Daily Archives: April 16, 2021

2021-04-16: News Headlines

Kaya Genàß (2021-04-17). [World Report] Turkey withdraws from treaty on violence against women. thelancet.com Activists object to Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, amid wider conservative ire over women's rights and attitudes towards gender. Kaya Genàß reports from Istanbul.

Party for Socialism, LIberation (2021-04-16). PSL greetings to PCC VIII Congress. liberationnews.org On behalf of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in the United States, we send you revolutionary greetings and solidarity on the occasion of the VIII Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba.

Luis De Jesus Reyes (2021-04-16). 8th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba: Between change and continuity. peoplesdispatch.org The Communist Party of Cuba is holding its 8th Party Congress which will focus on the renovation of leadership to take forward the revolutionary project…

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 …

Jose Manuel Blanco Diaz (2021-04-16). Anti-Blockade Digital Seminar: How to Turn Sanctions into Opportunities. orinocotribune.com With a presentation on the origin and reasons behind the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Venezuela by the US government, Hugbel Roa, Deputy to the National Assembly for the Bloque de la Patria, participated in the anti-blockade digital seminar "Is it Possible to Develop a Besieged Country?" | The event served as a platform to analyze how the financial and commercial attack against Venezuela intensified after Nicolás Maduro won the presidential election with popular support, following the physical departure of Commander Hugo Chávez. | In his speech, Roa detailed that it was Chávez who "guaranteed not only…

Editor2 (2021-04-16). Cuban Talent Replaces Expensive Imports for Venezuela. orinocotribune.com Today, Cuban advice in Venezuela enables the "La Mariposa" electrical transformer recovery plant to stabilize operations and proudly display a savings of millions of dollars from import substitution. | Alexis Iván Landeiro Ferro, Cuban head of the factory, explained to Cubadebate that at first the Venezuelan technicians and engineers were trained, who later joined the project, aware of the importance of the task. | Currently , more than 8,000 electrical transformers and their components have been rescued, with savings in foreign currency of around 2,000 dollars for each unit in the international market. | "The pl…

Staff (2021-04-16). Biden Sanctions Russia for Cyber Espionage While Remaining Silent over Israeli Cyberattack on Iran. democracynow.org The United States has imposed new sanctions on Russia and expelled 10 Russian diplomats after the Biden administration accused Moscow of being involved in major cyberattacks. The Treasury Department claimed Russia interfered in the 2020 election and was behind the SolarWinds hack, which compromised the computer systems of nine U.S. government agencies and scores of private companies. The sanctions target 32 Russian entities and individuals and bar U.S. banks from purchasing Russian government debt. Russia vowed to retaliate against the new sanctions and accused the Biden administration of degrading bilateral rela…

Staff (2021-04-16). Vaccination Plan Advances: Venezuela Receives Fourth Shipment of Sputnik-V. orinocotribune.com Early in the morning of Thursday, April 15, the fourth shipment of the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine arrived in Venezuela. These vaccines will be used to carry forward the Venezuelan immunization plan initiated on February 18. | The shipment was dispatched from Moscow, capital of the Russian Federation, and was carried by the Russian airline Azur Air. | To date, Venezuela has received 300,000 doses of the Sputnik-V vaccine, considered to be the most efficient vaccine in the world against COVID-19. | Moreover, Venezuela has included other COVID-19 vaccines in its vaccination plan, namely the Russian EpiVacCorona and t…

Mohammad Ayesh (2021-04-16). Arabic press review: Egypt expects breakthrough for political prisoners. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Egypt expects breakthrough for political prisoners | Meanwhile, former Yemeni minister blasts Saudi Arabia, Oman seeks release of detained citizens in UAE, and Houthi attacks on Saudi soil escalate | Fri, 04/16/2021 – 14: 01 | Egypt's al-Qanatir women's prison, at the tip of the Nile delta in Qalyoubiya province (AFP) | 'Imminent breakthrough' for Egypt's political priso…

Mohammad Ayesh (2021-04-16). Arabic press review: Egypt expects 'breakthrough' for political prisoners. middleeasteye.net Arabic press review: Egypt expects 'breakthrough' for political prisoners | Meanwhile, former Yemeni minister blasts Saudi Arabia, Oman seeks release of detained citizens in UAE, and Houthi attacks on Saudi soil escalate | Fri, 04/16/2021 – 14: 01 | Egypt's al-Qanatir women's prison, at the tip of the Nile delta in Qalyoubiya province (AFP) | 'Imminent breakthrough' for Egypt's political pri…

MEE, agencies (2021-04-16). Yemen: Houthis continue to advance on Marib, as fighting leaves dozens dead. middleeasteye.net Yemen: Houthis continue to advance on Marib, as fighting leaves dozens dead | Thousands of civilians are fleeing Marib as Houthi forces fight government troops for control of the oil-rich area | Fri, 04/16/2021 – 13: 08 | Forces loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government hold a position against Houthis in the northeastern province of Marib, 6 April 2021 (AFP) | Clashes between government for…

Jonathan Cook (2021-04-16). Labour disclosure 'shows antisemitism was weaponised against Corbyn', activists say. middleeasteye.net Labour disclosure 'shows antisemitism was weaponised against Corbyn', activists say | Former leader's disciplinary code, which was criticised by pro-Israel groups, is still being used under Starmer, party officials admit after court hearing | Fri, 04/16/2021 – 10: 02 | Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, pictured in London at a protest against proposed new police powers, in April 2021 (AFP) | A gro…

Party for Socialism, Liberation (2021-04-16). Saludo del PSL al VIII Congreso del PCC. liberationnews.org Nuestro Partido se ha mantenido durante mucho tiempo en solidaridad con la Revolución Cubana, su Partido y su pueblo.

Anonymous669 (2021-04-16). Iran Produced First Batch Of 60% Enriched Uranium At Natanz Facility. southfront.org File image | Iranian scientists have produced the first batch of 60% enriched uranium, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, announced on April 16."I am proud to announce that at 00: 40 last night … young and pious Iranian scientists were able to obtain a 60% enriched uranium product," Qalibaf wrote in a Persian tweet on Friday. "We congratulate the brave people of the Islamic Iran on this success; the will of the Iranian people is miraculous and will thwart any conspiracy." | Earlier this…

Anonymous669 (2021-04-16). Combat Footage: Houthis Raid Positions Of Sudanese Forces In Yemen's Hajjah. southfront.org Screen grab from the Houthis' video. | On April 16, the Houthis (as Ansar Allah is known) released a video of a recent attack by their fighters on Sudanese forces in the northwestern Yemeni province of Hajjah. | The 18-minute video shows Houthi fighters attacking the Sudanese Armed Forces west of Harad. The Houthis storm a network of forward positions, mortar posts as well as a small village that was occupied by Sudanese soldiers. | The Houthis bold attack forced Sudanese troops to withdrew from their positions without showing…

Medea Benjamin (2021-04-16). U.S. Joins Past Empires in Afghan Graveyard. globalresearch.ca An Afghan taxi-driver in Vancouver told one of us a decade …

Medea Benjamin, Ariel Gold (2021-04-16). The Hawks Who Want War With Iran Are Working Overtime. counterpunch.org Just as talks between the US and Iran were taking place last week in Vienna, a cyberattack was carried out on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. Reports are that the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, was behind the attack that blacked out the facility just one day after Tehran launched new advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges and as

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…

Staff (2021-04-16). Medical Oxygen Plant Reactivated in Venezuela to Tackle COVID-19 Spike. orinocotribune.com The company Oxígenos del Centro CA (Oxicentro), was reactivated by government authorities and the healthcare staff in the municipality of Independencia (Santa Teresa del Tuy), Miranda state, with the goal of helping to provide oxygen to healthcare centers in the region. The privately owned industrial and medicinal oxygen plant had been inoperative for more than eight years. | The facilities were supervised and refurbished by officials from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), the scientific-technological council of Miranda, and the mayor's offices of the municipalities Independencia (Santa Ter…

Ramzy Baroud (2021-04-16). Recognition of Palestine is 'Symbolic' But also Critical: the Australian Case. counterpunch.org Australia's Labor Party's recognition of Palestine as a State on March 30 is a welcomed position, though it comes with many caveats. Pro-Palestinian activists are justified to question the sincerity of the ALP's stance and whether Australia's Labor is genuinely prepared to fully adopt this position should they form a government following the 2022 elections.

David Swanson (2021-04-16). The Brutes Haven't All Been Exterminated. zcomm.org Assume that the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen are not people. Read news reports on the wars not ending. See if they don't make a lot more sense that way.

Jason Ditz (2021-04-16). Yemen FM Urges World to Focus on Saudi, Emirati War Crimes. news.antiwar.com A new interview on DW Conflict Zone features Yemeni National Salvation Government (NSG) Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf, focusing on war crimes in Yemen over the course of the six year war. The NSG is the Sanaa-based government involving the Houthis and other parties opposed to the Saudi invasion. | The interview was extremely contentious, with Sharaf objecting to the characterization of himself as a Houthi, noting he is part of the GPC Party and that a lot of figures in the NSG are not Houthis. He also criticized efforts to paint the war crimes of the Houthis as the chief problem in Yemen. | Sharaf called f…

_____ (2021-04-16). Self-Emancipation Continues To Rise At The St. Louis City Justice Center. popularresistance.org In the early morning hours of April 4, 2021, a day that many Christians recognized as Resurrection Sunday, detainees, at the St. Louis City Justice Center moved in the spirit of insurrection to challenge their oppressors and well documented repression at the jail. After the first major rebellion at the jail grabbed national attention on February 6, 2021, government bureaucrats in collaboration with "activists" of the social justice state scrambled to mystify what is really happening to detainees at the city's jails through sham reports and pseudo-independent investigations. | The attempt to paper over the status…

Jonathan Cook (2021-04-16). Labour Disclosure 'Shows Antisemitism Was Weaponised Against Corbyn', Activists Say. globalresearch.ca A group of Labour activists fighting through the courts to discover …

_____ (2021-04-16). Media Once Again Trolling US Withdrawal From Afghanistan. popularresistance.org I don't write much about the specific individuals who drive the oligarchic empire because individuals are not the problem, the system is. Right-wing conspiracy analysts prefer to focus on specific corrupt elites because they like to think if you just got rid of them, capitalism would work fine. And it just wouldn't. If you rounded up and executed all the sociopathic ruling elites today but left our current systems intact they'd just be replaced tomorrow. A competition-based model where war, corruption, oppression and exploitation remain profitable guarantees this. | A lot of right-wing conspiracy analysis today u…

Michael Welch (2021-04-16). Genocide Drowned out by Media Silence: The Yemen War Six Years Later. globalresearch.ca "Life has become very difficult. We spend all our time looking for basic life necessities. We spend hours searching for either oil, electricity, solar energy, gas, any way to provide for our basic necessities, a life that is difficult in …

Iman Saleh (2021-04-16). I'm on hunger strike until U.S. ends support for Saudi-led blockade against Yemen. zcomm.org Ending U.S. support for the blockade will single-handedly provide relief and restore hope for millions of Yemenis whose lives hang in the balance…

Editor2 (2021-04-16). Old Customers Impatient to Resume Oil Imports from Iran. orinocotribune.com Demand is rising for Iranian crude oil, with an OPEC report showing a higher output already by Iran which is closely watched by customers as the country is discussing the removal of unilateral US sanctions. | Iran's oil production rose by 137,000 barrels per day to 2.3 million bpd in March, marking the highest crude production growth among OPEC members, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a monthly report. | The higher output by Iran which is exempt from making voluntary cuts because of US sanctions came for the third consecutive month. Iran's oil production had jumped by 62,000 and 35,0…

Dave DeCamp (2021-04-16). White House: Changing Cuba Policy Is Not a Priority for Biden. news.antiwar.com Changing policy towards Cuba and giving the country sanctions relief is not a foreign policy priority for President Biden,

Peter Kornbluh (2021-04-16). Cuba Moves Into the Post-Castro Era. thenation.com Cuba Moves Into…

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

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-04-15). Media Concern Trolling About Afghanistan Withdrawal Again. orinocotribune.com Caitlin Johnstone — Apr 11, 2021 | " "Concerns are mounting from bipartisan US lawmakers and Afghan women's rights activists that the hard-won gains for women and civil society in Afghanistan could be lost if the United States makes a precipitous withdrawal from the country," CNN tells us. | What follows is yet another concern-trolling empire blog about why US troops need to stay in Afghanistan, joining recent others geared toward the same end lik…

Binoy Kampmark (2021-04-15). Israel Sabotages the Natanz Nuclear Facility. counterpunch.org Over the weekend, Iran marked National Nuclear Technology Day. The stars of the show were going to be new advanced centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant. Unfortunately, the stars did not shine and President Hassan Rouhani and his officials were left with a reminder of the previous time the centrifuges at Natanz crashed. In

Staff (2021-04-15). Network of Private and Public Pharmacies Already Has Carvativir for Sale. orinocotribune.com This Wednesday, April 14, Venezuelan Minister for National Commerce, Eneida Laya, informed about the beginning of the commercial sale of the antiviral Carvativir, and that people will be able to purchase up to 4 units in different public and private pharmacies nationwide. | "On the instructions of President Nicolás Maduro, Carvativir is distributed in all the private pharmacy chains in the country, as well as in the public network. Sales of the drug are controlled. The purchase limit is 4 units per person and there is a data record when making the purchase in order to prevent possible resale," said Laya. | Variou…

Staff (2021-04-15). Cut the Defense Budget: Rep. Khanna on Bloated Pentagon Spending, Ending War in Yemen, UAE Arms Deal. democracynow.org Congressmember Ro Khanna of California says hundreds of billions of dollars in annual defense spending could be better used on diplomacy, humanitarian aid, public health and other initiatives. He's one of 50 House Democrats who signed a letter to President Joe Biden in March urging a "significantly reduced" Pentagon budget, which has grown to over $700 billion. "The Pentagon increases make no sense," says Khanna. "If you're ending the forever war in Afghanistan … then why are we increasing, at the same time, the defense budget?" Khanna also discusses the Saudi-led, U.S.-backed war in Yemen, a major U.S. arms de…

Workers World Party (2021-04-15). PDF of April 15 issue. workers.org Download the PDF. Amazon workers: The struggle has just begun Daunte Wright's life matters! Tribute to Ramsey Clark. COVID crisis: Michigan surge, Vaccines — Capitalism vs. Socialism. PRO Act: petition & editorial. Paul Robeson remembered; On the picket line; DREAMERS confront Cruz. GLOBAL: Vieques, Culebra; Greenland; Gaza; Venezuela. TEAR DOWN . . . |

Anonymous669 (2021-04-15). Houthis Targeted Oil Facilities, Patriot Systems In Saudi Arabia With 11 Drones & Missiles (Video, Map Update). southfront.org Early on April 15, the Houthis (Ansar Allah) carried out a large-scale attack with 11 drones and missiles on several…

Ariel Gold, Medea Benjamin (2021-04-15). War Hawks Are Working Overtime to Derail US-Iran Diplomacy. commondreams.org As the saboteurs of diplomacy hope for a violent escalation, let's keep in mind—and hope Iran agrees—that the best revenge would be a revived JCPOA. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Staff (2021-04-15). From Luxury Condo in Madrid, Leopoldo López Repeats US Talking Points on Colombian Paramilitary Violence in Apure. orinocotribune.com A new media and political attack regarding the events in Apure state was launched by the fugitive from Venezuelan justice Leopoldo López. He stated that the military action of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) against Colombian narco-paramilitary gangs on the border with Colombia "does not have as its objective the defense of the Venezuelan territory—as established in Article 15 of Venezuelan Magna Carta—but that of participating in a conflict between narco-guerrillas," an accusation that aligns with those of certain Colombian authorities, in favor of their anti-Venezuelan and pro-US interest…

teleSUR (2021-04-15). Venezuela Receives New Batch Of 50,000 Sputnik-V Vaccines. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Health Minister Carlos Alvarado Thursday informed on the arrival of 50,000 Sputnik V vaccines that will allow the country to continue its vaccination campaign. | RELATED: | The new lot of vaccines arrived early Thursday morning at the Simon Bolivar International Airport, in Maiquetia. They will allow health workers to receive the second dose needed to achieve immunization. | "The delivery of more vacci…

Geraldina Colotti (2021-04-15). Golpe de abril en Venezuela, guerra mediática desde Europa. globalizacion.ca Al analizar algunos elementos clave del golpe de abril 2002, queda claro por qué es legítimo considerar a la Venezuela bolivariana como un paradigma del siglo XXI, un laboratorio que va más allá de la realidad venezolana. | El haber podido…

Staff (2021-04-15). Iran COVID-19 update: 25,078 cases, 321 deaths. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 15 (MNA) — The total number of people infected with the coronavirus in Iran during the last 24 hours has reached 25,078 as some 321 more Iranians have died from the disease, the Health Ministry said.

David Swanson (2021-04-15). The Brutes Haven't All Been Exterminated — OpEd. eurasiareview.com Sometimes I struggle to explain why none of the endless wars can ever be ended. Are they just too profitable? Is the propaganda self-fulfilling and self-believing? Is the bureaucratic inertia that powerful? No combination of semi-rational motivations ever seems sufficient. But here's a potentially relevant fact: there are still people alive in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen. | There's no secret memo in the Pentagon stipulating that every human being must be dead before the troops can "withdraw with honor." And if they were all dead, the very last thing any troops would do would be to withdraw. Bu…

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2021-04-15). Jewish Voice for Peace Action Endorses McCollum Bill Placing Conditions on US Aid to Israel. commondreams.org "Congress must stop ignoring the unjust and blatantly cruel mistreatment of Palestinian children and families living under Israeli military occupation." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Andreína Chávez Alava (2021-04-15). Oil Output Remains Steady as PDVSA Eyes Fuel Production Boost. venezuelanalysis.com PDVSA is reportedly prioritizing diluent and light crude for its recovering fuel refineries.

Peoples Dispatch (2021-04-15). Activists and anti-war groups slam US decision to proceed with arms sales to UAE. peoplesdispatch.org The Joe Biden administration had earlier suspended its predecessor's decision, pending review, to sell USD 23 billion worth of arms including 50 advanced F-35 fighter jets and 18 MQ 9-B unmanned Aerial Systems to the UAE…

_____ (2021-04-15). Union Members Expel National Guard From St Paul Minnesota Labor Center. popularresistance.org Following several union meetings on Wednesday night, I was made aware that a National Guard unit was occupying the St. Paul Labor Center in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. Other union members and I were sharply aware of the National Guard's role in repressing protests during the trial of Derek Chauvin and the recent killing of Daunte Wright, and we concluded immediately that our union hall had no place in those militarized efforts against the Black community, activists, and working class people. | Rank and file union members, community activists, and various union staff members assembled at the Labor Center Wednesd…

Environmental Activist (2021-04-15). No Line 3 Project! The Work that Goes Into a Giant Wells Fargo Protest. indybay.org See photos of how activists created a giant mural on April 9 when hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the headquarters of Wells Fargo and BlackRock. They demonstrated against the two companies' roles in financing an oil pipeline project in Minnesota.

Philip Farruggio (2021-04-15). Kapos of the American Empire. nationofchange.org The empire has its political Kapos, the public servants who do NOT serve the public, rather the rulers of empire.

Rainer Shea (2021-04-15). Anti-Chinese Propaganda is About Fortifying a US Empire in Crisis & Preparing for War. orinocotribune.com By Rainer Shea — Apr 11, 2021 | In his The conquest of the Ukraine and other areas of the Soviet Union would necessitate war against the Soviet Union, and this war had to be prepared well in advance. To this end the Nazi propaganda ministry, headed by Goebbels, began a campaign around a supposed genocide committed by the Bolsheviks in the Ukraine, a dreadful period of catastrophic famine deliberately provoked by Stalin in order…

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