(2021-02-08). Headlines for February 8, 2021. democracynow.org Dems to Introduce $3,000 Benefit for Children as They Push Ahead with $1.9 Trillion Stimulus, Pentagon to Deploy Troops for Vaccination Effort as Fans Defy Warnings Around Super Bowl Parties, South Africa Halts Rollout of Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine, Wyoming GOP Censures Rep. Liz Cheney for Backing Trump's Impeachment, Judge Rules NY Republican Claudia Tenney Won Last Open House Race, Mass Protests Continue in Burma Opposing Military Coup, Removal of Aung San Suu Kyi, Indian Farmworkers Blockade Roads as Mass Protests Show No Sign of Slowing Down, Scores of People Missing and Feared Dead After Himalayan Glacier Co…
(2021-02-08). US military column enters Syria from illegal border crossing. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 08 (MNA) — News sources reported the arrival of a US military column from Iraq to Syria, stating that the military column entered Syria through an illegal border crossing.
(2021-02-07). Myanmar sees largest protest in over a decade as supporters of ousted civilian leadership demand generals reverse coup. rt.com 
Thousands of people in Myanmar participated in protest marches over the weekend, decrying the military coup. As tensions escalated, shots were reportedly fired in the air as police confronted one of the rallies. | The incident, which reportedly happened in the border town of Myawaddy on Sunday, shows the fragility of the situation. The mass protests — the largest Myanmar has seen since the 2007 crisis — have so far been largely peaceful, but the country remains in a volatile state since the start of the coup on Monday. | The police fire into the air to spread out the protestors in Myawaddy township n…
(2021-02-06). Citizen Scientists Are Filling Research Gaps. popularresistance.org The rapid spread of COVID-19 in 2020 disrupted field research and environmental monitoring efforts worldwide. Travel restrictions and social distancing forced scientists to cancel studies or pause their work for months. These limits measurably reduced the accuracy of weather forecasts and created data gaps on issues ranging from bird migration to civil rights in U.S. public schools. | Our work relies on this kind of information to track seasonal events in nature and understand how climate change is affecting them. We also recruit and train citizens for community science — projects that involve amateur or vo…
(2021-02-06). Africa suffers 'devastating impact' of COVID-19. yenisafak.com The coronavirus pandemic has had a "a devastating impact" on Africa," the South African president said on Saturday.Speaking at the 34th ordinary session of the African Union, Cyril Ramaphosa, who was the chairperson of the union for 2020, said global inequalities were further revealed by the pandemic."COVID-19 has not been defeated and there will be difficult times ahead," he said, adding there is also "a long road to travel to silence the guns in Africa."The pan-African body had planned to achieve the silencing of the guns by 2020, but due to the threat of terrorism, cross-border clashes and civil wars, the plan…
(2021-02-06). FROM THE FIELD: Sharing migration stories across generations in Central America. news.un.org Two migrants, one young and one old, have been sharing their experiences of migrating to a small town in Costa Rica in Central America.
(2021-02-06). Modi regime steps up repression of farmers opposing its pro-agribusiness laws. wsws.org After witnessing the massive security presence and layers of police barricades at one of the protest camps on the Delhi border, a group of MPs said the farmers were being treated like "prisoners in jail."
(2021-02-05). On the Line: Farmwork in the Era of COVID-19. progressive.org Being essential during the COVID-19 era also means that farmworkers are forced to put themselves at risk of infection in the orchards.
(2021-02-05). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. counterpunch.org Since 2015, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has ruled the Senate with an iron hand, describing himself as "the Guardian of Gridlock." He was Senator "NO," except for confirming over 200 mostly corporatist federal judges. Now comes a new challenge for Mitch McConnell as he leads 49 other Republican Senators, twenty of whom are up
(2021-02-05). Statement on Sens. Stabenow and Peters' Vote to Withhold COVID Relief from Undocumented Immigrants. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-02-05). Signal asks users to set up TLS proxy servers to help Iranians 'bypass' censorship. middleeasteye.net 
Signal asks users to set up TLS proxy servers to help Iranians 'bypass' censorship | Messaging service blocked in Iran after thousands migrated from WhatsApp over privacy concerns | Fri, 02/05/2021 – 13: 20 | Privacy experts have described the Signal messaging app to be more secure than its rivals (AFP) | Signal has asked users to set up TLS proxy servers to help Iranians bypass censorship of the app, af…
(2021-02-05). Roaming Charges: Xenophobia With a Human Face. counterpunch.org 
+ As the Biden administration announced its intention to leave in place Trump's border rules "for now," it might be worth recalling when Biden's campaign manager derisively quipped that they didn't see Hispanics as part of their "path to victory." + 5500 children were separated at the border in the last four years, at least 628 of them
(2021-02-05). Erdogan says Turkey now has 8.4M university students. yenisafak.com The number of university students in Turkey increased from 1.6 million to 8.4 million over an 18-year period, the country's president said on Thursday.Turkey's higher education has reached a capacity that goes beyond our borders, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a project presentation meeting of the Council of Higher Education in the capital Ankara.He said the number of universities in Turkey has gone up from 76 to 207 and the number of staff members at these institutes increased from 70,000 to 180,000."Our female students have an important place in this rise. The ratio of female students has increased from…
(2021-02-05). The 'routine' of ceasefire violations along Pakistan-India border. laprensalatina.com By Jaime Leon Shaheen Top, Pakistan, Feb 5 (efe-epa).- Sounds of gunfire and mortar bursts are a part of the "routine" life of Shabbir Ahmad, a Pakistani living near the de facto border between Pakistan and India in the disputed Kashmir region, an area where dozens of people die each year in attacks between the …
(2021-02-05). Dredging operation in Astara port. en.mehrnews.com ASTARA, Feb. 06 (MNA) — The dredging operation of the Astara border port began with the establishment of special dredging devices with the aim of increasing the depth of the canal and facilitating the traffic and mooring of large ships.