Daily Archives: January 31, 2020

2020-01-31: News Headlines

RT (2020-01-31). Pakistan suspends direct flights to China as novel coronavirus claims more lives. rt.com Pakistan is suspending all direct flights to Chinese cities days after four of its students tested positive for the new coronavirus. Similar measures have been taken in countries across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. | "We are suspending flights to China until February 2," the additional secretary of aviation, Abdul Sattar Khokhar, told Reuters on Friday, saying Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will review the situation after that date. | Local media shared an official CAA letter sent to local managers of Air China and China Southern Airlines — the two carriers serving direct flights between a n…

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-01-31). Coronavirus Epidemic: WHO Declares a Global Public Health Crisis, Can We Trust the WHO? globalresearch.ca In the course of the last two weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) had already pointed to a possible Global Public Health crisis in relation to China's novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) categorized as a viral pneumonia. The virus outbreak is centred …

Freedom Flotilla Coalition (2020-01-31). Gaza Is Already Unliveable: Help the Freedom Flotilla Sail Against the Inhuman Blockade of Gaza. globalresearch.ca In 2020, the …

(2020-01-31). EPA Reapproves Glyphosate, Claims Pesticide Poses No Human Health Threat. globalresearch.ca Relying on confidential industry research, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a final interim The EPA's assessment contradicts a 2015 World Health Organization …

Alan MacLeod (2020-01-31). US Announces Three New Military Bases in Iraq After Iraqis Demand Full Withdrawal. globalresearch.ca Less than a week after

Larry Romanoff (2020-01-31). China's Coronavirus: A Global Health Emergency is Launched. What are the Facts. globalresearch.ca While this coronavirus is indeed serious and is causing deaths, one wonders if the responses, especially in the West, are reaching out of control. | Canada, with a population about the same as Shanghai, has so far this flu season had …

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-01-31). Erdogan's Outburst Against Russia Reveals Frustration. globalresearch.ca Back in November 2015, a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M near the Syria—Turkey border on the allegations that the Russian warplane had violated Turkish airspace for 17 seconds — an interesting casus belli considering that …

GISHA (2020-01-31). The Deliberate Destruction of Gaza's Agriculture: Severe Damage to Crops Following Aerial Herbicide Spraying by Israel. globalresearch.ca Damage caused by aerial herbicide spraying conducted by Israel on three consecutive days (

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (2020-01-31). Endless War Is a Disastrous (but Profitable) Enterprise. globalresearch.ca "The collapse of the Libyan state has had region-wide repercussions, with flows of people and weapons destabilizing other countries throughout North Africa." This statement came from the Soufan Group's recent Intelbrief, entitled "Fighting Over Access to Libya's Energy Supplies" (24 …

Andrew Korybko (2020-01-31). Trump and Putin Made this the Best Week Ever for Netanyahu. globalresearch.ca Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is coasting into his country's third elections on March 2 with the success of two tremendous achievements over the past week that was interestingly made possible by both American and Russian Presidents. U.S. President …

James Cogan (2020-01-31). World Health Organisation Officially Declares Coronavirus a "Global Health Emergency" globalresearch.ca The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday decided to formally declare the outbreak of 2019-nCoV, the new coronavirus first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan, as a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)." The PHEIC classification was only established …

Stephen Lendman (2020-01-31). Trump's Annexation Scheme: A Stake in the Heart of the Moribund Two-State Solution and Peace. globalresearch.ca Since no-peace/peace plans first surfaced in the 1970s, the US and Israel supported Palestinian self-determination in name only. | Both countries opposed the idea since Israel seized Palestinian territory not stolen in 1948. | A two-state solution was theoretically possible years earlier, …

Pepe Escobar (2020-01-31). China's Virus Response Has Been 'Breathtaking'. globalresearch.ca President Xi Jinping formally told WHO head Tedros Ghebreyesus, at their meeting in Beijing earlier this week, that the coronavirus epidemic "is a devil and we cannot allow the devil to hide." | Ghebreyesus for his part could not but …

Stephen Lendman (2020-01-31). More Fallout from Trump's Annexation Scheme of the Century. globalresearch.ca The unacceptable scheme is further proof of a geopolitical know-nothing US president — on top of his contempt for ordinary people everywhere, concerned only about power politics and self-enrichment. | Polls so far show no bump for Netanyahu after the scheme's …

Carolyn Knight-Serrano (2020-01-31). UC Santa Cruz Undergrad Students Are Organizing Under the IWW. indybay.org UC Santa Cruz Undergrad students are organizing a union under the IWW Industrial Union 620 fighting for better wages and the abolition of tuition.

WSWS (2020-01-31). Germany: Humboldt University students speak on the falsification of history and lessons from Auschwitz. wsws.org As part of their election campaign for Student Parliament at Humboldt University, members and supporters of the IYSSE spoke with students about the attempts of right-wing ideologists to falsify the history of the Nazi dictatorship.

W. T. Whitney (2020-01-31). Uprising in Chile is the Legacy of Dashed Hopes and Bitter Defeat. counterpunch.org Santiago high school students were the spark. Rejecting a fare hike, they jumped over subway toll barriers on October 18, 2019. Students filled the streets all over. Police action led to injuries and arrests. Some 1.2 million people occupied Plaza Italia in Santiago a week later. After three months, on January 18, Santiago marchers arriving

Fight Back (2020-01-31). Students at the University of South Florida rally to increase Black enrollment. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – A strong crowd of SDS members and concerned students joined together to protest the university's low Black enrollment rates, as well as the administration's refusal to address the problem. | In previous talks with SDS, USF administration made openly racist comments on the student group's proposals, claiming that they were not interested in admitting Black students, but "people who would graduate." These remarks were not taken lightly, and SDS, in response, held a protest to demand a meeting with university President Dr. Steve Currall. SDS's previous actions have received so much attention that the adm…

WSWS (2020-01-31). A reply to the American Historical Review's defense of the 1619 Project. wsws.org The disrespect expressed by editor Alex Lichtenstein toward leading historians reveals the extent to which racialist mythology, which has provided the "theoretical" foundation of middle-class identity politics, has been accepted, and even embraced, by a substantial section of the academic community as a legitimate basis for the teaching of American history.

WorkWeek (2020-01-31). SF Treasure Island Radiation Charter School & SFLC & Hanging Nooses. indybay.org WorkWeek looks at the radioactive contamination and cover-up of the dangers of SF Treasure Island. The City of San Francisco now wants to put a charter school on a contaminated closed school called the Treasure Island Elementary School. It also looks at the MLK day picket of the San Francisco Labor Council and the hanging noose incident at SF Recology and the firing of Teamster Daryl Washington.

yenisafak (2020-01-31). At least two killed in twin suicide bombing in northeast Nigeria. yenisafak.com At least two people were killed and five injured when two suicide bombers detonated their explosives at a crowded area in Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria late Thursday.A police spokesperson said the suicide bombers, both of them female, were stopped by security personnel while attempting to enter the area."Upon resistance, they hurriedly detonated their improvised explosive devices (IED), killing two people besides themselves," Edet Okon said in a statement.Five other people were also injured in the attack, who were taken to Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.The crime scene had been cordoned off by the bomb disposal…

sputniknews (2020-01-31). Star Dragging Space-Time Around in Cosmic Dance Spotted by Scientists. sputniknews.com "Frame dragging" is one of the predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity, according to which a rotating object drags the surrounding space-time around with it in an effect that is so negligible in everyday life that it is undetectable.

sputniknews (2020-01-31). Staunch Critic of Indian PM Tears Into Pakistani Minister Who Urged People to 'Defeat Modi Madness'. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): Pakistan's Science and Technology Minister Fahad Ahmed Chaudhry's comment comes against the backdrop of the forthcoming Delhi legislative assembly elections, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's AAP will compete to form a city government.

Global Research News (2020-01-31). Selected Articles: How the FBI Sabotaged Trump Foreign Policy. globalresearch.ca By President Xi Jinping formally told WHO head Tedros Ghebreyesus, at their meeting in Beijing earlier this week, that the coronavirus epidemic "is a devil and we …

Diana Johnstone (2020-01-31). England Came and Went, Leaving Europe in a Mess. UK Leaves EU. globalresearch.ca Whew. Finally, at last, the UK is formally leaving the European Union on January 31. Here in Paris, the champions of French withdrawal from the EU are celebrating. They see Brexit as the harbinger of a future "Frexit", a French departure from undemocratic governance, and the end of a failed project to unify Europe around the demands of neoliberal capitalism.

True Publica (2020-01-31). Brexit — The Realisation Stage … What Next. globalresearch.ca Since 1945, the British government have made some catastrophic errors of judgement, which has led to the continuing decline of British prosperity. From the mismanagement and indecision over extricating itself from its empire to the Suez Canal crisis. In the …

RT (2020-01-31). Astronomers spot two-star system spinning so fast it's BENDING space & time (VIDEO). rt.com Astrophysicists spend their time working on some truly mind-bending stuff but after two decades of observations, scientists have witnessed a pair of stars spinning so fast they literally bend both space and time. | The team has been tracking the orbit of the extraordinary binary star for about 20 years, using the CSIRO Parkes Observatory's 64-metre radio telescope. | The researchers, from the ARC Centre of Excellence of Gravitational Wave Discovery, caught the spinning celestial bodies "frame-dragging" or, in other words, twisting both space and time with their immense gravity. | The research, published Fri…

Shawgi Tell (2020-01-31). Charter Schools Are Part of Private Law, Not Public Law. dissidentvoice.org Public law and private law are separate spheres of law that operate according to different standards and relationships.1 Private law governs relations between private citizens, whereas public law governs relations between individuals and the state. This distinction is critical. Private law does not concern society as a whole; public law does. Private law includes tort …

Global Research (2020-01-30). Two Books for One Price: Special Offers from Global Research Publishers. globalresearch.ca Global Research Publishers bring you a number of special offers on two-book combined purchases. Click on a link below for more info or to order the combined book offer of your choice: | . | . | | | …

Staff (2020-01-30). "Coded Bias": New Film Looks at Fight Against Racial Bias in Facial Recognition & AI Technology. democracynow.org A new documentary looks at the dangers of artificial intelligence and its increasing omnipresence in daily life, as new research shows that it often reflects racist biases. Earlier this month, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the latest major city to ban facial recognition technology, joining a growing number of cities, including San Francisco, to ban the artificial intelligence, citing flawed technology and racial and gender bias. A recent study also found that facial recognition identified African-American and Asian faces incorrectly 10 to 100 times more than white faces. The film "Coded Bias" begins with Joy B…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-01-30). Weingarten: Right wants states to use public dollars for religious schools. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON — The religious right wants the U.S. Supreme Court to force states to use public dollars for religious schools, Teachers President Randi Weingarten warns. In a message to her union's 1.6 million members late last month, the AFT leader, a civics and government teacher from New York City, adds the religious rightists are counting …

Staff (2020-01-30). Most Schools Stifle Indigenous Youth. Standing Rock Offered a Different Vision. truthout.org "The camps at Standing Rock produced an environment substantially and holistically more supportive for Native youth," writes activist Sarah Sunshine Manning. In this excerpt from her essay, which is a part of the collection Standing with Standing Rock: Voices from the #NoDAPL Movement, the actualization of self and community that sprang from the Oceti Sakowin camps speaks to how Western education fails to meet the needs of Indigenous youth. | In early August 2016, tribal nations throughout N…

Philip Giraldi (2020-01-30). The Torturers and the 'Ticking Bomb': How Torture Became Routine in the Global War on Terror. globalresearch.ca With all the media excitement focused on the impeachment of President Donald Trump, it comes as no surprise that some recent additional insights into how the United States became a torture regime have been largely ignored. It has been …

Donald Monaco (2020-01-30). Impeachment and the Imperial Presidency. globalresearch.ca Donald J. Trump is the third president in American history to face an impeachment trial in the United States Senate. He stands accused by Democratic members in the House of Representatives of abusing power and obstructing Congress. | In reality, Trump …

Stephen Lendman (2020-01-30). Netanyahu Formally Indicted. globalresearch.ca Hard evidence collected by Israeli AG Mendleblit proves Netanyahu guilt of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, serious civil offenses — his high crimes of war, against humanity, and slow-motion genocide against long-suffering Palestinians ignored. | His day in the dock …

South Front (2020-01-30). Video: Syria Army Develops Momentum in Idlib and Aleppo. Turkish Military Convoy Enters Syria. globalresearch.ca On January 28, units of the Syrian Army, led by the 25th Special Mission Forces Division, liberated the town of Maarat al-Numan, the Wadi Al-Deif military base and nearby villages from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other al-Qaeda-linked groups. | Earlier on …

Staff (2020-01-30). Facial Recognition Technology and AI Are Tainted With Racial Bias. truthout.org A new documentary looks at the dangers of artificial intelligence and its increasing omnipresence in daily life, as new research shows that it often reflects racist biases. Earlier this month, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the latest major city to ban facial recognition technology, joining a growing number of cities, including San Francisco, to ban the artificial intelligence, citing flawed technology and racial and gender bias. A recent study also found that facial recognition identified African-Americ…

Padraig McGrath (2020-01-30). JCPOA Nuclear Agreement Collapsing Due to Western Bad Faith. globalresearch.ca In spite of the Russian Foreign Ministry's best efforts, the JCPOA may very well be in the process of collapsing. On January 14th, British, French and German officials decided to trigger the agreement's Dispute Resolution Mechanism in relation to alleged …

Michael Jansen (2020-01-30). Trump's Skewed Vision Gives Israel Everything It Wants. globalresearch.ca Donald Trump's "Deal of the Century", his "vision" of an Arab-Israeli peace settlement, is, as expected, a boon for Israel and a trap for the Palestinians. Everyone knew this would be the case. His deal could never have been …

Afro News (2020-01-30). What You Need to Know About Trump's Annexation Plan. globalresearch.ca US President Donald Trump finally unveiled his 'Middle East Peace Plan' on Tuesday, 28 January 2020, during a media conference in Washington, as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stood by his side. | The entire document, called 'Peace to …

Independent Jewish Voices (2020-01-30). How Not to Fight Antisemitism. globalresearch.ca Executive Summary | Antisemitism is a form of racism and as such must be opposed on general anti-racist principles, in solidarity with other anti-racist struggles and in concert with the principles of human rights and equality for all. Unfortunately, both the …

Niles Niemuth (2020-01-30). US Airstrikes in Afghanistan Hit Ten-year High in 2019. globalresearch.ca The US Air Force reported Monday that it carried out more airstrikes in Afghanistan in 2019 than any year in the last decade. Manned and unmanned aircraft dropped 7,423 bombs, topping the previous decade high of 7,362 in 2018. | Nearly …

Padraig McGrath (2020-01-30). WHO Impressed by Chinese Response to Coronavirus Outbreak. globalresearch.ca On July 1st 1941, the Soviet Politburo created the Council for Evacuations, an emergency governing body tasked with organizing the evacuation of people, food, farm-livestock, other goods and entire factory complexes to the Urals region before they could be captured …

Almasdar News (2020-01-30). Russian Delegation Reminds US that Occupied Golan Heights Is Syrian Territory. globalresearch.ca Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, mentioned to the authors of the "Deal of the Century" that the occupied Golan Heights is Syrian territory. | "Yesterday, Washington's vision of a settlement in the Middle East was …

Stephen Lendman (2020-01-30). Trump Regime's Annexation Scheme of the Century Unveiled. globalresearch.ca Nothing about the scheme surprised, an affront to millions of long-suffering Palestinians and international law — a document with no legitimacy. | One observer compared Trump's unveiling to a wedding attended by the bride, not the groom. | Palestinians were excluded from …

Renee Parsons (2020-01-30). How the FBI Sabotaged Trump Foreign Policy. globalresearch.ca We now know that, before Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2017, the FBI had the ouster of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the President's National Security Adviser, in its sights. By February 13th, Flynn was

Jonathan Cook (2020-01-30). Trump's 'Deal of the Century' Won't Bring Peace — That Was the Plan. globalresearch.ca Much of Donald Trump's long-trailed "deal of the century" came as no surprise. Over the past 18 months, Israeli officials had leaked many of its details. | The so-called "Vision for Peace" unveiled on Tuesday simply confirmed that the US …

Tsvetana Paraskova (2020-01-30). US Sanctions Bar Iran from Accessing $5B Energy Export Revenue. globalresearch.ca Due to the U.S. sanctions on Iran, Tehran is unable to use or transfer US$5 billion in revenues it has received from Iraq for supplying natural gas and electricity to its neighbor, an Iranian official told

Craig Murray (2020-01-30). The FBI Has Been Lying About Seth Rich. globalresearch.ca A persistent American lawyer has uncovered the undeniable fact that the FBI has been

South Front (2020-01-30). Video: Syria Army Advance on Saraqib. Liberated Areas held by Al Qaeda (Hayat Tahir al Sham). globalresearch.ca Idlib militants seem to be in disarray amid the developing advance of the Syrian Army. Since the liberation of Maarat al-Numan, government forces have achieved several important breakthroughs on the frontline in southeastern Idlib and southwestern Aleppo. | The army has …