Daily Archives: 2021-01-07

2021-01-07: News Headlines

Museum of African Diaspora San Francisco (2021-01-07). Monday 1/18: Virtual Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday w/ MoAD. indybay.org Online via livestream (FREE & all ages welcome)…

Mwangi Githahu (2021-01-07). Ivermectin: South Africa Bans 'Miracle' COVID-19 Treatment as "Unsafe" globalresearch.ca The import into South Africa of ivermectin, a drug that has made international headlines recently as a so-called "miracle cure" for Covid-19, has been declared illegal by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra). | Ivermectin, which has been used …

Mwangi Githahu (2021-01-07). Invermectin: South Africa Bans 'Miracle' COVID-19 Treatment as "Unsafe" globalresearch.ca The import into South Africa of ivermectin, a drug that has made international headlines recently as a so-called "miracle cure" for Covid-19, has been declared illegal by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra). | Ivermectin, which has been used …

Abayomi Azikiwe (2021-01-07). Africa in Review 2020: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives Essential in Understanding the Way Forward. globalresearch.ca One of the most serious attacks on the anti-colonial and national liberation legacy in Africa was the attempts by the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco to liquidate the right to self-determination among the Saharawi people in the Northwest …

Lawrence Freeman (2021-01-07). China's "Belt and Road Initiative" Is Not Debt-trapping Africa. globalresearch.ca Over the last three years, a new type of groupthink has emerged among many Western media and policy think tanks in their geopolitically motivated efforts to malign China. They've claimed that China is practicing a new type of colonialism, which …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-07). Sudan's transitional government signs Abraham Accords normalizing ties with Israel. peoplesdispatch.org According to the deal Sudan will recognize Israel and will "normalize" relations with it. The UAE and Bahrain had signed the deal in September last year…

news.un (2021-01-07). Guterres 'shocked' at massacre of civilians in eastern DR Congo. news.un.org The United Nations Secretary-General has expressed shock at the massacre of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

MEE staff (2021-01-07). Libya urged to investigate fate of hundreds missing in Tarhuna. middleeasteye.net Libya urged to investigate fate of hundreds missing in Tarhuna | Dozens of mass graves were found in Tarhuna last summer after withdrawal of forces aligned with eastern commander Khalifa Haftar | Thu, 01/07/2021 – 19: 12 | Since June, Libyan teams have been searching for graves and exhuming bodies in Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli (AFP) | Human Rights Watch urged Libya's internationally recognised government to…

news.un (2021-01-07). Food for Mozambicans struggling amidst violence and COVID-19, 'will be compromised' without more funding: WFP. news.un.org Despite increased insecurity and limited funding, the UN food relief agency is continuing to supply food for hundreds of thousands of people affected by conflict in northern Mozambique.

news.un (2021-01-07). Saudi Arabia: UN rights expert welcomes 'positive first step' toward détente in Gulf. news.un.org Saudi Arabia's action in lifting sanctions against Qatar is a "positive first step" towards normalized relations in the Gulf region, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday, urging the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt to follow suit.

news.un (2021-01-07). FROM THE FIELD: The genocide survivor helping others avoid starvation. news.un.org During the 1994 Genocide Against The Tutsi In Rwanda, Liberee Kayumba avoided starvation thanks to emergency rations from the World Food Programme (WFP). Today, she is helping to ensure that Burundian refugees in the country have enough to eat.

WSWS (2021-01-07). Landslide in Papua New Guinea kills 15 gold miners, children. wsws.org For tens of thousands of people, the desperate search for flecks of gold provides the only means of survival.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-07). Hirak activists on hunger strike against pre-trial detention hospitalized in Algeria. peoplesdispatch.org The three Hirak activists – Mohamed Tadjadit (25), Noureddine Khimoud (25) and Abdelhak Ben Rahmani (38) – began a hunger strike on December 27 last year after they were denied bail and their pre-trial detention was extended by the authorities…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-06). Sudan signs agreement normalising ties with Israel. middleeasteye.net Sudan signs agreement normalising ties with Israel | The Abraham Accords were signed as US treasury secretary inked a deal with Khartoum to access $1bn in financing from the World Bank | Wed, 01/06/2021 – 15: 36 | US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok during a visit to Khartoum (Supplied) | Sudan signed the Abraham Accords with the United States o…

Pavan Kulkarni (2021-01-06). Trade union coalition in Sudan launches campaign to dissolve government-backed militia. peoplesdispatch.org The Sudanese Professionals Association launched the campaign following the torture and killing of a young activist, Bahaeldin Nouri, who was abducted by the intelligence wing of the government-backed Rapid Support Forces on December 21…

Noam Chomsky — Vijay Prashad (2021-01-06). Three Major Threats to Life on Earth That We Must Address in 2021. counterpunch.org A scientific paper published in 2018 came with a startling headline: "Most atolls will be uninhabitable by the mid-21st century because of sea-level rise exacerbating wave-driven flooding." The authors found that atolls from the Seychelles to the Marshall Islands are liable to vanish. A 2019 United Nations (UN) report estimated that 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. Add to this the catastrophic wildfires and the severe bleaching of the coral reefs and it is clear that we no longer need to linger over clichés about one thing or another being a canary in the coal mine of climate cat…

Vijay Prashad (2021-01-06). You don't want to imagine an ocean without coral reefs—but you might have to. mronline.org The reefs will die. That seems certain. The UNEP report will not circulate. That seems equally certain. The Marshall Islands and Rwanda will file their updates. That has already happened. Meanwhile, the United States and its allies will sit on the sidelines, expanding fracking with a "who cares" attitude.

Mohammad Ayesh (2021-01-06). Arabic press review: Regional media reacts to end of Qatar blockade. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Regional media reacts to end of Qatar blockade | How has Middle East media interpreted Tuesday's deal ending Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE's embargo on Doha? | Wed, 01/06/2021 – 12: 01 | GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani and Bahraini diplomat Hamad Al-Amer, right, at a press conference in 2013 (AFP) | Bahraini diplomat attacks Gulf reconciliation:…

_____ (2021-01-06). Iowa Farm Bankruptcies Continue To Rise, Despite Aid. popularresistance.org There were 27 farm bankruptcies in Iowa in 2019 — more than double the 13 bankruptcies in 2018, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported. This was despite the $1.58 billion the federal government paid Iowa farmers in Market Facilitation Program payments to ease losses because of the trade dispute with China. | Later this month, we'll know how many Iowa farms went bankrupt in 2020, but Iowa State University economics professor and crop markets specialist Chad Hart said to expect another increase. | "The government has provided a lot of short-term funding to help farmers get through the year," Hart said,…

news.un (2021-01-05). Central African Republic: Respect final results of the election, UN and partners urge. news.un.org Senior officials from the United Nations and regional organizations have called on all political actors in the Central African Republic (CAR) to respect the final results of the recent presidential elections, and to settle any disputes peacefully and in accordance with the country's laws.

Seiji Yamada (2021-01-05). The Racism That Undergirds Global Public Health. counterpunch.org With his thin volume (143 pages of text, with 46 pages of notes) Epidemic Illusions: On the Coloniality of Global Public Health, Eugene Richardson takes to task the discipline of epidemiology, and with it, global public health. Utilizing the West Africa Ebola epidemic of 2013-2016 as his canvas, Richardson paints a picture that highlights the racism

Nadda Osman (2021-01-05). Covid-19: Egypt health minister under fire for attending wedding amid pandemic. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Egypt health minister under fire for attending wedding amid pandemic | Social media users have contrasted the minister violating lockdown measures with the dire state of Egypt's overwhelmed hospitals | Tue, 01/05/2021 – 11: 47 | The large wedding was compared to scenes of hospitals and medical staff facing shortages in Egypt (Screengrab/Twitter) | Egypt's Health Minister Hala Zayed has come und…

MEE staff (2021-01-05). Israel appoints diplomat to UAE ahead of embassy opening. middleeasteye.net Israel appoints diplomat to UAE ahead of embassy opening | Eitan Na'eh will be first Israeli to have full diplomatic status in Gulf state following normalisation of ties last year | Tue, 01/05/2021 – 21: 04 | Israel and UAE signed US-sponsored agreement last year, reportedly in exchange for a freeze of Israel's annexation of Palestinian lands (AFP) | Israel has appointed Eitan Na'eh, its former ambassador to T…

RT (2021-01-05). Saudi Arabia and Qatar end years-long row with border reopening, resumption of ties. rt.com Full ties have been restored between Saudi Arabia and Qatar after hugs were exchanged between leaders of the two nations at the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit on Tuesday, ending their three-year-diplomatic dispute. | Riyadh and its allies, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, have agreed to resume relations with Doha, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud told a news conference. | It follows the announcement by Kuwait — a mediator of the talks — on Monday that the four Arab nations would reopen their land, sea and air borders with Qatar. | The countries had cut Qatar…

Lisa Becker, Alex Demirivic & Horst Kahrs (2021-01-05). Easing into a New Normality of the Crisis. indybay.org With the intertwining of the Corona and economic crises, massive distribution struggles are already looming. Society, in a collective effort to prevent illness, has downsized its economic activity. This collective decision must not serve to enrich a few. The radical taxation of the great fortunes is an indispensable moment to face the Corona crisis.

teleSUR (2021-01-05). Mexico and Four Other Countries Join the UN Security Council. telesurenglish.net Mexico, India, Ireland, Kenya, and Norway on Monday began to assume responsibilities as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). | RELATED: | While their two-year term officially started on Jan. 1, Monday is the first working day of the council for 2021 after the Christmas and New Year break. A flag installation ceremony was held to mark the start of their responsibilities. | Kazakh UN a…

2021-01-07: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

Monday 1/18: Virtual Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday w/ MoAD
Museum of African Diaspora San Francisco | indybay.org | 2021-01-07
Online via livestream (FREE & all ages welcome)…
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/01/07/18839260.php

China's "Belt and Road Initiative" Is Not Debt-trapping Africa
Lawrence Freeman | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-07
Over the last three years, a new type of groupthink has emerged among many Western media and policy think tanks in their geopolitically motivated efforts to malign China. They've claimed that China is practicing a new type of colonialism, which …
globalresearch.ca/belt-road-initiative-not-debt-trapping-africa/5733746

Ivermectin: South Africa Bans 'Miracle' COVID-19 Treatment as "Unsafe"
Mwangi Githahu | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-07
The import into South Africa of ivermectin, a drug that has made international headlines recently as a so-called "miracle cure" for Covid-19, has been declared illegal by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra). | Ivermectin, which has been used …
globalresearch.ca/south-african-drugs-regulator-bans-miracle-covid-19-treatment-unsafe/5733766

Africa in Review 2020: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives Essential in Understanding the Way Forward
Abayomi Azikiwe | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-07
One of the most serious attacks on the anti-colonial and national liberation legacy in Africa was the attempts by the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco to liquidate the right to self-determination among the Saharawi people in the Northwest …
globalresearch.ca/africa-review-2020-anti-imperialist-perspectives-essential-understanding-way-forward/5733752

Invermectin: South Africa Bans 'Miracle' COVID-19 Treatment as "Unsafe"
Mwangi Githahu | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-07
The import into South Africa of ivermectin, a drug that has made international headlines recently as a so-called "miracle cure" for Covid-19, has been declared illegal by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra). | Ivermectin, which has been used …
globalresearch.ca/south-african-drugs-regulator-bans-miracle-covid-19-treatment-unsafe/5733766

Sudan's transitional government signs Abraham Accords normalizing ties with Israel
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-07
According to the deal Sudan will recognize Israel and will "normalize" relations with it. The UAE and Bahrain had signed the deal in September last year…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/07/sudans-transitional-government-signs-abraham-accords-normalizing-ties-with-israel/

Guterres 'shocked' at massacre of civilians in eastern DR Congo
news.un.org | 2021-01-07
The United Nations Secretary-General has expressed shock at the massacre of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081562

Food for Mozambicans struggling amidst violence and COVID-19, 'will be compromised' without more funding: WFP
news.un.org | 2021-01-07
Despite increased insecurity and limited funding, the UN food relief agency is continuing to supply food for hundreds of thousands of people affected by conflict in northern Mozambique.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081602

Libya urged to investigate fate of hundreds missing in Tarhuna
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-07
Libya urged to investigate fate of hundreds missing in Tarhuna | Dozens of mass graves were found in Tarhuna last summer after withdrawal of forces aligned with eastern commander Khalifa Haftar | MEE staff | Thu, 01/07/2021 – 19: 12 | Since June, Libyan teams have been searching for graves and exhuming bodies in Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli (AFP) | Human Rights Watch urged Libya's internationally recognised government to…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/libya-gna-investigate-missing-tarhuna-hrw

Saudi Arabia: UN rights expert welcomes 'positive first step' toward détente in Gulf
news.un.org | 2021-01-07
Saudi Arabia's action in lifting sanctions against Qatar is a "positive first step" towards normalized relations in the Gulf region, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday, urging the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt to follow suit.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081612

FROM THE FIELD: The genocide survivor helping others avoid starvation
news.un.org | 2021-01-07
During the 1994 Genocide Against The Tutsi In Rwanda, Liberee Kayumba avoided starvation thanks to emergency rations from the World Food Programme (WFP). Today, she is helping to ensure that Burundian refugees in the country have enough to eat.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081532

We Are Living In An Emergency That Requires Urgent Action
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-01-07
Large parts of the world — outside of China and a few other countries — face a runaway virus, which has not been stopped because of criminal incompetence by governments. That these governments in wealthy countries cynically set aside the basic scientific protocols released by the World Health Organisation and by scientific organisations reveals their malicious practice. Anything less than focusing attention to managing the virus by testing, contact tracing, and isolation — and if this does not suffice, then imposing a temporary lockdown — is foolhardy. It is equally distressing that these…
popularresistance.org/we-are-living-in-an-emergency-that-requires-urgent-action/

Hirak activists on hunger strike against pre-trial detention hospitalized in Algeria
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-07
The three Hirak activists – Mohamed Tadjadit (25), Noureddine Khimoud (25) and Abdelhak Ben Rahmani (38) – began a hunger strike on December 27 last year after they were denied bail and their pre-trial detention was extended by the authorities…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/07/hirak-activists-on-hunger-strike-against-pre-trial-detention-hospitalized-in-algeria/

Landslide in Papua New Guinea kills 15 gold miners, children
wsws.org | 2021-01-07
For tens of thousands of people, the desperate search for flecks of gold provides the only means of survival.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/07/pngg-j07.html

Dossier no. 36: Twilight: The erosion of U.S. control and the multipolar future
The Tricontinental | mronline.org | 2021-01-06
If there was one revolution that marked the beginning of the end of the colonial epoch and that inaugurated a new worker-led civilisation, it was the Haitian Revolution of 1804. Enslaved Africans defeated the four major European powers of the day, won their freedom, and declared an independent republic.
mronline.org/2021/01/05/dossier-no-36-twilight-the-erosion-of-u-s-control-and-the-multipolar-future/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dossier-no-36-twilight-the-erosion-of-u-s-control-and-the-multipolar-future

Sudan signs agreement normalising ties with Israel
MEE and agencies | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-06
Sudan signs agreement normalising ties with Israel | The Abraham Accords were signed as US treasury secretary inked a deal with Khartoum to access $1bn in financing from the World Bank | MEE and agencies | Wed, 01/06/2021 – 15: 36 | US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok during a visit to Khartoum (Supplied) | Sudan signed the Abraham Accords with the United States o…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/sudan-us-israel-sign-abraham-accords

Trade union coalition in Sudan launches campaign to dissolve government-backed militia
Pavan Kulkarni | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-06
The Sudanese Professionals Association launched the campaign following the torture and killing of a young activist, Bahaeldin Nouri, who was abducted by the intelligence wing of the government-backed Rapid Support Forces on December 21…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/06/trade-union-coalition-in-sudan-launches-campaign-to-dissolve-government-backed-militia/

Three Major Threats to Life on Earth That We Must Address in 2021
Noam Chomsky — Vijay Prashad | counterpunch.org | 2021-01-06
A scientific paper published in 2018 came with a startling headline: "Most atolls will be uninhabitable by the mid-21st century because of sea-level rise exacerbating wave-driven flooding." The authors found that atolls from the Seychelles to the Marshall Islands are liable to vanish. A 2019 United Nations (UN) report estimated that 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. Add to this the catastrophic wildfires and the severe bleaching of the coral reefs and it is clear that we no longer need to linger over clichés about one thing or another being a canary in the coal mine of climate cat…
counterpunch.org/2021/01/06/three-major-threats-to-life-on-earth-that-we-must-address-in-2021/

You don't want to imagine an ocean without coral reefs–but you might have to
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2021-01-06
The reefs will die. That seems certain. The UNEP report will not circulate. That seems equally certain. The Marshall Islands and Rwanda will file their updates. That has already happened. Meanwhile, the United States and its allies will sit on the sidelines, expanding fracking with a "who cares" attitude.
mronline.org/2021/01/06/you-dont-want-to-imagine-an-ocean-without-coral-reefs-but-you-might-have-to/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=you-dont-want-to-imagine-an-ocean-without-coral-reefs-but-you-might-have-to

Chomsky and Prashad: Three major threats to life on earth that we must address in 2021
Noam Chomsky | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-06
Large parts of the world–outside of China and a few other countries–face a runaway virus, which has not been stopped because of criminal incompetence by governments. That these governments in wealthy countries cynically set aside the basic scientific protocols released by the World Health Organization and by scientific organizations reveals their malicious practice. Anything less than focused attention to managing the virus by testing, contact tracing, and isolation–and if this does not suffice, then…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/06/chomsky-and-prashad-three-major-threats-to-life-on-earth-that-we-must-address-in-2021/

Arabic press review: Regional media reacts to end of Qatar blockade
Mohammad Ayesh | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-06
Arabic press review: Regional media reacts to end of Qatar blockade | How has Middle East media interpreted Tuesday's deal ending Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE's embargo on Doha? | Mohammad Ayesh | Wed, 01/06/2021 – 12: 01 | GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani and Bahraini diplomat Hamad Al-Amer, right, at a press conference in 2013 (AFP) | Bahraini diplomat attacks Gulf reconciliation:…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/qatar-blockade-bahrain-arab-media-reacts

Iowa Farm Bankruptcies Continue To Rise, Despite Aid
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-01-06
There were 27 farm bankruptcies in Iowa in 2019 — more than double the 13 bankruptcies in 2018, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported. This was despite the $1.58 billion the federal government paid Iowa farmers in Market Facilitation Program payments to ease losses because of the trade dispute with China. | Later this month, we'll know how many Iowa farms went bankrupt in 2020, but Iowa State University economics professor and crop markets specialist Chad Hart said to expect another increase. | "The government has provided a lot of short-term funding to help farmers get through the year," Hart said,…
popularresistance.org/iowa-farm-bankruptcies-continue-to-rise-despite-aid/

The Racism That Undergirds Global Public Health
Seiji Yamada | counterpunch.org | 2021-01-05
With his thin volume (143 pages of text, with 46 pages of notes) Epidemic Illusions: On the Coloniality of Global Public Health, Eugene Richardson takes to task the discipline of epidemiology, and with it, global public health. Utilizing the West Africa Ebola epidemic of 2013-2016 as his canvas, Richardson paints a picture that highlights the racism…
counterpunch.org/2021/01/05/the-racism-that-undergirds-global-public-health/

Covid-19: Egypt health minister under fire for attending wedding amid pandemic
Nadda Osman | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-05
Covid-19: Egypt health minister under fire for attending wedding amid pandemic | Social media users have contrasted the minister violating lockdown measures with the dire state of Egypt's overwhelmed hospitals | Nadda Osman | Tue, 01/05/2021 – 11: 47 | The large wedding was compared to scenes of hospitals and medical staff facing shortages in Egypt (Screengrab/Twitter) | Egypt's Health Minister Hala Zayed has come und…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-covid-health-minister-wedding-uproar

Mexico and Four Other Countries Join the UN Security Council
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-05
Mexico, India, Ireland, Kenya, and Norway on Monday began to assume responsibilities as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). | RELATED: | For Fifth Time, Cuba Elected Member of UN Human Rights Council | While their two-year term officially started on Jan. 1, Monday is the first working day of the council for 2021 after the Christmas and New Year break. A flag installation ceremony was held to mark the start of their responsibilities. | Kazakh UN a…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mexico-and-Four-Other-Countries-Join-the-UN-Security-Council-20210105-0006.html

Israel appoints diplomat to UAE ahead of embassy opening
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-05
Israel appoints diplomat to UAE ahead of embassy opening | Eitan Na'eh will be first Israeli to have full diplomatic status in Gulf state following normalisation of ties last year | MEE staff | Tue, 01/05/2021 – 21: 04 | Israel and UAE signed US-sponsored agreement last year, reportedly in exchange for a freeze of Israel's annexation of Palestinian lands (AFP) | Israel has appointed Eitan Na'eh, its former ambassador to T…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-appoints-diplomat-uae-embassy