(2026-01-08). Russia-Ukraine peace and the Putin factor. independentaustralia.net 
(2026-01-08). EU Leaders' Syria Visit an Opportunity to Bolster Rights. hrw.org Click to expand Image | EU Council President Antonio Costa (L) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Cairo, Egypt, March 4, 2025. | © 2025 EU Council/Anadolu via Getty Images | On January 9, the European Union's highest-level leaders, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa, are set to meet with Syrian leaders in Damascus for their first-ever visit to the country. Von der Leyen and Costa should use this significant moment to press for a rights-respecting transition in Syria. High on the agenda for both parties is Syria's economic recovery. While the EU's lifti…
(2026-01-08). Bringing Gaza Home to Middle America's Flyover Country. worldbeyondwar.org 
Our hope at trial is that our fellow citizens and neighbors will be as abhorred by what Gazans have suffered as we are and decide it's time to stand and be counted; that blocking the entrance to a Senator's office is a minimal response to a genocide. #WorldBEYONDWar…
(2026-01-08). Regulators clamp down on platform misdeeds. ecns.cn China will bar online platforms from using big data to engage in discriminatory pricing against consumers, as market regulators move to regulate the platform economy under new regulations released on Wednesday.
(2026-01-08). The New German Warfare State. scheerpost.com German Bundeswehr © S.Wilke CC Attribution 2.0 Generic | In one of the scariest moments in modern history, we're doing our best at ScheerPost to pierce the fog of lies that conceal it but we need some help to pay our writers and staff. Please consider a By Fabian Scheidler / The European Union, Britain and other European NATO members have embarked on a path of massive militarization, which in…
(2026-01-08). Pax Americana, Trump-Style. counterpunch.org 
Establishment officials in Europe and the United States are shedding longstanding norms of empire denial by taking positions on what the Trump administration's foreign policy means for the future of Pax Americana. Since former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and longtime architect of American empire Ivo Daalder declared "the end of Pax Americana" after the 2024
(2026-01-08). Five GOP Senators Vote to Move Forward Bill Blocking Future Trump Attacks on Venezuela. theintercept.com Five Republican senators joined Democrats to advance legislation that would block President Donald Trump from launching future attacks on Venezuela without Congressional approval, handing the president a symbolic rebuke hours after he said the U.S. could oversee the country's affairs for years. | While the vote will have no immediate impact on the ground, it sends a stark message to Trump that even some Republicans are displeased with his open-ended plans for Venezuela. | A U.S. attack on Venezuela on Saturday left dozens of people dead and President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in U.S. custody. | All Democrats…
(2026-01-08). China presents measures for protection of online consumers. ecns.cn China will bar online platforms from using big data to engage in discriminatory pricing against frequent customers, as officials presented new measures for the regulation of the platform economy on Wednesday.