2021-04-02: News Headlines

_____ (2021-04-02). How Cutting Down Military Spending Could Bring About Peace. popularresistance.org Since the end of WWII, especially since the breakup of the Soviet Union, it appears as if US political leaders feel they are trapped in a time warp and are unable to break free. They seem to believe that they must repeat the same disastrous foreign policy of regime change over and over. Since 9/11, the US has attacked or supported attacks against Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. | The attacks, especially the horrendous US-led war crime against Iraq, have destabilized and created havoc in the Middle East, devastated these nations and caused death and appalling suffering for the people. | In addition, the…

Eve Ottenberg (2021-04-02). A Feminist Revolt. counterpunch.org With right-wing hysteria about the feminization of the military landing on our laptops recently, now is a good time to focus on issues dear to the hearts of actual feminists, namely, housing, health and education. These concerns were embraced, very strikingly, by feminists in apartheid South Africa. Toward the end of apartheid, many Black people

WSWS (2021-04-02). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org 2,000 Amazon workers at five German fulfilment centres in four-day pay strike; one-day general strike of Belgian private sector workers against 0.4 percent pay rise cap; 2,000 coal miners' strike in Bosnia and Herzegovina over months of unpaid and inconsistent wages; French primary school teachers to walk out over school reopenings…

Jeremy Loffredo (2021-04-02). Tanzania's Late President Magufuli: 'Science Denier' or Threat to Empire? globalresearch.ca While his COVID-19 policies have dominated media coverage regarding his disappearance …

_____ (2021-04-02). New Developments In Alex Saab Case. popularresistance.org The plot around the kidnapping of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab in Cape Verde peaks, intensifies and continues to be a trending topic on Twitter, while the United States government relentlessly applies pressure to bring the diplomat to its territory. | Meanwhile, social media networks again reflect opinions about the case—#EEUUCompraCaboVerde was a trending topic in Venezuela this Wednesday, March 31. This, with respect to the most recent movements of Washington through a policy that, in general, is based on blackmail and financial suffocation. | The complaints about new agreements signed between the US…

orinocotribune (2021-04-01). #EEUUCompraCaboVerde: New Developments in Alex Saab Case. orinocotribune.com The plot around the kidnapping of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab in Cape Verde peaks, intensifies and continues to be a trending topic on Twitter, while the United States government relentlessly applies pressure to bring the diplomat to its territory. | Meanwhile, social media networks again reflect opinions about the case—#EEUUCompraCaboVerde was a trending topic in Venezuela this Wednesday, March 31. This, with respect to the most recent movements of Washington through a policy that, in general, is based on blackmail and financial suffocation. | The complaints about new agreements signed between the US…

Juan Cole (2021-04-01). Egypt's Sisi threatens 'Instability that no one Can Imagine": Will the Next Mideast War be over Water? juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The closure of the Suez Canal for a week by the Ultra Large Container Ship, the Ever Given, signaled the importance to world commerce and energy supplies of the canal, through which some 12 percent of world trade passes. Another danger to that world artery, which connects the Indian Ocean …

teleSUR (2021-04-01). Over 1.4 Mln People at Risk of Hunger in Kenya: Spokesperson. telesurenglish.net More than 1.4 million Kenyans are at risk of hunger, starvation and potentially face acute food insecurity, a government official warned Thursday. | RELATED: | Cyrus Oguna, the spokesperson for the government of Kenya, told a media briefing in Nairobi that the country is committed to ensuring that no Kenyan dies from a lack of food due to the looming drought. | "The government assures Kenyans that the situation is firmly unde…

_____ (2021-04-01). Nicaragua And The Western Human Rights Industry. popularresistance.org Every area of reporting has become increasingly shaped by corporate funding either directly or else indirectly, via government bodies strongly under corporate influence. The Western intellectual managerial classes have generally abandoned basic reporting standards. This is self-evident to anyone who has tried to challenge false received wisdom in relation to NATO country aggression against sovereign nations from Cuba and Venezuela to Libya and Syria. | Western organizations and institutions claiming to be accountable and transparent are not — neither UN bodies nor regional institutions like the Organization…

Brian Berletic (2021-04-01). Myanmar, Libya, and Syria: Dangerous Parallels. globalresearch.ca When protesters in the streets of Myanmar began waving signs around …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-04-01). Security forces suppress protest against unemployment in southern Tunisia. peoplesdispatch.org The protesters were demanding that the government implement a long overdue deal from 2017 which promised to create jobs in the oil and infrastructure sectors in the region to tackle the issue of unemployment…

RT (2021-04-01). Delays in deliveries of Indian-made AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine could be 'catastrophic', African Union's health boss warns. rt.com India's decision to postpone major exports of locally made AstraZeneca jab could have a "catastrophic" impact on Africa, a top health official has warned, expressing hope the delays won't turn into a permanent ban. | Speaking during a press conference in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Thursday, the chief of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, raised concerns over the delays. | Insufficient deliveries of AstraZeneca's jab, produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), are expected to disrupt the African Union's (AU) vaccination plans, the official said. While the AU has…

Staff (2021-04-01). Three Fundamentalisms Are Driving the Resurgence of Fascist Politics in the US. truthout.org A right-wing extremist ideology has taken hold of the Republican Party, and the United States has become a locus for the revitalization of white supremacy, the normalization of state violence, the reproduction of the carceral state and staggering forms of economic inequality. | The United States is also serving as a toxic model for making oppressive forms of education central to a politics that undercuts the capacity for producing critical and engaged citizens while normalizing the unthinkable…

RT (2021-04-01). Facebook disinformation 'biggest challenge' to tackling Covid-19 — Papua New Guinea minister. rt.com Papua New Guinea's health minister, Jelta Wong, criticized Facebook on Thursday, claiming the spread of disinformation on the site poses the "biggest challenge" to tackling rising cases of Covid-19 in the country. | Speaking at an online event on Thursday, Wong declared that "Facebook is our biggest conspiracy theorist platform", and called for the company to "take responsibility for this and stop it." | Specifically, the health minister cited how "dangerous" posts, such as 'anti-vax' conspiracy theories, were hurting the nation's vaccine rollout and discouraging individuals from getting tested for the virus,…

Anonymous007 (2021-04-01). Even Terrorists Don't Want AstraZeneca Vaccine. southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On March 30th, al-Shabaab terrorists issued a statement rejecting the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for Somalia. | They cited its 'ineffective and adverse' side effects. | A statement released by the group warned Somalis against administering the AstraZeneca vaccine saying it is "deadly and unsafe." | The statement linked the recent move by dozens of countries including European nations like Germany, Italy and France to reject the vaccine becau…

RT (2021-04-01). Pfizer says new trial data shows Covid vaccine 'highly effective' against South African strain. rt.com Pfizer and BioNTech stated on Thursday that their jointly developed Covid-19 vaccine is highly effective in combating the South African variant of the virus, according to the company's latest phase-three trial data. | Pfizer released a statement declaring that new data from South Africa indicated "vaccine efficacy of 100%" despite the prevalence of the fast-spreading B.1.351 variant. | The findings from the phase-three trial come as countries worry about the effectiveness of existing vaccines against new, more transmissible variants of coronavirus, with concerns about how to fully control the disease as it con…

teleSUR (2021-04-01). AstraZeneca Delays Could Be "Catastrophic" for Africa. telesurenglish.net Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Director John Nkengasong warned on Thursday that India's decision to delay the AstraZeneca vaccine delivery would be "catastrophic" for vaccination campaigns in the continent. | RELATED: | "If the delay continues, I hope it's a delay and not a ban; that would be catastrophic for meeting our vaccination schedule," the official said during a press conference from Eth…

Anonymous007 (2021-04-01). Neglecting Chaos Until It Backfires Is A Poor Strategy In Mozambique. southfront.org Click to see full-size image | Mozambique's Cabo Delgado has been plagued by ISIS for years. | In recent months, and ramping up in recent weeks especially, attacks by the terrorist groups in the areas near Total's massive gas project became regular. | Uncontained ISIS now is taking on the Mozambican army and seizes entire towns. It threatens the French giant's project that is worth $20 billion; and all the projects in the region are collectively worth nearly $60 billion. | Prior to the large-scale attacks, there was littl…

MEE, agencies (2021-04-01). Suez Canal: Egypt seeking $1bn compensation for ship blockage. middleeasteye.net Suez Canal: Egypt seeking $1bn compensation for ship blockage | About 15 percent of world shipping traffic transits the vital waterway, a critical source of foreign currency revenue for the country | Thu, 04/01/2021 – 16: 05 | A picture released by Egypt's Suez Canal Authority on 29 March shows a man waving the Egyptian flag after the MV 'Ever Given' container ship was fully dislodged from…

MEE staff (2021-04-01). Lockerbie bomber's family to appeal conviction in UK's top court. middleeasteye.net Lockerbie bomber's family to appeal conviction in UK's top court | Abdel Basset al-Megrahi's family was denied an appeal over his conviction at the Scottish Appeal Court in January | Thu, 04/01/2021 – 18: 30 | Police officers walk past the wreckage from Pan Am Flight 103 which killed at least 270 people (AFP) | The family of a Libyan man found guilty of the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing will appeal his convicti…

Azad Essa (2021-04-01). France must investigate its potential war crime in Mali, activists demand. middleeasteye.net France must investigate its potential war crime in Mali, activists demand | French defence ministry has disputed UN's findings that it bombed a wedding party in January | Thu, 04/01/2021 – 17: 33 | According to Minusma, the UN mission in Mali, a French air strike killed 19 civilians in the Malian village of Bounti on 3 January, 2021 (AFP) | Human rights activists are demanding France open an investigation into…

teleSUR (2021-04-01). EU Agrees to Mediate with Biden on Cuba Terrorism Designation. telesurenglish.net According to the Cuban lawmaker Machado on Twitter, "Cuba does not sponsor or encourage terrorism. We nurture peace, solidarity, and collaboration among peoples." | RELATED: | The statement was made after the favorable response given on Wednesday by Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, to mediate with the U.S. gover…

teleSUR (2021-04-01). Tanzanian President Announces Cabinet Reshuffle. telesurenglish.net Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Wednesday announced the appointment of new finance minister and foreign minister in a cabinet reshuffle. | RELATED: | Announcing the reshuffle shortly after the swearing-in of Vice President Philip Mpango at Chamwino State House in the capital Dodoma, Hassan appointed Mwigulu Nchemba as Finance Minister to replace Mpango. Prior to the new appointment, Nchemba was the Minister of Constitutiona…

RT (2021-04-01). Controversial Russian mercenary group linked to 'grave human rights abuses' in Central African Republic, new UN probe claims. rt.com A UN team has alleged that a controversial private military contractor, brought in by the embattled government of the Central African Republic, is behind a series of troubling and violent attacks in the civil-war-wracked nation. | The working group tasked with assessing the situation in the Central African Republic announced on Tuesday that its members were "deeply disturbed" by a purported link between the mercenaries from the Russian 'Wagner Group' of paramilitaries and potential "grave human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law." | The company's contractors have been operating alon…

RT (2021-04-01). Got to bee kidding me: Shopper's car hijacked by 15,000-strong swarm during 10-min shopping trip (PHOTOS). rt.com Firefighters can sometimes be called upon to rescue cats stranded in trees but one off-duty ladderman went above and beyond the call when he removed a massive swarm of bees which had hijacked a man's car. | The incident took place at the Albertsons supermarket on Sunday, March 28 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. One hapless shopper had ducked inside to pick up some groceries and, 10 minutes later, he found quite a few more new occupants of the car he had borrowed from a friend than he anticipated, as photos from the scene show. | www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2956398727965999&id=1674411762831375&

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