The Rule of Law Under Trump
Nick Licata | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
William Galston, a Brookings Institution senior fellow, said that "we are a government of men and not law." It has no force until people enforce it. That is the underlying theme of Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig's A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America. The test is how far can one person,…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/the-rule-of-…

The Unbreakable Bond of Ireland and Palestine
Creede Newton | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-19

…
globalresearch.ca/unbreakable-bond-irela…

EU Nations Push for Bloc's Recognition of State of Palestine
Telesur | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-19
A group of European Union (EU) countries led by Luxembourg is planning to present Monday to the EU's foreign affairs ministers, an initiative for the recognition of the state of Palestine by the bloc‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã, Haaretz reported Sunday. | Luxembourg's Foreign Affairs …
globalresearch.ca/eu-nations-push-blocs-…

US Middle East "Peace Deal" Designed to Perpetuate Conflict
Tony Cartalucci | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-19
A deal that is entirely unacceptable to one of its principal parties isn't a deal at all. In the case of the US-proposed "Middle East peace plan"

Brazil Court Rules in Favor of Fired Petrobras Workers on Strike
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-19
Parana's regional labor court temporarily suspended Tuesday the lay-off of more than 1,000 workers of the fertilizer factory Fafen-PR until at least March 6, following a collective strike that lasted more than two weeks. | RELATED: | Brazil: Citizens Protest Against Collapse of Social Security | The strike against the Petrobras executive board started in pro…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brazil-Court-Rul…

U.N.: Thousands Fleeing Syrian Offensive, Kids Dying in the Cold
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-19
UNITED NATIONS

Russian state frame-up results in draconian prison sentences for left-wing youth
wsws.org | 2020-02-19
Under conditions of staggering social inequality and rising class tensions, the harsh punishment is aimed at intimidating all opposition to the Russian state from the left.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/19/russ…

Russian state frame-up results in draconian prison sentences for left-wing youth
wsws.org | 2020-02-19
Under conditions of staggering social inequality and rising class tensions, the harsh punishment is aimed at intimidating all opposition to the Russian state from the left.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/19/russ…

Guaido is a "Fake President". "Lima Group" to Meet in Canada: Open Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Nino Pagliccia | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-19
Re: "Lima Group" meeting of February 20, 2020 in Gatineau, Quebec | 18 February 2020 | Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: | I am addressing you as a concerned Canadian regarding Canada's foreign policy position vis-à -vis Venezuela. | Your government has announced a …
globalresearch.ca/open-letter-canada-pri…

Open Letter to Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Lima Group Meeting
Nino Pagliccia | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
Re: "Lima Group" meeting of February 20, 2020 in Gatineau, Quebec 18 February 2020 Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: I am addressing you as a concerned Canadian regarding Canada's foreign policy position vis-à -vis Venezuela. Your government has announced a meeting of the so-called Lima Group on February 20, 2020 for the reported purpose of…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/open-letter-…

Open Letter to Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Lima Group Meeting
Nino Pagliccia | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
Re: "Lima Group" meeting of February 20, 2020 in Gatineau, Quebec 18 February 2020 Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: I am addressing you as a concerned Canadian regarding Canada's foreign policy position vis-à -vis Venezuela. Your government has announced a meeting of the so-called Lima Group on February 20, 2020 for the reported purpose of…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/open-letter-…

Organizers Work to Guide Deportees Toward Resources in Their Home Countries
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-19
What happens to people after they are deported from the United States? And if they no longer have family in their countries of origin, how do they make their way in an unfamiliar place? | In 2014, Christina Zaldivar found herself pondering these questions with some fellow activists after she had accompanied one of them to an immigration check-in in Centennial, Colorado. That friend had been living without legal status in the U.S. for more than 30 years and had no family left in Mexico. | "We s…
truthout.org/articles/organizers-work-to…

Bloomberg Gains in Primaries, But His History With Unions May Be a Roadblock
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-19
We continue our conversation with Marcie Wells, activist and waitress who is a member of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Nevada, and Hamilton Nolan, labor reporter with In These Times. Nolan says 2020 had been "the most promising election year for organized labor in a long time," with Democratic candidates releasing platforms with strong labor protections. But Michael Bloomberg's entry into the race threatens to upend the Democratic Party's pro-worker shift. The billionaire former mayor o…
truthout.org/video/bloomberg-gains-in-pr…

The Rise of Sinn Féin: Dissecting Ireland's February 2020 General Election and the State of the Nation
Shane Quinn | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-19
In the Republic of Ireland, among the most notable outcome from last week's general election outcome was a substantial rise in popularity for the left-leaning party, Sinn Féin, whose standing rose by 10.7% as they gained 15 parliamentary seats …
globalresearch.ca/dissecting-ireland-feb…

Revising the History of World War II
Lucas Leiroz de Almeida | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-19
Poland is encouraging the growth of historical revisionism of the World War II. Apparently, there is nothing necessarily wrong in revisiting the data referring to any past armed conflict, however, it is not the desire for the discovery of the …
globalresearch.ca/revising-history-wwii/…

Methane Leakage Makes Australia a World Leading Per Capita Greenhouse Gas Polluter
Gideon Polya | globalresearch.ca | 2020-02-19
Methane (CH4) is 85% of natural gas, leaks, and has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) 105 times that of the same mass of carbon dioxide (CO2) on a 20 year time frame with aerosol impacts included. Such considerations reveal that …
globalresearch.ca/methane-leakage-makes-…

Hysteria Isn't Killing Nuclear Power
Linda Pentz Gunter | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
Time was, that a woman suffering from menopause, pre-menstrual syndrome, a heightened libido or lack thereof, was labeled "hysterical." Her very real medical or psychological troubles were put down to an "emotional reaction." For a while these symptoms were even attributed to a "wandering womb." What? Yes, really. For years, if you were a woman…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/hysteria-isn…

The Wealth That's Killing Us Will Save Us: Politics Through the Looking-Glass
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
The Bloomberg for President campaign office looks like a complete anachronism in the heart of Harlem in New York City. The office is located on Harlem's famous 125th Street near the Metro North commuter railway station. The Bloomberg campaign office, a space that has the depth of a bowling alley, has a few campaign staffers…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/the-wealth-t…

The perpetual war scam
Philip Farruggio | nationofchange.org | 2020-02-19
This Military Industrial Empire cannot allow too much attention on a fairer economy for working stiffs, or better health and dental coverage, or better roads, bridges, schools, libraries, first providers and teachers.
nationofchange.org/2020/02/18/the-perpet…

South Korean Court Sentences Ex-President to 17 Years in Prison
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-19
A South Korean appellate court on Wednesday sentenced former President Lee Myung-bak to 17 years in jail over a set of corruptions, including bribery and embezzlement. | RELATED: | 'Parasite' Reflects Deepening Social Divide in South Korea | The Seoul High Court handed down the ruling on Lee, who served as the country's head of state for five years from early 2008, fining him 13 billion won (10.9 million U.S. dollars). | It was heavier than the verdict by the lower court, which sen…
telesurenglish.net/news/South-Korean-Cou…

Mexico's Chamber of Deputies Increases Penalty for Femicides
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-19
The Chamber of Deputies of Mexico approved Tuesday to increase the maximum penalties of years in prison for femicide after the murder of a 7-year-old girl, whose body was found in a plastic bag in the capital. | RELATED: | Mexico: Family Says Gov't Failed To Protect Murdered Girl | The reformed law was approved with 415 votes in favor and one against. With this measure, the minimum penalty for those who commit feminicide in Mexico went from 40 to 45 years. | Likewise, the deputies a…
telesurenglish.net/news/mexicos-chamber-…

Culinary Workers Union Member Would Trade Union Health Care for Medicare for All
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-02-19
The third presidential contest of the primary season takes place Saturday in Nevada. One of the state's most coveted endorsements is from the Culinary Workers Union, which represents some 60,000 workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries in Las Vegas and Reno. Its membership is 54% Latinx. But last week they decided not to endorse any of the candidates. Nevada is a "right to work" state, and the Culinary Workers Union has attracted members by offering them health care. It has said…
truthout.org/video/culinary-workers-unio…

China denounces US "lies" at the Munich Security Conference
wsws.org | 2020-02-19
Beijing's blunt language is an attempt to counter Washington's relentless propaganda offensive and also to seek support from the European powers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/19/chin…

The things we do for love: Styx and Stones in new opera 'Eurydice'
Ed Rampell | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-19
LOS ANGELES–LA Opera's world premiere of composer Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl's sublime Eurydice is an optically and aurally stunning reinterpretation of the ancient Greek myth about Orpheus (baritone Joshua Hopkins) and the title character (Danielle de Niese, but substituted on Feb. 14 by Erica Petrocelli). Like Romeo and Juliet, there have been many …
peoplesworld.org/article/the-things-we-d…

Sanders' surge in the polls triggers new provocations by media, Democratic establishment
wsws.org | 2020-02-19
There are growing concerns within the party apparatus and much of the corporate elite that wins for Sanders in Nevada and South Carolina could make his nomination unstoppable.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/19/dems…

Nevada: Democratic primary intensifies the debate over class divisions in America
Eric A. Gordon | peoplesworld.org | 2020-02-19
In the lead-up to the statewide Democratic primary caucus on Saturday, Feb. 22, Nevada's early voters on Feb. 15, the first day, turned out in record numbers–more than 18,500 Democrats, almost twice the turnout on the first day of advance caucusing in 2016. Enthusiasm over this election is mounting, and the eyes of the nation …
peoplesworld.org/article/nevada-democrat…

Sanders' surge in the polls triggers new provocations by media, Democratic establishment
wsws.org | 2020-02-19
There are growing concerns within the party apparatus and much of the corporate elite that wins for Sanders in Nevada and South Carolina could make his nomination unstoppable.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/19/dems…

Which Side Are You On?
Chris Floyd | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
My best friend from high school was in and out of the prison system the last two decades of his life. He was a drug addict. This was before the opioid epidemic; his poison was crack cocaine. His father had been a raging, violent alcoholic and his mother was a broken woman with chronic illnesses. My friend spent most of his adult life trying to take care of her.
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/which-side-a…

Which Side Are You On?
Chris Floyd | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
My best friend from high school was in and out of the prison system the last two decades of his life. He was a drug addict. This was before the opioid epidemic; his poison was crack cocaine. His father had been a raging, violent alcoholic and his mother was a broken woman with chronic illnesses. My friend spent most of his adult life trying to take care of her.
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/which-side-a…

Just Two Kings Talking
John Kendall Hawkins | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
[M]en should be treated in such a way that there's no fear of their seeking revenge… -Nicolai Machiavelli, "Mixed Principalities," The Prince "You come at the king, you bess not miss."

Bloomberg on Bloomberg: The Selected Sayings of the Much-Awaited Establishment Messiah
ANIS SHIVANI | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
Bloomberg on Legalizing Pot: "What are we going to say in 10 years when we see all these kids whose IQs are 5 to 10 points lower than they would have been? I couldn't feel more strongly about it, and my girlfriend says it's no different than alcohol. It is different than alcohol. This is one of the stupider things that's happening across our country."
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/bloomberg-on…

Canada, Get Out of the Lima Group, Core Group and OAS
Yves Engler | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
"Qui se ressemble, s'assemble." The English saying is "birds of a feather flock together." Translated from Spanish: "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are." The folk wisdom that who we hang out with tells a lot about us is reflected in numerous proverbs. Whatever the language, who Ottawa chooses…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/canada-get-o…

Just Two Kings Talking
John Kendall Hawkins | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
[M]en should be treated in such a way that there's no fear of their seeking revenge… -Nicolai Machiavelli, "Mixed Principalities," The Prince "You come at the king, you bess not miss."

Corporate Occupations: The UN Business "Black List" and Israel's Settlements
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
Mikhail Bakunin, in that charming anarchist tradition, regarded the state as an evil to be done away with. Such collective formations were criminal, oppressive, eviscerating to the individual. The corporation might be regarded as a similar collective, adopting and aping elements of the state with, in some cases, greater latitude to achieve its object. At…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/corporate-oc…

Corporate Occupations: The UN Business "Black List" and Israel's Settlements
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-19
Mikhail Bakunin, in that charming anarchist tradition, regarded the state as an evil to be done away with. Such collective formations were criminal, oppressive, eviscerating to the individual. The corporation might be regarded as a similar collective, adopting and aping elements of the state with, in some cases, greater latitude to achieve its object. At…
counterpunch.org/2020/02/19/corporate-oc…

'Worst case scenario': Kremlin slams Turkey's threat of military operation against Syrian government in Idlib
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Turkey sending troops to Syria to fight against the government would be the 'worst case scenario', Kremlin spokesman said after Ankara threatened that such an operation was imminent. | Turkey's President Erdogan said on Wednesday Ankara was prepared to launch a military incursion into Idlib to force the Syrian army out. Russia's reaction to such a development would depend on what goals the Turkish troops decide to pursue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. | "If it will be an operation against terrorist forces in Idlib, that would certainly be within the spirit" of Russia's agreements with Turkey, he said.
rt.com/news/481183-russia-turkey-idlib-o…

Turkish military op in Idlib only 'matter of time', Erdogan warns Damascus
rt.com | 2020-02-19
A new Turkish military incursion into Syria's Idlib governorate has been planned and may start at any moment, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned, ramping up a tense standoff with Damascus. | "As with all [previous] operations, we say 'we could suddenly come one night.' In other words, an Idlib operation is a matter of time," Erdogan said, referring to incursions into Syria conducted in 2016, 2018 and last year. | Ankara will not "leave Idlib to the Assad regime and its backers," Erdogan vowed, referring to the Syrian government and, apparently, to Russia and Iran. Speaking to lawmakers on Wednesday, he…
rt.com/news/481179-erdogan-idlib-operati…

Last ones to leave: 130+ Indian crew members to remain quarantined for TWO MORE WEEKS on coronavirus-hit cruise ship
rt.com | 2020-02-19
After the last passenger leaves the coronavirus-struck vessel, more than 100 Indian crew members, tending the quarantined guests, will be stuck on the Diamond Princess for another two weeks. | The Indian crew will not only be the last to disembark from the disease-hit luxury liner Diamond Princess, but will be quarantined for additional two weeks after all the passengers leave, the Times of India reported on Wednesday. | Passengers, who have tested negative for the virus began stepping ashore in the Port of Yokohama, Japan, earlier that day, after spending 14 days confined to the vessel. Indian personnel has b…
rt.com/news/481177-indian-crew-princess-…

Russia's tourism sector could lose $455 million if Chinese coronavirus crisis continues until summer – tour operators
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Health concerns over the new COVID-19 coronavirus have led to strong measures in Russia. The Far Eastern border with China has been closed, and most Chinese visitors face restrictions. Now financial losses are being assessed. | Experts forecast that the country's tourism industry may lose almost 3 billion rubles ($47 million), in just the next two months. That's according to ATOR, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia. China is typically the largest single source of tourists to Russia: providing 1.5 million visitors in 2019. | While the situation is bad, it could get much worse. If Chinese holidaymakers…
rt.com/russia/481201-coronavirus-russias…

Overseas investors increase holdings of Chinese bonds despite coronavirus uncertainty
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Demonstrating confidence in China, international investors continued to invest in the country's economy. Net purchases of Chinese bonds were worth 43 billion yuan ($6.1 billion) after the Spring Festival, market data showed. | According to China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the country's bond market has become an important part of global asset allocation. It said, as cited by Xinhua News, that it will continue to improve overseas services and enhance financial infrastructure to facilitate bond trade. | Analysts largely expect growth to rebound after the containment on pent-up demand and production, the forei…
rt.com/business/481173-overseas-investor…

2 Iranians die after testing positive for coronavirus
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Two Iranians who were that country's first cases of coronavirus have died, health officials in Qom announced on Wednesday. | The deaths were also confirmed by health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur in a tweet just hours after confirmation that the pair had tested positive for the respiratory illness. Earlier, the ministry had said the patients had been put into isolation. | The highly contagious novel coronavirus emerged in China in December 2019, with the death toll there exceeding 2,000 for the first time on…
rt.com/newsline/481232-iranians-die-test…

A year in jail & quarter million fine since, lawyers seek freedom for Chelsea Manning refusing to testify against WikiLeaks
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Chelsea Manning's attorney has filed a new motion requesting her release from jail, where she has been for nearly a year for continuously refusing to testify before a grand jury against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. | Manning's incarceration has "exceeded its lawful scope" by moving from being a coercive tactic to a criminal punishment, her lawyer Moira Meltzer-Cohen said in a motion requesting her release filed on Friday. | Manning was jailed in March of 2019 for refusing to testify before a gran…
rt.com/usa/481233-chelsea-manning-wikile…

A year in jail & quarter million fine since, lawyers seek freedom for Chelsea Manning refusing to testify against WikiLeaks
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Chelsea Manning's attorney has filed a new motion requesting her release from jail, where she has been for nearly a year for continuously refusing to testify before a grand jury against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. | Manning's incarceration has "exceeded its lawful scope" by moving from being a coercive tactic to a criminal punishment, her lawyer Moira Meltzer-Cohen said in a motion requesting her release filed on Friday. | Manning was jailed in March of 2019 for refusing to testify before a gran…
rt.com/usa/481233-chelsea-manning-wikile…

Russian cops bust banned radical Islamist group Tablighi Jamaat's 'training camp,' detain leaders & participants
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Seven members of a hardline Islamic organization were arrested in Moscow on Wednesday, according to the Federal Security Service (FSB). They are charged with disseminating extremist propaganda and trying to recruit new supporters. | Tablighi Jamaat, which means the Outreach Society or the Society for Spreading Faith, is banned in Russia. Its philosophy is based around the idea that Muslims should revert to practicing their faith as it was done in the 7th century, when the Prophet Mohammed himself lived. It particularly focuses on styles of dress, personal behavior, and forms of ritual. | | Religious literatu…
rt.com/russia/481226-russian-cops-detain…

'Throat of fire' volcano signalling imminent, devastating COLLAPSE
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Scientists are warning that the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador is showing early signs of impending catastrophic collapse, after satellite data showed substantial internal damage from ongoing magma activity. | Tungurahua, has been persistently active since 1999 so wear and tear was inevitable, especially given that the 'Throat of fire,' or 'Black giant' as the Quechua indigenous people named it, has already collapsed twice before thousands of years ago. | | Tungurahua erupting on November 2nd, 1999. © US Geological Survey | "Using satellite data we have observed very rapid deformation of Tungurahua's west…
rt.com/news/481180-ecuador-volcano-immin…

Erdogan slams EU plan to enforce Libya arms embargo
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday criticized the European Union's decision to launch a maritime effort focused on enforcing the UN arms embargo around Libya, accusing the European states that have agreed to the operation of "interfering in the region." | Erdogan also hailed a decision by Libya's UN-supported government to withdraw from talks with rivals following an attack Tuesday on the sea port of the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The US called for the talks to be resumed "quickly." | EU foreign ministers agreed earlier this week to end 'Operation Sophia', the bloc's naval mission in the Mediter…
rt.com/newsline/481223-erdogan-eu-libya-…

'Impeached president says what?' Bloomberg hits back at Trump 'Mini Mike the pathetic debater' jibe
rt.com | 2020-02-19
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at billionaire Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg (again), this time calling him a "pathetic debater" with no respect for American farmers. Bloomberg hit back with some snark of his own. | Tweeting on Wednesday, Trump asked whether the "corrupt" Bloomberg News channel would admit that its owner "Mini Mike" was a pathetic debater. The tweet came ahead of the upcoming Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas

'Impeached president says what?' Bloomberg hits back at Trump 'Mini Mike the pathetic debater' jibe
rt.com | 2020-02-19
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at billionaire Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg (again), this time calling him a "pathetic debater" with no respect for American farmers. Bloomberg hit back with some snark of his own. | Tweeting on Wednesday, Trump asked whether the "corrupt" Bloomberg News channel would admit that its owner "Mini Mike" was a pathetic debater. The tweet came ahead of the upcoming Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas

Albania's president calls on citizens 'to topple govt for violation of constitution'
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Albania's President Ilir Meta on Wednesday called on the people to topple the left-wing government, which he accused of violating the constitution and of alleged links to organized crime, AP reported. | Meta said at a news conference that he hopes people will come to the capital Tirana on March 2, when he plans to sign the first decree against what he says is a 'coup d'etat' being carried out by the government through the justice system. | The Balkan nation of nearly 3 million has been enacting reforms in hopes of getting a green light to launch membership talks with the EU. The president said that justice sys…
rt.com/newsline/481216-albania-president…

Russian Defense Minister Shoigu discusses Libya with east forces' commander Haftar
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with the commander of the Libyan National Army Khalifa Haftar on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Libya. | They discussed matters and "stressed the importance of talks held on January 13 in Moscow for establishing ceasefire and launching the process of normalizing the situation in the country," the Russian Defense Ministry said. | Shoigu and Haftar confirmed the need to fulfill the decisions made at the Berlin conference on Libya. | They also noted that there is no alternative to settling the domestic Libyan crisis by political means and confirmed commitment to L…
rt.com/newsline/481191-russia-shoigu-lib…

WATCH Aleppo intl airport receive FIRST flight ending years-long shutdown after Syrian troops clear recovering city of militants
rt.com | 2020-02-19
A Syrian Air flight has landed at Aleppo International Airport for the first time in years, marking a milestone in the recovery of the city, which has been returning to normal life from the abyss of its civil war. | The commercial flight, carrying Syrian officials and journalists, landed in Aleppo on Wednesday, some 40 minutes after taking off from the capital, Damascus. The arrival of the Airbus A320 has become a symbolic message, marking the resumption of flights between Syria's two biggest cities. | Footage taken on the spot showed a crowd of people that came to the airport to welcome the first flight. Some…
rt.com/news/481228-syria-aleppo-airport-…

Venezuela slams US sanctions on Russia's Rosneft as an attempt at grabbing control of global oil market
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Russian oil giant Rosneft's investments and commercial activities in Venezuela are legal, says state energy firm PDVSA, pledging to provide the necessary support for the producer's "operational and commercial continuity." | The PDVSA statement follows Washington's blacklisting of a Rosneft subsidiary on Tuesday over its trade ties with Venezuela. The US accused the oil brokerage subsidiary of handling over 70 percent of Venezuela's exports, in circumvention of US sanctions. It has also given the companies doing business with Rosneft Trading 90 days to disentangle those arrangements. | COMUNICADO OFICIAL&#63743…
rt.com/business/481181-rosneft-us-sancti…

Arctic kiss: Two Russian nuclear icebreakers rendezvous in spectacular night-time DRONE FOOTAGE
rt.com | 2020-02-19
Two Russian nuclear icebreakers have met up somewhere on the endless white plains of the Arctic Ocean, providing for a sight both spectacular and romantic. | The video, posted by Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom, showed its Taymyr and Vaygach icebreakers almost touching with their bows, before settling in to "cuddle" side by side. | With the after-dark "coupling" filmed from the air and edited to a smooth soundtrack, some internet users found the scene "erotic." | There were other interesting comparisons as well, with one commentator saying that the two massive ships positioned so close to each other resemb…
rt.com/russia/481145-icebreakers-russia-…

Clicks-hungry media warns Ireland of 'Russian ghost ship with CANNIBAL RATS,' but Twitter's not amused
rt.com | 2020-02-19
An Irish news outlet has posted an alarming tweet warning that a cannibal rat-laden Russian 'ghost ship' is "heading for Ireland." Rather than spark concern, the clickbait tweet has merely generated eye-rolls from Twitter users. | Wednesday's tweet from the Irish Times shared a link to a feature about a couple of ghost ships currently at large somewhere on the high seas that could