2021-04-28: News Headlines

Karl Grossman (2021-04-28). The Russia/China Space Weaponization Treaty. counterpunch.org "Let's be clear: Deploying weapons in space crosses a threshold that cannot be walked back," stated retired U.S. Army Colonel John Fairlamb in a piece in the The Hill, the Washington, D.C. news website. Fairlamb knows the weaponization of space issue. His background includes being International Affairs Specialist for the Army Space and Missile Defense

Staff (2021-04-28). Headlines for April 28, 2021. democracynow.org FBI Opens Probe into Police Killing of Andrew Brown as Autopsy Confirms He Was Shot in Back of Head, Video of Police Killing of Mario Gonzalez Prompts Comparison to George Floyd, Call for Probe, India Tops 200,000 COVID Deaths as Hospitals, Cremation Sites Are Overwhelmed, Turkey Orders Coronavirus Lockdown; Brazil Rejects Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine, CDC Says Vaccinated People Can Go Unmasked in Most Outdoor Settings, Seattle City Council Calls on Biden to Support IP Waiver for COVID Vaccine Patents, Biden Proposes Crackdown on Tax Evaders, Changes to Capital Gains Tax to Fund American Families Plan, Protesters K…

ecns.cn (2021-04-28). Putin pledges medical aid to India in phone call with Modi. ecns.cn Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday held a phone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pledging to offer emergency medical assistance to pandemic-battered India.

Abdel Bari Atwan (2021-04-28). Why Israel is alarmed. thealtworld.com Iran and its allies have had enough of Israeli attacks and provocations | It was no small matter for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene a meeting of Israel's top military and security chiefs along with its defense and foreign ministers on Saturday, 24 hours after a Syrian missile landed near the Dimona nuclear complex. | The media were told the emergency conference was a response to the recent spate of missile firings from the Gaza Strip. Its supposed aim was to deliver a warning to Hamas that Israel would invade or carpet-bomb the territory if violations of the de-escalation agreements persist. | But t…

Anonymous669 (2021-04-28). Russian Aircraft Detected On Rare Flight From Israel To Syria's Hmeimim. southfront.org An old military vehicle can be seen positioned near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. IMAGE: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS | On April 27, a plane of the Ministry of Defense of Russia landed in Hmeimim Air Base on the Syrian coast after having taken off from Ben Gurion Airport in Israel's Tel Aviv. | The plane was a Tu-134 with the registration "RA-65992," which has previously been detected for the transport of Russia's senior defense and intelligence officials. | Aviation observers tracked the unusual f…

Linda Pentz Gunter (2021-04-28). The Composer Who Fought Uranium Mining on the Orkneys. counterpunch.org On a midsummer day on Saturday, June 21, 1980, in a Victorian Hotel on the Orkney Islands, resident composer Peter Maxwell Davies and actress Eleanor Bron performed the composer's newest piece — The Yellow Cake Revue. It was part of the Islands' annual St. Magnus Festival, founded by Maxwell Davies, poet George Mackay Brown and

Eric Walberg (2021-04-28). Solzhenitsyn: Everyone's Pain in the Neck. dissidentvoice.org When you are too close to something, someone, you are not the best analyst. Your feelings get in the way. You reveal more about who you are than who or what you love/hate. But you can see better from afar. That sums up Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who, despite accurately predicting the collapse of the Soviet Union, …

John Feffer (2021-04-28). The Cold War Has Already Turned Hot — on the Internet. juancole.com ( Tomdispatch.com) — America has a serious infrastructure problem. Maybe when I say that what comes to mind are all the potholes on your street. Or the dismal state of public transportation in your city. Or crumbling bridges all over the country. But that's so twentieth century of you. America's most urgent infrastructure vulnerability is …

Anonymous007 (2021-04-28). Sanctions, War Preparations And An Endless Supply Of Weapons For Kiev. southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On April 21st a new act entered US Senate that will be voted on soon, titled Ukraine Security Partnership Act. | It passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee without a hitch and aims to increase and improve U.S. military support to Ukraine, and sends a message that the United States will continue to support the people of Ukraine, their ability to defend themselves, and the country's democratic transition."Today, as Russia masses more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, mor…

Anonymous007 (2021-04-28). Russia's "Harsh Response" To US: You Are Not My Friend Anymore. southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On April 27th, in response to all the sanctions, harsh rhetoric, diplomatic expulsions and threats, Russia's Channel 1 released a list of "unfriendly countries". | Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced over the weekend that the U.S. would be on the list following a presidential decree on April 23rd. | Also named were: Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Czech Republic, Estonia, United Kingdom and Georgia. Another screen grab from Channel 1, circulating on soci…

Anonymous007 (2021-04-28). Military Situation In Syria On April 28, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On April 28, Russia reported that Idlib militants violated the ceasefire regime in Greater Idlib 31 times: 19 — in Idlib province, 10 — in Latakia province, 2 — in Hama province | On April 27, clashes between the SDF and Turkish-backed forces were reported in the Um al-Jolud area | On April 27, ISIS claimed responsibility for the assassination of a SDF member in the al-Sawr area | On April 27, ISIS claimed responsibility for the assassination of a SDF m…

Arab News (2021-04-29). Russia's Expanding Footprint In The Middle East — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By Talmiz Ahmad* | Over the last month or so, the shadow of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has loomed large across the Middle East. In March, he visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He was soon back in the region, visiting Egypt and Iran on April 12-13. | Russia became a key player in the Middle East when it brought its armed forces into Syria in September 2015 to prevent externally sponsored regime change. Having achieved this fairly quickly, its diplomatic canvas has broadened to include all the regional states, with which it is building substantial ties in the areas of energy, economics and defe…

MISES (2021-04-28). It's Time To End The Embargo Against Cuba — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By Jacob G. Hornberger* | Now that Cuban president Raul Castro has resigned the presidency of Cuba, will the U.S. government lift its six-decades-long economic embargo against Cuba? | Don't count it. Squeezing the life out of the Cuban people as a way to get regime change has become such a normalized way of life for the United States that it is unlikely that this cruel and brutal policy will be ended anytime soon. | Back in the day, the embargo was justified as part of the Cold War against "godless communism" and, specifically, the international communist conspiracy that was supposedly based in Moscow, Russia,…

Penza News (2021-04-29). Foreign Experts Assess Benefits Of Russia's Sputnik V Coronavirus Vaccine — Analysis. eurasiareview.com The Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) announced that the Sputnik V vaccine demonstrated efficacy of 97.6%, based on the analysis of data on the infection rate of coronavirus among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V. | "The Ministry of Health of Russia maintains a register of persons who have been vaccinated, as well as citizens who have got infected with COVID as part of the Unified State Information System in Healthcare. Ac…

ecns.cn (2021-04-28). Russia to send medical aid to India amid COVID-19 surge. ecns.cn The Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the country has decided to send a large consignment of medical assistance to India, which is hit hard by a drastic increase in COVID-19 infections.

Patrick Cockburn (2021-04-28). A Cold War Mindset. zcomm.org Focusing on injustices in just a few 'bad' nations is a dangerous game…

WSWS (2021-04-29). Russian foreign minister warns of a new "cold war" wsws.org Despite the recent pullback of Russian troops from the border with Ukraine, the conflict between Washington and Moscow continues and the New York Times continues to promote the right-wing oppositionist Alexei Navalny.

Dave DeCamp (2021-04-29). Sullivan: US and Israel Have a Policy of 'No Surprises'. news.antiwar.com National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan When asked if he would prefer that Iran's nuclear sites not come under attack, Sullivan said, "We certainly believe that there are certain kinds of activities that are unhelpful to diplomacy.

Paul Goble (2021-04-29). Moscow Thinking About Using Prison Labor Again For Major Construction Projects — OpEd. eurasiareview.com The Russian government is now thinking about reviving a practice associated with Stalinism: the use of prison labor to work on major construction sites in areas where free labor is scarce, such as the expansion of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) railway. Legal experts say Moscow can do so as long as it arranges to pay those who take part. | Vladimir Putin is pushing for the expansion of the BAM but has come up against a problem that earlier Russian rulers have faced: there are too few workers in the region through which it passes and attracting more free laborers would require spending more money than the gover…

sputniknews (2021-04-29). Over 20 People Dead, Some 30 Injured as Result of Road Accident in Haiti, Security Office Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A road accident in central Haiti, about 50 kilometers northwest of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, has left 21 people dead and about 30 more injured, the public security office said.

Dave DeCamp (2021-04-28). Russian FM: US-Russia Relations Worse Than During Cold War. news.antiwar.com On Wednesday, Lavrov said that Moscow was prepared to normalize ties with Washington but warned that if the US would not participate in a respectful dialogue, "we would live in conditions of a 'Cold War' or worse." | "During the Cold War, the tensions were flying high and risky crisis situations often emerged, but there was also a mutual respect," he said. "It seems to me there is…

John Feffer (2021-04-28). Waiting for the Cyber-Apocalypse. zcomm.org The Cold War Has Already Turned Hot — on the Internet…

Rainer Shea (2021-04-28). Ukraine's Fascist Nightmare and the Growing Risk of a Repeat of World War II. orinocotribune.com By Rainer Shea — Apr 22, 2021 | I warn about World War II repeating itself not because I expect Washington's currently escalating anti-Russian proxy war in Ukraine to turn into a nuclear confrontation any time soon; as Moscow-based international affairs analyst Mark Sleboda recently

ecns.cn (2021-04-28). Iranian top negotiator says nuclear talks on right track with challenges ahead. ecns.cn Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that the process of talks aimed at reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is "on the right track," yet there are still important challenges to address, Iranian media reported.

ecns.cn (2021-04-28). Chinese envoy underscores sequence of U.S., Iran returning to nuke deal. ecns.cn The sequence in which the United States and Iran return to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is first and foremost a matter of "sense of justice".

ecns.cn (2021-04-28). Alarm over Fukushima water mounts. ecns.cn A decision by Japan to dump contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea is generating growing anger in Southeast Asia.

ecns.cn (2021-04-28). China urges full disclosure on Japan's nuclear wastewater dumping. ecns.cn China has urged timely and comprehensive disclosure of relevant information, before Japan takes action to dump nuclear wastewater into the ocean, to dispel stakeholders and the international community's concerns.

IDN (2021-04-28). Sleepwalking Into Nuclear War? — OpEd. eurasiareview.com By Jonathan Power* | Last week on Tuesday (April 20), US Strategic Command, the part of the military responsible for nuclear weaponry and its use, posted an official Tweet that read, "We must account for the possibility of conflict leading to conditions which could very rapidly drive an adversary to consider nuclear use as their least bad option". | This came just as Russia was pulling back its large deployment of troops on Ukraine's border which, in turn, was triggered in part by President Joseph Biden's decision to ship for the first time sophisticated weapons to Ukraine. | The crisis has now passed but the…

Kamal Iranidoost (2021-04-28). There will be no "JCPOA Plus" in Vienna talks, Ulyanov says. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 28 (MNA) — Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov says he is optimistic about reaching an agreement on reviving Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) before May 21st.

_____ (2021-04-28). Vienna Shadow Play Hangs Over Iran Nuke Deal. strategic-culture.org Few people, apart from specialists, may have heard of the JCPOA Joint Commission. That's the group in charge of a Sisyphean task: the attempt to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal through a series of negotiations in Vienna. | The Iranian negotiating team was back in Vienna yesterday, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. Shadowplay starts with the fact the Iranians negotiate with the other members of the P+1 — Russia, China, France, UK and Germany — but not directly with the US. | That's quite something: after all, it was the Trump administration that blew up the JCPOA. There is an A…

Luis Brito Garcia (2021-04-28). Communications in the Internet Age. orinocotribune.com By Luis Britto García — Apr 24, 2021 | Every technological advance gives rise to a utopian dream and a dystopian nightmare. The invention of the internet around 1990 generated enthusiastic expectations. Its very beginning was utopian. Its creator, Tim Berners-Lee, refused to register the patents that would have made him a billionaire in order to make the internet available to humanity. | A device initially taken over by the military industrial complex as an underground network safe from nuclear attack, it soon became an instrument supposedly available to all for the free exchange of messages and knowledge. I…

ecns.cn (2021-04-28). China urges Japan to revoke wastewater dump decision and apologize. ecns.cn China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday called on the Japanese government to revoke its decision to dump nuclear polluted water into the ocean and apologize, in response to a question regarding a tweet he posted on Monday.

ecns.cn (2021-04-27). Chinese envoy underscores sequence of U.S., Iran returning to nuke deal. ecns.cn The sequence in which the United States and Iran return to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is first and foremost a matter of "sense of justice".

Dave DeCamp (2021-04-28). US Updates Israel on Iran Policy as Nuclear Talks Continue in Vienna. news.antiwar.com Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat

Rick Rozoff (2021-04-28). Ukraine, U.S. and Russia: red lines and red lines. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Ukraine, U.S. and Russia: red lines and red linesRick Rozoff Words can describe actions, they can indicate future actions or they can just be words. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recently responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's suggestion to his Ukrainian opposite number, Volodymyr Zelensky, that he talk directly with the leadership of the Donetsk …

Daniel Larison (2021-04-28). The Russians Aren't Coming. globalresearch.ca The New York Times

ecns.cn (2021-04-28). Russia fines Apple over 12 mln USD for monopoly. ecns.cn Russia's anti-monopoly watchdog said Tuesday it had imposed a turnover-based fine worth over 12 million U.S. dollars on Apple Inc. for its abuse of dominant position on the mobile apps market.

sputniknews (2021-04-28). Russia Expels Diplomats From Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. sputniknews.com The tit-for-tat response follows last week's decision by the three Baltic republics to expel several Russian diplomats from their respective embassies "in solidarity" with the Czech Republic amid the spat between Moscow and Prague over Russia's alleged involvement in ammunition depot explosions in 2014. Moscow has vocally denied the allegations.

sputniknews (2021-04-28). Moscow Believes War in Donbas Against Ukraine Can, Should Be Avoided, Russian Foreign Minister Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A war in Donbas against Ukraine can and should be avoided, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik.

sputniknews (2021-04-28). Russia Has Basis for Analogue of SWIFT, FM Lavrov Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia has a basis for creating an analogue of the SWIFT payment system, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

sputniknews (2021-04-28). US Reportedly Plans to Spend Nearly $18 Bln on Missile Interceptor for Use Against North Korea, Iran. sputniknews.com The United States resumed its work on a missile defence shield in the early 2000s after withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia. Moscow responded by financing the creation of its hypersonic missile programme, meant to guarantee Russia's ability to respond to any potential large-scale aggression.

Kamal Iranidoost (2021-04-28). Iran envoy holds meetings with two Russian FM deputies. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 28 (MNA) — The Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali held separate meetings with the Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers in Moscow to discuss the situation in West Asia region, as well as developments in Afghanistan and the Caucasus.

Staff (2021-04-28). Russia's Black Sea fleet launches naval combat exercises. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 28 (MNA) — Russia's Black Sea fleet launched naval combat exercises on Tuesday as a US coastguard vessel headed to the region.

_____ (2021-04-28). Lavrov Calls Out Perfidious Albion in EU Diplomat Spat. strategic-culture.org The British establishment likes to boast that they "punch above their weight" in terms of influence beyond their territorial size. It's not hard to see how they manage such a feat. It's called duplicity, intrigue, lies, and dividing and ruling. | Britain is fomenting a diplomatic crisis between the European Union and Russia, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Evidence and precedent indicate Lavrov has his sight well-trained. | The British establishment's notorious ability for machination and intrigue — hence the ancient moniker Perfidious Albion — can be seen as stirring the escalati…

Dave DeCamp (2021-04-28). Navy SEALs Shifting Focus Away From Counterterrorism to Face Russia and China. news.antiwar.com The US Navy SEALs are undergoing a major overhaul. The special operations forces are following the rest of the US military and shifting focus away from counterterrorism in the Middle East to face China and Russia. As part of the transition, the SEALs are reducing the number of platoons it has by 30 percent so …

ecns.cn (2021-04-27). Russia fines Apple over 12 mln USD for monopoly. ecns.cn Russia's anti-monopoly watchdog said Tuesday it had imposed a turnover-based fine worth over 12 million U.S. dollars on Apple Inc. for its abuse of dominant position on the mobile apps market.

_____ (2021-04-27). The Mass Media Will Never Regain the Public's Trust. strategic-culture.org By Caitlin JOHNSTONE | marked the first time ever that trust in news media dropped below fifty percent in the United States, continuing a trend of decline that's been ongoing for years. | Mass media punditry is divided on where to assign the blame for the plummet in public opinion of their work, with some blaming it on Russia and others blaming it…

Anonymous007 (2021-04-27). Military Situation In Syria On April 27, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On April 27, Russia reported that Idlib militants violated the ceasefire regime in Greater Idlib 31 times: 19 — in Idlib province, 10 — in Latakia province, 2 — in Hama province | On April 26, clashes between SAA and Turkish-backed forces were reported in the Tadef area | On April 26, the Russian Military Police and the Turkish forces conducted a joint patrol in the vicinity of the city of Ain al-Arab | On April 26, an agreement had been reached for a c…

Patrick Cockburn (2021-04-27). Focusing Purely on Injustices in China and Russia with a Cold War Mindset Damages Human Rights Everywhere. counterpunch.org As we enter a second Cold War against China and Russia, there are lessons to be learned from the first, since much the same propaganda mechanisms are once again hard at work. Western governments and media unrelentingly criticise China for the persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province, but there is scarcely a mention of the repression of Kashmiri Muslims in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Diplomatic and media outrage is expressed when Russia and the Syrian government bomb civilians in Idlib in Syria, but the bombing of civilians during the Western-backed, Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen, remains at the bottom…

Pepe Escobar (2021-04-27). Vienna shadow play hangs over Iran nuke deal. thealtworld.com None of the actors can admit that revival of JCPOA pales compared with the real issue: Iranian missile power | Few people, apart from specialists, may have heard of the JCPOA Joint Commission. That's the group in charge of a Sisyphean task: the attempt to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal through a series of negotiations in Vienna. | The Iranian negotiating team was back in Vienna on April 26, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. Shadowplay starts with the fact the Iranians negotiate with the other members of the P+1 — Russia, China, France, United Kingdom and Germany — but not directl…

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