(2020-02-22). China could expand its solar industry by 50% in 2020. rt.com 
Despite the coronavirus epidemic ripping through various sectors of the Chinese economy, including the solar industry, Beijing may still significantly boost the number of solar installations this year. | According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association forecast, China is set to see between 35 and 45 gigawatts in new installations in 2020. If the developers manage to reach the most optimistic figure, this would mean a 50 percent surge from the 30.1 gigawatts China saw in 2019. | Also on rt.com | |
(2020-02-22). Janitors and Guards Feature Climate and Housing in Their Strike Demands. zcomm.org "I'm going to vote to strike today because we all deserve good jobs, but also because we need these companies to take responsibility for what they do to the planet, and to leave a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren."
(2020-02-22). Las Vegas Culinary Workers Union stumps for "anybody but Bernie" wsws.org The CWU's attack on Sanders' proposal for "Medicare for All" is motivated by its financial interests in the health care fund that it operates.
(2020-02-22). Apocalypse Now! Insects, Pesticide and a Public Health Crisis. dissidentvoice.org In 2017, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, and UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics, Baskut Tuncak, produced a report that called for a comprehensive new global treaty to regulate and phase out the use of dangerous pesticides in farming and move towards sustainable agricultural practices. In addition to the devastating impacts …
(2020-02-22). Coronavirus cases outside China are alarming, global health officials say. wsws.org Though new cases of Covid-19 cases appear to be declining in Hubei province in China, officials are concerned that the epidemic may be expanding into other Asian countries and continents.
(2020-02-22). Despite horror stories, California cruise passengers won't let coronavirus spoil their fun. yenisafak.com With a white captain's hat perched on his head, Calvin Ballard seemed relaxed as he waited to depart on his first-ever cruise to Mexico, unfazed by the possibility of being trapped on a ship under siege by an outbreak of coronavirus.Like many fellow vacationers streaming onto an ocean liner docked near Los Angeles, Ballard said he was well aware that passengers aboard other cruises had ended up stranded for weeks, far from home, and he vowed to take special care to stay healthy. Nonetheless, he was determined to have a good time."What we're planning on doing is washing our hands often, trying not to touch things…
(2020-02-22). Iran Confirms 10 New Coronavirus Cases as Death Toll Rises to 5. sputniknews.com TEHRAN (Sputnik) – The number of those infected with the new strain of coronavirus in Iran has increased by 10 to 28 cases since Friday, with the death toll rising to five, a spokesman for the Health Ministry said Saturday.
(2020-02-21). 'Tremendous public health threat': CDC confirms 34 coronavirus cases in US, prepares for 'very possible, even likely' pandemic. rt.com 
The CDC has warned that transmission of the deadly Covid-19 virus in the US is "very possible, even likely" and said its current goal is not to prevent but to slow down its spread and "buy more time" for US communities to prepare.
(2020-02-21). Italy locks down 10 towns after 1st coronavirus death as cases jump to 17. rt.com 
Public spaces across 10 Italian cities have been placed on lockdown, as the first Italian patient succumbed to the illness, amid a spate of new coronavirus cases — bringing the total in the country to 17. | With 15 new cases confirmed on Friday in northern Italy's Lombardy region, health authorities have imposed restrictions on 50,000 people across 10 towns, who have been asked to stay home and avoid public places, including schools, bars, church gatherings, and sporting events. | Five doctors are among the new patients, the first known cases of local transmission of the virus in Italy. None of them are…
(2020-02-21). The health and future of the world's children are at risk and no country is protecting them. nationofchange.org "This must be a wake up call for countries to invest in child health and development, ensure their voices are heard, protect their rights, and build a future that is fit for children."
(2020-02-21). Iran: Coronavirus Has Spread to Several Cities, 2 More Deaths. telesurenglish.net The coronavirus has spread to several Iranian cities, a health ministry official said on Friday, as an outbreak that the authorities say began in the holy city of Qom caused two more deaths. | RELATED: | "Based on existing reports, the spread of coronavirus started in Qom and with attention to people's travels has now reached several cities in the country including Tehran, Babol, Arak, Isfahan, Rasht, and other cities," health ministry offic…
(2020-02-21). IMF's Georgieva: "Uncertainty Is Becoming the New Normal" telesurenglish.net The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, warned in the emirate city of Dubai that the growth of the world economy, estimated at 3.3 percent by 2020, could be reduced between 0, 1 percent and 0.2% percent for the coronavirus outbreak. | RELATED: | Georgieva explained that the epidemic could have a negative effect on global growth depending on China's ability to avoid its sp…
(2020-02-20). "Most Important Issue for Most People": Split on Healthcare Continues to Define 2020 Race. democracynow.org 
Healthcare continues to be a central issue of the Democratic nomination fight, with Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren repeating their calls for Medicare for All on the debate stage Wednesday night while their rivals proposed more incremental approaches. | We continue our roundtable discussion on Wednesday's Democratic debate in Nevada. Our guests are Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation, America's oldest weekly magazine, and a columnist for WashingtonPost.com; journalist and activist Raquel Willis, executive editor of Out magazine, who has endorsed Senator Elizabeth War…
(2020-02-20). Bernie Sanders Says "Will of the People" Should Decide Democratic Nomination, Not Party Insiders. democracynow.org 
As the primary season heads into the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, we unpack the ninth Democratic presidential debate in a roundtable on the tensions at work on the Las Vegas debate stage. Senator Bernie Sanders, currently the front-runner in the race, said the candidate with the most delegates should become the nominee; all his rivals on stage suggested they would be open to a brokered convention, with superdelegates and other party insiders potentially deciding the nomination. | We continue our discussion with Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation; Raquel Willis, journalist, activ…
(2020-02-20). Greta Thunberg 'using award money to create sustainability foundation'. thecanary.co Greta Thunberg is using her prize money from an award often described as an alternative Nobel Prize to establish a sustainability foundation, according to the Swedish organisation behind the prize. | The purpose of the non-profit Greta Thunberg Foundation "is to promote ecological and social sustainability, as well as mental health", the Right Livelihood Foundation said. | The teenage climate activist was one of four recipients of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, which was founded in 1980 to "honour and support courageous people solving global problems". | The one million kronor ( £80,000) that came with th…
(2020-02-20). Who Is WHO's Tedros Adhanom? The Wuhan Lockdown is Unprecedented. globalresearch.ca On the surface it appeared that the Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has acted swiftly and seriously about the spreading coronavirus health emergency spreading across China. He has gone to meet with Chinese leaders to discuss the …
(2020-02-20). The Problem With Canadian Health Care. thenation.com The Problem With Canadian Health Care…
(2020-02-20). MSNBC's Anti-Sanders Bias Was on Display in Nevada, But It Hasn't Hurt Him. truthout.org After months of speculation, billionaire and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg finally appeared at a Democratic primary debate last night. In an ominous sign, the first answer he gave to a question was a dishonest attack aimed at scaring voters away from a universal health care system. | Asked to compare his chances of beating President Trump to Sen. Bernie Sanders's chances of doing so, Bloomberg attacked Sanders and his Medicare for All Plan, falsely suggesting it would throw 160 million…
(2020-02-20). Study: Medicare for All Would Save 68,000 lives, Half a Trillion Dollars Per year. mintpressnews.com Under U.S. law, the government is barred from negotiating prices with drug companies, leading to a situation where American-made HIV medication sells for $8 in Australia and up to $2,000 in the US.
(2020-02-19). Nevada Culinary Workers Union Member: I Would Trade My Union Healthcare for Medicare for All. democracynow.org 
The third presidential contest of the primary season takes place Saturday in Nevada. One of the state's most coveted endorsements is from the Culinary Workers Union, which represents some 60,000 workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries in Las Vegas and Reno. Its membership is 54% Latinx. But last week they decided not to endorse any of the candidates. Nevada is a "right to work" state, and the Culinary Workers Union has attracted members by offering them healthcare. It has said it supports "choices" in healthcare. The mobilization of service employees could be critical to winning the Nevada caucuses.
(2020-02-19). Yale Study Says Medicare for All Would Save U.S. $450 Billion, Prevent Nearly 70,000 Deaths a Year. democracynow.org 
As the Democratic presidential hopefuls prepare to take to the debate stage tonight, we turn to a central issue of the campaign: Medicare for All. In a new study, Yale scholars have found that Medicare for All will save Americans more than $450 billion and prevent 68,000 deaths every year. The study in The Lancet — one of the oldest and most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals — found that Medicare for All, supported by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, will save money and is more cost-effective than "Medicare for All Who Want It, "a model supported by Pete Buttigieg. Sanders referenced the…
(2020-02-19). While Nicaragua returns to peace, media and international NGOs conjure epidemic of violence with dubious reporting. thegrayzone.com Media bias against Nicaragua's Sandinista government is unremitting, and international NGOs are feeding it by misreporting a violent land dispute…
(2020-02-19). 'Not a single country' does enough to help children flourish, say health experts. news.un.org The world's survival depends on children being able to flourish, but no country is doing enough to give them a sustainable future, dozens of highly respected international health experts said on Wednesday.
(2020-02-19). At Stockholm road safety summit, UN officials join global call to end 'scourge' of preventable deaths. news.un.org Road traffic accidents take some 1.35 million lives every year and cost most countries three per cent of their gross domestic product, the top UN health official said on Wednesday as the Third Global Ministerial Conference On Road Safety kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden.
(2020-02-19). Headlines for February 19, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Falsely Claims He Is "Chief Law Enforcement Officer" of U.S., Trump Issues Clemency to White-Collar Criminals and Political Allies, Democratic Presidential Candidates to Take Debate Stage in Nevada, Resurfaced Video Shows Bloomberg Calling for Cuts to Medicare and Social Security, Death Toll from Coronavirus Surpasses 2,000 People, Afghanistan: Ashraf Ghani Declared Winner of Presidential Election, U.N.: 22 Killed, Including 14 Children, in Massacre in Cameroon, Somali Broadcast Journalist Abdiwali Ali Hassan Assassinated, North Carolina Court Temporarily Blocks Discriminatory Voter ID Laws…
(2020-02-19). Millions of children and families in Niger struggle as humanitarian needs mount — UNICEF. news.un.org Malnutrition, disease, floods, droughts and displacement in Niger have put nearly three million people, more than half of them children, in need of humanitarian assistance, UNICEF said on Wednesday, calling for increased attention to their plight.
(2020-02-18). ICE's Destruction of Records Must Be Stopped. aclu.org Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is | notorious for committing rampant unconstitutional and inhumane abuses in its | detention system — something advocates, communities, and years. Public oversight of ICE detention is about to become even harder, | further eroding accountability and endangering the health and safety of more than | 50,000 people in ICE custody every day. That's because the National Archives | and R…
(2020-02-18). 'Working night and day', UN health agency seeks to prevent global coronavirus crisis. news.un.org As COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, continues to spread, the head of the United Nations health agency said that there is still a chance to prevent a broader global crisis.
(2020-02-18). Polio eradication a UN priority, says Guterres in Pakistan visit. news.un.org In one of the last bastions of polio on the planet, millions of children are being given a fighting chance against the paralyzing and potentially fatal disease.