2020-09-12: News Headlines

Peter Koenig (2020-09-12). Russia: Nord Stream 2 vs. Poisoning of Alexei Navalny. dissidentvoice.org Wednesday, 2 September, all German TV channels, mainstream media were focused unilaterally on the alleged Novichok poisoning of Russian opposition critic, Alexei Navalny. This "breaking-news" poison discovery was made in Germany two weeks after he has been flown from Tomsk in Siberia to Moscow, when he fell ill on the plane and the airliner had …

Richard Horton (2020-09-12). [Comment] Offline: The crisis of political language. thelancet.com George Orwell, in his 1945 essay Politics and the English Language, wrote that "to think clearly is a necessary first step towards political regeneration". The Moscow press briefing held last week on the Russian COVID-19 vaccine quickly turned into a platform for national rivalry. The research, led by scientists at the N F Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, found encouraging evidence of an immune response using their prime boost strategy of a two-component, human recombinant adenovirus vector-based vaccine.

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-12). Iran,Russia hold 1st joint tourism committee meeting. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 12 (MNA) —The first joint tourism committee meeting between Iran and Russia was held on Saturday through video conference.

Raul Diego (2020-09-11). How a Senate Inquiry Revealed the Israeli Surveillance Industry's Role in Orchestrating Russiagate. mintpressnews.com A Senate investigation reveals that a consortium of Israeli hacking and surveillance firms coordinated and facilitated meetings between Trump campaign operatives and Russia during the 2016 campaign, but they don't really want to talk about it.

RT (2020-09-11). Almost half of Russians say they don't want to be vaccinated against Covid-19 & 43% believe dangers of coronavirus are exaggerated. rt.com Just under half (45.6 percent) of surveyed Russians don't want to be vaccinated against coronavirus, regardless of where the vaccine comes from, according to a new study by Moscow's Higher School of Economics (HSE). | The research revealed that just 13.2 percent of those questioned want to get vaccinated as soon as possible, with a further 4.6 percent wishing to wait a few months. Of those who refuse to be immunized, almost a quarter (24.6 percent) still intend to monitor the results of mass vaccination, with another quarter (25 percent) saying they're entirely opposed to all vaccines. | Part of the country's…

RT (2020-09-11). Help on its way: Russia set to ship up to 50 MILLION doses of pioneering coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V to badly-hit Brazil. rt.com Brazil, which has suffered the world's second highest Covid-19 death toll, is planning to receive up to 50 million doses of the Russian made Sputnik V, the planet's first registered coronavirus vaccine. | "Deliveries are expected to start in November," according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which bankrolled the formula's development. The matter is still awaiting final approval by Brazilian regulators. | As of now, the multimillion dose agreement involves only a single Brazilian state, Bahia, but it is expected it be eventually be rolled out at national level. | After some Western criticism, th…

Howie Hawkins (2020-09-11). Reject Militarism on the Anniversary of 9/11. dissidentvoice.org Nineteen years after more than 3,000 people were killed on 9/11, there remains a bipartisan commitment to fight an endless "war on terrorism," instigate regime change coups, increase military spending, enhance US nuclear weapons, deport undocumented residents, curtail civil liberties, and militarize the police. The September 11, 2001 attacks on the US have obscured "The …

Stephen Lendman (2020-09-11). Orchestrated Events Responsible for Alexey Navalny's Illness? globalresearch.ca On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that dubious claims about Navalny's alleged novichok nerve agent poisoning appear to be following a "script (that) was written in advance." | Russophobic establishment media reports about what happened have the distinct …

Shane Quinn (2020-09-11). Chile, September 11, 1973: The Horrors of 'the First 9/11' Are Routinely Overlooked. globalresearch.ca On September 11, 1973, Salvador Allende's democratic government in Chile was ousted by US-backed forces in one of the Cold War's defining moments. Allende himself was killed during the coup while his presidential palace, La Moneda, was extensively bombed.

Robert Fantina (2020-09-11). Elections and Foreign Meddling. globalresearch.ca There is a great brouhaha over foreign nations interfering in United States' elections. Russia, we are told, not only interfered in the 2016 presidential election catastrophe, but is back at it again, trying to get their candidate re-elected. | How, one …

sputniknews (2020-09-11). Brazil's Bahia State Calls Purchase of Russian Sputnik V Vaccine 'Step to Save Lives'. sputniknews.com MOSCOW/MEXICO (Sputnik) – Rui Costa, the governor of the Brazilian state of Bahia, said on Friday that the agreement with Russia to purchase the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease was life-saving.

yenisafak (2020-09-11). India, China agree to 'quickly disengage, ease tensions' at border. yenisafak.com India and China agreed to quickly disengage their troops at the disputed border amid months-long ongoing faceoff, a joint statement said early Friday.Top diplomats of New Delhi and Beijing agreed at a meeting in the Russian capital Moscow on Thursday that the border troops of both sides "should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions," said the statement released by the Indian Foreign Ministry.The Asian giants are witnessing a heightened faceoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a de facto border near the Himalayan region of Ladakh in the disputed Jammu and Kas…

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2020-09-11). Alexei Navalny's Case Matters to the Kremlin. globalresearch.ca The global call for an objective investigation that will inevitably establish facts into the alleged "poisoning" of opposition leader and a Russian citizen, Alexei Navalny, in August has started yielding results. President Vladimir Putin has decided, as the first …

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-09-11). The 19th Anniversary of the Deep State Attack On America. thealtworld.com Most anniversaries of September 11, 2001, I have written an article presenting yet again the enormous evidence that the official story of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are so obviously false as to be unbelievable. Yet Americans believed the transparent lie. | The military/security complex was desperate for enemies. In 2001 Russia was under the US thumb. China's rise was predicted to be 50 years away. Where were the enemies to keep the military/security budget and power growing? | The neoconservitives who dominated the Cheney/Bush government identified the Arab Middle East as the enemy and…

_____ (2020-09-10). Lee Camp: Liberal Media Attacks Me And A Tribute To Kevin Zeese. popularresistance.org A liberal media criticism outlet recently published an article where they used one of my jokes as evidence of a grand Russian plan to subvert the 2020 US elections. Also, my memories of a great man, lawyer, & activist — Kevin Zeese. Rest in power.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-09-10). NATO Begins Military Maneuvers in the Barents Sea. globalresearch.ca NATO has stepped up its activities in the neutral waters of the Barents Sea, raising tensions in the Arctic region. In just one day, Russian pilots escorted three military planes, one Norwegian and two British. One of the British planes …

Tom Engelhardt (2020-09-10). American Carnage From a Pandemic President. counterpunch.org The year was 1991 and the United States was suddenly the globe's lone superpower, its ultimate hyperpower, the last and greatest of its kind, the soon-to-be-indispensable nation. The only one left — alone, utterly alone and triumphant atop the world. Who could have asked for more? Or better? It had been a Cold War fantasy

RT (2020-09-10). US sanctions Ukrainian lawmaker who published Biden-Poroshenko tapes for 'Russian influence' in presidential election. rt.com Ukrainian parliamentarian Andrii Derkach has been sanctioned by the US, and his publication of alleged phone calls between the Ukrainian president and the US vice president declared 'Russian interference' in the US election. | Derkach "has been an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian Intelligence Services," the US Treasury Department

RT (2020-09-10). Espionage gone wrong or tragic accident? Italy investigates Russian Playboy model's mysterious death near NATO base. rt.com Italian police have interrogated a British photographer in connection with the drowning of a Russian glamor model in Sardinia last weekend. Galina Fedorova had been posing for shots near a major NATO base on the Italian island. | Snapper Yev Taranovs had reportedly been swimming with 35-year-old Fedorova when their rented inflatable dinghy lost its anchor, leaving the pair stranded in the water behind a strong current. Fedorova had apparently wanted to cool off after their photo session. | According to Taranovs, they tried to swim to the vessel, but the distance was too great and after a while he lost sight…

RT (2020-09-10). Billboards in space? Russian tech means futuristic advertisements could soon light up the night sky in a city near you. rt.com Commercials, the final frontier? A block of lasers that can display advertisements in the sky has been tested in the stratosphere, according to a Russian company. While some may be excited at the prospect, it will offend many. | Avant Space says that its "constellation of satellites" will eventually be the "brightest star in the night sky, comparable to the brightness of Venus." Launched 30km above the ground, the technology underwent testing of its light level, which was completed successfully. | Once the lasers are operational, they will function as advertising space in the sky, allowing companies to illumin…

RT (2020-09-10). OPCW should not be a 'geopolitical tool,' Russian envoy tells UN Security Council as Germany seeks to involve it in Navalny case. rt.com Russia's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya slammed on Thursday Germany for withholding information about the health of activist Alexey Navalny and condemned Western attempts to politicize chemical weapons watchdog, the OPCW. | "Russia is deeply concerned by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons becoming an instrument in the geopolitical struggle," Nebenzya said at the United Nations Security Council session on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. | He

RT (2020-09-10). 'Not even a crisis, an abyss': Since the 2014 'Euromaidan' & subsequent war, Ukraine's birthrate has plummeted by around 40%. rt.com Here's a stark measure of the effect 'Euromaidan,' and the subsequent conflict had on Ukraine. Births in the country have dropped by 40% since 2014, according to new figures published by the country's Ministry of Social Policy. | The drastic drop also coincides with a reduction in marriages and an increase in divorces, in the five years since the Maidan. The violent transfer of power led to a civil war, which has also served as a proxy conflict for foreign powers, with Russia backing the self-declared Eastern republics and the US supporting Kiev. | Ukrainians have less regularly opted to have children, with th…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-09-10). Power Balance in the East Mediterranean Is Changing as France Sends Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrier. globalresearch.ca The delicate power balance in the East Mediterranean is changing dramatically and quickly as states begin to cooperate to contain and contract Turkish ambitions in the region. Turkey's drive to secure and control gas and oil supplies has seen its …

Stephen Lendman (2020-09-10). Navalny Poisoned by Novichok Hoax Timed Ahead of Russian Elections? globalresearch.ca Germany's failure to disclose novichoking medical evidence it claims about Alexey Navalny's condition strongly indicates there is none. | Notably his August 20 illness happened ahead of Russian regional and local elections at 83 locations, scheduled for September 11 — …

Jonas Dringelis (2020-09-10). Baltic States at the Epicenter of NATO Military Exercises. globalresearch.ca The Baltic States have become the scene of NATO military actions especially aimed at provoking Russia and Belarus. | At the end of September, this year's largest military exercise "Sword 2020" will take place in Latvia. | Approximately 1000 Vidzeme Brigade bodyguards …

sputniknews (2020-09-10). Foreign Ministers of Russia, India, China Stress Importance of 'Common Development'. sputniknews.com MOSCOW/NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov along with his Chinese and Indian counterparts, Wang Yi and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, emphasized the importance of common development and cooperation between their countries to facilitate the global economic growth and stability, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

sputniknews (2020-09-10). Russia Unable to Probe Navalny Case Due to Germany Refusing to Provide Facts, Nebenzia Says. sputniknews.com UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Germany still has not provided any evidence to confirm that Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny had been poisoned with a Novichok-type nerve agent that would allow starting an investigation in the case, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council meeting.

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 …

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

RT (2020-09-09). Moscow to vaccinate 40,000 volunteers with 'Sputnik V' as Russian capital begins 3rd phase trial of pioneering coronavirus vaccine. rt.com Volunteers in Moscow have started to receive doses of Sputnik V, the world's first registered Covid-19 vaccine. The formula, developed by Russian scientists, is entering the third stage of clinical trials. | According to Anastasia Rakova, the city's deputy mayor for social development, the first volunteers were vaccinated on Wednesday. This week's trial participants are part of a wide-ranging final test phase, and the capital is looking observe Sputnik V's effect on 40,000 of the city's residents. | "The number of applicants is growing daily," Rakova said. "More than 35,000 Muscovites have already applied."

RT (2020-09-09). Kremlin rubbishes suggestion Putin & Lukashenko will discuss Belarus-Russia unification, as poll shows most Russians are opposed. rt.com Contrary to some Western speculation, the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko has nothing to do with the two countries merging, according to the Kremlin. | The comments come as a poll suggests only 17 percent of Russians want Belarus to become part of their country. | Speaking to journalists, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov called the suggestion "absolute nonsense." "No mergers, acquisitions, or so on can happen as a result of the visit," he said. | Peskov also rejected the idea that the countries were close to joining a currency u…

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 …

sputniknews (2020-09-09). Pompeo: 'Substantial' Chance Alleged Navalny 'Poisoning' Ordered by 'Senior Russian Officials'. sputniknews.com Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny fell ill on 20 August, flying from Tomsk to Moscow. After receiving initial treatment in the Russian city of Omsk, he was transferred to the Charite hospital in Berlin. Later, Germany announced that Navalny had been "poisoned" with a Novichok group nerve agent, without providing medical data.

sputniknews (2020-09-09). Iran Begins Construction on Advanced Centrifuge Production Hall Near Natanz Nuke Site. sputniknews.com Iran is constructing a production hall for advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges as a response to the recent fire meant to "sabotage" the country's development of the machines, according to Tuesday comments issued by the country's nuclear chief.

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…

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…