(2021-04-09). Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister: Biden Acting 'Irrational' Towards Venezuela. orinocotribune.com 
In an interview with the international news agency AFP, Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza called the position of US President Joe Biden "irrational" because of the latter's continued non-recognition of the government of President Nicolás Maduro. In effect, Arreaza said that Venezuela has not given up trying to re-establish contact with Washington in order to normalize relations between the two countries. | "We have not received any contact or positive response to the hand that President Maduro extended," said Arreaza, referring to the messages sent by the Miraflores Palace to the White House. Howe…
(2021-04-09). Court hearing of Communist Party of Kenya members postponed to Monday. peoplesdispatch.org The court hearing of 12 members of the Communist Party of Kenya who were detained on Wednesday has been postponed. The police action against them came as the party was organizing a movement against the skewed COVID-19 strategy of the government…
(2021-04-09). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org UK bus drivers 24-hour strike at London United while French drivers at same company walk out over pay and privatisation; strikes in Belgium by childcare workers over Covid safety, prison officers and social workers over workload; resident doctors across Nigeria strike since April 8 over salary arrears…
(2021-04-09). Elephants and Wildlife Threatened by Plans to Drill for Dirty Energy in Africa's Unique Okavango Region. globalresearch.ca Botswana and Namibia should stop fossil fuel exploration threatening a unique …
(2021-04-09). Death toll from armed clashes in Sudan's West Darfur State rises to 132. peoplesdispatch.org The violence over the past weekend in El Geneina, the capital city of Sudan's West Darfur State, has led to over 130 deaths and over 200 injuries. Behind these clashes lie failures in the peace process involving the transitional government and rebel groups…
(2021-04-09). Oliver Hermanus: "Moffie" Links White Supremacy and Homophobia as Macho Perversions. scheerpost.com Photo courtesy of Daniel Rutland Manners. An IFC Films Release.] Click to subscribe on: Apple / Spotify / Google Play "Moffie," a new South African movie billed as an apartheid-era " queer war film," tells the story of the closeted 16-year-old Nicholas (Kai Luke Brummer) and his conscription into South Africa's military service to fight a war against communist Angola in the 1980s. The film… |
(2021-04-09). Scheer Intelligence: "Moffie" Links White Supremacy And Homophobia As Macho Perversions. popularresistance.org "Moffie," a new South African movie billed as an apartheid-era "queer war film," tells the story of the closeted 16-year-old Nicholas (Kai Luke Brummer) and his conscription into South Africa's military service to fight a war against communist Angola in the 1980s. The film, in movie theaters and On Demand platforms, is based on André Carl van der Merwe's autobiographical novel "Moffie"—a homophobic slur. It explores with great nuance the complex realities of apartheid-era South Africa and the dangerous ideologies pervasive in its solely white male armed forces. On this week's installment of "Scheer Intellig…
(2021-04-09). The Heat: Mozambique Violence. america.cgtn.com 
Mozambique is still reeling after a vicious assault late last month by militants linked to ISIL. Dozens were killed by the insurgents in the assault that took place in the coastal town of Palma in the northern Cabo Delgado province. Thousands more have fled …
(2021-04-09). Egypt: Archaeologists uncover 'lost golden city' buried under the sands. middleeasteye.net 
Egypt: Archaeologists uncover 'lost golden city' buried under the sands | Excavation team have labelled the find, uncovered near Luxor, 'the largest' ancient city ever uncovered in Egypt | Fri, 04/09/2021 – 09: 27 | After seven months of excavations, several neighbourhoods have been uncovered, including a bakery complete with ovens and storage pottery, as well as administrative and residen…
(2021-04-09). Sudan: Hundreds of women rally against gender-based violence. middleeasteye.net 
Sudan: Hundreds of women rally against gender-based violence | The protesters made a list of demands, including enshrining gender equality into Sudanese law | Fri, 04/09/2021 – 13: 09 | Hundreds of women gathered in Khartoum to protest against gender-based violence (Screengrab/Social media) | Hundreds of women gathered in Sudan's capital Khartoum on Thursday to protest against gender-based violence and r…
(2021-04-09). Sinai Insurgency: ISIS Terrorists Execute Pro-Government Tribal Fighter (Photos). southfront.org 
Illustrative image | On April 5, ISIS announced that its fighters in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula had captured and executed a pro-government tribal fighter. | According to the terrorist group's news agency, Amaq, the execution took place in the area of al-Burth to the south of Rafah city in the northern part of Sinai. | Amaq shared photos of the war crime. The photos show ISIS terrorists shooting the victim, a young man, in the head before burying him in an unmarked grave. The i…
(2021-04-09). Twelve Beheaded Foreigners Discovered In Aftermath Of ISIS Attack On Mozambique's Palma. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | Twelve individuals were found beheaded in the northern Mozambican town of Palma following a militant attack claimed by ISIS, Commander Pedro da Silva told journalists visiting the town that he could not be sure of the nationalities of the 12 people, but he believed they w…
(2021-04-09). ISIS Terrorists Wreak Havoc In Southern Niger (Photos). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On April 5, ISIS' news agency, Amaq, shared photos of a recent attack by the group in the southeastern Nigerian region of Diffa. | The attack, which took place on April 4, targeted a base of the FAN [Forces Armées Nigériennes — reads in English the Niger Armed Forces] in the town of Ngagam, which is located near the city center of the Diffa Region. | In the course of the attack, ISIS terrorists stormed the base and killed five Nigerien soldiers. The terrorists also…
(2021-04-09). Zambia Is the Tip of the Tail of the Global Dog. dissidentvoice.org 
From left to right: Vijay Prashad, Fred M'membe, Diego Sequera, and Erika Farías in Caracas, 2019. Photograph taken by Yeimi Salinas. On 12 August 2021, the people of Zambia will vote to elect a new president, who will be the seventh person elected to the office since Zambia won its independence from the United Kingdom …
(2021-04-09). Zambia is the tip of the tail of the Global dog. mronline.org 
On 12 August 2021, the people of Zambia will vote to elect a new president, who will be the seventh person elected to the office since Zambia won its independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 if the incumbent loses. | April 9, 2021 | Newswire…
(2021-04-09). China urges Nigerian police to help free kidnapped Chinese hostages. ecns.cn China urged the Nigerian police to help free two Chinese nationals who were kidnapped in southwestern Nigeria on Monday.
(2021-04-09). UN chief calls for concerted efforts to counter hate-driven movements. ecns.cn United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for concerted efforts to defeat hate-driven movements to prevent history from repeating itself as the world was marking the anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
(2021-04-09). Egyptian Foreign policy under Sisi: diminishing independence in the service of dictatorship. juancole.com Johannesburg (Special to Informed Comment) — Egyptian foreign policy under the tutelage of Egyptian president Abdul Fattah El-Sisi has seen the country lose much of its independence in an attempt to secure gulf aid and in the service of combating the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. In addition, the country's myriad domestic challenges has seen its influence …
(2021-04-08). Nigeria Generates Huge Revenue From Coconut Oil Export: Official. telesurenglish.net The export of coconut oil and its derivatives has continued to generate massive revenue for Nigeria. The country recorded at least 150 million U.S. dollars in 2020 alone, said an official on Thursday. | RELATED: | Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Sabo Nanono said in a statement reaching Xinhua in Abuja that coconut has proven to be a significant non-oil export foreign exchange earner for Nigeria. | Cocon…
(2021-04-08). Plight of Imprisoned African-Americans Worsens in the U.S. Historical Perspective. globalresearch.ca Romaine "Chip" Fitzgerald was a member of the Black Panther Party …
(2021-04-08). Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood's former acting leader sentenced to life in prison. middleeasteye.net 
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood's former acting leader sentenced to life in prison | Mahmoud Ezzat, 76, was arrested during a raid on a Cairo apartment last August | Thu, 04/08/2021 – 14: 07 | Former acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mahmoud Ezzat has been sentenced to life in prison (AFP) | An Egyptian court sentenced Mahmoud Ezzat, the former acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, to l…
(2021-04-08). UAE states backing for new Libyan unity government. middleeasteye.net 
UAE states backing for new Libyan unity government | Gulf state appears to reverse position after previously backing Khalifa Haftar, as Abdul Hamid Dbeibah meets Mohammed bin Zayed | Thu, 04/08/2021 – 12: 00 | Libya's interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah meets with Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed (AFP) | The United Arab Emirates has pledged support for the new unity gove…
(2021-04-08). What Next For Myanmar? — OpEd. eurasiareview.com 
By Dr. J. Scott Younger* | I was attracted by a line from an old Japanese poem "If all the world are brothers, why are wind and waves so restless". It made me think of all the problems, national repression, skirmishes and wars that we have today in the Middle East, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and several other countries. Peace is a very fragile thing, elusive, and we must still seek to resolve our differences. | I went to Myanmar, or Burma as it was called, some 40 years ago on the backof a UNDP project, and despite catching a bad dose of typhus fever and the plane falling out of the sky some ten days after I flew out…
(2021-04-08). Egypt's Sisi warns 'all options open' after dam talks fail. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 08 (MNA) — Egyptian President el-Sisi has warned that "all options are open" after the latest round of talks between his country, Sudan and Ethiopia about a giant dam built by the latter on the Blue Nile ended without progress.
(2021-04-08). Top US embassy staffer found hanging in hotel: report. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 08 (MNA) — A suicide note was found in the hotel room of a senior US embassy staffer who was found dead in the Kenyan capital on Wednesday, police have confirmed, media have reported.