(2021-12-24). Afghanistan: OIC emerging dilemma. moderndiplomacy.eu December 19, 2021, is going to be a monumental day for Afghanistan in its perilous situation. Pakistan on that particular day will host a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers on Afghanistan aimed at addressing exacerbating and egregious humanitarian crisis in war-torn Afghanistan. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan's foreign minister says, "In …
(2021-12-24). Antony Blinken Visited the South-East Asian Region Yet Again. journal-neo.org 
Another tour, started on December 9 by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, may have been unprecedented since he took office, both in terms of the number of countries visited and the breadth of topics that were supposed to be discussed with foreign colleagues. The plan was for the trip to include three phases: a stop …
(2021-12-24). Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia. wsws.org India: Delhi school teachers suspend online classes over unpaid salaries; Sri Lankan public sector doctors take national walkout; Australia: Rail workers and bus drivers continue industrial action in NSW.
(2021-12-24). Foxconn forced to close key Indian facility after worker protest over mass food poisoning. wsws.org Hundreds of workers had to be treated for vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness after eating their evening meal in a company-provided canteen.
(2021-12-24). Santa Claus rueful at imminent Christmas in India. moderndiplomacy.eu Ahead of Christmas, Indian police raided a shishu bhavan (infant house or orphanage) in Kolcatta (West Bengal) and another at Vdodra (Gujarat), Indian prime minister's home state. The Kolkatta orphanage was established by Mother Teresa herself, and was being run by the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata since February11, 2014. The raiding police claimed that …
(2021-12-24). First Omicron cases detected in Indonesia. wsws.org Faced with the dangerous new variant, the Indonesian government, in line with governments around the world, has implemented no serious health measures to stop its spread.
(2021-12-24). The repercussions of the American presence in the Middle East on China and Russia. moderndiplomacy.eu There are many potential repercussions of the US presence in the Middle East, with direct impacts on both China and Russia. Here, the most important priorities of the new US administration in the Middle East are represented in (negotiating over the Iranian nuclear program), which threatens Israel's security and destabilizes the region, according to American …
(2021-12-24). To oppose government austerity, Sri Lankan workers need to build action committees and fight for socialist policies. wsws.org The critical lesson of this year's strikes and protests is that determination and militancy is not enough. The working class cannot defend its rights without independently mobilising on a socialist program.
(2021-12-24). Erdogan is Actively Trying to Score Points in Africa. journal-neo.org 
Amid growing accusations against the Turkish government and calls for early presidential and parliamentary elections from the local population due to the intensifying domestic crisis in Turkey in recent days, there has been a surge in publications in the West about the impending power transition in Turkey. Thus, American edition Foreign Policy says that even …
(2021-12-23). "Civilian Casualty Files" documents the barbarism of US imperialism in Iraq and Syria. wsws.org The Civilian Casualty Files are evidence of extensive war crimes. They reveal that the US military, under the Obama and Trump administrations, deliberately killed civilians, including children.
(2021-12-23). The military: the year in review — war crimes, withdrawals and secrecy. thecanary.co 2021 was a year of decline and reorganisation for the British military. It was also a year when historical war crimes allegations resurfaced, secrecy was expanded and a major defeat became undeniable. We decided to look back over some of the key themes in military affairs which emerged over the year. | This article is another in The Year In Review series. You'll be able to catch up on the many of the other review articles Cut and run: | The Afghanistan occupation finally ground to an end as the Taliban took Kabul in Aug…
(2021-12-23). The Heat: Afghanistan Crisis. america.cgtn.com 
As winter settles in, millions of Afghans are desperate for food and medical supplies.
(2021-12-23). The Hypersonic Fall of US Prestige. journal-neo.org 
Even against the backdrop of recent events, the US stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that "American credibility" in the world is falling apart. It is not just a question of political credibility or the collapse of 20 years of American military intervention in Afghanistan. This fall did not begin with Biden or Trump, but with the …
(2021-12-23). Headlines for December 23, 2021. democracynow.org South Africa Says Omicron Coronavirus Surge Has Peaked, WHO Warns Blanket Booster Programs Divert Vaccine Supply, Prolonging Pandemic, FDA Approves COVID-19 Pill; Most Monoclonal Antibody Treatments Fail Against Omicron, New York Coronavirus Cases Surge to Record High; Supreme Court to Weigh Vaccine Mandates, Proud Boys Member Pleads Guilty to Capitol Riot Conspiracy, Will Cooperate with FBI, FBI Undercover Teams Infiltrated Portland Racial Justice Protests, U.S. Relaxes Limits on Aid as Afghanistan Faces Dire Humanitarian Crisis, U.N. Calls for Probe into Reports That Sudanese Security Forces Raped Anti-Coup Pro…
(2021-12-23). Afghans in Denver: "New life, new opportunities, peaceful environment" america.cgtn.com 
It's been a little more than 4 months since Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, prompting a flood of refugees to, among other places, the U.S. Those new arrivals continue to stream into American towns and cities. Helping them set up new lives has not been …
(2021-12-23). Alarm bells ring across South Asia as Omicron variant spreads unchecked. wsws.org Highlighting capitalist governments' failure to eliminate COVID-19, South Asia, home to a fourth of humanity, is on the brink of a horrific new surge of the virus.
(2021-12-23). New ADB Facility to Help Southeast Asia Revive Tourism. moderndiplomacy.eu The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has set up a $1.7 million technical assistance facility to accelerate Southeast Asia's tourism recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, boost inclusive, sustainable development in the sector, and help local tourism entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, adopt digital platforms to grow their businesses. The Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Facility …
(2021-12-23). New US Embargo on Cambodia Over Friendship with China. journal-neo.org 
The United States continues a process of targeting and isolating nations around the globe increasingly choosing to do business with Beijing rather than Washington. The most recent of these is the Southeast Asia nation of Cambodia. For years Cambodia has incrementally pivoted from once serving US foreign policy objectives in the region, to striking a …
(2021-12-23). Indian army deployed to break Jammu and Kashmir power workers' strike. wsws.org Workers in India and around the world must take serious warning from the Indian government's rapid deployment of military and para-military forces to suppress an anti-privatization strike by 20,000 power workers in Jammu and Kashmir.
(2021-12-23). Vietnamese President Phuc two-day visit to Cambodia. moderndiplomacy.eu Following the meeting of party general secretaries earlier in November 2021, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc completed his two-day state-level visit(21-22) to Cambodia. Cambodia is going to be the chairman of ASEAN and therefore there is concerns with regard to the likely agenda in the forthcoming ASEAN meetings in the year 2022. President Phuc met …
(2021-12-23). Venezuela To Vaccinate 90% Of Its Population To Face Omicron. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced that the first seven COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant were detected in citizens who traveled abroad and recently returned to the states of Miranda, Lara and Caracas. | RELATED: | "It was inevitable that Omicron would arrive in Venezuela. Therefore, we reiterate the call to reinforce biosecurity measures and vaccination. We continue working to care fo…
(2021-12-23). Are Arab militias losing their usefulness for Iran? moderndiplomacy.eu Iranian support for Arab militias has long threatened Iran's detractors, unable to develop an effective counterstrategy. Now, the tide may be turning. A string of events suggests that the usefulness of at least some of the militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Palestine is waning as their popularity diminishes and relations with Iran encounter headwinds. The …
(2021-12-23). The Vienna Talks are at a Difficult Stage. journal-neo.org 
As the complex Vienna talks and desperate disputes among their participants proceed, unconcealed threats against Iran are heard from Tel Aviv several times a day. The growing hysteria and multiplication of Israeli military threats against Tehran suggest that the Israeli regime has forgotten that Iran is a powerful state with a modern, well-equipped army and …
(2021-12-23). A painful year for Gaza's patients. electronicintifada.net Israel has blocked entry of spare parts for medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2021-12-23). Israeli army rule allowing shooting of stone-throwers will be applied to Palestinians, not Jews. mronline.org 
The Israeli military has changed its rules of engagement to allow its forces to fire on Palestinians who have thrown stones or firebombs even when they no longer pose any danger. The new rule is a sop to Israeli settlers, the IDF's clientele.
(2021-12-23). January 6 Committee Requests That Jim Jordan Speak With Them. truthout.org 
The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack has requested that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) appear before them to answer questions regarding his communications with former President Donald Trump. |
(2021-12-23). American Civil War: Of Roman Plagues, Handmaid's Tales & the Real Geopolitics of Fiction. strategic-culture.org 
Biden's foreign policy and his attitude to the EU seems to be a clone of Trump's. Which oddly and incredibly, lends more to the Handmaid scenario than it does Black Mirror. | How can we explain how Australia, Britain, Austria, Italy, and more have gone the path of arbitrary and capricious detention and exclusion from society? The Austrian government mobilized perhaps 500 people into the streets in support of lockdown and apartheid measures, colluding with media to inflate that number by a massive factor of sixty. | The reactions to this certainly represent an extreme polarization of society. Yet in politics, ther…
(2021-12-23). Fatal accidents reveal unsafe conditions in Pakistan's coal mines. peoplesdispatch.org As deadly accidents continue in various coal mines in Pakistan, senior representatives of IndustriALL Global have asked the Pakistani ambassador at Geneva to take immediate steps to ensure that Pakistan ratifies and implements ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines…
(2021-12-23). COVID-19 infections in South Korea hit record high following implemenation of "with COVID" policy. wsws.org South Korean President Moon Jae-in's government enacted new social distancing measures on Saturday that will do nothing to halt the spread of the virus.
(2021-12-23). Tajikistan's Energy Sector to Benefit from World Bank Support. moderndiplomacy.eu The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved today additional grant financing of $65 million in support of the Second Phase of the Nurek Hydropower Rehabilitation Project, which will contribute towards more reliable electricity supply and expansion of renewable energy exports in Tajikistan. "The World Bank is committed to supporting Tajikistan's energy sector, given the …
(2021-12-23). Venezuela Maintains 7 International Air Routes. orinocotribune.com Despite the fact that the state of emergency declared in Venezuela due to the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be lifted, the president of the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC), Juan Teixeira Díaz, announced that seven international air routes will continue to service the country. | He clarified that commercial flights to Mexico, Turkey, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Russia, Bolivia, and Cuba will remain availa…