Ana Perdigón (2021-12-25). Venezuela's Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Evaluates Measures to Deal with Omicron. orinocotribune.com Venezuela's presidential task force for the prevention and control of COVID-19 met this Thursday, December 23, to evaluate mechanisms to deal with the Omicron variant that has recently been detected in the country. | The meeting, chaired by Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade. | Various officials of the government were also present at the meeting, including the Minister for Health, Carlos Alvarado; the Minister for Communication and Information, Freddy àëáñez; and the Minister for Science and Technology, Gabriela Jiménez…

Jay Janson (2021-12-24). No USA Christmas Love for Afghans, Venezuelans, Cubans, Syrians, Iranians, and North Koreans. dissidentvoice.org This Christmas season, as always, CIA controlled mainstream media is filled with unctuous images of the hungry homeless in America being charitably served food by private citizens and institutions. It has long become an American tradition of kindness during the season celebrating the birth of all loving Jesus along with gift giving Santa Claus, and …

_____ (2021-12-24). Former Hunger Strikers Reflect On Their Experiences. popularresistance.org The huelga de hambre has been used for thousands of years. It has won many struggles," said Ana Ramirez, 42, who fasted for 24 days this spring to demand that undocumented people and other excluded workers in New York receive stimulus and unemployment money. "Esther the reina won a battle with the hunger strike." | Ramirez is referring to Queen Esther of the Old Testament's Book of Esther. The queen and her supporters fasted for three days in advance of going to ask her husband, Persian King Ahasuerus, for permission to have her enemies — who were trying to wipe out all Jews in the empire — killed. Sh…

Newsroom (2021-12-24). Russia, Iran, Turkey to hold Syria summit in Tehran in February or March. moderndiplomacy.eu Russia, Iran and Turkey have agreed to hold the next Astana format summit in Tehran in February or March 2022, depending on the coronavirus situation, senior assistant to Iranian foreign minister for special political affairs Ali Asghar Khaji told TASS in Nur Sultan, on Wednesday. "Yes, it [the summit] is planned. We are preparing to …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-24). Ahead of eighth round of Vienna talks, Iran warns against undue pressure, demands complete sanctions removal. peoplesdispatch.org The seventh round of talks held earlier this month between the remaining signatories of the Iran nuclear deal were inconclusive due to the refusal of the Joe Biden administration in the US to lift all sanctions against Iran imposed since May 2018…

WSWS (2021-12-24). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Riot police use stun guns against occupation of Kavali Oil plant by Greek workers; Romanian miners hold wildcat strike to demand early retirement and rail workers walk out spontaneously over pay; teachers demonstrate across Iran in 120 cities over wages, conditions and state repression; strike by South African Clover food workers against pay, conditions and job cuts enters second month…

Dr.Nadia Helmy (2021-12-24). The repercussions of the American presence in the Middle East on China and Russia. moderndiplomacy.eu There are many potential repercussions of the US presence in the Middle East, with direct impacts on both China and Russia. Here, the most important priorities of the new US administration in the Middle East are represented in (negotiating over the Iranian nuclear program), which threatens Israel's security and destabilizes the region, according to American …

_____ (2021-12-24). Peru Ratifies UN Treaty On The Prohibition Of Nuclear Weapons. popularresistance.org Addressing the UN General Assembly this September, the minister of foreign affairs of Peru, àìscar Maúrtua, hailed the TPNW's entry into force as a "great achievement" and "a legal and moral starting point on a long road to achieve nuclear disarmament". | Peru is the 14th country in Latin America to ratify the TPNW, following Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Uruguay, El Salvador, Panama, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Honduras, and Chile. An additional four countries in the region have signed but not yet ratified the treaty: Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala. | Gisela Lujá…

A Guest Author (2021-12-24). Por qué Cuba no tiene un movimiento antivacunas. workers.org Por Marc Vandepitte y Toon Danhieux Traducido del neerlandés por Sven Magnus. Versión cortada por Mundo Obrero. Cada vez más, amplios sectores de la población europea expresan abiertamente su desconfianza hacia las políticas para combatir en COVID-19. La reacción de la política tradicional es de pánico y se caracteriza por . . . |

Luigino Bracci (2021-12-24). Trains with Flawed Electrical Systems Caused Caracas Subway Explosions. orinocotribune.com Wednesday, December 22, the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and the Minister of Transportation, Hipólito Abreu, reported that investigations by engineers from the Caracas Metro found the cause of explosions that affected several trains of the public company in previous weeks. They also responded to threats of a lawsuit from by the Spanish Export Credit Insurance Company (CESCE), which is claiming compensation for ‚Ǩ138 million. | "A fault was discovered that caused explosions as a result of the electrical overload," explained President Nicolás Maduro at a ceremony at the Teresa Carreño T…

Yves Engler (2021-12-24). Why the Media Silence about Trudeau's Worst Foreign Policy Failure. dissidentvoice.org Imagine if Nicolás Maduro's vice president quit and called for his government to be disbanded. Or if Venezuela's opposition won a landslide in regional elections or if 90% of member states voted against the government's UN credentials. The Canadian media would have splashed this news on front pages, but the shoe was on "our guy's" …

Dr.Nadia Helmy (2021-12-24). The repercussions of the American presence in the Middle East on China and Russia. moderndiplomacy.eu There are many potential repercussions of the US presence in the Middle East, with direct impacts on both China and Russia. Here, the most important priorities of the new US administration in the Middle East are represented in (negotiating over the Iranian nuclear program), which threatens Israel's security and destabilizes the region, according to American …

Jay Janson (2021-12-24). No USA Christmas Love for Afghans, Venezuelans, Cubans, Syrians, Iranians, and North Koreans. dissidentvoice.org This Christmas season, as always, CIA controlled mainstream media is filled with unctuous images of the hungry homeless in America being charitably served food by private citizens and institutions. It has long become an American tradition of kindness during the season celebrating the birth of all loving Jesus along with gift giving Santa Claus, and …

WSWS (2021-12-24). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Riot police use stun guns against occupation of Kavali Oil plant by Greek workers; Romanian miners hold wildcat strike to demand early retirement and rail workers walk out spontaneously over pay; teachers demonstrate across Iran in 120 cities over wages, conditions and state repression; strike by South African Clover food workers against pay, conditions and job cuts enters second month…

A Guest Author (2021-12-24). Por qué Cuba no tiene un movimiento antivacunas. workers.org Por Marc Vandepitte y Toon Danhieux Traducido del neerlandés por Sven Magnus. Versión cortada por Mundo Obrero. Cada vez más, amplios sectores de la población europea expresan abiertamente su desconfianza hacia las políticas para combatir en COVID-19. La reacción de la política tradicional es de pánico y se caracteriza por . . . |

Luigino Bracci (2021-12-24). Trains with Flawed Electrical Systems Caused Caracas Subway Explosions. orinocotribune.com Wednesday, December 22, the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and the Minister of Transportation, Hipólito Abreu, reported that investigations by engineers from the Caracas Metro found the cause of explosions that affected several trains of the public company in previous weeks. They also responded to threats of a lawsuit from by the Spanish Export Credit Insurance Company (CESCE), which is claiming compensation for ‚Ǩ138 million. | "A fault was discovered that caused explosions as a result of the electrical overload," explained President Nicolás Maduro at a ceremony at the Teresa Carreño T…

Yves Engler (2021-12-24). Why the media silence about Trudeau's worst foreign policy failure. dissidentvoice.org Imagine if Nicolás Maduro's vice president quit and called for his government to be disbanded. Or if Venezuela's opposition won a landslide in regional elections or if 90% of member states voted against the government's UN credentials. The Canadian media would have splashed this news on front pages, but the shoe was on "our guy's" …

_____ (2021-12-23). Wet'suwet'en Retake Checkpoint A Month After Police Crackdown. popularresistance.org On Saturday, December 19, activists leading the Wet'suwet'en resistance against the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline project declared that they evicted workers of the project from the drill site. This development comes exactly a month after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) violently dismantled a blockade led by the Gidimt'en clan near Camp Coyote and arrested dozens of protesters and even bystanders. | The declaration of reclaiming Camp Coyote was made over a statement released by the Gidimt'en Checkpoint, on Sunday, December 20. "This courageous action took place one month after a wave of militarized raids…

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-23). Libya: Protests Mark the Postponement of Elections Amidst Threats of Deepening Chaos. libya360.wordpress.com Participants in the Friday of Salvation demand the overthrow of the existing political bodies A group of activists called on citizens to participate in a demonstration entitled "Friday of Salvation" in Tibesti Square in the city of Benghazi. Participants demand the overthrow of all political bodies currently in place, with parliament's work limited to legislative…

Editor (2021-12-23). Frederick Douglass and American Empire in Haiti. mronline.org Toward the end of his life, Frederick Douglass served briefly as U.S. ambassador to Haiti. The disastrous episode reveals much about the country's long struggle for Black sovereignty while always under the threat of U.S. empire.

Caitlin A. Johnstone (2021-12-23). Absurd Guardian article declares China world's only imperialist power. mronline.org Another cartoonishly ridiculous anti-China propaganda piece has been published in the western mass media, this time by The Guardian, which at this point could arguably be labeled the single most destructive promulgator of empire propaganda in the western world.

Dr. James M. Dorsey (2021-12-23). Are Arab militias losing their usefulness for Iran? moderndiplomacy.eu Iranian support for Arab militias has long threatened Iran's detractors, unable to develop an effective counterstrategy. Now, the tide may be turning. A string of events suggests that the usefulness of at least some of the militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Palestine is waning as their popularity diminishes and relations with Iran encounter headwinds. The …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-23). World Food Program to reduce rations for war-torn Yemen due to funds deficit. peoplesdispatch.org The UN agency has said that it urgently requires USD 813 million in donations to continue its food assistance programme in Yemen until May 2022 and an additional USD 1.97 billion for the rest of 2022…

_____ (2021-12-23). The Vienna Talks are at a Difficult Stage. journal-neo.org As the complex Vienna talks and desperate disputes among their participants proceed, unconcealed threats against Iran are heard from Tel Aviv several times a day. The growing hysteria and multiplication of Israeli military threats against Tehran suggest that the Israeli regime has forgotten that Iran is a powerful state with a modern, well-equipped army and …

teleSUR (2021-12-23). Venezuela To Vaccinate 90% Of Its Population To Face Omicron. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced that the first seven COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant were detected in citizens who traveled abroad and recently returned to the states of Miranda, Lara and Caracas. | RELATED: | "It was inevitable that Omicron would arrive in Venezuela. Therefore, we reiterate the call to reinforce biosecurity measures and vaccination. We continue working to care fo…

teleSUR (2021-12-23). Iranian Nuke Pact Remains Uncertain After Seven Rounds of Talks. telesurenglish.net Following seven rounds of talks held since April this year, Iran and Western parties to the 2015 nuclear deal have yet to find a way to break the impasse on salvaging the pact, which Washington unilaterally quit in 2018. | RELATED: | Although uncertainty is the only certainty right now in Vienna, the host city of the talks, the parties' willingness to continue dialogue still bodes well for future negotiations. | UPS AND DOWNS

KWORINOCO (2021-12-23). Cuba Denounces US Allegations of Human Trafficking. orinocotribune.com Cuba firmly rejected the allegations fabricated by the US accusing the Caribbean island of involvement in human trafficking, and has assured that these claims are simply another way of justifying the aggressive measures which continue to be taken against Havana. | "The declarations made by the US government, regarding human trafficking, terrorism and human rights abuses, have no relation with the reality of out country," responded Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez through his Twitter account. "The US is trying to justify—with lies—the abusive and aggressive measures taken against the Cuban popul…

KWORINOCO (2021-12-23). Venezuela Maintains 7 International Air Routes. orinocotribune.com Despite the fact that the state of emergency declared in Venezuela due to the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be lifted, the president of the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC), Juan Teixeira Díaz, announced that seven international air routes will continue to service the country. | He clarified that commercial flights to Mexico, Turkey, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Russia, Bolivia, and Cuba will remain availa…

Luis Chirino (2021-12-23). 2021 Year in Review: Recapping Cuba. america.cgtn.com As the year ends on the island of Cuba, citizens will continue to face challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and a weak economy in the new year. More than eight thousand Cubans have died from COVID-19. In 2021, the pandemic continued to spread while negatively impacting the economy on the island. CGTN's …

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-23). UK blocks Venezuela from accessing its international reserves. peoplesdispatch.org Britain's Supreme Court passed a ruling to continue blocking Venezuela from accessing 31 tons of Venezuelan gold valued at USD 2 billion. This gold is deposited at the Bank of England. The case went to court because the Bank has refused to release the gold reserves to the Bolivarian government stating that it recognizes the opposition activist Juan Guaidó as a legitimate authority.

_____ (2021-12-23). UK Gold Ruling Based On 'Illegal Interference' In Venezuela. popularresistance.org Mexico City, Mexico, December 20, 2021 — The United Kingdom's highest court issued a ruling on Monday favoring opposition figure Juan Guaidó and his efforts to wrest control of US$1.7 billion worth of Venezuelan gold stored at the Bank of England (BoE). | The Monday decision is the latest episode in the legal struggle by the democratically-elected Nicolás Maduro government to regain access to the reserves. Following what the court described as the "one voice principle," the court ruled that under the UK's constitutional arrangements political recognition of foreign states falls to the country's executive.