Daily Archives: June 27, 2020

2020-06-27: News Headlines

Massimiliano Gnecchi, Francesco Moretti, Emilio Maria Bassi, Sergio Leonardi, Rossana Totaro, Luciano Perotti, Valentina Zuccaro, Stefano Perlini, Lorenzo Preda, Fausto Baldanti, Raffaele Bruno, Luigi Oltrona Visconti (2020-06-27). [Clinical Picture] Myocarditis in a 16-year-old boy positive for SARS-CoV-2. thelancet.com A 16-year-old boy was admitted to our emergency department, in Lombardy, complaining of intense pain in his chest—radiating to his left arm—which had started 1 h earlier. The day before he had a fever of 38 ∑3 ∞C that decreased after 100 mg of nimesulide. He reported no other symptoms, no medical history, and no contact with anyone with confirmed COVID-19.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-27). Italian metalworkers demonstrate demanding better working conditions. peoplesdispatch.org On June 25, Thursday, major metalworkers unions in Italy gathered at Piazza del Popolo in Rome, demanding an improvement in work conditions post the COVID-19 crisis. The mobilization was called by unions, including the Federation of Italian Metal Mechanics (FIM), Italian Federation of Metal Workers (FIOM) and the Union of Italian Metal Mechanics Workers (UILM). The demonstrating workers alleged that many of the long-pending work-related disputes in the sector have not been resolved by the government. | FIOM general secretary Francesca Re David said, "You cannot think of leaving the COVID emergency while leaving u…

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-06-27). Mentally Replace Everything Before "U.S. Intelligence Says" With "Blah Blah We're Probably Lying" thealtworld.com "Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill Troops, U.S. Intelligence Says", blares the To be clear, this is journalistic malpractice. Mainstream media outlets which publish anonymous intelligence claims with no proof are just publishi…

Kate Shea Baird (2020-06-27). Lessons from the pandemic for the municipalists in Spain. zcomm.org The pandemic has damaged municipalism in Barcelona, but it has strengthened the municipalist hypothesis itself: our strength must be rooted in togetherness…

yenisafak (2020-06-27). EU holds off decision on borders, Americans set to be excluded. yenisafak.com European Union countries failed to settle on Friday on a final "safe list" of countries whose residents could travel to the bloc from July, with the United States, Brazil and Russia set to be excluded.Ambassadors from the 27 EU members convened from Friday afternoon to establish criteria for granting quarantine-free access from next Wednesday.A redrawn text of 10-20 countries was put to them, but many said they needed to consult first with their governments, diplomats said. The list did not include the United States, Brazil or Russia, one diplomat said.Discussions were continuing overnight, with the EU countries…

yenisafak (2020-06-27). Italy sends army to seal off southern cluster of virus. yenisafak.com The Italian government sent soldiers on Friday to isolate a group of buildings in the southern town of Mondragone, where a new cluster of coronavirus among seasonal workers has sparked clashes with residents.Earlier this week, regional authorities ordered to quarantine the buildings and put about 700 inhabitants — mainly Bulgarians and Roma — under lockdown for 15 days.After executing more than 740 swab tests, 43 of the buildings' residents tested positive for coronavirus, the regional governor said on Friday. He pledged tough security measures to stop the outbreak and keep all residents inside the red zone.As…

yenisafak (2020-06-27). Irish parliament elects Micheál Martin as prime minister. yenisafak.com Micheál Martin was elected as Ireland's new prime minister by parliament on Saturday to head a coalition tasked with tackling the economic repercussions of the coronavirus crisis and moving fast on climate action as demanded by its smallest member, the Greens.Martin's Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, Ireland's two dominant centre-right parties who have swapped power since emerging from opposing sides of Ireland's 1920s civil war, will rule together for the first time in the three-party government.Martin, who has held several senior ministries including health, trade, foreign affairs and education in previous administra…

yenisafak (2020-06-27). Turkish forces discover 2 PKK winter hideouts. yenisafak.com A terrorist in the custody of Turkish security forces revealed the location of 2 PKK terror group's winter hideouts.The terrorist, identified by the initials M.A. with the codename Mervan, was nabbed on June 20 in the southeastern province of Adiyaman.In an operation on June 25-26, nine different places were searched.Along with the two hideouts, a rag of the terror group, a stove, a solar panel, six batteries, 400 meters of copper wire, 75 small batteries, documents belonging to the organization and many life supplies were seized.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terr…

yenisafak (2020-06-27). Turkey says close to 170,000 people recovered from COVID-19. yenisafak.com A total of 1,984 people beat COVID-19 over the past day, bringing the overall count to 169,182, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, citing the Health Ministry data."The number of recoveries is 612 more than the number of infected people. This number was 96 yesterday," Koca noted.The country's death toll from the virus rose to 5,082, as it reported 17 new fatalities in the past 24 hours.Some 984 patients remain in intensive care, added Koca.Health care professionals conducted 45,213 tests for the disease in the past day, raising the total count to over 3.23 million.According to the test results, the total number of in…

yenisafak (2020-06-27). Turkish industries operated during pandemic, says Erdogan. yenisafak.com Turkish industries have continued production to a large extent even during the pandemic, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.Speaking during the launch ceremony of an environmental project via video link, Erdogan said: "Our industries continued production to a large extent, even during the pandemic. I believe in the next phase, we can make up for our production losses during the pandemic."The project aims to stop pollution and improve agriculture in the surrounding areas in the Marmara region, northwestern Turkey.Erdogan said 520 new factories in organized industrial sites were opened in the first fiv…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-27). EU rejects US lawmakers' call to designate Hezbollah as terrorist org. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 27 (MNA) — European Union has rejected the call by a group of US senators to designate all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization and ban its activities in the continent.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-27). US, Europe back crimes of MEK: Mousavi. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 27 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi described the United States and Europe as a supporter of the crimes committed by the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), that was responsible for assassination of Ayatollah Beheshti in 1981.

_____ (2020-06-27). Now Is the Time to Shed Our Middle Eastern Burdens. strategic-culture.org Washington's decades-long obsessive hostility toward Iran has produced toxic results. It's apparent that the European allies increasingly chafe at that policy and want a change. Until now, the close U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia inhibited any chance of a meaningful policy change, despite European wishes for a more balanced stance toward Iran.

WSWS (2020-06-26). Germany's Verdi trade union supports jobs massacre at department store chain. wsws.org This time around, Verdi even abandoned its ritualistic whistle-led protests, which in the past were used to make the workers believe that the union was ready to fight.

_____ (2020-06-26). The 'New' American Mercenary: A Pocket History. popularresistance.org Though the bizarre story has been subsumed by other events, last month's aborted invasion of Venezuela should've hardly shocked anyone. The United States has long used mercenaries to do its bidding. They have provided Washington distance and deniability for unsavory operations. During the Cold War, the U.S. hoped this would limit domestic and international protest. Policymakers also discerned mercenary alternatives to bloody, expensive quagmires like the Vietnam or Iraq Wars. Traditionally, most of these hired guns were foreigners — ex-soldiers of declining European empires. | Much of this parallels the lat…

RT (2020-06-26). Fine Gael backs Ireland's 3-party coalition deal. rt.com The Fine Gael party of Irish acting PM Leo Varadkar became the first of three potential government partners on Friday to ratify a coalition deal. The votes of Fianna Fail and Green Party members are still being counted. | Lawmakers from Ireland's two dominant center-right parties agreed to govern together for the first time, in a deal that will put the Greens at the center of policymaking. The agreement will also end a political stalemate triggered by an inconclusive election in February. | The smaller Green Party require two-thirds support — a higher bar than the larger parties, which could still scupper…

RT (2020-06-26). 8,000km from home: WATCH Russian Su-30 intercept US spy planes over Black Sea. rt.com The Russian military has published video footage showing the moment a Su-30 fighter jet intercepted a group of US spy planes over the Black Sea on Friday. | The Aerospace Force scrambled a Su-30 to escort three American planes away from the nation's southern border, Russia's Ministry of Defence said in a statement to the media, adding that the incident unfolded over neutral waters. | The American planes were identified as a R-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft, an RC-135 strategic reconnaissance jet, and a KC-135 refueling plane. The group immediately changed the direction of its flight away from the Russian borde…

RT (2020-06-26). Covid-19 was in Spanish sewage as early as MARCH 2019, study claims. rt.com Traces of the novel coronavirus have been discovered in Barcelona sewage water months before the first case of the dreaded disease was reported in China, a new study by a group of Spanish researchers claims. | Scientists with the Enteric Virus Group at the University of Barcelona

RT (2020-06-26). Turkey jails 121 people for life over botched 2016 coup attempt. rt.com A Turkish court has handed down life sentences to 121 people found guilty of trying to overthrow the country's president back in 2016. The failed coup has triggered a massive purge, with thousands of Turks being fired or jailed. | The verdicts were announced by the court in Ankara on Friday. It found the defendants guilty of attempting to "violate the constitution" three years ago. | Some 35 individuals were given a life sentence for the crime, while another 86 received "aggravated" imprisonment for life. One of the defendants, a former military colonel, has been given a whopping nine "aggravated" life terms,…

Fight Back (2020-06-26). Statues of slaveholders and reactionaries are coming down, while a statue of Lenin goes up. fightbacknews.org The Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD), erected a state of Lenin in front of their party headquarters in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on June 20. More than 1100 people took part in the event. | In her welcome speech, Gabi Fechtner, Party Chairwoman of the MLPD, declared, "I was often asked during the past weeks whether the erection of the statue was intended as a provocation. No, but perhaps it is the breaking of a certain taboo — the taboo that in this society one should not even talk about the achievements of socialism and about its representatives. For the sake of bringing down anti-communism's reservati…

yenisafak (2020-06-26). Belgian parliament urges sanctions against Israel. yenisafak.com The Belgian federal parliament adopted a resolution on Friday urging the government to prepare a list of countermeasures against Israel in case it annexes the occupied Palestinian territories.The resolution was proposed by the Green party, and passed with 101 votes in favor and 39 abstentions.The text calls the government to "play a leading role at European and multilateral level in order to set up a list of effective countermeasures to respond proportionately to any Israeli annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory."The resolution acknowledges the fact that some states might veto EU sanctions. So it sugge…

WSWS (2020-06-26). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Sasha Abramsky (2020-06-26). 'I Got Nicer Everything,' Says Man Who Ruins All He Touches. thenation.com 'I Got Nicer Everything,' Says Man Who Ruins All He Touches…

W. T. Whitney (2020-06-26). US Must Return Its Political Prisoner Simón Trinidad to Colombia. counterpunch.org Murderous violence and oligarchy were in charge in Colombia during the 20th century. Colombians by the millions were marginalized, impoverished, and/or displaced from small land holdings. Violence and the failings of liberal democracy turned Simón Trinidad into a revolutionary. Few in the United States and Europe know about him. Colombia's allies in both places overlook

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-06-26). Indicting Hashim Thaàßi: The Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor's Office Gets Busy. globalresearch.ca When it comes to the touchy, violent matter of Kosovar affairs, history keeps company with the devils of nationalism and vengeance. Serbia remains scornful of the aspirations of the territory, whose legitimacy it does not recognise; Kosovo remains spiteful of …

yenisafak (2020-06-26). Coronavirus continues to spread in Eurasian nations. yenisafak.com Coronavirus cases and fatalities continued to surge across Eurasia countries on Friday.Armenia In Armenia, at least 759 more people were confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus, bringing the total to 23,247. The number of recoveries reached 12,149, and the death toll hit 410.A total of 105,046 tests have been conducted so far in the country, as 10,557 are still receiving treatment.UkraineIn Ukraine, the total number of recoveries reached 18,299, while the death toll rose to 1,086.The country has so far conducted 620,624 tests.The country extended the implementation of quarantine measures until July 31 amid t…

yenisafak (2020-06-26). Dead dolphins wash up on France's shores in record numbers. yenisafak.com Dead dolphins are washing up on France's Atlantic coast in such high numbers that local populations of the mammals are at risk, marine biologists say.The overwhelming majority drowned in the nets of fishing trawlers. Post mortems often show fractures, broken tails and flippers and deep incisions cut into their skin by the nets. Some have been mutilated as fishermen release their bodies."We're reaching mortality rates that threaten the survival of the dolphin population in the Bay of Gascony," said Morgane Perri, a marine biologist in Brittany, western France."For the last three years, we've seen more than 1,000 d…

yenisafak (2020-06-26). Turkey's oil imports down 18.1% in April 2020. yenisafak.com Turkey's total oil imports dropped by 18.1% to 2.93 million tonnes in April this year compared to the same month last year, according to data of Turkey's energy watchdog on Friday.Crude oil imports, the category with the highest oil import volume, decreased by 1.1% during that period down to 2.35 million tonnes, Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) said in its monthly oil market report.In April 2020, Turkey imported the highest amount of crude from Iraq at 1.46 million tonnes. Russia and Norway followed with 513,253 tonnes and 273,093 tonnes, respectively.Oil refinery product output decreased by 9.4…

yenisafak (2020-06-26). Russia to build four new nuclear power units. yenisafak.com Preparations are underway in Russia to build four new power reactors, two in Leningrad and two in Smolensk, the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom announced on Friday.Rosatom Director-General Alexey Likhachev signed the agreement for the new generation VVER-1200 and VVER-TOI reactors, which are based on VVER technology developed by Rosatom, that Lihachev said "meets all current international safety requirements."The reactors are included in the country's scheme of electricity facility placement up to 2035, which was approved by the Russian government.Rosenergoatom, part of Rosatom, will be both the d…

yenisafak (2020-06-26). Turkey sets example to world in fight against drugs. yenisafak.com Analyzing data compiled by the country's Health Ministry, Anadolu Agency found that Turkey uses a variety of methods and programs to combat drug use, including treatment, rehabilitation and social adaptation of former abusers.Political, bureaucratic, civic and scientific actors complement and reinforce each other in the country's nationwide efforts that have been organized on a multi-stakeholder structure that has been praised by the World Health Organization (WHO).WHO has since prepared an English-language publication on Turkey's program so other countries could benefit from its experiences.Turkey's anti-drug po…

yenisafak (2020-06-26). FETàñ terror group members get life sentences in Turkey. yenisafak.com A Turkish court on Friday gave aggravated life sentences to 86 Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETàñ) members for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order in a defeated 2016 coup.Ankara's Heavy Penal Court no: 23 handed down the sentences in the case, concerning the defendants' illegal actions at the Turkish Gendarmerie Command in the capital Ankara during the coup bid.In addition to the 86 aggravated life sentences, the court also handed out life sentences to 35 others, also for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.In the same case, former Col. Erkan Oktem, who injured then-Counter-Te…

yenisafak (2020-06-26). EU gives $4.4M grant for Turkish firms' tech projects. yenisafak.com The EU Commission is giving backing to a number of Turkish firms' tech-related projects, said the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) on Friday.The commission will grant a total of ‚Ǩ4.4 million ($4.94 million) to Turkish companies with projects in the fields of nanotechnology, advanced materials, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and processing technologies, said a TUBITAK statement.Under the industrial leadership and competition component of Horizon 2020, an EU program promoting research and innovation, a total of eight projects at 11 companies (some done in…

sputniknews (2020-06-26). 'I Was Trying to Compress Maintenance Guy's Wound': Witness Details Hotel Stabbing in Glasgow. sputniknews.com The police have indicated that they are continuing their investigation into the incident, however, they added that it is not being treated as a terrorist act. It comes five days after 25-year-old Khairi Saadallah, who came to the United Kingdom from Libya, stabbed to death three people in a park in Reading.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-06-26). Imperial and TUM explore ways to create innovative communities. imperial.ac.uk Imperial and Germany's Technical University of Munich (TUM) brought academics and startups together to explore ways to create innovative communities.

_____ (2020-06-26). Flagging U.S. Credibility at Vienna Arms Control Talks. strategic-culture.org A puerile propaganda stunt pulled by U.S. negotiators in Vienna this week ahead of talks with Russian counterparts was both at insult to China and a reprehensible distraction from credible bilateral business with Moscow on the vital issue of strategic security. | Ahead of talks with Russian delegates, the Americans took a stealthy photo of the venue U.S. envoy Marshall Billingslea then tried to twitter-shame China by decl…

Manlio Dinucci (2020-06-26). NATO at the Helm of Italian Foreign Policy. globalresearch.ca NATO Defense Ministers (Lorenzo Guerini, Pd representing Italy) gathered by videoconference on June17/18, and made a series of "decisions to strengthen the Alliance's deterrence." However, nobody in Italy talks about it, neither the media (including social media) nor …

Staff (2020-06-25). Boycotting Israel Is Not A Crime, Says European Human Rights Court. therealnews.com The EHRC overturned the French court's convictions of 12 BDS activists for "incitement to discrimination" in a watershed ruling for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

_____ (2020-06-25). Democratizing Energy To Counter The Climate Catastrophe. popularresistance.org Youth climate activists have been striking to demand immediate climate action from political powers. They conjoined the issues of climate and labor by calling for a global climate strike in September, 2019, in which a historic 7.6 million schoolkids, (grand)parents and workers from 185 countries participated. Over 70 trade unions around the world supported the strike and the number of climate groups that are demanding a just transition for fossil fuel workers are also steadily increasing. | The European landscape of climate activism is becoming densely populated. Numerous communities are defending nature together…

Caoimhghin àì Croidheáin (2020-06-25). Redrawing the Cultural Cityscape: The Destiny of Colonial Monuments in Ireland. dissidentvoice.org Symbols are what unite and divide people. Symbols give us our identity, our self-image,our way of explaining ourselves to others. Symbols in turn determine the kinds of stories we tell; and the stories we tell determine the kind of history we make and remake. — Mary Robinson, Inauguration speech as President of Ireland, December 3, …

RT (2020-06-25). Covid-19 cases surge in Europe FOR FIRST TIME IN MONTHS as end of lockdowns 'accelerate transmissions' — WHO. rt.com European countries have seen increases in Covid-19 cases since they began relaxing the restrictions that were containing the virus' spread, the World Health Organization has said. | "Last week, Europe saw an increase in weekly cases for the first time in months," Hans Kluge, the WHO's European regional director, said on Thursday. "Thirty countries have seen increases in new cumulative cases over the past two weeks," he added. | The easing of lockdowns and of other obligatory restrictive measures has led to "accelerated transmission" of coronavirus. This, in turn, may push Europe's health systems "to the brink…

RT (2020-06-25). Russia says Poland should be aware of costs if it wants to obtain status of 'frontline state'. rt.com Poland should be aware of the costs of obtaining the status of a 'frontline state', including implications for its own security, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko said on Thursday. He was commenting on the US plans to relocate its forces from Germany to Poland. | "If Warsaw wishes to intentionally position itself in the capacity of a frontline state by accommodating foreign forces on a permanent basis, it is apparently aware of all related costs, including those that concern its own security," Grushko told TASS. | Speaking with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda on Wednesday, President Donald…

RT (2020-06-25). US Embassy in Moscow flies rainbow flag to honor Pride flag day. rt.com The US Embassy in Moscow is flying the rainbow pride flag alongside the country's famous Stars and Stripes as a show of support for the LGBT community. | The move comes as Russians begin to head to the polls to vote on proposed constitutional amendments, including the definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman. | "LGBTI rights are human rights. Human rights are universal," said the caption on the embassy's Instagram page. "Pride Month is designed to emphasize that everyone deserves to live a life free of hate, prejudice, and persecution." | In the USA, LGBT Pride Month occurs in June, on the…

RT (2020-06-25). Democrats seethe as Trump calls them 'more unreasonable' than North Korea, China or Russia. rt.com US President Donald Trump paid the opposition Democrats a backhanded compliment, saying in a speech that they were tougher to deal with and "far more unreasonable" than the governments of North Korea, China or Russia. | The Democrats in the USA are much tougher to deal with than any of these people that we deal with. They're far more unreasonable. And actually, they're a little crazy. | Trump made the comment as part of an anecdote during an address at the Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin on Friday, prompting the DNC war room to accuse him of having "no idea what it means to be president" and daring t…

The Canary (2020-06-25). Russians begin voting on changes allowing Putin to stay in power until 2036. thecanary.co Polls have opened in Russia for a week-long vote on constitutional changes that would allow president Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036.The vote on a range of constitutional amendments, proposed by Putin in January, was initially scheduled for 22 April but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.It was later rescheduled for 1 July, with polling stations opening a week earlier and staying open for seven days in an effort to avoid crowds on the main voting day.The proposed amendments include a change in the constitution that would allow 67-year-old Putin, who has ruled Russia for over two decades…

The Canary (2020-06-25). Red, white and blue makeover for plane used by PM unveiled. thecanary.co The new paint job costing almost £1 million on the plane used by the prime minister has been unveiled.The RAF Voyager — which was previously a military grey colour — has been resprayed in white, with a Union flag on the tailfin and United Kingdom written in gold on the fuselage.Boris Johnson had previously complained about the military paint scheme used on the jet.The RAF Voyager used by the prime minister and the royal family on the runway at Cambridge airport (Stefan Rousseau/PA)But the cost of the respray was condemned by opposition politicians when it was revealed earlier this month.Downing St…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-06-25). Trump Admitted Relocation of American Soldiers to Poland Is Aimed Against Russia. globalresearch.ca It appears that despite achieving so-called independence from the Soviet Union and joining the EU and NATO in 2004, Lithuania does not have full sovereignty. In yesterday's negotiations with US President Donald Trump, the interests of Vilnius were not …

Noam Schaulin, JUSO BL (2020-06-25). Sacramento And Swiss Sister City Liestal Need To Talk About Their History. indybay.org After the attack on the now removed statue of the founder of Sacramento John Sutter, the Young Socialist Party of the swiss canton of Baselland launched an action in Sutters hometown to draw attention to the fact that John Sutter was a slave owner and child trader. Now, they want Sacramento and its sister city Liestal (Switzerland), capital city of the canton of Baselland, to use their partnership to remember Sutters victims and educate the citizens of both places.

WSWS (2020-06-25). New COVID-19 outbreaks in Germany and Berlin's inhumane quarantine conditions. wsws.org Since June 13, 369 households, each containing one to 10 people, have been quarantined as a result of COVID-19 infections in one of Berlin's poorest districts.

Scott Ritter (2020-06-25). Trump claims the redeployment of US troops from Germany to Poland is a 'signal' to Russia. But is it just a tempest in a teapot? thealtworld.com President Trump has announced that thousands of US troops will be redeployed to Poland as part of …

Muhammed Shabeer (2020-06-25). "Referendum in Russia exposes the sham of bourgeois democracy" peoplesdispatch.org Roman Kononenko from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation talks about the ongoing referendum in Russia on the constitutional reforms proposed by president Vladimir Putin. He also talks about how the country handled the COVID-19 pandemic…