2021-01-18: News Headlines

WSWS (2021-01-18). Massive rise in unemployment in Germany during the pandemic. wsws.org The German employment agency published the official unemployment figures for December 2020, reporting an increase to 2.7 million unemployed, 480,000 more than in the same month last year.

WSWS (2021-01-18). United Kingdom COVID-19 variant reaches New Zealand. wsws.org The arrival of the more contagious UK and South African strains underscores the global nature of the virus, which cannot be contained within national borders.

Marco Cáceres (2021-01-18). No Evidence COVID-19 Vaccines Will Block Spread of Coronavirus. globalresearch.ca On Nov. 9, 2020, Pfizer, Inc. announced that the experimental messenger RNA (mRNA) BNT162b2 vaccine for COVID-19 it developed in partnership with Germany's BioNTech SE had an efficacy rate of 90 percent, based on the results of human clinical trials …

WSWS (2021-01-18). After COVID-19 kills tram driver in Berlin, transit workers in Germany demand more security. wsws.org Every day, the 15,000 employees of the Berlin transport association BVG and tens of thousands of passengers risk infection with the coronavirus.

WSWS (2021-01-18). Spanish hospitals on brink of collapse as COVID-19 cases explode. wsws.org As COVID-19 infections reach new highs, medical professionals in Spain warn that hospitals will soon be overwhelmed by admissions to intensive care units.

Paul Antonopoulos (2021-01-18). Meeting Between Moldovan and Ukrainian Leaders Was to Coordinate Actions Against Russia. globalresearch.ca The visit of Moldovan President Maia Sandu to Ukraine last week is the first interaction between the two neighboring countries at the highest level in recent years. For Sandu, this trip became her foreign policy premiere since she became president …

Rayhan Uddin (2021-01-18). UN urged to take action against France over 'entrenching Islamophobia'. middleeasteye.net UN urged to take action against France over 'entrenching Islamophobia' | Coalition of 36 organisations submits complaint to UN Human Rights Council, accusing France of violating international law over treatment of Muslims | Mon, 01/18/2021 – 12: 59 | French police outside the Great Mosque in Paris amid a heightened risk of terror attacks on places of worship, October 2020 (AFP/File photo) | A coalitio…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-18). Saudi executions at record low as five convicted as minors still on death row. middleeasteye.net Saudi executions at record low as five convicted as minors still on death row | Rights groups fear that five people convicted as juveniles could still face the death penalty despite changes in law

| Mon, 01/18/2021 – 12: 06 | Supporters in Greece protesting the execution of prominent Saudi Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration near Saudi Arabia's embassy i…

Hannah McCarthy (2021-01-18). Peace in Nagorno-Karabakh Remains Fragile, With Key Issues Unresolved. counterpunch.org As Armenia ends its annual two-week holiday period, the mood in the country is sombre. The former Soviet state is continuing to reckon with its losses from the six-week war it waged last year with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The Nagorno-Karabakh region, or Artsakh to Armenians, lies within Azerbaijan's international border. However, up until last year,

Thomas Klikauer — Norman Simms (2021-01-18). An Ordinary German Neo-Nazi. counterpunch.org In 2017, a new German political party semi Neo-Nazi called AfD — Alternative for Germany — swept into Germany's federal parliament winning 12.6% of the popular vote. By the end of 2020, the AfD entered all sixteen state parliaments, even though its support declined to 9% in recent months. Among the state legislatures in which

Stephen Sefton (2021-01-18). Western Society in Crisis: Repression and Impoverishment of Their Own People. globalresearch.ca Ever since at least the Iraq War of 2003, the fundamental alternatives facing North American and European elites have been constant. One alternative might have been to accept a certain loss of global power so as to share global influence …

Zero Hedge (2021-01-17). Health Experts Call for Suspension of Pfizer Vaccination Among Elderly After Norway Deaths. globalresearch.ca Update (1630ET): In what can only be described as a somewhat concerning turn of events, health experts from Wuhan, China, called on Norway and other countries to suspend the use of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines produced by companies such as …

RT (2021-01-17). Russian opposition figure Navalny detained at passport control after returning to Moscow following almost five months in Germany. rt.com Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has been detained by police at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport after returning from Germany, where he had been recovering following an alleged poisoning attempt last summer. | Navalny and his wife Yulia left the plane together on Sunday evening with the rest of the passengers and drove to the terminal in a bus. The activist was arrested at the immigration desk. | Russia's prison authority has confirmed the detention. Navalny, who was wanted for breaching the terms of his probation from a previous criminal case, will remain in custody until the court rules on pre-trial res…

RT (2021-01-17). WATCH Russian opposition figure Navalny leave plane in Moscow before being detained. rt.com Alexey Navalny has arrived in Moscow after spending several months recuperating in Berlin. He was detained at the airport for violating probation terms. | The plane carrying Navalny was due to land in Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, but it was instead diverted to the capital's Sheremetyevo Airport. The airliner told the media that the last-minute change happened due to "technical issues" on the ground. | The activist left the plane and entered the airport via shuttle bus. He was then detained by police during documents check at the arrivals terminal. | The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) confirmed to the medi…

RT (2021-01-17). Russia's FM spokeswoman urges US & other countries decrying Navalny's detention 'not to interfere' with Russian law. rt.com Instead of rushing to condemn the detention of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny upon his return to Moscow, foreign politicians should focus on domestic issues at hand and respect the Russian law, Maria Zakharova has said. | In a Facebook

RT (2021-01-17). Austrians must wear FFP2 respirators in malls & on public transport, govt says amid lockdown extension. rt.com Austria has introduced tighter rules on social distancing and mask-wearing, with a nationwide lockdown extended until February 7. Life will hopefully return to normal in the summer, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said. | The new rules "don't make anyone happy and are anything but popular, yet they are necessary, even if everyone is already fed up," Kurz said on Sunday. | Beginning January 25, Austrians will have to wear respirator-type FFP2 masks in supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations, and on public transport. The FFP2s offer better protection against airborne infections than cheaper, single-use surgical mas…

RT (2021-01-17). 'Absolute nonsense': Iranian FM rejects French claim that Tehran is building up nuclear weapons capacity. rt.com Iran's FM Javad Zarif has blasted France for its continuous support of "Saudi war criminals," dismissing French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian's claims that Tehran is building up nuclear weapons capacity as "absolute nonsense." | The top Iranian diplomat took to Twitter on Sunday, sending an angry message to France's foreign minister. Zarif signaled that Paris is in no position to lecture Tehran on anything, pointing fingers at French arms sales to Saudi Arabia — and getting quite personal with Le Drian as well. | Dear colleague: You kick-started your cabinet career with arms sales to Saudi war criminals.

sputniknews (2021-01-17). Zakharova Calls For Respecting International Law After Sullivan Comments on Navalny. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – In response to comments on the detention of Russian opposition vlogger Alexey Navalny made by Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor for US President-elect Joe Biden, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova advised foreign officials to respect international law and focus on domestic issues.

sputniknews (2021-01-17). European Council President Calls on Russia to Release Opposition Vlogger Navalny. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The European Council president, Charles Michel, on Sunday urged Russian authorities to release Russian political opposition vlogger Alexey Navalny.

Max Parry (2021-01-17). The Russian Revolution: Separating Truth From Myth. dissidentvoice.org There is a deceitful and ahistorical myth that frequently resurfaces in right-wing circles seeking to discredit socialism with lies about the Russian Revolution. No matter how many times it has been invalidated as fabrication, the reactionary mythos endures. As might be expected, the author is referring to the preposterous claim that American capitalists — or …

Dr. Rudolf Hà§nsel (2021-01-17). Call for Action: The Necessary Struggle of the Personal Conscience Against "The New World Order" globalresearch.ca What could be more natural than to enjoy and draw strength from the wisdom of great European poets and thinkers such as Goethe, Schiller, Rolland or Camus? Are we not all — every single one! — urgently called upon to …

RT (2021-01-16). If you want the jab, raise your Hans: German vaccine officials left with no choice but to guess people's ages from their names. rt.com German privacy law is rigorous. Forced to improvise, officials in one state sent letters to people with old-sounding names, in the hopes of inviting them to get vaccinated. | The German state of Lower Saxony began vaccinating citizens against Covid-19 at the end of December, with priority given to the elderly and vulnerable. People over the age of 80 have been sent invitations urging them to make a vaccination appointment, but the state's strict privacy laws have hampered this effort. | So, guessing based on the names' popularity, those named Hans, Klaus, or Ilse may have received invitations to get vaccinated…

RT (2021-01-16). Argentina receives second batch of Russian Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 (VIDEO). rt.com A plane carrying 300,000 more doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus has landed in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires to allow the country to complete immunization of its frontline medics. | The refrigerated containers with the vaccine were delivered on Saturday from Moscow by a special flight of the Latin American country's flagship carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas. | "Those new doses represent the second component needed to conclude the vaccination after the first stage," Gines Gonzalez Garcia, Argentina's health minister, wrote on Twitter. | Llegaron al país 300.000 nuevas dosis de vacun…

The Canary (2021-01-16). UK to face short-term delay in delivery of the Pfizer vaccine. thecanary.co The UK is set to face short-term delays in delivery of the Pfizer coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine as the pharmaceutical company upgrades its production capacity.Delays: Pfizer is upscaling production at its plant in Puurs, Belgium. This is in an to produce more doses than originally planned for 2021 — temporarily reducing deliveries to all European countries. Shipments of the vaccine, produced in partnership with Germany's BioNTech, to the UK are set to be affected during January. But the overall number of doses due to be delivered between January and March will remain the same, according to the US fir…

WSWS (2021-01-16). French government rejects lockdown as COVID-19 deaths sweep Europe. wsws.org The official policy of imposing a 6 p.m. curfew while keeping schools and nonessential production open ensures that hundreds of thousands will keep dying across Europe.

WSWS (2021-01-16). Network Meeting of the Action Committees for Safe Education: Pupils, workers and students discuss perspectives for a European-wide general strike. wsws.org In introducing the meeting, Gregor Link of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality referred to the now almost 400,000 confirmed COVID deaths in the European Union.

RT (2021-01-16). Belarus risks angering US over order of advanced Russian S-400 missile system that has sparked worries for NATO warplanes. rt.com The Ministry of Defense in Belarus announced on Thursday that it is at an advanced stage of negotiations with Russia to obtain one of the world's most sophisticated anti-aircraft missile systems. | Igor Golub, the commander of the country's Air Force, told reporters that "we are continuing pre-contract work to equip our missile units that are currently using the S-300 systems with the new S-400," its more modern successor. He added that "we have already signed contracts [with Russia] for the supply of Mi-35 multifunctional attack helicopters and the second batch of Su-30SM fighter jets." | Commenting on recent…

Global Research News (2021-01-16). Selected Articles: Martin Luther King Day 2021. globalresearch.ca By January 15 is the day on which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born, in Atlanta, Georgia, …

Prabhat Patnaik (2021-01-16). Engels on the Peasant War in Germany. mronline.org At a time when peasant masses in the country are engaged in a valiant struggle for the repeal of the Central government's three infamous laws, and have laid peaceful siege to Delhi, braving rains and bitter cold, it is worth recalling Friedrich Engels' study of the peasant war in Germany in 1525, that also celebrated …

Workers World Party (2021-01-16). 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 . . . |

sputniknews (2021-01-16). Federal Police Say Frankfurt Airport Partially Closed After Man Yelled 'Allahu Akbar'. sputniknews.com BERLIN (Sputnik) – The Frankfurt Airport was partially closed on Saturday after a 38-year-old Slovenian national yelled "I will kill you all, Allahu Akbar" toward law enforcement officers in Terminal 1, the German Federal Police said.

teleSUR (2021-01-16). After User Feedback, WhatsApp Delays Changing Service Standards. telesurenglish.net "We are postponing the date when people will be asked to review and accept the new terms," Facebook's Whatsapp said in a blog post. | The company cancelled the February 8 deadline for users to accept the new rules, which include sharing their information with Facebook servers. | RELATED: | The change will be thoroughly reviewed and was delayed until May 15. The new terms were rejected by users outside of Europe who do not accept that a d…

WSWS (2021-01-15). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Around 55,000 Swedish care workers to begin industrial action today over pay, conditions and increased workload during pandemic; British gas workers plan further strikes to defend pay and conditions as Telecom workers in strike ballot.

news.un (2021-01-15). COVID-19 committee stresses need for equitable vaccine access, more data sharing. news.un.org As COVID-19 cases spike in parts of Europe, Africa and the Americas, and new variants of the virus emerge in some countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday called for greater global collaboration in ending the pandemic.

WSWS (2021-01-15). How Germany's Left Party promotes herd immunity. wsws.org As was the case with the federal government in Berlin and every other state government in the pandemic, profits took precedence over human lives for the Left Party's only state premier, Bodo Ramelow in Thuringia.

RT (2021-01-15). EC president von der Leyen dares European nations to call her bluff with announcement of (mandatory?) vaccine certificates. rt.com Europeans must carry certificates proving they've been vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel, EC president Ursula von der Leyen told Portuguese media – likely shocking Europeans who'd never heard of such a rule. | Von der Leyen sprung the idea of a "mutually recognized vaccination certificate" as a "medical requirement" for travel on Thursday in the course of praising a similar plan outlined to her in a letter from Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. | "It is a medical requirement to have a certificate proving that you have been vaccinated," von der Leyen told Portuguese reporters. | While Mitsotakis' plan was not m…

RT (2021-01-15). 'Unacceptable': 6 EU countries urge bloc to address Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine delays, as Canada also flags supply issues. rt.com Six EU governments have written to the bloc's executive to call for action as deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech are being delayed, while supply issues have also been reported in Canada. | The health ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia called on the EU Commission to ensure the "stability and transparency of timely deliveries" of the Pfizer jab in a letter on Friday. | "This situation is unacceptable. Not only does it impact the planned vaccination schedules, it also decreases the credibility of the vaccination process," the letter reads, according to Reute…

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?

M.K. Bhadrakumar (2021-01-15). Germany draws another line in the sand for the U.S. mronline.org Maas underscored that Berlin "does not need to talk about European sovereignty if that is understood as us (Germany) doing everything in future the way Washington wants."

WSWS (2021-01-15). Fascist coup in Washington accelerates Spanish army's coup plotting. wsws.org Spain's conservative Popular Party, the main parliamentary opposition to the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government, is debating whether to endorse the campaign waged by army officers and the fascist Vox party for a coup d'état.

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 28 June 2019. (AFP) | The presidents of Turkey and France have…

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…

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."

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…

teleSUR (2021-01-15). Paraguay Approves Emergency Use of Russian Vaccine. telesurenglish.net The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced on Friday that Paraguay's Ministry of Health authorized the Sputnik V vaccine's emergency use. | RELATED: | "Registration of Sputnik V vaccine in Paraguay proves the increasing interest of Latin American countries in a safe and effective Russian vaccine against coronavirus," said the CEO of Russia's sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev. | El anuncio de esta mañana del Fondo S…

sputniknews (2021-01-15). New Delhi Approves $6.5 Billion Deal to Buy 83 'Game Changer' Tejas Fighter Jets. sputniknews.com Even as it moves to buy locally-designed fighter jets, the Indian military has also bought dozens of French-made Rafale and Russian-made Su-30MKI fighters, as it retires a generation of older jets.

Laura Flanders (2021-01-15). We Should Learn From Georgia to Show Us the Way Forward. commondreams.org Over slow generations, they built a broad enough "we" and an effective bottom up force that formed not just a victorious voting block this year, but a caring community dedicated explicitly to dismantling white supremacy. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/abrams.jpg

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 …

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, …

WSWS (2021-01-15). Germany records highest daily coronavirus death toll as fatalities double in just one month. wsws.org While the federal and state governments claim that a tougher lockdown came into force on January 11, all of industry, offices, most schools, childcare facilities and public transport are operating as usual.