Daily Archives: January 18, 2021

2021-01-18: News Headlines

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.

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,

The Canary (2021-01-17). Survivors of fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region face threat of starvation. thecanary.co Starvation is threatening the survivors of more than two months of fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region. Authorities say more than 4.5 million people there need emergency food."The population is dying": The first humanitarian workers to arrive, after pleading with the Ethiopian government for access, describe weakened children dying from diarrhea, empty shops and refugees begging for something to eat. One new report says parts of Tigray are likely a step below famine.Mari Carmen Vinoles is the head of the emergency unit for Doctors Without Borders. She said "There is an extreme urgent need" to scale up the…

_____ (2021-01-17). Migrant Caravan Heads To United States From Honduras. popularresistance.org On Tuesday, the outgoing US president, Donald Trump, known for his tough stance on immigration, warned that if his policies are reversed, as Biden has pledged to do, "a tidal wave" of illegal migration will follow. | A migrant caravan of reportedly thousands is heading to the United States from Honduras, asking the incoming Biden administration to "honor its commitments", apparently referring to the president-elect's pledges to reverse most of Trump's immigration policies, according to media reports. | According to a statement issued by the migrant rights group Pueblo Sin Fronteras ["People Without Borders"], and…

RT (2021-01-17). Massive caravan of Honduran migrants fights Guatemalan troops on journey to US border (PHOTOS, VIDEOS). rt.com Hundreds of migrants from Honduras have clashed with Guatemala's stick-wielding soldiers after a large caravan breached the country's border en route to the US. | Video from the scene shows migrants desperately attempting to push through a thick formation of soldiers blocking a road near the village of Vado Hondo in eastern Guatemala. A large group manages to break through the ranks, however, stick-wielding soldiers quickly intercept the majority of them and beat them back. | Blocking caravan: Guatemalan soldiers clash with migrants from Honduras

teleSUR (2021-01-17). Guatemala Prevents Honduran Migrants From Heading To US Border. telesurenglish.net Guatemala's Military forces Sunday prevented the passage of more than 6,000 Honduran migrants who were trying to continue their way to the Mexico-U.S. border. | RELATED: | Guatemala's Migration Institute (GIM) Director Guillermo Diaz reported that between 7,000 and 8,000 migrants had crossed the border since Friday, highlighting that 992 migrants were deported, 163 of which were minors. | Violent clashes were seen b…

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…

_____ (2021-01-17). The Jewish Supremacist State. popularresistance.org The respected Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem, has now officially reached this conclusion: "[T]he entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is organized under a single principle: advancing and cementing the supremacy of one group—Jews—over another—Palestinians"; "A regime that uses laws, practices and organized violence to cement the supremacy of one group over another is an apartheid regime." | The B'Tselem position paper focuses on four aspects of Israeli apartheid. Two aspects—Jewish-only immigration and Jewish-only land development—operate in the…

sputniknews (2021-01-16). Migrant Caravan Heads to US From Honduras, Calls on Biden Administration to 'Honor Its Commitments'. sputniknews.com On Tuesday, the outgoing US president, Donald Trump, known for his tough stance on immigration, warned that if his policies are reversed, as Biden has pledged to do, "a tidal wave" of illegal migration will follow.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-16). A new migrant caravan leaves from Honduras for the US. peoplesdispatch.org Over 3,000 Hondurans have embarked on a perilous journey to the US in the absence of a response from the far-right government of President Juan Orlando Hernández to the socio-economic crisis in the country…

WSWS (2021-01-16). British government rejected visa-free EU touring for musicians to bolster hostile immigration policy. wsws.org Musicians and promoters made it clear that the devastating impact of this move will not only be felt by current performers, but also be an obstacle to emerging performers in the future.

_____ (2021-01-16). The Capitol Was Stormed Long Ago. popularresistance.org There are key flashpoints that define the Trump years. The escalator speech. The "total and complete shutdown." Charlottesville. But these were not qualitatively dissimilar from the bulk of his Presidential term, during which racism and violence became ubiquitous. These forces were the water we swam in—which was already the case for BIPOC and marginalized communities. But the Trump era saw these social dynamics doused in accelerant. | The aggressive war on the border, the pathological cruelty of social service cuts, or the police siege against social movements are not the only defining facets of the Trump p…

Ron Jacobs (2021-01-15). Capitalism's Wolves in Sheep's Clothing. counterpunch.org Before Justin Trudeau was prime minister of Canada, right winger Stephen Harper held the position. A loud-mouthed, somewhat boorish right-winger, he attacked immigrants, the indigenous nations of Canada, working people, the environment and everyone to his left. Millions of Canadians breathed a huge sigh of relief when Harper was defeated in the 2012 elections. The overall

Sara Flounders (2021-01-15). Huelgas de hambre en tres cárceles de Nueva Jersey. workers.org Las sucias condiciones, el encarcelamiento indefinido y la escalada de infecciones por COVID han desencadenado huelgas de hambre desesperadas en tres cárceles del condado de Nueva Jersey. Cada cárcel funciona como una prisión con fines de lucro, alquilando un espacio a $120 por día para que ICE encarcele a migrantes . . . |

news.un (2021-01-15). Pandemic curbs trend towards ever-increasing migration. news.un.org Travel restrictions and other curbs to movement put in place in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, have put a significant dent in migration figures, but the overall trend shows 100 million more people living outside their countries of origin in 2020, compared to the year 2000, a new UN report revealed on Friday.

teleSUR (2021-01-15). Honduras: 2nd Migrant Caravan of 2021 Heads to US-Mexico Border. telesurenglish.net Over 3,000 Hondurans Friday departed from San Pedro Sula to the border with Guatemala. It is the second migrant caravan to leave the country this week, hoping to reach the U.S. | RELATED: | The caravan left due to the extreme poverty and the crisis left by the pandemic and the passage of two hurricanes in November 2020. | In early Friday, the Hondurans started the walk towards the border with Guatemala, 100 kilomet…

RT (2021-01-15). Microsoft, Oracle & Co full speed ahead on Covid-19 vaccine passports, citing incipient government demand. rt.com US tech and health behemoths have joined forces to roll out yet another Covid-19 vaccination passport, dangling a return to international travel but raising more questions about the future of privacy. | Along with healthcare nonprofit Mayo Clinic, health and tech companies including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle have united to form the Vaccination Credential Initiative, aimed at devising a secure "health passport" that tracks the bearer's vaccination status across borders. | In a press release on Thursday, the CEO of VCI member the Commons Project Foundation argued such passports were necessary to "safely…

Fight Back (2021-01-15). MN: Progressive groups plan inauguration day rally to demand a People's Agenda. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – A broad coalition of progressive organizations will rally and march in Minneapolis on the day of the inauguration of the Biden-Harris presidency, January 20. Demonstrators will call for a People's Agenda that immediately reverses the policies of outgoing President Trump and meets the demands of working people, immigrants and oppressed nationality communities. | Protesters will gather near South High School in Minneapolis at 5 p.m. The list of demands compiled by the coalition highlighted not only the failures and racist attacks from the Trump administration, but also what they see as omissions a…

B. Prasant (2021-01-15). India's farmers dig in for long haul against Modi's neoliberalism. peoplesworld.org DELHI—As I move away from the massive kisan (farmers and peasants) assemblage at the Singhu border between the province of Haryana and Delhi, a heavy drizzle starts to add to my misery in the bone-chilling cold of late Indian winter. I plan to drive along several narrow link roads to gain access to the otherwise …

WSWS (2021-01-15). Detainees on Australia's Christmas Island continue protests against appalling conditions. wsws.org The Australian Border Force has responded to the protests with violence and punitive segregation measures.

Fight Back (2021-01-15). SEIU Local 73: Statement of support for Human Rights Day 7 in the Philippines. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73. | | On International Human Rights Day, December 10, the Philippine National Police raided the homes and jailed Dennise Velasco of Defend Jobs Philippines; Romina Astudillo, Deputy Secretary-General of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Metro Manila; Mark Ryan Cruz, Regional Executive Committee of KMU-Metro Manila; Jaymie Gregorio Jr. of KMU-Metro Manila; Joel Demate of Solidarity of Labor Rights and Welfare (SOLAR); Rodrigo Esparago of Sandigang Manggagawa sa Quezon City (SMQC), and journalist Lady Ann…

WSWS (2021-01-15). 499 and Summertime at the 10th annual GuadaLAjara Film Festival. wsws.org The most recent edition of the festival sought to convey the experience of people who have lived on both sides of the border between the United States and Mexico.