2020-07-06: News Headlines

Paul Buchheit (2020-07-06). The Protests We Should Be Having to Make the Super-Rich Very Afraid. commondreams.org "As the climate crisis worsens and the surging global population overruns our depleted living spaces," writes Buchheit, "the world's super-rich will increasingly become the targets of undervalued and desperate human beings." (Photo: Unsplash/Pixabay/CC0) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/the_rich_are_winning_on_entitlements_0.jpg

Alan Macleod (2020-07-06). Guaido Representative Threatens FBI Investigation Into Journalists Exposing Her Dealings. mintpressnews.com From the Twitter account of her communications firm, Asymmetrica, Vanessa Neumann accused four journalists of a "criminal conspiracy" to support Venezuelan vice-president Delcy Rodriguez. "There is a price on your head," she threatened.

Staff (2020-07-06). Majority Black Prison Populations In Maryland See Disproportionate COVID-19 Spikes. therealnews.com Racial disparities in Maryland prisons are affecting COVID-19's spread, with majority white populations receiving protective equipment even as Jessup institutions with majority Black populations struggle to get supplies.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-06). Venezuela denounces 'absurd decision' of UK to retain its gold reserves. mronline.org A British high court ruled on July 2 that because the UK recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president, it does not have to give the government of Nicolás Maduro access to the reserves.

Nino Pagliccia (2020-07-06). The Meaning of the 1811 Independence for Today's Venezuela. counterpunch.org For any country the celebration of independence is of great historical importance and pride. July 5 marks the 209th anniversary of Venezuela's independence. The meaning of the term "independence" has certainly occupied central stage in the last 21 years of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. Former President Hugo Chávez and current President Nicolás Maduro have

_____ (2020-07-06). Ambassadors Are Not Completely Useless, It Seems. Many Are Getting Their Hands Dirty in New Diplomacy. strategic-culture.org Diplomacy is in a crisis, re-emerging as something else more sinister and darker for its ambassadors. From Venezuela to Lebanon though, their time is up. Their dirty game is no longer a secret and it will be the starving Lebanese who will unseat them. | Diplomacy has been in the news quite a bit in late June. Yet it has still left many of us wondering if there is ever a real role for diplomats to play in this junk-news, social media-obsessed world which has reduced them to mere "waiters who are occasionally allowed to sit down" as Peter Ustinov once put it. | But Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro, who the We…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-06). Progressive Luis Abinader, leads in presidential elections in Dominican Republic. peoplesdispatch.org Luis Abinader of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), a center-left party, seems to have emerged as the front runner in the presidential elections held in Dominican Republic on July 5. The Central Electoral Board (JCE) of the Dominican Republic, after counting 41.16% of the votes, presented the preliminary results and announced that the PRM candidate was leading with 53.27% of votes. As of July 6 with 47.95% of the votes counted, Abinader maintains his lead with 52.44% of the vote share. | In second place is Gonzalo Castillo of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) with 37.66% of the votes, followed by for…

WSWS (2020-07-06). Brazil's coronavirus cases top 1.5 million amid record unemployment. wsws.org From March to May, some eight million workers lost their jobs, and more than half of the country's working age population have become unemployed.

Nino Pagliccia (2020-07-06). Venezuela Is on a Path to Make Colonialism Obsolete. globalresearch.ca On June 29 the European Union (EU) slapped

yenisafak (2020-07-06). Qatar coronavirus cases exceed 100,000. yenisafak.com With a population of about 2.7 million people, the energy-rich Gulf state has one of the world's highest per capita number of confirmed cases.

yenisafak (2020-07-06). Spanish antibody study shows 5% of population exposed to coronavirus. yenisafak.com Results from the final stage of a nationwide antibody study showed some 5.2% of Spain's population has been exposed to the coronavirus, health officials said on Monday, confirming findings from earlier stages.The study, which tested nearly 70,000 people across Spain three times over the past three months, found the virus' prevalence had not altered significantly since preliminary results were published in May.

Stephen Lendman (2020-07-05). Trump Regime Wants Legitimate Iranian Fuel Shipments to Venezuela Seized. globalresearch.ca No nation in world history more strongly professes support for democratic values and the rule of law while more egregiously breaching its proclaimed principles than the US. | It's been this way throughout the country's history, fleeting moments alone when positive …

Marie Okwo (2020-07-05). Igbo Women Seek Biafra, Voice Nigeria's Bleak Future. globalresearch.ca Nigeria is one of the largest by territory with population (estimated currently at 206 million) and huge economy in Africa. Situated on the southern coast on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean, this country most often referred to …

en.mehrnews (2020-07-05). Iranian animation to go on screen at Venzuela's film festival. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 06 (MNA) — Iran's animated short title 'I'm not Alice but here is Wonderland' will be screened at Five Continents International Film Festival in Venezuela.

teleSUR (2020-07-04). Chile: Police Shoots Dead Young Man During Protest in Santiago. telesurenglish.net A 21-year-old man Saturday was shot dead in Santiago de Chile by the police during a demonstration against President Sebastian Piñera's administration. | RELATED: | The Haitian-descendent man was shot during a manifestation in Melipilla municipality when the residents were carrying out a protest against the social and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. | The victim was taken to San Jose Hospital, where he died a…

Jane Regan (2020-07-04). [World Report] Collaborating on kidneys: Haiti's transplantation ambitions. thelancet.com Haiti lacks health programmes and facilities for kidney disease. Jane Regan reports on an ambitious collaboration between Haitian and US doctors to make kidney transplantation widely available.

Sulaiman Almazeedi, Sarah Al-Youha, Mohammad H. Jamal, Mohannad Al-Haddad, Ali Al-Muhaini, Fahad Al-Ghimlas, Salman Al-Sabah (2020-07-04). [Research Paper] Characteristics, risk factors and outcomes among the first consecutive 1096 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Kuwait. thelancet.com In Kuwait, prior to the first case of COVID-19 being reported in the country, mass screening of incoming travelers from countries with known outbreaks was performed and resulted in the first identified cases in the country. All COVID-19 cases at the time and subsequently after, were transferred to a single center, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Hospital, where the patients received standardized investigations and treatments. The objective of this study was to characterize the demographics, clinical manifestations, and outcomes in this unique patient population.

Christopher J L Murray (2020-07-04). [Correspondence] Methodology in the GBD study of China — Author's reply. thelancet.com The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017 provides comprehensive assessment of population health for 195 countries and territories and subnational units for selected countries, including all province-level administrative units in China. It is important to point out that, as the GBD uses a hierarchical analytical framework, data input from all GBD 2017 analytical units, national or subnational, are integrated into a single modelling process to provide a set of estimates for all locations that are internally consistent and comparable across locations and over time.

Desmond T Jumbam, Ché L Reddy, Emmanuel Makasa, Adeline A Boatin, Khama Rogo, Kathryn M Chu, Benetus Nangombe, Olufemi T Oladapo, John G Meara, Salome Maswime (2020-07-04). [Comment] Investing in surgery: a value proposition for African leaders. thelancet.com Globally, poor access to high-quality surgical, obstetric, and anaesthesia care remains a main contributor to global disease burden accounting for about a third of deaths worldwide.1 The need for strengthening surgical care systems is especially urgent in sub-Saharan Africa, where access is strikingly limited, leading to the highest mortality and morbidity from surgically preventable and treatable conditions in the world.2,3 Approximately 93% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lacks access to safe, affordable, and timely surgical care, compared with less than 10% in high-income countries.

teleSUR (2020-07-04). Puerto Rico's Secretary of Justice Resigns. telesurenglish.net Puerto Rico's Justice Department Secretary Dennise Longo Friday resigned after holding a heated discussion with Governor Wanda Vazquez. | RELATED: | According to local outlet El Nuevo Dia, their discussion would have occurred amid disagreements over the investigations Longo wanted to carry out. | The Puerto Rican governor accepted immediately Longo's resignation and named Wandymar Burgos as Acting Secretary of Justice. | Lo…

WSWS (2020-07-04). Spain participated in failed 2019 US coup in Venezuela. wsws.org New information emerging about the coup exposes Spain's ruling "left populist" party, Podemos, as a tool of imperialism's bloody foreign policy in Latin America.

_____ (2020-07-04). UK Decision On Venezuelan Gold Condemned: 'It's Daylight Robbery!'. popularresistance.org The fact that the UK High Court cites the UK government's recognition of Juan Guaidó as the reason for blocking access to the gold is farcical. The UK government has formally recognised Guaidó as "interim president", but maintains full consular and diplomatic relations with Venezuela and its legitimate government. There is a Venezuelan ambassador in London and a British ambassador in Caracas. | Furthermore, the Venezuelan government had pledged that proceeds from the repatriation of the gold reserves would only be used, under supervision of the UN Human Development Program, in the fight against the COVID-19 pande…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-03). Chileans carry out a two-day national protest against Piñera's government. peoplesdispatch.org The national strike has been called in rejection of the national government, its mishandling of the health and economic emergencies and the lack of food and aid for vulnerable population…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-07-03). US Imposes Additional Economic Sanctions Against Venezuela and Iran. globalresearch.ca The US government is seeking to economically drown Venezuela and Iran by wanting to seize fuel that Tehran is sending to Caracas. This is part of a sustained aggressive and illegal policy against both countries. The US Attorney's Office requested …

teleSUR (2020-07-03). President Maduro Orders Investigation On UK's Gold Verdict. telesurenglish.net President Nicolas Maduro Friday ordered a criminal investigation after the U.K High Court ruled against Venezuela's government in a legal battle over access to this South American country's gold stored in the Bank of England. | RELATED: | The order came hours after a British judge voted in favor of Venezuela's opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido in the litigation for those funds. | The inquiry seeks to determine who withi…

_____ (2020-07-03). UK Denies Venezuela Access To Its Gold For Food And Medicine. popularresistance.org The United Kingdom's High Court Thursday decided that opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido can access 31 tons of Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England, which prevents President Nicolas Maduro's administration from using those resources to fight the pandemic. | The ruling about this monetary reserve valued at over US $ 1 billion occurs after months of disputes between Venezuela and the Bank of England, which denied the constitutionally constituted government access to its own resources | On May 14, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) sued the Bank of England to obtain and sell the Venezuelan gold bars. | The Sout…

Richard D. Wolff (2020-07-03). Revolutionary Possibilities: Could U.S. Capitalism Turn Nationalist? counterpunch.org The Trump administration has turned sharply toward economic nationalism. It attacks and undermines the World Trade Organization, NATO, and the UN. Trump and other top officials explicitly insult many world leaders. He imposes high tariffs. Official statements renew and sustain Cold War-type attacks on China, Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. Trump flirts openly with nationalists who

Lucas Koerner (2020-07-03). UK Court Denies Venezuela $1bn in Gold Needed to Fight Virus. globalresearch.ca The United Kingdom's High Court has blocked the Venezuelan government's effort to recover 31 tons of the nation's gold held by the Bank of England (BoE). | In a ruling handed down on Thursday, the court said it "unequivocally recognised opposition …

Pablo Jofre Leal (2020-07-03). Elections in Bolivia: A Road Towards Stability or Chaos?>. telesurenglish.net Donald Trump's arrival at the White House added significantly more pressure on those Latin American countries in which their leaders tried to construct an independent political agenda from Washington. | RELATED: | Besides trying to destabilize Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, the U.S. intelligence agencies started focusing on Evo Morales' administration in Bolivia, eventually achieving his fall from power. | The U.S. tr…

Michael Jansen (2020-07-03). Security Council, General Assembly Never Held Israel Accountable for Violations of UN Principles. globalresearch.ca Seventy-five years ago, 50 countries signed the UN Charter at a conference in San Francisco in ceremonies attended by 3,500 delegates and 2,500 media representatives and observers from non-governmental organisations. Representing 80 per cent of the world's population, the signatories …

teleSUR (2020-07-03). Bolivia: School Year Postponed Due To Peak Infection Forecasts. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's Health and Education Ministries postponed the resumption of learning activities on Friday, as they attempt to curtail a COVID-19 contagion peak in August and September. | RELATED: | "To protect the health of students, teachers, administrative staff of educational units, parents and the population throughout the country, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, in coordination with the Ministry of Health…

WSWS (2020-07-03). Primaries show deepening political polarization in US. wsws.org While both the corporate-controlled parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are moving to the right, the bulk of the population is moving to the left.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-03). US files to seize Iranian shipments en route to Venezuela. peoplesdispatch.org Federal prosecutors in the United States have appealed for seizure of the four Iranian ships that are supplying petrol to Venezuela. A civil-forfeiture appeal was filed before a federal court in the US capital of Washington D.C. on Wednesday, July 2. The appeal to seize the ships is against an Iranian expatriate businessman in the United Kingdom, with alleged ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for having arranged the shipment. | The IRGC, the official paramilitary forces in Iran, has been named as a "terror" organization by the US, and prosecutors allege that the proceeds of the shipments will…

Scott Ritter (2020-07-03). If US attempts to seize Iranian tankers carrying oil to Venezuela now, de-escalation will be more difficult than ever. thealtworld.com To expand its "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign targeting Iranian oil and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command, the …

_____ (2020-07-03). Cuba's Two Pandemics: The Coronavirus And The US Embargo. popularresistance.org As soon as the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in Cuba, our country mobilized all its resources to contain the spread of the virus. | Our healthcare workers go door to door checking people for possible symptoms. Those with symptoms are transferred to specially designated centers to receive treatment, mostly with medication developed by Cuba's own pharmaceutical and biotech industry. The medical examinations and treatments are all provided free of charge. | As of June 20, 85 people have died of COVID-19 in Cuba. Our mortality rate of 3.9 percent is very low compared to the rest of the world. We reached the p…

_____ (2020-07-03). Black Immigrants On The Front Lines Of COVID-19. popularresistance.org As the country continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Black immigrants — immigrants who identify as Black regardless of country or region of birth — are playing an important role on the front lines in healthcare, food supply, education, and biomedical industries. Black immigrants make up a significant portion of healthcare workers. In 2018, there were more than 560,000 Black immigrant workers in the healthcare sector. These workers made up 3.4 percent of all healthcare workers, a share almost three times their share of the U.S. population. In the food industry at large, there are over 223,000 Black immigrant…

_____ (2020-07-03). Trump Used Looted Venezuelan Public Money To Build Border Wall. popularresistance.org Since the United States initiated a coup attempt against Venezuela's elected leftist government in January 2019, up to $24 billion worth of Venezuelan public assets have been seized by foreign countries, primarily by Washington and member states of the European Union. | President Donald Trump's administration has used at least $601 million of that looted Venezuelan money to fund construction of its border wall with Mexico, according to government documents first reviewed by Univision. | During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump insisted countless times that he would "make Mexico pay" to build a gargantuan wall…

Mike Lofgren (2020-07-03). Don't Let the Corruption of the Powerless Bring Down the Democrats. commondreams.org Former National security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence before the start of a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House June 7, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bolton_venezuela_0.jpg

yenisafak (2020-07-03). Indigenous leaders angry about coronavirus risk from Brazilian military visit. yenisafak.com Leaders of an isolated indigenous Yanomami community in Brazil have complained that a military mission to protect them from the coronavirus brought greater risk of infection to their people through contact with outsiders including journalists.Federal prosecutors said they were investigating the visit for ignoring the wishes of Yanomami communities to remain isolated from society, violating rules of social distancing and distributing chloroquine to indigenous people.On Tuesday and Wednesday, soldiers brought medical supplies by helicopter to outposts on the border with Venezuela and assembled Yanomami families to…

_____ (2020-07-02). Beyond the Toppling of Colonial Monuments, a Rethinking of History and Accountability Is Vital. strategic-culture.org When Chile erupted in protests over the neoliberal politics of President Sebastian Pinera and the dictatorship legacy of Augusto Pinochet, the indigenous Mapuche population embarked upon the tearing down of colonial monuments and statues occupying Chilean public spaces. The news was of paramount importance for Chile's reclamation of its historical memory, in particular as during the dictatorship, legal references to the Mapuche were Elsewhere in the world, the Chilean struggle to preserve the people's historical memory did not res…

Barry Healy (2020-07-02). Operation Peter Pan: How the United States stole 14,000 Cuban children. greenleft.org.au Operation Pedro Pan and the Exodus of Cuba's Children
| By Deborah Shnookal
| Univers…

Roger Stoll (2020-07-02). Cuban Spies Disguised as Doctors. dissidentvoice.org The European Union now excludes travelers from the COVID-ridden U.S., but welcomes those from the virtually COVID-free Cuba. Cuba, the country that sends doctors and infectious disease specialists around the world to fight the pandemic, the country the U.S. has held in contempt for 60 years, villified with every epithet and sanctioned and embargoed and …

Ricardo Vaz (2020-07-02). Venezuela Sets Parliamentary Election Date, Increases Number of Lawmakers. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuelans will elect 277 deputies to congress this December.

Al Arabiya (2020-07-02). UK 'Recognized' Juan Guiado as Venezuela President, Rules High Court in Gold Dispute. globalresearch.ca Britain has "recognized" Venezuela's opposition leader High court judge Nigel Teare handed down a Judgment ruling …

Barry Healy (2020-07-02). How the USA stole 14,000 Cuban children. greenleft.org.au By Deborah Shnookal | University of Florida Press, 2020, 313 pp., $85 | Since the successful Cuban Revolution in January 1959 successive US governments have waged both overt and covert war against Cuba. The most violent of these was the Bay of Pigs fiasco in April 1961. | But around the same time, the US decid…