Excluded Headlines: Gaza truce a possibility, resistance in Myanmar, police repression in Argentina...
This week: US threatens or attacks Venezuela, Syria, and Iraq. Stay up to date on the global news stories the US- and Eurocentric media overlook, with author and journalist, Tamara Pearson.
In this week’s overlooked, distorted, and ignored news about the Global South:
Three-phase Gaza truce a possibility - Israel, Egypt, and Qatar participated in drafting an agreement over the weekend in Paris, that was then presented to Hamas on Tuesday. A Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was expected to go to Egypt today to discuss the draft truce. The proposal consists of three stages, with a six week truce and Israel releasing 2-300 Palestinian hostages (they call them prisoners), then Hamas releasing 35-40 of its hostages, with aid trucks brought into Gaza. Source, source.
After 3 years of coup in Myanmar, opposition builds - Three years ago today the military staged a coup against the democratically-elected government of Myanmar. To mark the date, opponents of military rule held a “silent strike” today. Anti-coup forces also launched a major offensive in October and say they have made important gains. On Wednesday, the military government announced another extension of its emergency rule for a further six months. Source, source, source, source.
Police repression in Argentina - Police have violently repressed protestors, as Argentinians continue to stand up to their president’s privatisation agenda. Source, source (videos).
US threatens Venezuelan - The US has threatened to restore sanctions on Venezuela and has revoked a license allowing transactions with a Venezuelan state gold company after the country’s Supreme Court upheld a ban on politician María Corina Machado from holding office. Machado participated in the 2002 coup and is also charged with corruption within the campaign for attempted coup leader Guaido. While many politicians in the US believe Trump shouldn’t be allowed to run again, they have different standards for Latin America. Source.
US will bomb Iraq and Syria - The US has announced plans to launch air strikes against Iraq and Syria. It claims it would be targeting Iranian facilities and that the attacks are in response to a drone attack in Jordan that killed three US soldiers. Source, source.
As elections loom, government militarizes El Salvador streets - El Salvador is due to have elections this Sunday, where current president Bukele is going to run again. The country’s constitution doesn’t allow a second term, but the Supreme Court ruled he could run. Bukele is very popular, especially for his intense crackdown on organised crime. Critics point to the huge numbers of innocent people who have been arrested in these crack downs. It is in that context that the large deployment of the army in the streets in the lead up to elections is being labelled by some as intimidation. Source.
Almost half a million Haitians deported - Last year, nearly half a million Haitians were deported from neighbouring Dominican Republic. Source.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger withdraw from major African bloc - All three countries have been hit by coups, and say they are leaving the ECOWAS bloc of West African states after accusing it of being run by French imperialist interests. That leaves the bloc half the size, based on land area. Source, source.
Useful reads:
The Pakistan-Iran border attacks in historical perspective
‘Blood and sweat’: Myanmar resistance fights to overturn military coup
Violence Is Overwhelming Chiapas, Mexico
Kenyan women demand an end to femicide as deaths surge
Ghanaians’ reactions to the UK loaning back treasures it looted from them
India’s growing pension movement