Daily Archives: January 6, 2021

2021-01-06: News Headlines

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:…

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). Indonesia to enforce fresh restrictions amid surge in Covid-19 cases. laprensalatina.com Jakarta, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- Indonesia on Wednesday announced fresh physical distancing measures and other restrictions for two weeks on the island of Java — the most populated in the archipelago — and Bali, a popular tourist destination, amid a surge in cases of the new coronavirus. Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that between Jan. …

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). India's Covid-19 death toll crosses 150,000. laprensalatina.com New Delhi, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- India had by Wednesday registered 150,114 deaths due to the new coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, including 226 within the last 24 hours, although the rate of mortalities and fresh infections has been steadily declining in the country of over 1.3 billion people. India, which has registered over …

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). Record Covid infection numbers in Japan ahead of state of emergency. laprensalatina.com Tokyo, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- Japan reported more than 5,000 new daily Covid-19 infections for the first time on Wednesday, the majority of which were in Tokyo, which is also seeing record levels of infections. The central government is finalizing the declaration of a new state of health emergency amid the spiralling contagion. The number of …

Mehr News Agency (2021-01-06). A prominent ISIL leader arrested in S Baghdad. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 06 (MNA) — The Iraqi intelligence service announced on Wednesday the arrest of a prominent leader of the ISIL terrorist group in the south of Baghdad.

Mehr News Agency (2021-01-06). Egypt says it will open its airspace with Qatar. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 06 (MNA) — Egypt will open its airspace with Qatar, but the implementation will be contingent on the fulfillment of Egyptian requirements.

Mehr News Agency (2021-01-06). US not want Iraqi Army to be strong: Al-Fatah Alliance member. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 06 (MNA) — A member of Iraqi Al-Fatah (Conquest) Alliance member Muhammad Karim al-Baldawi said that the United Sates does not want Iraqi Army to be strong and powerful.

Victoria Law (2021-01-06). How the System Kept Failing the Only Woman on Federal Death Row. thenation.com How the System Kept Failing the Only Woman on Federal Death Row…

news.un (2021-01-06). FROM THE FIELD: Port explosion which 'burnt hearts' of Beirut residents. news.un.org Five months on from the devastating port explosion that killed over 200 people, and injured thousands more, the UN has invited Beirut residents to share their hopes and fears for the future of the city, and for Lebanon, which remains in crisis.

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). YouTube blocks rap video in Thailand referencing the monarchy. laprensalatina.com Bangkok, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- YouTube on Wednesday had blocked the music video of a song by the Thai group Rap Against Dictatorship in Thailand. The song has references to the monarchy, which is protected by the country's laws with harsh jail sentences. "We're still confused why (our music video) was hidden, since the government agencies …

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). Hazaras protest in Pakistan over killing of 11 miners of the community. laprensalatina.com Islamabad, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- Thousands of members of Pakistan's minority Hazara Shia community on Wednesday continued their protests for the fourth consecutive day demanding justice over the killing of 11 members of the community in southwestern parts of the country on Sunday, claimed by the Islamic State terror group. Around 4,500 protesters have blocked a …

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). Hong Kong police arrests dozens of opposition politicians, activists. laprensalatina.com Beijing, Jan 6 (efe-epa) — Hong Kong's police on Wednesday arrested several pro-democracy lawmakers and and dozens of other politicians and activists for their alleged violation of the contentious national security law, public broadcaster RHTK reported. Many of the opposition politicians, including several former lawmakers, were arrested for their participation in primaries in July ahead …

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). Indonesia's Merapi volcano expels rivers of incandescent lava. laprensalatina.com Jakarta, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- The Mount Merapi volcano, located in the central region of the Indonesian island of Java, expelled rivers of incandescent lava late Tuesday and recorded an increase in activity that has prompted local authorities to raise the volcano's alert level. The eruption, accompanied by small earthquakes lasting more than two minutes, caused …

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). Kim Jong-un calls for better self-reliance at start of N Korean congress. laprensalatina.com Seoul, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday at the beginning of the country's congress that strengthening its own capacities is the way to overcome economic "difficulties" facing the impoverished nation, state media reported. In an unusual gesture for the regime, Kim said in a speech published by KCNA agency and the …

Online News Editor (2021-01-06). Kim admits North Korea struggling with economic hardships. laprensalatina.com (Update 1: Includes Kim's speech, edits throughout) By Andrés Sánchez Braun Seoul, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has warned that the country was facing economic hardships as he admitted during a congress of the ruling Workers' Party that the five-year plan had fallen "way short of the set objectives." In his address …

news.un (2021-01-05). FROM THE FIELD: Weathering a tourist downturn in Kyrgyzstan. news.un.org The residents of a small traditional village high in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, which once attracted a steady stream of visitors, are learning how to adapt to the reality of a world where the COVID-19 pandemic has all but frozen out the opportunities provided by tourism.

WSWS (2021-01-05). Sri Lanka prison massacre autopsy confirms victims were shot. wsws.org After the bloodbath, the Rajapakse government is taking further measures to tighten the repressive conditions in prisons.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-05). Filipino lawmakers and activists demand inquiry into recent killings of Indigenous leaders. peoplesdispatch.org Legislators of the left-wing Makabayan bloc have called for an investigation by the Philippines House of Representatives into the recent mass killings of Tumandok community leaders on December 30…

Online News Editor (2021-01-05). Pakistan's top court orders reconstruction of Hindu temple razed by Islamists. laprensalatina.com Islamabad, Jan 5 (efe-epa).- The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered the reconstruction of a temple of the marginalized Hindu minority that had been destroyed by an Islamist mob last week, after which more than a hundred people have been arrested and 92 police officers suspended over the incident. "The Chief Justice (Gulzar Ahmed) …

Parth M.N. (2021-01-05). India's Farm Crisis: "Farming is Our Religion, We Love to Feed People'. counterpunch.org "Gharo jao rajj ke, kaam hoga gajj ke [If you leave the house with a stomach full of food, you will ace your mission]." That's Bilawal Singh's simple philosophy of running a langar for protesting farmers at Shahjahanpur. "This government is used to dealing with hungry protestors," he continues, speaking in Punjabi. "Let's see how

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…

Nadda Osman (2021-01-05). Qatar blockade: Saudi deal raises questions about prisoners, flight paths and bots. middleeasteye.net Qatar blockade: Saudi deal raises questions about prisoners, flight paths and bots | As Saudi Arabia declares the lifting of the three-year land and air blockade on its Gulf neighbour, many issues remain to be resolved | Tue, 01/05/2021 – 14: 05 | Many people have raised questions on what the end of the Saudi blockade will mean for prisoners, flight paths and the Saudi bot network (Screengrab/social medi…

WSWS (2021-01-05). COVID-19 spreads at Allison Transmission auto parts plant in Indiana. wsws.org New cases of COVID-19 have been accelerating in recent weeks at the Indianapolis, Indiana plant, according to data shared by workers.

teleSUR (2021-01-05). Brazil Detects Its First Two Cases of the UK Coronavirus Strain. telesurenglish.net Brazil's health authorities Monday confirmed in Sao Paulo the first two cases of patients infected by the new British COVID-19 strain. | RELATED: | The state-owned Adolfo Lutz Institute's Strategic Laboratory confirmed the cases after performing the genetic sequencing of samples sent by Sao Paulo's DASA private laboratory. | A 25-year-old woman is one patient affected by the new strain. She was infected after having contact wi…

Peter J Hotez (2021-01-05). [Commentary] Vaccinating cassandra. thelancet.com Receiving the first of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was a more emotional experience than I anticipated. I'm a vaccinologist co-leading a team of scientists developing a potential recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine for global health [1]. Vaccine production, manufacture, and distribution is led by Biological E (BioE) in India where it is being widely tested, with the aspirational goal that it might fill an urgently needed gap in low-cost COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries [2].

Rod Driver (2021-01-05). Brutal Human Rights Abuses: Torture, Sanctions and Failure to Address "Economic Rights" globalresearch.ca "Wrong things are done in the name of Islam, worse things are being done in the name of democracy and human rights" (Dr. Mohamed Mahathir, former Malaysian Prime Minister(1)) | Torture — Legal Black Holes | Some philosophers have suggested that …

Mehr News Agency (2021-01-05). Iraqi army thwarts ISIL attacks on north of Baghdad. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — Iraqi army forces thwarted an operation by ISIL takfiri terrorists to attack Tarmiyah in the north of Baghdad.

Mehr News Agency (2021-01-05). US coalition convoy attacked in Iraq's Saladin again. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — Another US coalition logistics convoy was targeted by a roadside bomb on Tuesday morning in Saladin province.

Mehr News Agency (2021-01-05). US moves 60 ISIL forces to base on Syrian-Jordanian border. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — The US occupation forces moved scores of ISIL terrorists from several prisons in Hasaka governorate to their illegal base in al-Tanf on the Syrian-Jordanian border.

Mehr News Agency (2021-01-05). S.Korea seeking release of tanker through diplomatic efforts. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — In reaction to the seizure of a South Korean flagged tanker in the Persian Gulf, the country's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that she seeks the release of the tanker and its crew through diplomatic efforts.

news.un (2021-01-05). Syria: 'Identified gaps, inconsistencies' raise questions over elimination of chemical weapons. news.un.org "Identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies" that remain unresolved, have brought into question the true extent of the elimination of chemical weapons during Syria's bloody conflict, the UN disarmament chief told the Security Council in her briefing on Tuesday.

Online News Editor (2021-01-05). Saudi Arabia thanks Kuwait, US for bridging gap with Qatar as summit begins. laprensalatina.com Riyadh, Jan 5 (efe-epa).- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman on Tuesday said he was grateful to Kuwait and the United States for their role in the recent reconciliation between several Gulf nations and Qatar. The Crown Prince made the remarks as he inaugurated the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh. "We express great …

Online News Editor (2021-01-05). Al-Attiyah, Price win 3rd stage of Dakar Rally. laprensalatina.com Sports Desk Jan 5 (efe-epa).- Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and Australia's Toby Price (Red Bull KTM) in cars and motorbikes, respectively, won the third stage of the Dakar Rally, but even with two victories under their wheels they failed to lead the general standings, on a bad day for Spain's Carlos Sainz, who …

Online News Editor (2021-01-05). Arab quartet restores relations with Qatar after years-long blockade. laprensalatina.com Riyadh, Jan 5 (efe-epa).- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt fully restored diplomatic relations with Qatar as of Tuesday following a three-and-a-half-year blockade after they had accused Doha of sponsoring terror. "What happened today is a complete end to the disputes and the complete recovery of diplomatic relations, which will apply to …

Rafael Figueroa (2021-01-05). Family of Slain Memphis Woman Files Suit Against Law Enforcement Agencies. laprensalatina.com MEMPHIS, TN (WREG) — A year after her death, a family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. The family of Sabrina Nguyen alleges the agencies didn't do enough to protect her from her ex-boyfriend, and they believe she would still be here today had …

Rafael Figueroa (2021-01-05). Woman, Child Killed After Fall From Tennessee Interstate Overpass. laprensalatina.com MADISON COUNTY, TN (WKRN) — A 26-year-old Memphis woman and a child are dead after falling from an interstate overpass in Madison County early Monday morning. The Madison County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded just after midnight to a crash at the Shell Station on Law Road, just south of exit 93 on Interstate 40 …

Mehr News Agency (2021-01-04). US presence in West Asia has come to its ending days: IMN. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 04 (MNA) — The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) issued a statement on the occasion of 1st martyrdom anniversary of Gen. Soleimani, stating that US presence in West Asia has reached its ending days.

Online News Editor (2021-01-04). Japan considers declaring state of emergency in Tokyo area. laprensalatina.com Tokyo, Jan 4 (efe-epa).- Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday that the government was considering declaring another state of emergency in Tokyo and the surrounding areas due to the continued rise of Covid-19 cases that have piled up the pressure on the country's healthcare system. The emergency declaration, if announced, would affect the capital …

Utsa Patnaik (2021-01-04). The Global angle to the Farmer protests. mronline.org The farmers' movement for the repeal of the three farm laws which affect them closely but have been rammed through without consulting them, has now entered its second month.

Peter Lownds (2021-01-04). A new year poem for Latin America, 'La Paciente'. peoplesworld.org Latin America lies on a hospital gurney after yet another amputation She trembles in shock from her Brazilian breast to her Andean rump The Mexican Gulf traces the profile of her head, thrown back in agony Her "Indian" hair has shaken loose from its mountainous comb of bone So that the thick braid of Central …

RT (2021-01-04). London police hassle old woman for feeding birds, tell her to 'DISPERSE' because of Covid-19 restrictions. rt.com Feed the birds, tuppence a bag? Not in the new UK coronavirus lockdown. A video circulating on social media shows an elderly woman, who was feeding bread to pigeons, being told by London police to 'disperse.' | The video, which was posted on YouTube late Sunday, shows an old woman with a pushcart feeding the birds near London's Marble Arch. Two police stand near the woman and her grey-bearded male companion, and one of the officers urges them to leave the area voluntarily because of restrictions on gathering. | "Feeding the birds, and getting hassled," says an onlooker filming the encounter from behind the…

Daniel Hilton (2021-01-04). Tripoli academy still reeling a year after UAE attack in Libya. middleeasteye.net Tripoli academy still reeling a year after UAE attack in Libya | Survivors call for justice and relive painful memories of the drone strike on a military college that killed 26 unarmed youths | Mon, 01/04/2021 – 10: 39 | Brigadier General Khaled Ali Ahmed bin Omar stands at the site of the drone strike in a military academy in Tripoli (MEE/Daniel Hilton) | The blast hole has been filled in, the con…

MEE staff (2021-01-04). Saudi Arabia agrees to end blockade on Qatar, open airspace and land border. middleeasteye.net Saudi Arabia agrees to end blockade on Qatar, open airspace and land border | Kuwait's foreign minister announces preliminary agreement in a major step towards resolving the Gulf crisis | Mon, 01/04/2021 – 18: 45 | Saudi Arabia has lifted its land and air blockade on Qatar in a major step towards ending a Gulf rift that started more than three years ago when Riyadh and its allies imposed a siege on Doha. | Ku…

Ragip Soylu (2021-01-04). Top Turkish university scandalised by Erdogan's pick of new president. middleeasteye.net Top Turkish university scandalised by Erdogan's pick of new president | Appointment of a pro-government head of Bogazici University sparks widespread condemnation and clashes with the police | Mon, 01/04/2021 – 14: 49 | Bogazici University students hold a banner which reads 'We don't want a [government appointed] president' in a protest held on 4 January 2020 in Istanbul (MEE/Ragip Soylu) | A row over Tu…

teleSUR (2021-01-04). More Than 100 Doctors Who Fought COVID in Kuwait Return to Cuba. telesurenglish.net One hundred members of the Henry Reeve internationalist medical brigade returned to Cuba today after seven months of collaborating with Kuwait's health personnel in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | The Cuban specialists worked in eight public hospitals (Hospital Al Jaber, Adan, Mubarach, Ibn Sina, Farwaniya, Jahra, Amiri, and the Field Hospital), where they attended 33,753 patients and performed 374,680 nursin…

Online News Editor (2021-01-04). Singapore's GDP posts worst-ever contraction of 5.8 percent. laprensalatina.com Bangkok, Jan 4 (efe-epa).- Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 5.8 percent during 2020, its worst contraction since independence from Malaysia in 1965, weighed down by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the fourth straight quarter of decline of the GDP of the city-state, whose economy is in recession. The last …

teleSUR (2021-01-04). India: Citizens Block Road To Protest Roof Collapse. telesurenglish.net Hundreds of people on Monday protested against the Ghaziabad municipality, which they blame for the collapse of a roof at a crematorium that caused 24 deaths and 18 people injured. | RELATED: | The accident occurred in Muradnagar town, Uttar Pradesh state, on Sunday when dozens of people were sheltering from the rain under a shed. The roof collapse appears to have been caused by the negligence of municipal officials…

Pepe Escobar (2021-01-04). The Raging 2020s. Soleimani Geopolitics, One Year On. globalresearch.ca One year ago, The assassination of Maj Gen Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), alongside Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq's …

WSWS (2021-01-04). Autoworker crushed to death at Marion Stamping Plant in Indiana. wsws.org Mark McKnight, a highly skilled and careful worker, was 57 years old. Everybody liked him, a co-worker commented, "the nicest guy you could ever meet."

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-04). Iraqis demand withdrawal of US troops on anniversary of killing of Soleimani, al-Muhandis. peoplesdispatch.org Thousands of protesters gathered at Tahrir square in Baghdad after marching to the highway leading to the airport where Soleimani and Muhandis were killed last year. They demanded the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq…

2021-01-06: 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.)

India's Covid-19 death toll crosses 150,000
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
New Delhi, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- India had by Wednesday registered 150,114 deaths due to the new coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, including 226 within the last 24 hours, although the rate of mortalities and fresh infections has been steadily declining in the country of over 1.3 billion people. India, which has registered over …
laprensalatina.com/indias-covid-19-death-toll-crosses-150000/

Indonesia to enforce fresh restrictions amid surge in Covid-19 cases
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
Jakarta, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- Indonesia on Wednesday announced fresh physical distancing measures and other restrictions for two weeks on the island of Java — the most populated in the archipelago — and Bali, a popular tourist destination, amid a surge in cases of the new coronavirus. Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that between Jan. …
laprensalatina.com/indonesia-to-enforce-fresh-restrictions-amid-surge-in-covid-19-cases/

Record Covid infection numbers in Japan ahead of state of emergency
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
Tokyo, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- Japan reported more than 5,000 new daily Covid-19 infections for the first time on Wednesday, the majority of which were in Tokyo, which is also seeing record levels of infections. The central government is finalizing the declaration of a new state of health emergency amid the spiralling contagion. The number of …
laprensalatina.com/record-covid-infection-numbers-in-japan-ahead-of-state-of-emergency/

FROM THE FIELD: Port explosion which 'burnt hearts' of Beirut residents
news.un.org | 2021-01-06
Five months on from the devastating port explosion that killed over 200 people, and injured thousands more, the UN has invited Beirut residents to share their hopes and fears for the future of the city, and for Lebanon, which remains in crisis.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081462

How the System Kept Failing the Only Woman on Federal Death Row
Victoria Law | thenation.com | 2021-01-06
How the System Kept Failing the Only Woman on Federal Death Row…
thenation.com/article/society/lisa-montgomery-execution-federal/

Egypt says it will open its airspace with Qatar
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-01-06
TEHRAN, Jan. 06 (MNA) — Egypt will open its airspace with Qatar, but the implementation will be contingent on the fulfillment of Egyptian requirements.
en.mehrnews.com/news/168186/Egypt-says-it-will-open-its-airspace-with-Qatar

A prominent ISIL leader arrested in S Baghdad
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-01-06
TEHRAN, Jan. 06 (MNA) — The Iraqi intelligence service announced on Wednesday the arrest of a prominent leader of the ISIL terrorist group in the south of Baghdad.
en.mehrnews.com/news/168177/A-prominent-ISIL-leader-arrested-in-S-Baghdad

US not want Iraqi Army to be strong: Al-Fatah Alliance member
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-01-06
TEHRAN, Jan. 06 (MNA) — A member of Iraqi Al-Fatah (Conquest) Alliance member Muhammad Karim al-Baldawi said that the United Sates does not want Iraqi Army to be strong and powerful.
en.mehrnews.com/news/168157/US-not-want-Iraqi-Army-to-be-strong-Al-Fatah-Alliance-member

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

Hong Kong police arrests dozens of opposition politicians, activists
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
Beijing, Jan 6 (efe-epa) — Hong Kong's police on Wednesday arrested several pro-democracy lawmakers and and dozens of other politicians and activists for their alleged violation of the contentious national security law, public broadcaster RHTK reported. Many of the opposition politicians, including several former lawmakers, were arrested for their participation in primaries in July ahead …
laprensalatina.com/hong-kong-police-arrests-dozens-of-opposition-politicians-activists/

YouTube blocks rap video in Thailand referencing the monarchy
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
Bangkok, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- YouTube on Wednesday had blocked the music video of a song by the Thai group Rap Against Dictatorship in Thailand. The song has references to the monarchy, which is protected by the country's laws with harsh jail sentences. "We're still confused why (our music video) was hidden, since the government agencies …
laprensalatina.com/youtube-blocks-rap-video-in-thailand-referencing-the-monarchy/

Kim admits North Korea struggling with economic hardships
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
(Update 1: Includes Kim's speech, edits throughout) By Andrés Sánchez Braun Seoul, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has warned that the country was facing economic hardships as he admitted during a congress of the ruling Workers' Party that the five-year plan had fallen "way short of the set objectives." In his address …
laprensalatina.com/kim-admits-north-korea-struggling-with-economic-hardships/

Hazaras protest in Pakistan over killing of 11 miners of the community
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
Islamabad, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- Thousands of members of Pakistan's minority Hazara Shia community on Wednesday continued their protests for the fourth consecutive day demanding justice over the killing of 11 members of the community in southwestern parts of the country on Sunday, claimed by the Islamic State terror group. Around 4,500 protesters have blocked a …
laprensalatina.com/hazaras-protest-in-pakistan-over-killing-of-11-miners-of-the-community/

Indonesia's Merapi volcano expels rivers of incandescent lava
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
Jakarta, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- The Mount Merapi volcano, located in the central region of the Indonesian island of Java, expelled rivers of incandescent lava late Tuesday and recorded an increase in activity that has prompted local authorities to raise the volcano's alert level. The eruption, accompanied by small earthquakes lasting more than two minutes, caused …
laprensalatina.com/indonesias-merapi-volcano-expels-rivers-of-incandescent-lava/

Kim Jong-un calls for better self-reliance at start of N Korean congress
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-06
Seoul, Jan 6 (efe-epa).- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday at the beginning of the country's congress that strengthening its own capacities is the way to overcome economic "difficulties" facing the impoverished nation, state media reported. In an unusual gesture for the regime, Kim said in a speech published by KCNA agency and the …
laprensalatina.com/kim-jong-un-calls-for-better-self-reliance-at-start-of-n-korean-congress/

FROM THE FIELD: Weathering a tourist downturn in Kyrgyzstan
news.un.org | 2021-01-05
The residents of a small traditional village high in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, which once attracted a steady stream of visitors, are learning how to adapt to the reality of a world where the COVID-19 pandemic has all but frozen out the opportunities provided by tourism.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081372

Chris Hedges: The Empire Is Not Done With Julian Assange
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-01-05
Shortly after WikiLeaks released the Iraq War Logs in October 2010, which documented numerous US war crimes — including video images of the gunning down of two Reuters journalists and 10 other unarmed civilians in the Collateral Murder video, the routine torture of Iraqi prisoners, the covering up of thousands of civilian deaths and the killing of nearly 700 civilians that had approached too closely to US checkpoints — the towering civil rights attorneys Michael Ratner and Len Weinglass, who had defended Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers case, met Julian Assange in a studio apartment in Central L…
popularresistance.org/chris-hedges-the-empire-is-not-done-with-julian-assange/

Pakistan's top court orders reconstruction of Hindu temple razed by Islamists
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-05
Islamabad, Jan 5 (efe-epa).- The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered the reconstruction of a temple of the marginalized Hindu minority that had been destroyed by an Islamist mob last week, after which more than a hundred people have been arrested and 92 police officers suspended over the incident. "The Chief Justice (Gulzar Ahmed) …
laprensalatina.com/pakistans-top-court-orders-reconstruction-of-hindu-temple-razed-by-islamists/

Sri Lanka prison massacre autopsy confirms victims were shot
wsws.org | 2021-01-05
After the bloodbath, the Rajapakse government is taking further measures to tighten the repressive conditions in prisons.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/05/pris-j05.html

Filipino lawmakers and activists demand inquiry into recent killings of Indigenous leaders
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-05
Legislators of the left-wing Makabayan bloc have called for an investigation by the Philippines House of Representatives into the recent mass killings of Tumandok community leaders on December 30…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/05/filipino-lawmakers-and-activists-demand-inquiry-into-recent-killings-of-indigenous-leaders/

COVID-19 spreads at Allison Transmission auto parts plant in Indiana
wsws.org | 2021-01-05
New cases of COVID-19 have been accelerating in recent weeks at the Indianapolis, Indiana plant, according to data shared by workers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/05/alli-j05.html

[Commentary] Vaccinating cassandra
Peter J Hotez | thelancet.com | 2021-01-05
Receiving the first of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was a more emotional experience than I anticipated. I'm a vaccinologist co-leading a team of scientists developing a potential recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine for global health [1]. Vaccine production, manufacture, and distribution is led by Biological E (BioE) in India where it is being widely tested, with the aspirational goal that it might fill an urgently needed gap in low-cost COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries [2].
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30455-7/fulltext?rss=yes

Brazil Detects Its First Two Cases of the UK Coronavirus Strain
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-05
Brazil's health authorities Monday confirmed in Sao Paulo the first two cases of patients infected by the new British COVID-19 strain. | RELATED: | Brazil to Import 2 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine | The state-owned Adolfo Lutz Institute's Strategic Laboratory confirmed the cases after performing the genetic sequencing of samples sent by Sao Paulo's DASA private laboratory. | A 25-year-old woman is one patient affected by the new strain. She was infected after having contact wi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brazil-Detects-First-Two-Cases-of-British-COVID-19-Strain-20210105-0005.html

Brutal Human Rights Abuses: Torture, Sanctions and Failure to Address "Economic Rights"
Rod Driver | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-05
"Wrong things are done in the name of Islam, worse things are being done in the name of democracy and human rights" (Dr. Mohamed Mahathir, former Malaysian Prime Minister(1)) | Torture — Legal Black Holes | Some philosophers have suggested that | …
globalresearch.ca/brutal-human-rights-abuses-torture-sanctions-and-failure-to-address-economic-rights/5733593

India's Farm Crisis: "Farming is Our Religion, We Love to Feed People'
Parth M.N. | counterpunch.org | 2021-01-05
"Gharo jao rajj ke, kaam hoga gajj ke [If you leave the house with a stomach full of food, you will ace your mission]." That's Bilawal Singh's simple philosophy of running a langar for protesting farmers at Shahjahanpur. "This government is used to dealing with hungry protestors," he continues, speaking in Punjabi.
counterpunch.org/2021/01/05/indias-farm-crisis-farming-is-our-religion-we-love-to-feed-people/

Syria: 'Identified gaps, inconsistencies' raise questions over elimination of chemical weapons
news.un.org | 2021-01-05
"Identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies" that remain unresolved, have brought into question the true extent of the elimination of chemical weapons during Syria's bloody conflict, the UN disarmament chief told the Security Council in her briefing on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081412

US coalition convoy attacked in Iraq's Saladin again
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-01-05
TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — Another US coalition logistics convoy was targeted by a roadside bomb on Tuesday morning in Saladin province.
en.mehrnews.com/news/168114/US-coalition-convoy-attacked-in-Iraq-s-Saladin-again

Iraqi army thwarts ISIL attacks on north of Baghdad
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-01-05
TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — Iraqi army forces thwarted an operation by ISIL takfiri terrorists to attack Tarmiyah in the north of Baghdad.
en.mehrnews.com/news/168095/Iraqi-army-thwarts-ISIL-attacks-on-north-of-Baghdad

S.Korea seeking release of tanker through diplomatic efforts
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-01-05
TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — In reaction to the seizure of a South Korean flagged tanker in the Persian Gulf, the country's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that she seeks the release of the tanker and its crew through diplomatic efforts.
en.mehrnews.com/news/168093/S-Korea-seeking-release-of-tanker-through-diplomatic-efforts

US moves 60 ISIL forces to base on Syrian-Jordanian border
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-01-05
TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — The US occupation forces moved scores of ISIL terrorists from several prisons in Hasaka governorate to their illegal base in al-Tanf on the Syrian-Jordanian border.
en.mehrnews.com/news/168142/US-moves-60-ISIL-forces-to-base-on-Syrian-Jordanian-border

Saudi Arabia and allies restore full diplomatic relations with Qatar
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-05
Saudi Arabia and allies restore full diplomatic relations with Qatar | Final declaration contained no details of deal, but comes two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office | MEE staff | Tue, 01/05/2021 – 17: 43 | "> | Saudi Arabia and its three Arab allies agreed to restore full ties with Qatar on Tuesday, ending a three-and-a-half year-long blockade against the gas and oil-rich n…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/qatar-blockade-saudi-arabia-and-allies-agree-full-return-ties-doha

Qatar blockade: Saudi deal raises questions about prisoners, flight paths and bots
Nadda Osman | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-05
Qatar blockade: Saudi deal raises questions about prisoners, flight paths and bots | As Saudi Arabia declares the lifting of the three-year land and air blockade on its Gulf neighbour, many issues remain to be resolved | Nadda Osman | Tue, 01/05/2021 – 14: 05 | Many people have raised questions on what the end of the Saudi blockade will mean for prisoners, flight paths and the Saudi bot network (Screengrab/social medi…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/qatar-blockade-saudi-arabia-end-questions-flights-bots

Al-Attiyah, Price win 3rd stage of Dakar Rally
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-05
Sports Desk Jan 5 (efe-epa).- Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and Australia's Toby Price (Red Bull KTM) in cars and motorbikes, respectively, won the third stage of the Dakar Rally, but even with two victories under their wheels they failed to lead the general standings, on a bad day for Spain's Carlos Sainz, who …
laprensalatina.com/al-attiyah-price-win-3rd-stage-of-dakar-rally/

Family of Slain Memphis Woman Files Suit Against Law Enforcement Agencies
Rafael Figueroa | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-05
MEMPHIS, TN (WREG) — A year after her death, a family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. The family of Sabrina Nguyen alleges the agencies didn't do enough to protect her from her ex-boyfriend, and they believe she would still be here today had …
laprensalatina.com/family-of-slain-memphis-woman-files-suit-against-law-enforcement-agencies/

Saudi Arabia thanks Kuwait, US for bridging gap with Qatar as summit begins
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-05
Riyadh, Jan 5 (efe-epa).- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman on Tuesday said he was grateful to Kuwait and the United States for their role in the recent reconciliation between several Gulf nations and Qatar. The Crown Prince made the remarks as he inaugurated the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh. "We express great …
laprensalatina.com/saudi-arabia-thanks-kuwait-us-for-bridging-gap-with-qatar-as-summit-begins/

Woman, Child Killed After Fall From Tennessee Interstate Overpass
Rafael Figueroa | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-05
MADISON COUNTY, TN (WKRN) — A 26-year-old Memphis woman and a child are dead after falling from an interstate overpass in Madison County early Monday morning. The Madison County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded just after midnight to a crash at the Shell Station on Law Road, just south of exit 93 on Interstate 40 …
laprensalatina.com/woman-child-killed-after-fall-from-tennessee-interstate-overpass/

Arab quartet restores relations with Qatar after years-long blockade
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-05
Riyadh, Jan 5 (efe-epa).- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt fully restored diplomatic relations with Qatar as of Tuesday following a three-and-a-half-year blockade after they had accused Doha of sponsoring terror. "What happened today is a complete end to the disputes and the complete recovery of diplomatic relations, which will apply to …
laprensalatina.com/arab-quartet-restores-relations-with-qatar-after-years-long-blockade/

Saudi Arabia and Qatar end years-long row with border reopening, resumption of ties
rt.com | 2021-01-05
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…
rt.com/news/511607-saudi-arabia-ties-qatar/

US presence in West Asia has come to its ending days: IMN
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2021-01-04
TEHRAN, Jan. 04 (MNA) — The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) issued a statement on the occasion of 1st martyrdom anniversary of Gen. Soleimani, stating that US presence in West Asia has reached its ending days.
en.mehrnews.com/news/168046/US-presence-in-West-Asia-has-come-to-its-ending-days-IMN

Chris Hedges: The Empire is Not Done with Julian Assange
Editor | scheerpost.com | 2021-01-04
By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost Shortly after WikiLeaks released the Iraq War Logs in October 2010, which documented numerous US war crimes — including video images of the gunning down of two Reuters journalists and 10 other unarmed civilians in the Collateral Murder video, the routine torture of Iraqi prisoners, the covering up of thousands of civilian deaths and the killing of nearly… | Source…
scheerpost.com/2021/01/04/chris-hedges-the-empire-is-not-done-with-julian-assange/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chris-hedges-the-empire-is-not-done-with-julian-assange

Chris Hedges: The Empire is Not Done with Julian Assange
Editor | scheerpost.com | 2021-01-04
By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost Shortly after WikiLeaks released the Iraq War Logs in October 2010, which documented numerous U.S. war crimes — including video images of the gunning down of two Reuters journalists and 10 other unarmed civilians in the Collateral Murder video, the routine torture of Iraqi prisoners, the covering up of thousands of civilian deaths and the killing of nearly… | Source…
scheerpost.com/2021/01/04/chris-hedges-the-empire-is-not-done-with-julian-assange/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chris-hedges-the-empire-is-not-done-with-julian-assange

Indonesia was a Model for Anticommunist Massacres and the US Was Complicit
W. T. Whitney | counterpunch.org | 2021-01-04
In a plot of obscure origin, six Indonesian Army generals were murdered on September 30, 1965. Blame fell on the PKI and soon soldiers, paramilitaries, and thugs were killing or disappearing members of the PKI and its affiliates. Army General Suharto assumed dictatorial powers which he retained until 1998. President Sukarno was sidelined. Deaths approached one million; a million more people ended up in concentration camps. Torture was rampant.
counterpunch.org/2021/01/04/indonesia-was-a-model-for-anticommunist-massacres-and-the-us-was-complicit/

More Than 100 Doctors Who Fought COVID in Kuwait Return to Cuba
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-04
One hundred members of the Henry Reeve internationalist medical brigade returned to Cuba today after seven months of collaborating with Kuwait's health personnel in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | Cuba Receives Group of Doctors Who Faced COVID-19 in Kuwait | The Cuban specialists worked in eight public hospitals (Hospital Al Jaber, Adan, Mubarach, Ibn Sina, Farwaniya, Jahra, Amiri, and the Field Hospital), where they attended 33,753 patients and performed 374,680 nursin…
telesurenglish.net/news/More-Than-100-Doctors-Who-Fought-COVID-in-Kuwait-Return-to-Cuba-20210104-0020.html

Egypt Licenses Sinopharm COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-04
Egypt's Health Minister Hala Zayed said that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm has been officially licensed for emergency use in Egypt. | RELATED: | 1.8 Mln Doses of Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine Arrive in Indonesia | "The Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) will send us the official license early in the morning, which it has already issued today," he announced. | Egypt received the first batch of Sinopharm vaccines on Dec. 10. The minister said that the batch…
telesurenglish.net/news/Egypt-Licenses-Sinopharm-COVID-19-Vaccine-for-Emergency-Use-20210104-0003.html

Japan considers declaring state of emergency in Tokyo area
Online News Editor | laprensalatina.com | 2021-01-04
Tokyo, Jan 4 (efe-epa).- Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday that the government was considering declaring another state of emergency in Tokyo and the surrounding areas due to the continued rise of Covid-19 cases that have piled up the pressure on the country's healthcare system. The emergency declaration, if announced, would affect the capital …
laprensalatina.com/japan-considers-declaring-state-of-emergency-in-tokyo-area/

London police hassle old woman for feeding birds, tell her to 'DISPERSE' because of Covid-19 restrictions
rt.com | 2021-01-04
Feed the birds, tuppence a bag? Not in the new UK coronavirus lockdown. A video circulating on social media shows an elderly woman, who was feeding bread to pigeons, being told by London police to 'disperse.' | The video, which was posted on YouTube late Sunday, shows an old woman with a pushcart feeding the birds near London's Marble Arch. Two police stand near the woman and her grey-bearded male companion, and one of the officers urges them to leave the area voluntarily because of restrictions on gathering. | "Feeding the birds, and getting hassled," says an onlooker filming the encounter from behind the…
rt.com/uk/511522-covid-police-disperse-old-woman/

Iraqis demand withdrawal of US troops on anniversary of killing of Soleimani, al-Muhandis
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-04
Thousands of protesters gathered at Tahrir square in Baghdad after marching to the highway leading to the airport where Soleimani and Muhandis were killed last year. They demanded the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/04/iraqis-demand-withdrawal-of-us-troops-on-anniversary-of-killing-of-soleimani-al-muhandis/

The Raging 2020s. Soleimani Geopolitics, One Year On
Pepe Escobar | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-04
One year ago, the Raging Twenties started with a murder. | The assassination of Maj Gen Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), alongside Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq's …
globalresearch.ca/the-raging-2020s-soleimani-geopolitics-one-year-on/5733550

Autoworker crushed to death at Marion Stamping Plant in Indiana
wsws.org | 2021-01-04
Mark McKnight, a highly skilled and careful worker, was 57 years old. Everybody liked him, a co-worker commented, "the nicest guy you could ever meet."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/04/gm-j04.html

A new year poem for Latin America, 'La Paciente'
Peter Lownds | peoplesworld.org | 2021-01-04
Latin America lies on a hospital gurney after yet another amputation She trembles in shock from her Brazilian breast to her Andean rump The Mexican Gulf traces the profile of her head, thrown back in agony Her "Indian" hair has shaken loose from its mountainous comb of bone So that the thick braid of Central …
peoplesworld.org/article/a-new-year-poem-for-latin-america-la-paciente/