(2021-12-11). The Fierce Determination Of Ordinary People To Build An Extraordinary World. popularresistance.org United States President Joe Biden has suborned 111 countries to attend his Summit for Democracy on December 9—10, ending on Human Rights Day. 'We welcome all countries, organizations, and individuals to support the goals of the Summit', the US State Department wrote. However, there are 82 countries that have not been invited, including two large countries that are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the People's Republic of China and Russia) and two small countries from the Caribbean (Cuba and Haiti). In the name of democracy, the US government is pushing its own agenda to consolidate…
(2021-12-11). India's community health workers' struggle for recognition. roarmag.org 
Asha worker marking the finger of a baby girl after administering a polio vaccine in Delhi, India. June 28, 2021. Photo: PradeepGaurs / Shutterstock.com | This essay is published in collaboration with Public Services International | | Over the last year-and-a-half, one of the most visible groups of workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in India have been the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), a cadre of community health workers appointed by the National Health Mission (NHM). These hitherto invisible women were seen not only going hou…
(2021-12-11). Ten Contradictions That Plague Biden's Democracy Summit. zcomm.org The Biden presidency is still in its early days, but it's not too early to point to areas in the foreign policy realm where we, as progressives, have been disappointed—or even infuriated.
(2021-12-11). Iran Warns Against 'Dangerous' Acts of Piracy Targeting its Oil at Sea. orinocotribune.com An Iranian envoy to the United Nations has issued a stern warning against acts of piracy targeting tankers carrying Iran's oil cargos at sea, urging the international community to condemn such illegal measures that endanger freedom of navigation. | Zahra Ershadi, deputy permanent representative of Iran to the UN, made the remarks on Wednesday in an address to the UN General Assembly's meeting on oceans and the law of the sea. | She complained that the coronavirus pandemic and the US imposition of sanctions under the so-called maximum pressure campaign had disrupted freedom of movement for Iranian vessels and affe…
(2021-12-11). Saudi Arabia targets banned ultra-conservative proselytisers. moderndiplomacy.eu Saudi Islamic affairs minister Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz al-Sheikh has ordered imams in the kingdom to identify one of the world's largest Muslim movements as misguided, deviant, dangerous, and a breeder of militancy. Mr. Al-Sheikh's offensive against Tablighi Jamaat or Society for Preaching, a secretive transnational ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim missionary movement of South Asian origin long …
(2021-12-11). Venezuela: VP Delcy Rodríguez Presents 2022 Budget to National Assembly. orinocotribune.com The Executive Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, emphasized this Friday, December 10, that 2022 will be the year of the recovery of the bolívar as Venezuela's national currency. | During the presentation of the budget and annual plan 2022 before the National Assembly (NA), Rodríguez affirmed that strengthening the bolívar as the national currency will be the center of the economic actions of the national government next year. In this regard, she pointed out that the government is refusing to dollarize the economy. | "We come from the year 2020, a year of pandemic, but 2021 has also been a year of pande…
(2021-12-10). Headlines for December 10, 2021. democracynow.org U.K. Court Will Allow Extradition of Julian Assange to U.S. to Face Espionage Charges, Venezuela's Juan Guaidó, Who Led Failed Coup Efforts, Speaks at White House Democracy Summit, Federal Court Rejects Trump's Bid to Keep January 6 Records Secret, New York Attorney General Letitia James Ends Gubernatorial Bid, Will Subpoena Trump, National Guard Called Out as COVID-19 Cases Overwhelm U.S. Hospitals, WHO Warns Rich Countries Against Vaccine Hoarding as Omicron Variant Spreads , Truck Carrying Asylum Seekers Crashes in Mexico, Killing 54 and Injuring Over 100, Award-Winning Filipino Journalist Jesus Malabanan, Who…
(2021-12-10). "How can it be fair to extradite Julian to the very country which plotted to kill him?" peoplesdispatch.org London's High Court passed an order permitting the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the US. Here are some reactions from activists and human rights defenders following this judgement.
(2021-12-10). US senate rejects resolution seeking ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia. peoplesdispatch.org The resolution presented jointly by some Republican and Democrat senators sought to limit the sale of US weapons to Saudi Arabia due to its involvement in the war in Yemen and its alleged war crimes…
(2021-12-10). US Courts will Not be Able to Proceed with Charges Against Alex Saab. orinocotribune.com The defense lawyers of the Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab in the United States, Nancy Hollander and David Rivkin, assured this Tuesday, December 7, that the US legal system will not be able to proceed against the Venezuelan special envoy with any of its charges. | According to information from the diplomat's defense, the defense highlights the political nature of the case, and the difficulties in ensuring a fair trial in the city of Miami, famous for issuing judicial decisions against Cubans and Venezuelans. | "I am happy to announce that by virtue of diplomatic viability, the United States will not be able to pro…
(2021-12-10). Washington Rewards Corruption of Popular Will Party. orinocotribune.com In an ironic maneuver displaying the White House's complete lack of political awareness, the Joe Biden administration claimed the right to declare who can be considered corrupt and who cannot, delivering an "award" within the framework of International Anti-Corruption Day, this December 9. | As expected, the White House took the opportunity to give a boost to its allies on the Venezuelan extreme right, by including one of the spokespersons of the Popular Will organization on the list of beneficiaries of Biden's recognition. Many Venezuelans refer to the Popular Will party as "Juan Guaidó and the 40 thieves" due t…
(2021-12-10). Ugandan environmental activist Vanessa Nakate: 'We cannot adapt to extinction'. peoplesworld.org 
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP)—The capital of Uganda coughs itself awake on weekdays under a soft blanket of smog. Kampala's hills come into sharper focus as the morning rush of minibuses and motorbikes fades. It is this East African city that one of the world's most well-known climate activists, Vanessa Nakate, calls home. The 25-year-old's rise in profile has been …
(2021-12-10). A database for the displaced. electronicintifada.net Activists are trying to create single register for all title deeds to lands stolen in 1948.
(2021-12-10). 'People's Lawyer' Sudha Bharadwaj released after three years in jail. mronline.org 
The activist-lawyer was granted default bail on December 1 following more than three years of her incarceration without trial in the Bhima Koregaon case in which a number of other activists were also implicated.
(2021-12-10). Human rights victims become activists. america.cgtn.com 
Human Rights Day is observed annually on December 10th.
(2021-12-10). Israel Pushes Hardline in Iran Nuclear Talks. dissidentvoice.org 
After a 5-month hiatus, indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran resumed last week in Vienna in an attempt to revise the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). The outlook isn't good. Less than a week into negotiations, Britain, France, and Germany accused Iran of "walking …
(2021-12-10). Ten Problems With Biden's Foreign Policy — And One Solution. popularresistance.org By and large, Biden's foreign policy already seems stuck in the militarist quagmire of the past twenty years, a far cry from his campaign promise to reinvigorate diplomacy as the primary tool of U.S. foreign policy. | In this respect, Biden is following in the footsteps of Obama and Trump, who both promised fresh approaches to foreign policy but for the most part delivered more endless war. | By the end of his second term, Obama did have two significant diplomatic achievements with the signing of the Iran nuclear deal and normalization of relations with Cuba. So progressive Americans who voted for Biden had some…
(2021-12-10). Vienna Talks: Iran Says no Interactive, Flexible Attitude Seen on Other Side. orinocotribune.com The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry has said that while Iran entered talks in Vienna on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with an interactive and flexible attitude, "this was not the case for the other side." | Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks at a weekly presser on Monday, adding that the Vienna talks have not been halted and that the next round will kick off later this week. | The exact date will be determined by Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and the European Union's Deputy Secretary General Enrique Mora soon, the spokesman said. | The seventh round of high-level talks between Iran and…
(2021-12-10). Parisian "Wheeling and Dealing" in the Persian Gulf. journal-neo.org 
The first official European assessment of the recent round of talks in Vienna between the representatives of Iran and those of the E3 (Great Britain, France, and Germany), Russia, China, and the US came, oddly enough, from Dubai, where the quick-witted French president Emmanuel Macron announced what he called the failure of the foregoing phase …
(2021-12-10). Minister Plasencia: Capitalism is in Crisis and We are Called to Change Course. orinocotribune.com 
This Thursday, December 9, Venezuela's Minister for Foreign Affairs Félix Plasencia inaugurated the World People's Congress for Peace, which was organized to present proposals that can counteract the current challenges facing humanity and the planet in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. | "We met to discuss the need to deepen the guarantee of political, economic and social rights of humanity, for the welfare of the peoples," said Venezuela's top diplomat at the beginning of the conference, which is held online. | Plasencia stated that it is necessary to "change course" in the face of the new challenges arising i…
(2021-12-10). Venezuela Incorporates 9 Urutu Armored Vehicles into its Defense System (Video). orinocotribune.com The Strategic Operational Command (CEOFANB) of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB), reported this Thursday, December 9, via its commander Domingo Hernández, that nine Urutu "wheeled tanks" joined its combat system. | Through a post published on Twitter, Hernández explained that they were added to increase the security of the Caribbean nation. The announcement follows reports that Colombia received 20 armored vehicles donated by the United States to continue their destabilization attempts against Venezuela. The US donation is part of a total of more than 140 armored vehicles to be received by Colombian mili…
(2021-12-10). White House Boasts About Selling Stolen Venezuelan Oil. orinocotribune.com In an end-of-year evaluation report, the United States The report does not clarify when or to whom the US regime sold the stolen merchandise, data that would be of importan…
(2021-12-10). Venezuelans turn to dollars to combat hyperinflation. america.cgtn.com 
With Venezuela gripped by hyperinflation, the use of dollars has emerged as an alternative to overcome the lack of bolivar bills and to protect the income of citizens.
(2021-12-10). On Human Rights Day, Venezuela Ratifies Defense of Human Rights. telesurenglish.net Venezuela ratified today its commitment to the defense and guarantee of human rights, on the occasion of the celebrations for the International Human Rights Day. | Every December 10, the world celebrates Human Rights Day, a date that recalls the rights that human beings enjoy without distinction of sex, race, culture, religion, political opinion or for any other reason.