2020-09-09: News Headlines

Ben Norton (2020-09-09). U.S. sanctions Russian Research Institute that developed COVID-19 Vaccine. mronline.org The U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted a Russian research institute that helped create the world's first COVID-19 vaccine.

Dean Baker (2020-09-09). The U.S., China, and the New Cold Warriors. counterpunch.org On the days when he is not celebrating his friendship and trade deals with China's president Xi Jinping, Donald Trump has sought to hype China as the United States' major enemy in the world. This has meant not only absurd allegations about the pandemic (top Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro has claimed that China deliberately sent infected

Matthew J.L. Ehret (2020-09-09). Rhodes Scholar Talbott's Hand Revealed in Russia Gate. dissidentvoice.org It has recently come to light that the primary source of the Steele Dossier and Mueller Investigation is none other than Igor Danchenko — a veteran Brookings Institute employee from Ukraine who not only hadn't been to Russia for decades but who admitted to the FBI in January 2017 that the entire Steele dossier was …

RT (2020-09-09). Pentagon awards Northrop Grumman contract to develop next-gen $85bn ICBM for nuclear triad upgrade. rt.com The Pentagon has handed arms manufacturer Northrop Grumman a colossal $13.3 billion contract to develop a new ICBM to replace the Minuteman III missile, part of a sweeping modernization effort to update the US' nuclear triad. | Northrop

Tony Cartalucci (2020-09-09). Thailand's "Youth Protests" Made in USA. Undermine Thailand Relations with China. globalresearch.ca Imagine the reaction if the Russian government funded programs and events for years inside the US to create youth groups indoctrinated in support of Moscow's interests — particularly in regards to voting in US elections and the shaping of the …

yenisafak (2020-09-09). Russia welcomes Serbia, Kosovo economic normalization. yenisafak.com Russia welcomes an agreement signed between Belgrade and Pristina on economic normalization in Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.Russia considers the agreement as a step in the interests of a general settlement, Lavrov said, speaking at a news conference with his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tleuberdi in Moscow."We believe that this was done in the interests of a settlement, and we have no reason to doubt that the Serbian leadership continues supporting the full implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 1244. We will firmly support Serbia in the steps it considers neces…

yenisafak (2020-09-09). Lukashenko: New presidential election on the table. yenisafak.com The president of Belarus said on Wednesday that the country could hold a new presidential poll in the coming years.In an interview with several Russian news outlets, including the state-funded RT (Russia Today), Alexander Lukashenko cited plans to amend the constitution, including clauses on presidential elections."If we change the constitution, we must draw up presidential elections. And also, I'm inclined to do this, to hold presidential elections. I'm not ruling it out," he said.Lukashenko said that while it was too early to speak on the specifics, a referendum on constitutional amendments would first be neces…

WSWS (2020-09-08). Watch John Pilger's speech outside the London show-trial of Julian Assange. wsws.org "The American indictment is clearly rigged, a demonstrable sham. So far, the hearings have been reminiscent of their Stalinist equivalents during the Cold War."

news.un (2020-09-08). Alexei Navalny poisoning must get independent probe, says UN's Bachelet. news.un.org UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged Russia to carry out or cooperate with a rapid and transparent criminal investigation into the poisoning of opposition activist Alexei Navalny.

Anthony Cartalucci (2020-09-08). Thailand's "Youth Protests" Made in USA. thealtworld.com US repeats "soft power" strategy targeting youths used to destroy North Africa and the Middle East amid the "Arab Spring" in 2011 to target China-friendly nations in Asia today. | Imagine the reaction if the Russian government funded programs and events for years inside the US to create youth groups indoctrinated in support of Moscow's interests — particularly in regards to voting in US elections and the shaping of the US government itself. | It would be considered up to and including an act of war, with Russian-funded organizations in the US dismantled, those involved jailed for sedition and even treason, a…

Eds. (2020-09-08). 850 thousand Insulin kits from Russia arrived in Venezuela (bypassing U.S. sanctions). mronline.org This Friday, a shipment of 850 thousand vials of 4 types of insulin from Russia arrived in Venezuela, being the 8th and 9th delivery within the framework of the Strategic Trade Alliance signed in 2019 between Russia and Venezuela in the International Economic Forum of St. Petersburg.

RT (2020-09-08). Lukashenko says he won't talk to opposition's Coordination Council as Tikhanovskaya's representative in Minsk 'disappears'. rt.com Alexander Lukashenko has no plans to negotiate with the opposition's Coordination Council, accusing them of wanting a 'catastrophe' for the country by cutting ties with Moscow, and destroying the health and education systems. | He was speaking to Russian journalists who arrived in Minsk on Tuesday for Lukashenko's first interview since he was officially declared the winner of a disputed election last month. | "I won't talk to the opposition's Coordination Council because I don't know who these people are. They are no opposition. What they suggest will be a catastrophe for Belarus and the Belarusian people," th…

RT (2020-09-08). Another breakthrough? New Russian drug means fewer Covid-19 patients need ventilators, has significantly reduced mortality. rt.com A new Russian medicine being used on Covid-19 patients has reduced the mortality rate by up to five times, according to its developer, Oleg Rosenberg, of Surfactant-BL. The drug is most commonly used to treat severe lung lesions. | Speaking to Moscow newspaper Izvestia, Rosenberg noted that his creation has not only improved the chances of coronavirus patients staying alive, but it has also kept them off ventilators. | "Patients who are treated with Surfactant are reliably less likely to be transferred to an intensive care unit for mechanical ventilation, and mortality among them is 3-5 times lower," he said,…

RT (2020-09-08). Lukashenko says US behind Belarus protests, exploiting small newly emerged class of 'young bourgeois' who 'want power'. rt.com The Belarusian president believes that protests which have rocked the country are organized by Washington using Russian-designed messaging app Telegram and backboned by a class of "young bourgeois" that has emerged in Belarus. | Alexander Lukashenko, who has been under pressure since a disputed election last month, told Russian journalists on Tuesday that the alleged US interference is effectively a dry-run for a future attempt to destabilize Russia. The president officially won 80 percent of the vote in the August poll, but the opposition says the contest was rigged. | "We asked [Lukashenko] who is interested…

WSWS (2020-09-08). Imperialist powers step up anti-Russia campaign over Navalny case and Belarus. wsws.org The campaign over Navalny is closely tied to the crisis in Belarus, in which Berlin and the EU are intervening more aggressively.

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-08). Amir Aliakbari to fight Russian heavyweight in Singapore. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 08 (MNA) — The Iranian mixed martial artist Amir Aliakbari is set to take on the Russian heavyweight Anatoly Malykhin at the ONE Championship in Singapore on October 30.

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-08). Iran building more advanced nuclear facilities in Natanz. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 08 (MNA) — Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is constructing more advanced nuclear facilities within the Natanz Mountains.

yenisafak (2020-09-08). Iran building new production hall for centrifuges in mountains near Natanz. yenisafak.com Iran has begun to build a hall in "the heart of the mountains" near its Natanz nuclear site for the production of advanced centrifuges, Iran's nuclear chief said on Tuesday.It is meant to replace a production hall at the facility which was damaged by fire in July. Iran said at the time that the fire was the result of sabotage and had caused significant damage that could slow the development of advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges."It was decided to establish a more modern, wider and more comprehensive hall in all dimensions in the heart of the mountain near Natanz. Of course, the work has begun," said Ali Akba…

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-09-08). Democrats Have Planned a Coup If Trump Wins Reelection. thealtworld.com Under the pretext that President Trump will not step down if he loses reelection, Democrats and the military/security complex created the Transition Integrity Project. The plan they have worked out is to take the presidency regardless of the vote. Trump's win is to be blamed on vote fraud, and Biden/Kamala are forbidden to concede their defeat. Instead, the presstitutes will conduct a propaganda campaign against Trump alleging election fraud in order to cast Trump's reelection in doubt. | The propaganda campaign against Trump will be conducted by assertions and fake news just as was the Russiagate, Impeachgate, a…

Aaron Maté (2020-09-07). In Navalny poisoning, rush to judgment threatens new Russia-NATO crisis. thegrayzone.com Veteran Russia correspondent Fred Weir on the Navalny poisoning and the Western media's dysfunctional coverage of allegations against Moscow. Claims that Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny has been poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok are threatening a new standoff between Russia and NATO states, with calls for punitive measures against Moscow, including cancelling the Nordstream …

Andrew Korybko (2020-09-07). Serbia's 'Balancing' Act Between West And Russia. Empty Slogan to Disguise Pro-US Policies. De Facto Recognition of Kosovo. globalresearch.ca Serbian President Vucic just discredited his own over-hyped "balancing" act between Russia and the West over the weekend after he de-facto recognized the NATO-occupied Province of Kosovo & Metohija under the cover of "economic normalization" and then committed to moving …

Andrew Korybko (2020-09-07). Serbia's 'Balancing' Act Is An Empty Slogan To Disguise Pro-US Policies. thealtworld.com Serbian President Vucic just discredited his own over-hyped "balancing" act between Russia and the West over the weekend after he de-facto recognized the NATO-occupied Province of Kosovo & Metohija under the cover of "economic normalization" and then committed to moving his country's embassy in "Israel" to Jerusalem, both of which are extremely pro-US policies that exposed his "balancing" act as the empty slogan that it's always been. | Serbia's "Balancing" Act | A lot has been written by many

M. K. Bhadrakumar (2020-09-07). US-Russia Tensions Flare Up on Multiple Fronts. globalresearch.ca Amidst the escalating tensions with China, the United States should have kept the troubled relationship with Russia on an even keel. But the opposite is happening. For the first time since the presidential election in Belarus on August 9, Washington …

_____ (2020-09-07). How Russia can help ease tensions in the Himalayas. strategic-culture.org MK BHADRAKUMAR | The legend is that Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, during his path-breaking visit to India in 1955, told the Indians that all they had to do to get Russian help was to give a shout across the Himalayas. I don't know how far this is true but it has an irrepressibly "Khrushchevian" ring about it. | This came to my mind with the news appearing that Beijing had proposed a meeting between the defense ministers of India and China, who happen to be in Moscow to attend the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). | One would assume that the Russian hosts had done their part in facilitatin…

RT (2020-09-07). Russian ambassador to UK summoned to Foreign Office over Navalny's alleged 'poisoning,' embassy decries 'politicization' of case. rt.com The UK government has summoned Russian Ambassador Andrey Kelin to express its "deep concern" over what it called the "poisoning" of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny. The diplomat brushed off the accusations as "baseless." | The British Foreign Office urged Moscow to conduct a "full, transparent investigation" into the matter, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a Twitter post, adding that London considers it "completely unacceptable that a banned chemical weapon has been used" while stopping short of directly accusing Russian authorities of being involved in the incident. | 1/2 Today the UK summoned…

RT (2020-09-07). Access to Covid-19 vaccine means Russia could totally defeat coronavirus by next summer, according to creator of Sputnik V. rt.com If mass vaccination goes to plan, Russia will have seen an end to Covid-19 by next summer, says Alexander Gintsburg, the director of Moscow's Gamaleya Center, where the groundbreaking Russian coronavirus vaccine was developed. | Gintsburg believes the world will only be able to defeat the pandemic after mass vaccination, which he thinks can happen within a year. Until then, he predicts that society will be engaged in "constant battles" with the virus. | "We'll only be able to say that the pandemic has receded when we've produced the required amount of vaccine and vaccinated the entire population of our country…

RT (2020-09-07). It's a lift-off: Russia's 'Sputnik V' Covid-19 vaccine LAUNCHED into public circulation. rt.com The first batch of Russia's pioneering coronavirus formula Sputnik V has been approved for public use and has already been placed into circulation, the Ministry of Health in Moscow has announced. | The world's first Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, "has undergone necessary quality tests" and "has entered civilian circulation," the ministry said in a short statement on Tuesday. | More batches are on their way to be distributed across Russian regions, it added. | The announcement marks another milestone in the development of Gam-COVID-Vac, bett…

RT (2020-09-07). Sputnik V questions ANSWERED: Head of team financing world's first Covid-19 vaccine explains formula to critics. rt.com Since the launch of the Sputnik V vaccine, developed by scientists from Moscow's Gamaleya Center, Russia has seen immense interest and expressions of hope from many countries and has received requests for 1 billion doses. | However, it has also faced criticism and questions from some Western countries and companies, especially those developing their own vaccines—often based on technologies yet to be proven for safety and efficacy, such as mRNA or monkey adenoviral vector-based platforms. Following the publication of the results of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials of Sputnik V in The Lancet, last w…

Peter Koenig (2020-09-07). Russia — Nord Stream 2 vs. Poisoning of Alexei Navalny. globalresearch.ca The US has for years been objecting voraciously against this pipeline. Trump: "Why should we pay for NATO to defend Germany, when Germany buys gas from Russia and makes herself dependent on Russia?" — He added, "We offer Germany and Europe all the gas and energy they need."

Stephen Lendman (2020-09-07). US/NATO Preparing for War on Russia? Six Military Exercises at Russia's Doorstep. globalresearch.ca Wars by hot and other means are all about Washington's main strategy to advance its imperium — seeking dominance over other nations, their resources and populations by brute force if other methods don't achieve its objectives. | From inception, the US …

teleSUR (2020-09-07). Russia Offers Aid To Syria To Break US Economic Blockade. telesurenglish.net Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov Monday affirmed that his country will help Syria to "break" the economic blockade that President Donald Trump's administration maintains through the "Caesar Act." | RELATED: | "Some countries and foreign powers are trying to impose their own plans on Syria," Lavrov said during his first visit to the Arab country since 2012. | He also explained that the Russian delegat…

WSWS (2020-09-07). Facebook announces political censorship plan in advance of US presidential election. wsws.org The new measures are aimed at protecting the capitalist two-party system and labeling left-wing political ideas as the work of "Russian interference."

WSWS (2020-09-07). The unanswered questions in the latest Russian "meddling" allegations. wsws.org The US media's claims of a nefarious campaign by Russia to "sow divisions" during in the 2016 election have been discredited. But the New York Times is "at it again."

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-07). Iran rejects reports of sending Russian arms to Armenia. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 07 (MNA) — The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Republic of Azerbaijan on Monday strongly rejected some media reports about the transfer of Russian military equipment to Armenia through Iran.

sputniknews (2020-09-07). Russia's 'Sputnik V' Vaccine Among Top Searches From India in August, Google Reveals. sputniknews.com In recent months, US-based search engine giant Google has been sharing details of top searches observed around the world. Between June and August, Google searches have shown topics like Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death and Coronavirus prevention methods trending in India.

sputniknews (2020-09-07). First Batch of Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 Vaccine Released Into Public Circulation. sputniknews.com On 11 August, the world's first vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus 'Sputnik V' was registered by the Russian government, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

yenisafak (2020-09-07). End to Nord Stream two project could be on table: Merkel. yenisafak.com Navalny, 44, a vociferous critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, felt sick on Aug. 20 on a flight to Moscow. After an emergency landing in Omsk, he spent two days in a Russian hospital before being sent to Berlin for treatment.Currently he is in intensive care and has been in a medically induced coma. His condition is serious, but there is no acute danger to his life, according to his doctors.

yenisafak (2020-09-07). Assad says he wants to expand Russian investments to help offset US sanctions. yenisafak.com Syrian President Bashar al Assad said on Monday he was keen to expand economic and business deals with Moscow, his closest ally, to help Syria weather crippling economic sanctions.Assad, who gave the comments during a meeting in Damascus with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said he wanted to see Russian investments in key areas of the economy that had been agreed in the past succeed.

yenisafak (2020-09-07). Russian opposition leader Navalny out of coma. yenisafak.com Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was brought out of a medically induced coma and taken off his ventilator, the Berlin hospital treating him announced on Monday.Navalny is reacting to being spoken to, but possible long-term consequences of his condition after he fell ill last month are unclear, the Charite Clinic said in a statement on its official website."The state of health of Alexey Navalny, who has been receiving treatment at the Charité — Università§tsmedizin Berlin since 22 August 2020, has improved," said the statement."The patient has been removed from his medically induced coma and is…

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-09-06). German Politicians Want to Stop Nord Stream 2 Due to Assassination Attempt of Russian Opposition Leader. globalresearch.ca The case of the alleged assassination attempt of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has generated much controversy and discussions worldwide. In Germany, where Navalny is currently, the political controversy surrounding the case is taking on particularly large proportions. The …

RT (2020-09-06). 'Young specialists are the future of Kuzbass': 8th WorldSkills Russia National Competition holds opening ceremony. rt.com The 8th WorldSkills Russia National Competition finals have kicked off in Moscow. This competition, held in Kuzbass for the first time ever, will be the largest one yet. | The opening ceremony set a Guinness world record: over five thousand people submitted videos greeting each other with high fives, which made for the longest greetings sequence in the world. Governor Sergey Tsivilyov said that the regional authorities are hoping to show Kuzbass is an actively developing region, offering a lot of opportunities for learning and working. | The opening ceremony for the 8th Young Professionals National Competition…

RT (2020-09-06). German FM links Nord Stream 2 to Navalny, threatens sanctions as Moscow accuses Berlin of dragging feet on alleged poisoning probe. rt.com The alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny could see Berlin cancel the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and press the EU to consider other sanctions against Moscow, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said. | In an interview published on Sunday by Bild, a popular pro-American Berlin tabloid, Maas said: "I hope the Russians don't force us to change our stance on Nord Stream 2, we have high expectations of the Russian government that it will solve this serious crime." | The German diplomat claimed to have seen "a lot of evidence" that the Russian state was behind the poison attack. "The dead…

Stephen Lendman (2020-09-06). The Struggle for Belarus on Russia's Geopolitical Doorstep. globalresearch.ca Protests in Belarus since longtime President Lukashenko was legitimately reelected on August 9 were made in the USA. | Despite his authoritarian rule, most Belarusians support him over an unacceptable alternative — transformation of the country into a neo-Nazi US vassal …

Kate Hudson (2020-09-06). US B-52 Bombers Back in Britain: Escalating Nuclear Tension. globalresearch.ca Six US Air Force B-52 bombers arrived at RAF Fairford on Saturday. Official sources describe it as 'a long planned training mission', carrying out theatre and flight training across Europe and Africa. But local news site GloucestershireLive describes it as …

Maureen Clare Murphy (2020-09-06). Trump goes nuclear against ICC. zcomm.org The Trump administration in Washington has placed economic sanctions on the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and another senior official at the Hague…

_____ (2020-09-06). The Anarchist Assassination of U.S. President William McKinley and Its Links to the Murder of Tsar Alexander II. strategic-culture.org In 1901, there was a political coup d'etat in the United States that transformed the world and nobody noticed. | A beloved and twice-elected nationalist president was assassinated and replaced by a passionate supporter of the British Empire and America was on its disastrous path to empire in Asia and war in Europe. | The strategic context of the murder of William McKinley is seldom discussed. The extraordinary and deeply disturbing parallels between his murder and the sadistic slaughter 20 years before of Russia's heroic Tsar Alexander II, friend of Abraham Lincoln and liberator of 24 million slaves has, to my kn…

sputniknews (2020-09-06). Militants Shell Settlement in Syrian Province of Aleppo, Russian Military Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group shelled a settlement in the Syrian province of Aleppo, the deputy head of the Russian Defence Ministry's Centre for Syrian Reconciliation, Rear Admiral Alexander Grinkevich, said on Sunday.

sputniknews (2020-09-06). German Defence Minister Says Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Depend on Russia's Steps Regarding Navalny Case. sputniknews.com German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been under increased pressure to stop the construction of the nearly complete joint pipeline project of numerous European energy companies and Russian Gazprom ever since Berlin claimed to have found traces of nerve agent from the Novichok group in the blood of a hospitalised Russian opposition figure.

yenisafak (2020-09-06). Erdogan receives Libyan PM in Istanbul. yenisafak.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday received Fayez al Sarraj, head of Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), in Istanbul.The closed-door meeting, which started at 02.10 p.m. local time (1110 GMT) at the Vahdettin Mansion, is still in progress.Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.The GNA was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement. But efforts for a long-term political settlement have failed due to a military offensive by forces loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.G…

Tony Cartalucci (2020-09-06). Navalny Poisoning — The Real Target Is Russian-German Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. globalresearch.ca US-NATO continue building "momentum" behind Navalny incident — hope to end Nord Stream 2 pipeline before facts emerge, the pipeline is completed, and as all other options have so-far failed. | *** | Alexei Navalny is the ideal opposition figure for any …