomach. The usual suspects, the usual scripts tatty from overuse. The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a prolonged display of avoidance, evasion and theatrical amnesia. There were moments of formality masquerading as promise: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez nominating Senator Bernie Sanders for presidential candidate. But it was not to be. The decision
(2020-08-25). Thanks, Obama: You Lie. strategic-culture.org Paul STREET | Record-Setting Absurdity and Mendacity | The malignant fascist sociopath Donald Trump lies so voluminously and absurdly that many Americans will believe he said or Tweeted almost anything, no matter how offensive and ridiculous. Every few months for the last three years I've been making up off-the-wall Trump statements and sending them out on so-called social media to see if people will take them as genuine. Many readers do indeed see them as bona fide Trump comments. Here' a recent example, a spoof I put up on Mindfuck three days ago: "Trump is tweeting that Joe Biden 'faked the death of Beau Biden…
(2020-08-25). French NPA's Révolution permanente site hails pro-imperialist coup in Mali. wsws.org This web site, linked to the Socialist Workers Party (PTS) of Argentina, hailed a putsch led by a junta of colonels that has proclaimed its loyalty to the French occupation of Mali.
(2020-08-25). Algeria announces referendum on new constitution in November. peoplesdispatch.org On November 1, 2020, Algeria will hold a referendum on the new constitution, the office of president Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Monday, August 24. The draft of the constitution will be submitted to the parliament before the referendum for debate and approval. | The announcement was made after president Tebboune met with the president of the country's National Electoral Authority on Monday. "During this meeting and, in light of the consultations of the President of the Republic with the parties concerned, it was decided to set the date of November 1, 2020 for the holding of the referendum on the draft revision o…
(2020-08-25). Rights expert denounces lack of investigation into 2017 killing of journalist in South Sudan. news.un.org Lack of investigation into the killing of a journalist three years ago in South Sudan is indicative of a wider climate of hostility towards journalists in the country, an independent UN human rights expert has said.
(2020-08-25). Israeli, US Delegations to Visit UAE Next Week for Normalization Talks – PM's Office. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US and Israeli official delegations will travel to the United Arab Emirates next week to promote a normalization between the two major American allies in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Tuesday.
(2020-08-25). Trump: Wolf to be nominated to head homeland Security. yenisafak.com US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that acting Secretary Chad Wolf would be nominated to fill…
(2020-08-25). Pompeo flies to Sudan on 1st direct flight from Israel. yenisafak.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew from Israel to Sudan on Tuesday, in the first direct flight between Tel Aviv and Khartoum. | "Happy to announce that we are on the FIRST official NONSTOP flight from Israel to Sudan!" Pompeo said on Twitter. | According to The New York Times, the direct flight between Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport and Khartoum came as "Pompeo's plane obtained special permission". | In a statement, US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo will discuss with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdulla Hamdok and Chairman of the Transitional Military Council Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan "continu…
(2020-08-24). African Asylum Seekers Jailed in Louisiana Stop Eating in Protest. counterpunch.org 
In the Mankon language, spoken in northwest Cameroon, mughu is a word for hell. Northwest Cameroon was home to more than a dozen of the 48 African asylum seekers now confined in Louisiana at Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center, where COVID has taken a firm grip. Along with men from Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Burkino
(2020-08-24). Hoping to Seize on UAE-Israel Deal, Pompeo and Kushner Head East in Search of New Allies for Israel. mintpressnews.com 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump adviser Jared Kushner are hitting the road in an attempt to strong-arm more Arab states into normalizing relations with Israel, turning their backs on Palestine and isolating Iran.
(2020-08-24). Russian newspaper reports more international flight destinations set to re-open but authorities quickly pour cold water on idea. rt.com 
Russians hoping to hit a warm foreign beach before the summer heat subsides saw their hopes dashed on Monday as media reports promising the re-opening of more international flight routes were refuted by authorities. | A glimpse of hope for travelers appeared when Moscow daily Izvestia published a report citing sources, including one in "a major Russian airline," saying more countries were set to join the UK, Turkey and Tanzania on the list of accessible destinations. | According to the newspaper, Russian aviation authorities had been considering several cities in France, Hungary, Egypt, Cyprus, Jordan, Malta a…
(2020-08-24). Ivory Coast: President Ouattara to Run for a Third Term. telesurenglish.net Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara announced on Monday that he would run for a third term in October's general election, despite protesters and opposition claims. | RELATED: | "I have a vision for our country. A vision of stability, a vision of security, a vision of peace for all Ivorians," Outtara said in his way out the Independent Election Commission (CEI) in Abidjan after he formally submitted his application…
(2020-08-24). Dubious Nairobi shack study sparks controversy. peoplesdispatch.org A recent In the paper, four leading economists attempt to establish whether the public water utilities in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi would be met with "political consequences" if they cut off services. As access to water is extended to an increasing number of people in developing countries, the authors are co…
(2020-08-24). Mali: Talks End Without a Deal on a Transitional Government. telesurenglish.net The political dialogue in Mali between coup leaders and West African mediators ended on Monday with no agreement on a transitional government. | RELATED: | The spokesman for Mali's National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) Ismael Wague told a press conference that "nothing has been decided with the ECOWAS mediation team." The official added that "at no time has there been any talk of a government with…
(2020-08-24). Belarus and the Lessons from Sudan. Comparative Analysis of "Color Revolutions" globalresearch.ca The political development unfolding in Minsk, with high possibility to spill over and spread throughout the former Soviet republic of Belarus is sensitive and delicate. | The first information that emerged about opposition rallying against elected President Alexander Lukashenko was worrying …
(2020-08-24). One step at a time: UN women's health agency helping shift dangerous social norms. news.un.org One of the largest chiefdoms in Zambia's Eastern Province is challenging harmful social norms, including child marriage, risky initiation and impunity for perpetrators of sexual abuse, according to the UN women's health agency, UNFPA.
(2020-08-24). Pandemic claims more lives in Libya, Oman, Qatar. yenisafak.com Local health authorities in Libya, Oman and Qatar on Monday confirmed additional fatalities due to the coronavirus pandemic, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported only fresh infections. | In a statement, Libya's National Center for Disease Control said 11 people had died from COVID-19 and 572 others tested positive, while 11 patients had recovered. | The country's tally now rose to 11,009 confirmed cases, including 199 deaths, and 1,096 recoveries. | In Oman, 28 deaths and 740 infections were recorded as well as 526 recoveries over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said in a statement. | The Gulf sta…
(2020-08-24). Turkey delivers 12 off-road vehicles to Somalia. yenisafak.com Turkey has delivered 12 off-road vehicles to Somalia as part of bilateral military and financial cooperation agreements, the National Defense Ministry said on Monday.In a statement, it said the vehicles, which are meant for use over rough terrain, were supplied for the Somali 3rd (Eagle) Infantry Battalion.They were handed over to Somalia's chief of defense force on Aug 22.The two countries are longstanding partners, engaging in close cooperation in different fields.
(2020-08-24). Netanyahu, Pompeo discuss Arab-Israeli normalization. yenisafak.com Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks Monday with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who arrived in Israel as part of a regional tour. | The talks dwelt on the normalization of ties between Israel and other Arab states following this month's US-sponsored deal to normalize relations between Tel Aviv and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). | "I discussed with Secretary of State Pompeo the possibility of normalizing additional countries' relations with Israel, and I hope that there will be good news in the near future," Netanyahu told a joint press conference. | He said the Israel-UAE deal "opened a new p…
(2020-08-23). Echo Chamber US Politics: The "All About Trump" Democratic National Convention. globalresearch.ca It was hard to stomach. The usual suspects, the usual scripts tatty from overuse. The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a prolonged display of avoidance, evasion and theatrical amnesia. There were moments of formality masquerading as promise: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez…
(2020-08-23). FROM THE FIELD: Ugly veggies in Kenya destined for lunch not landfills. news.un.org Hundreds of tons of fresh and edible vegetables which are typically dumped because they do not meet the aesthetic requirements for export are ending up on the plates of hungry Kenyan students thanks to the UN's World Food Programme (WFP).
(2020-08-23). Protecting people from conflict, cyclones and COVID-19 in Mozambique: a UN Resident Coordinator blog. news.un.org The COVID-19 disease has added to longstanding challenges in Mozambique which have threatened the southern African country's most vulnerable people. In this blog, the UN Resident Coordinator Myrta Kaulard, with IOM Chief of Mission, Laura Tomm-Bonde, and Samuel Chakwera, UNHCR Resident Representative, explain how the United Nations is supporting national efforts to protect the people of Mozambique from multiple threats…
(2020-08-23). Anger of Islamic Ummah to engulf UAE rulers: Iranian Parl. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (MNA) — Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission in a statement on Sun. reiterated that anger of Islamic Ummah will engulf rulers of the United Arab Emirates for normalizing ties with the Israeli regime.
(2020-08-23). Saudi-led coalition intercepts rebel drone from Yemen. yenisafak.com The Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday it had intercepted an explosives-laden drone fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels towards Saudi Arabia.Coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki said the drone was shot down over Yemen, without giving any further details, according to the Saudi SPA news agency.On Saturday, the coalition said it had destroyed a bomb-laden drone ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels towards the kingdom.Meanwhile, the Houthi group accused the Saudi-led coalition of dropping cluster bombs over the Bajil district in the western al-Hudaydah province.The news was carried by the Houthi-run Al-Masira tel…