2020-02-05: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-05). Shanghai shutdown: Chinese city to suspend ALL sports events as coronavirus fears increase. rt.com Sports authorities in Shanghai have recommended that ALL sporting events in the city be suspended until further notice while the the city deals with the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. | The recommendation from the Shanghai Sports General Association has instructed all sports bodies to suspend their planned events until the threat of the coronavirus has disappeared. | The SSGA said in a statement that sporting bodies should "formulate a plan for epidemic prevention to avoid internal infections," and said that organizations should, "also implement a daily hygiene management system and strengthen health education…

RT (2020-02-05). 'The best is yet to come'? Defiant Trump doubles down in campaign rally-style State of the Union speech. rt.com Teased as "low key," US President Donald Trump's annual address to Congress was anything but, with several unprecedented symbolic gestures and a powerful assertion of American triumphalism that put his critics on the back foot. | Trump did not mention impeachment once in the 90-minute speech on Tuesday evening. Instead, he turned his persuasion skills up to eleven, painting a picture of America with a booming economy and infinite opportunities brought about by his administration, and contrasting that with Democrat proposals such as socialized healthcare and sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. | Amid the standa…

The Canary (2020-02-05). Medics oppose restricting NI abortion to 'arbitrary' points before 24 weeks. thecanary.co Restricting abortion access to "arbitrary" points before 24 weeks in the north of Ireland will only create barriers for women, healthcare workers said.Nobody must be excluded from reforms legalising the procedure, medical professionals and campaigners including Amnesty International said.Unrestricted terminations would be available in the north of Ireland up to 12 or 14 weeks under government proposals.Nobody must be excluded from reforms legalising the procedure, medical professionals and campaigners including Amnesty International's Grainne Teggart said (Liam McBurney/PA)A joint submission by midwives and obste…

The Tricontinental (2020-02-05). Dossier 25: People's Polyclinics: The initiative of the Telugu communist movement. mronline.org Under the shadow of the Charter of the United Nations (1945) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), countries are obliged to guarantee the right to health. The 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as 'a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of […] |

Helen Buyniski (2020-02-05). VIDEO: The "Lock Step" Simulation Scenario: "A Coronavirus-like Pandemic that Becomes Trigger for Police State Controls" globalresearch.ca By now, those following the novel coronavirus epidemic are familiar with Event 201, the pandemic

George Wuerthner (2020-02-05). Preserve the Sacred Lands of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. counterpunch.org Wilderness designation preserves many values. Designated wilderness is a storehouse for carbon and insurance against climate change. Wilderness preserves critical wildlife habitat and wildlife corridors. Wilderness provides for clean water and clean air. And, of course, designated wilderness protects the scenery and ecosystem integrity that supports Montana's economy. However, there is yet another value preserved

sputniknews (2020-02-05). Suspected Coronavirus Patient Escapes From Hospital in Austria's Salzburg – Reports. sputniknews.com VIENNA (Sputnik) – The 31-year-old Austrian woman escaped from the hospital's infectious disease ward on Wednesday night, according to the OE24 broadcaster.

yenisafak (2020-02-05). Who is indigenous? Millions may be denied land in India's Assam over definition. yenisafak.com Millions of migrants and tribal people in India's northeastern Assam state could be denied land because of a new definition of the term "indigenous", land and human rights experts said.Assam has a long-simmering movement against immigrants and its 2019 land policy, aimed at overhauling a three-decade old land law, seeks to allocate land to landless indigenous people – but does not specify who is indigenous."After we bring the law, an indigenous person can sell his or her land to an indigenous person only, not to anyone else. That means our land will be preserved for our people," health minister Himanta Biswa Sarm…

yenisafak (2020-02-05). Turkey to start scanning all international passengers as coronavirus gains speed. yenisafak.com Turkey on Thursday will start scanning all passengers coming from international flights with thermal cameras amid the coronavirus outbreak, the country's health minister said on Wednesday.On Feb. 3, Turkey decided to start scanning travelers coming from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia through thermal cameras."Since the coronavirus does not usually infect children under the age of 15, schools should not be uneasy," Fahrettin Koca told a news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara.He said there were enough protective face masks in the country and the capacity to produce them further.

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2020-02-05). Sanders Rips Trump for Lacking 'Courage' to Confront Fossil Fuel Industry After President Bragged About Oil Boom. commondreams.org "President Trump is turning his back on the children of America and on future generations, and dooming them to live in a planet increasingly unhealthy and uninhabitable." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Shawgi Tell (2020-02-05). Waste and Failure in Cyber Charter Schools. dissidentvoice.org While waste, corruption, and failure have plagued the segregated and nontransparent charter school sector for decades, privately-operated-owned cyber charter schools, even by the admission of the most dogmatic supporters of charter schools, are the worst of the worst. The academic performance of cyber charter schools is consistently abysmal; they have a very high failure rate. …

C.J. Atkins (2020-02-04). China declares "people's war" against coronavirus; global economic impact spreads. peoplesworld.org SINGAPORE—China has declared a "people's war" against the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has infected more than 24,000 so far and killed nearly 500—including two outside mainland China. At a meeting of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee on Monday, leaders described the epidemic as a "major test of China's system and capacity for governance" …

Joel Wendland-Liu (2020-02-04). U.S. opioid crisis response reveals Trump racism. peoplesworld.org The U.S. opioid crisis has disproportionately impacted white people. This fact has shaped public responses to the crisis and reveals deep-rooted racism. First, the tragedy of this loss of life, most focused on working-class people, is devastating and deserves careful and compassionate responses. The crisis demands serious reforms in the healthcare complex, approaches to medicine, …

RT (2020-02-04). H5N8: Saudi Arabia reports outbreak of HIGHLY pathogenic bird flu virus. rt.com An outbreak of a particularly contagious bird flu virus has been reported in Saudi Arabia, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) warns, as the world struggles to contain the spread of a deadly China coronavirus. | The outbreak took place in the central Sudair region, located some 150 kilometers north of the nation's capital of Riyadh. The disease already killed more than 22,000 birds, the OIE said, citing the Saudi Agriculture Ministry. More than 385,000 birds were also slaughtered out of precaution. This is the first such outbreak since July 2018. | The H5N8 strain of the bird flu, which was detected…

RT (2020-02-04). India's Kerala declares 'state calamity' over 3rd case of coronavirus, will treat China returnees dodging medics as 'criminals'. rt.com A regional health emergency has been declared in the Indian state of Kerala after a third case of a lethal virus gripping China was confirmed there, prompting officials to take harsher action against those evading screenings. | The "state calamity" was announced by Kerala's health minister KK Shailaja, who noted the designation was not meant to "trigger panic," but rather "to create more awareness" about the fast-moving contagion, which has claimed 427 lives and infected over 20,000 worldwide since December. | With three confirmed cases in the country, India has begun to take steps to contain the outbreak, but…

RT (2020-02-04). 'Why are you voting for Putin?' Tulsi Gabbard supporters harassed at Iowa caucuses. rt.com A Tulsi Gabbard supporter was physically attacked with a Sharpie marker and called a Russian terrorist after voicing support for the candidate at an Iowa caucus, one of several reports of Gabbard supporters being "abused." | Caucusing for the Hawaii congresswoman can be hazardous to one's health, if reports from Monday's botched vote in Iowa are any indication. Journalist Dack Rouleau accidentally triggered a supporter of billionaire candidate Tom Steyer into a full-on Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation culminating in physical attack when he casually mentioned that he would be voting for Gabbard. | The man on the…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-02-04). Former OSHA chief: U.S. sitting on protocol to fight corona virus. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—As the coronavirus migrates from China to other countries, Dr. David Michaels, a top U.S. public health specialist, says the U.S. is not implementing a plan to fight airborne viruses developed during the eight years he headed OSHA under President Obama. What it would take, Dr. David Michaels told Peoples World in an exclusive telephone …

Staff (2020-02-04). Hong Kong Reports Virus Death as Workers Strike at Hospitals. truthdig.com BEIJING — Hong Kong hospitals cut services as thousands of medical workers went on strike for a second day Tuesday to demand the border with mainland China be shut completely, as a new virus caused its first death in the semi-autonomous territory and authorities feared it was spreading locally. | All but two of Hong Kong's land and sea crossings with the mainland were closed at midnight after more than 2,000 hospital workers went on strike Monday. Hong Kong health authorities reported two additional patients without any known travel to the virus epicenter, bringing the number of locally transmitted cases up…

Staff (2020-02-04). A Sordid New Genre of Stories Emerges in Corporate Media. truthdig.com Big news, everyone! Billionaires don't like socialism. | In response to a rising progressive tide in the United States, a new genre of stories has emerged in corporate media: rich guys warning against taxing them, or really changing anything about the system at all. Just as the press are keen for you to know that Medicare for All is a very bad idea (FAIR.org, R…

teleSUR (2020-02-04). China Tests Russian Vaccine to Combat New Coronavirus. telesurenglish.net As the coronavirus spreads through China and other countries, and authorities report a record daily jump in deaths from 64 to 426, the Asiatic nation has begun testing the Russian drug Triazavirin, a direct-acting antiviral, in an attempt to cure the illness and stop the epidemic. | RELATED: |

WSWS (2020-02-04). Oil prices plummet as coronavirus epidemic drastically curtails Chinese demand. wsws.org China is the world's top oil importer and uses over 10 million barrels per day.

news.un (2020-02-04). Coronavirus: UN health agency moves fast to tackle 'infodemic'; Guterres warns against stigmatization. news.un.org The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken steps to ensure that the coronavirus epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives in central China does not spark a dangerous social media "infodemic" fuelled by false information.

Labor Video Project (2020-02-04). The War On Whistleblowers, Darrell Whitman & US Inspector General's Obstruction of Justice. indybay.org Former Federal OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program investigator and lawyer Darrell Whitman talks about the fight to protect Federal whistleblowers and private industry whistleblowers and the role of US Inspector Generals who have been allowed to operate without oversight. | He also discusses how this has affected the health and safety of workers and the public. He connects the Boeing 737 Max crashes and the failure to enforce regulations by the FAA and their own. inspector general. | He also talks about the criminal fraud at SF Hunters Point and Treasure Island and how these contaminated radioactive dumpsites a…

Staff (2020-02-04). Home Health Care Is Suddenly Harder to Come by for Medicare Patients. truthout.org The decision came out of the blue. "Your husband isn't going to get any better, so we can't continue services," an occupational therapist told Deloise "Del" Holloway in early November. "Medicare isn't going to pay for it." | The therapist handed Del a notice explaining why the home health agency she represented was terminating care within 48 hours. "All teaching complete," it concluded. "No further hands on skilled care. Wife states she knows how to perform exercises." | That came as a shock. In May…

Sasha Abramsky (2020-02-04). We're on the Verge of a Global Pandemic—but Trump Is Cutting Public Health Services. thenation.com We're on the Verge of a Global Pandemic—but Trump Is Cutting Public Health Services…

news.un (2020-02-04). Ocean Conference has potential to be a 'global game-changer'. news.un.org The second global Ocean Conference taking place in Portugal in a few months' time promises to be "a critical moment" for the health of life under water and on land, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Tuesday, as preparations got underway.

Juliet Gellatley (2020-02-04). Eating Animals Will Be the Death of Us. commondreams.org 'The Wuhan animal markets presented the perfect storm for disease outbreak.' (Photo: Feature China/Barcroft Media/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

sputniknews (2020-02-04). Number of Confirmed Coronavirus Cases in South Korea Rises to 16 – Health Authorities. sputniknews.com SEOUL (Sputnik) – According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the sixteenth patient, a South Korean woman, 42, returned to the country on 19 January after visiting Thailand, and starting from 25 January she was suffering fever. On Monday, she was tested positive for the new coronavirus.

sputniknews (2020-02-04). German Research Institute Says Coronavirus Cases Could Possibly Increase in Country. sputniknews.com BERLIN (Sputnik) – Individual cases of the new coronavirus could potentially increase in Germany, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German government's public health agency, said on Tuesday.

yenisafak (2020-02-04). Russia preparing against mass spread of coronavirus. yenisafak.com Russia has been busy preparing against the mass spread of coronavirus in the country, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.Some preventive measures have been taken, despite a lack of information that would allow forecasts on the disease's spread, Deputy Health Minister Sergey Krayevoy told reporters in Moscow."We cannot yet predict how this infection may spread in our country, because we do not have enough data to put into our mathematical model. But this in no way forces us to feel reassured, we are preparing against a possible large-scale spread of infection," he said.Krayevoy added that three locations have been d…

The Canary (2020-02-03). UK funding to boost vaccine search as coronavirus death toll rises. thecanary.co Infectious disease experts will use £20 million of UK government funding to embark on an ambitious six-month plan to produce a coronavirus vaccine.Health secretary Matt Hancock on Monday said the government would plough fresh money into developing a vaccine to combat the deadly global disease.The news came as the death toll in China from the disease rose to 361, with one more fatality having been recorded in the Philippines.A further 2,829 new cases were confirmed by Chinese health authorities in the 24 hours to Monday morning, taking the total number of cases in the country to 17,205.Most cases have been r…

RT (2020-02-03). 'Cycle of panic & neglect'? US prepares for 'pandemic' as China coronavirus death toll reaches 427 with 20,000+ cases. rt.com The death toll from a fast moving viral outbreak sweeping China has risen to 427, with over 20,000 cases worldwide. WHO has urged for preparedness instead of panic, as the US called the spread "explosive and unprecedented." | Another 2,345 cases were confirmed in Hubei by Tuesday, as the novel coronavirus surpasses the scale of the SARS outbreak of the early 2000s and health authorities around the world continue to take aggressive steps to contain its spread. | Of the 427 confirmed fatalities, all but one have occurred in Mainland China, with an additional death in the Philippines involving a Chinese national…

Staff (2020-02-03). Laurie Garrett on How Trump Has Sabotaged America's Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic. democracynow.org As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, the United States has declared a public health emergency and is barring foreign nationals who have recently traveled to China from entering the country. So far, there are 11 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. The virus has claimed at least 361 lives in China. A 44-year-old man in the Philippines became the first casualty of the disease outside of China Saturday, and over the weekend the number of confirmed cases worldwide rose to at least 17,205 across more than two dozen countries, with most of those cases occurring in China. U.S. citizens who have visited H…

news.un (2020-02-03). Tackle 'unacceptable inequalities' in cancer care, saving up to seven million lives, WHO urges. news.un.org Global cancer rates could rise by 60 per cent over the next 20 years unless cancer care is ramped up in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

commondreams (2020-02-03). "A Nationwide Fracking Ban Would Be Invaluable for Human Health": Physicians for Social Responsibility Applauds First Proposed Nationwide Ban on Fracking. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Staff (2020-02-03). Trump's Medicaid Block Grant Plan May Impact Millions of Low-Income People. truthout.org The Trump administration Medicaid, a federal-state health program that covers 1 in 5 Americans, has been an open-ended entitlem…

news.un (2020-02-03). Syria: UN health agency highlights 'critical health threats' facing Idlib civilians. news.un.org The World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alarm on Monday over critical health threats facing hundreds-of thousands of Syrians forced to flee due to intensified hostilities in Syria's northwest, where health facilities and workers have increasingly come under attack.

Staff (2020-02-03). With Medicare for All on the Table, Iowans Are Caucusing for Their Lives. truthout.org Democrats in Iowa are voting for their lives as they gather for the presidential caucuses today. Besides beating President Trump,

The Canary (2020-02-03). Eating red meat and processed meat 'linked to increased risk of heart disease'. thecanary.co Eating red meat and processed meat is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and death, new research suggests. | Eating two servings of red meat, processed meat or poultry per week was associated with a 3% to 7% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, the study found. | Consuming two servings of red meat or processed meat — but not poultry or fish — per week, meanwhile, was linked to a 3% higher risk of all causes of death. | Senior study author Norrina Allen, associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said: "It's a small difference, but it's…

Fight Back (2020-02-02). Marinette, WI: Workers at Aurora Medical Center Bay Area stand up to union busting. fightbacknews.org Marinette, WI – 300 workers at Aurora Medical Center Bay Area in Marinette, Wisconsin are fighting back against management's attacks on their right to organize. These attacks include using the expiration of their contract to cease dues check-off, offering poverty wages, and consistently extending bargaining by conveying misleading and inaccurate information to workers. These tactics are a vicious attack on working people and our ability to provide for our families. | AFSCME Local 3305 represents medical and professional support staff at the hospital, which was purchased by Aurora Health Care Inc. in 2019. Aurora…

RT (2020-02-01). US declares public health emergency over coronavirus, limits flights from China to 7 cities. rt.com The US has declared an ongoing coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency, limiting points of entry to incoming Chinese flights and banning from entry some foreign nationals who traveled to China in the last two weeks. | "I have today declared that coronavirus presents a public health emergency in the United States," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, announcing the measure on Friday. He stressed that the move was to "complement the work of China and the World Health Organization" that declared a global health crisis on Thursday. | The death toll from the novel virus, which originated in C…

Eric Walberg (2020-02-01). Western Imperialism Stokes Resistance. dissidentvoice.org Tim Anderson's Axis of Resistance: Towards an Independent Middle East takes on the leftist position of 'a plague on all your houses'. Yassin Al-Haj Saleh, 'the intellectual voice of the Syrian revolution' (for westerners), presents a bleak portrait of "three monsters … treading on Syria's corpse": (1) the Assad regime and its allies, (2) DAESH/ISIS …

Staff (2020-01-31). Headlines for January 31, 2020. democracynow.org Senate Poised to Acquit President Trump in Impeachment Trial, World Health Organization Declares International Public Health Emergency, U.S. Special Envoy Warns of International Crisis in Idlib, Syria, Britain Formally Withdrawing from European Union Tonight, Pentagon Deploys 1st Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead-Armed Submarine, Trump Admin Poised to Loosen Restrictions on Use of Landmines, Human Rights Groups Condemn Mexico for Crackdown on Central American Migrants, Mexican Butterfly Conservationist Found Dead, Bolivia's Movement for Socialism Candidate Luis Arce Returns to Bolivia, U.S. Pushes EU to End Ban on Chemic…

Peter Koenig (2020-01-31). Chinese Resilience and Silent, Simple and Steady Resistance: a Model for Mankind. dissidentvoice.org In a positive appeal to the Chinese people last Saturday, President Xi Jinping has called on the nation's courage to defeat the deadly epidemic which has already claimed more than 80 lives and more than 2,000 infected worldwide, the vast majority in China. These figures are changing fast, as the spread of the epidemic is …

news.un (2020-01-30). Coronavirus spread now a global emergency declares World Health Organization. news.un.org The rise in new coronavirus cases outside China, now constitutes a global health emergency, the World Health Organization's Emergency Committee declared on Thursday, calling on all countries to take urgent measures to contain the respiratory disease.

Alan Macleod (2020-01-30). Cuba is Testing Products Against Cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. mintpressnews.com While demonized in the United States, the Cuban government has built a comprehensive nationalized healthcare system based on preventative medicine, rather than the curative model the U.S. employs…

Staff (2020-01-29). South Dakota May Criminalize Lifesaving Healthcare for Trans Youth in Latest Attack on LGBTQ Rights. democracynow.org The South Dakota Legislature is expected to debate a bill today that would criminalize gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth. If passed, House Bill 1057 would make it a felony for doctors to provide anyone under the age of 16 with puberty blockers, hormones and other transition-related healthcare. Medical professionals who provide this care could face up to 10 years in prison under the terms of the Republican-backed bill, which was passed in committee last week. On Tuesday, South Dakota introduced another anti-trans bill that would authorize parents to deny gender-affirming treatment to their children. I…

Jay Stanley (2020-01-28). What You Need to Know About the Coronavirus Outbreak: A Civil Liberties Perspective. aclu.org The world is watching anxiously to see what happens with the | coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. As scientists and public health | officials in the United States learn more about the virus, and as we all see | how bad the outbreak turns out to be, it is important that public policymaking | remain firmly centered around science. | Unfortunately, our history of reactions to infectious | disease outbreaks suggests that if this outbreak becomes severe, we're likely | to see strong pressure to the contrary. In particular, we can expect three | things: | We can expect some to | panic.: | Unfortu…

Staff (2020-01-27). Headlines for January 27, 2020. democracynow.org Impeachment Trial Resumes as Leaked Bolton Manuscript Bolsters Democrats' Case, Coronavirus Death Toll Reaches 81 in China as Disease Spreads Around the World, Pentagon: 34 U.S. Troops Have Brain Injuries After Iranian Attack on Iraqi Airbase, Deadly Crackdown on Iraqi Protests Continue as 100,000s March Against U.S. Military Presence, Turkey Earthquake Kills 38; At Least 1,600 Hospitalized, Ugandan Activist Vanessa Nakate Slams Racist Media After Being Cropped from Photo with White Activists, Trump Attends Anti-Abortion "March for Life" as Admin Continues Assault on Reproductive Rights, High-Ranking Pharma Exec…