(2021-01-12). As Sheriffs Quit ICE, Joe Biden Can Lead the Way in Restoring Trust. aclu.org This month, two newly-elected sheriffs canceled contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The sheriffs in Gwinnett County, Georgia and Charleston County, South Carolina were
(2021-01-12). Spain pushes to vaccinate all nursing home residents within a week. rt.com 
All nursing home residents in Spain are expected to be vaccinated against Covid-19 this week, Health Minister Salvador Illa announced on Tuesday after the government's weekly cabinet meeting. | The country launched its mass vaccination program shortly after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 jab in December. | As of Monday, Spain has successfully inoculated 406,000 with the first dose of the two-part vaccine, and health officials are expected to begin the second round of doses from January 18 for patients who fall into the most vulnerable and elderly group. | A…
(2021-01-12). Symbolic moment as Russian cosmonauts get jabs of Sputnik V — named for first space satellite — ahead of latest ISS mission. rt.com 
Cosmonauts traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) in April have been inoculated against Covid-19 with the Sputnik V vaccine, named after the world's first artificial Earth satellite, which was launched by the USSR. | The first shots of the pioneering jab were administered to members of both the main and substitute crews on Tuesday, the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center said. The course of Sputnik V requires two injections, with the follow-up administered around 21 days after the initial one. | The men who received the vaccine were Oleg Novitsky, Pyotr Dubrov, Anton Shkaplerov and Dmitry Peteli…
(2021-01-12). Health checks for refugees at Bosnia camp after days in cold. thecanary.co 
Many refugees and refugees staying at a camp in northwestern Bosnia have complained of respiratory and skin infections after spending days in makeshift tents and containers amid freezing weather and snowstorms, aid workers warned.Military tents: Most of the hundreds of refugees stuck at the Lipa facility near Bosnia's border with Croatia have been accommodated in heated military tents following days of uncertainty after a fire gutted most of the camp on 23 December.Bosnia has faced sharp criticism for leaving around 1,000 people without shelter after the blaze.The authorities first said they would move the…
(2021-01-12). 'Horrific barbarism': UK to ban Chinese imports linked to forced Uighur labour. middleeasteye.net 
'Horrific barbarism': UK to ban Chinese imports linked to forced Uighur labour | Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says China's use of forced Uighur prison labour is 'truly horrific barbarism we had hoped lost to another era' | Tue, 01/12/2021 – 18: 41 | Protesters at a rally in Hong Kong in support of the Uighur minority in China, December 2019 (AFP/File photo) | The United Kingdom has accused China of human rig…
(2021-01-12). DarkMarket goes down: Europol closes largest dark web marketplace trading in drugs & malware. rt.com 
The largest illegal marketplace on the dark web for selling drugs, counterfeit money and malware, DarkMarket, has been taken offline, in a major international operation, the EU's law enforcement agency Europol said on Tuesday. | The law enforcement operation against DarkMarket involved security agencies from Germany, Australia, Denmark, Moldova, Ukraine and the UK, as well as the US, with Europol coordinating their actions and providing operational analysis. | In Germany, officers arrested a 34-year-old Australian man suspected of being the operator of the illegal marketplace. He was taken into custody near th…
(2021-01-12). APOCALYPTIC PLAGUE: Sweden's Overall 2020 Death Rate Was Same as in 2015. anti-empire.com 
Behold: | Yes, it's a little higher than in 2018, 2019. Precisely because the flu seasons in those years were uncharacteristically mild and
(2021-01-12). 133,010 steps to take back the Senate. peoplesworld.org 
Marcey Lynn Jones was one of 70 UNITE HERE volunteers from New Haven, Conn., who spent one month knocking on doors to speak with voters in Georgia about how they could make a difference in the Senate runoff elections. She shares her experience below. In the beginning, when I arrived in Georgia from New Haven, …
(2021-01-12). UN refugee agency calls for 'new chapter for refugee protection' across Europe. news.un.org As Portugal assumes the presidency of the European Union (EU), to be followed by Slovenia later this year, the UN refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday called on them to lead the effort to forge a better protection system for those seeking refuge across the continent and beyond.
(2021-01-12). The Main Form of Media Deception: Censorship by Omission. globalresearch.ca "We don't understand how your government gets the media to repeat propaganda without question. In our country we have to tear finger nails out to get this level of co-operation."(1) (Russian journalists visiting America during the cold war) | Censorship By …
(2021-01-12). Slovenian constitutional court stays massive arms procurement proposal by government. peoplesdispatch.org The right-wing government in Slovenia had planned the procurement of arms worth EUR 780 million for the military to cater to NATO. This had strongly been opposed by the left which had called the proposal unwarranted…
(2021-01-12). The Leopard Doesn't Change its Spots: US Foreign Policy Under Biden. dissidentvoice.org It is a great pity that the Australian mainstream media is so narrow in its choice of sources for stories to appear on its pages and in its telecasts. This point was vividly brought home to me when I read in the English language version of the Russian website Pravda.ru (truth) about the alleged killing …
(2021-01-11). German schools and day-care centres to reopen despite record death rates and new infections. wsws.org Despite schools being the central driver of the pandemic, the education ministers in Germany's federal states have decided on a "resumption of face-to-face teaching" as soon as possible.
(2021-01-11). Covid-19: Palestine first in Middle East to register for Russian vaccine, says wealth fund. middleeasteye.net 
Covid-19: Palestine first in Middle East to register for Russian vaccine, says wealth fund | With delivery expected 'within a month', Russia's Sputnik V will be the first shipment of coronavirus vaccine for the Palestinians | Mon, 01/11/2021 – 13: 27 | A Palestinian health worker collects random swab samples from people to test for the coronavirus in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on 1…
(2021-01-11). Spain passes two million coronavirus cases as infection rates surge. wsws.org After a lull in new daily infections and deaths, the holidays saw a renewed surge of COVID-19 in Spain, with cases returning to levels last seen in late October.
(2021-01-11). Congressional Aid for COVID Victims Takes Lessons from Parliament's Stingy Aid to Irish in the Great Famine of the 1840s. globalresearch.ca The parallel of the American economic landscape from COVID's deathly sweep seems far more like Ireland's in the
(2021-01-11). The UN Convention on War Crimes should be applied to the United States. mronline.org 
Despite the measures taken by the international community to reinforce global security and protect civilians from the relentless increase in the number of armed conflicts, unjustified civilian casualties are not decreasing, and not only in the tinder box that is the Middle East, but also in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and even in Europe.
(2021-01-11). UAE open to normalising relations with Turkey, top diplomat says. middleeasteye.net 
UAE open to normalising relations with Turkey, top diplomat says | Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash says normalisation deal would 'respect mutual sovereignty', but also calls on Turkey to halt 'support to Muslim Brotherhood' | Mon, 01/11/2021 – 19: 50 | The UAE's foreign affairs minister, Anwar Gargash, said Turkey could 'recalibrate its relations with Arabs' if it were to cut off its 'suppo…
(2021-01-11). Ukrainian neo-Nazi 'thought leader' fired from prestigious Vienna fellowship as outcry over far-right links goes viral. rt.com 
A prominent ultranationalist activist has lost her role at a prestigious Austrian research institute after evidence arose linking her with a far-right Ukrainian group, known for extremism and antisemitism. | Olena Semenyaka, who has been called "The First Lady of Ukrainian Nationalism," was due to take up a Junior Visiting Fellowship at the Vienna-based Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in January. | However, on Monday, the college told RT that the arrangement was now under review in response to allegations raised online. "The jury of the Ukraine in European Dialogue fellowship program has been requested by t…
(2021-01-11). In first meeting since bloody 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Putin brings together leaders of Armenia & Azerbaijan for Moscow talks. rt.com 
Three months after Russia oversaw a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the two countries' leaders to Moscow to negotiate the next steps in keeping the peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. | The four-hour discussion represented the first time Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had met face to face since the end of the six-week war, which concluded in a clear victory for Baku. Following the meeting, Putin revealed that a joint statement on the development of Karabakh had been signed by all three parties. Although not yet published, t…
(2021-01-11). Turkey invites Greece to resume talks amid Eastern Mediterranean Sea dispute. rt.com 
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that Turkey has offered to resume exploratory talks with Greece on hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, as Ankara wants to improve ties with the European Union. | The two neighbors and NATO members have been at loggerheads over maritime exploration rights in the Mediterranean, among other issues. "We want to make an official invitation. As of today, we urge Greece to start exploratory talks, with the first meeting to be held within the month of January," Cavusoglu said. "So Greece has no excuse right now." | Athens and Ankara held 60 rounds of tal…
(2021-01-11). European Union drops fictional claim that Juan Guaidó is president of Venezuela. peoplesworld.org 
The European Union has de-recognized Juan Guaidó as the "Interim President" of Venezuela as of Wednesday, Jan. 6. The move came after Guaidó lost his position as the head of the Venezuelan National Assembly following the December 2020 parliamentary elections. The European Commission declared that this was the will of all EU governments. Commission spokesman …
(2021-01-11). Opportunity or Race to the Bottom? truepublica.org.uk Let's not forget what really happened. It was former Prime Minister David Cameron who recklessly gambled the future of the United Kingdom in order to contain some rampant right-wing whingers. It led to a politically toxic and divisive atmosphere where an opportunistic Boris Johnson, who merely attached himself to the Brexit bandwagon, arrived at the …
(2021-01-11). Brazilian Lab to Produce Sputnik V for Sale in Latam. telesurenglish.net The Russian Sputnik V vaccine developers informed that a Brazilian laboratory will launch the drug's production and distribution throughout Latin America as of January 15. | RELATED: | The Brazilian Chemical Union company confirmed the news by announcing that it will produce 8 million doses per month in the first semester of 2021. | "On Monday, a company delegation will travel to Russia to finish validating the manufac…
(2021-01-11). Biden Chooses Iran Nuclear Deal Negotiator as His CIA Director. telesurenglish.net After serving as ambassador to Russia, Burns led the Obama administration's negotiations with Iran to reach the historic nuclear deal in 2015. | Burns currently serves as the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an international think-tank. | RELATED: | If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first career diplomat to serve in…
(2021-01-11). End of the Saudi Blockade of Qatar: Will Syria Benefit from the "Renewed Gulf Unity"? globalresearch.ca With an end to the Qatar blockade and a possible rapprochement with Turkey, Saudi Arabia may soon move towards reconciliation with Syria. | The Persian Gulf states' opposition to Iran's role in the region, while limiting Turkey's influence, may bring Saudi …
(2021-01-11). Bolivia and Spain Re-Establish Diplomatic Relations. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's President Luis Arce on Monday received the credentials of Spain's Ambassador Francisco Gasso, thus putting an end to diplomatic tensions experienced since the U.S.-backed coup led by Jeanine Añez in 2019. | RELATED: | The appointment of the Spanish ambassador comes after several months without diplomatic relations between both countries as a result of the expulsion of the Charge d'Affaires and Consul officers in De…
(2021-01-11). India to Go Ahead with Purchase of Russia S-400 Air Defense System Despite US Sanctions Threat. asia-pacificresearch.com …
(2021-01-10). Letter: The demonisation of Assange paves the way for more rape and murder by the State. thecanary.co We are relieved the court ruled not to extradite Julian Assange to the US. His immediate release from Belmarsh, classified as torture by the UN Special Rapporteur, especially under coronavirus, must follow. The refusal of bail must be reversed immediately. | As an anti-rape organisation, we resent the original use of alleged sex offences to facilitate Assange's extradition to the US via Sweden. Knowing the evidence, that case was never viable, but it initiated and fuelled a witch-hunt against Assange and diverted from the real target: his Wikileaks reporting. | Assange and Chelsea Manning exposed rape, torture, a…
(2021-01-10). Communist youth mobilize across Italy demanding safety in schools. peoplesdispatch.org On Thursday, January 7, Communist Youth Front (FGC) organized demonstrations in several cities across Italy demanding safer classrooms. Schools across Italy were supposed to be reopened on that day but the government postponed the reopening to Monday. The FGC organized protests in the cities of Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Florence, Perugia, Catania, Padova, Salerno, Taranto, Cosenza, Gorizia and Ascoli. The protesters said that since the beginning of the pandemic, nothing substantial has been done to ensure safety in schools and respect for students' rights during online lessons. | FGC also gave a call for a nati…
(2021-01-10). U.S. shouldn't have double standards on weaponized protest movements. thealtworld.com 
Russian Deputy Envoy to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy made a powerful point on Twitter earlier this week when he asked, "Why do you call storming by protesters of the U.S. Capitol 'domestic terrorism' and similar and much more bloody events in Kiev in 2014 'revolution of dignity'?" | Many remember how America praised the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, which overthrew President Viktor Yanukovich, in the aftermath of a run-off vote. | In fact, not only did the U.S. politically support that infamous governmental reshuffle which forever changed the face of European history by consequently leading to Crimea's…
(2021-01-10). Russia reports first case of mutated UK coronavirus variant. rt.com 
A new, more infectious variant of Covid-19, which was discovered in Britain in mid-December, has reached Russia, the country's wellbeing and consumer-rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said. | The mutated strain was found in the samples taken from a Russian man who had returned from a trip to the UK before the New Year, Rospotrebnadzor's head Anna Popova told the Rossiya 1 channel on Sunday. | He didn't show symptoms of the disease and isn't contagious anymore. "The man was feeling and is currently feeling fine," Popova said. | The new Covid-19 variant has led in recent weeks to a spike in cases in Britain, par…
(2021-01-10). Algeria becomes first African nation to approve Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. rt.com 
Algeria is going to vaccinate its population against the coronavirus with Sputnik V after the Russian drug received official approval from the North African country's health authorities. | A registration certificate for Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine was shared by the country's Ministry of Pharmaceutical Industry on Facebook. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which finances the development of the vaccine, also confirmed the news, saying that it was approved under the emergency use authorization. | Algiers and Moscow inked a deal for Sputnik V shortly before the New Year. The supplies of Russian…
(2021-01-10). 'Let the rich pay for the COVID-19 crisis'. peoplesdispatch.org Niklas Bà∂ck, chairman of the Communist Youth of Austria, talks about the impact of COVID-19 on the people, especially the youth, the resistance to the far-right and the growth of the left…
(2021-01-10). Turkish government calls on Turks to dump WhatsApp, switch to local apps. middleeasteye.net 
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 | 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…
(2021-01-10). Erdogan's press office ditches WhatsApp as Ankara urges Turks to use domestic apps in fight against 'digital fascism'. rt.com 
The media office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reportedly shutting down its WhatsApp groups over privacy concerns. The move comes after Ankara called for a nationwide boycott of the Facebook-owned messaging app. | Starting on Monday, the office is switching over to encrypted messaging app BiP, which is developed by Turkish firm Turkcell, Bloomberg reported, citing internal messages posted to the WhatsApp groups. | The decision comes amid growing consternation over WhatsApp's plan to begin sharing personal data with its parent company, Facebook. The policy comes into effect on February 8, and use…
(2021-01-10). Multiple coronavirus strains are now circulating. Here's what that means. salon.com Coronavirus mutations in the United Kingdom and South Africa are spreading rapidly. But don't worry just yet…
(2021-01-10). As Brexit reality hits home, it's starting to expose the DUP in Northern Ireland. thecanary.co When the UK left the EU on 1 January 2021, both parties
(2021-01-10). Insurrection, The Coup & The Working Class With Professor Francis Boyle. indybay.org WorkWeek interviews Professor Frances Boyle about the insurrection and coup and what should be done about it.
(2021-01-10). CCTV — The most-surveilled commuter boroughs in London. truepublica.org.uk Research by UK network data cabling infrastructure company ACCL has found that London is the most surveilled city in Europe with around 630,000 CCTV cameras watching 9.6 million inhabitants in the UK capital. That's 68 cameras per 1,000 Londoners. People living in Paris, Madrid and Athens are surveilled far less with between 3 and 11 …
(2021-01-09). WHO has received 13 Covid vaccine proposals for emergency use, expects to get full data on Russia's Sputnik V by end of this month. rt.com 
The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently assessing several vaccines to be promoted for emergency use across the world, including those made in Russia and China, one of its most senior officials revealed on Friday | The WHO has received 13 "valid proposals" for the possible emergency listing of Covid-19 vaccines since October, the assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, Mariangela Simao, said at a press briefing. | "We have received, for example, the information from Sinopharm, we have finalized that in phase three trial and it is being authorized in some countries. We ar…
(2021-01-09). Pope to be vaccinated against Covid next week, labels opposition to jabs 'suicidal denial'. rt.com 
Pope Francis has branded opposition to Covid-19 vaccines as "suicidal denial" and announced that he will receive a jab against the coronavirus disease next week. | In a forthcoming interview, the 84-year-old leader of the Catholic Church says that "ethically" getting a vaccine against the virus should be a duty for everyone. | "Next week, we will start to do it here (in the Vatican) and I made an appointment, we must do it," Francis told Italy's Canale 5 TV station. | Segments of the interview were released on Saturday with the full comments set to be broadcast on Sunday. "There is a suicidal denial which I ca…
(2021-01-09). [Comment] Offline: The cosmopolitan state. thelancet.com Britain feels broken. Broken by COVID-19. Broken by Brexit. Broken by the lies that have been dripped into British political debates these past 5 years. Those scientists and doctors who voted to remain in the European Union—perhaps based on a belief in the public value of research and clinical networks that have been painstakingly built over half a century between the UK and its European neighbours—were accused of Project Fear. But now that the UK has finally left the EU, with the thinnest of thin deals, one can look back and say that the arguments to leave were themselves based on nothing but fear[md…
(2021-01-09). I Showed Raffensperger Evidence of Wrongful Voter Purges. He Ignored It. truthout.org 
Atlanta — Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger The record says otherwise. Republican Raffensperger did all he could leading up to the election to su…
(2021-01-09). Germany leads Europe in daily coronavirus deaths. wsws.org Germany currently has the highest number of daily coronavirus deaths in Europe.
(2021-01-09). Braving crackdown, Turkish students resist Erdogan's bid to subjugate universities. peoplesdispatch.org 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…