2021-01-18: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-01-18). United Kingdom COVID-19 variant reaches New Zealand. wsws.org The arrival of the more contagious UK and South African strains underscores the global nature of the virus, which cannot be contained within national borders.

Juan Cole (2021-01-18). Israel is increasingly an Apartheid State: What Martin Luther King Jr. Would have thought of that. juancole.com Revised Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose activism we honor today, took stands far beyond Selma and Montgomery, and called on other capitals than Washington, D.C., to ensure a dignified life for human beings. Dr. King was an early and vigorous opponent of the white South African Apartheid (segregationist) …

Eds. (2021-01-18). Illicit Financial Flows: Africa is the world's main creditor. mronline.org Contrary to the dominant discourse, it is actually the case that the 54 African states finance developed countries and not the other way round.

news.un (2021-01-18). UN chief calls for protection of civilians as violence spikes in Sudan's West Darfur. news.un.org The United Nations Secretary-General has voiced deep concern over escalating violence in West Darfur and called on the Sudanese authorities to "expend all efforts" to end the fighting and protect civilians.

teleSUR (2021-01-18). Uganda: Opposition Candidate Wine Rejects Election Result. telesurenglish.net The National Unity Platform (NUP) Presidential candidate Bobi Wine on Monday stressed that the January 14 elections were the most fraudulent in Uganda's history and called on citizens and the international community to reject the victory of President Yoweri Museveni who has been in power since 1986. | RELATED: | "General Museveni took control of these elections. The numbers that are being shared by authorities are not real," the NUP lead…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-18). Tunisians protest over growing economic crisis and oppressive state actions. peoplesdispatch.org The protesters were opposing increasing police brutality and the announcement of fresh lockdown measures on Thursday. Protests took place in at least 10 cities across the country…

Kaamil Ahmed (2021-01-17). Sudan: Scores killed in militia raid in Darfur. middleeasteye.net Sudan: Scores killed in militia raid in Darfur | The attack on an IDP camp reportedly killed at least 48 people, weeks after UN voted to withdraw peacekeeping mission | Sun, 01/17/2021 – 10: 41 | Sudanese forces stationed in El-Geneina in 2016 (AFP/File photo) | At least 48 people have been killed in ongoing militia attacks around a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Darfur's El-Geneina cit…

Kaamil Ahmed (2021-01-17). Scores killed in militia raid in Sudan's Darfur. middleeasteye.net Scores killed in militia raid in Sudan's Darfur | The attack on an IDP camp reportedly killed at least 48 people, weeks after UN voted to withdraw peacekeeping mission | Sun, 01/17/2021 – 10: 41 | Sudanese forces stationed in El-Geneina in 2016 (AFP/File photo) | At least 48 people have been killed in ongoing militia attacks around a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Darfur's El-Geneina ci…

MEE staff (2021-01-17). Qatar blockade ends: Egypt to resume flights to Doha, opening economic doors. middleeasteye.net Qatar blockade ends: Egypt to resume flights to Doha, opening economic doors | Resumption of flights brings economic opportunities for both countries amid the Covid-19 pandemic | Sun, 01/17/2021 – 15: 12 | An Egypt Air Embraer 170 aircraft on the tarmac at Cairo International Airport, while another plane takes off, on 15 January 2021 (AFP) | Egyptian national carrier EgyptAir says it will start operating direc…

The Canary (2021-01-17). Survivors of fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region face threat of starvation. thecanary.co Starvation is threatening the survivors of more than two months of fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region. Authorities say more than 4.5 million people there need emergency food."The population is dying": The first humanitarian workers to arrive, after pleading with the Ethiopian government for access, describe weakened children dying from diarrhea, empty shops and refugees begging for something to eat. One new report says parts of Tigray are likely a step below famine.Mari Carmen Vinoles is the head of the emergency unit for Doctors Without Borders. She said "There is an extreme urgent need" to scale up the…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-16). COVID-19 cases in Africa exceed 3.1 million. peoplesdispatch.org The total number of COVID-19 cases in Africa exceeded 3.1 million on January 15. According to data from the Over the last two weeks alone, almost 10,000 new deaths have been recorded on the continent and the total number of cases has risen by 447,967 from the

WSWS (2021-01-16). US State Department designates Cuba state sponsor of terrorism. wsws.org The announcement is a continuation of the rollback of Obama's normalization of relations as the island has been hit hard by COVID-19 and a deepening economic crisis.

news.un (2021-01-16). Peacekeepers under attack again in Mali, as one Egyptian blue helmet dies, another seriously injured. news.un.org The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned another fatal attack carried out against a peacekeeping convoy that left a 'blue helmet' from Egypt dead, and another seriously injured on Friday.

teleSUR (2021-01-16). Yoweri Museveni Re-Elected for Sixth Term in Uganda. telesurenglish.net Uganda's electoral court declared on Saturday President Yoweri Museveni as the winner of the January 14 parliamentary election, securing the continuity of his mandate which started in 1986. | RELATED: | According to the Electoral Commission Museveni won over 58.6 percent of the votes with 5.85 million while the main opponent Bobi Wine collected about 3.48 million votes, representing 34.8 percent. | Wine has refused to acce…

WSWS (2021-01-15). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Around 55,000 Swedish care workers to begin industrial action today over pay, conditions and increased workload during pandemic; British gas workers plan further strikes to defend pay and conditions as Telecom workers in strike ballot.

news.un (2021-01-15). COVID-19 committee stresses need for equitable vaccine access, more data sharing. news.un.org As COVID-19 cases spike in parts of Europe, Africa and the Americas, and new variants of the virus emerge in some countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday called for greater global collaboration in ending the pandemic.

Michael Harris (2021-01-15). 50th Anniversary of MLK Library – 'Hidden Archives" within the Sacramento Room Come Alive. indybay.org Dr. King realized the importance to Blacks in America, having been snatched from Africa and having lost our culture and identity, of reclaiming that culture. It is through this process of reclaiming African culture, Dr. King would go on to say, that we will regain our humanity. The Sacramento Room maintains the archives how the MLK Memorial Library was named in his honor established the very night of his assignation in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968…

news.un (2021-01-15). Central African Republic: Displacement reaches 120,000 amid worsening election violence. news.un.org "Worsening" election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced 120,000 people from their homes, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.

news.un (2021-01-15). Central African Republic: Displacement reaches 120,000, as another deadly attack leaves one UN peacekeeper dead. news.un.org "Worsening" election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced 120,000 people from their homes, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday, as the UN Secretary-General also condemned another attack by combatants on a UN convoy, which left a peacekeeper from Burundi dead, and two others wounded.

teleSUR (2021-01-15). 60,000 People Flee Violence in the Central African Republic. telesurenglish.net The United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday warned that nearly 60,000 people have fled the Central African Republic (CAR) to neighboring countries due to violence at the hands of armed groups that reject the results of the December 27 elections. | RELATED: | "Most of them fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), crossing the Ubangui River, where the number of arrivals exceeded 50,000 after 10,00…

Marilyn Bechtel (2021-01-15). Pressure grows to charge 2nd officer in shooting of Oscar Grant. peoplesworld.org OAKLAND, Calif. — The family of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old unarmed African American man killed by a transit police officer on New Year's Day 2009, was joined by supporters including elected officials this week as they vowed to step up their fight for justice after a district attorney declined to charge a second officer involved …

news.un (2021-01-15). Cameroon: Authorities urged to seek justice for recent deadly attacks. news.un.org UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged authorities in Cameroon to take steps to prosecute perpetrators behind two recent deadly attacks in the Anglophone provinces of the country, his Spokesperson said on Friday.

MEE and agencies (2021-01-15). Algeria: Five civilians killed in bomb blast in Tebessa region. middleeasteye.net Algeria: Five civilians killed in bomb blast in Tebessa region | Homemade explosive detonates as car drives by in the deadliest attack targeting civilians in recent years | Fri, 01/15/2021 – 08: 52 | General Said Chengriha, the army's chief of staff, urged Algerians to be 'vigilant' and to avoid going to regions considered unsafe (File pic- AFP) | A homemade bomb killed five people and wou…

MEE staff (2021-01-15). Egyptian group Hasm designated 'terrorist organisation' by US. middleeasteye.net Egyptian group Hasm designated 'terrorist organisation' by US | State Department says sanctions 'seek to deny [Hasm] and its leadership the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks' | Fri, 01/15/2021 – 16: 27 | Cairo's counterterrorism operation against Hasm and other militants has been criticised for rights abuses against country's citizens (AFP/File photo) | The United States has designated the Egyp…

Amr Emam (2021-01-15). Egypt expands oil refining capacity as it aims for self-sufficiency. middleeasteye.net Egypt expands oil refining capacity as it aims for self-sufficiency | Meanwhile, experts say that Egypt's growing natural gas production will contribute to less dependence on petroleum | Fri, 01/15/2021 – 10: 32 | A female petrol station worker operates a fuel pump at a petrol station in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on 21 November, 2016 (AFP) | Egypt is moving down the road toward its goal of achieving self-suffi…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-15). Bobi Wine alleges large scale rigging in Ugandan elections. peoplesdispatch.org The major opposition candidate in the Ugandan election, Bobi Wine, alleged "the worst rigging this country has ever witnessed." He is contesting against incumbent Yoweri Museveni who has been in power since 1986…

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2021-01-14). Review: As Coronavirus Rises Past Three Million, Africa Still Lacks Its Own Vaccine. globalresearch.ca With its large population and fragile health systems, Africa has recorded more than three million Covid-19 cases, still less deadly as compared to other regions in the world, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). …

RT (2021-01-14). UK bans all arrivals from Portugal and South America after discovery of Brazil Covid-19 variant. rt.com The UK will ban all travel from South America and Portugal from 4am GMT on Friday after the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant in Brazil, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday. | UK-bound travellers from Argentina, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela who do not live in the UK will be banned from entering the country. | "This measure does not apply to British and Irish Nationals and third country nationals with residence rights — but passengers returning from these destinations must self-isolate for 10 da…