(2020-02-08). WATCH people leaving Thai shopping mall in panic as shooter takes hostages, kills 20. rt.com 
The death toll has risen to at least 20 after a soldier went on a shooting rampage and took hostages inside a shopping mall in Thailand, health authorities said. Police said 31 others had been injured. | Local media reported that the shooter, wearing a helmet and mask, took selfies and streamed the attack online. | It's not clear whether the attacker began shooting at people before he entered the building or not, but one video posted on Twitter appears to show a man sheltering behind a car door which looks like it has been covered in blood. | Warning: This video contains disturbing images | ‡∏&a…
(2020-02-08). Number of Confirmed Coronavirus Cases in Singapore Rises to 40 – Health Ministry. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Seven new coronavirus cases were registered in Singapore by Saturday, bringing the total number of people infected with the virus in the country to 40, the country's health ministry said in a press release.
(2020-02-08). Thailand reports 7 new coronavirus cases. yenisafak.com Thailand's public health ministry reported seven new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, including three Thais and four Chinese.The new cases brought the total reported in the country to 32, among the world's highest number of infections outside of China."The seven new cases are all in hospital," said Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, director-general of the Disease Control Department.One of the Thai cases was part of the group of 138 evacuated from China's coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan on Tuesday, Suwannachai told reporters.The other two Thais had exposure to tourists, he said.Among the four Chinese, three…
(2020-02-08). Japan confirms 3 more coronavirus cases on cruise liner; total now 64. yenisafak.com Another 3 people on a cruise liner off Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases from the ship to 64, Japan's health ministry said on Saturday.Japan's health minister on Friday said 41 people aboard the Diamond Princess had tested positive for coronavirus in addition to 20 previously identified cases, with those infected being moved to hospitals on land.The liner was placed on a two-week quarantine on arriving at Yokohama on Feb. 3.Amid an epidemic that has already killed more than 700 in mainland China, Japan's health ministry said on Saturday that some 279 of the 3…
(2020-02-08). France to close two schools near ski resort after coronavirus cases. yenisafak.com Eleven Britons, including the five who tested positive for the virus, are being examined in local hospitals.The group of 11 includes a nine-year-old child who recently spent time in a school in Contamines – a mountain village of which he was a also resident – as well as in another establishment where he attended French lessons, regional health official Jean-Yves Grall told a televised news conference.There were three children in all among the group of 11, and one has contracted the virus, Grall said. It was not immediately clear whether the nine-year-old in question had tested positive.
(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). 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 Forces Kill a Palestinian Teen Near Tulkarem. imemc.org A Palestinian teenager was pronounced dead, Friday, shortly after he was shot and critically injured by Israeli occupation forces, north of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, said the Ministry of Health. Bader Nidal Nafla Harha, 19, was fatally wounded by Israeli soldiers during protests near the village of Qaffin, …
(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
(2020-02-07). Coronavirus: demand for face masks creates shortfall for those in real need. news.un.org Unprecedented global demand for face masks and other protective equipment fuelled by the coronavirus epidemic, has created potentially dangerous shortages for those who need them most, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday.
(2020-02-07). Docs Urge Trump to Reverse Medicaid Cuts, Applaud U.S. House for Voting to Protect Healthcare. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(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). 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). Pope Francis Rejects Tax Cuts for the 'Richest People'. telesurenglish.net Pope Francis criticized the practice of tax cuts for the rich in the name of "investment and development," calling it a "structure of sin" at the seminar set up by the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences, Thursday. | RELATED: | He lamented the fact that "billions of dollars" end up in "tax haven accounts" instead of funding "healthcare and education," something that in his own words impede "the possibility of the digni…
(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…
(2020-02-06). 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). 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). 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). Why Doctors Are Fighting Their Professional Organization Over Medicare for All. thenation.com Why Doctors Are Fighting Their Professional Organization Over Medicare for All…
(2020-02-05). $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). 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…
(2020-01-31). 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…
(2020-01-28). 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…