The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Corruption and recent developments

A Journal of People report

Recent developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have attracted attention of KSA-watchers. The developments, significant not only at regional level, but also at international level, have raised important questions, and indicate significant impact in the areas of economy, geopolitics and people’s struggle in the coming days. Already, a few observers have said: the kingdom will never be like the past one.

A Bloomberg report headlined “Saudi Arabia Struck Gold with Corruption Crackdown” (January 25, 2018) said:

CIA Head Admits Having Inspired US Sanctions Against Venezuela

teleSUR | January 23, 2018

The second and third round of sanctions were directly inspired by CIA reports that Donald Trump ordered before making decisions.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo admitted Tuesday that his office was behind some of the U.S. sanctions adopted against Venezuela’s government.

In a conversation following a conference at the American Enterprise Institute, the moderator asked Pompeo to enumerate some examples of the CIA reports that have drawn the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump.

New Cuban vaccine to be released next year

Granma | January 24, 2018

Photo: Radioreloj

A new and effective Pneumococcal with conjugates against the seven most common serotypes, will be available next year, project leaders announced, January 24.
Developed by the Finlay Institute, the vaccine will be registered under the trademark: Quimi-Vio and be available nationwide, explained Dagmar García, the center’s director of Research, speaking to Prensa Latina.

Syria: Turks declare capture of key mountain as invasion of Afrin canton continues

Morning Star | January 29, 2018

Pr-Turkey Syrian fighters

TURKEY’S armed forces announced the capture of a strategically important mountain in the north-eastern corridor of Syria’s Afrin canton today.

The claim was echoed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and, if true, represents an important advance by the invasion force in the second week of its offensive.

How Churchill hid Hitler’s Willi

by Peter Frost

Morning Star | January 25, 2018

King Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson

AS more and more praise is heaped on Winston Churchill and actor Gary Oldman’s portrayal of the man in the film Darkest Hour, I am constantly reminded about how much of Churchill’s actions have been deliberately hidden from history.

The co-optation of the African National Congress: South Africa’s original ‘State Capture’

by Sampie Terreblanche

Pambazuka News | January 25, 2018

After the ascendancy of Cyril Ramaphosa to the presidency of the African National Congress (ANC) last month, it is vital to understand deep structural barriers that prevent South Africa’s achievement of desperately needed socio-economic justice.

The ideological shifts that took place in the ANC’s economic views from 1990 can only be described as breathtaking: from an explicitly socialist, redistributive approach towards embracing the American ideologies of neoliberal globalism and market fundamentalism.

No, Forced Labor Is Not Good for Your Health

by  Shawn Fremstad

talkpoverty.org | January 19, 2018

Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Trump administration announced last week that it will allow states to deny Medicaid to people who are not meeting work or other daily activity requirements imposed by state officials. As my colleagues have shown, more than 6 million people are at risk of losing health insurance under the new policy. This makes it all the more infuriating that the Trump administration is making the Orwellian claim that its change will make people healthier.

India: Citizens’ Enquiry finds rising rates of kidney failure, deaths in villages surrounding IREL’s monazite processing facility in Chhattrapur Block, Ganjam District

Press Release

Frontier | January 21, 2018

Reports of unusually high rates of chronic kidney disease and death due to kidney failure in a cluster of villages in Chhattrapur Block of Ganjam District have recently been covered by The Wire and a few Oriya-language newspapers.

Alarmed and disturbed at these reports, a group of concerned citizens constituted a fact-finding team and visited the area on 19-20 January 2018. Team members are all senior human rights workers who have written and researched extensively on public health and people’s health issues.