(2020-09-20). Stephen Cohen has died. Remember His Urgent Warnings Against The New Cold War. thealtworld.com Stephen F Cohen, the renowned American scholar on Russia and leading authority on US-Russian relations, As one of the precious few western
(2020-09-19). US army announces new deployments in Syria. middleeasteye.net 
US army announces new deployments in Syria | The move follows a collision between Russian and American vehicles which left seven American soldiers injured | Sat, 09/19/2020 – 10: 36 | Armoured vehicles have been sent as part of the reinforcements (AFP) | The US Army announced Friday it was stepping up its military deployment in northeastern Syria despite a push to limit its presence there,…
(2020-09-19). 'Open interference': Belarus warns against inclusion of opposition figure Tikhanovskaya in meeting of EU foreign ministers. rt.com 
Belarus has warned the EU not to include opposition figurehead and former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an upcoming meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers, saying it would amount to open interference. | "It is quite obvious, in fact, that such actions, if any, are an impudent and open interference in the internal affairs" of Belarus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz said on Saturday, as reported by the Sputnik news agency. Such a move by the European Union would show "complete disrespect" for the country's citizens, he added. | Glaz's comments came in response to Russian news reports…
(2020-09-19). Tulsi Gabbard goes OFF MESSAGE from fellow Dems again, introduces bipartisan bill to deter fraud with mail-in ballots. rt.com 
Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, branded a "Russian asset" by Hillary Clinton for her anti-war views, is again refusing to blindly follow her party's talking points — this time over fears of election fraud. | "Whether in the midst of a pandemic, as we are now, where mail-in voting is likely to drastically increase, or even in a normal election, no one should get in between a voter and the ballot box," the Hawaii congresswoman said Friday on Twitter. | Banning ballot harvesting is not a partisan issue. It's been used & abused in states like North Carolina and California & is ripe fo…
(2020-09-19). The world has thousands of Covid-19 strains, but 99% of all Russian cases come from just two, says health watchdog. rt.com 
Today, there are several thousand coronavirus mutations globally, but only 22 are stable, according to Russia's health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. In Russia, 99% of all infected samples come from just two of the mutations. | The 22 were all first detected around January-March 2020, and since then, other mutations haven't managed to become widespread. | "The total number of mutations identified in the sequenced genomes of SARS-CoV-2 is many thousands," the Rospotrebnadzor statement reads. "However, only a few of them are fixed and consistently inherited." | According to the watchdog, 93% of the studied samples co…
(2020-09-19). Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers set WORLD RECORD for range & duration of non-stop flight. rt.com 
Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers have spent more than 25 hours in the air and covered over 20,000 kilometers, setting the world record for non-stop flight range and duration for this type of aircraft, the Defense Ministry said. | "Nobody has flown this type of aircraft longer," Sergey Kobylash, the commander of Russia's long-range aviation, said. | The record, which was set on Saturday, saw two Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers (NATO reporting name: 'Blackjack') "staying in the air for more than 25 hours and covering the distance of over 20,000 kilometers (12,427 miles)," the commander added. | Also on rt.com…
(2020-09-19). 25 hours & 20,000km! Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers set new WORLD RECORD for range & duration of non-stop flight. rt.com A pair of Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers have spent more than 25 hours in the air and covered over 20,000km, setting a new world record for non-stop flight range, and duration, for this type of aircraft, it has been revealed. | The Defense Ministry, in Moscow, made the announcement on Saturday with Sergey Kobylash, the commander of Russia's long-range aviation service, saying that "nobody has flown this type of aircraft longer." | The record, which was set on Saturday, saw two Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers (NATO reporting name 'Blackjack') "staying in the air for more than 25 hours and covering a distanc…
(2020-09-19). Latvian doctor boasts to magazine he refused to assist hospital visitor who spoke Russian – says he was proud not to help. rt.com 
The Latvian debate over the Russian language is often political, but now it has entered healthcare. A Riga doctor has boasted about refusing to help a hospital visitor because he was a Russian speaker. | According to Sputnik Latvia, anesthesiologist Roberts Furmanis called himself "Latvian to the bone,"
(2020-09-19). Cold War Thaw? Navalny Poisoning. Belarus Political Instability. NATO on Russia's Doorstep. globalresearch.ca "We understand that not only for the Soviet Union but for other European countries as well it is important to have guarantees that if the United States keeps its presence in Germany within the framework of NATO, not an inch …
(2020-09-19). IAEA asked for no more access into Iran nuclear activity. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 19 (MNA) — Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, says the International Atomic Energy Agency has asked for no further probes except for the two cases agreed between Theran and the Agency last month.
(2020-09-19). China, Russia next targets if US wins in undermining Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 19 (MNA) — Pointing to US unlawful move to reimpose sanctions against Iran and importance of confronting its unilateralism, Cartalucci said China and Russia are next targets of the US if it will be successful in undermining of Iran.
(2020-09-19). Russia once again rules out activation of snapback. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 19 (MNA) — Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov questioned the possibility of the United States using snapback to impose new sanctions on Iran and once again blamed Washington.
(2020-09-19). 2020 Election Could Decide Whether US Pursues Nuclear Escalation or Arms Control. truthout.org In these final weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign, U.S. voters' attention is being consumed by a maelstrom of crises — a merciless pandemic, a battered economy, a society ruptured by racist police violence and deadly structural inequalities, climate chaos and a fragile democracy. | Who has time to worry about nuclear war? | But just as warnings of a climate crisis and pandemics have been borne out, experts have long sounded the alarm about nuclear weapons, whether their use is…
(2020-09-19). Belarus warns EU against inviting Lukashenko's rival to meeting. yenisafak.com The foreign ministry in Belarus said on Saturday that it saw the possible participation of opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in an EU ministerial meeting as an interference in domestic affairs, the Belta state news agency reported.Tsikhanouskaya has led the biggest challenge to President Alexander Lukashenko's 26-year rule in Belarus.The foreign ministry said it had informed European diplomats about its view.Russian state news agencies reported earlier that Tsikhanouskaya is expected to take part in a meeting of European foreign ministers next week.
(2020-09-19). Russia's opposition parties fail to win broad support in regional elections. wsws.org Kremlin-backed candidates held onto governorships and control of local parliamentary bodies in the 83 regions of the country where voting occurred.
(2020-09-18). A Cold War Power Play At The Inter-American Development Bank. popularresistance.org Having launched his presidential campaign by labeling migrants from south of the U.S.-Mexico border as "rapists and criminals," Latin America was perhaps one of the last places President Donald Trump expected to rely on as a source of steadfast friends. It thus comes as no surprise that in the new Cold War against China, Trump's tactics in recruiting allies in Latin America have been reminiscent of the many "caudillos" that have plagued the continent in the past. The politicized impeachment of Dilma Roussef, deposing of Evo Morales, and attempted invasion of Venezuela set the backdrop to U.S. efforts to bring Lat…
(2020-09-18). Pair of Russian military servicemen arrested after viral video shows them washing their shoes with holy water. rt.com 
A criminal case has been opened in the western Russian city of Kaliningrad after two servicemen from the Baltic fleet were filmed washing their shoes with holy water, after a clip of them caught in the act went viral. | According to the Kaliningrad garrison's military investigation department, both suspects are natives of Dagestan, a Caucasian republic on the southern border of Russia. One of the accused is a conscript soldier, and the other is a contract employee, Interfax reported. | They were arrested on charges of insulting the feelings of religious believers, at the city's Christ the Savior Cathedral.
(2020-09-18). Washington deploys armored vehicles to Syria & steps up air patrols after dust-up with Russian forces. rt.com 
The Pentagon has sent a number of armored vehicles, radar systems and additional troops to Syria in a show of force, bolstering the US military presence in the country following a run-in with Russian forces last month. | The deployments, accompanied by increased air patrols over eastern Syria, were announced by US Central Command on Friday. | "The United States has deployed Sentinel radar, increased the frequency of US fighter patrols over US forces, and deployed Bradley Fighting Vehicles to augment US forces in the Eastern Syria Security Area (ESSA)," CENTCOM spokesman Captain Bill Urban said in a statement,…
(2020-09-18). Arctic Tensions Rise as Britain Leads Show of Force Against Russia in the Barents Sea. globalresearch.ca In the first such operation of its kind in 20 years, the British Navy were joined by American, Danish and Norwegian forces to supposedly demonstrate freedom of navigation against "Russian attempts" to control the Barents Sea in the Arctic, the …
(2020-09-18). Novichok in Navalny's Water Bottle? globalresearch.ca Alice's "curiouser and curiouser" remark in Lewis Carroll's Adventures in Wonderland applies to dubious twists in the Navalny novichok poisoning hoax. | No evidence or motive links Russia to what happened to him. | Was the August 20 Tomsk, Russia incident made-in-the-USA?…
(2020-09-18). Russia breaks the US 'Caesar Act' and Syria refuses the Lebanese & Iraqi models. thealtworld.com Russia is showing its willingness to consolidate its role as a superpower and its readiness to challenge the United States of America. Moscow will not return to the lethargy that began after Perestroika and lasted for two long decades (from 1991 until 2011). Its decision to wake up and return to the world stage began in Syria. It was 2015 when it sent its military forces to protect its interests and allies and to fight terrorism in the Levant. Today, it has sent its ´ diplomatic heavies ª to Damascus, President Vladimir Putin's envoy, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavro…
(2020-09-18). Iran, Russia stress promoting scientific, technological coop. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 18 (MNA) — Iran's Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari held talks with Head of Russian Academy of Sciences Aleksandr Sergeyev late on Thursday through videoconference.
(2020-09-18). Israel regime's nuclear weapons threat to world's security. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 18 (MNA) — Iran's Ambassador to the Vienna-based international organizations Kazem Gharibabadi said that the Zionist regime's acquisition of nuclear weapons is a serious threat to the security and stability of the region and the world.
(2020-09-18). Russia's LDPR Leader Suggests Cremating Lenin's Embalmed Body Instead of Selling It to Artist. sputniknews.com His words came as New York-based Georgian artist David Datuna has reportedly raised over $50 million to buy the mummified body of the USSR founder in order to build a copy.
(2020-09-18). Afghanistan, Tajikistan agree to enhance ties. yenisafak.com Afghanistan and Tajikistan, the former Soviet republic in Central Asia, have agreed to enhance security, political and cultural ties, said an official statement on Friday.During his trip to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, Afganistan's Acting Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar met Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said. It added the president of Tajikistan expressed support for the Afghan peace process and assured Kabul of Dushanbe's support.The two sides also discussed the implementation of infrastructure projects, trade and transit development, energy transfer and the fi…
(2020-09-18). What Was Trump Thinking When He Appointed an Enemy To Head The FBI? thealtworld.com As I wrote in 2016, Trump had no idea who to appoint to his government. According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, it is Russia, not the Democrats, Antifa, and Black Lives Matter, who "sows divisiveness and discord" among Americans. | Wray says that it is the Russians who "trash Democratic nominee Joe Biden." | How can Trump hope to survive when he appoints to the FBI, CIA, and Pentagon his enemies? He appoints enemies to the Department of Justice who somehow just…
(2020-09-17). 'Anti-Russian hysteria': Moscow hits back after EU Parliament calls for sanctions over alleged poisoning of activist Navalny. rt.com 
After EU MEPs, on Thursday, called for sanctions over the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, Moscow said the move merely fuels anti-Russia hysteria and is aimed at disrupting the Nord Stream 2 project. | The European Parliament resolution urges an international probe into the Navalny incident. Its approval followed comments by the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who floated the idea of naming a new anti-Russian sanctions package after the anti-corruption campaigner, in a similar move to the US Magnitsky act. | That was named after a Russian tax auditor who died in a Moscow prison…
(2020-09-17). 'No evidence': EU Parliament using Navalny's alleged poisoning to push for sanctions & halt Nord Stream project — German MEP. rt.com 
The EU Parliament's call for a probe into the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, along with new sanctions against Moscow, is just a manifestation of the establishment's "anti-Russian sentiment." | That's according to Maximilian Krah, a member of the European Parliament from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The "obscure" case involving the alleged poisoning of Navalny has been used by the EU establishment to launch another round of Moscow-bashing, he says. | The lawmaker explained that his fellow MEPs had not, in fact, seen a single piece of evidence suggesting the Russian go…
(2020-09-17). A habitable base in space? Russia's Space Agency believes humans could one day live on Callisto, Jupiter's second largest moon. rt.com 
Russian space agency, Roscosmos, considers Callisto, Jupiter's second-largest moon, as possible location for a habitable base in space. That's according to Alexander Bloshenko, the corporation's director for long-term programs. | "In terms of places where it is most suitable to set up a base for humans, Callisto is the third best, after the Moon and Mars," said Bloshenko. | In particular, Roscosmos is attracted to the natural satellite's surface of ice, which could have a subsurface ocean of liquid water. Moreover, seismic activity detected on the moon of Jupiter means that it must have a hot central core. | D…
(2020-09-17). Russia's biggest enemies? New poll suggests Uncle Sam, Perfidious Albion & estranged 'little brother' Ukraine are top three foes. rt.com 
The great French novelist Gustave Flaubert famously said that you can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies. If the same philosophy applies to countries, well then Russia isn't doing too badly. | Moscow's refusal to accept the vassal status the US had planned for it in the nineties has led to a furious pushback by Washington's allies. But the West's diminishing power means Russia has been able to offset somewhat by building new relations in the east. | But who do Russians themselves see as their nation's main antagonists? Well, a new poll suggests 60% see the United States as a foe, followe…
(2020-09-17). Big Brother for sale: Moscow woman sues city authorities after 'buying data' on her own movements from dark web. rt.com 
A Moscow woman is suing the city's mayor's office and demanding that it stops using a facial recognition system on the Russian capital's streets, after she bought data on the dark web about her own movements. | Anna Kuznetsova filed a lawsuit for 100,000 rubles ($1,300) of compensation, after she found a person selling data online and anonymously ordered information about herself. Kuznetsova works for Roskomsvoboda, a project which promotes freedom of information and privacy on the internet. | "She sent a photo, and two days later received a report for the previous month with detailed information about where h…
(2020-09-17). New Ambassador Attracts the Usual Enemies: Doug Macgregor Feels the Wrath of the Jewish Lobby. thealtworld.com As is all too often the case in the United States, the loudest voices, like ADL, are generally the ones that Congress pays attention to. | There is an old saying that allegedly came out of the French Revolution, that revolution, like the god Saturn, devours its own children. It was reportedly uttered by Georges Danton at the trial that preceded his execution and could be applied equally to the demise of Trotsky after the Russian Revolution. It meant that the leaders that drove the dramatic political developments frequently get a taste of power and become resistant to any further change. They often end up turning…
(2020-09-17). Continued German Support for Nord Stream 2 Completion? Towards a Shift in Russia-Germany Relations? globalresearch.ca Construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany is about 94% completed. | The project is all about supplying Germany and other European countries with readily available low-cost Russian natural gas — around 30% cheaper than US liquified natural …
(2020-09-17). Cyprus Victim of External Efforts to Drag It into Rival East Mediterranean Orbits of Russia, US. globalresearch.ca Cyprus has become the victim of fresh external push-and-pull efforts with the aim of dragging the island republic, a European Union (EU) member, into one or other of the rival East Mediterranean orbits of Russia and the US. | Cyprus received …
(2020-09-17). Why the US Can Keep Increasing its Debt and not Suffer Inflation (Part 2). dissidentvoice.org The US Still Dominates the World Economy The US ruling class has dominated the planet since the end of World War II. Key elements of this control include its military superiority in nuclear and conventional weapons, and the stationing of over 900 military bases around the world. In addition, the US presides over the United …
(2020-09-17). Less Than Two Minutes to Midnight — and Getting Closer. strategic-culture.org On January 23 this year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set their famous "Doomsday Clock" at 100 seconds to midnight — midnight signifying the outbreak of thermonuclear world war. In the 73 years since the famed and fearful symbol was first created in 1947, this setting was — and remains — the closest to Armageddon this supreme symbol of warning to the world has ever been set. | Yet were the Doomsday Clock to be reset today, eight months after that last announcement, the time gap to midnight would have to be further reduced, perhaps to a little more than one minute, but not by much [mdash…
(2020-09-17). Romania receives Patriot missiles from US to boost defences. yenisafak.com The Romanian army received its first shipment of U.S. Raytheon Patriot surface-to-air missiles on Thursday, part of an effort to bolster its defences that has annoyed Russia."Romania has just become a safer nation by hosting these Patriot missiles on its territory. Romanian citizens are now better protected," Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said at the receiving ceremony at a firing range on the Black Sea shore.The missiles will form part of an integrated air defence system comprising newly acquired F-16 fighter jets as Romania brings its obsolete military equipment up to NATO standards and phases out outdated commu…
(2020-09-16). Guo Wengui: So Anti-Chinese that even U.S. Establishment cannot stomach him. dissidentvoice.org In some very rare cases, it is better to read British conservative, right-wing press, like The Economist or the Telegraph, instead of the mainstream liberal sheets like The Independent or The Guardian. That is if one wants to come somehow closer to the truth. The Economist is extremely biased; it is pre-historically conservative, anti-Russian, anti-Chinese, …
(2020-09-16). Top Russian, Saudi diplomats discuss Yemeni conflict. yenisafak.com Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday discussed the conflict in Yemen with his Saudi counterpart over the phone.Lavrov agreed with Faisal bin Farhan on the need to support UN efforts for a cease-fire in the war-torn country, as well as to implement urgent humanitarian measures and launch a settlement process between the sides, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in an online statement."Sergey Lavrov stressed that progress towards the establishment of long-awaited peace and stability in Yemen is possible only by taking into account the interests and concerns of all the leading political forces, religi…
(2020-09-16). Survey reveals most Russians prioritise high living standards & peace over status: Only 31% want their country to be a superpower. rt.com 
Barely more than a third (37%) of Russians think their country is still a superpower, and only 31% think it's important to have such a status. That's according to a new survey on the public's attitude to their place in the world.
(2020-09-16). Sputnik V to lift off for India: Russia will help supply 100 MILLION doses of pioneering coronavirus vaccine to New Delhi. rt.com 
Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine will be clinically trialed and distributed in India, with deliveries expected to begin later this year, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which bankrolled its development. | As soon as the vaccine is granted regulatory approval in India, Russia will help supply 100 million doses to the Asian nation, the RDIF said in a statement on Wednesday. It will partner with Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical giant Dr Reddy's. | "India is amongst the most severely impacted countries from COVID 19 and we believe our human adenovirus dual vector platform will provide a sa…
(2020-09-16). Russia says US 'fully isolated' on international scene. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 16 (MNA) — Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov in a tweet on Wednesday said the US is "practically fully isolated" on the international scene.
(2020-09-16). Russia Must Release Former US Marine Trevor Reed, House Minority Leader McCarthy Says. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Congressmen from the state of Texas, Michael McCaul and Mike Conaway, also demanded that Russia release Reed.
(2020-09-16). Turkey repels attack on observation post in Syria. yenisafak.com Turkish security forces fended off an attack in the Idlib de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, the country's National Defense Ministry said Wednesday.The ministry said in a statement that groups directed by the Bashar al-Assad regime but disguised as civilians approached several of Turkey's observation posts in the region.One of these groups staged an attack near a Turkish observation post and was then dispersed, it added.No damage to the observation post was reported, it said.Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia.The area has been the subject of multiple…
(2020-09-16). Nord Stream 2 should not be linked to Navalny case: Kremlin. yenisafak.com Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany should not be linked to the case of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.German Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced calls to halt the nearly-complete pipeline bringing Russian gas to Germany in response to the poisoning of Navalny in Siberia last month.Moscow says it has yet to see proof he was poisoned with a nerve agent, as Berlin says. Peskov reiterated that Russia was hoping to cooperate with Germany on the case but that its efforts to do so had not met with understanding.