2020-06-20: News Headlines

yenisafak (2020-06-19). Russia to assess Arctic fuel spill damage by July 1. yenisafak.com Russia's environmental watchdog will finish its assessment of the damage done by last month's fuel spill in the Arctic city of Norilsk by July 1, it said on Friday.Some 21,000 tonnes of diesel leaked into rivers and subsoil on May 29 in Norilsk, home to mining giant Norilsk Nickel , in an incident that Greenpeace has compared to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska.

yenisafak (2020-06-19). Eight SNA soldiers martyred in YPG/PKK attack in N Syria. yenisafak.com At least eight soldiers of the Syrian National Army (SNA) were martyred in an attack carried out by the YPG/PKK terrorist group in Afrin, northwestern Syria.From Tal Rifat district, terrorists attempted to infiltrate front lines in Bassouta region in the south of Afrin province.The terrorist group continued to target Syrian National Army and civilian settlements in Afrin and Azaz provinces from Tal Rifat despite a Turkey-Russia deal that foresees their withdrawal from the region.On Oct. 9, 2019, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order…

_____ (2020-06-19). So It's OK to Erase Soviet Statues, but Not Western Imperialist Ones? strategic-culture.org Statues commemorating colonizers, slavers and imperialists are toppling from their pedestals on both sides of the Atlantic in the wake of mass protests over the U.S. police killing of African-American man George Floyd. The surge in anti-racist public anger has widened to target other icons seen as glorifying racism and oppression of other peoples. | In recent days, the U.S. has seen

Conn Hallinan (2020-06-19). Tipping the Nuclear Dominos. counterpunch.org If the Trump administration follows through on its threat to re-start nuclear tests, it will complete the unraveling of more than 50 years of arms control agreements, taking the world back to the days when school children practiced "duck and cover," and people built backyard bomb shelters.

bne IntelliNews (2020-06-19). Russian Deputies Introduce Bill to Un-Ban the Excellent Telegram Messaging App. anti-empire.com Russian Duma deputies from the minority fraction Fair Russia have conceded defeat to reality and have introduced a bill to un-ban the popular messaging service Telegram that belongs to Russian tech whizz-kid Pavel Durov. | Three deputies — Fedot Tumusov, Dmitry Ionin and Alexander Terentyev — have submitted a draft bill to the Duma to terminate the attempts to outlaw Telegram. | The company and the Kremlin clashed after the widely used service refused a request by the Federal Security Service (FSB) to hand over digital keys so the security forces could eavesdrop on conversations on the service. | Tele…

ahtribune (2020-06-19). Foreign Troops: What Is Too Close for Comfort? ahtribune.com Tensions in the skies. RT presented a news story of the United States intercepting a fleet of Russian bombers off the Alaskan coast. Four Russian Tu-95 bombers, accompanied by Su-35 and MiG-31 fighters jets, flew from Siberia toward Alaska where they were shadowed by US F-22 fighters. The US and NORAD admitted that the Russian planes stayed in international airspace and did not enter American sovereign airspace. | http: //youtu.be/jmqgpkixULo | Siberia and Alaska are close. At its narrowest point the Bering Strait separates Russia and the US by only 88.5 km (55 mi), so it wouldn't take long upon leaving one coa…

Ben Aris (2020-06-19). Economic Ministry Forecasts Russia Won't Climb Back to Pre-Lockdown Levels Until Late 2022. anti-empire.com Russia's Ministry of Economy has released a fresh forecast for 2019-2022. The ministry said there will be no V-shaped recovery: after a 5% plunge in 2020, real GDP will only recover starting in mid-2022. The Ministry of Economy predicts GDP growth of 2.8% in 2021 and 3% in 2022. | The Urals price stays below the base budget price of $42, at which point the Russian budget breaks even. Urals will average $31.1 per barrel this year, rising to $35.4 in 2021 and only in 2022 will it return to the breakeven price of $42.2 when Russia Inc. goes back into profit. | That means the Ministry of Finance will rely on the Nati…

_____ (2020-06-19). Defending History or Double Standard? strategic-culture.org There is no equivalence between Western imperialists, colonizers and racists and Soviet war heroes. But there is a clear double standard in how demolishing the latter statues is somehow acceptable to Western governments. Because it fits a geopolitical agenda of rewriting the history of World War II to demean Russia. | (Click the image to enlarge)…

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-06-19). Russia Denies that Putin Tried to Block UN Security Council Recognition of Palestine. imemc.org Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, denied that President Vladimir Putin had blocked a 2016 UN Security Council's resolution that recognizes Palestinian statehood on the 1967 border lines. Zakharov's remarks came during a press briefing on Wednesday, in which she responded to claims by an Israeli online newspaper, Israel …

yenisafak (2020-06-19). EU extends sanctions on Russia: Merkel. yenisafak.com EU leaders have agreed to extend diplomatic and economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday. | Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, after a videoconference meeting of EU leaders, Merkel criticized Russia for not taking sufficient steps to implement the 2015 Minsk agreement, aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine. | "In today's European Council meeting we decided to extend these sanctions for another six months," Merkel said. | The sanctions were first imposed in 2014 in response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and were later expand…

yenisafak (2020-06-19). Russia comes out of pandemic with minimal loss: Putin. yenisafak.com Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia is coming out of the coronavirus pandemic "with minimal losses".At the same time, a lot of problems related to the pandemic remain on the agenda, Putin said at a video-conference with the country's government members."The most important thing is that this situation [of pandemic] united us all, this is a fact, and it allowed us to get out of this situation with minimal losses," he said.He recalled there are some regions where the daily growth in COVID-19 cases is still high."We are now talking about positive trends and positive examples. But we must not f…

yenisafak (2020-06-19). Two wanted Daesh terrorists caught in SE Turkey. yenisafak.com Two women, both Russian citizens, who were wanted by Interpol for being members of the Daesh terrorist group, were arrested in Turkey's southeast in a joint operation by Turkish security and intelligence units on Friday.After being tipped off that a group of terrorists from Syria's war zones were entering Turkey illegally, an operation was conducted in coordination with the prosecutor's office in Kilis province.In the joint operation by police and the National Intelligence Organization, two women were apprehended in the central district of Kilis.The suspects were identified by the initials S.K (29) and R.E. (33),…

sputniknews (2020-06-19). Putin WWII Article in US Magazine Expected to Provoke Robust Reactions, Editor Says. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Russian President Vladimir Putin's article on World War II published in a major US foreign policy magazine this week is expected to spark fresh debate and robust responses from Western audiences, the publication's editor, Jacob Heilbrunn said on Friday.

sputniknews (2020-06-19). Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif Urges E3 to 'State Publicly What They Admit Privately'. sputniknews.com The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a treaty covering Iran's nuclear program, included seven countries and was signed in 2015, envisaging Tehran curbing its nuclear research programs in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. However, the decision by the Trump administration to leave the agreement in 2018 put the plan at risk.

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-06-18). France's Call on NATO to Stop Ignoring the "Turkey Problem". Further Divides the Alliance. globalresearch.ca The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and this calls to question why NATO still exists today. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO has militarily intervened in many sovereign countries such as Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, while also expanding …

Conn Hallinan (2020-06-18). Trump threatens to re-start nuclear weapons tests, undoing 50 years of agreements. peoplesworld.org If the Trump administration follows through on its threat to restart nuclear tests, it will complete the unraveling of more than 50 years of arms control agreements, taking the world back to the days when school children practiced "duck and cover" and people built backyard bomb shelters. It will certainly be the death knell for the Comprehensive …

RT (2020-06-18). Russian Deputy PM believes Covid-19 second wave can be avoided, Moscow denies lockdown to resume in fall. rt.com The dreaded second wave of coronavirus in Russia can be avoided if safety measures are observed, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who has fronted the country's response to the pandemic. | Read more | | Meanwhile, Moscow's Department of Education has firmly denied media reports that self-isolation rules will again be introduced in the capital on September 20. The department slammed such speculation as provocative and untrue. | "The depart…

RT (2020-06-18). Serbia will reject EU membership without some yield on Kosovo deal, Vucic says, as he meets Lavrov. rt.com President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday he would reject European Union membership for Serbia if it does not receive concessions in return for recognizing Kosovo and dropping attempts to stop it joining the UN. | No resolution of Serbia's future relationship with its breakaway province will be possible without Moscow's consent, Vucic said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Belgrade, according to Reuters. | "In reply to a possible offer [to Serbia] to recognize Kosovo and that Kosovo enters the UN, and we receive nothing in return, except EU membership, our answer would be 'No,'" Vucic s…

RT (2020-06-18). Berlin's threats will 'not be left unanswered' Russian ambassador says, after Germany links Chechen ex-militant's murder to Moscow. rt.com The Russian envoy to Germany, Sergey Nechaev, has blasted Berlin for blaming the murder of a former Chechen insurgent leader on a Russian "state entity". Such accusations lack proof and only hurt bilateral relations, he said. | "We consider the accusations leveled against the Russian authorities to be baseless and unsupported by evidence," Nechaev said in a statement, commenting on the latest indictment issued by the German prosecutors in relation to a high-profile murder that took place in Berlin's Tiergarten Park last August. | A 40-year-old man, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, was shot by a suspect identified as a…

RT (2020-06-18). Putin: 75 years after WW2, new global crisis calls for victorious anti-Nazi coalition to work together again. rt.com In 1945, they defeated Adolf Hitler and Imperial Japan. Now, 75 years on, Vladimir Putin believes that the present global health and economic emergency requires the Second World War allies to unite once more. | In a lengthy op-ed, published in American foreign policy journal 'The National Interest' and Russian government newspaper 'Rossiyskaya Gazeta,' the Russian president discusses the reasons behind the rise of the Nazis. He also outlines the benefits of…

Sheren Khalel (2020-06-18). The Empire Declares a "Maximum Pressure" War of Economic Strangulation on Devastated Syria. anti-empire.com The United States has imposed a sweeping set of new sanctions against any country, individual or entity that provides support to the Syrian government – a campaign that experts warn may devastate the lives of ordinary Syrians trying to survive and rebuild after nine years of war. | The Caesar Act, passed in Congress

Andrei Martyanov (2020-06-18). Yeah, the Russians Have Carrier-Killing Missiles, but Can They Actually Hit the Ships? (Answer: Yes). anti-empire.com Anti-ship cruise missiles of operational-tactical purpose (RCC OTN) 3M55, 3M45 and 3M70 missile systems "Onyx", "Granite" and "Volcano" are rightfully considered the pride of the Russian Navy. However, there is an opinion that their outstanding flight range (500—700 km) is not provided by reliable target designation, and therefore is useless in practice. | In other words, it is generally accepted that the means of destruction available to Russia (which the media refer to only as "killer aircraft carriers") are almost meaningless in modern conditions. And all due to the fact that the Navy does not have the t…

Zero Hedge (2020-06-18). USAF Paints Fighter Jet Russian Color Scheme to Prepare for Dogfights. globalresearch.ca A General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon at Hill Air Force Base, located in northern Utah, recently had an exterior makeover paint scheme that mimics the Russian Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter, reported The 576th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron painted …

South Front (2020-06-18). Video: Idlib Militants Attack Turkish-Russian Patrols as Turkey Shifts Focus to Northern Iraq. globalresearch.ca On June 16, a joint convoy of the Turkish Army and the Russian Military Police became the target of a new IED attack during a patrol along the M4 highway in southern Idlib. The explosion damaged a BTR-82A armored personnel …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-18). US imposes new sanctions on Syria under Caesar Act. peoplesdispatch.org The US administration announced a new set of political and economic sanctions against Syria on June 17, Wednesday, under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection act. The act was enacted in the US in December 2019 and made part of the National Defence Authorisation act for the year 2020. | The Caesar act asks the government of Syria and its allies, Russia and Iran, to halt military operations aimed at retaking territories captured by armed militias and rebel forces supported by Turkey and the US in Syria. The Syrian government has rejected the act, saying that it cannot allow such a division of the country. | The exe…

WSWS (2020-06-18). Moscow court sentences ex-US Marine to 16 years for espionage. wsws.org The case of Paul Whelan, which has unfolded against the background of heightened military tensions between the US and Russia and a hysterical anti-Russia campaign in the US media, is extremely murky.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-06-18). Why Japan Cancelled Installation of American Missiles in Its Territory. US Military Presence Threatens Japan's Security. globalresearch.ca Since 1945, when the United States bombed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons, Japan has entered an era of total submission to Washington, demilitarizing and abdicating its own real sovereignty. Tokyo came under the umbrella of American …

yenisafak (2020-06-18). Russia: Almost 500 doctors die from COVID-19. yenisafak.com Almost 500 doctors died due to the novel coronavirus in Russia, contracting it at work, the country's Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare announced on Thursday.Russia was not fully prepared for the COVID-19 outbreak, with problems in the beginning, including lack of protective means, head of the service Alla Samoylova said at a video-conference in Moscow.Authorities have so far managed to fix most of them, and the complaints about security flaws are "rather rare" now, Samoylova added."As of today, we say the spread of the virus is not over yet. More than half a million people in Russia are ill, over 7,…

yenisafak (2020-06-18). Russian maneuvers in Libya poses risk: US AFRICOM. yenisafak.com US Africa Command (AFRICOM) revealed new evidence of active Russian aircraft in Libyan airspace Thursday, saying it poses a risk for all civilians."Russia's sustained involvement in Libya increases the violence and delays a political solution," AFRICOM head of operations US Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Bradford Gering said in a statement. "Russia continues to push for a strategic foothold on NATO's southern flank and this is at the expense of innocent Libyan lives."Two images of MiG-29 and Su-24 Russian aircrafts flying through Libya was shared by the command.In late May, AFRICOM reported at least 14 MiG-29s and sever…

yenisafak (2020-06-18). Russia revises sharply higher coronavirus death toll among medics. yenisafak.com Russia has revised steeply higher, to nearly 500, the number of medical workers who have died after contracting COVID-19, illustrating the severe toll the pandemic has taken on its frontline doctors and nurses.The Health Ministry had reported on May 26 that 101 medics had died from the coronavirus, a figure that was much lower than an unofficial tally of 444 deceased medical workers compiled online by Russian doctors.Alla Samoylova, the head of a Russian healthcare watchdog, updated the official figure on Thursday to 489, the TASS news agency reported, some 6.4% of the overall nationwide death toll.Russia, which…

sputniknews (2020-06-18). Putin on WW2 Legacy, Allies, Soviet Army Contribution, History Revision Attempts. sputniknews.com World War II ended in 1945 with the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies. Pondering over the "real lessons" of the 75th Anniversary of defeating Nazism, Russian President Vladimir Putin has written an article for the US magazine National Interest.

Middle East Eye (2020-06-17). Israel Increases Secretive Nuclear Stockpile to 90 Warheads: Report. globalresearch.ca Israel may have increased its nuclear stockpile from 80 warheads in 2019 to 90 in 2020, according to a new report by a leading global arms watchdog. | The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in its

Middle East Eye (2020-06-17). Israel Increases Secretive Nuclear Stockpile to 90 Warheads: Enough to Blow Up the Planet… globalresearch.ca Israel may have increased its nuclear stockpile from 80 warheads in 2019 to 90 in 2020, according to a new report by a leading global arms watchdog. | The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in its

_____ (2020-06-17). Will Moscow Save The West Bank From Annexation? popularresistance.org Palestinian efforts against Israel's plans to annex Palestinian territory are being exercised on three levels. Locally, Palestinians have severed all relations, including security coordination, with Israel and the United States. Regionally, Jordan has been spearheading the Arab response to the Israeli plan, including efforts by the only two Arab countries that have a peace plan with Israel: Jordan and Egypt. | On the international level, Palestinian energy has been largely focused on three members of the Middle East Quartet — the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia. The focus is on these three in…

Lawrence Wittner (2020-06-17). Let Them Eat Weapons: Trump's Bizarre Arms Race. dissidentvoice.org In late May of this year, President Donald Trump's special envoy for arms control bragged before a Washington think tank that the U.S. government was prepared to outspend Russia and China to win a new nuclear arms race. "The president has made clear that we have a tried and true practice here," he remarked. "We know how to win …

RT (2020-06-17). A greener future? Russian energy minister predicts Covid-19 pandemic will accelerate shift away from hydrocarbons. rt.com Is the game up for "black gold?" Well, Russia's energy minister won't go that far but he believes its importance in the worldwide energy marketplace is set to significantly decline. This has serious implications for oil producers. | Read more | | Alexander Novak thinks the current pandemic and the growing competitiveness of renewable sources will lead to a greener market. | Speaking during an online conference of the World En…

RT (2020-06-17). Trump saw Venezuela as 'really part of the US,' thought invasion was 'cool' — but backtracked because of Putin, Bolton claims. rt.com US President Donald Trump thought it would be "cool" to invade Venezuela but was persuaded not to by "Soviet-style propaganda" from Moscow, claims former national security adviser John Bolton in book excerpts leaked to the press. | Trump said invading Venezuela would be "cool" and described the South American country as "really part of the United States," according to the Washington Post, one of three publications that were given access to some content from Bolton's memoir, 'The Room Where It Happened.' | | So Bolton says in his boo…

The Canary (2020-06-17). North Korea says it is sending soldiers to joint border sites. thecanary.co North Korea has said it will send soldiers to closed inter-Korean co-operation sites in its territory and reinstall guard posts and resume military exercises at frontline areas, nullifying deals reached with South Korea two years ago.The announcement is the latest in a series of provocations by North Korea in what experts believe are calculated moves to apply pressure on Seoul and Washington amid stalled nuclear negotiations.On Tuesday, the North destroyed an empty inter-Korean liaison office in its territory.The demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office building in Kaesong (Korean Central News Agency/Korea Ne…

South Front (2020-06-17). Towards a Baghdad-Moscow Axis? Russia's Massive Oil Projects in Iraq. globalresearch.ca In Iraq, a seldom mentioned and noteworthy oil cooperation is carried out between Baghdad and Moscow. Russian companies, namely Rosneft and Lukoil have developed new oil fields in Iraq. | A notable project is Lukoil's West Qurna-2. | West Qurna-2 field

South Front (2020-06-17). Video: Russian Surface-to-Air Missile Systems in Syria Shoot Down Militants' Drones. globalresearch.ca Tor short-range surface-to-air missile systems have downed more than 45 unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Syrian militants, according to the chief of the Russian Air Defense Forces Lieutenant General Alexander Leonov. | "Since the start of combat duty, the calculations …

_____ (2020-06-17). How An Internet 'Persona' Helped Birth Russiagate. popularresistance.org Four years ago today, on June 15, 2016, a shadowy Internet persona calling itself "Guccifer 2.0" appeared out of nowhere to claim credit for hacking emails from the Democratic National Committee on behalf of WikiLeaks and implicate Russia by dropping "telltale" but synthetically produced Russian "breadcrumbs" in his metadata. | Thanks largely to the corporate media, the highly damaging story actually found in those DNC emails — namely, that the DNC had stacked the cards against Bernie Sanders in the party's 2016 primary— was successfully obscured. | The media was the message; and the message was that…

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2020-06-17). Controversy over History of World War II. Russia Marks 75 Years, Military Parade. globalresearch.ca The world celebrates the year 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Victory over Nazism during the World War II. For the first time in history, Russia postponed its military parade traditionally held on Moscow's Red Square on May …

Scott Ritter (2020-06-17). NATO cannot survive a second Trump term. thealtworld.com By calling out Germany for failing to pay its fair share of the cost of NATO, US President Donald Trump has challenged the legitimacy of the foundational premise upon which the alliance was built. This is a good thing. | A group of international academics, during a recent conference at the US Center for Strategic and International Studies, have concluded that a second Trump term in office could fatally weaken the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the transatlantic alliance charged with deterring perceived Russian aggression and protecting the international rules-based order that has dominated internation…

Tom Clifford (2020-06-17). India and China Dispute: The World's Longest Unmarked Border. globalresearch.ca Incongruous, deadly, bizarre. Two nuclear powers engaging in a fatal skirmish over a piece of territory with no economic resources, using rocks and clubs with protruding nails. A stone-age fight in the nuclear era. | Einstein said he did not know …

yenisafak (2020-06-17). Turkish ministers visit Libya, Tripoli government says. yenisafak.com Turkish government officials including the foreign and finance ministers arrived in Tripoli on Wednesday to meet Libya's internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), the GNA said in a Facebook post.Turkish support has been critical to the GNA in staving off a 14-month assault on Tripoli by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), which is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-17). Beijing, Moscow deplore US sanctions on Syria. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) — In a statement during a Security Council's session and in comments on imposing so-called "Caesar Act" by the US, representatives of Russia and China to the UN asserted that the US sanctions against Syria target the Syrian people.

Andrey Areshev (2020-06-17). Battle of Belorussia — June 1944: The Greatest Victory That Still Shapes Our 21st Century World. strategic-culture.org On June 16 this year, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was removing another 10,000 U.S. troops from Germany reducing American troop levels there to a derisory 24,500. | The move came only a week before the 76th anniversary of the start of the most decisive battle of World War II, the destruction of the heart of the fearsome and monstrous Nazi war machine — Army Group Center — in the Battle of Belorussia. It was an achievement that continues to shape our 21st century world. | The COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd tragedy have at least shut up the usual childish fairy tales that flood the U.S.