2021-01-14: News Headlines

Staff (2021-01-14). Pompeo Urges US to "Confront" What He Calls the "Iran-al-Qaeda Axis" truthout.org Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made his first appearance before the public since the January 6 Capitol breach to accuse the Iranian government of playing a role in the 9/11 attacks. | While Pompeo conceded that there's no evidence of direct Iranian involvement or "foreknowledge" of the plot, he The secretary of state pointed to reporting w…

Melvin Goodman (2021-01-14). Bibi and Jonathan Pollard: Two Anti-American Peas in Their Own Pod. counterpunch.org Last month, the New York Times described the hero's welcome in Israel for Jonathan Pollard, who served 30 years in jail for spying for Israel, as "relatively subdued." In view of the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led this "subdued" reception, it is time to throw some shade on Bibi and Jonathan. After all, the United States has supplied Israeli with huge amounts of military and economic aid as well as intelligence support over the years with very little return.

Melvin Goodman (2021-01-14). Bibi and Jonathan Pollard: Two Anti-American Peas in Their Own Pod. counterpunch.org Last month, the New York Times described the hero's welcome in Israel for Jonathan Pollard, who served 30 years in jail for spying for Israel, as "relatively subdued." In view of the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led this "subdued" reception, it is time to throw some shade on Bibi and Jonathan. After all, the United

MEE and agencies (2021-01-14). Covid-19: Israel to vaccinate Palestinian prisoners from next week. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Israel to vaccinate Palestinian prisoners from next week | Israel's health minister made the announcement after President Reuven Rivlin criticised plans to exclude prisoners from vaccination programme | Thu, 01/14/2021 – 16: 02 | Israel has been criticised for shirking its responsibilities as an occupying power by failing to deliver vaccines to millions of Palestinians living in…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-14). Covid-19: Turkey announces more than 250,000 health workers vaccinated so far. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Turkey announces more than 250,000 health workers vaccinated so far | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives first dose of the Sinovac jab as Turkey begins vaccinating health workers | Thu, 01/14/2021 – 16: 58 | Turkish President Erdogan receives a shot of Sinovac's CoronaVac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine in Ankara (Reuters) | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan anno…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-14). Covid-19: Turkey says more than 250,000 health workers vaccinated so far. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Turkey says more than 250,000 health workers vaccinated so far | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives first dose of Sinovac as Turkey begins vaccinating health workers | Thu, 01/14/2021 – 16: 58 | Turkish President Erdogan receives shot of Sinovac's CoronaVac coronavirus vaccine in Ankara (Reuters) | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced more than 250,000 health wor…

Akram Al-Waara (2021-01-14). Covid-19: Palestinians still awaiting vaccines as Israel dismisses calls to provide jabs. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Palestinians still awaiting vaccines as Israel dismisses calls to provide jabs | Palestinian Authority also criticised for failure to secure vaccines and lack of planning on how to administer them | Thu, 01/14/2021 – 11: 11 | PA officials have made statements on who will be given priority when it comes to the vaccine, but have yet to put forward a comprehensive strategy for rolling it…

Sheren Khalel (2021-01-14). 'Jamal Khashoggi Way': Washington DC may rename Saudi embassy street. middleeasteye.net 'Jamal Khashoggi Way': Washington DC may rename Saudi embassy street | Initiative to rename street began in 2018, but local laws required activists to wait until two years had passed since slain journalist's death | Thu, 01/14/2021 – 21: 32 | Road sign in honour of slain journalist Khashoggi temporarily put up by protesters in front of White House after his death (AFP/file photo) | A member of the…

Alex MacDonald (2021-01-14). Arms campaigners call on UK companies to stop supplying Turkish drone parts. middleeasteye.net Arms campaigners call on UK companies to stop supplying Turkish drone parts | British firms urged not to supply parts to Turkish drone giant Baykar Makina over involvement in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict | Thu, 01/14/2021 – 16: 53 | Bayraktar TB2 drone flying at Gecitkale military airbase near Famagusta in self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) (AFP) | Rights groups have called…

Areeb Ullah (2021-01-14). Bangladeshi maid's family demands death penalty for Saudis accused of her murder. middleeasteye.net Bangladeshi maid's family demands death penalty for Saudis accused of her murder | Three of Abiron Begum Ansar's employers on trial for her killing in rare case into abuse against migrant workers in the kingdom | Thu, 01/14/2021 – 14: 03 | Ansar's family said her body was "unrecognisable" when it was repatriated back to Bangladesh seven months after her murder (Supplied) | The family of a murdered Bangla…

Dustin Noga (2021-01-14). China-EU investment deal bypasses U.S., denting Washington plan to isolate Beijing. peoplesworld.org On Dec. 30, 2020, the European Union and China concluded a new landmark investment deal called the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). The pact marks a historic level of investment, cooperation, and intermingling of the 27-member bloc's economy with China's. The CAI will replace 26 separate investment agreements previously signed between China and individual member …

Andrew Korybko (2021-01-14). China's International Development Cooperation, A Stunning Success. globalresearch.ca One of the most significant chapters in China's newly released white paper concerns its support of developing countries' endogenous growth, which crucially contradicts the US' information warfare narrative that Beijing is laying so-called "debt traps" for its partners. | Xinhua reported …

F. William Engdahl (2021-01-14). Can China Lead a World Economic Recovery? globalresearch.ca At the beginning of December China's Xi Jinping officially declared that China had eliminated poverty entirely, part of his priority program. Western financial pundits have praised the remarkable economic recovery of China following the severe lockdowns a year go to …

Juan Cole (2021-01-14). The GOP stood with Trump and against the Legitimacy of Biden: that's how Iraq Split up in 2014. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — On Wednesday, 197 Republican congressmen refusing to impeach him for encouraging thousands of hard Right thugs, some armed, to march on the Capitol and "fight like hell or you won't have a country." These same 197 congressmen were themselves menaced by the invading mobs, who chanted that they wanted to …

Juan Cole (2021-01-14). The GOP stood with Trump and against the Legitimacy of Biden: that's how Iraq Split up in 2014. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — On Wednesday, 197 Republican congressmen refused to impeach him for encouraging thousands of hard Right thugs, some armed, to march on the Capitol and "fight like hell or you won't have a country." These same 197 congressmen were themselves menaced by the invading mobs, who chanted that they wanted to …

Aaron Maté (2021-01-14). UN expert: crippling US sanctions on Syria are illegal and hurting civilians. thegrayzone.com Crippling US sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act are decimating war-ravaged Syrian civilians, are illegal, and should be lifted, the UN Special Rapporteur on sanctions says. An independent United Nations expert is calling on the US to lift its crippling sanctions on Syria. Under the Caesar Act, US sanctions explicitly target Syria's reconstruction in the aftermath of a catastrophic 10-year war. Alena Douhan, the UN Special Rapporteur on the impact of sanctions, says that the US sanctions are illegal and …

news.un (2021-01-14). UN officials fear US terrorist designation will boost spectre of famine in Yemen. news.un.org Senior UN officials have expressed concern over the potential impact of the decision by the United States to designate Yemen's Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthi movement, a terrorist group, the Security Council heard on Thursday.

Colin Todhunter (2021-01-14). International Support Continues for Protesting Farmers in India. globalresearch.ca On 5 January, British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi wrote a letter to Boris Johnson urging him to convey to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the "heartfelt anxieties" of MPs' constituents (many emanating from Punjab) regarding the treatment of protesting farmers …

Hannah Ellis-Petersen (2021-01-14). Indian court suspends new agriculture laws after mass protests. zcomm.org Judges order committee to look into grievances, but unions vow further demonstrations until laws repealed…

_____ (2021-01-14). The Freedom Struggle Is A Labor Struggle, Then And Now. popularresistance.org As we think, again, about the role of organized labor in the long Black freedom struggle, it is worth noting that in India at this very moment 250 million farmers, workers, students and allies have joined in what had been a three-month long protest against the Modi government's neoliberal agricultural policies. | The new parliamentary bills essentially eliminate state-run regulated agricultural markets, and allow direct transactions between farmers and private corporate interests — namely international commodity traders and conglomerates such as Walmart and Cargill. | The new arrangements will destroy small…

Jonathan Cook (2021-01-14). Israel is losing the fight to obscure its apartheid character. dissidentvoice.org For more than a decade, a handful of former Israeli politicians and US diplomats identified with what might be termed the "peace process industry" have intermittently warned that, without a two-state solution, Israel is in danger of becoming an "apartheid state". The most notable among them include Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, two former Israeli prime …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-14). Israel steps up regional aggression, carries out air raids in Syria, violates Lebanese air space. peoplesdispatch.org According to the reports Israel's attacks in Syria were aided by information provided by US intelligence agencies. Israel has also been carrying out low altitude flights across the Lebanese air space in the last few days prompting Lebanon to file a complaint in the UNSC…

Karen Conner (2021-01-14). Family Benefits in US Fall Further Behind. cepr.net The New York Times recently noted that South Korea would be "offering monthly allowances of 300,000 won, or about $274, for every newborn and infant up to the age of 1 starting in 2022. Expectant couples would get a 2 million won cash bonus starting next year, along with increased medical and other benefits." South …

James M. Dorsey (2021-01-14). Looming Large: The Middle East Braces for Fallout of US—China Divide. asia-pacificresearch.com

Pip Hinman (2021-01-13). Sri Lankan state demolishes genocide monument. greenleft.org.au Sri Lankan soldiers and police demolished a monument at Jaffna University to mark the massacre of Tamils at Mullivaikkal in 2009, reports Chris Slee.

Fight Back (2021-01-13). Marx, the Civil War and the U.S. today. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – Karl Marx observed over a 150 years ago that "the biggest thing happening in the world today are on the one hand the movement of the slaves in America started by the death of John Brown and on the other the movement of the serfs in Russia." | According to Marx, the defining event leading up to the Civil War was not the Slaveholders' Rebellion announced by the cannon fire on Fort Sumter but the raid on Harpers Ferry led by John Brown and Shields Green – a Black and white band of abolitionists. In other words, the movement of the slaves inspired by Harpers Ferry, and the election of a president – Linc…

Fight Back (2021-01-13). Marx, the Civil War and the U.S. today. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – Karl Marx observed over a 150 years ago that "the biggest thing happening in the world today are on the one hand the movement of the slaves in America started by the death of John Brown and on the other the movement of the serfs in Russia." | According to Marx, the defining event leading up to the Civil War was not the Slaveholders' Rebellion announced by the cannon fire on Fort Sumter but the raid on Harpers Ferry led by John Brown and Shields Green – a Black and white band of abolitionists. In other words, the movement of the slaves inspired by Harpers Ferry, and the election of a president – Linc…

Paul Antonopoulos (2021-01-13). Saudi-led Embargoes Against Qatar Failed. globalresearch.ca 2021 began with a historic decision in the Middle East as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt decided to end their diplomatic and economic embargo against Qatar. The decision to end the embargo, that has been …

Ramzy Baroud (2021-01-13). Covid-19 under Apartheid: How Israel Manipulates Suffering of Palestinians. dissidentvoice.org Israel's decision to exclude Palestinians from its COVID-19 vaccination campaign may have surprised many. Even by Israel's poor humanitarian standards, denying Palestinians access to life-saving medication seems extremely callous. Amnesty International, among many organizations, condemned the Israeli government's decision to bar Palestinians from receiving the vaccine. The rights group described the Israeli action as evidence …

MEE and agencies (2021-01-13). Covid-19: Jordan urges participation as vaccination programme begins. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Jordan urges participation as vaccination programme begins | Amman aims to vaccinate at least 20-25 percent of population, but only 200,000 have signed up so far | Wed, 01/13/2021 – 14: 32 | Citizens over 60 will be given priority for the vaccine but officials have said many have not signed up for the shot (Reuters) | Jordan began a programme on Wednesday to innoculate one in fou…

RT (2021-01-13). A long goodbye? Russian expert says pandemic will be over by summer, but Covid-19 here to stay as seasonal virus. rt.com The coronavirus pandemic in Russia could begin fading away by summer, one of the country's top scientists has said. According to him, infections and deaths should tail off as more and more people develop protective antibodies. | Albert Rizvanov, the Director of the Center for Precision and Regenerative Medicine at Kazan Federal University, told TASS on Wednesday that, whereas the end of widespread infection might be in sight, society would have to learn to live with an evolving virus for years to come. | "There are seasonal diseases that usually die out in late spring and early summer," the academic said. He a…

RT (2021-01-13). Estonian prime minister resigns amid corruption scandal, citing loss of public confidence in government. rt.com Juri Ratas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, announced on Wednesday that he will stand down from the role amid a row over state-backed loans and government contracts, which were allegedly offered to political donors. | In a Facebook post, Ratas said that he "made a value-based decision to resign from office over the situation." However, he argued that an investigation launched by Tallinn's public prosecutor's office did not, by itself, imply that he or his colleagues had acted "in an illegal way." But he added, "in such a situation, it seems only right that I give myself a chance to shine light on the circumstan…

MEE staff (2021-01-13). Progressive Jewish groups oppose codifying IHRA antisemitism definition into US law. middleeasteye.net Progressive Jewish groups oppose codifying IHRA antisemitism definition into US law | Ten groups warn that IHRA definition is being wrongly used against those who 'oppose the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory' | Wed, 01/13/2021 – 17: 58 | Protesters from multiple Palestinian rights organisations demonstrate outside White House on 15 September in Washington (AFP/File photo) | Almost a dozen pro-Israel…

Aseel Jundi (2021-01-13). Palestinians of Jerusalem protect their land against Israel's bulldozers and arbitrary laws. middleeasteye.net Palestinians of Jerusalem protect their land against Israel's bulldozers and arbitrary laws | Residents of Wadi al-Rababa say they have papers proving ownership dating back to Ottoman days, as they clash with Israeli forces called in to support crews razing their land | Wed, 01/13/2021 – 09: 59 | Shadi al-Samrin surveys the damage done to his family's land (MEE/Aseel Jundi) | The Palestinians of Wa…

Aseel Jundi (2021-01-13). 'Until my last breath': Palestinians of Jerusalem defend land against Israel's bulldozers. middleeasteye.net 'Until my last breath': Palestinians of Jerusalem defend land against Israel's bulldozers | Residents of Wadi al-Rababa say they have papers proving ownership dating back to Ottoman days, as they clash with Israeli forces called in to support crews razing their land | Wed, 01/13/2021 – 09: 59 | Shadi al-Samrin surveys the damage done to his family's land (MEE/Aseel Jundi) | The Palestinians of Wadi…

Mirinda Crissman (2021-01-13). Pro-Palestine teenagers defy Israeli military. workers.org Sixty Israeli teenagers signed an open letter on Jan. 5 explaining their refusal to be conscripted into the Israeli Defense Force. They were rejecting the violent occupation and destruction of Palestinian lives and land by the state of Israel. Conscientious objectors to Israeli military duty at an anti-annexation protest in . . . |

Hajira Asghar (2021-01-13). Pompeo's Iran/al-Qaeda delusion. liberationnews.org The incoherence and hypocrisy of Pompeo's claims, which were supported by no evidence, are laid bare upon basic examination of the history of al-Qaeda in relation to both the United States and Iran.

WSWS (2021-01-13). Bangladesh pandemic cases surpass half a million, with over 7,810 deaths. wsws.org Prime Minister Hasina boasts about helping the poor as hunger deepens across the country.

WSWS (2021-01-13). Before it begins, COVID-19 vaccination in Turkey already a fiasco. wsws.org The Turkish government's murderous ruling class "herd immunity" policy continues with a chaotic and incompetent roll-out of the vaccine.

teleSUR (2021-01-13). China's Heilongjiang Reports 43 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases. telesurenglish.net Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province reported 43 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 68 asymptomatic infections on Wednesday, local health authorities said on Thursday. | RELATED: | All the new cases were close contacts or secondary close contacts of earlier COVID-19 infections in Huiqi Village, Wangkui County. | All the new confirmed and asymptomatic cases have been rushed to designated medical institutions, their close contacts and…

Andrew Korybko (2021-01-13). What's the Future of Afghanistan After Trump? US Troops Replaced by Private Military Contractors? globalresearch.ca Biden's Foreign Policy | Many questions are swirling about President-Elect Biden's foreign policy upon his impending inauguration next week, but one of the most relevant for all of Eurasia is what his stance will be towards the US' seemingly never-ending War …

Alan Macleod (2021-01-13). A Record of Hawkish Intervention: Biden Picks Samantha Power to Head USAID. mintpressnews.com Samantha Power has been an outspoken advocate of US humanitarian intervention, promoting the Iraq war and defending human rights abusers like Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-13). China's trade deals to the east and west rewrite the rules. peoplesdispatch.org Vijay Prashad of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and John Ross, Senior Fellow Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, discuss the RCEP and EU-China trade deals…

South Front (2021-01-13). Video: Mysterious Aircraft Pound Turkish Oil Smugglers in Syria. US Supply Convoys Are Blown Up in Iraq. globalresearch.ca The first month of 2021 was marked by a new round of violence in Syria. The situation was especially complicated in Greater Idlib, northern Aleppo and in the central desert. | On January 8, ISIS terrorists launched a large attack on …

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2021-01-13). Cori Bush Booed by House GOP for Denouncing White Supremacy. commondreams.org "What does it mean when they boo the Black congresswoman denouncing white supremacy?" asked the freshman Democrat from Missouri. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/cori_bush_booed.jpg

American Indian Resource Center at UCSC (2021-01-13). Friday 1/22: Indigemedia: Navigating Native American Representation in Film and Media. indybay.org Online, register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7y2STbsh4KQuoLiZr34ayudlDWwHtH3S5lXYjpMRXpI-ddA/viewform

Democracy (2021-01-13). Rep. Jim Jordan Projects His Own Vote Fraud Onto Democrats. indybay.org As Trump in 2020 once again hired Nathan Sproul, vote fraudster whose operatives have gone to jail for throwing away Demcratic voter registrations, Jim Jordan, sitting in the nation's perhaps most gerrymandered district, projected vote crimes onto Democrats.

Matthew Rozsa (2021-01-13). This 45,500-year-old cave painting of a pig may be the oldest known work of art. salon.com The cave drawing depicted a wild pig and was found in the Leang Tedongnge cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi…

sputniknews (2021-01-13). Photos: China Rolls Out 'Super Bullet Maglev Train' That Uses New High-Temperature Superconductor. sputniknews.com China announced plans for two new maglev train routes as part of its vast expansion of high-speed rail travel: one from Shanghai to Hangzhou and one from Guangzhou to Shenzhen.

Vincent Emanuele (2021-01-13). Reviewing Kim Scipes' Building Global Labor Solidarity. zcomm.org Workers in South Africa and the Philippines were able to accomplish the unimaginable under circumstances far worse than the ones we encounter in the U.S. For me, this is a source of great inspiration…