Daily Archives: June 1, 2020

2020-06-01: News Headlines

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-06-01). Libyan War Escalates as Regional Powers Attempt to Gain Stronger Influence. globalresearch.ca Alarms are sounding in Europe as Turkey, Russia and Arab states could potentially agree on shared influence in Libya, and therefore the entirety of the eastern Mediterranean, according to some experts. This comes as European states have no influence over …

Alan Macleod (2020-06-01). National Security "Experts" Blame Russia for the George Floyd Protests. mintpressnews.com The latest instance of American social disharmony being blamed on Moscow is part of a long tradition, where some see an invisible Russian hand whenever it is useful.

Richard D. Wolff (2020-06-01). Why the Neoliberal Agenda Is a Failure at Fighting Coronavirus. zcomm.org Where neoliberalism is strong, governmental preparations for and copings with coronavirus were weak, too late, and too little: as in the U.S., the UK, and Italy, among others…

Frances Madeson (2020-06-01). Federal Prisons Should Not be Death Chambers. counterpunch.org Double Ditch Indian Village overlooks the Missouri River in North Dakota, about an hour's drive north from where the Dakota Access Pipeline Water Protectors formed their prayer camps in 2016 on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. It's a historic site of a village where, from 1490 to 1785, members of the Mandan Tribe lived in

Ali Salam (2020-06-01). European Union Calls for a Halt to Israeli Demolition Policies. imemc.org The European Union (EU) missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah released a statement last week, regarding a spike in Palestinian-owned home demolitions ordered and carried out by Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank so far in 2020, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. The statement noted that Israeli demolition of Palestinian …

_____ (2020-06-01). UK failure to support Covid-19 vaccine collaboration is 'shameful' on global stage. truepublica.org.uk TruePublica Editor: As the UK prepares itself to crash out of the European Union and sign a trade deal with America — Downing Street continues to side with Donald Trump, if not overtly — more indirectly. It has been known for a few months now that Donald Trump, in his odd quest to weaken America's …

_____ (2020-06-01). Airline bailout tracker reveals 'no conditions' attached to loans. truepublica.org.uk By TruePublica: The airline industry only survives in the first place because it was based on a race to the bottom and is consequently very heavily subsidised by the state in which they operate. In Europe it works like this as pointed out here by Transport and Environment: "The sector depends heavily on public support — from …

Johanna Maria Fritz, The Nation, Magnum Foundation (2020-06-01). Germany's Homeless Face Down the Coronavirus. thenation.com Johanna Maria Fritz, The Nation, Magnum Foundation Germany's Homeless Face Down the Coronavirus…

Germany Ministry of Interior (2020-06-01). Coronavirus: Analyse des Krisenmanagements. globalresearch.ca Wir machen unsere Leser auf die Zusammenfassung dieses wichtigen durchgesickerten Berichts aufmerksam, der im Auftrag der BMI — Bundesministerium des Innern, erstellt wurde. | We bring to the attention of …

Donald Monaco (2020-06-01). The Decline of American Liberalism. globalresearch.ca The American liberal tradition has become increasingly superfluous with the triumphal ascendancy of a corrosive and reactionary conservative political ideology that was consecrated during the 'Reagan Revolution' of the 1980s and steadily gained influence in every succeeding presidential administration that …

Sandipan Talukdar (2020-05-31). How breeding with Neanderthals aided modern human fertility. peoplesdispatch.org A recent study found that Neanderthal genes can confer greater fertility in humans. According to the study, every third woman in Europe carries the gene inherited from the Neanderthals…

Muhammed Shabeer (2020-05-31). "We demand an income for each student in France, financed by social security" peoplesdispatch.org As part of the national lockdown to fight COVID-19, France closed down schools, colleges and universities from March 17. After the government started reopening schools after May 11, at least 70 new cases of COVID-19 were reported from schools across France. The government then ordered the closure of the schools which reported new infections. However, the development has raised serious concerns among the students, teachers and parents. Here, Peoples Dispatch talks to Anais Fley, National Secretary of the Union of Communist Students (UEC), regarding the vulnerabilities faced by students during the lockdown and thei…

Tom Anderson (2020-05-31). Turkey attacked Rojava's water supply. Now an international campaign is trying to repair the damage. thecanary.co An international The Water for Rojava campaign has | Revolution in Rojava: | Rojava is the area of Kurdista…

Andre Vltchek (2020-05-30). In the West: Propaganda, Hysteria and Truly Foul Breath! dissidentvoice.org If it wasn't so tragic, it would be laughable: the political brigands in North America and Europe are fuming, spitting and rolling their eyes upwards towards the ceiling. They are pointing fingers in all directions, shouting incoherently "China!", "Russia!", "Venezuela and Cuba!", "Iran!"; "You, You, YOU!". China and Russia are quietly building a new world, …

T.J. Coles (2020-05-29). What's NATO Up to These Days? Provoking Russia, Draining Healthcare Budgets and Protecting Its Own from COVID. counterpunch.org In November 2019, as experts warned that a novel coronavirus was likely to develop in the near-future, NATO boasted that its European Allies, including the UK, as well as Canada, were boosting their military budgets by an average of 4.6 percent, or an additional $130bn since 2016. The implication is that this increase in military spending is at the expense of healthcare, which is being privatized worldwide.

news.un (2020-05-28). Security Council: Paralysis and 'political infighting' must end, to boost COVID-19 fight: EU foreign affairs chief. news.un.org The global coronavirus pandemic is testing the multilateral system like never before and the Security Council must stop the "infighting", and step up to the challenge, the European Union's foreign policy chief told the 15-member body on Thursday.

RT (2020-06-01). Bellingcat's (race) war against RT: Russians didn't kill George Floyd, but are STILL BAD, say internet 'sleuths'. rt.com Bellingcat, the UK-based enablers of Western narratives in Syria and Ukraine now fueling US race riots, selectively translated a satirical post from Russian social media shared by RT's editor in chief to get her "canceled." | On Sunday, Margarita Simonyan shared a Telegram post by Dmitry Steshin, a war correspondent for the newspaper KP, which purported to give "advice" to rioters in the US how to make their uprising more "successful" along the lines of the US-backed 2014 coup in Ukraine. | Given that…

The Canary (2020-06-01). Brexit transition uncertainty 'poses threat to stability in Northern Ireland'. thecanary.co Uncertainty and lack of time before the end of Brexit transition poses a "potent threat" to prosperity and stability in the north of Ireland, a report has warned.Businesses in Great Britain could decide it is economically unviable to continue operations across the Irish Sea unless flexibility is shown in the EU negotiations, a House of Lords committee warned.The country will have to follow EU rules on agriculture and manufactured goods, ensuring access to its single market and keeping the border with the Republic of Ireland free-flowing in a key concession maintaining a decades-old peace.The group of peers said:…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-05-29). Imperial PhD student named in community of Europe's best young innovators. imperial.ac.uk Swapnil Jagtap has been named as one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Europe for his research on reducing the carbon impact of aviation.

RT (2020-06-01). Protests controlled by Russia? Try saying that to Americans on the streets, Russia's FM spokeswoman tells Susan Rice. rt.com A "perfect example of barefaced propaganda" — that's how Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the suggestion that Moscow was to blame for the violent US riots voiced by ex-Obama adviser Susan Rice . | "Are you trying to play the Russia card again? You've been playing too long — come back to reality," Zakharova wrote on her Facebook page. | Rice and the CNN, which interviewed her on Sunday, have been using "dirty methods of information manipulation" despite "having absolutely no facts to prove [the] allegations," she said. | Zakharova advised Rice to "go out and face your p…

RT (2020-06-01). Russian media's muted coverage of US riots: Sorry America, the world doesn't revolve around you. rt.com Many American pundits and pontificators are telling their followers, readers, listeners, and viewers that the Russian press is lapping up — and exploiting — the current violent disorder in the US. This isn't true. | For the past few days, as uproar rages across America, various prominent folk have reached for the usual 'blame Russia' deflection technique. Some of it has been quite demented. | Ranging from people claiming that Russian news reporters covering the events are actually orchestrating them, to others alleging the whole thing is a dastardly Kremlin plot. Or a "Russian intelligence" operati…

Scott Ritter (2020-05-30). You think US cops need to be better armed? Here's why full-on European-style riot control police would be a DISASTER in America. thealtworld.com The violence that has gripped Minneapolis begs for the kind of effective deployment of riot police seen …

en.mehrnews (2020-06-01). Iran, Serbia seeks to expand urban cooperation: official. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 01 (MNA) — Iran's ambassador to Belgrade Rashid Hassanpour stressed the significance of further urban cooperation between Tehran and Belgrade.

sputniknews (2020-06-02). 'Will Continue to Remain Out': Canadian PM Trudeau Opposes Russia's Potential Return to G7. sputniknews.com On Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced…

yenisafak (2020-06-01). UN sends over 100 truckloads of aid to Idlib, Syria. yenisafak.com The trucks carrying supplies entered Idlib, Syria through the Cilvegozu border gate in Turkey's southern Hatay province.The aid will be distributed to residents of Idlib and nearby rural areas.Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings, which have frequently been violated…

yenisafak (2020-06-01). Turkey marks 109th anniversary of air force. yenisafak.com The Turkish Air Force on Monday marked its 109th anniversary.Marking the occasion, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar released a message lauding the air force's modern technology and top-flight personnel with over a century of experience.Akar added that the air force plays an important role not only in Turkey's anti-terror operations but also in supporting peace efforts on the international stage.Underscoring the rising risks, threats, and dangers, especially in Turkey's neighborhood, Akar stressed the importance of having an effective, prestigious deterrent in the Turkish Armed Forces.Founded on June 1, 1911, the Air…

yenisafak (2020-06-01). Relatives queue to cremate coronavirus dead in India's capital. yenisafak.com A queue of ambulances formed outside the main crematorium in India's capital New Delhi on Monday, as the number of deaths from the novel coronavirus continues to rise.Cases in the country crossed 190,000, the health ministry said on Monday, overtaking France to become seventh highest in the world, as the government eases back on most curbs after a two-month lockdown that left millions without work. There have been more than 5,000 deaths.At Nigambodh Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna River, relatives and staff said a shortage of medical professionals trained in handling the bodies of victims was leading to delays.As…

yenisafak (2020-06-01). Unaccompanied children in Greece in fear, misery. yenisafak.com Hundreds of people have tweeted to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for unaccompanied migrant and refugee children to be freed from detention in Greece, as a watchdog's campaign continued since last April.In April, the Human Rights Watch initiated a campaign with the #FreeTheKids hashtag on social media, calling for Greek authorities to release the hundreds of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Greece and are now being locked up in police cells.While 17-year-old Kamrul from Bangladesh was detained by the Greek police for more than six weeks, 14-year-old Ibrahim from Somalia for almost three months.L…

yenisafak (2020-06-01). Turkey condoles death of young Italian swimmers. yenisafak.com The Turkish Swimming Federation has expressed condolences for two Italian swimmers who were killed in a plane crash on Sunday. Fabio Lombini, 23, and Gioele Rossetti, 23, passed away after their plane crashed in the south of Rome shortly after takeoff."We share the pain of the victims' families. Our condolences," it said in a tweet on Monday.While Lombini was a 200m freestyle specialist, who won silver in a 2017 Italian championship, Rossetti had been successful at youth level in the country.

_____ (2020-06-01). First US Citizen Convicted For Protests At Nuclear Weapons Base In Germany. popularresistance.org A US Air Force veteran of the US war in Vietnam and two other nuclear weapons protesters were found guilty of trespassing and damage to property in Cochem District Court May 11, 2020, as a result of July 2018 protest action at Germany's Bàºchel Air Force Base, where the United States positions 20 of its nuclear bombs and where German pilots train to use them in possible attacks against Russia. There have been repeated arrests and detentions of US citizens during protests at the Bàºchel base since 2017, but no charges have been brought to trial until now. The judge sentenced all three to fines equivalent…

Frances Madeson (2020-05-28). Federal Prison 'Should Not Be a Death Sentence'. progressive.org Advocates press for the release of Native inmates due to COVID-19.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-05-28). Clean energy is outperforming fossil fuels in America, UK and Europe. imperial.ac.uk Renewable power is outperforming fossil fuels in US and European markets, according to a new report published by Imperial College Business School.

Morgan Artyukhina (2020-05-27). Far right Hungarian government launches new assault on trans rights. liberationnews.org Hungary's racist, homophobic, transphobic right-wing government has continued its efforts to divide the Hungarian working class by depriving trans and intersex people of their right to legally change their gender.

Reese Erlich (2020-05-26). Other Nations Lead the Way. progressive.org How China, South Korea, and Germany developed effective strategies for fighting COVID-19.

Slomski A. (2020-05-26). Integrated Care Cut Mortality in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation. jamanetwork.com An integrated-care intervention conducted in primary care practices reduced all-cause mortality among elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a noninferiority trial in the European Heart Journal demonstrated.

Aaron Maté (2020-05-25). US threatens nuclear arms race 'into oblivion' as it kills another treaty and mulls bomb tests. thegrayzone.com The Trump administration continues to undermine global arms control and increase the threat of a nuclear weapons race with Russia…

Staff (2020-05-24). Climate Crisis: EU Green Stimulus, Meat Apocalypse, Public Lands, Climate Music. therealnews.com In this week's Climate Crisis News Roundup, COVID-19 has meat production in crisis, but what's its climate impact? And a new report says President Trump has the worst public lands protection record in history, while the EU and Spain will soon release a green economic stimulus plan.

Staff (2020-05-22). Third White Man Arrested for Murder in Ahmaud Arbery Shooting as DOJ Considers Hate Crime Charges. democracynow.org Authorities have arrested a third white man for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, this one charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. We speak with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump about how William Bryan filmed Arbery jogging down a narrow road in Brunswick, Georgia, in broad daylight, before he was confronted by two armed white men — retired police officer Gregory McMichael and his son Travis — who shot him three times. "This was never about any trespassing or burglary," Crump says. "This was always about profiling Ahmaud Arbery because of the color of his skin."

Glenn Greenwald (2020-05-21). Media "tragically vindicated" Trump by overhyping Russiagate. zcomm.org "We were all so much more fascinated by this superficial, melodramatic espionage thriller that has completely destroyed the credibility of the U.S. media."

Ricardo Vaz (2020-05-21). US Blocks UNSC Draft Resolution Denouncing Paramilitary Incursion into Venezuela. venezuelanalysis.com Russia, China and other countries criticized violations of Venezuelan sovereignty.

Ben Norton (2020-05-20). New NYPD press officer co-wrote The Intercept Russiagate story that landed source in prison. thegrayzone.com The Intercept published a story that landed Reality Winner in prison, burning its third source. That article was co-authored by…

Monica Malta, Anne W. Rimoin, Nicole A. Hoff, Steffanie A. Strathdee (2020-05-18). [Commentary] The 2019-nCoV pandemic in the global south: A Tsunami ahead. thelancet.com During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, high-income countries have faced shortages of medical supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE), ICU beds and ventilators [1]. In this unexpected scenario, physicians working in the world's richest nations have been left to decide who will receive mechanical ventilation and, ultimately, who lives and who dies. Most countries in the Global South have yet to experience a significant wave of COVID-19, but are predicted to follow a similar trajectory as the Global North.

The Lancet Infectious Diseases (2020-05-15). [Editorial] Riding the coronacoaster of uncertainty. thelancet.com Among all the reports, modelling, and desktop exercises in the past decade devoted to preparing for the next pandemic, when COVID-19 spread worldwide, some of the consequences had surely never been predicted. Scientists who were barely known outside a narrow academic circle are now household names, lauded and vilified in turn in the press and on social media. Twitter subscribers who until a few months ago were apparently experts in European relations or constitutional law are now skilled infectious diseases epidemiologists.

Hans Henri P Kluge, Kremlin Wickramasinghe, Holly L Rippin, Romeu Mendes, David H Peters, Anna Kontsevaya, Joao Breda (2020-05-08). [Comment] Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in the COVID-19 response. thelancet.com Moving towards universal health coverage, promoting health and wellbeing, and protecting against health emergencies are the WHO global priorities1 that are shared by the proposed WHO European Programme of Work 2020—25.2 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has underlined the importance of interconnecting these strategic priorities. Of the six WHO regions, the European region is the most affected by non-communicable disease (NCD)-related morbidity and mortality3 and the growth of the NCDs is concerning.

Johan Giesecke (2020-05-05). [Correspondence] The invisible pandemic. thelancet.com Many countries (and members of their press media) have marvelled at Sweden's relaxed strategy in the face of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: schools and most workplaces have remained open, and police officers were not checking one's errands in the street. Severe critics have described it as Sweden sacrificing its (elderly) citizens to quickly reach herd immunity.1 The death toll has surpassed our three closest neighbours, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, but the mortality remains lower than in the UK, Spain, and Belgium.

Francesca Martino, Mario Plebani, Claudio Ronco (2020-04-16). [Correspondence] Kidney transplant programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic. thelancet.com We would like to express our concern about kidney transplant programmes during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although we recognise the importance of kidney transplants for dialysis patients, we cannot ignore the potential safety issues during this pandemic.

Carla Colombo, Pierre-Régis Burgel, Silvia Gartner, Silke van Koningsbruggen-Rietschel, Lutz Naehrlich, Isabelle Sermet-Gaudelus, Kevin W Southern (2020-04-15). [Correspondence] Impact of COVID-19 on people with cystic fibrosis. thelancet.com Early and detailed characterisation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged principally through publications from China, where the disease was first identified.1 As the pandemic spread to Lombardia, Northern Italy and then globally,2 evaluating the impact on people with cystic fibrosis has become imperative, because the prevalence of this inherited condition is much higher in populations derived from Europe than in other populations.3 Since the beginning of the outbreak in Lombardia, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections have been reported in ten patients with cystic f…

Alexander Kentikelenis, Daniela Gabor, Isabel Ortiz, Thomas Stubbs, Martin McKee, David Stuckler (2020-04-09). [Comment] Softening the blow of the pandemic: will the International Monetary Fund and World Bank make things worse? thelancet.com The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is not only stretching health systems to their limits, it is rapidly becoming a threat to the entire global economy, on a scale much greater than the 2007—08 financial crisis. Policymakers from high-income countries have been quick to respond, pledging unprecedented amounts of support to citizens and businesses. The EU announced a "no limits" commitment to protect European economies by purchasing sovereign and corporate debt, while the US congress has agreed a US$2 trillion stimulus bill.

Raigam J Martinez-Portilla, Anna Goncé, Ameth Hawkins-Villarreal, Francesc Figueras (2020-04-09). [Correspondence] A Spanish-translated clinical algorithm for management of suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women. thelancet.com With interest, we read the guidelines by Guillaume Favre and colleagues1 on the management of pregnant women with suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Gavin M Joynt, William KK Wu (2020-03-27). [Comment] Understanding COVID-19: what does viral RNA load really mean? thelancet.com In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Francois-Xavier Lescure and colleagues1 describe the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Europe, which were reported in France. The detailed clinical features of five patients with COVID-19 are aligned with the quantitative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA load from nasopharyngeal and other selected sampling sites. Previous studies in patients with SARS, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and COVID-19 generally provide insufficient detail to allow examination of the relationship between individual patient clinical cou…