Daily Archives: February 7, 2020

2020-02-07: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-07). Russia to drop dual citizenship restriction, make acquiring passport easier with 'revolutionary' new bill — Kommersant. rt.com Have you always fancied a Russian passport, but had doubts about relinquishing your current citizenship? Well, you may be in luck under new proposals apparently being drafted in Moscow. | Newspaper Kommersant, citing sources in a working group to reform state migration, says the Kremlin is poised to ditch its long-standing restrictions on dual citizenship. | The primary target is people from what Moscow considers "fraternal states," such as Belarus, Ukraine, and other former Soviet republics — many of which are mired in poverty. Russia, facing its own demographic issues, sees them as a convenient source o…

RT (2020-02-07). Largest city in Russia's Far East to introduce 'mask regime' from Monday as coronavirus fears spread. rt.com Located only 20km (12.4 miles) from China and straddling the banks of the shared Amur River, Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East is especially vulnerable to the new coronavirus sweeping its southern neighbor. | So far, however, the city of over 600,000 people has not reported any infections. Nevertheless, officials are not taking any chances. From Monday, a compulsory "mask regime" will be introduced, as a precautionary measure. The move follows the closure of border crossings last week. | The rule will apply to almost every category of worker who deals with the public including teachers, doctors, retail and bank…

RT (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…

Staff (2020-02-07). Syrian Advance Sends Hundreds of Thousands Fleeing in Idlib. truthdig.com BEIRUT — Turkey on Friday sent more troops and tanks to bolster its military presence in northwestern Syria, where President Bashar Assad's forces have been advancing in a devastating, Russian-backed offensive that has sparked a massive wave of people fleeing in wet and blustery winter weather. | Syria's Idlib region near the border with Turkey is the last rebel-held bastion in the war-ravaged country. The push by Assad's forces into towns and villages in the province over the past months has uprooted more than a half-million people who fled the advancing troops. Many of them already have been displaced sev…

WSWS (2020-02-07). Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shoots unarmed man in the face in New York City. wsws.org Eric Diaz-Cruz was shot as he sought to stop his mother's boyfriend from being detained by ICE early Thursday morning.

Staff (2020-02-07). Headlines for February 7, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Lashed Out at "Evil" Lawmakers Who Voted to Impeach Him, Sanders and Buttigieg Virtually Tied with 100% of Iowa Precincts Reporting, Buttigieg Campaign Moves to Cut Ties with Head of Data Company That Contracts with ICE, Chinese Doctor Who Raised Alarm of Coronavirus Has Died, Trump Says Pentagon Killed Leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Israeli Forces Kill 3 More Palestinians Amid Growing Protests, Canadian Police Raid Indigenous Wet'suwet'en Protest Camp, 20 Miners Trapped in Underground Mine in Zimbabwe, Brazilian Judge Declines to Pursue Charges Against Glenn Greenwald, El Salvador Says It Is…

Scarlet Kim (2020-02-07). CBP Lied About Iranian-American Detentions, Leaked Memo Suggests. globalresearch.ca Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

yenisafak (2020-02-07). Myanmar watermelon farmers feel pinch as coronavirus hits China trade. yenisafak.com In a field in southern Myanmar, Naing Lin Htet stands among hundreds of overripe watermelons he intended to export to neighbouring China but will instead leave to rot because of the fast-spreading coronavirus that has hammered sales."The traders told us not to bring the produce to the border as there are no buyers there," the 43-year-old farmer said. "So we don't dare to bring our fruit."Almost all of his harvest would have been bound for China, he said, but he has chosen not to waste money on transport and has slashed his 300-strong workforce to just 40 labourers.China, the world's most populous nation, usually…

sputniknews (2020-02-07). Indian Court Refuses to Ban Bollywood Movie 'Shikara' Based on Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): A petition was filed by three social activists seeking a stay on the release of "Shikara", a film based on the mass migration of Hindu's from India's Kashmir Valley at the end of 1989 and early 1990 at the height of militancy in the restive Muslim-majority region. They claimed it distorted facts and was "communal" in nature.

sputniknews (2020-02-07). Legendary Loch Ness Monster Allegedly Spotted for the First Time in 2020 — Video. sputniknews.com The man who allegedly recorded Nessie's sighting on camera claimed that his footage proves that the creature is not migratory in nature and "goes no further than the Loch itself".

The Canary (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…

Staff (2020-02-07). Human Rights Watch: 200 Salvadoran Asylum Seekers Killed, Raped or Tortured After U.S. Deportation. democracynow.org A shocking new report says at least 200 Salvadoran asylum seekers were either killed, raped or tortured after being deported from the United States back to El Salvador. Human Rights Watch found that some 138 people deported to El Salvador were murdered by gang members, police, soldiers, death squads or ex-partners between 2013 and 2019. The report says most of the victims were killed within two years after being deported, by the same perpetrators the asylum seekers had fled from. From Denver, Colorado, we speak to Clara Long, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch. And joining us from El Salvador, we speak to "

teleSUR (2020-02-06). Migrants in Serbia Protest for Passage to Hungary and EU. telesurenglish.net Dozens of migrants, trapped in Serbia, set out in freezing and windy weather on Thursday to walk about ten kilometers to the Hungarian border, demanding free and secure passage toward Western Europe, police said. | RELATED: | The protest in the northern city of Subotica, just outside European Union member state Hungary, came after migrants' attempt to force their way through a border checkpoint last month. | Serbian…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-02-06). 'Colonialism In All Its Ugliness': Indigenous Land Defenders Condemn Violent Police Raid on Camp Blocking Pipeline Construction. commondreams.org Climate action campaigners and Indigenous leaders on Thursday condemned a violent pre-dawn raid by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at a camp set up by Wet'suwet'en land defenders in British Columbia. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-02-06_at_4.50.35_pm.jpg

Staff (2020-02-05). Roberto Lovato: Dems & GOP Share Same Playbook on Immigration, Foreign Policy & Corporate Domination. democracynow.org President Trump delivered his 2020 State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. The speech reprised many of the themes of Trump's 2016 campaign, including demonization of immigrants. We continue our discussion with Lee Fang, investigative journalist at The Intercept, and Roberto Lovato, author of the forthcoming book "Unforgetting: A Memoir of Revolution and Redemption." About 10 Democrats skipped the speech and a few more walked out while it was in progress, but Lovato says the Democratic establishment doesn't differ with Trump on many key issues. "Nancy Pelosi may have ripped the speech…

Staff (2020-02-05). In State of the Union, Trump Celebrates Hate & Xenophobia While Touting "Great American Comeback" democracynow.org President Trump delivered his third State of the Union address Tuesday night, just a day before the Republican-controlled Senate is expected to vote to acquit him in the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history. Trump's speech, which focused heavily on the economy and immigration, sounded at times like a campaign rally, with Republican lawmakers chanting "Four more years!" He never once mentioned his impeachment trial. Prior to the speech, Trump refused to shake House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's hand, and once the speech was over, Pelosi was seen on television ripping up her copy of Trump's remarks. She la…

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 sta…

Staff (2020-02-05). Publisher Agrees to Boost Latinx Representation After Backlash to Whitewashed Novel "American Dirt" democracynow.org We look at the massive backlash and criticism against the novel "American Dirt" as a movement led by Latinx writers declares victory, demanding more representation in the publishing industry. Dignidad Literaria, or literary dignity, formed in response to the controversial immigration novel "American Dirt." The author, Jeanine Cummins, who is not Mexican, received a seven-figure advance for the book, and it was chosen for Oprah's Book Club. But its critics say "American Dirt" exploits and misrepresents Mexico and the experience of Mexican migrants. Critics also say the novel completely erases the voices of Central…

news.un (2020-02-05). Refugee resettlement: 'Tremendous gap' persists between needs, and spaces on offer. news.un.org Although around 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, only 63,696 were resettled through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) last year – that's only 4.5 per cent – due to a continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world.

Staff (2020-02-04). Headlines for February 4, 2020. democracynow.org Delay in Iowa Democratic Primary Results Causes Confusion, Mixed Messages, Final Arguments Made in Impeachment Trial of President Trump Ahead of SOTU, Hong Kong Medical Workers Demand Border Closure as Coronavirus Claims Life of Hong Kong Man, Leaked Audio Shows Iran Knew It Downed Ukraine Jet Despite Early Denials, Syrian and Turkish Forces Escalate Attacks as Turkey Suffers First Losses from Direct Combat, Massachusetts Prisoners Allege Violent Retaliatory Abuse by Guards, Trial Begins For Ex-CIA Software Engineer Accused of "Vault 7" Leak, Weinstein Rape Accuser Breaks Down During Harsh Questioning, Shooting a…

Fight Back (2020-02-02). Minneapolis protest rejects Trump's expansion of Muslim ban to six new countries. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people protested Saturday, February 1, outside the Federal Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis to condemn Donald Trump adding six more countries to his administration's travel ban. | The protest was called by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Minnesota (CAIR) just a day earlier and was endorsed by the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Black Immigrant Collective, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), Anti-War Committee, among others. | The Minneapolis protest was emceed by Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN. State Attorney General Keith Ellison and former State Repre…

Hatewatch Staff (2020-01-31). Workers Organization Shares Staff, Cash With Anti-Immigrant Groups. splcenter.org U.S. Tech Workers, a project of the anti-immigrant group Progressives for Immigration Reform (PFIR), has ties to an anti-immigrant hate network and unprecedented access to the Trump administration.

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…

Alexander Rubinstein (2020-01-30). Anti-Trump-themed 'Immigrant Food' restaurant owned by lobbyists for right-wing Latin American coup leaders who fueled migration crisis. thegrayzone.com The shocking story of how wealthy Latin American regime-change hitmen exploited immigrant rights, international food, and a pliant DC media…

splcenter (2020-01-29). Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' policy marks one year, leaving tens of thousands of migrants stranded in Mexican border towns. splcenter.org

Ashoka Mukpo (2020-01-28). Asylum-Seekers Are Being Abandoned in Guatemala in a New Policy Officials Call a "Total Disaster" aclu.org In late November, U.S. immigration authorities began | deporting some Central American asylum-seekers to Guatemala under a new | policy that makes it nearly impossible for them to seek asylum in the U.S. | But Guatemalan human rights workers say that their country's | asylum system isn't capable of handling even the relatively small numbers that | have been sent there so far, and that asylum seekers' precarious status in the | country has already pushed many to leave. | "They're preferring to move on…