Daily Archives: 2020-11-26

2020-11-26: News Headlines

John Pilger (2020-11-26). Britain's Class War on Children. zcomm.org Study after study shows that the people who suffer and die early from the diseases of poverty brought on by a poor diet, sub-standard housing and the priorities of the political elite and its hostile "welfare" officials — are working people…

MEE and agencies (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…

Alex MacDonald (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…

MEE and agencies (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…

Alex MacDonald (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…

Staff (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…

Daniel Hilton (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…

Staff (2020-11-25). Nigerians reject US imperialism with #EndSARS protests. therealnews.com At the root of Nigeria's #EndSARS movement is a popular rejection of corruption, exploitation, and the abuse of poor and working-class people. But the movement is also a rejection of neoliberalism, militarism, and a bloody history of U.S. imperialism and European colonization.

Kester Kenn Klomegah (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 …

Graham Peebles (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 …

Peoples Dispatch (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…

sputniknews (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.

news.un (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.

Andrew Korybko (2020-11-24). The Consequences of Ethiopia's Civil Conflict Will be Acute. globalresearch.ca The most intense phase of Ethiopia's several-week-long civil conflict appears to be drawing to a close after the country's national defense forces gave an ultimatum to Tigrayan rebels in the restive region's capital to surrender or face utter destruction, but …

Azad Essa (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…

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (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, …

Clinton Nzala (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.

MEE staff (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)…

Serene Khattab (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…

Musawenkosi Cabe (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…

MEE correspondent (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…

news.un (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.

news.un (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). 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…

Peoples Dispatch (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…

news.un (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.

Peoples Dispatch (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…

Luam Kidane (2020-11-24). Provocations to rupture and the power to act. zcomm.org Social movements from South Africa to Brazil have built economic systems rooted in cooperation, creativity and direct action as an antidote to the neoliberal order…

Abdel Bari Atwan (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…

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…

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…

RT (2020-11-23). Ethiopian forces surround Tigray region capital ahead of surrender deadline. rt.com Federal forces in Ethiopia have surrounded the Tigray region's capital, after the country's government gave the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) a 72-hour deadline to surrender. | If the TPLF does not surrender within that time frame, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has threatened to begin a military offensive on the capital, amassing tanks and armed forces in the nearby city of Mekelle. | Military figures had earlier told local media that anyone who chooses to remain in the city after the deadline has expired, without peacefully surrendering, will be shown "no mercy" when the assault begins. | Sha…

RT (2020-11-23). India, Pakistan & Bangladesh should be MERGED, Indian minister suggests. rt.com Former British colonies India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, which have been entangled in decades of bitter rivalry, should actually be "merged" into a single state, a regional Indian minister has suggested. | The surprise suggestion was floated by Maharashtra state Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik, the Mumbai president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), on Sunday. The politician was asked to provide a comment on an earlier remark by Devendra Fadnavis, leader of a local chapter of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who said Pakistan's city of Karachi will be a part of India one day. | "We have been sayi…

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