Editor (2022-01-06). Biden's Four Biggest Mideast Challenges in 2022Ôøº. scheerpost.com Al-Aqsa Mosque last May. [Screenshot / YouTube] | By Juan Cole | President Biden faces severe challenges this year, but in my view the for-profit news often either focuses on the wrong ones or misinterprets the nature of the obstacles. | Here are some of the major challenges: | 1. Iran While many foreign policy hawks and inside-the-beltway pundits see the Iranian civilian nuclear enrichment program as a major challenge, and while it is an important issue, there are other troubling dimensions of the US-Iran relatio…

Staff (2022-01-05). Kazakhstan's main airport seized by protesters — reports. rt.com Almaty transit hub overrun after president promised 'tough as possible' response to unrest | Flights to Kazakhstan are being canceled after Almaty International Airport, the country's busiest, was reportedly seized by protesters on Wednesday, amid mass unrest triggered by a hike in the price of liquefied gas. | While no visual evidence was immediately available from the airport due to a mass internet blackout said to be happening in Kazakhstan, locally-sourced Telegram news channel Orda cited the airport's press service as confirming they were no longer in control of the location. | It claimed the media team h…

sputniknews (2022-01-05). Sullivan, Nordic Partners Talk Readiness to Impose Costs on Russia Over Ukraine – NSC. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his counterparts from the Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden discussed by telephone each country's readiness to impose consequences on Russia should it escalate tensions with Ukraine, Nation Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said.

Zahra Mirzafarjouyan (2022-01-05). Progress 'visible', main stumbling blocks becoming clearer. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 05 (MNA) — As the new round of Vienna talks on the removal of US anti-Iranian sanctions continues, the Russian diplomat said that progress in Vienna talks is visible and main stumbling blocks are becoming clearer.

Staff (2022-01-05). Airport takeover, palace fire & promise of 'tough' response: Here's how Kazakhstan's unrest escalated. rt.com The Central Asian state continues its apparent descent into chaos as street protests triggered by a hike in gas prices grow increasingly violent | The situation in Kazakhstan took a sharp turn for the worse on Wednesday, as several cities saw violent unrest, with administrative buildings stormed, a presidential residence set on fire, and the main airport allegedly seized. | The protests began after a twofold hike in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at the start of the new year. The price caps that had existed in the country for years had turned LPG into an extremely popular type of fuel, widely utili…

Staff (2022-01-05). Kazakh president asks Russia-led bloc for military help. rt.com Allied military help needed to quell actions of "terrorist bands" amid violent civil unrest in Kazakhstan, the president insists | The Kazakh president has asked the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for help amid violent unrest gripping the nation, claiming that "terrorists" were overrunning strategic facilities across the country. | "I believe reaching out to our CSTO partners is appropriate and timely," President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was quoted as saying by the media late on Wednesday. | The president slammed the violent protesters who have overrun government buildings and other fac…

Staff (2022-01-05). Internet switched off in Kazakhstan amid unrest — reports. rt.com TV broadcasting has also been disrupted in the Central Asian country faced with a wave of protests over a spike in fuel prices | The internet was reportedly switched off across Kazakhstan on Wednesday, as the country remains gripped by violent protests that began in response to a hike in fuel prices after the New Year. | NetBlocks, a British organization that monitors internet freedom, has described the situation in the country as "a nation-scale internet blackout." | Access to the web was cut off completely following a day of mobile internet disruptions and partial curbs on Tuesday, it added. | "The incident…

Staff (2022-01-05). Nationwide state of emergency declared in Kazakhstan. rt.com President vows 'tough' response to ongoing violent protests | Kazakhstan's authorities have imposed a state of emergency across the country in an attempt to get a grip on a deteriorating security situation, after widespread demonstrations were sparked by a gas price hike. | President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reached for the sweeping measures late on Wednesday, hours after saying he intended to act "as tough as possible" against the violence. | The state of emergency vastly expands the powers of the country's police and military, as well as allowing the handing down of heavy penalties, including lengthy prison ter…

Kim Petersen (2022-01-05). What Does the Statement of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States on Preventing Nuclear War Tell Us? dissidentvoice.org The Doomsday Clock has been sitting the past year at 100 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to civilization-ending apocalypse. The United States has done little to quell doomsday apprehensions by ratcheting up tensions with China over Taiwan and its warships in the South China Sea, as well as with Russia over …

Editor (2022-01-05). Kim Philby remembered: A traitor to his class. mronline.org Kim Philby, born on January 1st, 1912, is one of the best known double agents of the Cold War era.

ecns.cn (2022-01-05). China to continue contributing to global nuclear governance: FM spokesperson. ecns.cn China believes that this first Joint Statement by the leaders of the five Nuclear-Weapon States demonstrates the States' political will to prevent a nuclear war, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday, adding that China will continue to contribute its wisdom and proposals to global nuclear governance.

sputniknews (2022-01-05). Israel's Intel Chief Says Revival of Iran Nuclear Deal Better Than Collapse of JCPOA Talks: Report. sputniknews.com In December, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid made it clear that Tel Aviv is not opposed in principle to any accord that may be concluded between world powers and Tehran at the ongoing Vienna talks on the possible revival of the Iran nuclear deal.

Robert Koehler (2022-01-05). Poisoning ourselves with war. zcomm.org This is not about blame. This is not about shame. This is about change. We still have our finger on the nuclear trigger…

Staff (2022-01-04). 'We'd be shot for this': Husband of Russian high jump queen cites Kenya & Ukraine in doping double standards. rt.com The husband of Olympic high jump champion Mariya Lasitskene has suggested Russia has faced double standards when it comes to doping sanctions | Russia has been hit with severe doping sanctions while countries such as Kenya and Ukraine have got off lightly, the sports journalist husband of Tokyo Olympic high jump champion Mariya Lasitskene has suggested. | Russia remains suspended by World Athletics, meaning stars such as three-time world champion Lasitskene can only compete as neutrals. | The sanctions were first imposed back in 2015 in the wake of allegations of a state-sponsored doping program run by Russia.

Zahra Mirzafarjouyan (2022-01-04). Raeisi's visit to Russia turning point in Tehran-Moscow ties. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 04 (MNA) — The visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi to Russia is a turning point in Tehran-Moscow relations, said the country's ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali.

sputniknews (2022-01-04). Terrorists Carry Out Five Attacks on Syria's Idlib Zone – Russian Reconciliation Center. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (banned in Russia) shelled Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone five times over the past 24 hours, Rear Adm. Oleg Zhuravlyov, deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said at a briefing.

ecns.cn (2022-01-04). China hopes P5 could make commitments of mutual no-first-use of nuclear weapons. ecns.cn China hopes that the five Nuclear-Weapon States, namely China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States, could abandon the policies of nuclear deterrence based on the first-use of nuclear weapons and make commitments of mutual no-first-use of nuclear weapons, a Chinese arms control official said on Tuesday.

sputniknews (2022-01-04). Moscow Views Africa as Arena for Cooperation, Not Confrontation, Russian Foreign Ministry Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia does not view Africa as an arena of confrontation with other countries and is open to cooperation with African countries, China and the European Union, Vsevolod Tkachenko, director of the Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday.

sputniknews (2022-01-04). US Retains Nuclear Weapons to 'Preserve Peace And Stability', Claims State Dep. Spokesman. sputniknews.com For the first time ever, all five nuclear weapon-wielding states party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty – United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia – affirmed in a joint statement on 3 January that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."

teleSUR (2022-01-04). Official: NATO-Russia Council Confirmed for January 12. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, the alliance confirmed to TASS that a NATO-Russia Council meeting is scheduled for next January 12. During the meeting, Moscow is expected to be called to consider "NATO's concerns about Russia's actions." | RELATED: | According to the statement released on Tuesday, "NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has convened a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council for January 12, 2022, in his capacity as the Chair of…

Staff (2022-01-04). 'Artificial Sun' hits record temperature. rt.com China's clean energy experiment reaches temperature five times hotter than the Sun | A clean energy experiment known as the 'Artificial Sun' reached a temperature of 70,000,000C, and held it for more than 17 minutes, during trials in China. The program aims to mimic natural reactions occurring within stars. | On Thursday, Chinese scientists set a new record, as their Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), known as the 'Artificial Sun', reached and sustained a temperature five times hotter than the Sun, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. | The high-temperature plasma operation sustained tempe…

sputniknews (2022-01-04). Missile Silos or Wind Turbines? China Asks US Not to Estimate PRC Nuke Arsenal Using Satellite Snaps. sputniknews.com The Pentagon has accused the People's Republic of making dramatic strides in beefing up its strategic arsenal, including on the basis of satellite images hinting at the construction of new missile silos. Against the backdrop of these claims, US allies have asked Washington not to scrap the contingency of preemptive nuclear strikes against Beijing.

teleSUR, SH (2022-01-04). China anuncia que seguirá modernizando su arsenal nuclear. telesurtv.net China indicó que mantiene la capacidad nuclear al nivel mínimo requerido para garantizar la seguridad nacional.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2022-01-04). Video: The Dangers of Nuclear War. globalresearch.ca While one can conceptualize the loss of life and destruction resulting from present-day wars including Iraq and Afghanistan, it is impossible to fully comprehend the devastation which might result from a Third World War, using "new technologies" and advanced weapons, until it occurs and becomes a reality.

sputniknews (2022-01-04). Beijing Says AUKUS Pact Undermines Nuclear Non-Proliferation. sputniknews.com BEIJING (Sputnik) – The AUKUS trilateral defence agreement between the United States, the UK and Australia could lead to the collapse of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, Director-General of the Arms Control Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Fu Cong said on Tuesday.

teleSUR (2022-01-04). German and Swiss Firms Targeted by Israel's Mossad. telesurenglish.net The Swiss newspaper Neue Zàºrcher Zeitung published a report on Sunday that Mossad might be involved in the bomb attacks that happened in the 1980s against Swiss and German property. | RELATED: | The companies and firms were the property of people related to selling dual-purpose materials to Pakistan. It is believed that the attacks were an attempt to avoid the development of nuclear weapons in Pakistan. The attacks lef…

sputniknews (2022-01-04). Over 500,000 People Sign Petition Against Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's Knighthood. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – An online petition to have UK's former Labour prime minister Tony Blair stripped of his recently awarded knighthood is rapidly gaining support, with over half a million people signing it in just a few days.

sputniknews (2022-01-04). US Court Bars Pentagon From Punishing Seamen for Vaccination Refusal. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A US court has prohibited the Department of Defense from sanctioning Navy personnel for their refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19, despite a vaccine mandate for the entire American military, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.