2020-03-07: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these ‘POSTEES’ on social media!

Video: Turkish Drones Falling in Idlib. ‘Moderate Rebels’ Gas Themselves by Mistake
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-07
Early on March 5, the Israeli Air Force carried out a series of airstrikes on targets in the Syrian provinces of Homs and Quneitra. According to the Syrian military, the attack was conducted from Lebanese airspace at 00: 30 local time. …
globalresearch.ca/video-turkish-drones-f…

From Afghanistan to Syria: Women’s Rights, War Propaganda and the CIA
Julie Lévesque | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-07
Western heads of state, UN officials, military spokespersons will invariably praise the humanitarian dimension of the October 2001 US-NATO led invasion of Afghanistan, which allegedly was to fight religious fundamentalists, help little girls go to school, liberate women subjected to the yoke of the Taliban.
globalresearch.ca/from-afghanistan-to-sy…

Free Julian Assange
Charles Glass | zcomm.org | 2020-03-07
By depriving the WikiLeaks founder of his freedom, US and Britain prosecutors are intimidating journalists–and abetting torturers, war criminals, and kleptocrats everywhere…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/free-julian-assang…

Australia: “Teachers for Assange and Manning” campaign in Melbourne
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
The active intervention of teachers and education support staff is just one indication of the growing concern among millions of people that Assange’s persecution has immense implications.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/cfpe…

Australian Labor MP feigns concern over US extradition of Julian Assange
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
Penny Wong did not differ with government representatives, who explicitly endorsed the British judiciary’s brutal attacks on Assange’s legal and democratic rights.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/assa…

Refugee women face horrifying conditions as aid workers flee Lesbos
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-07
Aid workers in Lesbos have warned that refugee women are facing even harsher conditions this International Women’s Day. An escalation in violence has forced many humanitarian workers to withdraw.Evacuations from Lesbos have drastically reduced access to food, sanitary products and medical help for desperate refugee women, aid workers told the PA news agency.Clashes erupted between refugees and Greek authorities earlier this week, after Turkey opened its borders for people trying to cross into Europe.: Confrontation between a refugee and a Greek policeman during clashes at the port of Mytilene (Panagiot…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/20…

Anti-Mask Bills Targeting Leftists Ignore the Real Perpetrators of Violence
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-07
While politically motivated violence in the U.S. has been an overwhelmingly far right phenomenon, Republicans around the country are building up credibility with their base by playing to false fears about masked leftists. State bills are popping up that attempt to rein in the use of masks or face covers during protests, either by increasing penalties for actions taken while wearing a mask or banning the public use of masks altogether. | Oregon Republicans recently introduced House Bill 4126 on…
truthout.org/articles/anti-mask-bills-ta…

Trump administration moves forward with unconstitutional DNA testing of immigrants
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
The Trump administration’s plan to collect DNA samples from immigrants in US custody has proceeded while nothing has been done to prepare for the spread of the coronavirus.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/immi…

Tear Gas Sprayed Across Migrants at Turkey-Greece Border
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-07
EDIRNE, Turkey

Women’s Rights and Social Justice: Julia Ward Howe’s 1870 Anti-War Mother’s Day Proclamation, A Day of Peace
Dr. Gary G. Kohls | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-07
Julia Ward Howe was a humanist who cared about suffering people, a feminist, a social justice activist & suffragette, and it was because of her anti-war commitment that she wrote the famous “Mother’s Day Proclamation” 5 years after the Civil War, which resulted in 600,000 dead American soldiers…
globalresearch.ca/womens-rights-and-soci…

With help from U.S. media, Nicaragua’s coup-mongers aiming for western hearts and minds
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-03-07
With its support tanking at home, Nicaragua’s opposition is seeking to win over public opinion in the West. A factually-challenged, distortion laden article in Vox by a familiar anti-Sandinista activist exhibited the campaign’s strategy. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/07/with-help-from-u…

Johnstone brings her Moral Compass to our Dantesque World
Eric Walberg | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-07
First, Diana Johnstone’s memoir is a classic, and will be read and quoted as long as we keep struggling for peace and justice. It is one of the great personal accounts of the anguished decline of our uncivilization, both a riveting eye-witness account of many of the horrors and perfidies, and a primer for students …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/johnstone-bri…

Will Biden’s Trade Policy Record Come Back to Haunt Him in Midwest?
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-07
Sen. Bernie Sanders and supporters of his presidential campaign took on 2020 Democratic primary foe former Vice President Joe Biden’s record on trade to sharpen the contrasts between the two candidates ahead of next week’s nominating contests in six states, including the Rust Belt state of Michigan. | Just before leaving Phoenix to attend a rally in Michigan on Friday, Sanders held a brief press conference in which he said Biden’s vote as a then-senator for the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (…
truthout.org/articles/will-bidens-trade-…

The Fallacy of the Appeal of the Centrist Democrat
Phelonious Crunk | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-03-07
I have watched for the past couple months as Bernie Sanders has risen in the polls and then proceeded to do well in the first primary and caucuses as these people have done everything to try and kneecap his success. The amount of negative press about Sanders that has been pumped out by all of …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/03/the-fallacy-o…

Is the U.S. Really Getting Out of Afghanistan?
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-03-07
President Trump may have surrendered to the Taliban, but as Truthdig columnist Danny Sjursen notes, that may not amount to the end of the conflict.
truthdig.com/videos/is-the-u-s-really-ge…

Legal Attacks on Abortion Rights Are Also Attacks on Women’s Financial Security
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-07
March is Women’s History Month, and this year’s celebration starts with June Medical Services v. Gee, a current Supreme Court case that poses the latest threat both to Roe v. Wade specifically and to women’s health and economic security at large. This case is the most recent reminder of how precarious reproductive health and rights are and of how barriers to legal and safe abortion

Coronavirus Quarantine Hotel Collapses in China
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-07
A hotel in south-eastern China used as a quarantine centre for holding people who have arrived from Coronavirus-hit regions has collapsed, trapping dozens, according to the local government. | RELATED: | China’s Offers Experience in Europe’s Fight Against COVID-19 | A video stream posted by the government-backed Beijing News site showed rescue workers in orange overalls clambering over the rubble of the Xinjia Express Hotel –in the city of Quanzhou– and carrying people…
telesurenglish.net/news/Coronavirus-Quar…

European states dither on emergency response as coronavirus spreads globally
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
If illness totals in European countries continue to grow exponentially at current rates of 30 percent or more daily, it would take around one month for the disease totals in each of the larger European countries to reach into the millions.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/euro…

National Nurses United Issues Grave Warning on Coronavirus
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-07
As novel coronavirus cases continue to grow in the United States, thousands of unionized nurses say that they find the lack of preparedness among their employers and hospitals alarming

As Trump Stumbles on Coronavirus, Health Experts Warn Against Border Closures
Nick Turse | zcomm.org | 2020-03-07
Once a disease has taken hold inside a country, the best options are domestic interventions by state and local public health authorities with ample support from the federal level…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/as-trump-stumbles-…

The ‘other’ devastating epidemics coronavirus is distracting us from
Tamara Pearson | zcomm.org | 2020-03-07
Panic and fomenting fear are well-tried methods of control, distraction and of shifting popular support towards the right…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-other-devastat…

Coronavirus spreads to Poland, threatening to upend presidential elections
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
The conservative Rzeczpospolita has warned that “chaos in the health care system could upend Polish politics and impact the outcome of the presidential elections in May.”
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/pola…

World Health Organization warns of need for urgent response as coronavirus cases surpass 100,000
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
If the current trends continue, the total number of cases outside China will surge past the number of cases within China by the end of the month.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/covd…

Following Milwaukee brewery shooting, Molson Coors starts a GoFundMe for victims’ families
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
News of the company starting an online fundraiser was met with justified scorn and derision on social media, with commenters pointing out the hypocrisy of a billion-dollar conglomerate shaking down the population for money to pay for the consequences of deaths suffered while on the job.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/mkms…

Nathaniel Woods, 44, who never killed anyone, executed in Alabama
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
Woods’ execution came despite the fact that he didn’t pull the trigger in the 2004 murder of three Birmingham police officers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/exec…

China’s Offers Experience in Europe’s Fight Against COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-07
At an extraordinary council on the COVID-19 epidemic held in Brussels on Friday, the European Union (EU) health ministers agreed to develop a coordinated approach to prevention and protection of people at risk, and establish coherent containment measures, including evidence-based advice concerning travel to and from risk areas. | RELATED: | Traveler Screening in US Likely Misses 2/3 Cases of COVID-19 | Prior to this meeting, epidemiologist Bruce Aylward presented the results of a…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chinas-Offers-Ex…

Tear gas fired from both sides as refugee crisis continues on Turkey-Greece border
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-07
More violence has erupted at Turkey’s land border with Greece after Recep Tayyip Erdo?an’s government said it will no longer prevent refugees from crossing over to EU territory. Thousands of people remain stranded between the two countries.Greece has deployed riot police and border guards to repel people trying to enter the country from the sea or by land.A statement from Erdo?an’s office said he would travel to Brussels on 9 March, though the nature of his visit was not specified.That announcement came hours after European Union foreign ministers meeting in Croatia on 6 March criticised Turkey, saying…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2020/03/0…

Schools Are Operating as Testbeds for Mass Surveillance
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-07
A school district in New York recently adopted facial recognition technology to monitor students, and it is now one of a growing number of schools across the country conducting mass privacy violations of kids in the name of “safety.” The invasive use of surveillance technologies in schools has grown exponentially, often without oversight or recourse for concerned students or their parents. | Not only that, but schools are ex…
truthout.org/articles/schools-are-operat…

Democracy Is Under Assault Around the World, and Right Here in Texas
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-07
“Democracy and pluralism are under assault.” So reads the first line of Freedom House’s annual report card on the standing of liberty around the world, titled “Freedom in the World.” While this assessment is grimly accurate, one does not have to scan the globe seeking evidence for the ongoing assault on democracy. There was plenty to be found on Super Tuesday, right down in Texas. | Founded in 1941 by a coho…
truthout.org/articles/democracy-is-under…

Hip Hop Museum To Open in its Birthplace in the Bronx
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-07
Hip hop – the music, dance, art, and fashion phenomenon that went from rough streets into fancy suites in five decades – is getting its museum in its birthplace in the Bronx, New York. | RELATED: | Saudi Authorities to Arrest Woman Rapper Over Mecca Music Video | A small pop-up exhibit gives a preview of the Universal Hip Hop Museum’s permanent home, set to open in 2023 to celebrate the culture’s global history. | To date, “there isn’t a physical place that is dedicated to the…
telesurenglish.net/news/Hip-Hop-Museum-T…

Students in Brazil Make Nazi Salute Inside a Classroom
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-07
A prestigious school in Brazil got dragged into a scandal after one of its students ran an election campaign styled after Adolf Hitler, recruiting a dozen supporters eager to have him as their ‘Fàºhrer’ (“leader” or “guide,” associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler). | RELATED: | Brazil’s Secretary of Culture Fired After Quoting Nazi Goebbels in Video | The scandal occurred at the Colegio Santa Maria, a private Christian school in the city of Recife in north…
telesurenglish.net/news/Students-in-Braz…

Chile: Pinochet’s Agents Will Remain in Jail for up to 20 Years
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-07
Santiago de Chile’s First Court of Appeals Friday sentenced 31 secret police officers to penalties of up to 20 years for their participation in the disappearance of two filmmakers on Nov. 29, 1974. | RELATED: | Chile to Re-Write Pinochet-Era Constitution But With a Catch | The ruling established the responsibility of members of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) in the kidnapping of Carmen Bueno and Jorge Muller, who were militants of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MI…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chile-Pinochets-…

Guyana: Electoral Dispute to Continue in Court Amid Discontent
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-07
The Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) officials Friday created more controversy after presenting results in which the figures did not match the records of the polling places. | RELATED: | Guyana: Granger’s APNU-AFC Wants Him Sworn in Quickly | Since “A Partnership for National Unity” (APNU), the ruling party, was widely favored by such figures, the opposition “People’s Progressive Party” (PPP) requested a precautionary measure to prevent the alleged results from being officially certifi…
telesurenglish.net/news/Guyana-Electoral…

The Neoliberal Plague
Rob Urie | zcomm.org | 2020-03-07
The ignorant brutality of this system appears to be on its way to getting a reality check through a tiny virus…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-neoliberal-pla…

Looking at Change: U.S. and Cuba, blockade and revolution
W. T. Whitney, Jr. | mronline.org | 2020-03-07
The U.S. blockade of Cuba is like the sun; neither will disappear soon. But different: the U.S. politicians and people are aware of the sun, but may have forgotten about the Cuba blockade. It’s persisted for almost 60 years, basically unchanged. The following is about change. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/07/looking-at-chang…

75 Years Ago: Nazi Germany’s Launch Final Major Attacks of the Second World War
Shane Quinn | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-07
Seventy-five years ago, on 6 March 1945, the Third Reich launched what was to be its final great offensive of World War II, called Operation Spring Awakening (Unternehmen Fràºhlingserwachen). This attack, not well known today, was directed eastwards through the …
globalresearch.ca/75-years-ago-nazi-germ…

Progressives Urge Warren to Rally Behind Sanders
Raquel Willis | zcomm.org | 2020-03-07
Supporters of Sanders say they hope she will throw her support behind their candidate in order to form a united “progressive front” and take on powerful corporate forces now lined up behind Biden…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/progressives-urge-…

Lebanon state prosecutor blocks order to freeze assets of 20 banks
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-03-07
Lebanon’s state prosecutor suspended an order on Thursday to freeze the assets of 20 local banks, warning it would plunge the country and its financial sector into chaos, according to a copy of the decision seen by Reuters. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/03/07/lebanon-state-pr…

New Zealand PM Ardern boosts relations on Fiji visit
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
Ardern’s visit was used to cement relations with Fiji, which plays a critical role in the US-led drive to counter growing Chinese influence and prepare for war.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/arde…

Voters set to punish Macron’s party in French municipal elections
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
What dominates is the trend towards the disintegration of the former electoral bases of mayors, as well as neo-fascist Marine Le Pen’s attempt to benefit from the anger against Macron.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/macr…

Brazil: Amid brutal police repression, Sà£o Paulo government passes state pension reform
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
The attack was carried out with the complicity of the teachers union and after Workers Party governments in the northeast of Brazil passed their own pension reforms.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/braz…

‘Teenage bomb maker’ bought IED supplies off AMAZON for Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 & nearly triggered India-Pakistan war
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Two more suspects have been nabbed after the deadly Pulwama terrorist attack

Afghanistan refuses to free Taliban prisoners under US peace deal without ‘executive guarantee’
rt.com | 2020-03-07
The proposed release of 5,000 jailed Taliban fighters, required under their peace deal with the US, can happen only if the Afghan government gets a guarantee that they will not ‘return to violence,’ President Ashraf Ghani said. | “The people’s request is that there should be an executive guarantee so that these people will not return to violence once they are released,” the Afghan leader told parliament on Saturday, adding that a “transparent mechanism” has to be established to enact that part of the Taliban-US deal. | Under the agreement signed by the US and the Taliban in Qatar last Saturday, as many as 5,00…
rt.com/news/482559-afghanistan-president…

Cancel culture wins again: Publisher drops Woody Allen memoir after employee walkout
rt.com | 2020-03-07
New York publishing house Hachette canceled Woody Allen’s biography and returned the rights to the famous film director, after its employees staged a walkout in protest. Allen was accused of child sex abuse by his ex-partner. | “The decision to cancel Mr Allen’s book was a difficult one,” a spokeswoman for Hachette Book Group said in a statement on Friday. “We take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly.” | After dozens of HBG employees walked out in protest on Thursday, however, the company “came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasib…
rt.com/usa/482543-woody-allen-cancel-cul…

15 Americans quarantined in Bethlehem as Israel & Palestine struggle to stop coronavirus spread
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Fifteen US tourists have been placed under quarantine in a hotel in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, a Palestinian authority spokesman has confirmed. The hotel was quarantined after seven tourists living there were suspected of having contracted the deadly novel coronavirus. officially known as COVID-19, the Israeli media reported without specifying the nationalities of those under suspicion. | “There is a 15-member American delegation in the hotel. They are still there and they are being dealt with according to quarantine regulations like all the others who are there,” the spokesman, Ibrahim Melhem, told Reut…
rt.com/newsline/482561-americans-quarant…

HACKED Israeli Defense Minister demands ‘freedom for Palestine,’ tweets out Turkey’s anthem
rt.com | 2020-03-07
The Twitter handle of Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett appears to have been breached, sending out a highly off-message post urging the liberation of Palestine, followed by the lyrics of Turkey’s anthem in English.
rt.com/news/482546-israel-defense-minist…

Top Saudi royals ‘arrested for plotting with Americans against King,’ Western media say. What’s happening in oil-rich kingdom?
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has had his relatives arrested for plotting a coup against him and King Salman with the help of “foreign powers, including the Americans,” Western media claim. RT asked Middle East analysts to weigh in. | Three senior members of the Saudi Royal family were arrested on Friday, several Western media outlets have reported, citing sources. The list of detainees includes prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the younger brother of King Salman, Mohammed bin Nayef, the king’s nephew and former crown prince, and Nawaf bin Nayef, the younger half-brother of Prince Nayef, as reported by the Wall Street…
rt.com/news/482569-saudi-royals-arrested…

No need to panic: Modi urges world to embrace ‘Namaste’ greeting instead of handshakes to fight coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered his nation’s traditional no-contact ‘Namaste’ greeting as a substitute for handshakes for everyone to adopt as the world actively seeks new ways to stem the spread of coronavirus. | The prime minister has called on India to return to its cultural roots and revive old traditions to fend off the threat of the novel coronavirus officially known as Covid-19. He also urged the world to borrow some of his nation’s useful everyday practices to reduce the risk of contracting the disease that has killed some 3,000 around the globe, mostly in China, where it originated.
rt.com/news/482557-modi-world-greeting-s…

Newly-elected Iranian MP dies of coronavirus – reports
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Fatemeh Rahbar, a newly-elected member of the Iranian Parliament, has died of coronavirus on Friday, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. | Rahbar, 56, had just won a seat in the parliament in the most recent vote in February. She tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week and was admitted to a Tehran hospital. However, her condition quickly worsened and she went into a coma on Thursday before passing away the next day. Rahbar was the first female politician in Iran to die from coronavirus. | On Friday, Iran’s Ministry of Health reported that the number of confirmed cases had jumped by 1,234 over just o…
rt.com/newsline/482558-newly-elected-ira…

‘Shut down Taj Mahal!’ Agra mayor calls on Indian govt to shutter ALL historical monuments amid growing coronavirus outbreak
rt.com | 2020-03-07
The mayor of Agra has urged the Indian government to temporarily shut down the country’s national monuments

Chinese hotel used as Covid-19 quarantine site COLLAPSES, trapping dozens under rubble (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-03-07
A hotel has collapsed in the southeastern Chinese city of Quanzhou, burying dozens of people under the rubble. The building was reportedly used as a quarantine site for the deadly Covid-19 coronavirus. | Footage from the scene showed the building reduced to rubble and emergency services searching the debris. So far, at least 38 people have reportedly been rescued. | #BREAKING: A hotel building collapsed in Quanzhou, SE China’s Fujian at around 7 pm Saturday, trapping an unknown number of people under it. So far 16 people have been…
rt.com/news/482570-chinese-hotel-collaps…

Italy’s leader of co-ruling Democratic party tests positive to coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-03-07
The leader of Italy’s co-ruling Democratic Party, Nicola Zingaretti, has admitted he had been tested positive for coronavirus as Italy struggles to cope with the health care crisis sparked by the disease. | …
rt.com/news/482566-italy-leader-of-co-ru…

Chinese hotel ‘used as Covid-19 quarantine site’ COLLAPSES, trapping dozens under rubble (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-03-07
A hotel has collapsed in the southeastern Chinese city of Quanzhou, burying dozens of people under the rubble. The building was reportedly used as a quarantine site for the deadly Covid-19 coronavirus. | Footage from the scene showed the building reduced to rubble and emergency services searching the debris. So far, at least 34 people have reportedly been rescued. | #BREAKING: A hotel building collapsed in Quanzhou, SE China’s Fujian at around 7 pm Saturday, trapping an unknown number of people under it. So far 16 people have been…
rt.com/news/482570-chinese-hotel-collaps…

Chinese hotel used as Covid-19 quarantine site COLLAPSES, trapping dozens under rubble (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-03-07
A hotel has collapsed in the southeastern Chinese city of Quanzhou, burying dozens of people under the rubble. The building was used as a quarantine site for the deadly Covid-19 coronavirus victims. | LATEST: VIDEOS show aftermath of Covid-19 quarantine hotel collapse in China as rescuers search for dozens trapped under rubble | Footage from the scene showed the building reduced to rubble and emergency services searching the debris. So far, at least 49 people have reportedly been rescued. | Latest o…
rt.com/news/482570-chinese-hotel-collaps…

VIDEOS show aftermath of Covid-19 quarantine hotel collapse in China as rescuers search for dozens trapped under rubble
rt.com | 2020-03-07
The collapse of a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine center in the Chinese city of Quanzhou has left dozens of people trapped under debris. Footage from the scene shows the building on its side and almost entirely flattened. | The Xinjia Hotel collapsed on Saturday evening, trapping at least 70 people under the rubble. The incident prompted a massive emergency services response; at least 38 people have already been rescued. | The operation will apparently continue into the night: rescuers have brought powerful floodlights to illuminate the collapsed building. Over 700 firefighters, 67 fire engines and 3…
rt.com/news/482580-china-coronavirus-hot…

European tourism losing €1 BILLION a month as holiday makers stay home due to coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Fears over the spread of Covid-19 are rising across Europe, threatening its tourism industry. Data shows the sector has already taken a serious hit and could be hurt even more. | According to EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, tourism is one of the sectors likely to be hit hardest financially as the coronavirus continues to spread. The sector is already losing €1 billion ($1.11 billion) a month because of the disease, he said. | The European Travel Commission has announced that 10 percent of European GDP is derived from tourism while in some EU member states, including Spain and Italy, that f…
rt.com/business/482284-coronavirus-hits-…

Leader of Italy’s co-ruling Democratic Party tests positive for coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-03-07
The leader of Italy’s co-ruling Democratic Party, Nicola Zingaretti, has admitted he has tested positive for coronavirus as Italy struggles to cope with the health care crisis sparked by the disease. | “The doctors have told me that I am positive for COVID-19,” the politician said in a video he published in Facebook, referring to the official name of the deadly disease that originated from China. | The man, who is also the president of the central Italian province of Lazio, where Rome is located, assured his followers that he “is fine but would have to stay home” for some time. He wished “courage” to everyone…
rt.com/news/482566-italy-leader-of-co-ru…

VIDEOS show aftermath of Covid-19 quarantine hotel collapse in China as rescuers search for dozens trapped under rubble
rt.com | 2020-03-07
The collapse of a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine center in the Chinese city of Quanzhou has left dozens of people trapped under debris. Footage from the scene shows the building on its side and almost entirely flattened. | The Xinjia Hotel collapsed on Saturday evening, trapping some 70 people under the rubble. The incident prompted a massive emergency services response; at least 49 people have already been rescued. | The operation continued into the night after rescuers brought powerful floodlights to illuminate the collapsed building. Over 700 firefighters, 67 fire engines and 36 emergency rescue…
rt.com/news/482580-china-coronavirus-hot…

AIPAC confirms two coronavirus cases at Israeli lobby gathering attended by US elites & veteran politicians
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Two people from New York who attended the AIPAC conference in the US capital have tested positive for Covid-19, raising the possibility that lawmakers in Washington DC were exposed to the potentially lethal contagion. | “At least” two conference-goers who came from Westchester County, New York have tested positive for the virus, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee said on Friday evening, adding that they’ve sent notice of this to the attendees, participants, speakers, administration staff and congressional offices. | Important Update: Coronavirus | As emailed to Policy Conference attendees, participan…
rt.com/usa/482542-aipac-two-positive-cor…

Two-man ‘bloodbath’: Bernie calls out ‘billionaires buying elections’ as Biden attacks his ‘increasingly negative’ bros
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Joe Biden warned supporters about “Bernie brothers” running an “increasingly negative campaign” and that a “bloodbath” between the two candidates, as Tulsi gets lost in the shuffle, will only help re-elect Donald Trump. | The fight between Biden and Sanders for the Democrat Party’s presidential nomination is intensifying as the two candidates campaign in the midwest this weekend ahead of primary votes in states like Michigan and Missouri in the coming days. | Speaking to donors in Bethesda, Maryland, Biden seemed to call for a positive battle between him and Sanders, but he also managed to get in some digs on…
rt.com/usa/482586-sanders-biden-bloodbat…

Lebanon defaults on its $1.2bn Eurobond debt, PM says corruption ‘has eaten the state’
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Lebanon’s PM Hassan Diab has announced his country is unable to pay the $1.2 billion Eurobond due on March 9 and will default for the first time. This comes amid a government crisis and currency plummeting by 40 percent. | The move to not pay the outstanding debt and to launch upcoming negotiations with creditors was made unanimously at a cabinet meeting before Diab made the announcement on Saturday. | #Breaking Premier says #Lebanon will suspend paymen…
rt.com/business/482578-lebanon-defaults-…

Nothing to do with facts: China dismisses US accusation it targeted American surveillance plane with LASER
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Beijing has refuted an accusation by the US Navy that a Chinese warship fired a “military grade” laser at its P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft somewhere over the South China Sea. | The claims made by the US Navy simply “did not accord with reality,” China’s Defense Ministry said on its WeChat account, responding to the accusations made by the American military last week. The Chinese forces were conducting a routine drill in the area, it added. | The US Pacific Fleet said that its P-8A Poseidon “was lased” on February 17 as it…
rt.com/news/482550-china-us-navy-plane-l…

‘Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!’ Trump appoints Mark Meadows as new chief of staff, ‘banishes’ Mulvaney to Northern Ireland
rt.com | 2020-03-07
President Trump has selected North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows to be the new White House chief of staff, making the former acting chief, Mick Mulvaney, the special envoy to Northern Ireland. | “I am pleased to announce that Congressman Mark Meadows will become White House Chief of Staff. I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one,” Trump said in a tweet on Friday night announcing the move. | ….I want to thank Acting Chief Mick Mulvaney for having served the Administration so well. He will become the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Thank you!– Donald…
rt.com/usa/482545-trump-chief-staff-mead…

Boys in Brazil land school in scandal as self-styled Nazis saluting classmate as a Fuhrer creating a new ‘REICH’
rt.com | 2020-03-07
A prestigious school in Brazil got dragged into a scandal after one of its students ran an election campaign styled after Adolf Hitler, recruiting a dozen supporters eager to have him as their ‘Furher.’ | A photo of the candidate greeting his backers with a Nazi salute in a school classroom, with them responding likewise, was apparently made public by the teen himself. He thought it was a good idea not only to play at Nazism with his mates, but also to upload the proof on his campaign’s Instagram page. | The text comment with the photo said the would-be class speaker “promises to be the new Fürher,” who w…
rt.com/news/482571-brazil-school-nazi-sa…

Ronaldinho ARRESTED as judge rejects prosecutor’s recommendation to release Brazilian superstar over fake passport claims
rt.com | 2020-03-07
Former Brazil and Barcelona superstar Ronaldinho was taken into custody in Paraguay after being accused of attempting to enter the country using fake paperwork. | Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto Assis had initially been held and questioned by prosecutors, who recommended the pair be released without charge after stating he believed they had been tricked into accepting fake passports ahead of their arrival in the capital, Asuncion. | Prosecutor Roberto Delfino had recommended that, after the pair had completed their obligations with the local authorities, they be released to return home to Brazil having paid…
rt.com/sport/482568-ronaldinho-arrested-…

A “win-win” over Afghanistan and Syria
M. K. Bhadrakumar | iranian.com | 2020-03-07
Two peace agreements within a week are a bit too much. Hot on the heels of the US-Taliban peace agreement signed in Doha on February 9, Russia and Turkey have signed a peace agreement over the Syrian conflict in Moscow on March 6. On the face of it, the two are unconnected events but they …
iranian.com/2020/03/06/a-win-win-over-af…

Alibaba founder Jack Ma donates one million masks to Iran
IRNA | iranian.com | 2020-03-07
Chinese entrepreneur, industrialist and chief executive of Alibaba Group Jack Ma has announced the donation of one million masks to Iran. Jack Ma announced his decision in his Chinese-language Vibo account. Releasing images of several children hospitalized for coronavirus infection, he referred to the thousands of miles between China and Iran but said the huge distance …
iranian.com/2020/03/06/alibaba-founder-j…

Senior Member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Killed in Syria – Reports
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
TEHRAN (Sputnik) – A senior member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Farhad Dabirian, has been killed in Syria, the Iranian news agency Fars said on Saturday.
sputniknews.com/middleeast/2020030710785…

Russia Registers 4 New COVID-19 Cases
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia has four new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in people who recently returned from Italy, the Russian coronavirus response centre said on Saturday.
sputniknews.com/russia/20200307107850336…

Coronavirus Infections in Germany Rise by 45 to 684
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The number of coronavirus cases in Germany rose by 45 since late Friday to 684 cases on Saturday, the Robert Koch Institute said in an updated situation report.
sputniknews.com/europe/20200307107850273…

US Tourists Quarantined in West Bank Hotel as PNA Imposes Emergency Measures Over Covid-19 – Report
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
On Thursday, President Mahmoud Abbas announced the introduction of emergency measures across the Palestinian territories to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has already infected more than a dozen people in the West Bank.
sputniknews.com/middleeast/2020030710785…

Leader of Italy’s Co-Ruling Democratic Party Zingaretti Tests Positive for Coronavirus
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
The death toll from the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Italy jumped from 49 to 157 on 5 March, with the total number of those infected exceeding 4,600, Angelo Borrelli, the head of the national Civil Protection Agency, said earlier this week.
sputniknews.com/europe/20200307107850318…

Over 1,000 Israeli IDF Soldiers Quarantined Over Possible Coronavirus Infection
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
There have only been 19 cases of the coronavirus infection reported in Israel so far to the World Health Organisation, none of them fatal.
sputniknews.com/middleeast/2020030710785…

Iran’s Re-Elected Lawmaker Fatemeh Rahbar Dies From Coronavirus – Reports
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A recently re-elected member of the Iranian parliament, Fatemeh Rahbar, has died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in one of the Tehran’s hospitals, the Iranian Tasnim News Agency reported on Saturday.
sputniknews.com/middleeast/2020030710785…

US European Command Confirms First COVID-19 Case Among Personnel
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States European Command confirmed on Saturday the first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among US troops in Europe.
sputniknews.com/europe/20200307107850342…

Cures Blues But Not Coronavirus: Vodka Maker Warns Consumers Against Using Product as Sanitizer
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
The outbreak of infectious coronavirus Covid-19,which has infected more than 100, 000 people across the world, caused panic in some countries, with people stocking on food, toilet paper and hygiene products. This caused shortage of products, including hand sanitizers.
sputniknews.com/society/2020030710785024…

Pakistan Rebukes India’s Claim of Seized Chinese Ship Carrying ‘Nuke-Capable’ Material
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
New Delhi (Sputnik): After India seized a Pakistan-bound Chinese ship on 3 February, defence scientists claimed that the vessel was ferrying material meant for the manufacture of very long-range missiles and other nuclear-capable weapons. The Indian government later raised concerns over the shipment with China but Beijing denied any wrongdoing.
sputniknews.com/world/202003071078502580…

Hotel Building Collapses in Southeast China, At Least 70 People Trapped Under Debris – Video
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
The incident happened at around 7 pm in China’s Fujian province. A rescue effort is underway.
sputniknews.com/asia/202003071078503485-…

Call Me, Maybe: Russian Woman Explains Why She Asked President Putin to Marry Her
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
On 6 March, President Vladimir Putin visited Ivanovo, a Russian city located 300 miles east of Moscow, and known as the “city of brides”. Once a major textile centre, the city attracted women and girls seeking work.
sputniknews.com/society/2020030710785023…

Moscow Calls on NATO to Consider Consequences of Escalation in Light of Planned Drills Near Russia
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-07
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, increased NATO activities near Russia’s borders will not make Moscow change its foreign policy.
sputniknews.com/military/202003071078502…

Elizabeth Warren: Which Side Are You On?
Norman Solomon | indybay.org | 2020-03-07
We’ll soon find out…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/05/1883130…

Gracias Chelsea&Julian for publishing Bush’s War Crimes
Orion the Elder | indybay.org | 2020-03-07
Fruitvale and MacArthur oakland 94602…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/05/1883132…

Coronavirus Epidemic Bolsters Case for Medicare for All and Universal Paid Sick Leave
Julia Conley, Common Dreams | indybay.org | 2020-03-07
The global coronavirus outbreak which also threatens the United States–and the widely criticized effort by the Trump administration to address it–is offering advocates of both paid sick leave and Medicare for All an opportunity to make the case that such universal social programs are not only morally right but would also serve a key public health function.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/06/1883132…

China uses forced labor in factories making American products
Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2020-03-07
Forced labor in factories that make products for American companies, including some of the companies listed further below such as GAP Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, Apple which is headquartered in nearby Cupertino, Cisco Systems which is headquartered in San Jose, or Google which is headquartered in Mountain View!
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/05/1883132…

What Now? A Community Response to the Climate Emergency
Peter Melton | indybay.org | 2020-03-07
Inner Light Ministries | 5630 Soquel Dr | Soquel, CA…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/05/1883132…

NBA: ‘I ain’t playing’ with no fans, says James
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has said he will not take to the court if the NBA bars fans from attending games to limit the spread of the coronavirus.American media reported that the NBA had sent a memo to teams on Friday detailing the need for contingency plans in case it becomes necessary to play games with only essential staff present.Italy, one of the worst-hit countries after China where the outbreak began, is staging matches across different sports without spectators in attendance.”Play games without the fans? No, that’s impossible. I ain’t playing,” James told reporters after the Lakers beat the…
yenisafak.com/en/sports/nba-i-aint-playi…

Sri Lankan government withdraws from UN resolutions in order to boost the military
wsws.org | 2020-03-07
Rajapakse’s government is moving toward dictatorial rule amid mounting economic problems and social tensions.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/07/unsl…

Turkey deports two German nationals over terror links
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
Turkey on Saturday deported two foreign terrorists to their home country of Germany, the Interior Ministry said.Turkey continues to deport foreign terrorists, said a ministry statement.The issue of the handling of Daesh/ISIS terrorists and their families detained in Syria

Leader of Italy’s co-ruling democratic party tests positive to coronavirus
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
The leader of Italy’s co-ruling Democratic Party Nicola Zingaretti said on Saturday he had tested positive for coronavirus.”I have coronavirus too”, Zingaretti said in a video posted on Facebook, adding he was in self-isolation at home and that all the people he had been in contact with in the latest days were being contacted for checks. He said he was well.Italy has been the hardest hit country Europe by the epidemic, with a total of 4,636 cases and 197 deaths on Friday, and is currently reporting more deaths per day form the virus than any other country in the world.The government this week ordered the closure…
yenisafak.com/en/news/leader-of-italys-c…

Iranian lawmaker dies from coronavirus
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
An Iranian lawmaker has died of the novel coronavirus, local media reported on Saturday.Fatemeh Rahbar, a member of the Islamic Coalition Party, had been in intensive care since Thursday, according to the semiofficial Tesnim Agency.Iranian authorities have confirmed 4,747 cases across the country

Turkish Airlines: Strict means used to disinfect planes
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
To fight the spread of coronavirus, Turkish Airlines is using internationally approved disinfection procedures for its aircraft, with some 500 already subjected to the procedure, the national flag carrier announced in a statement on Saturday.Prioritizing the safety of its passengers, Turkish Airlines has so far suspended flights to Italy, Iran, Iraq, South Korea, China, and Nakhchivan, the places hardest hit by the virus, said the statement.To date there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Turkey.Along with the canceled flights, the aircraft are being disinfected with a chemical substance that has been teste…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turkish-airlines-s…

Son of Georgia medical chief contracts coronavirus
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
A son of a top medical official in Georgia said on Saturday he had contracted the new coronavirus after being in contact with people who travelled to Italy.Nikoloz Gamkrelidze, son of Amiran Gamkrelidze, head of the national centre on disease control in the former Soviet Union republic, wrote on his Facebook page that the test for coronavirus came back positive.Separately, Amiran Gamkrelidze said there were now 12 cases in the country – 10 linked to Italy, which has Europe’s worst outbreak, with the other two linked to Iran, where more than 120 people have died.Georgia, a South Caucasus country of 3.7 million, re…
yenisafak.com/en/life/son-of-georgia-med…

EU tells Italy its coronavirus spending will not hurt compliance with budget rules
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
The European Commission told Italy on Saturday that its planned extra spending to respond to the country’s coronavirus outbreak will not be counted in considering its compliance with European Union budget rules.Italian Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said this week Rome would spend some 7.5 billion euros to offset the economic impact of the epidemic in Europe’s worst-hit country, raising this year’s budget deficit goal to 2.5% of national output from its current 2.2%.”As regards the announced package of support measures, any one-off budgetary spending, incurred in relation to the response to the outbreak, woul…
yenisafak.com/en/news/eu-tells-italy-its…

American tourists quarantined in hotel over coronavirus scare in West Bank
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
Fifteen American tourists have been quarantined in a hotel in the West Bank city of Bethlehem as part of precautions against the coronavirus, a Palestinian government spokesman said on Saturday.There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials in the region.”There is a 15-member American delegation in the hotel. They are still there and they are being dealt with according to quarantine regulations like all the others who are there,” spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said.The Palestinian Authority has declared a state of emergency in the Palestinian territories after more than a dozen cases of the virus were confirmed in…
yenisafak.com/en/world/american-tourists…

Death toll from coronavirus rises to 145 in Iran
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
The death toll in Iran from the coronavirus has climbed to 145, the country’s Health Ministry announced on Saturday.As many as 21 more people died of the COVID-19 disease as 1,076 new cases were reported across the country in the last 24 hours, spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told a news conference in the capital Tehran.The latest figure brought the total number of infections to 5,823, said Jahanpour.Most of the new cases, he added, were in the provinces of Tehran, Qom, Gilan, Isfahan, Alborz, Markazi, and Qazvin.Earlier on Saturday, Iranian lawmaker Fatemeh Rahbar died from the virus. Rahber, a member of the Islami…
yenisafak.com/en/news/death-toll-from-co…

Number of coronavirus patients in Germany jumps to 684: agency
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
The number of coronavirus patients in Germany stood at 684 on Saturday morning, the country’s public health agency, the Robet Koch Institute, said, an increase of 45 over Friday evening.The cases are concentrated in the west and south of the country, with 346 in the state of North Rhine Westphalia and over 100 each in the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg, where the country’s initial cases were registered.
yenisafak.com/en/news/number-of-coronavi…

China says reports it fired laser at US plane last month untrue
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
China said media reports it had fired a laser at a United States surveillance aircraft last month “did not accord with the facts”, according to a statement by the Ministry of Defence.The U.S. Pacific Fleet said in late February that a Chinese warship had fired a laser at a U.S. naval patrol aircraft flying in airspace above international waters west of Guam.China’s defence ministry said on Feb. 17 a U.S. P-8A patrol aircraft ignored warnings and engaged in behaviour that endangered personnel on both sides as Chinese ships were conducting a routine naval drill. The statement, quoting ministry spokesperson Ren Guoq…
yenisafak.com/en/world/china-says-report…

N.Korea slams European nations for ‘illogical thinking’ over missile launches
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
North Korea accused European nations of “illogical thinking” on Saturday after they called a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting to condemn missile launches by the reclusive state earlier this week.Britain, Germany, France, Estonia and Belgium raised North Korea’s latest missile firings at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, calling them a provocative action that violated U.N. resolutions.North Korea fired two short-range missiles off the east coast into the sea on Monday after a three-month halt. The launches, which officials have said were routine military drills, were personally overseen by its leader…
yenisafak.com/en/world/nkorea-slams-euro…

PROFILE: Mammad Amin Resulzadeh, Key figure for modern Azerbaijani identity
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-07
Mammad Amin Resulzadeh, the founder of one of the first democratic republics in the Muslim world, is being commemorated on the 65th anniversary of his demise.Resulzadeh who played a key role in the formation of modern Azerbaijani identity and worked for the independence of his country, enlightening of society by the press and political activities, is commemorated both in Turkey and Azerbaijan.Throughout his life, Resulzadeh made great efforts to defense of his people’s rights and Azerbaijan’s independence.Resulzadeh’s expression of ‘Once raised, the flag never falls!’ became the motto of the independence movement…
yenisafak.com/en/world/profile-mammad-am…

Syria Debacles Epitomize Perpetual Perfidy of U.S. Foreign Policy
James Bovard | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-06
Turkey is ratcheting up its invasion of Syria and trying to drag NATO into Erdogan’s personal rehabilitation scheme. Threats and counter-threats are flying as thickly as the bombs and bullets. It remains to be seen whether U.S. policymakers will blunder deeper into this quagmire. Last October, the Washington establishment was aghast when President Trump appeared…
counterpunch.org/2020/03/06/syria-debacl…