© Sputnik / Alexei DruzhininFILE PHOTO: Vladimir Putin at Central Depository of Bank of Russia
Last week, the IMF issued a stark warning about the global economy. While most large Western states are vulnerable to a new crisis, Russia has prepared its defenses.
Kristalina Georgieva isn't any sort of conspiracy theorist; she's the head of the International Monetary Fund. And when she
warns that the global economy risks another "Great Depression," you would think everyone would listen.
But
the Western reaction to her statement last week has been muted, with plenty of media outlets leaving it 'buried in the mainstream'. Or simply ignoring the story.
For instance, rudimentary Google searches suggest
neither the Financial Times nor the Economist have covered her comments at all. If so, it's ethically questionable but also understandable, in a cynical sense, given their complete attachment to the doctrine of Neo-liberal economics.
Comment: Researchers have thrown out a few possible sources for the viral outbreak. One is snakes. Another is soup made from bats. The World Health Organization has praised China's swift response to the potential outbreak by quarantining 11mn in Wuhan. China's National Health Commission has provided the latest figures tracking the impact of the dangerous pathogen, with 131 newly confirmed infections bringing the total to 571 across some 25 Chinese provinces.
Beijing has canceled all major public events including Chinese New Year celebrations in response to the outbreak. Unsettling videos and images of the Chinese quarantine flooded social media amid the coronavirus outbreak: