• Mexico president calls for Julian Assange to be released from UK prison
• UN envoy says Assange showing signs of "torture", British govt should release him immediately
• "I'm slowly dying here": 'Sedated' Assange tells friend during Christmas Eve call from UK prison as health concerns mount
• Assange testifies in Spanish case against security contractor
• Reporters Without Borders calls for the release of Julian Assange
• So who spied on Julian Assange? Many possible suspects
• Guardian issues halfhearted correction of article about 'plot' to transfer Assange to Russia - 1 year later
• Historian and Assange activist says judge's acceptance of 'complexity' of Assange's case is 'an important win'
• 'Absolutely unaware': Assange testifies in trial of Spanish company that spied on WikiLeaks founder inside embassy
• Assange lawyer says UK-US treaty prohibits extradition of WikiLeaks publisher
  

Libya's Government of National Accord has accused the Libyan Armed Forces of almost immediately violating the ceasefires in the Salah ad-Din and Wadi ar-Rabiya districts of Tripoli.

© State of Libya

"The presidential council's head [GNA] and commander-in-chief of the Libyan army [Fayez Sarraj] declares ceasefire that began at midnight of January 12," the GNA said in a statement on Facebook. With that, the GNA stressed reserving "its lawful right to respond to any attack or aggression from the other side."

From the start, the sides in both regions have tried to observe ceasefire, and, except for 1-2 scattered cases, the situation has been remaining calm," the ministry said.

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's LNA has shot down a Turkish drone that was carrying mortar rounds in violation of the latest ceasefire between the LNA and the GNA, the LNA's Al-Karama Operations Room said Sunday.

"An enemy Turkish drone that was carrying mortar rounds was shot down. This [the flight] was a violation of the ceasefire," the operations room's press office said.

President of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vitaly Naumkin: "The talks in Moscow are a serious [diplomatic] breakthrough for Russia in Libya... They have solidified Russia's position as an impartial mediator."

Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libya's Tripoli-based UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), and his rival, the Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, arrived for peace talks in Moscow on Monday. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, are intermediaries in the discussions.

Grigory Lukyanov, a senior lecturer at the Moscow-based Higher School of Economics, stressed: "Russia is de facto the only player today that has the trust of both the GNA and the HoR, as well as enough trust of Turkey and Egypt. No other nation in or outside the region enjoys the same level or trust and support."

Haftar agreed to fly to Moscow because he does not consider Turkey an impartial side in the conflict. Russia's primary goals are to end the bloodshed in Libya and lay the groundwork for further dialogue.

Naumkin agreed that a "lasting ceasefire" would be the most tangible result coming out of the talks. "NATO had never intended to bring democracy to Libya. Democracy can never be introduced at the point of bayonets."

The ceasefire agreement is being prepared to be signed by LNA Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and GNA Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj.

"The agreement includes the following points: Russia will control the ceasefire and send delegations to Libya to monitor the process; the deployment of Turkish troops to Tripoli will stop; the UN [will provide] international control of the ceasefire agreement's implementation; the LNA and GNA will return unconditionally to their positions under the ceasefire."

The LNA will be responsible for ensuring the security of oil and gas fields and fighting against terrorism in coordination with the GNA's head.

"We want the ceasefire to be signed in Libya as soon as possible," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Italian PM Giuseppe Conte in Ankara on Monday, shedding some light on the ongoing talks in Moscow. "I think it will end in the evening, I received the information that [the talks] continue in a positive direction."

The LNA and the internationally recognized GNA have pledged to observe the ceasefire suggested by Russia and Turkey after negotiations in Moscow.

The draft document suggests that all parties would stop military actions and observe the ceasefire conditions. Meanwhile, a commission is to be established to determine a contact line between the warring sides.

The LNA and the GNA have agreed upon some ceasefire details, but they are still working on a document to elaborate upon some aspects of the ceasefire deal. Some warring parties signed the agreement immediately, but General Khalifa Haftar wanted to wait until Tuesday morning to have more time to study the document.

The talks in Moscow... lasted for more than six hours.

Lavrov also made it clear that Russia and Turkey would further lend their support to all Libyan parties to help them implement the agreement. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also expressed hope that both sides would eventually commit to complying with the newly-reached agreement, paving the way for the start of political process in Libya.

Aguila Saleh, the head of HoR, did not sign the document. However, Lavrov hopes the group will sign it on Tuesday.

Both leaders "view this document positively and just want some extra time, until tomorrow morning, to make a final decision about signing it," the Russian minister told journalists. "I hope, this decision will be positive."

• Spokesman for Haftar's LNA forces announces ceasefire beginning January 12
• Haftar's LNA in control of most of Libya - rejects Putin-Erdogan ceasefire call

• Donald Trump vs the U.N.: At odds on many issues
• Trump to issue executive order to reduce the US' role in the UN
• New bill proposes a complete US withdrawal from United Nations
• Netanyahu thanks the US for opposition to UN resolution on Golan Heights
• US vetoes UN vote on Israeli land grab and genocide
• The US vs. the UN in the battle for real international law

Since launching his campaign last February, Booker struggled to raise the type of money required to support a White House bid. He was at the back of the pack in most surveys and failed to meet the polling requirements needed to participate in Tuesday's debate. Booker also missed last month's debate and exits the race polling in low single digits in the early primary states and nationwide.

Booker had warned that the looming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump would deal a "big, big blow" to his campaign by pulling him away from Iowa in the final weeks before the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses. He hinted at the challenges facing his campaign last week in an interview on The Associated Press' Ground Game podcast.

"If we can't raise more money in this final stretch, we won't be able to do the things that other campaigns with more money can do to show presence," he said.

The protests in Iran that followed Tehran's admission of its role in the downing of the Ukrainian passenger jet were met with an outpouring of support from Washington. But is it about Iranians, or regime change?

US officials and establishment figures certainly spared no effort as they went out of their way to show how much they supposedly admire the 'courage' of Iranians who took to the streets to vent their anger at the fact that a Ukrainian passenger jet, with many Iranians on board, was mistakenly shot down by Iran's military - something Tehran admitted of its own volition before the results of the crash investigation were made public.

However, Washington apparently decided that this tragedy, which took the lives of 176 people, is a good enough reason to remind Iranians - who are already consumed by grief - just how much they are 'suffering' at the hands of a supposedly 'oppressive' regime that, by sheer coincidence, turns out to be America's arch-rival in the region.

President Donald Trump spent the last couple of days tweeting compliments to the protesters and warnings to Tehran, both in English and in Farsi. On Sunday he demanded that Tehran "stop the killing of your great Iranian people." There are no reports of deaths during the protests over the plane downing, even though law enforcement had to deploy tear gas and water cannons against an agitated crowd on several occasions.

Earlier, the president went so far as to remind Iranians that he - who vowed just days ago to annihilate 52 targets on Iranian soil in the event of a conflict with Iran, including prominent cultural sites - has allegedly stood with them since the beginning of his presidency.

Other US officials also wasted little time before they joined the cheering chorus of the Iranian protesters' supporters. American Ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson took to social media on Sunday to express his admiration for the protesters and "call out the cruel Khamenei regime."

Pentagon Chief Mark Esper, meanwhile, hinted at how Washington really views the protests sparked by the downing of the Ukrainian jet. "You can see the Iranian people are standing up and asserting their rights, their aspirations for a better government — a different regime," he told CBS's 'Face the Nation'.

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton - a notorious American arch-hawk and a big fan of the idea of launching a war against Iran - was much blunter in his words, openly stating that "regime change is in the air" and "the people of Iran can see it."

State Secretary - and former CIA Chief - Mike Pompeo was the first, though, to try his hand at interpreting the "voice of the Iranian people", and stopped just short of openly calling for a regime change on Saturday.

It is true that Iran is still reeling from the tragic Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crash. Aggrieved Iranians are hitting the streets of Tehran for the second day amid growing public outcry over the government's actions.

When it comes to America's adversaries, though, any sign of protest sparks a keen interest in Washington. The reasons for this interest, however, do not appear to be humanitarian. During previous protests in Iran, sparked by the rise in fuel costs, Pompeo urged Iranians to send him videos of the police crackdown - but only so that "champions of democracy" in Washington could impose even more sanctions against the rival nation.

• Den of vipers: Netanyahu's top aides indicted on corruption charges
• AG Avichai Mandelblit: 'It is my duty by law to indict Benjamin Netanyahu'
• How Israel became one of the world's worst rogue states
• Netanyahu's list of corruption scandals