2020-07-12: News Headlines

RT (2020-07-12). In biggest daily increase among ALL states since start of Covid-19 epidemic, Florida confirms over 15,000 new infections. rt.com The US state of Florida reported a record spike in coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic, officials announced on Sunday, as the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms a record rise in global cases as well. | The US reported a massive 66,500 new cases in 24 hours, and, in Florida, 15,299 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Sunday. | Florida's record figure, the highest among all states reported since the start of the epidemic, would rank it fourth in the world after the US, Brazil and India, if it were a country. | The state's daily new cases have also passed the highest recorded daily rate…

teleSUR (2020-07-12). Petition to UN on Afro-Bolivian Union Leader Elena Flores. telesurenglish.net A recent petition to the United Nations has called for attention to the political imprisonment and human rights abuses against Afro-Bolivian union leader Elena Flores. | RELATED: | Flores is the President of the Departmental Association of Coca Producers (Adepcoca) union of coca growers in her home territory of Yungas, where she's been a labour organizer since her youth. | The leader has been held as a political p…

Nathalia Santos Ocasio (2020-07-12). Chilean Arpilleras Sustain Political Momentum During Lockdown. zcomm.org As Covid-19 interrupts months of mass mobilizations in Chile, women continue creating political tapestries to resist state violence and systemic inequalities.

teleSUR (2020-07-12). Colombia: Another FARC ex-Combatant Killed in Meta. telesurenglish.net Colombia's Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Common (FARC) political party Saturday announced the murder of another ex-combatant in the municipality of La Uribe, department of Meta. | RELATED: | "We denounce another murder. Fredy Fajardo Avila was killed in La Uribe, Meta. With this comrade, 217 signatories have been murdered in the last years," the political party announced on its Twitter account. | FARC deman…

_____ (2020-07-12). Bolivia's Struggle To Restore Democracy After OAS Instigated Coup. popularresistance.org Today, Bolivia stands at a crossroads. In June 2020, popular calls were mounting for new elections and the restoration of democracy, despite the ongoing repression. In response to this pressure, on June 22, àÅñez signed off on legislation to hold new elections in September. Former president Carlos Mesa (2003-2005) of the right-wing Citizens Community Party would face off against the MAS candidate, former Minister of Finance (2006-2019), Luis Arce. àÅñez's decision drew the ire of Minister of Government, Arturo Murillo, who characterizes the most popular political party in the country as narco-terroris…

_____ (2020-07-12). How The FBI 'Toppled Presidents' In Brazil. popularresistance.org Natalia Viana, editor from the respected Brazilian investigative journalism site Agência Pública, recently published a 5 part series based on information shared from leaked Telegram conversations revealed by Intercept Brasil as part of the Vaza Jato scandal. | In the series, she shows how Lava Jato task force director, public prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, received financial compensation through an asset sharing scheme based on kickbacks from fines that the US Government collected from Brazilian companies and individuals. According to Viana, during a meeting in which they negotiated the asset sharing deal, Deltan r…

Marco Antonio Bessa, Ronaldo Laranjeira, David Martin (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Organised crime: the missing link in drug policies. thelancet.com Illegal drugs and their effect on public health were discussed in a 2019 Lancet Series.1 However, the Series authors did not report how a global criminal enterprise, the drug—abuse industrial complex,2 is the origin of the problem. This global network of organised crime, corrupt politicians, money laundering, and distribution systems perpetuates this public health crisis. We have reason to believe the drug trade is now expanding under the guise of legal cannabis and cannabidiol, especially in North America, with outreach to other markets in South America, Europe, and Asia.

Andre Vltchek (2020-07-11). The Tremendous but "Secret" Success of Socialist Vietnam. dissidentvoice.org Hue — full of public spaces Some twenty years ago, when I moved to Hanoi, the city was bleak, grey, covered by smog. The war had ended, but terrible scars remained. I brought my 4WD from Chile, and insisted on driving it myself. It was one of the first SUVs in the city. Each time …

Joe Emersberger (2020-07-11). Remembering the Venezuelan National Assembly vote lost by Guaidó in January 2019. zcomm.org The view of the US government and the pro-Guaidó faction of the opposition was summed up by a New York Times headline and subhead that on January 5 that said Venezuela's Maduro Claims Control of National Assembly, Tightening Grip on Power It was the last political institution in opposition hands. Now President Nicolás Maduro's has

teleSUR (2020-07-11). Venezuela Extends the State of Alarm to Prevent COVID-19 Spread. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Vicepresident Delcy Rodriguez Saturday announced the State of Constitutional Alert's extension for another 30 days to prevent the COVID-19 spread in the country. | RELATED: | "As Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro requested, we are extending the quarantine for another month, as we make a special call to the Caracas' citizens to stay at home and comply with all the precautionary measures," Rodriguez…

teleSUR (2020-07-11). Trump Plans To Meet With President Maduro, Bolton Says. telesurenglish.net U.S National Security's Former Advisor John Bolton Friday said President Donald Trump plans to meet Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro if the White House leader is re-elected in November. | RELATED: | Bolton assured Trump plans to meet Nicolas Maduro regardless of "the damage to the opposition" that this may cause. | "I believe he will continue to support the opposition until November's elections. It remains to…

Yanis Iqbal (2020-07-11). The hunger pandemic in Colombia. mronline.org The unchecked growth of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America is tearing apart the socio-economic fabric of the countrieslocated in that continent. One manifestation of this socio-economic rupture is the emergence of what David Beasley, the Executive Director of UN World Food Programme (WFP), has called a "hunger pandemic". According to WFP, "The socio-economic impact …

teleSUR (2020-07-11). Chile: Deputies Seek to Speed up Approval of Pension Initiative. telesurenglish.net Chile's Socialist Party (PS) deputies Saturday will seek to accelerate the approval of a constitutional reform that will allow people to use their pension funds to face the economic crisis generated by the pandemic. | RELATED: | Although the reform was scheduled to be rediscussed next week, PS deputies have called to speed up the process. | "Our mission is to respond as soon as possible to the urgent needs of Chilean families,"

_____ (2020-07-11). The US And UK Are A Wrecking Ball Crew Against The Pillars Of Internationalism. popularresistance.org Over the past few decades, Western countries—such as the United Kingdom, but more so the United States of America—have flouted international laws and failed to even try to uphold the high-minded principles of the charter. Most recently, the United States has attempted to muzzle the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it has pursued a perfectly reasonable investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan; and the United Kingdom has denied Venezuela its sovereign right to gold held in the Bank of England. In both cases, the United States and the UK have undermined the sovereignty of nations and mutilated i…

teleSUR (2020-07-11). Bolivia: Dialogue Table Agrees to End Blockade in K'ara K'ara. telesurenglish.net Cochabamba's Governor Esther Soria, Mayor Jose Maria Leyes, Ombudsman Office representative Nelson Cox, and the"self-convoked" neighbors of K'ara K'ara agreed this Saturday to lift the blockade in the area in conflict. | RELATED: | The local authorities agreed to meet the ers' demands, which include setting up another garbage dump in 30 days, installing a new crematory oven, and defending the three detainees during the p…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-11). Bolivia's interim president Jeanine àÅñez is waging a war on women pt. 2. peoplesdispatch.org In the second part of the series, Cindy Forster discusses the hypocrisy of àÅñez being celebrated as a 'pro-woman' leader as she has consistently governed against the interest of Bolivian women…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-11). Colombian social leaders walked 15 days and 600 km to demand the right to life. peoplesdispatch.org A group of social s and human rights defenders have been marching from the southwestern Colombia for the past 15 days to demand respect for the life, territory and human rights of minority groups in the country…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-07-11). Trump Visits SOUTHCOM, Warns 'Something Will Happen' in Venezuela. venezuelanalysis.com The US president praised the "historic sanctions" imposed against Venezuela.

teleSUR (2020-07-11). Venezuela Rejects U.S. Accusations About Drug Trafficking. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Interior and Justice Minister Nestor Reverol Saturday rejected the statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration which accused Venezuela of promoting drug trafficking. | RELATED: | "Venezuela has and will continue to fight against drug trafficking and will continue to ensure prevention and international cooperation," Reverol emphasized. | In the last 10 years, the tr…

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-11). 'Cradle of Silence' to go on screen at Itaúna FilmFest. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 12 (MNA) — Iranian short 'Cradle of Silence', directed by Mostafa Mehraban, has made it into the competition program of the 2nd Itaúna Film Festival in Brazil.

teleSUR (2020-07-11). Colombia: March for Dignity Reaches Bogota to Condemn Violence. telesurenglish.net After 15 days of walking through several Colombian cities, the "March for Dignity" Friday arrived in Colombia's capital, Bogota, to demand the end of the social leaders' killings, the pandemic mismanagement, and U.S. troops presence in the Latin American country. | RELATED: | Indigenous leaders, women, farmers, African descendants, LGBTI community members, and workers' unions, arrived in the capital shouting the slogans,…

sputniknews (2020-07-11). Venezuela Receives Shipment of 840,000 Packages of Insulin Drugs From Russia. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A humanitarian shipment from Russia containing 840,000 packages of insulin drugs has arrived in Venezuela, the deputy health minister of the South American country Gerardo Briceno said during an appearance on the state-run VTV broadcaster on Saturday.

Staff (2020-07-10). Headlines for July 10, 2020. democracynow.org Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Claim of Absolute Immunity, Court Says Much of Oklahoma Remains Indian Country in Landmark Indigenous Sovereignty Case, Hospitals Face Surge as U.S. Reports Record 65,000 New Coronavirus Cases, Surge in Cases Directly Tied to Early Reopenings in Florida, Arizona, Texas, Bolivia's Interim President Tests Positive; India, S. Africa & Mexico Report New Record Highs, 1.3 Million More File for Unemployment as GOP Rejects Extending Jobless Aid, Biden Unveils $700 Billion "Buy American" Economic Recovery Plan, St. Louis Police Break Up City Hall Encampment, With Veto-Proof Majority,…

Staff (2020-07-10). Brazilian Epidemiologist Slams Bolsonaro's COVID Response as Far-Right President Tests Positive. democracynow.org As Brazil faces the world's second-worst COVID-19 outbreak after the United States, Trump ally and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive, after months of downplaying the severity of the pandemic. Brazil has gone almost two months with no health minister. "Bad political leadership is a major risk factor for the spread of the pandemic," says leading Brazilian epidemiologist Cesar Victora, who coordinates the International Center for Equity in Health at the Federal University of Pelotas.

Paul Street (2020-07-10). Imperial Blind Spots and a Question for Obama. counterpunch.org The biggest of the many moral blind-spots that mar the politics of the Democratic Party is American imperialism. Biden Helped Lead the Charge into Iraq Look at the Inauthentic Opposition Party's[1] presumptive presidential nominee. Biden recently chided Donald Trump in not-so veiled terms for failing to overthrow the democratically elected socialist Maduro government of Venezuela?

_____ (2020-07-10). VenezolanosConBiden And MAGAzuela: Two Sides Of The Same Coin. popularresistance.org The Biden campaign held an online event on Wednesday, July 8 pitched as the former Vice President's "vision for Venezuela and Venezuelans in the U.S." Spoiler alert: his vision for Venezuela barely differs from President Trump. This event, which didn't merit an appearance from Biden himself, was aimed at getting Venezuelan-Americans to volunteer for "Uncle Joe", as Representative Darren Soto (D-Fl) called him. It was an hour and a half of shilling for votes and influence, and it demonstrated that when it comes to Venezuela, policies of regime change, sanctions and a refusal to engage in dialogue unite Venezolanos…

_____ (2020-07-10). The Tremendous But 'Secret' Success Of Socialist Vietnam. popularresistance.org Some twenty years ago, when I moved to Hanoi, the city was bleak, grey, covered by smog. The war had ended, but terrible scars remained. | I brought my 4WD from Chile, and insisted on driving it myself. It was one of the first SUVs in the city. Each time I drove it, it was hit by scooters, which flew like projectiles all over the wide avenues of the capital. | Hanoi was beautiful, melancholic, but clearly marked by war. There were stories, terrible stories of the past. In "my days", Vietnam was one of the poorest countries in Asia. | Many great heritage sites, including the My Son Sanctuary in Central Vietnam, we…

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Argentina: Government to Enforce An Anti-Femicides Plan. telesurenglish.net Argentina's Minister of Women, Gender, and Diversity Elizabeth Gomez Alcorta, Friday, stated the government's femicide reduction plan has multiple approaches to gender violence. | RELATED: | "We have to work on long-term prevention, which is the transformation of cultural patterns, and break with stereotypes," Gomez said. | Alongside instructional activities, the program would also extend financial aid to vulnerab…

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Bolivia: Morales Denounces De Facto Gov't Hospitals Misuse. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's former president Evo Morales demanded on Friday that the coup-born government restart the El Alto hospital, given the sanitary emergency and clinics collapse due to the increase in COVID-19 cases. | RELATED: | "It is unforgivable that the de facto government does not allow the El Alto Sur hospital, built during our administration, to change the color of its walls when it could attend to Covid-19 patient…

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Brazil: Evangelical Pastor Appointed Minister Of Education. telesurenglish.net Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro designated Milton Ribeiro as the new Education Minister on Friday, following the resignation of the previous one last week. | RELATED: | According to the government website, Ribeiro has degrees in Education, constitutional law, and theology, and he is as well a pastor at an evangelical church in Sao Paulo state. | The former minister, Carlos Alberto Decotelli, resigned on July 1 afte…

José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva (2020-07-10). Brazilian Democracy Is at a Stalemate. zcomm.org Interview on the need for a broad front coalition to defeat Bolsonarismo…

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Brazil: Amazon Deforestation Rises 25 Percent Over Last 6 Months. telesurenglish.net Deforestation alerts in the Brazilian Amazon increased 25 percent from January to June 2020, compared to the same period last year according to preliminary data released on Friday. | RELATED: | Over the last six months, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) recorded deforestation alerts on 3,070 square kilometers in the Brazilian Amazon. | In June alone, alerts show that the devastation of the world's lar…

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Chile: Indigenous People Face Discrimination Amidst Pandemic. telesurenglish.net Chile's head of indigenous health issues at Chile's Medical Union, Dr. Nelson Vergara, stated the government's pandemic-management strategy discriminates aboriginal people. | RELATED: | "The government said it was well prepared for the pandemic, but these preparations were designed for Euro-descendant urban populations," said Dr. Vergara. | Since the beginning of the pandemic, indigenous patients' data collection has not bee…

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Chile: Court Declares Admissible Lawsuit Against Piñera. telesurenglish.net Chile's judicial system Thursday admitted a lawsuit against President Sebastian Piñera for allegedly not having supervised the measures that his Health Ministry took to deal with the pandemic. | RELATED: | The complaint was filed by this South American nation's Human Rights Commission, the National Association of Fiscal Employees (ANEF), and the Democratic Federation of University Health Professionals (Fedeprus), and it was ruled…

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-07-10). US Plans to Invade Venezuela Through Colombia. globalresearch.ca Colombia is under a pro-Washington government. The country's current president, Iván Duque Márquez, has been noted for a series of policies of alignment with the United States, continuing the legacy of his predecessor, former president Juan Manuel Santos, …

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Colombia: Bogota to Start Strict, Rolling Two-Week Quarantines. telesurenglish.net Because of the increasing number of new COVID-19 cases, Bogota's Mayor Claudia Lopez decreed a strict quarantine for certain neighborhoods in periods of 14 days from next Monday. | RELATED: | "The city is on orange alert with a strict quarantine not to postpone the spike but to pass it … without the hospital system collapsing," Lopez announced on Friday. | So far, Bogota has 42,347 out of the 133,973 confirmed COVID-19…

teleSUR (2020-07-10). China Suspends Ecuador's Shrimps Imports Over Covid-19 Fears. telesurenglish.net China is suspending shrimps imports from three Ecuadorian firms after detecting COVID-19 in its packaging, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced on Friday. | RELATED: | Although the frozen shrimp itself tested negative, samples from Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila SA, Empacreci SA, and Empacadora Del Pacifico Sociedad Anonima Edpacif showed six positive results as GAC warned that "there is a risk" it co…

Thomas Linzey (2020-07-10). Rights of Nature: One Big Step for Nature, One Small Step for Humankind. commondreams.org A young girl plays with colorful rose petals during the Inti Raymi celebration in the village of Pesillo, Ecuador. The highland Indians, wearing beautiful costumes, dance, drink and sing with no rest. Colorful processions in honor of the God Inti (Sun) pass through the mountain villages giving thanks for the harvest and expressing their deep relation to the Mother Earth (Pachamama). (Photo by Jan Sochor/Latincontent/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-169948295.jpg

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Uruguay: Workers to Fight the Effects of Neoliberal Act. telesurenglish.net Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Friday enacted the Urgent Consideration Act (LUC), which was previously approved by Parliament on July 8. | RELATED: | The discussion of this controversial law, which contains 501 articles, began on April 23 when the executive branch sent a proposal to be processed in a period not exceeding 90 days. | Approved with the support of a coalition of conservative parties, the LUC introd…

Staff (2020-07-10). Epidemiologist Slams Brazil's COVID Policy as Bolsonaro Tests Positive. truthout.org As Brazil faces the world's second-worst COVID-19 outbreak after the United States, Trump ally and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive, after months of downplaying the severity of the pandemic. Brazil has gone almost two months with no health minister. "Bad political leadership is a major risk factor for the spread of the pandemic," says leading Brazilian epidemiologist Cesar Victora, who coordinates the International Center for Equity in Health at the Federal University of Pelotas.

Ricardo Vaz (2020-07-10). [UPDATED] Venezuela: Oil Minister, PSUV Vice President Test Positive for COVID-19. venezuelanalysis.com The senior Chavista figures made the announcement on Twitter.

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Iran reports 142 more deaths due to coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran on Friday confirmed 142 more fatalities caused by the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 12,447.A further of 2,262 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 252,720, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.A total of 215,176 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 3,319 patients remain in critical condition, the official said.Across the world, COVID-19 has claimed over 555,500 lives in 188 countries and regions since emerging in China last December.Nearly 12.3 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the US, Brazil,…

Alan MacLeod (2020-07-09). Guaido representative threatens FBI investigation into journalists exposing her dealings. mronline.org Juan Guaido's UK "ambassador" claims that she is working with the FBI in an investigation exposing a "transnational criminal network" of journalists and outlets, including Venezuelanalysis.

Ben Norton (2020-07-09). Meet the Venezuelan coup regime's 'UK ambassador,' a pampered US heiress who threatens journalists. thegrayzone.com Juan Guaidó's UK representative, a jet-setting US socialite named Vanessa Neumann, has threatened journalists with FBI investigations for reporting on…

_____ (2020-07-09). Meet the Venezuelan Coup Regime's 'UK Ambassador,' a Pampered U.S. Heiress Who Threatens Journalists. strategic-culture.org Juan Guaidó's UK representative, a jet-setting US socialite named Vanessa Neumann, has threatened journalists with FBI investigations for reporting on her unhinged behavior. The coup-plotting heiress made her name spinning out conspiracies at neoconservative think tanks. | Ben NORTON | Since the United States initiated a coup attempt against Venezuela's elected, internationally recognized government in January 2019, the gang of far-right opposition s the Donald Trump administration recognized as the country's unelected representatives have racked up a series of embarrassing scandals. | Top aides of the

Staff (2020-07-09). Headlines for July 9, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Posts Another Record Daily High in New Coronavirus Cases, Anthony Fauci Absent from Coronavirus Task Force Briefing After Drawing Criticism from Trump, Trump Attacks CDC Guidance on School Reopenings During Pandemic, Hundreds Test Positive for COVID-19 at Arizona For-Profit Immigration Jail, Tulsa, OK Health Official Links Explosion of Coronavirus Cases to Trump Rally, HHS Secretary Claims Medical Workers "Don't Get Infected" After 95,000 Test Positive for Coronavirus, COVID-19 Cases Spike in Africa, While Melbourne, Australia, Is Placed Back on Lockdown, Bolivians Buried in Mass Graves as Hospitals "Collaps…

Leonardo Flores (2020-07-09). Biden's vision for Venezuela is virtually indistinguishable from Trump's. thegrayzone.com A campaign event demonstrated that when it comes to Venezuela, policies of regime change, sanctions, and refusal to engage in…

Nino Pagliccia (2020-07-09). Venezuela is on a Path to Make Colonialism Obsolete. counterpunch.org On June 29 the European Union (EU) slapped new sanctions against 11 Venezuelan individuals. Immediately President Nicolas Maduro responded by ordering the expulsion of the EU ambassador to the country. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that Brussels would retaliate against Caracas over its decision and announces that it will summon Maduro's ambassador to

Johanna Ross (2020-07-09). UK Commits 'Highway Robbery' of Venezuelan Gold, Says Academic. globalresearch.ca When it comes to Venezuela, Britain is suffering from split personality disorder. While the UK Foreign Office reportedly maintains 'full, normal and reciprocal diplomatic relations' with legitimately elected President Maduro's government, and with Maduro's UK ambassador, the British government has …

Leonardo Flores (2020-07-09). Biden and Trump on Venezuela: Two Sides of the Same Coin. commondreams.org A January 2015 meeting between Venezuelan President Nicol√°s Maduro and Vice President Biden—unlikely to be repeated if Biden wins the presidency. (Photo: AP) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/biden_maduro.jpg