(2020-07-19). Blast at power plant in Iran's central Isfahan province. yenisafak.com An explosion occurred at a power plant in Iran's central Isfahan province on Sunday but there were no casualties, the official IRNA news agency reported.The blast was caused by the wear and tear of a transformer at the power plant in Islamabad, the managing director of the Isfahan power company told IRNA.There have been several explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities since late June.
(2020-07-18). Russian & Azerbaijani defense ministers talk on the phone amid Baku's tensions with Armenia. rt.com 
Russia's defense minister Sergey Shoigu and his Azeri counterpart Zakir Hasanov have discussed the situation in the Southern Caucasus during a phone call, Russia's Ministry of Defense has said. | The talks come after almost a week of border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which have left more than a dozen dead on both sides, according to various estimates. Moscow had earlier offered to become a mediator in peace talks between the two former Soviet republics. | Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have remained tense since the early 1990s, when Nagorno-Karabakh, a large Armenian-populated enclave in…
(2020-07-18). Pirates attack tanker off the coast of Benin, 'kidnapping 13 Russian & Ukrainian sailors'. rt.com 
The chemical tanker Curacao Trader was attacked by pirates on Friday, some 210 miles (around 338km) off the coast of Benin, in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea, the vessel's Greek operator The armed perpetrators boarded the ship and kidnapped "13 out of its 19 Ukranian and Russian crew members." The vessel has been left drifting since the attack, due to the lack of manpower, but another ship has been sent to assist it. | The Gulf of Guinea,…
(2020-07-18). Thousands join fresh rally in Russia's Khabarovsk over arrested governor Furgal (PHOTOS, VIDEO). rt.com 
An unsanctioned large-scale rally has taken place in Khabarovsk, the largest city in Russia's Far East. Crowds again took to the streets of downtown to protest the detention of Governor Sergey Furgal on contract-murder charges. | Furgal, a highly popular local politician and member of Russia's Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of orchestrating the murder of business rivals back in the 2000s. Shortly after he was detained and transferred to Moscow to face official charges, several massive rallies rocked Khabarovsk, a city of more than 600,000 people. | This Saturday, p…
(2020-07-18). 'Putin Hacked Our Coronavirus Vaccine' Is the Dumbest Story Yet. strategic-culture.org 
Caitlin JOHNSTONE | Today mainstream media is reporting what is arguably the single dumbest Russiavape story of all time, against some very stiff competition. | "Russian hackers are targeting health care organizations in the West in an attempt to steal coronavirus vaccine research, the U.S. and Britain said," "Hackers backed by the Russian state are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world, Britain's National Cyber…
(2020-07-18). Russia Bounty Story Falls Flat. commondreams.org The U.S. occupation of Afghanistan has killed over 100,000 civilians. Here, refugee children in Kabul. (Photo: Reese Erlich) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/refugees_1.png …
(2020-07-18). US pushes fabricated claims of Russian hacking of virus research. wsws.org The United States is most nakedly pursuing a nationalistic course, aimed at enriching American oligarchs and deploying the vaccine not as a means to save lives, but as a weapon against countries in the crosshairs of US imperialism.
(2020-07-18). The "Russian Vaccine Hack" Is a 3-for-1 Deal on Propaganda. globalresearch.ca The Guardian, and all the other predictable voices, are currently reporting that Russian At this stage they offer no substantiation, but it does serve as good …
(2020-07-18). Raab's attack on Corbyn fails to mention the real source behind alleged Russian interference in UK election. thecanary.co On 16 July, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab The timing of Raab's recent intervention is interesting. It comes only days before the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is expected to publish its long delayed report on Russian i…
(2020-07-18). Armenia-Azerbaijan border clashes threaten broader war in Caucasus. wsws.org The fighting threatens to escalate into a direct clash between the two Caucasian republics' main allies, Russia and Turkey.
(2020-07-18). US escalates economic warfare against Russia and China. wsws.org After securing a decision by the UK government to ban the Chinese firm Huawei from its 5G rollout, the US is pressuring the Merkel government in Germany to take the same decision.
(2020-07-18). US Researchers Reportedly Spied on Russian Defence Officials Using Marketing Data From Cell Phones. sputniknews.com This is not the first time that American researchers have used data from cell phones that was obtained in questionable ways to spy on the Russian defence industry. In May, the analytics company Orbital Insights said that with the use of purchased cell network data it had detected a slowdown in the country's defence industry.
(2020-07-18). Libya's oil firm calls for foreign mercenaries to leave. yenisafak.com Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Saturday called for the immediate withdrawal of foreign mercenaries from oil facilities in the country.In a statement, the NOC condemned the deployment of Russia's Wagner Group and Syrian and Janjaweed mercenaries in Libyan oil installations, most recently at Es Sidra port."NOC demands their immediate withdrawal from all facilities," it said, calling the UN to "send observers to supervise the demilitarization in the areas of NOC operations across the country.""There are currently large numbers of foreign mercenaries in NOC facilities who do not share this wish," the state…
(2020-07-17). Government-funded museum pulls 'racist' anti-white graphic from website. rt.com 
A taxpayer-funded museum of black history and culture has removed a chart describing a list of wholesome behaviors as white supremacist microaggressions. However, the museum remains committed to "deconstructing" whiteness itself. | The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a Smithsonian institution, and received some $33 million in government funding last year. At least some of that money went toward illustrating a chart describing a number of American virtues — including hard work, timekeeping, the nuclear family and delayed gratification — as traits of "whiteness." | The Nation…
(2020-07-17). "Putin Hacked Our Coronavirus Vaccine" Is The Dumbest Story Yet. thealtworld.com 
Today mainstream media is reporting what is arguably the single dumbest Russiavape story of all time, against some very stiff competition. | "Russian hackers are targeting health care organizations in the West in an attempt to steal coronavirus vaccine research, the U.S. and Britain said," "Hackers backed by the Russian state are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world, Britain's National Cyber Security…
(2020-07-17). Forget Russian hackers: Real danger is the US hoarding UK vaccines, says head of Imperial College study. rt.com 
As researchers at Imperial College London begin round 2 of Covid-19 vaccine trials, the project's head has revealed the UK government urged him to make the jab at home, lest the US attempt to hoard a shot manufactured there. | Professor Robin Shattock, director of Imperial's coronavirus vaccine project, revealed his researchers had a "deliberate policy" of making their experimental jab in the UK, "something [they] were encouraged to do by the UK government, to make sure there is capacity in the UK for manufacturing." | In a Friday interview with Sky News, he hinted officials were concerned a vaccine made in th…
(2020-07-17). Russian and German scientists develop 'sodium sandwich' that could replace lithium batteries. rt.com 
Scientists in Russia and Germany have developed a new way to 'stack' sodium to create cheaper and more efficient batteries that could eventually be an alternative to the mass-produced and environmentally unfriendly lithium type. | Lithium batteries are essential to the world today. From mobile phones to laptops, almost all electronics leverage lithium and currently it is widely understood that there is no remotely effective alternative. The problem when something is so ubiquitous, of course, is that eventually it is likely to run out — and become more expensive in the process. | However, scientists from R…
(2020-07-17). Investigation into last Russian tsar and his family's execution is still making discoveries 102 years on. rt.com 
It may have happened a century ago, but Russia's Investigative Committee is still uncovering new details about the execution of the country's last imperial family, the Romanovs. | Marina Molodtsova, a senior investigator, explained to newspaper Izvestia that it is now possible to identify some of the participants involved in the killing. When the investigation is complete, their names will be revealed. | On the night of July 16, 1918, Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and five children, along with some members of their entourage, were shot and bayonetted to death by communist revolutionaries. While there are man…
(2020-07-17). Real Russiagate bombshell: FBI knew Steele dossier was fiction, Strzok notes show NYTimes reporting 'misleading and inaccurate'. rt.com 
New documents show the FBI was aware that the infamous dossier used as a pretext to spy on President Donald Trump's campaign was unreliable, and that the New York Times published false information about the 'Russiagate' probe. | The two documents were published on Friday by the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), as part of an ongoing probe of the FBI's investigation of Trump. One is a 59-page, heavily redacted
(2020-07-17). Real Russiagate bombshell: FBI knew Steele dossier was fiction; Strzok notes show NYTimes reporting 'misleading and inaccurate'. rt.com New documents show the FBI was aware that the infamous dossier used as a pretext to spy on President Donald Trump's campaign was unreliable, and that the New York Times published false information about the 'Russiagate' probe. | The two documents were published Friday by the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), as part of an ongoing probe of the FBI's investigation of Trump. One is a 59-page, heavily redacted
(2020-07-17). Foreign Correspondent: Russia Bounty Story Falls Flat. progressive.org Opportunist Democrats and foreign policy insiders drive 'hysteria.'
(2020-07-17). Will China be the New Russia? zcomm.org The Future of American Geopolitics…
(2020-07-17). With Fear and Favor: The Russophobia of 'The New York Times'. thenation.com With Fear and Favor: The Russophobia of 'The New York Times'
(2020-07-17). "The Russians Are Coming", Again! Poorly Understood Cybercrimes Play Perfectly into Political Agendas. globalresearch.ca Foreign hackers are determined as ever to steal technology, meddle in elections and skew foreign policy, but fear not! The CIA has apparently been authorized to deliver preemptive cyber-strikes based on partisan mythmaking. | US, UK and Canadian intelligence dropped a …
(2020-07-17). Russia Denies British Allegations Of COVID-19 Vaccine Hacking. telesurenglish.net The Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov Friday rejected London's claims that Russian intelligence services allegedly hacked a coronavirus vaccine research. | RELATED: | Early this week, the British National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) stated that the Russians were linked to a hacker group called APT29, which was accused of being the main actor in a cyberattack aimed at R&D organizations working on the making of COVID-19 vaccines in the…
(2020-07-17). Modi's 'New' India: Notch Or Knot On China's Belt (And Road Initiative). popularresistance.org File it in the rapidly-brimming "biggest-stories-of-2020-you-haven't-heard-about" folder. | Amidst the madness merger of pandemic and protests — both of which Trump's minions have blamed on China — there's been scant attention paid to a brewing conflict between two of the world's nine nuclear-armed powers (accounting for some 430 warheads between them). One is a rather flighty proxy — India — that Washington has long pursued with the oft-hopeless passion of a smitten suitor. The other, an "enemy" of "freedom," America, and apple pie everywhere: a Chinese dragon to whom new cold war enthusi…
(2020-07-17). Deepfakes, NFL Drama and More Russian Hacking Falsehoods. sputniknews.com Deepfake technology was behind recent attacks on activists. How worried should we be about the sinister ways this technology is used?
(2020-07-17). The Real 'Russian Playbook' Is Written in English. strategic-culture.org I hadn't given The Russian Playbook much attention until Susan Rice, Obama's quondam security advisor, opined a month ago on CNN that " Once I'd seen this mention of The Russian Playbook (aka KGB, Kremlin or Putin's Playbook), I saw the expression all over the place. Here's an early — perhaps the earliest —…
(2020-07-17). Hagia Sophia mosque coversion benefits tourists: Russia. yenisafak.com Russia's official position on the Hagia Sophia status change is that it is Turkey's internal matter, but Moscow believes the decision will benefit tourists, the Kremlin's spokesperson said on Friday.In an interview with local broadcaster Avtoradio, Dmitry Peskov said people will now be able to visit the historical site for free, as opposed to buying "quite expensive tickets" when it was a museum.Last week, a top Turkish court annulled a 1934 Cabinet decree, under which Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum the following year, paving the way for its use again as a mosque after 85 years."[…] [Our] Turkish partner…
(2020-07-16). Belarus Is Doing America's Bidding by Blaming Russia for Its Color Revolution Unrest. globalresearch.ca Belarus blamed Russia last month for stoking Color Revolution unrest ahead of its presidential election in early August, but even though this accusation is completely false, it still risks being instrumentalized as part of a perception management plot to convince …
(2020-07-16). Returning to 'highly likely' tactics: Russia rejects UK's 'unsubstantiated' claims of hacking & election meddling. rt.com 
Moscow didn't interfere in the UK election last year, and has no idea who tried to hack British pharma companies for Covid-19 vaccine data, the Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. | "We have no information on who could've hacked the pharma companies and research centers in the UK. We can only say one thing — Russia has nothing to do with those attempts," Peskov said. | "We reject these kind of accusations," he added, referring to both the hacking and election meddling claims as "unsubstantiated." | On Thursday, Britain's National Cyber Security Centre said that hackers, who were allegedly backed…
(2020-07-16). Following Hagia Sophia's conversion to mosque, Russian MPs want Turkey's disused Orthodox churches under Moscow's control. rt.com 
A senior politician in Moscow says a group of Russian MPs intend to appeal to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to transfer control of Orthodox Christian locations inside his country to the jurisdiction of Russia. | Sergey Gavrilov, the head of Russia's State Duma (parliament) Committee for the Development of Civil Society, Public Issues and Religious Associations, believes the the country needs to begin negotiations with Turkey to take control of churches which formerly belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to him, the transfer of Christian objects would be a "wise, well-considered political…
(2020-07-16). UK press harass Jeremy Corbyn outside his home, accuse him of helping Russians 'attack our election'. rt.com 
Hours after British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab claimed that Russians tried to meddle in last year's election, the British media were camped outside former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's house, accusing him of complicity. | Raab said on Thursday he was "almost certain" that "Russian actors" disseminated leaked government documents revealing seemingly one-sided trade talks with the US last year. Corbyn — who was preparing at the time for an electoral showdown with incumbent Prime Minister Boris Johnson — held the documents up as proof that the Tory party was preparing to "sell off" Britain's N…
(2020-07-16). Russian scientists develop 'groundbreaking' method to 'trick' immune system and make nano-drugs more effective. rt.com 
Russian researchers have found a way to 'trick' the immune system so that it prolongs the blood circulation of almost any nanomedicine, making the technology more therapeutically efficient. | The drug delivery technique developed by researchers at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and the Prokhorov General Physics Institute has been described as "groundbreaking" in the field of nanomedicine. | Nanomedicine is a relatively new branch of medicine which involves filtering drugs more directly into the patient's bloodstream and straight to th…
(2020-07-16). US-NATO Seek to Exclude Russia from the Mediterranean. In Libya, Russia is on the Side of Haftar. globalresearch.ca Russia is conducting "military intimidation" in the Mediterranean according to RAND in a newly published
(2020-07-16). Video: Turkish Proxies in Syria Went Out of Control, Attack Joint Turkish-Russian Patrol. globalresearch.ca On July 14th and 15th, Syrian Army artillery units and warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted extensive strikes on positions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Turkistan Islamic Party and other radical groups in northern Lattakia and southern Idlib. The …
(2020-07-16). US War on Russia's Natural Gas. globalresearch.ca According to US Energy Information Agency data, America, Russia, and Iran are the world's leading natural gas producers, in that order — followed by Qatar, Canada and China. | US shale oil and gas development made it the world's leading producer …
(2020-07-16). Nuclear testing legacy is 'cruellest' environmental injustice, warns rights expert. news.un.org The dangerous legacy of nuclear weapons testing continues to affect many communities, a leading rights expert said on Thursday, on the 75th anniversary of testing in the United States, that heralded the nuclear age.
(2020-07-16). Every Billionaire Is A Predator: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Step 2: Buy up all news media. | Step 3: Structure outlets to elevate voices who defend the status quo. | Step 4: Smear non-plutocratic media who don't protect the status quo as crazy conspiracy theorists and Russian propaganda. | Step 5: Dominate the narrative about what's going on in the world. | ~ | Mainstream news is just advertising. You watch advertisements for maintaining the plutocratic status quo, then you watch advertisements between those advertisements for useless crap to make plutocrats even richer. It's all just different layers of marketing. When I was getting my journalism degree they used to talk…
(2020-07-16). The Fall of Oligarch Vlad. Plahotniuc. New Hope for Moldova? Towards a Multipolar Alliance with Russia and China? globalresearch.ca In June 2019, the small landlocked nation of Moldova found itself in a life or death struggle between two opposing futures: Oligarchs like the notorious Vladimir Plahotniuc had worked diligently for years to bring this nation into the hull of …
(2020-07-16). Russian Defence Ministry Calls US Accusations on Open Skies Treaty Speculative. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United States is using speculative accusations against Russia to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, Sergei Ryzhkov, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's National Center for Reducing Nuclear Danger, said.
(2020-07-16). Relations with Turkey 'on solid ground': Russia. yenisafak.com Relations of Russia and Turkey are "based on solid ground" and have "positive interdependence," Russia's deputy foreign minister said on Thursday.The two countries are working together on long-term projects, including the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant and the TurkStream gas pipeline, Alexander Grushko said in an interview with Russia's Interfax news agency."If you look at the content of bilateral relations, including the economy, energy, and humanitarian ties, it is hard not to see that they are based on a solid ground," he asserted."There are clearly elements of positive interdependence here. Pr…
(2020-07-15). Polish president Duda duped by Russian prankster duo posing as UN chief. rt.com 
Polish President Andrzej Duda has become the latest victim of the famous Russian prankster duo 'Vovan and Lexus'. The leader sensed something was off when the pair, posing as the UN chief, raved about traditional Polish liquor. | Supposedly calling the freshly re-elected Duda to congratulate him on his "impressive victory" in the country's recent election, one of the pranksters posed as none other than UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. | Duda, who only narrowly managed to snatch victory in a very tight race, was apparently so glad to hear from the high-ranking UN official that he apparently did not immedi…
(2020-07-15). 'Unfair competition': Moscow blasts US move to enable sanctioning of Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines. rt.com 
The US' decision to remove sanctions exemption for the two pipelines under construction to deliver gas to Europe and Turkey is a textbook example of "unfair competition" through political means, Moscow has said. | The move, which allows the further sanctioning of Russian natural gas projects, has clearly shown the "weakness of the American system," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. | "This is the use of political pressure for sake of unfair competition," Zakharova stated. "Except for raw power, they don't have any effective tools." | Earlier in the day, US Secretary of St…
(2020-07-15). 'Persecution of Orthodox Christians': Patriarch Kirill calls upon Montenegro authorities to stop crackdown on the Church. rt.com 
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill has urged Montenegro authorities to repeal a "discriminative" religious law and stop "large-scale and purposeful persecution" of the canonical denomination. | "I call upon the civil authorities of Montenegro to repeal the discriminatory law that has brought division and schism into the Montenegrin society, to put an end to the persecution against the Orthodox Church, to stop the attempts to create in her place some other church structure," the Patriarch said in his address to the Balkan country. | The ongoing tensions have been sparked by a controversia…
(2020-07-15). Iranian MPs to visit Natanz nuclear facilitiy site. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 15 (MNA) — A delegation of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament is to pay a visit to Natanz Nuclear Site on Monday, July 20.
(2020-07-15). Deluded Britain Rows in Behind U.S. Gunboat Diplomacy on China. strategic-culture.org America's trusty British lieutenant has weighed in to stoke tensions in the South China Sea with reports that Britain is to deploy its two new aircraft carriers to the Pacific region. The carrier strike groups which include frigates, destroyers and nuclear-powered submarines, are to join with U.S. and Japanese warships to conduct naval drills. | Beijing has already
(2020-07-15). Russia completes 1st phase of COVID-19 vaccine trials. yenisafak.com Two Russian medical research centers completed the first phase of COVID-19 candidate vaccine trials on Wednesday.Two groups of 18 volunteers were discharged from hospitals after separately taking part in 28-day clinical trials in the First Moscow State Medical University and the Main Military Clinical Burdenko Hospital.Before being released, they had a medical checkup and passed a blood test to study the development of an immune response to the novel coronavirus, the officials of both medical establishments told reporters.The preliminary findings show that the vaccines are safe and well-tolerated, no serious comp…
(2020-07-15). Turkey-Russia air travel resumes Wednesday: Minister. yenisafak.com Air travel between Turkey and Russia will resume today, Turkey's transport and infrastructure minister announced on Wednesday."As of today, we have agreed to resume flights with Russia," Adil Karaismailoglu told Anadolu Agency.He said Turkey has restarted flights with 31 countries since June 11 as part of its post-pandemic normalization process.Negotiations are also ongoing to resume air travel with 20 other countries, according to the ministry.