Monthly Archives: January 2021

2021-01-15: News Headlines

Miko Peled (2021-01-15). Court Rules Palestinian Filmmaker Must Pay Damages To Israeli Soldier Who Took Part in Massacre. mintpressnews.com "Jenin, Jenin" documents a deadly Israeli assault on a Palestinian refugee camp that left hundreds of civilians dead and over fifteen hundred wounded, and its release has caused an uproar in Israeli society.

Alan Macleod (2021-01-15). China Tech Ban Mirrors 1980s Attempts To Destroy Japanese Competition. mintpressnews.com In the 1980s, the US imposed a 100% tariff on virtually all Japanese electronics and forced Tokyo to sign a one-sided trade deal that reserved much of its domestic semiconductor sector for American companies.

MEE staff (2021-01-15). Covid-19: Israeli man arrested for tricking ex into quarantine four times. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Israeli man arrested for tricking ex into quarantine four times | Police said the suspect, a health ministry employee, sent messages on four separate occasions to his ex-girlfriend telling her she needed to isolate | Fri, 01/15/2021 – 13: 48 | An Israeli woman wearing a protective mask due to the Covid-19 pandemic sits on a park bench by feeding pigeons in Jerusalem on 16 April 2020 (2020) | An Israe…

news.un (2021-01-15). Deadly earthquake hits Indonesia: Dozens killed, hundreds injured. news.un.org At least 35 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck the West Sulawesi Province of Indonesia on Friday morning, according to the UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA).

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-15). Citing famine, UN urges reversal of terrorist designation for Yemen's Houthis; US refuses. peoplesdispatch.org Mark Lowcock of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that recent labeling of Houthis as a terrorist organization by the US would likely trigger a "famine on a scale we have not seen in 40 years…

Charles Pierson (2021-01-15). A Yemeni Famine Made in Washington and Riyadh. counterpunch.org Ending months of speculation, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on January 10 that the Trump Administration would designate Yemen's Houthi rebels (Ansar Allah) as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" (FTO). Branding the Houthis as terrorists will make it vastly more difficult for humanitarian groups to deliver desperately needed food, fuel, and medicine to 24 million

South Front (2021-01-15). Video: Israel and US Efforts in Large-scale Strikes on Iranian Infrastructure in Syria. globalresearch.ca The first two weeks of 2021 have, so far, been marked by an incredible increase in Israeli activity in the skies over Syria. | The most intense strike took place on January 13 morning hitting multiple Syrian and Iranian-affiliated targets in …

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2021-01-15). Encircling China and Praising India: The US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific. asia-pacificresearch.com

Eugene E Ruyle (2021-01-15). Sunday 1/17: The Farmer's Movement in India. indybay.org Log-info available on our website; | ICSSMARX.ORG LINK: OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE…

Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J. S. Davies, Marcy Winograd (2021-01-15). Will the Senate Confirm Coup Plotter Nuland? counterpunch.org Who is Victoria Nuland? Most Americans have never heard of her because the U.S. corporate media's foreign policy coverage is a wasteland. Most Americans have no idea that President-elect Biden's pick for Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs is stuck in the quicksand of 1950s U.S.-Russia Cold War politics and dreams of continued NATO

Ragip Soylu (2021-01-15). 'Dear Tayyip': Erdogan and Macron exchanged letters to repair ties. middleeasteye.net 'Dear Tayyip': Erdogan and Macron exchanged letters to repair ties | Turkish president made the first move, with the two leaders seeking to meet in person soon | Fri, 01/15/2021 – 14: 01 | France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) meets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (AFP) | The presidents of Turkey and France hav…

Alex MacDonald (2021-01-15). Iraq: Bird flu blamed for deaths of tens of thousands of chickens. middleeasteye.net Iraq: Bird flu blamed for deaths of tens of thousands of chickens | Local authorities said a buffer zone was being imposed on the infected region | Fri, 01/15/2021 – 16: 04 | Iraqi vets check chickens that entered Iraq from Turkey at a market in the southern port city of Basra (AFP) | An outbreak of bird flu was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of chickens in central Iraq, officia…

The Conversation (2021-01-15). The Confederate battle flag, which rioters flew inside the US Capitol, has long been a symbol of white insurrection. juancole.com By Jordan Brasher | — Confederate soldiers never reached the Capitol during the Civil War. But the Confederate battle flag was flown by rioters in the U.S. Capitol building for the first time ever on Jan. 6. The flag's prominence in the Capitol riot comes as no surprise to those who, like me, know its …

Michael T. Klare (2021-01-15). With Trump Gone, Can the U.S. and China Cooperate on a Failing Planet? juancole.com ( Tomdispatch.com) — For just a moment, let me try to look on the bright side of the storming of the Capitol last week by a mob incited and dispatched by President Trump. When George W. Bush, the president who launched the Global War on Terror and then invaded Saddam Hussein's Iraq, referred to what …

Staff (2021-01-15). Neo-fascists found their voice in Trump. Where will the left's voice come from? therealnews.com With COVID-19 still raging and Biden's inauguration around the corner, Warnock and Ossoff win big in Georgia, Trumpist insurgents storm the U.S. Capitol, and Democrats and Republicans seethe with internal strife. What's next?

B. Prasant (2021-01-15). India's farmers dig in for long haul against Modi's neoliberalism. peoplesworld.org DELHI—As I move away from the massive kisan (farmers and peasants) assemblage at the Singhu border between the province of Haryana and Delhi, a heavy drizzle starts to add to my misery in the bone-chilling cold of late Indian winter. I plan to drive along several narrow link roads to gain access to the otherwise …

Workers World Party (2021-01-15). PDF of January 14 issue. workers.org Download the 12-page PDF. Special Coverage: Resisting White Supremacy No fascist coup! Fight back with workers' power Georgia grassroots victory; Marcy on violence and the state; Threat of fascism remains; Black Lives Matter and 'democracy'; 'Fraudulent' elections; as imperialist ploy; Charlottesville's how-to lessons; Fascists, the FBI — and legislators; Capitol . . . |

Stephen Lendman (2021-01-15). Trump Hardliners Poisoning US-China Relations. Pompeo "Spreads Political Viruses" globalresearch.ca In its waning days in power, Trump regime hardliners are going all-out to more greatly deteriorate US relations with China than already — Pompeo leading the assault. | Mindful of what's going on with more coming, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao …

Pip Hinman (2021-01-15). Racism in sport and why the media misses the point. greenleft.org.au When Indian cricketers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj reported racist abuse during the recent Sydney test match, Australia's ugly racism hit the headlines again. Sue Bull argues that the big media has an interest in muddying the connection between capitalism and racism.

Anoa Changa (2021-01-15). Georgia Organizers Won Because They Didn't Treat Elections as a Be-All, End-All. zcomm.org "We are undoing a history of voter suppression and injustice in Black and Brown communities. The changes we are seeing now didn't happen overnight, and we are not solving our challenges with just one vote."

Fight Back (2021-01-15). SEIU Local 73: Statement of support for Human Rights Day 7 in the Philippines. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73. | | On International Human Rights Day, December 10, the Philippine National Police raided the homes and jailed Dennise Velasco of Defend Jobs Philippines; Romina Astudillo, Deputy Secretary-General of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Metro Manila; Mark Ryan Cruz, Regional Executive Committee of KMU-Metro Manila; Jaymie Gregorio Jr. of KMU-Metro Manila; Joel Demate of Solidarity of Labor Rights and Welfare (SOLAR); Rodrigo Esparago of Sandigang Manggagawa sa Quezon City (SMQC), and journalist Lady Ann…

Fight Back (2021-01-15). SEIU Local 73: Statement of support for Human Rights Day 7 in the Philippines. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73. | | On International Human Rights Day, December 10, the Philippine National Police raided the homes and jailed Dennise Velasco of Defend Jobs Philippines; Romina Astudillo, Deputy Secretary-General of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Metro Manila; Mark Ryan Cruz, Regional Executive Committee of KMU-Metro Manila; Jaymie Gregorio Jr. of KMU-Metro Manila; Joel Demate of Solidarity of Labor Rights and Welfare (SOLAR); Rodrigo Esparago of Sandigang Manggagawa sa Quezon City (SMQC), and journalist Lady Ann…

news.un (2021-01-15). UN steps up support for thousands left homeless after fire at Rohingya refugee camp. news.un.org UN agencies have stepped up efforts to help thousands of Rohingya refugees left without shelter after a devastating fire tore through a crowded refugee camp in south-eastern Bangladesh on Thursday.

teleSUR (2021-01-15). Argentina Awaits Its Second Batch of Sputnik V Vaccines. telesurenglish.net Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez Thursday sent a second plane to Russia to transport the second batch of Sputnik V vaccines which will be used in a nationwide vaccination campaign. | RELATED: | The flight AR-1060 departed from Ezeiza International airport at 21.14 local time in a direct route to Moscow where it will load 300,000 doses of the vaccine. | The plane is expected to land on Argentine soil on Saturday morni…

Sunshine Behavioral Health (2021-01-15). Mental Health Issues Facing the Asian American Community. indybay.org

Fight Back (2021-01-15). Minnesota: Line 3 resistance continues. fightbacknews.org Palisade, MN – A contingent of anti-war organizations including Woman Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) visited the Line 3 encampment on the edge of the Mississippi River in Palisade, on January 10. | The encampment is an 80-acre land trust from Akiing Purchases (Akiing translates to "the land to which we belong to") that runs parallel to an Enbridge Line 3 drill pad construction. The tar sands oil pipeline is currently proposed to cross under the Mississippi River. | The mood around camp was calm. An action of 300-plus water protesters took place the day before, where a to…

Steve Lalla (2021-01-15). Resistance is not Futile: A Brief History of Lebanon's Hezbollah. counterpunch.org Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has inspired fear within the Empire through both armed struggle and its success in electoral politics. For effectively wielding this double-edged sword, the "Party of God" has been vilified by countless politicians and media outlets. From its birth as an armed resistance to Israeli attacks on Lebanon over 35 years ago,

Dr. Gary G. Kohls (2021-01-15). Martin Luther King's Warning of America's Spiritual Death. globalresearch.ca On January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. is born in Atlanta, Georgia | Martin Luther King Jr.'s Riverside Church speech was titled "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence." It was delivered exactly one year before his April 4, …

David W. Mathisen (2021-01-15). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Born this Day: Prophet Who Saw the "Far Deeper Malady" globalresearch.ca January 15 is the day on which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born, in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929. | He would go on to become one of the most powerful voices of all time against racism, oppression, violence, imperialism, and …

Fight Back (2021-01-15). Minnesota: Line 3 resistance continues. fightbacknews.org Palisade, MN – A contingent of anti-war organizations including Woman Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) visited the Line 3 encampment on the edge of the Mississippi River in Palisade, on January 10. | The encampment is an 80-acre land trust from Akiing Purchases (Akiing translates to "the land to which we belong to") that runs parallel to an Enbridge Line 3 drill pad construction. The tar sands oil pipeline is currently proposed to cross under the Mississippi River. | The mood around camp was calm. An action of 300-plus water protesters took place the day before, where a to…

news.un (2021-01-14). Israel: Ensure equal COVID-19 vaccine access to Palestinians — UN Independent experts. news.un.org Israel's "impressive" vaccination programme against the COVID-19 pandemic must include Palestinians under occupation, UN independent human rights experts stressed on Wednesday.

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 …

Howard Lisnoff (2021-01-14). What It Meant to be Conflicted During the Vietnam War. counterpunch.org You can take the man out of the war, but you can't take the war out of the man. I use the noun "man" because most who either went to Vietnam or resisted that war were men. There were millions of women in the antiwar movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, but very few

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 …

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 …

Ramzy Baroud (2021-01-14). Covid-19 under Apartheid: How Israel Manipulates Suffering of Palestinians. counterpunch.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

WSWS (2021-01-14). India's Supreme Court feigns concern for farmers, while laying groundwork for illegalizing 7-week mass protest. wsws.org The Supreme Court ruling is aimed at ensnaring the farmers' in a phony mediation process that is rigged against them, while laying the ground for outlawing their struggle if it is not shifted to an alternate site or sites.

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…

Kareem Chehayeb (2021-01-14). Oxygen for sale: Covid-hit Lebanon running out of breath. middleeasteye.net Oxygen for sale: Covid-hit Lebanon running out of breath | As Lebanese health sector struggles with soaring Covid-19 cases, a serious shortage in oxygen tanks throws the cash-strapped country into another crisis | Thu, 01/14/2021 – 15: 00 | A worker carries oxygen canisters to be used by hospitals treating Covid-19 patients, at a factory in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on 9 January 202…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.

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…

RT (2021-01-14). Twitter RESTORES account of Sputnik-V, Russia's coronavirus vaccine, restricted over suspicious log-in. rt.com Sputnik-V, the Russian-developed coronavirus vaccine, was back on Twitter after getting locked out of its official account on Thursday. When the official explanation finally came, it cited a suspicious log-in attempt from the US. | The account, @sputnikvaccine, showed up as "temporarily restricted" for a brief period on Thursday afternoon, due to "some unusual activity." | Users could click on a warning to see…

RT (2021-01-14). Far-Eastern Russian island Sakhalin to introduce mask exemption for those inoculated against Covid-19, regional head reveals. rt.com People inoculated against Covid-19 in the Far East's Sakhalin Region will be given a badge to show they are exempt from wearing a face mask. That's according to Valery Limarenko, acting governor of the island, located near Japan. | Sakhalin, one of Russia's wealthiest places per capita, is home to a substantial oil and gas industry. On Thursday, Limarenko revealed that the island will soon receive 9,000 doses of Russia's domestically produced Sputnik V vaccine and will get over 10,000 every month after that. | "Everyone who gets vaccinated will receive a special badge," he said. "[The badge] will give the wear…

RT (2021-01-14). Paris police investigating alleged 'black supremacist' bomb-maker who blew up flat, injuring himself & 1 other. rt.com French police have launched an investigation after an alleged "black supremacist" blew up an apartment while making homemade explosives, injuring himself and another person in a Parisian suburb. | The 37-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday after an explosion and fire at an address in the Saint-Leu-la-Foret area northwest of the French capital, which injured the two occupants, a man and a woman. | "An investigation has been underway since Wednesday morning into the heads of criminal associations and the unauthorized manufacture of explosive devices," a spokesperson for the Pontoise prosecutor's office said o…

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…