2020-06-24: News Headlines

Deirdre Griswold (2020-06-25). Amazing facts about the virus. workers.org Medical staff in Wuhan, China, celebrate after all coronavirus patients were discharged from temporary emergency hospital, March 9. Facts are stubborn things. Take the fact that the People's Republic of China, with four times the population of the U.S., has had far fewer COVID-19 deaths, even though it was the . . . |

Vijay Prashad (2020-06-24). Billions of children are being punished by the pandemic. mronline.org There are immense casualties from this Great Lockdown. Incomes have collapsed for half the world's population, while hunger rates are on the rise. But there are other casualties, other victims, often less remarked upon.

Lucas Koerner and Ricardo Vaz (2020-06-24). US Sanctions Iranian Ship Captains as Russia Hosts Venezuelan FM. venezuelanalysis.com Russian FM Sergei Lavrov reiterated his opposition to US aggression in Venezuela.

Alan Macleod (2020-06-24). Experts See Ulterior Motives Behind US Decision to Finally Deport Haitian Death Squad Leader. mintpressnews.com Emmanuel "Toto" Constant was immediately arrested after touching down in Port-au-Prince, 26 years after he fled to the US following the Raboteau massacre.

Alan Macleod (2020-06-24). A US Navy Destroyer Just Entered Venezuelan Waters. Is Trump Trying to Start a War? mintpressnews.com The USS Nitze is conducting what the US military is calling a "freedom of navigation operation… contesting an excessive maritime claim by Venezuela."

Leonardo Flores (2020-06-24). Bolton weaves a tall tale in his Venezuela chapter. peoplesdispatch.org Per Bolton, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro remains in power only because the Trump administration lacked the determination to keep the pressure on. He argues that sanctions were neither strict nor swiftly applied. Yet during Bolton's tenure, the Trump administration blocked Venezuela's ability to trade gold, froze the assets of state oil company PDVSA (including US based subsidiary Citgo Petroleum), sanctioned Venezuela's Central Bank, and imposed an economic embargo. All of this occurred between November 2018 and August 2019, during Bolton's tenure as Trump's National Security Advisor. | Four major sanction…

yenisafak (2020-06-24). US sanctions five Iranian ship captains for bringing oil to Venezuela. yenisafak.com Speaking to reporters, Pompeo also said the United States continues to support Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido. Washington, which seeks the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and most other Western governments have recognized Guaido as the legitimate leader of the OPEC nation.

Kathy Durkin (2020-06-24). Honoring Che: Revolutionary hero, internationalist. workers.org Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. "If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine." Those are the words of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, anti-imperialist, guerrilla fighter and a leader of the Cuban revolution. This working-class hero is revered by revolutionaries and oppressed peoples worldwide. Che . . . |

Media Lens (2020-06-24). "Six Months To Avert Climate Crisis": Climate Breakdown And The Corporate Media. dissidentvoice.org In his classic science fiction novel, Foundation, Isaac Asimov posited a future in which 'psychohistorians' could predict outcomes based on past history and the large-scale behaviour of human populations by combining psychology and the mathematics of probability. Using 'psychohistory', the protagonist Hari Seldon discovers that the 12,000-year-old Galactic Empire will collapse in 500 years. He …

Stansfield Smith (2020-06-24). The Wasp Network Highlights Our Lack of Freedom to Tell the Truth on the Cuban Five Case. dissidentvoice.org The film Wasp Network, based on the book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War, The Story of the Cuban Five by Fernando Morais, is a co-production between France, Spain, Belgium and Brazil. It was shown in Cuba last December, soon after it came out. You can now watch it on Netflix. It is not a …

_____ (2020-06-24). Privatization And The Pandemic. popularresistance.org Unlike other epidemics or pandemics — such as tuberculosis, SARS, MERS or HIV/AIDS — COVID-19 has hit hardest at the world's wealthiest countries. As of early June 2020, the 37 industrialized countries of the OECD accounted for 59% of all cases and 78% of deaths, even though they constitute less than 18% of the total population affected. | Looking at the pandemic's effects in another way — using cases and deaths per million population — paints an even starker picture. OECD countries have a prevalence ratio of 2,890 cases per million and a mortality rate of 225 per million, compared with 86…

yenisafak (2020-06-24). COVID-19 recovery rate at 40% in Bangladesh. yenisafak.com Bangladesh on Wednesday registered 3,462 new cases positive for coronavirus, taking the total count to 122,660 since the first case was detected in early March.Out of total infections, more than 49,500 patients have so far recovered with some 2,000 fresh recoveries in the past 24 hours.The recovery rate now stands at 40.49%, according to the Health Ministry.Meanwhile, the country witnessed the deaths of 37 people from COVID-19, virus-caused disease, rising the tally to 1,582, Nasima Sultana, a director general at the Health Ministry, told a regular online news conference.The South Asian country with a population…

Philip Giraldi (2020-06-23). Victoria Nuland Alert. Her Ambition is Confront Russia to Deter Putin. globalresearch.ca It is difficult to find anything good to say about Donald Trump, but the reality is that he has not started any new wars, though he has come dangerously close in the cases of Venezuela and Iran and there …

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-06-23). Mexican Government Punishes Companies and Citizens that Supplied Food to Venezuela. globalresearch.ca Mexico and US are two countries that have a curious political history, alternating in long periods of rivalry and Mexican subordination. In fact, Mexico was the first country to suffer the consequences of American expansionist ideology, both for its policy …

yenisafak (2020-06-23). French StopCovid app led to 1.8 million activations as of June 22. yenisafak.com France's state-supported "StopCovid" contact-tracing app has been downloaded by 1.9 million people, roughly 2% of the population, leading to 1.8 million activations as of June 22, digital affairs minister Cedric O said on Tuesday.The "StopCovid" smartphone app, which was launched on June 2, warns users if they have come into contact with anyone infected with the coronavirus to help to contain the epidemic as France emerges from lockdown.

RT (2020-06-22). Trump walks back Maduro olive branch after Biden challenges his commitment to Venezuelan regime change. rt.com US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed support for his administration's regime change policy in Venezuela, reversing course on negotiation after Democratic rival Joe Biden attacked his "admiration" for "dictator" Nicolas Maduro. | Trump would "only meet with Maduro to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power!" the president tweeted on Monday, walking back comments he made in an Axios interview, where he hinted he would "maybe think about" meeting with the Venezuelan leader. | "Unlike the radical left, I will ALWAYS stand against socialism and with the people of Venezuela," Trump added, proclaiming his o…

Tuhin Biswas, James G. Scott, Kerim Munir, Andre M.N. Renzaho, Lal B. Rawal, Janeen Baxter, Abdullah A. Mamun (2020-06-22). Global variation in the prevalence of suicidal ideation, anxiety and their correlates among adolescents: A population based study of 82 countries. thelancet.com Suicidal ideation and anxiety are common among adolescents although their prevalence has predominantly been studied in high income countries. This study estimated the population prevalence of suicidal ideation and anxiety and their correlates with peer support, parent-adolescent relationship, peer victimization, conflict, isolation and loneliness across a range of low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income countries and high-income countries (LMICHICs).

Lucas Koerner (2020-06-22). Biden Bashes Trump's Willingness to Meet with Venezuela's Maduro. venezuelanalysis.com The White House insisted that Trump "has not lost confidence" in opposition leader Guaido.

Alan Macleod (2020-06-22). Study: COVID-19 Exacerbating America's Massive Wealth Inequality and Racial Divide. mintpressnews.com Black Americans are dying at almost three times the rate whites are, with Latinos and Native Americans also dying at elevated levels to the rest of the population.

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-06-22). Trump Slams Guaidó While Expressing Openness in Speaking with Maduro. globalresearch.ca In what potentially could be a radical change in Washington's policy towards Venezuela, U.S. president Donald Trump confessed that he has had doubts about his decision to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president of the South American country. Trump …

sputniknews (2020-06-22). US Air Force Dispatches Surveillance Planes to Island Off Venezuela's Coast. sputniknews.com The US Air Force has dispatched two surveillance aircraft to a base just off the Venezuelan coast for what it calls "counter-narcotics operations." The move comes as Washington looks to enhance its "maximum pressure" against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Paul Dobson (2020-06-22). Guaido Lauds Takeover of Venezuela's Bolivia Embassy. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuela's self-declared "interim president" Juan Guaido is said to share a "beam of light" relationship with Bolivia's de facto president.

Eds. (2020-06-22). Rubio, Cruz bill would deem Cuba's medical missions "human trafficking operation" mronline.org In an act of pure hypocrisy and obsessive cruelty, GOP Senators Marco Rubio, Rick Scott and Ted Cruz joined together to penalize developing nations who seek to take advantage of Cuba's hands-on humanitarian work.

Raul Diego (2020-06-22). US Senate Initiates Legislation Which Would Categorize Cuba's Medical Missions as "Human Trafficking Operations" globalresearch.ca In what has already become a parody of a shrinking empire's habit of clutching at the vestiges of its Cold-War era mistakes, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and fellow war-hungry reactionaries in the United States Senate, Rick Scott (R-FL) …

IMEMC Staff (2020-06-22). Israeli Troops Abduct 18 Palestinians in Pre-Dawn Invasions. imemc.org Israeli troops abducted, on Monday, several Palestinian residents, across the West Bank and the internationally-recognized occupied Jerusalem, in continuation of widespread Israeli military crackdown on the Palestinian population. In occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli troops invaded the al-'Isawiya neighborhood, local sources reported. This is a neighborhood in East Jerusalem that has …

sputniknews (2020-06-22). Herbal Pill to Cure Covid-19 Patients in 5-14 Days, Indian Ayurvedic Firm Claims. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): Based in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, Patanjali Ayurved is known for promoting the ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine in the country and in different parts of the world. The drug has been developed as the country with a population of 1.3 billion people is witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases.

_____ (2020-06-22). U.S. Threats Cannot Deter Cuba's Internationalist Approach. strategic-culture.org As the U.S. continues its defunding of international organisations, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) is next in line, as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared his country's funding conditional upon "U.S. values". The mismanagement of funds, particularly at UN institutions, is a well-known occurrence. However, the corruption existing at international institutions reflects the obscure, or non-existent process, of accountability, which capitalism encourages in order to maintain the monopoly over human rights rhetoric. | Under U.S. President Donald Trump, pointing out corruption is becoming a veneer…

Reese Erlich (2020-06-21). Lessons From Cuban Police. commondreams.org A demonstrator addresses the riot police that are blocking the entrance to I-195 during a protest in Miami on June 5, 2020. (Photo: Adam DelGiudice/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cuba-police.jpg

teleSUR (2020-06-21). Trump Having 2nd Thoughts on Guaido, Would Meet Maduro: Axios. telesurenglish.net United States President Donald Trump would consider meeting his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro after losing faith in Washington-backed Juan Guaido, an exclusive interview from Axios revealed Sunday. | RELATED: | Asked whether he would meet with Maduro, Trump said that he "would maybe think about that. … Maduro would like to meet. And I'm never opposed to meetings — you know, rarely opposed to meeting…

Nasra Alam, Alison K Wright, Darren M Ashcroft, Andrew G Renehan (2020-06-20). [Correspondence] Cancer and cardiovascular disease. thelancet.com Helen Strongman and colleagues1 concluded that "survivors of most site-specific cancers had increased medium-term to long-term risk for one or more cardiovascular diseases compared with that for the general population." The accompanying Comment2 argued that there should be further research into whether cancer should be included in cardiovascular risk prediction tools and refers to cardiovascular models such as Framingham3 and the Pooled Cohort Equations.4…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-06-20). Venezuelan oil output continues decline as refinery resumes operations. mronline.org Venezuelan crude exports on track for 70 year low as Washington continues to target tankers and shipping companies.

Ahmed Sule (2020-06-20). BAME cabinet ministers: modern-day courtiers or jesters? thecanary.co In every society, there are categories of people of a different race, colour, nationality, or cultural traditions that differ from the dominant population. In the UK, the term BAME is used to define the non-white population of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities. Immigration, colonialism, and slavery are some of the main drivers for the prevalence of ethnic minorities in the Anglo-American world. | From biblical times to the present, minorities living in countries with a history of oppression are sometimes elevated into political leadership positions. Modern-day Britain is not exempt from this trend. So…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-20). Close to 3 million Afghans remain displaced, says UNHCR report. peoplesdispatch.org Of Afghanistan's total population of 38 million, one-fifth are former refugees who have returned in the past two decades. However, in 2019, only 8,400 returned, the lowest in many years…

_____ (2020-06-20). US Racism's $13 Trillion Legacy Is Just The Start. popularresistance.org New York – Around the time the United States formally abolished slavery in 1865, African Americans owned 0.5% of the United States' wealth. Today they own under 3%, even though around 13% of the population is defined by the U.S. census as "black or African American." This isn't an accident of history — it's a result of government policies and institutional bias. The interest keeps compounding. | The value of income lost during slavery is staggering. The U.S. practice lasted for nearly 250 years — almost equivalent to the time from the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 until today. Uni…