2021-01-24: News Headlines

MEE and agencies (2021-01-24). Pirates kill sailor, kidnap 15, in attack on Turkish-owned ship off Nigeria. middleeasteye.net Pirates kill sailor, kidnap 15, in attack on Turkish-owned ship off Nigeria | Crew hide for six hours before attackers break into safe area of the cargo vessel | Sun, 01/24/2021 – 11: 38 | Nigerian special forces sail to intercept pirates during a multinational maritime exercise involving 33 countries off the coast of Lagos on 20 March 2019 (AFP) | Armed pirates attacked a Turkish cargo sh…

MEE staff (2021-01-24). Israel allows US to deploy Iron Dome missile defence system in the Gulf: Report. middleeasteye.net Israel allows US to deploy Iron Dome missile defence system in the Gulf: Report | Israeli officials refuse to reveal in which countries the system will be deployed, according to Israeli newspaper | Sun, 01/24/2021 – 11: 21 | Report of US deal on Iron Domes comes against backdrop of Israel's normalisation accords with the UAE and Bahrain (AFP) | The United States is expected to soon begin deploying the Israeli-…

Pip Hinman (2021-01-24). Community rallies for an end to the genocide on Tigray. greenleft.org.au Western Australia's Tigrean community organised a second rally on January 22 against the Ethiopian government's war on the Tigray province. Alex Salmon reports.

yenisafak (2021-01-24). Rohingya case may face delay at The Hague. yenisafak.com A final decision at the UN's top court in the legal battle against Myanmar for the alleged genocide of Rohingya Muslims could be delayed, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is first set to rule on objections filed by Myanmar.A legal summary prepared by the New York-based Global Justice Center, shared with Anadolu Agency, stated that Myanmar has raised objections over whether the western African country of Gambia was eligible to file the November 2019 case alleging that Myanmar's atrocities against the Rohingya in Rakhine state violate the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genoci…

yenisafak (2021-01-24). Prolonged closure of schools in Africa sparks fear of setbacks. yenisafak.com In a setback that may have long-term consequences, the prolonged closure of schools in Africa due to virus-related restrictions has hampered children's learning, according to a UN official.Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Rajat Madhok, the chief of communication advocacy and partnerships at the UNICEF office in Rwanda, said there are fears that schools' prolonged closure due to coronavirus may lead students to drop out of school.He added: "Without the safety net that schools often provide, students are more vulnerable to abuse, including child labor and sexual violence."Saying that it is unfortunate that children in K…

Abdul Rahman (2021-01-24). The people want the fall of the regime: What lies behind the protests in Tunisia? peoplesdispatch.org In the 10 years since the Arab Spring, while democracy has functioned in Tunisia at a procedural level, it has not met the aspirations of the people, especially the youth…

The Canary (2021-01-23). Scientists warn against lifting lockdown amid 'more deadly' mutant coronavirus strain. thecanary.co Scientists have warned there can be no early easing of lockdown rules after evidence that the mutant coronavirus variant which emerged in the South East of England may be more deadly than the original strain.Mortality rates: Boris Johnson has appealed to people to stay home and follow the rules after he revealed the new variant may be associated with "a higher degree of mortality".He also said the government could have to bring in further restrictions on travel. This was following a warning that other new variants found in South Africa and Brazil may be more resistant to the vaccines that have been develop…

RT (2021-01-23). Stay silent, please! France's Academy of Medicine advises people to 'avoid talking' on public transport to stop spread of Covid-19. rt.com The French National Academy of Medicine has urged people to quit the chatter on packed buses and trains, where social distancing is impossible. The country's health minister earlier asked everyone to wear better quality masks. | "The compulsory mask-wearing on public transport, where physical distance cannot be respected, must be paired with a very simple precaution: avoid talking and making phone calls," the Academy said in a statement. | The Academy updated its recommendations in light of the more transmissible coronavirus mutations that were discovered in Britain and South Africa. | The High Council of Publ…

Don Fitz (2021-01-23). Do You Remember Cuba's Dedication to Angola? dissidentvoice.org Cuban blood left its stamp on the conscience of the world after the Angolan Wars of 1975-1988. Corporate politicians are united in their desire for us to ignore this reality. ***** Fed up with foreign wars, Portuguese officers overthrew Prime Minister Marcello Caetano on April 25, 1974. Many former colonies had the opportunity to define …

Ryan Cristián (2021-01-23). While The World Is Distracted By COVID, Those Under The Yoke Of US Foreign Policy Suffer Immensely. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (1/23/21). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth

yenisafak (2021-01-23). Coronavirus claims transport minister in Zimbabwe. yenisafak.com Within 24 hours, Zimbabwe has lost a second member of its leadership class to coronavirus.Joel Biggie Matiza, the Southern African country's transport minister, died late Friday from COVID-19 at a private hospital in the capital Harare.Earlier in the day former Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere also succumbed to COVID-19, and after Matiza's passing came word that Paradzai Zimondi, 73, former head of the country's prisons, was also claimed by the virus.Born in 1960 in Murewa in the Mashonaland East Province, Matiza previously worked as deputy minister of local government, public works and national housing.He wa…

yenisafak (2021-01-23). 'Egypt working to destabilize Ethiopia, East Africa'. yenisafak.com The Egyptian government has been stepping up its long-standing policy of destabilizing and weakening Ethiopia by "providing full support to anti-peace elements" and pitting neighbors against it, according to a top Ethiopian diplomat.The official, who holds a high position in the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry and asked for anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that "Egypt has intensified its destabilization efforts against Ethiopia and the volatile Horn of Africa region."Ethiopia's reformist administration, led by Nobel Laureate Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who took office in 2018, has faced multiple domestic and external sec…

Ryan Cristián (2021-01-23). Jamie Dlux Interview — The Independent Media Has Always Been Fighting For You. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to the TLAV Rokfin exclusive. Joining me today is Jamie Dlux. Link: rokfin.com/stream/3512/Jamie-Dlux-Interview—The-Independent-Media-Has-Always-Been-Fighting-For-You Or click below: Bitcoin Donations Are Appreciated: www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/bitcoin-donation (3FSozj9gQ1UniHvEiRmkPnXzHSVMc68U9f)…

Munyaradzi Makoni (2021-01-23). [World Report] South Africa responds to new SARS-CoV-2 variant. thelancet.com Land borders have been closed and restrictions continue as a new variant stresses the health system. Munyaradzi Makoni reports.

Tony Blakely, Neil Pearce, John Lynch, Shyamali Dharmage, Melissa Russell, Deborah Lawlor, Rebecca Bentley (2021-01-23). [Correspondence] Causal ordering among risk factors in the PURE study. thelancet.com Salim Yusuf and colleagues'1 findings on the heterogeneity of risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries are important. However, hazard ratios (HRs) and population-attributable fractions (PAFs) need to account for causal ordering among risk factors.2,3 PAFs calculated by use of HRs from regression models that include all risk factors simultaneously violate the principle that causation occurs in sequential steps. The calculated HR is what is left over after adjusting for risk factors that are, at least partly, on the causal pathway leading to cardiov…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-23). Kenyan health professionals continue strike after governors refuse to sign agreement. peoplesdispatch.org Kenya's nurses and clinical officers continue to be on strike as the second tier of government – the Council of Governors – has not signed the return to work formula agreed upon by the unions and the country's health ministry…

MEE staff (2021-01-22). Huge trench dug by Russia's Wagner Group may derail Libya peace process: Report. middleeasteye.net Huge trench dug by Russia's Wagner Group may derail Libya peace process: Report | Russian mercenary group accused of digging fortified trenches near Sirte, raising fears that foreign fighters will not withdraw ahead of Saturday deadline | Fri, 01/22/2021 – 17: 16 | Libya entered 2020 in midst of full-blown war between rival GNA and Haftar's National Libyan Army (AFP/File photo) | Russia-backed Wagner Group mer…

MEE staff (2021-01-22). UN expert condemns Egypt's detention of journalists, human rights defenders. middleeasteye.net UN expert condemns Egypt's detention of journalists, human rights defenders | Special rapporteur calls on authorities to stop silencing dissent and shrinking civic space in country | Fri, 01/22/2021 – 21: 23 | Egypt has embarked on brutal crackdown on dissent since 2013, jailing more than 60,000 activists (AFP) | A UN rights expert condemned Egypt for targeting journalists, human rights defenders and their fam…

MEE correspondent (2021-01-22). Egypt: In shuttering a national icon, the government has unleashed rare public anger. middleeasteye.net Egypt: In shuttering a national icon, the government has unleashed rare public anger | Founded by Nasser and involved in the construction of the Aswan Dam, the Egyptian Steel and Iron Company has a proud history. Now its days are numbered | Fri, 01/22/2021 – 10: 58 | Picture dated November 1964 showing the construction of the Aswan high dam in Egypt. Egyptian Steel and Iron Company's me…

Nadda Osman (2021-01-22). Egypt: $32m 'Cairo Eye' landmark plans denounced as hospitals suffer. middleeasteye.net Egypt: $32m 'Cairo Eye' landmark plans denounced as hospitals suffer | Many have said the money could be better spent on the country's Covid-19 response, as hospitals are overwhelmed | Fri, 01/22/2021 – 12: 34 | The new project is planned for construction in the congested upscale Zamalek neighbourhood (Screengrab/Twitter) | The announcement of Egypt's plans to build a "Cairo Eye" landmark in the heart of…

teleSUR (2021-01-22). Case of the South African SARS-CoV-2 Strain Detected in Cuba. telesurenglish.net Based on the border protocols for the pandemic's surveillance and control, the variant was detected in an asymptomatic traveler, the scientist confirmed. | Guzmán specified that the patient and his contacts were isolated and showed no symptoms of the infectious disease. | RELATED: | According to Guzman, it cannot be assured, nor discarded, that the increase of COVID-19 cases in the country is due to the establishmen…

news.un (2021-01-22). Mali in transition: UN peacekeeping chief takes stock of political and security developments. news.un.org Against the backdrop of a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Mali and the wider Sahel region, the UN peacekeeping chief concluded a visit to the restive northwest African nation on Thursday.

yenisafak (2021-01-22). UN seeks more peacekeepers for Central African Republic. yenisafak.com UN peace mission in the Central African Republic has sought more peacekeepers and equipment amid escalating violence in the country since last month."We need an increase in our capacity in order to respond to this new threat which is destabilizing the country even further," Mankeur Ndiaye, head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (MINUSCA), told the UN Security Council at a virtual meeting late Thursday."If our requests are not heard, the response of the mission, and most particularly that of the forces, is going to be to do whatever it can. But troops are currently deployed over extremely large areas a…

teleSUR (2021-01-22). Mali To Start COVID-19 Vaccination With Support From COVAX. telesurenglish.net On Friday, Mali's Ministry of Health announced that the COVID-19 vaccination campaign begins in April as the government plans to acquire 8.4 million doses. | RELATED: | The authorities explained that health workers, the elderly, and those with comorbidities would be prioritized. The government will carry out the immunization with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which will arrive in the country by the end of March. | We're proud to release a report…

Jon Queally, staff writer (2021-01-22). 'Deeply Alarming': AstraZeneca Charging South Africa More Than Double What Europeans Pay for Covid-19 Vaccine. commondreams.org "This is the problem when you have essential medicines in the hands of big business, with almost no transparency as to pricing." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/astrazeneca_covid_vaccine_0.jpg

WorkWeek (2021-01-22). SF Bay View Editor Has Cell Phone Seized & Google Fires Black Scientist Dr. Timnit Gebru. indybay.org WorkWeek covers the effort to stop SF Bay View Editor Malik Washington from doing his work. The for profit halfway house run by the Geo Group ordered that his cell phone be seized to stop him from doing his work after the facility in the Terderloin was exposed for having a Covid outbreak. We interview his lawyer Richard Tan. | Also WorkWeek looks at the firing of Google top AI scientist Dr. Timnit Gebru. WorkWeek looks at the reason she was fired.

teleSUR (2021-01-22). The Brazilian COVID-19 Strain Might Be Present in Peru. telesurenglish.net Peru's Regional Health Director Carlos Calampa reported the identification of suspected cases of the COVID-19 strain originated in Manaos (Brazil). The new strain is independent of those recorded in the United Kingdom and South Africa. | RELATED: | Calampa pointed out that there were no doubts in terms of clinical diagnose due to the accelerated increase in COVID-19 cases with similar characteristics to those report…

Ryan Cristián (2021-01-22). The SolarWinds Hack, The Takeover Of The US & The Final Stage Of The War On You. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (1/22/21). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth

WorkWeeek (2021-01-22). Thursday 1/21: SF BayView Editor Malik Washington Journalist Rights & Google Firing Of Dr. Timnit Gebru. indybay.org KPOO.COM San Francisco | KPOO 98.5 FM…

WSWS (2021-01-22). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Thousands of UK energy workers continue strikes against hire-and-fire; French energy workers strike against privatisation; indefinite strike by metalworkers at South African company against redundancies…

Colin Todhunter (2021-01-22). Farmers' Protests Reflect Existential Crisis of Indian Agriculture. counterpunch.org With over 800 million people, rural India is arguably the most interesting and complex place on the planet but is plagued by farmer suicides, child malnourishment, growing unemployment, increased informalisation, indebtedness and an overall collapse of agriculture. Given that India is still an agrarian-based society, renowned journalist P Sainath says what is taking place can be described

Whitney Webb (2021-01-21). Another Mega Group Spy Scandal? Samanage, Sabotage, and the SolarWinds Hack. thelastamericanvagabond.com The devastating hack on SolarWinds was quickly pinned on Russia by US intelligence. A more likely culprit, Samanage, a company whose software was integrated into SolarWinds' software just as the "back door" was inserted, is deeply tied to Israeli intelligence and intelligence-linked families such as the Maxwells. In mid-December of 2020, a massive hack compromised

RT (2021-01-21). 'Very high risk': ECDC urges tougher Covid-19 measures amid mutant strains from UK, Brazil, and South Africa. rt.com The Covid-19 strains from the UK, Brazil and South Africa pose a very high risk due to their increased transmissibility and must be stamped out with tougher health measures, the EU's infectious diseases agency has said. | The transmissibility of the three variants will likely push infection rates higher, leading to more hospitalizations and "death rates across all age groups," the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in a statement on Thursday. | "The overall risk associated with the introduction and community spread of variants of concern is therefore assessed as being high/very high…

Adlène Meddi (2021-01-21). France vows 'symbolic actions' but no apologies for colonisation of Algeria. middleeasteye.net France vows 'symbolic actions' but no apologies for colonisation of Algeria | While a new French report highlights moves to reconcile Paris and Algiers on 132 violent years of colonisation, some thorny issues remain | Thu, 01/21/2021 – 16: 15 | Algerians arrested during a French military operation on 21 April 1956, during the war of independence, in Algeria's Tablat and Bir Rabalou region (AFP)

MEE and agencies (2021-01-21). Tunisian groups say police arrested 1,000 people over six days of protests. middleeasteye.net Tunisian groups say police arrested 1,000 people over six days of protests | Rights groups said civilians who voiced support for protests on Facebook during the crackdown were also detained | Thu, 01/21/2021 – 14: 17 | Police used rubber bullets and water cannons against anti-government protests who hurled rocks and petrol bombs (AFP) | Tunisian security forces have arrested at least 1,000…

Ryan Cristián (2021-01-21). The COVID Illusion, An 'Unauthorized Human Experiment' & The MAGA Straw-Man. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (1/20/21). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth

news.un (2021-01-21). Central African Republic: UN mission chief appeals for more peacekeepers. news.un.org The top UN official in the Central African Republic (CAR) appealed to the Security Council on Thursday for more peacekeepers and equipment amid escalating violence surrounding elections last month.

Don Fitz (2021-01-21). Remembering Cuba's Commitment to Angola's Liberation Movement. globalresearch.ca Cuban blood left its stamp on the conscience of the world after the Angolan Wars of 1975-1988. Corporate politicians are united in their desire for us to ignore this reality. | Fed up with foreign wars, Portuguese officers overthrew Prime Minister …

oneworld.press (2021-01-21). To What Degree Is The US Really Meddling In Uganda?>. oneworld.press The Ugandan government's accusations of American meddling in the country's latest elections warrant closer scrutiny to identify the degree to which this is really happening and whether or not it can realistically succeed.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-21). Plans to liquidate Egyptian Iron and Steel Company draw protest. peoplesdispatch.org The decision by the management of the Egyptian Iron and Steel Company to liquidate the company has led to protests with unions saying that up to 8,000 employees will lose their jobs…