Daily Archives: 2020-11-28

2020-11-28: News Headlines

WSWS (2020-11-28). Papua New Guinea embroiled in ongoing political turmoil. wsws.org With a deepening economic and social disaster, the defection of MPs to the opposition has pitched the James Marape-led government into crisis.

WSWS (2020-11-27). "Any return to 'normality' is a long way off": Musicians and technicians speak to the WSWS. wsws.org Several British artists and performance technicians spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about the impact of the pandemic on them and their work.

Chad Nelson (2020-11-27). Escaping the Armed Madhouse. counterpunch.org A review of Robert Anton Wilson's The Starseed Signals "To remain in the neuro-semantic insanity of larval society, without laughing hysterically or otherwise giving away the secret of one's mutation, is the path of the Boddhisattva, who, like Father Demian going to live among the lepers, steels himself against the risk of contagion and returns

John Pilger (2020-11-27). Britain's Class War on Children. counterpunch.org When I first reported on child poverty in Britain, I was struck by the faces of children I spoke to, especially the eyes. They were different: watchful, fearful. In Hackney, in 1975, I filmed Irene Brunsden's family. Irene told me she gave her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes. "She doesn't tell me she's hungry, she

Mohammad Ayesh (2020-11-27). Arabic press review: 'Mass corruption' probe at Saudi defence ministry. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: 'Mass corruption' probe at Saudi defence ministry | Meanwhile, French foreign minister says France is being defamed, a plane full of dollars arrives in Damascus from the UAE, and Egypt's prisoners denied visits | Fri, 11/27/2020 – 14: 45 | Saudi authorities are reportedly investigating 158 criminal cases involving 226 Saudi citizens and residents suspected of squandering hun…

news.un (2020-11-27). First of four UN humanitarian airlifts for Ethiopia refugees lands in Khartoum. news.un.org An airplane loaded with humanitarian supplies for people fleeing violence in Ethiopia's Tigray region has arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, the UN refugee agency (UNCHR) said on Friday, in an appeal for international assistance to cope with the growing numbers seeking shelter in Sudan.

Pepe Escobar (2020-11-27). Maradona: The Fragile God of the Global South. globalresearch.ca His life was a running planetary pop opera for the ages. From Somalia to Bangladesh, everyone is familiar with the basic contours of his story — the pibe from Villa Fiorito, a poor suburb of Buenos Aires ("I am a …

WSWS (2020-11-27). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Youth and workers shut state-run phosphate plant in Tunisia demanding jobs; four-hour national public sector strike in Italy in protest at pandemic social and health catastrophe; months-long strike of nurses in Zimbabwe sold out by unions; community health workers continue stoppages and protests for pay rise and improved conditions…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-27). Court in Tunisia sentences blogger to two years in prison over social media posts. peoplesdispatch.org Blogger Wajdi Mahouechi was reportedly arrested after he criticized the public prosecutor in Tunisia. On November 12, the Tunis First Instance Court convicted him of all charges and sentenced him to two years in prison along with a fine of 1,000 Tunisian Dinars (USD 300)…

sputniknews (2020-11-27). Acting US Defense Chief Pays 1st Ever Visit to Somalia. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Acting US Defense Secretary Christopher Miller on Friday paid an unannounced visit to Somalia, becoming the first Pentagon chief to travel to the East African country, the Defense Department said in a press release on Friday.

teleSUR (2020-11-27). UN Warns of Famines in Madagascar After Years of Droughts. telesurenglish.net The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned of serious famines in Madagascar, a country which has been ravaged by three consecutive years of droughts. | RELATED: | Approximately 1.5 million people are experiencing extreme food emergency conditions. They are being forced to eat insects and sell kitchen utensils and other basic items. | The WFP warned that the number of people in need of help is three times higher than they forecast i…

news.un (2020-11-27). Rising hunger in drought-stricken southern Madagascar forcing families to eat insects: WFP. news.un.org Hunger is on the rise in southern Madagascar due to consecutive years of drought, affecting half the region's population, or 1.5 million people, and forcing most families to eat insects, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Friday.

Robert S. Becker (2020-11-27). If maliciously defying voting doesn't justify another impeachment, what does? nationofchange.org Where are widespread calls to arms that defying a legitimate election qualifies as the crisis of crises?>

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…

Nadda Osman (2020-11-26). Egyptian artist Ramy Essam's new song inspired by poet jailed for 1,000 days. middleeasteye.net Egyptian artist Ramy Essam's new song inspired by poet jailed for 1,000 days | Ramy Essam, who was at the forefront of the 2011 protests in Egypt, has released a new song to highlight Galal El-Behairy's imprisonment | Thu, 11/26/2020 – 10: 52 | Essam has released a new song to raise awareness of the imprisonment of Galal El-Behairy (MEE/Patrick Fore/Ganzeer) | Egyptian artist and musician Ramy Essam rele…

RT (2020-11-26). Inaugural Dubai-Tel Aviv commercial flights touch down amid normalized relations between UAE and Israel. rt.com A flydubai flight from Tel Aviv touched down in Dubai on Thursday, marking the first scheduled commercial service between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, in a continuation of the two states' normalized relations. | Passengers on the Dubai-Tel Aviv leg earlier on Thursday were greeted on arrival by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who hailed the inaugural four-hour journey as the "realization of a dream." | Some 200 Israelis then boarded the plane for its return leg to the UAE and were greeted with the message "Welcome to Dubai" as they disembarked. The airline will operate twice-daily fights bet…

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 rights activist Hafez Abu Seada dies after contracting Covid-19. middleeasteye.net Egyptian rights activist Hafez Abu Seada dies after contracting Covid-19 | 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. | Seada, co-f…

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…

news.un (2020-11-26). FROM THE FIELD: Girl child soldier shunned at home in Uganda. news.un.org A young mother has been talking about how she was shunned by her community in Uganda when she returned home after being abducted and forced to fight for rebels as a child soldier.

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…

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.

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…

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 …

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…

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 …

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.

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…