Biden Says He 'Doesn't Have Enough Information' on Iran to Have a Vew. How Odd, He Negotiated the Nuclear Deal
Robert Fisk | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-07
So, while we continue to be mesmerised by Covid-19, here are a few Middle East tales that should be going viral this week. Let's start with a little divestment story. Microsoft has said it's going to sell its stake in AnyVision, an Israeli facial recognition startup, after civil liberties groups in the US complained that…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/07/biden-says-he-doesnt-have-enough-information-on-iran-to-have-a-vew-how-odd-he-negotiated-the-nuclear-deal/

Lithuanian socialist leader Algirdas Palecki released from jail, to serve house arrest
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-07
Socialist leader Algirdas Paleckis has been incarcerated since October 2018 for allegedly "intending to kidnap prosecutors" and being a Russian spy. Critics believe that the former diplomat has been targeted by the right-wing Lithuanian government for his socialist ideology…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/07/lithuanian-socialist-leader-leaves-prison-after-court-orders-for-leniency/

Russian military physicians begin treating suspected Covid-19 cases in Serbian capital
rt.com | 2020-04-07
The teams of Russian military physicians commenced treating suspected Covid-19 cases after disinfection in Dragisa Misovic clinical medical center in Belgrad, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. | Nuclear, biological and chemical protection troops and specialized military vehicles are involved in decontamination and disinfection of medical facilities. | Russian military planes earlier delivered 87 servicemen, including medics, virologists, as well as medical equipment and 16 vehicles. Two Russian medical brigades will stay in Belgrade, where the coronavirus situation is the most difficult, while othe…
rt.com/newsline/485172-russian-military-serbia-belgrade/

'Who has the nuke codes?' Piers Morgan's provocative quizzing of Michael Gove splits opinion as BoJo lies in intensive care
rt.com | 2020-04-07
Bombastic TV host Piers Morgan's probing of Minister Michael Gove about who's in control of the UK's nuclear weapons while the PM is being treated for Covid-19 has divided Twitter. | Some social media users praised the interview, while others branded the question about the country's nuclear arsenal as "stupid." | Morgan appeared very concerned about who had access to the UK's big red button as he clashed with Gove on Good Morning Britain. However, the Cabinet Office minister refused to be drawn on the incendiary question…
rt.com/uk/485184-piers-morgan-nuke-button-joke/

Russia's Covid-19 cases jump by record 1,154, with 11 new fatalities pushing overall death toll to 58
rt.com | 2020-04-07
In Russia, the Covid-19 trend is upward. The daily increase of confirmed infections has for the first time surpassed 1,000 as the total has reached almost 7,500. 58 patients have now died from the killer virus in the country. | Officials announced on Monday morning that 1,154 new patients had been diagnosed with the coronavirus over the preceding 24 hours. In the same period of time, 11 people are known to have succumbed to the disease. | The infection has spread to a new Russian region with the first three cases reported in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic in the south of the country. Of the 85 federal subjects…
rt.com/news/485151-russias-covid-19-cases-jump/

'Aggressive expropriation attempt': Russia blasts Trump's order declaring space up for grabs by Americans
rt.com | 2020-04-07
The US has declared outer space a legal equivalent of the Wild West, and Russia believes it may lead to the grimmest of consequences like many policies of territorial expansion did in the past. | Russia's space agency was not impressed by President Donald Trump's executive order, which doesn't see space "as a global commons." | "Attempts to expropriate outer space and aggressive plans to de facto seize the territories of other planets will hardly encourage other nations to participate in fruitful cooperation," said Sergey Savelyev, Roscosmos deputy director responsible for international cooperation. | Also on…
rt.com/news/485146-trump-space-land-grab/

'Miracle' to vie at Russia's Interdoc filmfest
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-04-07
TEHRAN, Apr. 07 (MNA)

Range of INSTEX should be beyond borders of EU: Ulyanov
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-04-07
TEHRAN, Apr. 07 (MNA)

Coronavirus infections in Eurasia cross 12,000
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-07
Eurasian nations are witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases with the tally crossing the 12,000 mark.In Russia, the total number of cases stands at 7,497, according its health authority. Fifty-eight people have died so far, and 494 have recovered.In Ukraine, the number of cases increased by 143, bringing the total to 1,462, according to a statement by the country's Health Ministry.The death toll in the country has risen to 45, while 28 patients have recovered so far.In Moldova, two more people died of COVID-19, raising the death toll to 21. Some 965 cases have been reported in the country.In Kazakhstan, the numb…
yenisafak.com/en/world/coronavirus-infections-in-eurasia-cross-12000-3516230

Russian space agency says Trump paving way to seize other planets
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-07
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, accused Donald Trump on Tuesday of creating a basis to take over other planets by signing an executive order outlining U.S. policy on commercial mining in space.The executive order, which Roscosmos said damaged the scope for international cooperation in space, was signed on Monday.It said the United States would seek to negotiate "joint statements and bilateral and multilateral arrangements with foreign states regarding safe and sustainable operations for the public and private recovery and use of space resources".It said U.S. citizens should have the right to engage in such a…
yenisafak.com/en/world/russian-space-agency-says-trump-paving-way-to-seize-other-planets-3516228

Kremlin Reveals How Putin's Meetings Arranged During Coronavirus Pandemic
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-07
The Kremlin previously reported that Putin would continue working remotely for at least another week, especially in light of the recent infection of a Moscow coronavirus hospital chief with COVID-19 who he met on 24 March while visiting the facility.
sputniknews.com/russia/202004071078865299-kremlin-reveals-how-putins-meetings-arranged-during-coronavirus-pandemic/

Specialists at Russia's MSU Use Supercomputer to Search for Treatment for COVID-19
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Employees of a technological laboratory at Moscow State University (MSU) have launched calculations on the Lomonosov supercomputer to search for a drug that can cure the coronavirus, the university's press office said on Tuesday.
sputniknews.com/russia/202004071078865218-specialists-at-russias-msu-use-supercomputer-to-search-for-treatment-for-covid-19/

Kremlin Refutes Claims of Russia Bribing FIFA to Host 2018 World Cup
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted on Tuesday claims that Russia became the host of the 2018 FIFA World Cup due to bribing, adding that the bid was completely legitimate and resulted in "the best world cup in history."
sputniknews.com/russia/202004071078865663-kremlin-refutes-claims-of-russia-bribing-fifa-to-host-2018-world-cup/

Aeroflot Plans Special Flights to Evacuate Russians From US, Maldives for 7-8 April
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot will conduct special flights to repatriate Russians from the United States and the Maldives on Tuesday and Wednesday, the airline said on Tuesday.
sputniknews.com/world/202004071078865793-aeroflot-plans-special-flights-to-evacuate-russians-from-us-maldives-for-7-8-april/

Russian Aerospace Forces to Get 2 More Modernised An-124 Military Cargo Planes
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive two additional An-124 Ruslan super-heavy military transport aircraft, a source in the aviation industry revealed.
sputniknews.com/military/202004071078866612-russian-aerospace-forces-to-get-2-more-modernised-an-124-military-cargo-planes/

Imagining a Department of Actual Defense in a Time of Coronavirus
David Swanson | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-06
( DavidSwanson.org)

The Revival Of OPEC+ Is the Next Step in the New Detente
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-06
The emergency OPEC+ talks that are scheduled for 9 April are the next step in the "New Detente" between the US and Russia even though America won't formally be represented at that meeting seeing as how Moscow is making moves …
globalresearch.ca/revival-opec-next-step-new-detente/5708802

Firefighters work to contain forest fires near Chernobyl nuclear site
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-04-06
Ukrainian firefighters worked overnight trying to put out two forest blazes in the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power station.The area was evacuated because of radioactive contamination after the 1986 explosion at the plant.Ukraine's emergencies service said one of the fires, covering about five hectares, had been localised. | It said the other fire was about 20 hectares.The head of the state ecological inspection service, Yehor Firsov, earlier said the fires had spread to about 100 hectares.Firsov said radiation levels at the fire were substantially higher than normal.But the emergencies service said radiat…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2020/04/06/firefighters-work-to-contain-forest-fires-near-chernobyl-nuclear-site/

[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

The Bigger Picture is Hiding Behind a Virus
Jonathan Cook | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-04
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 …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/04/the-bigger-picture-is-hiding-behind-a-virus/

"He's Got Eight Numbers, Just Like Everybody Else"
Kathy Kelly | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-03
On April 4, 2020, my friend Steve Kelly will begin a third year of imprisonment in Georgia's Glynn County jail. He turned 70 while in prison, and while he has served multiple prison sentences for protesting nuclear weapons, spending two years in a county jail is unusual even for him. Yet he adamantly urges supporters …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/04/hes-got-eight-numbers-just-like-everybody-else/

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/

COVID-19: When pandemic and precarious work intersect
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-04-01
Workers & unions Leo CrnogorcevicIssue 1259 Australia COVID-19 casual workers Fair Work Act 2009April 1, 2020Russian revoluti…
greenleft.org.au/content/covid-19-when-pandemic-and-precarious-work-intersect

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/