Market speculations, not real demand, sank Russian oil to 20-year lows
rt.com | 2020-04-05
The swings in the oil market are mainly caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the lack of a deal between the OPEC and major exporters of crude. However, some analysts believe that there are more factors behind the market rout. | The price for Russian Urals oil blend fell to $10.54 per barrel (CIF Rotterdam) on April 2, the weakest level since March 1999. Despite having managed to rebound since then, the rally could be short-term and just a reaction to a possible big oil deal, independent economic analyst Narek Avakyan told RT, explaining that demand is still going to fall amid the pandemic and worldwide boost…
rt.com/business/484971-oil-falls-market-speculation/

Trump brandishes tariff stick at 'illegal OPEC cartel' & vows to do 'whatever it takes' (but no US oil cuts!)
rt.com | 2020-04-05
Calling on Russia and Saudi Arabia to urgently resolve the global oil output crisis, President Donald Trump said he will do whatever it takes

Covid-19 cases in Moscow near 4,000 as mayor says capital is country's 'HIGHEST RISK' region
rt.com | 2020-04-05
Moscow's mayor has warned that the growing number of coronavirus infections in the city means tough self-isolation measures are still needed. The capital reported more than 500 new cases on Sunday from a national total of 658. | It means the overall number of confirmed infections in the capital is now 3,893, up by 536, and more than two-thirds of Russia's nationwide tally of 5,389, according to official figures. Authorities have recorded 45 deaths. | Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Sunday that Moscow is considered to be at the "highest risk" because of the number of people that have have traveled through the cit…
rt.com/russia/485002-russia-moscow-coronavirus-infections-sobyanin/

[Perspectives] Man up
Tom Shakespeare | thelancet.com | 2020-04-04
Masculinities: Liberation through Photography explores half a century of photographic representations of men–their bodies, their identities, and their social roles. Contemporary politics is full of powerful men–Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Vladimir Putin, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan–behaving in stereotypically dominant ways. You could be forgiven for thinking that the more things change, the more things remain the same. But #MeToo is here to say it can't go on like this, in the wake of the conviction of Harvey Weinstein.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30683-8/fulltext?rss=yes

Russian doctors, nurses protest against horrifying conditions in hospitals
wsws.org | 2020-04-04
Nurses and doctors have walked off their jobs, pleading for medical and personal protective equipment, and renovations of dilapidated hospital buildings.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/04/russ-a04.html

Russian doctors, nurses protest against horrifying conditions in hospitals
wsws.org | 2020-04-04
Nurses and doctors have walked off their jobs, pleading for medical and personal protective equipment, and renovations of dilapidated hospital buildings.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/04/russ-a04.html

'We Will Not Sit Back and Let Transit Workers Be Treated Like Cannon Fodder'
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2020-04-04
'We Will Not Sit Back and Let Transit Workers Be Treated Like Cannon Fodder'…
thenation.com/article/activism/public-transportation-worker-covid/

In one stunning sentence, Noam Chomsky nails the most overlooked element of the pandemic
Tracy Keeling | thecanary.co | 2020-04-03
Renowned US intellectual, author, and commentator Noam Chomsky addressed the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in a recent interview. Amid a global panic over the disease, he nailed the most overlooked element of the emergency. | Crucially, he pointed out that though coronavirus "can have terrifying consequences" there "will be recovery". But there are other threats

Russia's Counter-COVID Aid to America, Advances the Case for a New Detente?
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-03
Russia's urgent dispatch of counter-COVID aid to America was both symbolic and substantial in the sense that it improved the country's reputation among average Americans which in turn advances Trump's years-long case for a "New Detente" between these two Great …
globalresearch.ca/russia-counter-covid-aid-america-advances-new-detente/5708544

Can "Coronavirus Diplomacy" Bring the European Union (EU) Closer to Eurasia?
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-03
The European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), an association of post-Soviet states, effectively serve a similar function to each other as an economic bloc. Unlike the 27-member EU, the EEU has only 5-members as many post-Soviet states …
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-diplomacy-bring-eu-closer-eurasia/5708605

Erdogan's Idlib Misadventure: Reality Checks and Hard Lessons for Turkey
Agha Hussain | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-03
Turkey has found itself as a historic diplomatic crossroads following its military blunder in Syria. Now, wounded and humiliated, it faces a choice between neighborly detente or escalating its NATO-backed aggression in Syria.
mintpressnews.com/erdogans-idlib-misadventure-reality-checks-hard-lessons-turkey/266275/

The United States to Lose 7 Percent of Its Domestic Product
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-03
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasts that the United States might experience a 12 percent unemployment rate and a 7 percent loss of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of this year's second quarter. | RELATED: | The US Transition Plan for Venezuela Is a Mockery, Russia Says | …
telesurenglish.net/news/The-United-States-to-Lose-7-Percent-of-Its-Domestic-Product-20200403-0003.html

The Bigger Picture is Hiding Behind a Virus
Jonathan Cook | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-03
Things often look the way they do because someone claiming authority tells us they look that way. If that sounds too cynical, pause for a moment and reflect on what seemed most important to you just a year ago, or even a few weeks ago. Then, you may have been thinking that Russian interference in…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/03/the-bigger-picture-is-hiding-behind-a-virus/

Puebla's Group Condemns US Military Move To Venezuelan Coast
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-03
The Puebla Group denounced on Friday the deployment of military forces at the Venezuelan maritime borders by the United States under the pretext of the war on drugs. | RELATED: | The US Transition Plan for Venezuela Is a Mockery, Russia Says | The group of leftist leaders rejected the use of force and threat against Venezuela, saying the U.S. move vi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Pueblas-Group-Condemns-US-Military-Move-To-Venezuelan-Coast-20200403-0013.html

Selected Articles: The Bigger Picture Is Hiding Behind A Virus
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-03
A future without independent media leaves us with an upside down reality where according to the corporate media "NATO deserves a Nobel Peace Prize", and where "nuclear weapons and wars make us safer" | | | If, like us, this is a future …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-bigger-picture-hiding-behind-virus/5708610

'People Should Not Be Forced to Put Their Lives on the Line to Vote'
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2020-04-02
'People Should Not Be Forced to Put Their Lives on the Line to Vote'…
thenation.com/article/politics/wisconsin-democratic-primary/

'People Should Not Be Forced to Put Their Lives on the Line to Vote'
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2020-04-02
'People Should Not Be Forced to Put Their Lives on the Line to Vote'…
thenation.com/article/politics/wisconsin-democratic-primary/

Southcom boosts US military presence in Latin America, citing China, Russia 'threats'
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-31
Southern Command is ramping up the US military presence in Latin America to counter China, Russia, and Venezuela, after signing…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/30/southcom-latin-america-china-russia-threats-brazil/