Public health expert warns that the UK needs a clear coronavirus strategy beyond the vaccine
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2021-01-10
The response to coronavirus (Covid-19) across the UK should be more proactive, a public health expert has warned. | Professor Devi Sridhar said there's currently "no clear strategy" in the UK other than "reactive lockdowns". Prof Sridhar is chairwoman of public health at Edinburgh University and an adviser to the Scottish government. | Each devolved administration is responsible for how it handles coronavirus. But all four are currently in lockdown following a spike in cases and deaths in the past six weeks. The spike has been caused, at least partially, by a new, more transmissible strain of the virus. | "Th…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2021/01/10/public-health-expert-warns-that-the-uk-needs-a-clear-coronavirus-strategy-beyond-the-vaccine/

Turkish government calls on Turks to dump WhatsApp, switch to local apps
Alex MacDonald | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-10
Turkish government calls on Turks to dump WhatsApp, switch to local apps | New terms of service led to privacy concerns while Turkey has blasted a UK-EU exemption from data-sharing changes | Alex MacDonald | Sun, 01/10/2021 – 15: 50 | Logos of social networking websites displayed on a mobile phone's screen in Istanbul (AFP) | The Turkish government has called on its citizens to stop using WhatsApp and instead us…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkish-government-calls-turks-dump-whatsapp-and-switch-local-apps

Iraqi policeman shot dead, dozens wounded in Nasiriyah protests
MEE and agencies | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-10
Iraqi policeman shot dead, dozens wounded in Nasiriyah protests | Witnesses said security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators from the city's Haboubi Square, after third consecutive day of protests | MEE and agencies | Sun, 01/10/2021 – 17: 41 | Iraqi protesters are pictured next to burning tyres during clashes with police during anti-government demonstrations in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq, on 10 Janu…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraqi-policeman-shot-dead-dozens-wounded-nasiriyah-protests

FROM THE FIELD: Laos villages transformed by solar power
news.un.org | 2021-01-10
For people living off-grid in remote villages in Laos, solar energy offers a clean, sustainable way to bring electricity for all, and the promise to transform their lives.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081732

Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia
wsws.org | 2021-01-09
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/09/labo-j09.html

In India, pseudo-nationalism trumps science in vaccine clearance
Prabir Purkayastha | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-09
The recent regulatory clearance given to an indigenous developed vaccine candidate in India is an example of vaccine nationalism at its worst and jettisoning of all the principles of an evidence-based, scientific approach…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/09/in-india-pseudo-nationalism-trumps-science-in-vaccine-clearance/

Justice for victim of police killing in Ireland
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-09
In this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes, we look at the campaign launched by the Sudanese Professionals Association to dissolve the notorious government-backed militia, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). We also look at the protests against the killing of George Nkencho by Irish police, as well as the killing of 9 indigenous leaders of the Tumandok community in the Philippines.
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/09/justice-for-victim-of-police-killing-in-ireland/

Indonesia: Soaring COVID-19 cases as government scrambles to roll out vaccine
wsws.org | 2021-01-09
Contact tracing has been minimal and disorderly, while lockdowns have been resisted throughout, placing the full burden of the virus on the working class.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/09/indo-j09.html

The Shortwave Report 01/08/21 Listen Globally!
Dan Roberts | indybay.org | 2021-01-09
A weekly 30 minute review of international news and opinion, recorded from a shortwave radio and the internet. With times, frequencies, and websites for listening at home. 3 files- Highest quality broadcast, regular broadcast, and slow-modem streaming. Radio Deutsche-Welle, Radio Havana Cuba, and NHK Japan.
indybay.org/newsitems/2021/01/07/18839262.php

During Civil Rights Era, Native American Communities In The South Armed Themselves Against The KKK
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-01-09
I first heard this story when I was probably eight or nine years old–old enough to know what the Ku Klux Klan was and why it was so dangerous, but young enough to believe the story had clear heroes and villains. My family and I are members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the largest Indian tribe east of the Mississippi, headquartered in the southeastern part of the state. I was born there, in Robeson County, but my parents raised me in Durham, where they taught at North Carolina Central University, one of the state's 12 historically-Black colleges and universities. Between my African-American elders…
popularresistance.org/during-civil-rights-era-native-american-communities-in-the-south-armed-themselves/

Iraqi lawyer and activist killed after home invasion in Nasiriyah
Alex MacDonald | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-09
Iraqi lawyer and activist killed after home invasion in Nasiriyah | Lawyers association calls for investigation into 'hideous' murder of Ali al-Hamami | Alex MacDonald | Sat, 01/09/2021 – 15: 08 | Lawyer and activist Ali al-Hamami (Facebook) | A senior lawyer and activist was killed in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on Friday after unknown assailants broke into his home, according to officials and local me…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/Iraqi-lawyer-and-activist-killed

Massive power grid failure plunges Pakistan into darkness
rt.com | 2021-01-09
Pakistan's national power grid has failed, leaving almost the entire country in the dark. With officials blaming a mysterious "plunge in the frequency," conspiracy theories quickly proliferated. | "A countrywide blackout has been caused by a sudden plunge in the frequency in the power transmission system," Pakistani power minister Omar Ayub Khan wrote on Twitter, shortly after the country was plunged into darkness before midnight on Saturday. | Pakistanis soon shared pictures of their blacked out cities and towns, with the starry night sky clearly visible above without the usual light pollution. | Check out th…
rt.com/news/512042-massive-power-outage-pakistan/

Spaniards SKIING & dog-sledding on Madrid streets as freak blizzards kill 3 (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2021-01-09
Scores of people in Madrid neglected calls by the authorities to stay home and flocked outside to engage in winter activities, as the Spanish capital was paralyzed by the biggest snowfall in half a century, leaving three dead. | Storm Filomena, which buried Madrid under a record 50 centimeters of snow on Friday, became a disaster for the city. | The blizzard caused at least three fatalities in the city and nearby areas, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Saturday. A man and a woman drowned in a car after it was swept away by a swollen river, while a homeless person froze t death. | But, after c…
rt.com/news/512029-madrid-snow-blizzard-skiing/

International protests support Indian farmers' agitation against Modi's pro-agribusiness laws
wsws.org | 2021-01-09
There have been protests around the world, including in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, in support of the now 45-day-long agitation Indian farmers are mounting against the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's pro-agribusiness laws.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/09/infa-j09.html

Braving crackdown, Turkish students resist Erdogan's bid to subjugate universities
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-09
Turkish authorities are cracking down on protests by the student community against president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bid to control universities placing his loyalists at their helm. The move to appoint Melih Bulu as the rector of Boƒüaziàßi University has been met with widespread protests which have been going on since January 4. On January 8, police detained 30 students in Ankara who had demonstrated in solidarity with the university protests. On January 7, two cadre of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) were arrested in Antalya for raising a banner in solidarity with the students. Earlier, dozen…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/09/braving-crackdown-turkish-students-resist-erdogans-bid-to-subjugate-universities/

Compelling account of inspirational Black activist Claudia Jones in new booklet
Morning Star | peoplesworld.org | 2021-01-08
Claudia Jones (1915-1964) is hardly unsung, given the growing number of books and film documentaries on the woman who, on indisputable merit, is interred immediately to the left of Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery. In this account of an extraordinary Caribbean communist, David Horsley's focus is on Jones's life in advancing class, race, and gender …
peoplesworld.org/article/compelling-account-of-inspirational-black-activist-claudia-jones-in-new-booklet/

Modi boasts about "Indian" vaccines as COVID-19 virus rages through the country
wsws.org | 2021-01-08
Workers and the poor continue to be the primary victims of the pandemic, while India's media focuses on vaccinations.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/08/indi-j08.html

More War by Other Means: Sanctioning the Wife of Syria's President Makes No Sense to Anyone
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2021-01-08
I am a recipient of regular, usual weekly, emails from the Department of the Treasury providing an "Update to OFAC's list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons." OFAC is the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is tasked …
globalresearch.ca/more-war-other-means-sanctioning-wife-syria-president-makes-no-sense-anyone/5733890

Indonesia Deems the Chinese Vaccine Suitable for Muslims
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-08
The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) on Friday announced that the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Chinese company Sinovac is suitable for Muslim believers. | RELATED: | Egypt Licenses Sinopharm COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use | The MUI Fatwas Commission Secretary Asrorun Ni'am Sholeh pointed out that the vaccine is "holy" but that his institution will wait for the health authorities to approve the drug to issue the "fatwa", which is a formal ruling on a point of Islamic law…
telesurenglish.net/news/Indonesia-Deems-the-Chinese-Vaccine-Suitable-for-Muslims-20210108-0005.html

Peru Identifies the First Case of the New Sars-Cov-2 Mutation
telesurenglish.net | 2021-01-08
Peru's Ministry of Health confirmed on Friday its first case of the new SARS-CoV-2 mutation. The patient, a woman who had not traveled abroad but did receive a relative over Christmas, remains in quarantine at this home. | RELATED: | Hospitals in Ecuador and Peru Collapse Due to Lack of Beds | The scientists have warned that the new mutation has a contagion capacity 70 percent more than the COVID-19. Nonetheless, the authorities remarked that the patient had shown only "mild sympto…
telesurenglish.net/news/Peru-Identifies-the-First-Case-of-the-New-Sars-Cov-2-Mutation-20210108-0025.html

Black Woman 'Heartbroken' After Vicious Attack by Racist MAGA Mob in Downtown Los Angeles
Brett Wilkins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2021-01-08
"All of a sudden I'm just getting cornered by 30, 40 people," said Berlinda Nibo. "That's what started all of them to jump in." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/nibo.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2021/01/08/black-woman-heartbroken-after-vicious-attack-racist-maga-mob-downtown-los-angeles?cd-origin=rss

Will US Farmers Follow India's Lead?
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2021-01-08
Thousands of farmers in India are braving cold winter temperatures in the outskirts of New Delhi, their tractors and tents blocking traffic along three main roads leading to the capital city, in protest of new agricultural laws that farmers say leave them at the mercy of multinational corporations. The protests, which began in August, morphed into a general strike of 250 million workers on November 26, which has been called the largest-ever global demonstration. | The ongoing demonstrations have struck a chord with agricultural communities in North America, where solidarity protests were held throughout December,…
popularresistance.org/will-us-farmers-follow-indias-lead/

Hotel diplomacy: Qatari hotel opens in Cairo as economic ties take centre stage
MEE correspondent | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-08
Hotel diplomacy: Qatari hotel opens in Cairo as economic ties take centre stage | While Qatari investment projects in Egypt have not stopped during a three-year rift, the opening of the Qatari-funded luxury St Regis hotel in Cairo is seen as official sign of thawing relations | MEE correspondent | Fri, 01/08/2021 – 14: 04 | The St Regis overlooks the Nile and is located in downtown Cairo (Marriott hotel we…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/qatar-egypt-st-regis-hotel-rift-investment

US congresswoman apologises for referencing Hitler at pro-Trump rally
MEE staff | middleeasteye.net | 2021-01-08
US congresswoman apologises for referencing Hitler at pro-Trump rally | Republican Mary Miller had initially doubled down on her remarks that 'Hitler was right on one thing – that whoever has the youth has the future' | MEE staff | Fri, 01/08/2021 – 18: 23 | Miller, who has been in office for less than a week, drew widespread condemnation, sparking calls for her to resign over her comments (AFP/File photo) | US Representa…
www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-congresswoman-apologises-hitler-pro-trump-rally

In Hong Kong, We Thought We Had More Time
Wilfred Chan | thenation.com | 2021-01-08
In Hong Kong, We Thought We Had More Time…
thenation.com/article/world/democracy-hong-kong/

Indian Toyota workers continue strike in defiance of company-government repression
wsws.org | 2021-01-08
Striking Toyota workers also face mounting pressure from the Congress and Janata Dal opposition parties, and the isolation of their struggle by the Stalinist-dominated unions.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/08/toyo-j08.html

Korean workers say POSCO steel company guilty of manslaughter
IndustriALL | peoplesworld.org | 2021-01-08
SEOUL–A pattern of fatal accidents at facilities in South Korea belonging to the global steel company POSCO will only be resolved when workers' have the right to organize freely and participate in safety systems, says the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU). Accidents in November and December at POSCO's Gwangyang steelworks in Korea resulted in the …
peoplesworld.org/article/korean-workers-say-posco-steel-company-guilty-of-manslaughter/

Student protests continue in Turkey in defiance of police-state measures
wsws.org | 2021-01-08
The mass student protests in Istanbul that started to oppose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's appointment of a new rector to Boƒüaziàßi University, continued yesterday in defiance of police-state measures to suppress the movement.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/01/08/turk-j07.html

South Korean court orders Japan to compensate survivors of sexual violence during World War II
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-01-08
A lower court in Seoul ordered Japan to compensate 12 Korean women, who were forced to serve as "comfort women" for its military during the Second World War. The verdict is expected to pave the way for more such judgments…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/01/08/south-korean-court-orders-japan-to-compensate-survivors-of-sexual-violence-during-world-war-ii/

When the Left Side is the Only Hope Left: The Destruction of Mosul
Louis Yako | counterpunch.org | 2021-01-08
I wrote recently about the field research I conducted in the early months of 2020 for an international organization supporting Iraqi youth. The research focused on young boys and girls attending sessions in different parts of Iraq to engage in dialogues and conversations about pressing issues in Iraqi society such as citizenship, gender, culture and heritage, media,…
counterpunch.org/2021/01/08/when-the-left-side-is-the-only-hope-left-the-destruction-of-mosul/

Re-Plug: 28 Protests in 22 days! Kranti ka Naqsha (Mapping the Revolution) Brings the Latest Updates
Sabrangindia | asia-pacificresearch.com | 2021-01-07
asia-pacificresearch.com/re-plug-28-protests-in-22-days-kranti-ka-naqsha-mapping-the-revolution-brings-the-latest-updates/5629723

New book: Indonesia was model for anti-communist massacres, U.S. complicity
W. T. Whitney Jr. | peoplesworld.org | 2021-01-07
U.S imperialism was on a roll in the mid-20th century as Cold War problems were emerging. These included U.S.-Soviet conflict, nuclear-war fears, the Korean and Vietnam wars, domestic anti-communism, and Indonesia. Having thrown of Dutch colonial rule, that country led by President Sukarno was in the vanguard of nations striving to steer clear of both …
peoplesworld.org/article/new-book-indonesia-was-model-for-anti-communist-massacres-u-s-complicity/

Saudi Arabia: UN rights expert welcomes 'positive first step' toward détente in Gulf
news.un.org | 2021-01-07
Saudi Arabia's action in lifting sanctions against Qatar is a "positive first step" towards normalized relations in the Gulf region, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday, urging the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt to follow suit.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2021/01/1081612