(2020-02-07). Trump says Xi's 'sharp' leadership will defeat coronavirus in U-turn on harsh anti-China rhetoric. rt.com 
Donald Trump says China will defeat the deadly coronavirus, thanks to its great discipline and Xi Jinping's strong leadership, as the US president's tone on Beijing softens following the recent signing of a new trade deal. | The two leaders discussed the outbreak of the virus, which has claimed 640 lives in China, during a phone call on Friday. | That provided the perfect grounds for an attack on Beijing, but Trump, who earlier blasted China for currency manipulation, intellectual property theft, and election meddling, was this time reluctant to take advantage of the dire health crisis in order to attack Beiji…
(2020-02-07). Israeli soldiers shoot dead Palestinian teen in West Bank clashes — officials. rt.com 
Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian youth during clashes in the West Bank near Tulkarm on Friday, Haaretz reported, citing officials in the Palestinian Authority. Violent incidents between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank continue to escalate in the aftermath of Washington's unveiling of its plan for Mideast peace. | The youth was killed during confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the village of Qaffin, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. He was evacuated to the hospital, it added, where he died from his wounds. | Israeli police also said two border policewom…
(2020-02-07). Trump sinks to racist panic as China mobilizes against disease. peoplesworld.org 
Even though a tiny number of cases of coronavirus have surfaced in the U.S., widespread panic about the disease has surfaced in the form of hostility and racism toward Chinese people and even people who seem to be of Asian descent who are not Chinese. Many Americans, often self-identified as fans of Trump and living …
(2020-02-07). Chinese national describes life inside the coronavirus quarantine zone. peoplesworld.org 
SINGAPORE—It's been more than two weeks since authorities in the city of Wuhan quarantined 11 million people in an attempt to contain the coronavirus outbreak spreading across China and around the world. Except for a few foreign nationals whose governments have ferried them out on charter flights, the capital of epidemic-hit Hubei province remains, essentially, …
(2020-02-07). Xi says China 'confident & capable' of beating coronavirus outbreak in phone call with Trump. rt.com 
China has taken aggressive measures to combat a lethal viral outbreak sweeping the country, enacting the most comprehensive and strict efforts to contain the illness, President Xi Jingping told his American counterpart in a phone call. | Having declared a "people's war" on the fast-spreading coronavirus, Xi told President Donald Trump that China was "fully confident and capable" of overcoming the epidemic and was already seeing positive results, adding that Beijing's long term economic prospects would not change. | Trump responded by expressing confidence in Beijing's "strength and resilience" in confronting t…
(2020-02-07). Universal Coverage Is Not Only Realistic, It's a Better System. thenation.com Universal Coverage Is Not Only Realistic, It's a Better System…
(2020-02-07). UK: Tory health secretary signals ditching Accident and Emergency targets as crisis in NHS worsens. wsws.org Research by the Patient Association found that 5,500 NHS patients died over the past three years due to spending so long on a trolley in overcrowded hospital A&E units.
(2020-02-07). British Family Doctor Given Life Sentence for 90 Sex Assaults on Women and Girl Patients. sputniknews.com A British doctor used the example of Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who had a double mastectomy after being told she had an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer in 2013, to point out the dangers of the disease in order to justify his sexual assaults.
(2020-02-07). Trapped in Bali, Chinese tourists extend holiday on coronavirus concerns. yenisafak.com Steven Gu, a Chinese tourist on the Indonesian island of Bali, was supposed to fly back last month from his holiday to his home town in Jiangsu province to celebrate the Lunar New Year.But when he learned about the coronavirus outbreak in China, Gu, who has been in Bali since mid-January, decided to extend his stay with his wife, child and his parents."The epidemic in China is very serious now, therefore I hope to keep my family safe by staying in Bali," Gu told Reuters.He is not alone. Thousands of Chinese tourists on the resort island have opted to remain amid fears over the coronavirus, which has killed more t…
(2020-02-07). Sparkle fades as coronavirus risks wiping out luxury goods growth. yenisafak.com The luxury goods industry normally relishes the spotlight, but in the case of China's coronavirus it is rueing being one of the most globally exposed sectors to an epidemic that risks all-but wiping out its sales growth this year.Brands from Burberry to Estee Lauder are shutting stores and cutting profit forecasts as business in the industry's biggest market has virtually ground to a halt."Shopping malls are closed, the few stores that are still open are working on reduced hours and above all there is no (customer) traffic," said Stefano Sassi, CEO of Italy's Valentino.Burberry was the latest big brand to warn of…
(2020-02-07). Call to safeguard movement of patient records during Brexit negotiations. thecanary.co 
The movement of patient health records across the border in Ireland should be safeguarded as part of Brexit negotiations, a policy expert has said.The City of London wants the EU to urgently agree that the UK meets its requirements for data security, to preserve the ease with which people from one side of the border use health services on the other.Catherine McGuinness is policy chair at the UK's main financial district and is visiting Derry and Donegal this weekend.Catherine McGuinness (City of London/PA)She said: "One issue is particularly concerning me and is particularly acute in Northern Ireland, and that is…
(2020-02-07). These Drugs are in US Meat But Not on the Label. counterpunch.org 
Thanks to animal welfare groups, most people are now aware of "factory farms." Concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs abuse workers, animals, the environment, human consumers and even our tax dollars. (How? Price supports and government bailouts when diseases occur.) Thanks to greedy CAFOs crowding, diseases killed one-tenth of all US pigs and millions of
(2020-02-06). Coronavirus kills 69 more people in China's Hubei as total cases soar beyond 31,000. rt.com 
China's Hubei province, the epicenter of a lethal viral outbreak, has reported just shy of 2,500 additional cases of the illness and 69 new deaths, bringing the worldwide disease toll to over 31,000, with at least 639 fatalities. | As the spread of the novel coronavirus begins to slow in Hubei, the World Health Organization said on Thursday that it was too early to conclude that the outbreak had reached its peak, with the executive director of the agency's Health Emergencies Program, Mike Ryan, telling a conference in Geneva it was "too early to make predictions on numbers." The day before marked one of the de…
(2020-02-06). Central African Republic: One year after peace deal, a 'long, steep' road ahead to ensure child rights protections. news.un.org A year since the signing of a peace deal between the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 armed groups, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Thursday that millions of children across the country remain threatened by violence and a lack of access to food, health care and other basic needs.
(2020-02-06). Jeremy Hunt's new role 'holding the government to account' on health policy is a sick joke. thecanary.co Rather quietly, Jeremy Hunt has sidled back towards the political limelight, with a new role in parliament. But it's one that says so much about the rot in our political system. | In 2016, Hunt But now, Hunt…
(2020-02-06). Organizers Won't Let Trump Dismantle Medicaid. commondreams.org Organizers rally to protect access to affordable health care. (Photo: New Jersey Organizing Project.) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-02-06). Coronavirus: Uganda Quarantines Over 100 People. telesurenglish.net As many as 100 people, who arrived in Uganda from China, have been placed on a 14-day quarantine in a bid to avoid the possible spread of the coronavirus into the country, local media reported Thursday. | RELATED: | Ugandan Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng told reporters in Kampala that 44 of those quarantined were Chinese nationals, and the remaining 56 are Ugandans, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported. | "Those wit…
(2020-02-06). Trump's War on Economic Security: Regulatory and Other Policy Changes That Cut Health and Economic Security Programs. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-02-06). Coronavirus: China Unveils Tax Policies to Aid Epidemic Control. telesurenglish.net The Chinese government has proclaimed a new set of tax policies to reduce financial burdens on some sectors and support the country's fight against the coronavirus epidemic, Xinhua News Agency reported. | RELATED: | The National finance ministry and taxation watchdog released a statement declaring that firms in the transportation, catering, accommodation and tourism sectors, their losses logged in 2020, can be car…
(2020-02-06). Why Doctors Are Fighting Their Professional Organization Over Medicare for All. thenation.com Why Doctors Are Fighting Their Professional Organization Over Medicare for All…
(2020-02-06). As number of cases soars, researchers announce potential coronavirus vaccine. wsws.org Drug companies are cautioning that vaccine manufacturing is a slow, methodical process.
(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…
(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 sta…
(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 […] |
(2020-02-05). The US Is 'in Denial' About Levels of Poverty: Ocasio-Cortez. telesurenglish.net Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) testified Wednesday before her House committee about the United States government's intentional denial to acknowledge how many U.S. citizens are living in poverty. | RELATED: | AOC joined several anti-poverty campaigners in testifying at a hearing on the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump's policies on child poverty, hunger, homelessness, and healthcare. | She called on the…
(2020-02-05). $675 million appeal to stop coronavirus in its tracks, as deaths rise. news.un.org The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) appealed on Wednesday for $675 million to boost international measures to counter the new coronavirus epidemic, as deaths from the outbreak neared 500.
(2020-02-05). Female Genital Mutilation costs $1.4 billion annually: UN health agency. news.un.org Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) poses serious risks to the health and well-being of women and girls, but it also exacts a crippling economic toll, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
(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. …
(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…
(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.
(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.
(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…
(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.
(2020-02-03). Coronavirus emergency: here's what we know so far. news.un.org A new strain of coronavirus (officially named 2019-nCoV), which has caused respiratory diseases in China, and spread to at least 28 other countries, has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Here are some basic facts you need to know about the virus.
(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…
(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…
(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…
(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…