2020-04-18: News Headlines

Brian Terrell (2020-04-18). COVID-19 and the Wasting Disease of Normalcy. zcomm.org From his prison cell in a year of mass movements to end the war in Vietnam and mobilizations for nuclear disarmament, Daniel Berrigan diagnosed normalcy as a disease and labeled it an obstacle to peace…

RT (2020-04-18). This Easter is different: WATCH Holy Fire descend in Jerusalem amid coronavirus lockdown. rt.com As Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter this weekend, the descent of the Holy Fire — a crucial part of the rituals — occurred in Jerusalem without the usual crowds of pilgrims. | The ceremony in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre was performed by a handful of Orthodox clerics wearing face masks. The descent of the Holy Fire is a miracle believed by Orthodox Christians to occur every year on Great Saturday. The fire is then taken to Greece, Russia, and other countries where the church has a large presence. | The usual large, iconic crowds of the faithful — both local Christians and pil…

RT (2020-04-18). Watch Dagestan-born IMMAF superstar Muhammad Mokaev's epic trilogy with Reo Yamaguchi in LIVE IMMAF watch party (VIDEO). rt.com Recap three epic fights featuring one of the biggest stars of amateur MMA, Dagestan-born Muhammad Mokaev, in a live IMMAF live watch party at 8am ET / 2pm CET, and you can watch it right here on RT Sport. | Nineteen-year-old Mokaev was born in Buynaksk, Dagestan but moved to Manchester, England with his family as a 12-year-old. | The Russian-English star is riding an unbeaten 23-fight win streak and is considered to be one of the hottest young prospects in the sport. | Mokaev hasn't yet turned professional, but there are sure to be a host of potential suitors for his signature, with the Bellator ONE Championsh…

RT (2020-04-18). Russia could suspend grain exports next month if export quota is reached. rt.com Russian grain exports may reach the limits introduced by the government much ahead of schedule, bringing the shipments to a temporary halt till the end of June, the country's agriculture ministry has said. | "The quota was introduced for the period from April 1 to June 30, 2020. After it is depleted, the supplies outside the Eurasian Economic Union will be stopped for this period," Deputy Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said on Friday. | Given the current pace, exports will be suspended in mid-May, the official said. As of Saturday, less than 4.2 million tons of grain remained available from the 7-million-ton…

RT (2020-04-18). Russia sought China's APPROVAL for missile test, US diplomat claims. His proof? They didn't come to his Twitter to deny it. rt.com Ignoring one's tweet can apparently not only spell the end to a teenage romance, but it can also be proof for high-profile geopolitical assertions. That is, at least, according to a high-ranking US diplomat. | The recent secretive test of a Russian — presumably — anti-ballistic missile weapon has seemingly caused quite a stir in the US. Apart from prompting the Pentagon to play some solid 'Russians are coming' tunes straight from the 1950s, it caused Robert Wood, the US Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament (CD), to hit a new high — or rather, low — in producing baseless allegations a…

RT (2020-04-18). 4,785 new Covid-19 cases registered across Russia, Moscow remains top hotspot. rt.com In the past 24 hours, 4,785 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Russia, the nation's disease response team reported on Saturday. The increase in newly-recorded cases is higher than that of the previous day — 4,070. | Overall, there are 36,793 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the country, with more than 20,750 reported in Moscow and more than 3,950 in the area surrounding the capital. | Officials said that 40 more patients have died, raising the nationwide death toll from Covid-19 to 313. | Since Wednesday, residents have required digital passes to travel by public and private transportation thro…

RT (2020-04-18). Control goes automatic: Manned checking of digital passes in Moscow to be replaced by electronic systems. rt.com Moscow's roll-out of digital passes to limit non-essential travel had a rocky start this week. Now the city has announced the checks will remain in place, but in automatic form. | This week the Russian capital introduced 'digital passes' to reduce travel in the city and thus slow the spread of Covid-19. Non-essential workers were limited to two trips a week, and everyone taking a ride had to apply for a pass — a string of numbers and letters — beforehand. | But enforcement of the new measures didn't get off to a smooth start. Long queues of commuters formed at the entrances of Moscow Metro, the city'

RT (2020-04-18). RECAP: Watch Dagestan-born IMMAF superstar Muhammad Mokaev's epic trilogy with Reo Yamaguchi (VIDEO). rt.com Recap three epic fights featuring one of the biggest stars of amateur MMA, Dagestan-born Muhammad Mokaev, as he took on Japanese rival Reo Yamaguchi in IMMAF competition. | Nineteen-year-old Mokaev was born in Buynaksk, Dagestan but moved to Manchester, England with his family as a 12-year-old. | The Russian-English star is riding an unbeaten 23-fight win streak and is considered to be one of the hottest young prospects in the sport. | Mokaev hasn't yet turned professional, but there are sure to be a host of potential suitors for his signature, with the Bellator ONE Championship, Cage Warriors and BRAVE CF all…

RT (2020-04-18). Bathtub ballet: Synchronized swimmer Svetlana Romashina shows off her skills in the bath during COVID-19 lockdown (VIDEO). rt.com The world of sport may be at a standstill, but Russian synchronized swimmer Svetland Romashina was able to show off her elite-level skills in a somewhat smaller pool than usual as she strutted her stuff in the bath. | The graceful starlet of the swimming pool hopped into her bathtub to perform a miniature version of the routine. | Also on rt.com | | The five-time Olympic champion has also earned 21 gold m…

RT (2020-04-18). US quietly recalls ALL B-52 bombers from Guam just DAYS after staging 'show of force'. rt.com All five nuclear-capable B-52 strategic bombers departed their forward base on the Pacific island of Guam just days after taking part in an 'elephant walk' show of force. The US Air Force says it wants to be more unpredictable. | The B-52H Stratofortresses departed Guam on Thursday, ending the Continuous Bomber Presence Mission that began in 2004, according to the

WSWS (2020-04-18). Ukrainian capital Kiev engulfed in smog from wildfires near Chernobyl. wsws.org The fires expose the fact that the world's worst nuclear catastrophe remains unresolved and continues to threaten the health of the population.

yenisafak (2020-04-18). Putin orders daily coronavirus projections as Russia's tally nears 37,000. yenisafak.com Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to provide daily forecasts of the spread of the novel coronavirus as Russia recorded almost 5,000 new cases in a single day.Coronavirus infections in Russia began rising sharply in April after reporting far fewer infections than many western European countries in the outbreak's early stages.On Saturday, Russia's official tally of coronavirus cases was 36,793, a record overnight rise of 4,785, and death toll rose by 40 to 313.The government must "provide a short-term prognosis of the number of citizens who may contract the new infectious disease (COVID-19)" a…

sputniknews (2020-04-18). 34 US-Backed Militants Surrender, Hand Weapons to Syrian Army — Reports. sputniknews.com Earlier, the Russian Defence Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation confirmed that over two dozen militants trained at a US military base in Syria had surrendered to the Syrian Army after breaking out of the US-controlled At-Tanf area and engaging in a shootout with other militia members.

sputniknews (2020-04-18). Victory Day Celebrations in Moscow on 9 May 1945. sputniknews.com The German Instrument of Surrender, the legal document which ended World War II in Europe, was signed in Berlin late in the evening on 8 May 1945 by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and the Soviet Red Army in the presence of French and US representatives.

sputniknews (2020-04-18). US Navy Receives Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarine Vermont From General Dynamics. sputniknews.com In December, the Navy awarded $22.2 billion to Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, for the delivery of nine Virginia-class submarines. The Navy was forced to delay the commissioning ceremony for the Vermont due to the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RT (2020-04-18). High-octane STREET CHASE in St. Petersburg ends with drunk driver's overturned car HANGING over river (VIDEO). rt.com If God watches over drunks and fools, as they say, this man is a living testament. After failing to shake the police in a car chase, he found his car flipping through the air — and balancing on the edge of a river.

Whitney Webb (2020-04-17). As US Shale Oil Plunges, Trump Admin Takes Aim at Venezuela. mintpressnews.com WASHINGTON DC ( Despite the president's rosy tone, most analysts have called the agreement — which presumably will freeze the Saudi-Russian oil price war that broke out…

Andrew Korybko (2020-04-17). Russia -China Relations: "Exchange of Criticisms" Regarding COVID-19 Crisis. globalresearch.ca The recent so-called "exchange of criticisms" between Russia and China over their respective border policies in response to World War C is more of a rare wrinkle in their relations caused by media reports than a growing rift that could …

RT (2020-04-17). Cold War talk: Pentagon says Moscow tested 'anti-satellite' weaponry & accuses it of hypocrisy… while having same toys for years. rt.com Russia has tested an "anti-satellite" weapon — at least Pentagon said so, branding Moscow's calls against militarization of space "hypocritical." The US itself has had such weaponry for years already, however. | News of the Russian test of a missile, allegedly capable of destroying satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), was broken by the chief of US Space Command General John Raymond. | The test is yet "another example that the threats to US and allied space systems are real, serious, and growing," the Space Force chief of operations said. | What is it that Russia tested?: | The test itself remains…

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-04-17). Virtual vigil at Livermore Lab: A global safety net is needed. peoplesworld.org A longstanding tradition took a new form this year, as nuclear disarmament advocates gathered virtually for the annual Good Friday Vigil normally held at the entrance to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., which is at the center of the Trump administration's drive to develop new, ever more dangerous types of nuclear weapons. …

Almasdar News (2020-04-17). Surrendered US-backed Rebels Admit to Receiving Training to Destroy Syrian Oil Sites. globalresearch.ca The head of the Russian Reconciliation Center affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, Oleg Goralev, announced on Wednesday that the 27 militants who surrendered to the Syrian authorities, reported that they had received training by the American military …

Fight Back (2020-04-17). Book Review: Lenin's What is to be Done? fightbacknews.org Why a review a book that the Russian revolutionary V.I. Lenin began in 1901 and finished in 1902? The short answer is the book is just that good and it has endured the test of time, and that 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth is a good occasion for it. | A more complete answer is as follows — we are in a period where monopoly capitalism has shown itself to be a failed system. Not only has it failed to deal with the challenges of a pandemic, capitalism is a people-destroying economic system that is making the pandemic worse. Add on the facts that we are in the onset of a large-scale economic crisis and milli…

Eds. (2020-04-16). Some oil producing nations agree to cut production 10%. mronline.org Oil-producing nations led by Russia, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia reached an unprecedented agreement on Sunday to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day, or nearly 10 percent of what is currently produced, as The New York Times reported.

Staff (2020-04-13). Noam Chomsky On COVID-19 And His New Book: Internationalism Or Extinction. therealnews.com Noam Chomsky analyzes the coronavirus pandemic in the context of neoliberal capitalism's failures, climate change, potential nuclear disaster, and Donald Trump's authoritarianism.

Paul Dobson (2020-03-30). Rosneft Dodges US Sanctions by Transferring Venezuela Operations to Russian State Firm. venezuelanalysis.com Moscow insists that its support for the Venezuelan government and role in its oil industry will remain unchanged.

Whitney Webb (2020-03-23). The Truth About the United States' "Continuity of Government" Plans & The Coronavirus Perfect Storm. thelastamericanvagabond.com Though often discussed in relation to nuclear war or a similarly chaotic scenario, "Continuity of Government" plans can be triggered even by popular, nonviolent opposition to an unpopular war abroad. It exists solely to keep the current system in place, regardless of the cost. WASHINGTON DC — Last week, Newsweek published a report entitled "Inside …

Jason Ditz (2020-02-20). Turkey Kills Over 50 Syrian Troops, Russian Warplanes Intervene to Halt Offensive. theantimedia.com Russia called the situation a "worst case scenario."

Ricardo Vaz (2020-02-19). US Sanctions Russia's Rosneft for Venezuela Dealings. venezuelanalysis.com Moscow blasted the move, vowing that relations with Caracas would not be affected.

Jason Ditz (2020-02-17). DOJ Investigating Former CIA Director's Role in Russiagate. theantimedia.com The Justice Department is investigating the role of John Brennan in the assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Paul Dobson (2020-02-10). US Sanctions Venezuelan State Airline, Threatens Russian Oil Giant. venezuelanalysis.com Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the sanctions regime as "outrageous."

Strategic Culture (2020-02-08). US Deploys 'Mini-Nukes' in Deplorable Threat to World Peace. theantimedia.com These so-called "mini-nukes" represent—despite the diminutive-sounding name—an increased risk of nuclear war.

Tyler Durden (2020-02-08). Iraq and Russia Prepare to Boost Military Ties as US Threatens Sanctions. theantimedia.com Iraq and Russia are preparing for deepening military coordination.

Middle East Eye (2020-02-07). Russia Says Israel Used Civilian Plane as Human Shield During Syria Strikes. theantimedia.com Russia accused Israel of "making a total mockery of the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians."

Jon Rainwater (2019-11-07). Take Action — Some actual, SANE legislation. peaceaction.org Trump has plans to spend nearly $2 TRILLION over the next 30 years on unneeded and unnecessary nuclear weapons and delivery systems. This makes no sense. This is insane. That's nearly $100 million wasted every day for thirty years on weapons we are supposed to be getting rid of. To put that amount in perspective, …