2021-04-17: News Headlines

Manlio Dinucci (2021-04-17). U.S. maneuvers threaten war with Russia. workers.org On April 9, the Turkish officials announced to Russian counterparts that Washington, as it must by treaty, had informed them that in the following week the U.S. would send two warships to the Black Sea, which also borders Russia and Ukraine. This is part of the extended framework of tension . . . |

MEE, agencies (2021-04-17). Dozens dead as migrants' boat capsizes off Tunisia coast. middleeasteye.net Dozens dead as migrants' boat capsizes off Tunisia coast | UN calls for expanded state-led search and rescue operations as number of migrants leaving Tunisia for Europe triples | Sat, 04/17/2021 – 10: 09 | The bodies of migrants are recovered at a Tunisian port after a shipwreck in December 2020 (AFP) | At least 41 people, including a child, drowned when a boat capsized off the Tunisian co…

Staff (2021-04-17). Venezuela Expands Operations Against Colombian Paramilitary Gangs. orinocotribune.com Venezuela has expanded military operations in the border state of Apure to capture Colombian narco-paramilitary groups and eliminate foreign aggression. | "We are stepping up operations in Apure state (bordering Colombia) to guarantee internal order and for the capture of armed Colombian drug traffickers and their collaborators in the area," declared the Strategic Operational Command of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (CEOFANB) account on Friday, April 16. | In this sense, the command emphasized in a post on its official Twitter account that the military will continue actions aimed at eliminating foreign aggr…

Staff (2021-04-17). Venezuelan Army to Begin Clearing Mines in Apure State near Colombian Border. orinocotribune.com Major General Domingo Hernández Lárez, general commander of the Bolivarian Army, reported on his Twitter account that a military team has already been deployed to begin demining in the state of Apure, suffering from Colombian narco-paramilitary violence that included landmines planted to cause terror among local residents. | The minesweeper, the commander wrote, is an armored unit designed by Army engineers, dubbed the "patrol alligator." | El barremina diseñado por los ingenieros de combate del Ejército Bolivariano está listo para ir al Alto Apure e iniciar el desminado en nuestro territorio nacional del Alto Ap…

W.T. Whitney Jr. (2021-04-17). Venezuela Border Conflict Mixes Drug Trafficking and Regime-Change Ambitions. orinocotribune.com By W.T. Whitney Jr. — Apr 16, 2021 | Beginning in mid-March, Venezuelan army units have been attacking and expelling Colombian operatives active in Apure state. These have long used Venezuela's border region to prepare cocaine arriving from Colombia and ship it to the United States and Europe. The fighting has subsided; eight Venezuelan troops were killed. Seeking safety, 3,500 Venezuelans crossed the Meta River—an Orinoco tributary—to Arauca in Colombia. | The bi-national border is unmonitored and long enough, at 1367 miles, to encourage smuggling and the undocumented passage of cross-border tr…

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2021-04-16). Venezuela border conflict mixes drug trafficking and regime-change ambitions. peoplesworld.org Since mid-March, Venezuelan army units have been attacking and expelling Colombian operatives active in Apure state, in western Venezuela. Colombians have long used the border regions to prepare cocaine arriving from Colombia and ship it to the United States and Europe. Fighting has subsided; eight Venezuelan troops were killed. Seeking safety, 3,500 Venezuelans crossed the …

RT (2021-04-16). Russian MiG-31 fighter jet races to escort American spy plane in skies over Pacific Ocean, amid growing tensions with Washington. rt.com A US Air Force reconnaissance plane flying in international airspace has been shadowed through the skies by a Russian fighter pilot off the country's Pacific coast, Ministry of Defense officials in Moscow confirmed on Friday. | A spokesperson for the department revealed that the Russian MiG-31 jet "took off from an airfield in Kamchatka to identify [the American plane] and accompany it. The fighter pilot identified the target as a strategic reconnaissance aircraft RC-135." | The ministry confirmed that the spy plane, equipped with high-tech reconnaissance equipment, had not violated the border and was escorted…

Anonymous669 (2021-04-16). Saryat Ansar Abu Baker As-Siddiq Launched New Attack On Turkish Forces In Greater Idlib. southfront.org Turkish army vehicles and military personnel are seen near the Turkish-Syrian border on October 12, 2019. IMAGE: Reuters / Murad Sezer | On April 15, Saryat Ansar Abu Baker As-Siddiq announced that its cells had carried out yet another attack against Turkish forces in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib. | In a statement, the group claimed that its cells struck a convoy of the Turkish military on the eastern corniche of Idlib city with an improvised explosive device (IED). According to the group's claims, at least…

Anonymous103 (2021-04-16). NATO Activities In Ukraine And Near Its Borders — Russian MFA Briefing. southfront.org M. Zakharova. Source: www.mid.ru | A part of NATO Activities In Ukraine And Near Its Borders: | The United States and its NATO allies continue accusing Russia of building up its military units and equipment near the border…

Anonymous669 (2021-04-16). 40 Years Late: Turkish Drone Targets House In Kobane Where PKK àñcalan Once Lived (Video). southfront.org Screen grab from the Hawar News Agency (ANHA) video. | Early on April 16, a Turkish combat drone struck a house in northeastern Syria where Abdullah àñcalan, the leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), once lived. | The house is located in the village of Alblur, 5 km to the west of the town of Kobane in northeastern Aleppo. The house is located only few kilometers away from the border line with Turkey."The targeted house is the house the commander stayed in during 1979 while crossing from northern Kur…

WSWS (2021-04-16). Julian Assange mural unveiled in Berlin. wsws.org The Captain Borderline mural is a powerful reminder of the real issues involved in the persecution of Assange, and of the real forces being deployed against him.

WSWS (2021-04-16). US announces deal with Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras to use military against migrants. wsws.org The same oligarchies that ruled Central America through US-backed dictatorships for much of the 20th century are being encouraged to employ military repression.

_____ (2021-04-16). Pandemic Discrimination Against Asian Americans Has Long Roots. popularresistance.org "I have pepper spray and I hold it every time I'm alone right now in case I see someone that is really frightening," said New York City teacher Annie Tan, who is Chinese American. | By February 2020, friends of hers had already been verbally harassed on the subway. One had been deliberately coughed on. Another was too scared to take the train anymore. | Many Asian Americans and Asian immigrants are experiencing similar incidents. | A neighbor pointed to her and said "China virus," said Ah Ying, a homecare worker in San Francisco who immigrated years ago from Taishan, China. A physical assault on an Asian American…

Kate Wheeling (2021-04-16). Climate Migration Has Come to the United States. thenation.com Climate Migration Has Come to the United States…

teleSUR (2021-04-16). Venezuelan Army to Clear Mines in Border Areas With Colombia. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) on Friday began preparations to deactivate anti-personnel mines laid by illegal Colombian armed groups in Apure state. | RELATED: | FANB Commander Gen. Domingo Hernandez said that the "Patrol Caiman" armored unit will carry out the mine clearance process. | "The minesweeper designed by our combat engineers is ready to start the demining of the Alto Apure zone, where Colomb…

Pasqualina Curcio (2021-04-16). The Desperate Plans of the Southern Command. orinocotribune.com By Pasqualina Curcio — Apr 12, 2021 | The actions perpetrated since March 21 of this year by criminal groups coming from Colombia into La Victoria in the Venezuelan territory bordering our sister country, were not improvised. They are part of Plan B of the Southern Command to destabilize our nation and overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution. | In February 2016, the then Chief of the Southern Command, Kurt Tidd, wrote in a document titled Operation Venezuela Freedom-2: "It is indispensable to emphasize that the responsibility for the elaboration, planning and partial execution of Operation Venezuela Freedom-2 at…

slorinoco (2021-04-16). Armies of Neighboring Countries are Not our Military Objectives: FARC-EP Clarifies Position on Apure. orinocotribune.com The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) distanced itself from the attacks that have occurred in Apure state in recent weeks. | Through a communiqué read by [FARC guerrilla leader] Iván Márquez, the organization clarified that its battle is within Colombian territory. | Likewise, Márquez indicated that they respect the sovereignty of governments and peoples. "We do not charge taxes to any of the nationals of those countries, much less intervene in the management of their natural wealth," he said. | Along the same lines, he pointed out that the events in the border area are "regrettable a…

W. T. Whitney (2021-04-16). Venezuela Border Conflict Mixes Drug Trafficking and Regime-Change Ambitions. counterpunch.org Since mid-March Venezuelan army units have been attacking and expelling Colombian operatives active in Apure state, in western Venezuela. Colombians have long used the border regions to prepare cocaine arriving from Colombia and ship it to the United States and Europe. Fighting has subsided; eight Venezuelan troops were killed. Seeking safety, 3,500 Venezuelans crossed the

teleSUR (2021-04-16). 'Keep Your War Away From Venezuela' Arreaza Urges Colombia. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza on Friday urged Colombia's President Ivan Duque to protect the Colombian borders and keep the war away from the Venezuelan territory. | RELATED: | "Colombia's armed groups reign and guard the Colombian drug routes while Duque does nothing to protect his country's borders," he tweeted. | Arreaza also rejected the declarations of Colombia's Foreign Affairs Minister Claudia Blu…

teleSUR (2021-04-16). Bolivia Vaccinates Convicts In Prisons Along Border With Brazil. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's Penitentiary System Director Juan Limpias Thursday announced the beginning of the vaccination program in prisons near the border with Brazil. | RELATED: | "Inmates are also vulnerable to contracting the disease. Therefore, we prioritized their vaccination," he said, adding that health workers have already immunized 67 prisoners of the Puerto Suarez Penitentiary, in Santa Cruz Department. | In the next few days,…

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