2020-10-29: News Headlines

MEE staff (2020-10-29). US warns of possible Houthi missile strikes on Saudi capital. middleeasteye.net US warns of possible Houthi missile strikes on Saudi capital | Saudi coalition spokesman said bomb-laden Houthi drones were launched toward the capital 'deliberately and systematically to target civilians' | Thu, 10/29/2020 – 15: 25 | Brian Hook, then-US special representative on Iran, on 21 June 2019 checks what Saudi officials said were Iran-made Houthi missiles and drones intercepted over Saudi territory (A…

Julia Kassem (2020-10-29). Trump and Biden: Cold-War Dinosaurs. counterpunch.org If Americans have a modicum of memory, it is clear that baseless, warmongering accusations have time and time again been the precursor for winning consent over upcoming imperialist hostility. Accusing Iraq of harboring "weapons of mass destruction" in 2003, those that care to remember the administration of former President George W. Bush recalled the widespread condemnation from the left over how a lie cost over 1 million lives.

Dave Lindorff (2020-10-29). Nuclear Weapons Will Soon Be Illegal Under International Law. counterpunch.org Flash! Nuclear bombs and warheads have just joined landmines, germ and chemical bombs and fragmentation bombs as illegal weapons under international law, as on Oct. 24 a 50th nation, the Central American country of Honduras, ratified and signed a UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Of course, the reality is that despite this outlawing of

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-29). China imposes sanctions on US arms companies over Taiwan arms deals. peoplesdispatch.org The announcement of sanctions comes in response to arms deals signed by Taiwan and the US worth billions of dollars. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Space & Security will be among the companies to be sanctioned…

Carla Stea (2020-10-29). China: "Nuclear 'Sword of Damocles' Jeopardizes the Survival of Humanity". Entry In Force of Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. globalresearch.ca Background: An Auspicious October | October 2, 2020: United Nations High Level Meeting Commemorating and Promoting the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: This Meeting Was Boycotted by United Kingdom, United States and France, AGAIN! | For many years …

Aaron Maté (2020-10-28). Draft debacle: Bellingcat smears OPCW whistleblower, journalists with false letter, farcical claims. thegrayzone.com Bellingcat claimed to have uncovered a letter that disproves OPCW inspectors and journalists who challenged the censorship of a Syria chemical weapons probe. But in one of many falsehoods, Bellingcat's "letter" was in fact only a draft that was never sent — and only further exposes the cover-up. Bellingcat, the NATO member state-funded website that has participated in a propaganda effort to accuse Syria of a chemical weapons attack in April 2018 and justify the US-led bombing that followed, has …

Adam Khalil (2020-10-28). Israel normalisation with Sudan 'deals blow' to Hamas in Gaza. middleeasteye.net Israel normalisation with Sudan 'deals blow' to Hamas in Gaza | Palestinian sources claim movement's procurement of weapons affected, though others say arms route dried up long ago | Wed, 10/28/2020 – 12: 22 | Ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir (R) meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the Nur mosque in Khartoum on 30 December 2011 (AFP) | The normalisation agreement between Israel and Sudan…

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-10-27). Treaty banning all nuclear weapons will become international law. peoplesworld.org A historic moment in the decades-long struggle for total nuclear disarmament was reached Oct. 24, United Nations Day, as Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted by 122 members, or nearly two-thirds of the UN General Assembly's then-192 members, in July …

MEE correspondent (2020-10-27). Yemen currency war sees inflation spiral as Saudi-led fuel siege intensifies. middleeasteye.net Yemen currency war sees inflation spiral as Saudi-led fuel siege intensifies | As fighting has lessened in recent months, Yemenis say the economic war being waged is just as devastating | Tue, 10/27/2020 – 13: 03 | Old and new banknotes at a currency exchange in Aden (AFP) | While the violence of the war in Yemen generally captures the headlines, and has lessened in recent months, escal…

Ralph Nader (2020-10-27). Don't Rush to Declare Victory: Implementing a Two-Week Grace Period After November 3rd So All Voters Can Be Counted. commondreams.org With such large stakes for our fragile democracy, we cannot afford to bypass such a course of action that will assure a peaceful transition in accord with the rule of law. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/early.jpg

Joanna Frew (2020-10-27). New Report: Crowded Sky, Contested Sea: Drones over the South and East China Seas. globalresearch.ca Amid naval patrols, live military drills, island building, trade wars and diplomatic breakdown, drones are making an increasing impact on the security situation in the South China Sea and the relationship between China and the US. Smaller nations in the …

Dennis Riches (2020-10-27). Unenforceable Nuclear Ban Treaty to Become International Law. globalresearch.ca On October 24, 2020, the United Nations announced that 50 countries had ratified the treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Passing this threshold means that the treaty will become international law within ninety days. The next day, the people who worked …

Ray Acheson (2020-10-27). Nuclear Weapons Have Always Been Immoral. Now They're Illegal. thenation.com Nuclear Weapons Have Always Been Immoral. Now They're Illegal.

Staff (2020-10-27). Nuclear Weapons Will Soon Be Banned Under International Law. truthout.org Nuclear weapons will soon be illegal under international law. Seventy-five years to the day after the founding of the United Nations, the UN The milestone was achieved after years of global efforts spearheaded by the

Scientists for Global Responsibility (2020-10-27). Scientists Welcome Key Milestone for Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. globalresearch.ca Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) welcomes the 50th ratification of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons — reached late yesterday — which means the treaty will now enter in force on 22 January 2021. | The treaty bans …

Mojmir Babacek (2020-10-27). Electromagnetic and Informational Weapons: The Remote Manipulation of the Human Brain. globalresearch.ca Editors Note: | We bring to our readers this carefully documented review article by Mojmir Babajek first published in 2004. | While the text deals with a number of complex scientific processes, the implications of these findings are far-reaching. This study also …

_____ (2020-10-27). Britain's Nuclear Weapons: Money for Nothing. strategic-culture.org On 19 October the BBC It must be made clear that there was no possibility this officer or any other single person could in some way commit the submarine to despa…

RT (2020-10-26). Turkish F-16s in Azerbaijan are not currently involved in fighting but will be used if there is 'foreign aggression,' says Baku. rt.com Azerbaijan will use Turkish F-16 fighter jets to defend itself from "foreign aggression," President Ilham Aliyev said on Monday, insisting that the planes were in the country prior to the recent fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. | F-16s are supersonic fighter aircraft built in the US by Lockheed Martin. In recent years, the jets have been used extensively, by Ankara, in battles with Kurdish insurgents, as well as in the Syrian Civil War. Famously, in 2015, a Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 near the Syrian-Turkish border. | According to Aliyev, the planes are currently sitting idle in Azerbaijan and…

Robert Dodge (2020-10-26). Nuclear Weapons Banned—Illegal at Last. commondreams.org The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons delivers a clear message from nations across the globe that nuclear weapons threaten the survival of all of humanity and must be eliminated before they eliminate us. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/nuclear_3.jpg

Kevin Martin (2020-10-26). Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty Enters Into Force. peaceaction.org Peace Action Statement on the Entry Into Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Kevin Martin, President of Peace Action and Peace Action Education Fund, issued the following statement: "A distinct honor in my work is representing Peace Action at peace and disarmament conferences at the United Nations. I was there in …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-26). Slovenian left party Levica protests government's refusal to hold referendum on military purchases. peoplesdispatch.org The Slovenian government refused a demand by Levica to hold a referendum on a proposal to procure weapons worth USD 925.28 million. Levica plans to challenge the decision in the constitutional court…

Ed Lehman (2020-10-26). Pan-Canadian Day of Action Opposes Plan to Buy Fighter Jets, Drones. globalresearch.ca On October 2 Canadian peace activists held their second pan-Canadian Day of Action against the purchase of 88 new fighter jets. At some locations activists also underscored their objections to the purchase of 12 armed drones at a projected cost …

John Laforge (2020-10-26). White House Gangster Wants to Avoid Nuclear-Armed Stigma. counterpunch.org The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is about to win its 50th state ratification, the golden number needed for the treaty to enter into force. The list of 47 current signatories can be seen at ICANw.org, website of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize-winning coalition that helped