2020-02-22: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-22). 'Extremely concerning': Russia's Olympic Committee and diplomats file complaints over police raid on biathletes in Italy. rt.com Moscow diplomats and sporting officials have urged Italy to explain why its police barged into the rooms of Russian biathletes mere hours before a world championship event. | The Russian Embassy in Rome demanded that Italy explain the reasons behind police searches conducted in the hotel rooms of Russian athletes on Saturday. The diplomats urged local authorities to guarantee all "necessary conditions" for Russians to train and participate in international tournaments in the country. | Moscow's Olympic Committee (OKR) asked its Italian counterpart and the International Biathlon Union (IBU) to explain the situa…

RT (2020-02-22). Italian police search surging Russian biathlete Loginov HOURS before race. rt.com Alexander Loginov, who broke a 12-year losing streak for Russian male biathletes by winning gold at the IBU World Championships, has been subjected to a search by Italian police hours before a Saturday event. | The search warrant served by police in Rasen-Antholz in South Tyrol, Italy where the competition is taking place targets Loginov and Russian team coach Alexander Kasperovich. | –í–æ—Ç –∫–∞–∫ –ø—Ä–æ—Ö–æ–¥–∏–ª –æ–±—&…

RT (2020-02-22). 'They took our rifles as if we were dangerous criminals': Russian biathlete Loginov on Italian police raid. rt.com Russian biathlete Alexander Loginov, who was subjected to a search by Italian police on Saturday, said that officers broke into their hotel room early in the morning while he was sleeping and confiscated his rifle. | The unexpected search, which took place hours before the men's relay race at the IBU World Championship, left the team in a state of shock, with Russian biathlon managers calling the raid an act of harassment. |

RT (2020-02-22). Trump mocks 'fake news' for running 'Russian Sympathizer Bernie' smear, but doesn't miss a chance to score points. rt.com It seems Donald Trump is yet to decide whether he would rather lampoon left-wing media for adding Democrat frontrunner Bernie Sanders to Team Russia or take the opportunity to mock his potential rival in the November poll. | Just a day apart, two steaming-hot scoops landed in the US media cycle. First, the New York Times said Russia was helping Donald Trump to get reelected. Then the Washington Post claimed Russia was helping Bernie Sanders's campaign. All based on anonymous sources, innuendos, and other traits with which even casual followers of the 'Russiagate' saga are all too familiar. | One of the princip…

RT (2020-02-22). 'Anti-doping officer personally initiated police raid without IBU authorization' — Russian biathlon head Vladimir Drachev. rt.com The head of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) Vladimir Drachev revealed that a shocking police raid on Russian biathletes was initiated by IBU interim Anti-Doping Manager Sarah Fussek-Hakkarainen who personally signed the inquiry. | Her actions which triggered a massive police investigation were not authorized by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) which was unaware of Fussek-Hakkarainen's intentions. | "I have just spoken…

RT (2020-02-22). No lawyer, no sleep, not even badges — Loginov's teammate Garanichev describes early morning police raid ahead of relay race. rt.com Italian authorities took three days to act on a request to probe the Russian biathlon team over suspicions of doping, and the way they did it — on the day of a major race — was very disruptive, Loginov's roommate Garanichev said.

RT (2020-02-22). Sleeping in orbit & surviving Russian winter: Rakesh Sharma, first Indian in space, recalls his training & flight. rt.com Four Indian astronauts are now training in Russia ahead of their nation's first manned space mission. Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space, shared with RT his memories of braving Russian winters and going into orbit in 1984. | Sharma, a former wing commander in the Indian Air Force, became the first — and so far only — Indian citizen ever to travel to space. He was part of a three-man crew on the Soviet Soyuz T-11, and spent a week on the famous Salyut-7 orbital station — a project that paved the way for modular orbital habitats, including the International Space Station (ISS). | "At a perso…

The Canary (2020-02-22). David Dimbleby says move to scrap BBC licence fee is 'dangerous'. thecanary.co Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby has said that the BBC is under threat in "in a way it has never been before".The former Question Time host, 81, said the Government was using the "pernicious route" by arguing the licence fee is "wrong and unfair".It follows claims last week suggesting that Number 10 could be prepared to scrap the TV licence fee as part of a move to scale back the broadcaster's operations.Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Matt Dunham/PA)The Daily Mail reported that Dimbleby told Germany's ARD state TV channel that moves to undermine the BBC were "dangerous".He said: "The BBC is under threat in a way…

WSWS (2020-02-22). European legal team will seek asylum for Julian Assange in France. wsws.org Members of imprisoned WikiLeaks journalist Julian Assange's legal team, together with Assange's father John Shipton, held a press conference on Thursday in Paris.

WSWS (2020-02-22). Tens of thousands protest all over Germany against right-wing terror. wsws.org People in over 50 cities have taken part in spontaneous vigils and demonstrations in memory of the victims of the fascist attack in Hanau.

Philip Giraldi (2020-02-22). Trump Goes after the Brits… globalresearch.ca The inept course of what passes for United States Foreign Policy continues, with the Trump Administration now going after the nation's second oldest friend, Great Britain. With Trump having serially insulted America's oldest ally France last year, it should only …

South Front (2020-02-22). Video: Turkey's Sultan-in-Chief Erdogan To the Rescue of Al-Qaeda in Idlib. globalresearch.ca Tensions between the United States and Russia are growing in northeastern Syria. On February 19, a video appeared online showing how an armored vehicle of the U.S. military was pushing a vehicle of the Russian Military Police off a road. …

Stephen Lendman (2020-02-22). "Russia AgainGate": Phony Accusations of Russian "2020 Election Meddling".The Big Lie that won't Die. globalresearch.ca The NYT falsely warned of Russian meddling to re-elect Trump that hasn't occurred. | Nor does any evidence suggest it's coming ahead. Earlier accusations of Moscow electoral interference to help Trump defeat Hillary in 2016 were bald-faced Big Lies. | Not a …

WSWS (2020-02-22). Intelligence agencies intervene in US elections to link Sanders to Putin. wsws.org On the eve of Nevada Democratic caucuses, the Washington Post reported that "US officials" told Sanders the Russian government was working to aid his campaign.

Fight Back (2020-02-22). Germany: Lenin comes to Gelsenkirchen! fightbacknews.org On March 14, the Russian revolutionary, Marxist working-class theorist and leader of the October Revolution of 1917 will come to Gelsenkirchen, Germany. 150 years after his birthday he will move permanently into Gelsenkirchen-Horst – in the form of an over two meter tall, artfully shaped cast-iron statue in front of the Horster Mitte, the federal headquarters of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD). | "This will also be the start of a nationwide movement 'Don't give anti-communism a chance,'" says Gabi Fechtner, the chairwoman of the MLPD. "In times where monuments of the great communist th…

WSWS (2020-02-22). Video: "To stop right terror, you need to know where it comes from" wsws.org Socialist Equality Party (SGP) deputy chairman, Christoph Vandreier, spoke at a vigil at the Brandenburg Gate after a right-wing terrorist killed eight people in Hanau, Germany.

sputniknews (2020-02-22). Finland to Accept Up to 175 Migrants From Mediterranean Camps – Interior Ministry. sputniknews.com HELSINKI (Sputnik) – Finland will take in up to 175 vulnerable migrants living in refugee camps in the southern EU frontier states, the Interior Ministry announced in a statement Saturday.

sputniknews (2020-02-22). Protest Against Right-Wing Groups in Hanau in the Wake of Shooting – Video. sputniknews.com Live from Hanau as hundreds march against racism and right-wing groups in the wake of the recent double shooting that left 11 people dead.

sputniknews (2020-02-22). Italian Town of Codogno on Lockdown Amid Coronavirus Fears – Video. sputniknews.com Fourteen cases of the new COVID-19 infection have been confirmed in Italy.

sputniknews (2020-02-22). Michael O'Leary: Ryanair Boss Stokes Anger for Saying Terrorists are Typically Muslim Men. sputniknews.com The notoriously pugnacious businessman, who is in charge of Europe's biggest airline, has called for more stringent security checks on "males of a Muslim persuasion". His comments came the day after a female British convert to Islam admitted to a plan to blow up St. Paul's Cathedral.

sputniknews (2020-02-22). UK's Post-Brexit Passports Made by Franco-Dutch Company at Polish Factory — Report. sputniknews.com The new blue passports will replace the burgundy-covered documents that have been used by the British for almost 30 years because of the UK's membership of the EU.

sputniknews (2020-02-22). Boeing Buying Russian-Made Components for Its New Starliner Spacecraft – Company. sputniknews.com In development for nearly a decade, the Starliner programme was Boeing's answer to the decommissioning of the Space Shuttle programme in 2011, which left NASA and allied space agencies dependent on Russian Soyuz rockets to take crews to the International Space Station.

yenisafak (2020-02-22). Turkish father loses 'helpful' son in Germany shooting. yenisafak.com His father, Behcet Gultekin said he was shot dead two minutes after he met him.The father, who is suffering from cancer, has been living in Germany for 52 years."I go to the Frankfurt University clinic twice a week for chemotherapy. He used to take me and served as an interpreter for me […] He was very helpful and very religious," Behcet Gultekin said. Burak Kararti, Turkey's consul general in Frankfurt, told reporters after a visit to the grieving family that Turkish-origin people, as the largest foreign community in the country, often face these kinds of racist attacks. "Terrorism has no nationality, gender,…

yenisafak (2020-02-22). At least six PKK/KCK suspects arrested in southern Turkey. yenisafak.com Turkish police arrested on Saturday six PKK/KCK suspects for their links to the terrorist group, security sources said.The arrests came after prosecutors in the southern port city of Mersin issued warrants for the suspects, said the sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.Those arrested include members of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) such as Akdeniz district chair Feyza Kaya and Toroslar district chair Cabbar Karabeg, among others.Ankara has long accused the HDP of having links to the terrorist YPG/PKK.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -…

yenisafak (2020-02-22). ANALYSIS: EU aims to restrict Turkey in Mediterranean. yenisafak.com Josep Borrell, who assumed…

yenisafak (2020-02-22). Syrian Turkmen support Ankara's involvement in Idlib. yenisafak.com Turkey is involved in Syria in order to stop deaths and displacement, speaker of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly said on Saturday.In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Muhammed Vecih Cuma said that the continuing attacks by Assad regime and its allies in Idlib, Syria, have led to the region's "biggest humanitarian crisis".He said that nearly four million people in the region were expecting help."One million of them are displaced from their homes and have lost their families," Cuma said. "While some of them live in tents, others, unfortunately, try to survive under trees. Turkey helps them."Established in 2012, the Syr…

yenisafak (2020-02-22). Back to blue: UK passports revert to old colour from next month. yenisafak.com Britain will start re-introducing traditional blue passports next month, the interior ministry said on Saturday, replacing the burgundy European Union documents that have been in use since 1988.Reverting to the dark blue of pre-EU days has been a point of pride for many Britons who voted to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum – even though the new passport will be made by a Franco-Dutch firm."By returning to the iconic blue and gold design, the British passport will once again be entwined with our national identity and I cannot wait to travel on one," Home Secretary (interior minister) Priti Patel said in a state…

yenisafak (2020-02-22). Aramco to win unconditional EU clearance for $69 bln SABIC deal. yenisafak.com Saudi Aramco is set to gain unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $69 billion buy of a 70% stake in petrochemicals group Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) , people familiar with the matter said on Friday.Aramco announced the deal to acquire the controlling stake from sovereign investor Public Investment Fund (PIF) in March last year, a move key to its diversification into refining and petrochemicals.Riyadh-headquartered SABIC, the world's fourth largest petrochemicals group, has operations in over 50 countries.The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the case by Feb. 27, declined to commen…

RT (2020-02-21). Italy locks down 10 towns after 1st coronavirus death as cases jump to 17. rt.com Public spaces across 10 Italian cities have been placed on lockdown, as the first Italian patient succumbed to the illness, amid a spate of new coronavirus cases — bringing the total in the country to 17. | With 15 new cases confirmed on Friday in northern Italy's Lombardy region, health authorities have imposed restrictions on 50,000 people across 10 towns, who have been asked to stay home and avoid public places, including schools, bars, church gatherings, and sporting events. | Five doctors are among the new patients, the first known cases of local transmission of the virus in Italy. None of them are…

Joel Wendland-Liu (2020-02-21). W.E.B. Du Bois exposed capitalist and colonialist roots of white supremacy. peoplesworld.org In his extraordinary, if neglected, book The World and Africa, W.E.B. Du Bois details a history of Africa before European exploration, the enslavement of tens of millions, and the imposition of colonialism. In so doing, he assembles a compendium of the continent's contributions to human development, its role in shaping the histories of Europe and Asia, as …

RT (2020-02-21). Zombie collusion? Clinton pounces on latest 'Russian meddling' report to rally the troops, because it worked so well in 2016. rt.com Hillary Clinton has seized upon the latest claim that Russia is 'interfering' in the 2020 election to renew her assault on US President Donald Trump, while a lack of evidence casts even the vague report into doubt. | Clinton crowed an 'I told you so' in response to an NBC reporter's tweet suggesting Trump had desperately wanted to keep the latest installment in the never-ending 'Russian meddling' soap opera under wraps. Accusing the president of "taking Russian help for himself," she exhorted her followers to keep "Putin's Puppet" from securing a second term. | Putin's Puppet is at it again, taking Russian hel…

RT (2020-02-21). 'Hoax!' Trump hits back at latest claims that Russia will 'aid' his 2020 campaign. rt.com US President Donald Trump has slammed the recently reported (but unsubstantiated) claims that Russia will interfere to help him win the 2020 presidential election, saying the rumors are just "another misinformation campaign." | The New York Times and other media reported on Thursday that Moscow is "aiding" Trump in the upcoming election, citing only anonymous intelligence officials. | Cable networks like MSNBC and CNN instantly amplified the unverified claims, setting in motion another round of 'Russiagate' conspiracy theorizing, almost eleven months after the two-year-long Mueller investigation found no evide…

RT (2020-02-21). 'Russians helping Sanders!' MSM takes abrupt break from anti-Trump frenzy for a 'never Bernie' moment on the eve of Nevada caucus. rt.com As Bernie Sanders surges to the front of the pack for the Democratic nomination, the Washington Post has dropped an anonymous "bombshell" claiming that Moscow seeks to help him as well as its "puppet," US President Donald Trump. | On the word of "people familiar with the matter,"

M.K. Bhadrakumar (2020-02-21). How India's Modi is playing on Trump's ego to his advantage. mronline.org One thing about U.S. President Donald Trump is that he can be brutally frank. Trump recently picked up the phone and called British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to convey his displeasure over the latter's decision to allow Huawei to operate in the UK despite Washington's repeated urgings. |

Staff (2020-02-21). Headlines for February 21, 2020. democracynow.org Roger Stone Sentenced to 40-Month Prison Term, Trump Lashed at Intel Chief over Warning of Russian Meddling in 2020 Election, Germany Mourns Victims of Right-Wing Terror Attacks, Suspect Arrested in Stabbing at London Mosque, U.K. to Close Borders to "Unskilled" and Non-English-Speaking Immigrants, Protests Erupt as Acting ICE Director Challenges New York Pro-Immigrant Laws, Mexican Radio Journalist Murdered in Ciudad Juárez, February Flowers Bloom in Moscow Amid Record-High Winter Temperatures, 28 Arrested in Seattle Protesting Chase Bank Fossil Fuel Ties, Rail Blockades Continue as Protests Grow Against Coastal…

Johanna Ross (2020-02-21). Did Trump Offer Assange A 'Quid Pro Quo' regarding "Russiagate" and the DNC Troves? globalresearch.ca A revelation in Westminster Magistrate's Court on Wednesday sent shockwaves through the mainstream media. It is being widely publicised that in 2017 US President Donald Trump offered Julian Assange a pardon if he was to declare that Russia had not …

Aaron Maté (2020-02-21). Turkey, US protect Al Qaeda in Idlib and worsen Syria's suffering. thegrayzone.com Why is Turkey, with US backing, protecting Al-Qaeda's largest affiliate in Idlib, Syria? Idlib is facing a humanitarian disaster as…

Stephen Lendman (2020-02-21). Russia and Turkey, "Allies" Fighting One Another: On Opposite Sides of the War on Syria. globalresearch.ca US forever war in Syria shows no signs of ending because restoration of peace and stability to the country would be a major strategic blow to Washington's aim for controlling the Middle East — NATO and Israel serving as junior …

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-02-21). Greater Albania Project Is Accelerating as Kosovo's Statehood Is in Question. globalresearch.ca Clear indications have been made that there is a project for a Greater Albania and it is progressing ahead, especially as the world's attention is focussed on and distracted by the coronavirus, Libya and Syria's Idlib province. The ultimate goal …

South Front (2020-02-21). Video: Turkey's War on Syria. Bluff or Reality? globalresearch.ca Turkey will take the Idlib matter into its own hands and the military operation in northwestern Syria is simply a "matter of time", President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on February 19. Erdogan said that Turkey is not satisfied with talks …

Gaither Stewart (2020-02-21). Roma: How Romans Differ From Europeans. counterpunch.org Drive across the Alps into Italy and set out southwards and you're surprised that the capital city on the Mediterranean is still hundreds of kilometers away. That long road ahead makes you conscious of the isolation of the ancient city called Roma. And you are right. Rome is isolated. Far away from the "real" Europe

Jonathan Cook (2020-02-21). Labour's Next Leader has Already betrayed the Left. dissidentvoice.org In recent years the British Labour party has grown rapidly to become one of the largest political movement in Europe, numbering more than half a million members, many of them young people who had previously turned their backs on national politics. The reason was simple: a new leader, Jeremy Corbyn, had shown that it was …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-02-21). EU Reaffirms its Support for Palestinian State. imemc.org Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union/Vice-President of the European Commission, on Thursday, met with the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Riyad Al-Malki. Borrell stressed the EU's continued commitment to a negotiated two-state solution, and welcomed the Palestinian commitment …

WSWS (2020-02-21). Fighting mounts as Washington backs Turkish attack on Syria, Russia. wsws.org US-backed Turkish military operations targeting Syrian and Russian units in Syria could escalate into an all-out clash between Russia and the entire NATO alliance.

Renee Parsons (2020-02-21). Why Renew the "Ultra Secret" Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court? globalresearch.ca As the emerging Quantum World continues to shake reality as we once knew it, it is no coincidence that the ultra-secret FISA Court has been unwittingly thrust into the public spotlight of the FBI Russiagate scandal — exactly where it …

Stephen F. Cohen (2020-02-21). The Kremlin Plans to Modernize Russia, Again. thenation.com The Kremlin Plans to Modernize Russia, Again…

Andrew Korybko (2020-02-21). Russia Bans Most Chinese from Entry: 'Pure Racism' or 'Preventive Reaction'? globalresearch.ca Russia unexpectedly banned all Chinese except those with diplomatic, business, humanitarian, and transit visas from entering the country, but this unprecedented move was made as a preventive reaction against the spread of the coronavirus and not for racist purposes, though …

The Canary (2020-02-21). Britain First leader Paul Golding charged under the Terrorism Act. thecanary.co The leader of far-right political group Britain First has been charged with an offence under the Terrorism Act after refusing to give police access to his phone. | Paul Golding was stopped at Heathrow Airport in October on his way back from a trip to the Russian Parliament in Moscow by officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command. | He refused to give the pin codes for a number of his electronic devices. | Golding was later charged with refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the act. | In a statement, Golding said he was not a terrorist and described the charges as "an abuse of legislation". | Sc…

John McEvoy (2020-02-21). French workers continue their epic struggle against Macron's economic reforms. thecanary.co On 20 February, nearly 100,000 people across France

Jordan Stancil (2020-02-21). Germany Struggles to Respond to Racist Mass Murder. thenation.com Germany Struggles to Respond to Racist Mass Murder…