2020-05-05: News Headlines

Andrew Korybko (2020-05-05). Putin Didn't Disappear: Russia's Ongoing Decentralization Process. globalresearch.ca The Western Mainstream Media's aggressively propagated infowar narrative that President Putin "disappeared" and is "paralyzed" in the face of World War C is factually false because it ignores the Russian leader's regular video conferences with various officials that are widely …

RT (2020-05-05). Kim Jong-un accepts WWII medal awarded by Putin days after DEATH rumors spread by Western media. rt.com He may have been reported dead last week by US/UK media, but today North Korean leader Kim Jong-un received a medal from President Putin for his contribution to perpetuating the memory of Soviet citizens buried in North Korea. | In 2019, the Kremlin announced the creation of a brand new award named '75 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945′, to be given to those chosen by the president. The award has already been presented to multiple people, many of whom are Russian veterans. | | @ Russian Embassy in North Korea | According to the Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in North Korea, Kim was…

RT (2020-05-05). Russia waging 'HYBRID WAR' on Europe by protesting removal of Soviet liberator statue, claims Czech official who had it torn down. rt.com A Prague official responsible for removing a statue of Marshal Konev urged Brussels to protect the EU against Moscow's "interference" and "hybrid war," playing the time-tested 'Russia scare' card that never fails to be effective. | Proving that a strong offense sometimes makes the best defense, head of Prague's District 6 Ondrej Kolar wrote an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Read m…

RT (2020-05-05). Germany issues warrant for 'GRU hacker' allegedly behind hacking parliament & US presidential election — report. rt.com A German media report suggests prosecutors have begun proceedings to arrest Dmitry Badin, who they believe to be a Russian agent behind a string of hacks dating back as far as 2014, and who is also wanted by the FBI. | German prosecutors have issued a warrant for the arrest of an alleged GRU agent accused of hacking the Bundestag, according to the country's Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. | The suspect is named as Dmitry Badin, wanted in Germany and the US in connection with numerous offences — among them, a cyber-attack on the German parliament and hacking the 2016 US presidential election. | Badin is bel…

RT (2020-05-05). 'This is NOT a filter': Russian swimming champ Efimova takes late-night dip in incredible bioluminescent ocean (VIDEO). rt.com Six-time world champion Yuliya Efimova has given fans another glimpse into her idyllic lifestyle during quarantine by joining friends for a twilight boat party and night swim in bioluminescent waters near her base in California. | Having demonstrated her breaststroke technique from her Los Angeles kitchen table and shown off her outdoor swimming pool in previous videos, the two-time silver medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games went a step further in her latest clip, setting off by boat to explore the bioluminescent waters of the surrounding coast. | Joined by fellow swimmers Alena Rumiantceva and Lisa Bazarova, E…

RT (2020-05-05). 'I will beat you': Seven-year-old blasts 'WEAK' Arshavin after ex-Russia star accuses Olympic champ of forcing child into videos. rt.com A bizarre row has broken out between Evgeni Plushenko's son and Andrey Arshavin after the Russia legend accused the figure-skating champion and his wife of forcing the infant to perform in a series of "painful" Instagram videos. | Two-time Olympic champion Plushenko and his wife, producer and TV personality Yana Rudkovskaya, have been prolific makers of videos with their son, Alexander, in the family's opulent home. | While Russia has been in lockdown under health guidelines aimed at stopping the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak, the seven-year-old known as Sasha has joined his parents indoors to test gym equip…

RT (2020-05-05). Russia's lead spacecraft designer & architect of ISS modules dies due to Covid-19. rt.com Yevgeny Mikrin, a top scientist behind Russia's manned spaceflight program and a contributor to the International Space Station designs, succumbed to the coronavirus in a Moscow hospital, the Academy of Sciences said. | Mikrin, who was due to turn 65 this year, has passed away "in the prime of life," President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Alexander Sergeev told the media on Tuesday, calling him an "outstanding scholar" and "a very bright man." | The scientist, who served as a chief designer for Russia's famed corporation Energia — founded by the forefather of the Soviet space program, Sergey K…

RT (2020-05-05). A new song or same old tune? Memo warns of Russian 'plot' to influence 2020 vote by 'secretly advising' candidates. rt.com An internal American intelligence memo reportedly warns of a sinister Russian plot in the making to meddle in the upcoming US presidential election, including by directly advising the candidates and their campaigns. | Cobbled together by 'cyber experts' at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI in February, the memo effectively regurgitates the old Russiagate narrative, which quietly fizzled out after a special counsel probe led by Robert Mueller failed to find any proof of conspiracy or collusion between President Donald Trump and Russia. Excerpts from the document — dubbed "Possible Ru…

RT (2020-05-05). One year on, pilot of fatal Aeroflot Flight 1492 rejects all blame for deaths of 41 people. rt.com It's a year to the day since Aeroflot Flight 1492 burst into flames upon landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, taking the lives of 41 people. Now facing prosecution and jail time, the plane's pilot wants to clear his name. | Speaking to Russian news outlet Lenta, pilot Denis Evdokimov explained his version of events. According to Evdokimov, the fault lies with the airplane's non-compliance with standards of airworthiness, and he rejects all personal blame. | On May 5, 2019, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane operating Aeroflot Flight 1492 was gaining altitude when it was hit by lightning. As a result, the plane s…

RT (2020-05-05). Russian Embassy ridicules Pulitzer Board for awarding prize to NYT's 'undiluted fabrications'. rt.com The New York Times' staff have won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for "exposing the predations of Vladimir Putin's regime." Russia, however, says the paper made it up. | The Pulitzer Prize Board loves a good yarn about Russia, and the New York Times certainly feeds their appetite. 2017 saw the paper score an award for reporting on the Kremlin's online "troll army;" while 2018 saw it

Staff (2020-05-05). Headlines for May 5, 2020. democracynow.org Dire Forecasts Warn U.S. Death Toll Could Surge in Coming Weeks as States Move to Relax Restrictions, China Rebukes Trump Admin Claim That Coronavirus Was Man-Made, Report Says Brooklyn Jail Destroying Medical Records to Hide Toll of COVID-19, J. Crew Files for Bankruptcy, Betsy DeVos Sued for Garnishing Wages of Student Loan Holders During Pandemic, EU, World Leaders Pledge Billions to Fund Coronavirus Vaccine; U.S. Sits Out, Questions Raised After 3 Healthcare Workers in Russia Fall from Hospital Windows, U.K. May Have Second-Highest Coronavirus Death Toll; France Identifies COVID-19 Case from December, Venezue…

Patrick Cockburn (2020-05-05). Trump is Igniting a Cold War With China to Try to Win Re-election. counterpunch.org "Go to China!", a woman in Denver, Colorado, shouts at two hospital workers standing in front of her car to prevent her from taking part in a protest against the coronavirus lockdown. Her cry is a sign that President Trump is having some success in demonising China: he says that that he has a "high degree of confidence" that the deadly virus emanated from a laboratory in Wuhan, though he cannot reveal the source of his information.

Peter Koenig (2020-05-05). WHO's Integrity Increasingly Questioned. Skepticism? globalresearch.ca Russian NTV: Donald Trump refused to Fund WHO. There are more and more people in the world who are skeptical of the organization. Does this skepticism have any Foundation? | Peter Koenig: Yes, it is true, and yes it does. WHO's …

Adam Ramsay (2020-05-05). Thousands at risk from COVID-19 in 'dangerous' UK call centres. zcomm.org Labour and Lib Dems urge government to stop firms playing 'Russian roulette' with workers' lives — as 'harrowing stories' emerge from new research…

Mel Gurtov (2020-05-05). The Coming New World Disorder. counterpunch.org After the demise of the Soviet Union and the US intervention that crushed Saddam Hussein's attack on Kuwait in 1991, President George H. W. Bush pronounced a new world order. His exuberance carried over into academia (Frances Fukuyama's "end of history") and conservative punditry (Charles Krauthammer's "unipolar moment"). The consensus among these American exceptionalists was

RT (2020-05-04). Why US and Russian high Covid-19 case counts are DECEPTIVE. rt.com You've probably seen the headlines about the US having the most cases of coronavirus and Russia moving into the worldwide top seven. Meanwhile, Italy receives a huge focus, but badly stricken Belgium is largely ignored. | When you read that there have been over 67,000 American deaths and over a million reported infections, it seems shocking. It also feels hugely worrying that Russia has over 145,000 diagnosed sufferers. Nevertheless, the fact is the US is a big country, with 328 million people. Russia is even larger, of course, but has a smaller population of 146 million. So although these figures are enormous…

M.K. Bhadrakumar (2020-05-04). Russia-China entente deepens in the shadow of the pandemic. mronline.org The Russian-Chinese entente emerged as one of the most significant templates of international politics in the recent period since the hugely consequential developments in Ukraine in 2014 that led to western sanctions against Moscow, which in turn galvanised the latter's 'pivot to Asia'.

Nebojsa Malic (2020-05-04). US Push for "Low-yield Nukes" Makes Nuclear War More Likely as Russia Will Retaliate with Full Force, Moscow Says. globalresearch.ca The US State Department's case for tactical nuclear weapons is a case study in psychological projection not seen since the darkest days of the Cold War and its ever-present threat of world-ending atomic holocaust. | Back in February, the Pentagon announced …

en.mehrnews (2020-05-04). Russia slams US for obstructing Iran's loan request from IMF. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 4 (MNA) — Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin on Monday lashed out at US's attempt for obstructing a loan by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syria amid the pandemic.

Joaquin Flores (2020-05-04). China Calls for Closing All U.S. Deep-State Bioweapons Laboratories in Former USSR Countries. globalresearch.ca As countries have openly begun to utilize their military structures in fighting the coronavirus in programs intended to guard against biological warfare, Chinese authorities have come out in support the official position of Russia and considers it dangerous that there …

Sergio Duarte , Ira Helfand (2020-05-04). The Novel Coronavirus and Nuclear Weapons. commondreams.org "Just as the threat of the new coronavirus must be met by cooperation, common-sense and solidarity among peoples and nations," write the authors, "so must the danger of a nuclear war." (Photo: CC) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/world_map_health_virus_red_1200x630_0.jpg

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-03). New START and the China Diversion. strategic-culture.org The effort to bring China into an arms reduction treaty certainly is futile. Not only is China not going to participate in arms control negotiations with the U.S. anytime soon, but even if China were persuaded to participate the limits set by New START would allow China to increase its nuclear arsenal many times over while still remaining in compliance.

Alan Macleod (2020-05-01). Experts Warn of New Nuclear Arms Race After Trump Signals US Withdrawal from START Treaty. mintpressnews.com While much of the corporate press has blamed Russia and China for the sudden failure of multiple longstanding nuclear treaties, experts put the blame on squarely on the Trump administration.

Gareth Porter (2020-04-30). With apparently fabricated nuclear documents, Netanyahu pushed the US towards war with Iran. thegrayzone.com An investigation of supposed Iranian nuclear documents presented in a dramatically staged Netanyahu press conference indicates they were an Israeli…

Aaron Maté (2020-04-25). US elites use Russiagate playbook to blame China and promote hostility. thegrayzone.com The US establishment is demonizing China over the COVID-19 crisis with a familiar Russiagate playbook of specious claims, fear-mongering, and…

Jon Rainwater (2020-04-23). A Myriad of Ways to Wage Peace During These Times. peaceaction.org As we shelter in our homes to protect ourselves from this global pandemic, we wanted to share some of the many ways you can remain active and impactful in the work for a more peaceful world. Peace Action has long been a leader in organizing international conferences, marches, and rallies around the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty …

Nancy Mitchell (2020-04-22). The role of leadership in revolutionary struggle — Lenin's April Theses. liberationnews.org The 1917 Russian Revolution was the first time in history that the working class seized and held power, organizing a workers state in the interest of the vast majority of toilers rather than a rich minority elite.

Anya Parampil (2020-04-22). China's reality on the ground: fact vs Cold War fiction. thegrayzone.com Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Beijing-based journalist Daniel Alan Bey about his experience living in China during the…

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.

Tasnim News (2020-05-01). Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Rules Out Extension of UN Arms Embargo on Iran. iranian.com Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said renewing a UN arms embargo against Iran which is to expire in October 2020 is out of the question. "For us, the case of the existing ban on arms deliveries to and from Iran was closed with the adoption of Resolution 2231. The embargo regime expires in October …

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."

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.