Daily Archives: March 11, 2021

2021-03-11: News Headlines

Online News Editor (2021-03-11). Rise of Gukesh, second youngest Chess Grand Master in history. laprensalatina.com By Indira Guerrero New Delhi, Mar 11 (efe-epa).- Before going to bed ahead of his class the next day, India's Gukesh D. made his 74th move with which he won an online game of the Asturias Championship (Spain), marking yet another victory for the 14-year-old, who only two years ago became the second youngest Grand …

yenisafak (2021-03-11). Global nuclear power share to rise 15% by 2030. yenisafak.com The capacity of nuclear power worldwide of around 400,000 megawatts (MW), meeting 10% of global electricity generation, is forecast to exceed 500,000 MW by 2030, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.Seen as the second-lowest carbon source in meeting the globe's increasing electricity demand, nuclear energy plays an important role in ensuring developed and developing countries' energy supply security.While France provides approximately 70% of its electricity needs from nuclear energy, almost half of the electricity demand from Slovakia and Ukraine comes from nuclear power, followed by Hungary…

Chuck Collins — Omar Ocampo (2021-03-11). Frist Family Leads Pandemic Profiteer Parade in Health Sector. counterpunch.org Not everyone is suffering during the pandemic. The Frist family of Tennessee are the founders and biggest shareholders of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), the largest for-profit hospital conglomerate in the U.S. Thomas F. Frist Jr. and his family have seen their personal wealth increase from $7.5 billion on March 18, 2020 to $15.6 billion

Rebecca Gordon (2021-03-11). Rethinking Employment in the Biden-Harris Era. counterpunch.org A year ago, just a few weeks before San Francisco locked itself down for the pandemic, I fell deeply in love with a 50-year-old. The object of my desire was a wooden floor loom in the window of my local thrift shop. Friends knowledgeable on such matters examined photos I took of it and assured

RT (2021-03-11). Covid has left Americans stressed, drinking more, sleeping less, and struggling with weight issues, psychologists say. rt.com A year of living through Covid has left many Americans drinking more, struggling with their weight and sleeping less — and parents, key workers, the young, and people of color are feeling the stress more. | The findings are detailed in a survey released on Thursday by the American Psychological Association (APA), which finds that Americans have been through a collective trauma that will adversely affect their physical and mental health for years to come. | The APA reported that 61% of Americans have experienced undesired changes in their weight since the pandemic started, gaining more than 13kg on averag…

RT (2021-03-11). Michigan health department hit with lawsuit over its refusal to share nursing home data amid comparisons to Cuomo's cover-up. rt.com A local reporter is suing Michigan's health department after it denied repeat requests for its nursing home data amid the Covid-19 outbreak, piling pressure on the government as lawmakers demand a probe into its pandemic response. | Journalist Charlie LeDuff launched a "Not only does…

European Secretariat of the International Peoples' Assembly (2021-03-11). Vaccines: Patents or life! peoplesdispatch.org Patents on vaccines and on new technologies against COVID-19 are the ball and chain in the race out of the global pandemic tunnel. Our lives are worth more than the profits of big pharmaceutical companies.

_____ (2021-03-11). EU's Own Goal by Playing Politics With Russian Vaccine. strategic-culture.org The European public can see more clearly than ever that their unelected highly paid bureaucrats are risking pandemic recovery by playing politics with Russia's vaccine. | Italy is to be the first European Union state to produce the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for immunization against the new coronavirus. It was

yenisafak (2021-03-11). EU medicine regulator okays Johnson & Johnson virus jab. yenisafak.com The European Medicine Agency (EMA) on Thursday recommended granting a conditional marketing authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson Johnson.The vaccine developed by pharmaceutical Janssen, owned by the US' Johnson Johnson, is the first COVID-19 vaccine that can be used as a single dose."With this latest positive opinion, authorities across the European Union will have another option to combat the pandemic and protect the lives and health of their citizens," said Emer Cooke, the agency's executive director, in a statement.The vaccine is the fourth vaccine recommended by the agency to combat COV…

yenisafak (2021-03-11). Putin says struggle for vaccine market is going on. yenisafak.com Producers are struggling for the global vaccine market worth $100 billion, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.Some producers compete unfairly, sell a small batch of vaccines at a lower price on the condition to be an exclusive supplier, Putin said, speaking at a video meeting on measures to boost investment activity in Moscow."We see how competitors behave in the global vaccine market worth $100 billion. They come, sell a small batch of their vaccine at a discount, on the condition that everything else will be purchased only from this producer," he said.He also said the pandemic has greatly affecte…

_____ (2021-03-11). UN Rebuke of U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela Met With Stunning Silence. strategic-culture.org John MCEVOY | Alena Douhan, the UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, The report laid bare how a years-long campaign of economic warfare has asphyxiated Venezuela's economy, crushing the government's ability to provide basic services both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. | "The [Venezuelan] government's revenue was repor…

yenisafak (2021-03-11). European Central Bank keeps interest rates unchanged. yenisafak.com The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to keep interest rates unchanged, complying with the market expectations.Interest rates on main refinancing operations, marginal lending and deposit facility are 0.00%, 0.25%, and minus 0.50%, respectively, said a bank statement.The bank also decided to continue conducting net asset purchases under the ongoing pandemic conditions — with a total envelope of ‚Ǩ1.85 billion ($2.2 billion) until at least the end of March 2022."Equally, the envelope can be recalibrated if required to maintain favourable financing conditions to help counter the nega…

yenisafak (2021-03-11). Germany experiencing 3rd wave of COVID-19, says top expert. yenisafak.com Germany is now experiencing a third wave of coronavirus infections, the country's top infectious diseases expert warned on Thursday.Professor Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), said there are many indications that a third wave of the pandemic has started in the country."I am very worried," he told a group of international reporters, stressing that the number of cases with more contagious variants is on the rise.The ongoing vaccination campaign is a race against a changing and mutating virus, he said.Germany on Thursday reported its highest daily tally of COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks,…

yenisafak (2021-03-11). South Korea's healthcare exports hit record high in 2020. yenisafak.com Amid the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's healthcare and cosmetics exports grew by a record 38% in 2020, local media reported on Thursday.Exports of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and medical devices stood at $21.7 billion last year, a 38.3% rise from 2019, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing latest data from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.Medicine exports increased 62.6% to hit $8.43 billion, while exports of medical devices reached $5.7 billion with a 44% increase.Germany was the largest market for South Korean medicines, followed by the US and Japan, the report said.Cosmetics exports climbed 1…

RT (2021-03-11). Pelosi says Biden's 'humanitarian' approach to migration is based on 'love of children'. rt.com Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) came to President Joe Biden's defense as a surge of unaccompanied minors have reached the border and the administration has been accused of not being able to handle the situation. | "I trust the Biden administration's policy to be based on humanitarian and love of children rather than political points or red meat for their — for their Republican base," Pelosi said at a Thursday press conference. | Comparing Biden's administration favorably to Trump's when it comes to border policy was a point she hit multiple times, and one that has been echoed by White Hou…

Akram Al-Waara (2021-03-11). Israel's arrest of Palestinian children picking vegetables sparks outrage. middleeasteye.net Israel's arrest of Palestinian children picking vegetables sparks outrage | 'As a Palestinian father, this is one of your worst nightmares', father of two of five boys arrested in southern Hebron hills tells MEE | Thu, 03/11/2021 – 12: 03 | B'Tselem says Israeli forces arrested five Palestinian children in the West Bank on Wednesday (B'Tselem/Twitter) | A video of armed Israeli soldiers arrestin…

MEE staff (2021-03-11). Palestinian elections: Fatah sacks prominent leader amid chaos in its rank. middleeasteye.net Palestinian elections: Fatah sacks prominent leader amid chaos in its rank | Nasser al-Qudwa has refused to run on a single election list that represents all Fatah candidates, seeking to form a new party | Thu, 03/11/2021 – 13: 55 | Nasser al-Qudwa addresses a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 23 January 2019 (AFP) | The Palestinian movement Fatah has sacked one of its most prominent leaders,…

Special to People's World (2021-03-11). Kroger closes grocery stores to avoid COVID hazard pay for workers. peoplesworld.org LOS ANGELES—One of the most profitable corporations in the United States is threatening grocery workers' jobs in response to a new coronavirus-era hazard pay requirement. Reacting to a near-unanimous vote by the Los Angeles City Council requiring large grocery and drug chains to offer their front-line essential workers an additional $5 per hour for the …

RT (2021-03-11). GOP senator ridiculed for taking credit for provision of Covid-19 relief bill he did NOT vote for, says he's 'entirely consistent'. rt.com Republican Senator Roger Wicker has taken heat online after he took credit for championing direct aid to the restaurant industry. The problem is, the assistance is included in a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 package that he opposed. | Wicker has been accused of trying to score political points on the back of the mammoth Covid-19 relief package passed by Congress on Wednesday after a drawn-out debate. The House voted predominantly along party lines, with Democratic Representative Jared Golden of Maine siding with all 210 Republicans to oppose the bill. | Shortly after the legislation was approved, Wicker extolled the…

RT (2021-03-11). Biden signs 'historic' $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, promises answers to press later. rt.com US President Joe Biden has signed the coronavirus relief bill, clearing the way for some Americans to get a one-time $1,400 check and giving billions to a number of other policy priorities. He left without taking questions. | In a brief photo opportunity at the White House on Thursday afternoon, Biden called the American Rescue Plan a "historic legislation" that is about "rebuilding the backbone of this country," and said it had broad support among all Americans. | He told the reporters gathered at the Oval Office that he will have "a lot more to say" in his address to the nation scheduled for Thursday evening…

RT (2021-03-11). 'The dysfunction goes up to Cuomo': Whistleblower says NY gov's order created Covid deathtraps at disabled group homes. rt.com New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing even more scrutiny as reports reveal group homes for developmentally disabled individuals were ordered by the state to accept positive Covid-19 patients, possibly leading to thousands of cases. | Of the nearly 35,000 people living in New York's group homes for disabled individuals, 552 have died from Covid-19 since last year and over 6,000 residents and workers have been infected with the virus, according to the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). | Many are now pointing to an April 10 directive from the Cuomo administration, which is s…

Staff (2021-03-11). U.S. & Other Wealthy Nations Block Effort to Waive Vaccine Patent Rights in Blow to Global South. democracynow.org The United States and other wealthy members of the World Trade Organization have blocked a push by dozens of developing countries to waive patent rights in an effort to boost production of COVID-19 vaccines for poor nations. The proposal by South Africa and India was supported by hundreds of civil society organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and Amnesty International. Without the waiver, vaccine production will remain in the hands of only a few pharmaceutical companies. "Millions of us are basically going to have to wait for a vaccine, putting global immunity, as well as regional immunity, part…

MEE staff (2021-03-11). Covid-19: US, UK and EU's excess vaccines enough for 20 crisis-stricken countries. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: US, UK and EU's excess vaccines enough for 20 crisis-stricken countries | As many as 46 million people aged over 60 in these countries unlikely to be vaccinated this year, a new IRC report says | Thu, 03/11/2021 – 16: 31 | Israel has been accused of "vaccine apartheid" in the occupied Palestinian territories (AFP) | The number of excess Covid-19 vaccines secured by the United States, the United Kingd…

DW (2021-03-11). Denmark Suspends Use of AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine. "Serious Cases of Blood Clots" globalresearch.ca The Danish Health Authority on Thursday

Doctors for COVID Ethics (2021-03-11). Urgent Open Letter from Doctors and Scientists to the European Medicines Agency regarding COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Concerns. globalresearch.ca Emer Cooke, Executive Director, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands…

Doctors for COVID Ethics (2021-03-11). Doctors and Scientists Write to European Medicines Agency (EMA) Warning of COVID-19 Vaccine Dangers. globalresearch.ca A group of scientists and doctors has today issued an open …

Doctors for COVID Ethics (2021-03-11). Urgent Open Letter from Doctors and Scientists to the European Medicines Agency regarding COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Concerns. globalresearch.ca

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| Doctors for Covid Ethics: | To: | Emer Cooke, Executive Director, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands | 28 February 2021 | Dear Sirs/Mesdames, | FOR THE URGENT PERSONAL ATTENTION OF: EMER COOKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE EUROPEAN MEDICINES AGENCY | As physicians and scientists, we |

Doctors for COVID Ethics (2021-03-11). Video: Doctors and Scientists Write to European Medicines Agency (EMA) Warning of COVID-19 Vaccine Dangers. globalresearch.ca A group of scientists and doctors has today issued an open …

Online News Editor (2021-03-11). Denmark suspends AstraZeneca rollout after blood clot reports. laprensalatina.com Copenhagen, Mar 11 (efe-epa).- Denmark has temporarily halted the use of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca to probe whether it could be linked to several cases of blood clots reported among vaccinated people. The Danish health authority said the decision came after reports of severe blood clots in people after they had taken the …

Online News Editor (2021-03-11). Several countries suspend AstraZeneca rollout after Danish blood clot reports. laprensalatina.com (Update: adds info on Norway and Italy) Copenhagen, Mar 11 (efe-epa).- Denmark has temporarily halted the use of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca to probe whether it could be linked to several cases of blood clots reported among vaccinated people. Norway and Italy have also suspended the rollout of the vaccine, developed by the …

Online News Editor (2021-03-11). EU approves Johnson & Johnson single dose Covid-19 vaccine. laprensalatina.com Brussels, Mar 11 (efe-epa).- The European Commission on Thursday authorized the use of the single-shot Covid-19 vaccine from Janssen, the European affiliate of American company Johnson & Johnson. The decision followed a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: "More safe and effective vaccines are coming to the market. …

yenisafak (2021-03-11). 'Oxford vaccine not responsible for blood clot in Denmark'. yenisafak.com The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Thursday responded to measures taken by the Danish government in halting the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine following the discovery of a blood clot in an individual.Dr. Phil Bryan, the agency's vaccines safety lead, said the action undertaken by Danish authorities was a precautionary measure, while it has not been confirmed with current evidence that the blood clot was a result of the Oxford vaccine."Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine have now been admin…

yenisafak (2021-03-11). Turkey to start human trials on 5 more vaccine candidates. yenisafak.com Turkey will start human trials on five more local vaccine candidates soon and will use its own vaccine in the near future, said the health minister on Thursday.Fahrettin Koca speaking at a press conference said that COVID-19 will not become an ordinary disease like the flu any time soon, but in 2021 it will no longer be a nightmare for health workers.Koca said that once the vaccination program is completed, new cases will be reduced to one-fifth and there will barely be patients in critical condition.He said that Turkey is among the fastest nations in procuring vaccine supplies with a 50-million-dose agreement wi…

Staff (2021-03-11). Despite Immigration Pledges, Biden Admin Detains Thousands of Unaccompanied Migrant Children. democracynow.org The Biden administration is struggling to address the flow of migrant children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without their parents, many fleeing extreme violence, poverty and natural disasters in their home countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. News reports show more than 3,500 children were detained at the border in just the first nine days of March, with many being held longer than the legal limit of 72 hours. "We can call it a crisis. We can call it a surge," says Aura Bogado, senior investigative reporter at Reveal. "What we shouldn't call it is a surprise."

yenisafak (2021-03-11). Six irregular migrants held following car crash in Turkey. yenisafak.com Six irregular migrants of Syrian origin were held following a car crash in southern Turkey on Thursday, according to security sources.Security teams found six irregular migrants who entered the country illegally in a vehicle that rolled over into a garden near the Kirikhan district of southern Hatay province, said sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The driver, along with two other suspects identified as A.A.M. and A.A., were arrested while the irregular migrants were transferred to the local provincial migration office after routine procedures.Turkey has been a key tra…

Staff (2021-03-11). Cleared of Corruption Charges, Will Lula Challenge Bolsonaro in Brazil's 2022 Presidential Race? democracynow.org Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been cleared to run for office again after a judge annulled all convictions against him. Three years ago, Lula, a former union leader who served as president from 2003 to 2010, had been considered a favorite in the lead-up to the 2018 presidential election until he was jailed and forced out of the race on what many said were trumped-up corruption charges. Lula's jailing helped pave the way for the election of the far-right former military officer Jair Bolsonaro and constitutes "the biggest judicial scandal on Earth," says Valeska Martins, one of Lula's lead…

Staff (2021-03-11). Amazon worker in Bessemer: 'We gonna win'. therealnews.com Darryl Richardson, one of the 5,800 warehouse workers at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, talks about working conditions at Amazon, and about the historic union election currently underway.

Workers World Party (2021-03-11). PDF of March 11 issue. workers.org Download the PDF. Release Mumia now! Workers are not robots ALSO: On the picket line Where has all the soil gone? Book ban challenged Support for #BAmazon grows Vaccine racism Buffalo antiwar action They're capitalists, not Neanderthals WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH: Breonna Taylor Khalida Jarrar Warehouse memoir EDITORIALS: The true Amazons . . . |

RT (2021-03-11). Candace Owens backs Piers Morgan, slams 'leftist narcissist' Meghan Markle & questions racism allegations. rt.com Conservative commentator Candace Owens tore into "narcissist" Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, following reports that she had made a formal complaint to ITV after comments Piers Morgan made about her mental health. | During a Wednesday appearance on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Owens claimed Morgan "was all of us when he was dressing down Meghan Markle and calling her out on the blatant lies that she's told." | Owens claimed Markle "can't even keep her story straight" and questioned how the press could take such a toll on the Duchess of Sussex's mental health when she previously claimed not to read it.

yenisafak (2021-03-11). Turkey plays important role in election crisis-rocked Somalia. yenisafak.com Turkey is playing a key role in Somalia even amid a political stalemate in the Horn of Africa country due to delays in national elections, according to a Turkish analyst."As a donor country, Turkey has been playing an important role in Somalia since 2011," Serhat Orakci, a researcher at the Istanbul-based Humanitarian and Social Research Center (INSAMER), which is part of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), told Anadolu Agency."And because of that, the political instability in the country has been watched carefully by Turkish officials," said Orakci, also the author of a 2018 book on Turkish-African relatio…

Dan Beeton (2021-03-11). How a Colombian Ex-President Went to Bat for Trump in Florida. cepr.net Latin Americans are used to the US government interfering in their politics. Over the years, the US has helped orchestrate a number of coups throughout the hemisphere, most notoriously the 1954 ouster of Guatemala's Jacobo àÅrbenz, and the 1973 military coup against Chile's Salvador Allende. But there are far more recent examples of meddling, including …

Jonah Raskin (2021-03-11). Organic Farmer Bob Cannard Grows Vegetables, Not Marijuana, and He isn't Sorry. counterpunch.org If you want to know a place, get to know and listen to the folks who have been around for a long time, the people who have deep roots in a community, and yes in the soil itself. In Sonoma County there are several prime candidates: Mike Benziger, Phil Coturri and Bob Cannard, all of

Staff (2021-03-11). Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brooks: Darlings of the white liberal establishment? therealnews.com On the 62nd anniversary of the Broadway premiere of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," Dr. West and Professor Rose reflect on the Black literary tradition as they focus on the legacies of Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brooks as revolutionaries and exemplars who are often misunderstood as the "darlings of the white liberal establishment."

John Wojcik (2021-03-11). Biden's Korea deal continues a dangerous U.S. foreign policy. peoplesworld.org Talks between the U.S. and South Korea are not encouraging to peace activists who want to see a new direction in U.S. foreign policy. It is clear that the Biden administration intends to continue keeping large numbers of troops stationed in that country, leaving unchanged a situation that has been going on since the Korean …

Danny Haiphong (2021-03-11). Anti-Asian racism never stopped being an outgrowth of U.S. imperialism. mronline.org MR Online

Ramzy Baroud (2021-03-11). Palestinian Elections Under Fire: An Impossible Democracy Dilemma. mintpressnews.com Between the nightly raids and crackdowns by the Israeli military and the political intrigues within the divided Fatah movement, one wonders if the elections, if they take place, will finally allow Palestinians to mount a united front in the struggle against Israeli occupation.

Alan MacLeod (2021-03-11). NATO video talks 'diversity, respect, embrace' but critics see through the wash job. mronline.org MR Online

Eds. (2021-03-11). Top Pentagon commander requests astronomical sum of money to prepare for war with China. mronline.org A new U.S. war with China would threaten the world with unthinkable destruction. The danger of such a war cannot be ignored, it must be resisted.

Prensa Latina (2021-03-11). Displaced persons return home in Latakia, Syria. mronline.org Thousands of people displaced in the last eight years have returned to their towns liberated from terrorism in the coastal region of Latakia province, 337 kilometers north-west of Damascus.

Zandile Bangani (2021-03-11). Wits University protest: 'There was no threat to shoot'. peoplesdispatch.org The killing of Mthokozisi Ntumba by the South African Police Services (SAPS) marred the protest at the University of the Witwatersrand over financial exclusion. Ntumba, who wasn't part of the march, was killed when police shot without warning in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. It is unclear at this point whether they used live rounds or rubber bullets. | Minutes before he was killed, Ntumba had seen his doctor, Tebogo Sedibe, at the Myclinic Jorissen Medical Centre in Braamfontein. Sedibe, who was seeing another patient, did not witness the shooting but heard gunshots. "My assistant came through to ask me to help out…