Daily Archives: 2020-11-23

2020-11-23: News Headlines

MEE staff (2020-11-23). Egypt: Activists and former presidential candidate put on terror list. middleeasteye.net Egypt: Activists and former presidential candidate put on terror list | Abdelmoneim Aboul Fotouh, Alaa Abdel Fattah and Muhammad al-Qassas among those designated by Cairo Criminal Court | Mon, 11/23/2020 – 15: 23 | The terror list includes a number of activists and former politicians (AFP) | High-profile activists and a former presidential candidate are among 28 people an Egyptian court placed on a state terro…

MEE staff (2020-11-23). Egyptian officials to face trial over torture and murder of Giulio Regeni. middleeasteye.net Egyptian officials to face trial over torture and murder of Giulio Regeni | After disappearing in Cairo, the 28-year-old doctoral researcher's body was later discovered by the Cairo-Alexandria highway | Mon, 11/23/2020 – 21: 03 | The trial will likely reveal more details about Regeni's horrific death, with his body badly mutilated by torture (AFP/File photo) | Egyptian security officials will likely face trial…

Ralph Nader (2020-11-23). Trump's Massive, Lawless, and Immoral Legacy to Our Country Will Continue Unless … counterpunch.org Trump has gotten away with almost everything throughout his bankruptcy-driven business career and his corrupt, cruel, and costly political years in the White House. Things changed on November 3, when he was retired by the voters.

Ralph Nader (2020-11-23). Trump's Massive, Lawless, and Immoral Legacy to Our Country Will Continue Unless … counterpunch.org Trump has gotten away with almost everything throughout his bankruptcy-driven business career and his corrupt, cruel, and costly political years in the White House. Things changed on November 3, when he was retired by the voters. Refusing to concede, however, so as to prolong his crazed fantasies, Trump is distracting the mass media from his looting

news.un (2020-11-23). Somalia at a crossroad, UN envoy urges 'deepened' political consensus. news.un.org The "broad political consensus" reached in September that ended a two-year stalemate in Somalia must be "preserved and indeed deepened", the country's UN envoy told the Security Council on Monday.

WSWS (2020-11-23). Nigerian government goes on offensive against youth protesting police brutality. wsws.org The repression is aimed at criminalising peaceful protests in the interest of Nigeria's kleptocrats and the transnational energy corporations that have looted the country.

_____ (2020-11-23). As Racism Plagues Health Care, Unions Offer A Treatment. popularresistance.org Like many nursing homes across the country, the Genesis HealthCare center in Greenville, Rhode Island, primarily houses white residents and employs people of color. Adelina Ramos, who's Cape Verdean, works at the center as a certified nursing assistant and faces a number of challenges common to the caregiving profession. Each day, she cares for 11 dementia patients on her own, with that number sometimes rising to 18 if a co-worker can't come in. The job comes with long hours on her feet and the occasional risk of physical harm when dealing with aggressive patients.

WSWS (2020-11-23). Dozens killed in Uganda as police and military carry out brutal crackdown on protests. wsws.org The largest unrest in the East African country in a decade was sparked by the arrest of presidential candidate Bobi Wine during a campaign rally Wednesday.

Michael Beer, Mohamed Brahim (2020-11-23). US Must Halt Renewed War Between Morocco and Polisario. commondreams.org We must act swiftly to prevent war and further conflict, end the occupation, and allow Sahrawis to make their decision on union with Morocco or independence. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-1229711769.jpg

MEE staff (2020-11-22). Outrage at 'normalisation' photo of Egyptian singer with Israeli celebrities in UAE. middleeasteye.net Outrage at 'normalisation' photo of Egyptian singer with Israeli celebrities in UAE | Egypt's Mohammed Ramadan sparks criticism after attendance at event with Israeli public figures in Dubai | Sun, 11/22/2020 – 16: 04 | (L-R) Omer Adam, Mohamed Ramadan and Hamad al-Mazrouie (Twitter) | Egyptian singer and actor Mohamed Ramadan has sparked a social media backlash after his image with two Israeli celebrities in…

_____ (2020-11-22). CORE Nigeria: "We Will Fight For Our Total Liberation" popularresistance.org Nigeria – On 3 October, a young man was killed by the police in Ughelli, a town in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A video of this incidence was circulated by residents of the city on WhatsApp and also posted on Twitter. This sparked the #EndSARS revolt of youths in the country, which was drowned in blood with the massacre of at least 36 people on 20 October. The bulk of these was at the Lekki tollgate, in Lagos state — one of the two main centres of the uprising in that mega-city where one-tenth of the country's population resides.

_____ (2020-11-21). Protest Marks One Month Anniversary Of Lekki Massacre In Nigeria. popularresistance.org Washington, DC – The End SAR Solidarity Network is mobilized DC area based activists to protest in front of the Embassy of Nigeria to demand justice for peaceful protestors in Nigeria who were massacred by the Nigerian army at Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020 and demand an end to the continued repression of other activists. | On the 20th of October, 2020, the Nigerian army opened fire on peaceful protesters singing the Nigerian anthem and waving the Nigerian flag at Lekki tollgate, Alausa and other parts of Lagos.

Andrew J Pollard, Oxford COVID Vaccine Trial Group (2020-11-21). [Comment] Notice of addendum to Article reporting Oxford trial of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. thelancet.com On request, and to aid others doing similar trials, we are publishing the full standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the Oxford University-sponsored trials of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. Operational details about running clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines in a pandemic are not generally available as they are contained in SOPs held at trial sites. These SOPs can provide additional insight into study conduct that assist with interpretation of the data. We have provided an additional appendix to our Article reporting the phase 1/2 findings1 to provide this information about the key processes guiding the Oxford…

Pavan Kulkarni (2020-11-21). South Africa Broadcasting Corporation employees launch strike against retrenchments. peoplesdispatch.org Employees of South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) downed tools on Friday, November 20, starting from 1 pm, in a protest against the looming retrenchments that will affect 400 permanent employees. In preparation for this action, pickets were held outside several offices of the public broadcaster on Thursday. | Faced with this labor action, the board of SABC announced the temporary suspension of the retrenchment process for a period of seven days, after a meeting of its members concluded late on the night of Thursday, November 19. | "We are going ahead with the strike because they haven't written to us form…

Baba Aye (2020-11-21). Nigeria: "We Will Fight For Our Total Liberation" zcomm.org Nigeria is the most populous country on the African continent, with just over two hundred million inhabitants. The Oct. 3 killing of a young man by the brutal SARS police unit has sparked a nationwide uprising…

news.un (2020-11-21). Appointment of AU envoys for Ethiopia's Tigray crisis an 'initiative for peace': UN chief. news.un.org UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the African Union's (AU) appointment of three high-level envoys to help resolve the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, calling it an "initiative for peace."

Graham Peebles (2020-11-21). Ethiopia: Death and despair as divisions erupt into violent conflict. nationofchange.org Ethiopians are killing one another in the Tigray region of the country where an armed conflict is raging between the Ethiopian military and forces loyal to the regional government.

news.un (2020-11-21). 'We see the sparks before they turn into fires': training women to avoid conflict in Sierra Leone. news.un.org In the West African country of Sierra Leone, the UN is supporting a government programme, training women and men to take on leadership roles in areas such as peacebuilding, with the aim of promoting peace and non-violence.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-21). Ugandan presidential candidate Bobi Wine released on bail. peoplesdispatch.org Pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine was arrested on Wednesday on charges of violation of COVID-19-related regulations. His arrest was followed by mass protests during which state repression led to at least 37 deaths…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-21). Human rights organizations condemn arrest of Egyptian activists. peoplesdispatch.org Three functionaries of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Gasser Abdel-Razek, Karim Ennarah and Mohammed Basheer, have been arrested over the past week. They have been sent into pre-trial detention…

Munyaradzi Makoni (2020-11-21). [World Report] Violence leads to health emergencies in Mozambique. thelancet.com Displaced by war, thousands of people in Mozambique are at risk of infectious disease. Munyaradzi Makoni reports.

MEE and agencies (2020-11-20). UN warns $200m needed for Ethiopian refugees fleeing into Sudan. middleeasteye.net UN warns $200m needed for Ethiopian refugees fleeing into Sudan | Ethiopians escaping Tigray region where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has launched a military operation | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 14: 49 | Ethiopian refugees who fled fighting in Tigray province are pictured at the Um Rakuba camp in Sudan's eastern Gedaref province (AFP) | Around $200m is needed to accommodate the thousands of refugee…

Mohammad Ayesh (2020-11-20). Arabic press review: Third of Jordanian children suffer from anaemia. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Third of Jordanian children suffer from anaemia | Jordanian health official warns of health crisis in the kingdom, while the UAE institute visa restrictions for Tunisians | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 11: 33 | Yemeni Aymen, who is suffering from a congenital spinal malformation, receives treatment at a private hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman (AFP) | Third of Jordan's child…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-20). Macron accuses Turkey of stoking anti-France sentiment in Africa. middleeasteye.net Macron accuses Turkey of stoking anti-France sentiment in Africa | Tensions have risen between Paris and Ankara over the French president's defence of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 13: 57 | Macron at a press conference at the G5 Sahel summit on 30 June 2020 in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott (AFP) | French President Emmanuel Macron accused Turkey on Friday of p…

Vijay Prashad (2020-11-20). It is freedom, only freedom which can quench our thirst. mronline.org In the 1980s, after Mozambique won its independence from Portugal in 1974, the South African apartheid regime and the settler-colonial army of Rhodesia backed an anti-communist faction against the government of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO).

Habibulah Mohamed Lamin (2020-11-20). Tired of stalemate, Sahrawis support Polisario military action against Morocco. middleeasteye.net Tired of stalemate, Sahrawis support Polisario military action against Morocco | The absence of a quick resolution to the recent flare-up in Western Sahara risks a wider regional conflict | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 10: 01 | A handout picture published by the Moroccan army shows tents used by the Polisario Front ablaze near the Mauritanian bor…

Simon Hooper (2020-11-20). EU trained Algeria and Morocco police in online disinformation tactics. middleeasteye.net EU trained Algeria and Morocco police in online disinformation tactics | Courses funded by European Union taught surveillance methods including data harvesting and use of 'sock puppets' | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 13: 09 | Algerian security forces face protesters during a demonstration in Algiers in March 2019 (AFP) | The European Union is training police and security forces in North African countries in surv…

Staff (2020-11-20). "A Huge Blow to Civil Society": Egypt Arrests Leading Human Rights Monitors in Latest Crackdown. democracynow.org In Egypt, the executive director of the country's leading human rights group has been arrested as part of an unprecedented crackdown on activists and journalists. Gasser Abdel-Razek was arrested at his home just days after two other staffers for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights were also arrested. The move signals a major escalation of repression from the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has imprisoned thousands of people since he came to power after the 2013 overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi. "These arrests are a huge blow to civil society in Egypt," says Sharif Abdel Kouddo…

MEE staff (2020-11-20). US senators urge Egypt to take action in case of detained Christian activist. middleeasteye.net US senators urge Egypt to take action in case of detained Christian activist | Legislators ask Cairo to allow fair trial for Ramy Kamel or drop charges and release him | Fri, 11/20/2020 – 19: 02 | Ramy Kamel is prominent Coptic Christian activist and founder of rights group Maspero Youth Union (Twitter) | A pair of bipartisan senators called on the Egyptian government to take action in the case of an imprisone…

Editor (2020-11-20). How to End the War in Afghanistan (Video). scheerpost.com The U.S. war on Afghanistan is in its 19th year. Enough is enough! Ann Wright is the moderator. Panelists are Kathy Kelly, Matthew Hoh, Rory Fanning, Danny Sjursen, and Arash Azizzada. Ann Wright is a retired Army Colonel who became a US diplomat for 16 years in US Embassies in Grenada, Nicaragua, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, …

WSWS (2020-11-19). Zambia defaults amid growing African debt crisis, intensified by pandemic. wsws.org As hundreds of millions of African workers and peasants face economic disaster and inadequate protection against COVID-19, African nations are expected to pay almost $500 billion by 2023 to avoid default.