2020-12-28: News Headlines

Online News Editor (2020-12-28). Sri Lanka welcomes first tourists in nine months since Covid-19 outbreak. laprensalatina.com Colombo, Dec 28 (efe-epa).- Sri Lanka on Monday welcomed its first batch of nearly 200 tourists, more than nine months after the country closed its borders for foreigners due to the coronavirus outbreak. A flight operated by Ukrainian airline SkyUp, carrying the visitors, landed at the Mattala International Airport in the afternoon, thus resuming tourism …

news.un (2020-12-28). Bosnia and Herzegovina: Migrant lives at 'immediate risk', warn UN agencies. news.un.org United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners have called on authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to act urgently to help hundreds of migrants, stranded and without shelter, amid freezing winter temperatures.

Staff (2020-12-28). "I Just Felt Like I Had No Control Over My Body": Survivors of Alleged ICE Medical Abuse Speak Out. democracynow.org Dozens of immigrant women detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia have joined a class-action lawsuit against ICE over allegations they were subjected to nonconsensual and invasive gynecological procedures and surgeries that were later found to be unnecessary, and in some cases left them unable to have children. The lawsuit cites sworn testimony from at least 35 women about their treatment by Mahendra Amin, a physician in Ocilla, Georgia, and describes retaliation and threats of deportation for speaking out. "We have more than 40 women who filed sworn testimo…

Alan Macleod (2020-12-28). 2020 Ends as It Began: With the Looming Threat of a US War With Iran. mintpressnews.com 2020 began and ended with high-profile assassinations of Iranians, a buildup of the US military on Iran's borders, and fears of another major war in the Middle East.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-28). One month of farmers' protest in India. peoplesdispatch.org The protesters have been occupying various locations on the border of Delhi, demanding the repeal of the recently enacted agricultural laws. Braving winter and a government that refuses to listen to them, they have stood firm…

_____ (2020-12-27). Mohawk Families Being Sickened By New Dump. popularresistance.org Quebec – What would you do if you thought you were being poisoned? | What if, for the past year, a rancid smell woke you up in the dead of night and sent you rushing to the bathroom so you didn't cough blood onto your sheets? | What if you had to tell your grandkids not to play in the yard because, when the smell comes, they get migraines and a dull ache in their legs? Or each time you turn on the washing machine, your house smells like raw sewage? | What if you spent your whole life in the land of your ancestors and then, one day, an environmental disaster befell that land? And since that disaster, you have noti…

RT (2020-12-26). Land of the rising drawbridge: Japan bans ALL foreigners from entry until end of January to prevent Covid-19 mutation spread. rt.com Japan has announced that it will close its borders to all foreigners, after detecting a new strain of coronavirus in travelers arriving from the UK. The restrictions are the harshest yet imposed in response to the mutation. | The island nation will ban all new entries of foreign nationals from December 28 until the end of January, the government announced on Saturday. The decision was made following the discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus present in foreign nationals who had traveled from Britain. | Japanese nationals and foreigners living in Japan will still be permitted to return to the country, Ja…

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-26). IRGC Ground Force commander visits NW borders. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 26 (MNA) — The commander of IRGC Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour visited the Aras border area on Monday.

teleSUR (2020-12-25). Cuba to Ask COVID-19 Negative Test Result From Foreign Visitors. telesurenglish.net Cuba's Foreign Affairs Ministry (Minrex) Thursday announced that all international travelers entering the country as of January 1 must present a COVID-19 negative test result. | RELATED: | The test must be performed by a certified laboratory in the country of origin no later than 72 hours before the trip. | The measure comes amid a notable increase in daily infections on the island since the reopening of its borders in…

commondreams (2020-12-24). Border Patrol Surveils and Harasses Humanitarian Aid Station on Christmas Eve, Telling Volunteers They are Seeking a Warrant to Raid. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2020-12-24). 'Complete Disregard for Human Life': US Agents Threaten Christmas Eve Raid Against Humanitarians Giving Aid to Refugees Near Border. commondreams.org One volunteer noted the cruel irony of such actions "on the eve of a holiday meant to celebrate hospitality towards travelers from distant lands." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/border_patrol.jpg

Pavan Kulkarni (2020-12-24). Sudan and Ethiopia fail to reach an agreement on border demarcation. peoplesdispatch.org The meeting between the authorities of the two countries to demarcate the land border came a week after the attack on a Sudanese army patrol by Ethiopian forces on December 15. The failure of talks may lead to more clashes…

Melanie McFarland (2020-12-24). Forget "The Stand" — "Alice in Borderland" is the wild dystopian ride we've been waiting for. salon.com This Japanese action-thriller is brutal. It also asks us to think about how we want to live, not just survive…