(2020-01-27). 'Greatest danger for democracy': Iranian president seeks greater inclusivity in election process after 10,000 candidates banned. rt.com 
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has taken aim at how the Islamic Republic handles elections. After the Guardian Council barred almost two-thirds of candidates from running, Rouhani called for "competition and participation." | With the parliamentary elections on the horizon, President Rouhani spoke to provincial governors about the electoral process. Rouhani criticized the way the Islamic Republic deals with elections in general, and the actions of Iran's Guardian Council of the Constitution specifically. | The council, which decides who can run for office, has so far barred almost 10,000 candidates, including…
(2020-01-27). Czech soldiers to join France's counter-terror mission in Africa — govt. rt.com 
The Czech government on Monday approved a plan by its ministry of defense to deploy up to 60 troops as part of France's counter-terrorism mission in Africa. The service members will join Operation Barkhane, France's largest overseas military mission, AP reports. | It has been working to root out Islamic militants roaming the Sahel region. The government said Mali, Niger and Chad have all approved the Czech deployment. | However, the plan to deploy Czech forces in the mission until the end of 2022 needs parliamentary approval. The Czechs already have some 120 military personnel in Mali as a part of a European U…
(2020-01-27). USAF says 'it appears we lost a plane' as Afghani journos uncover DOCUMENTS from crash site (PHOTOS). rt.com 
Journalists have made it to the scene of a plane crash in Afghanistan, snapping pictures of the wreckage and even some documents. It comes as the US Air Force's chief of staff all but confirmed the loss of the military plane.
(2020-01-27). Taliban claims they DOWNED plane carrying high-ranking US officers in Afghanistan — Reuters. rt.com 
Taliban militants have claimed that a US military aircraft crashed in Ghazni, central Afghanistan, killing everyone on board. A statement quoted by Reuters has specified that it was brought down. The US military is investigating. | A Taliban spokesman has affirmed the group's responsibility for the crash, saying that the aircraft's crew and everyone on board, including what he claimed were high-ranking officers, were killed on the spot. | The so-far unverified claim includes a suggestion that the officers belonged to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). | Earlier in the day, footage of charred remains…
(2020-01-27). 'No indication of enemy fire': US forces in Afghanistan confirm loss of recon plane. rt.com 
The US military has acknowledged the loss of a Bombardier/Northrop Grumman E-11A plane in central Afghanistan. They added that they have not found any "indication" that the aircraft was downed. | The aircraft crashed in Ghazni city area on Monday. An investigation into the incident is underway and the military will provide further information when its available, a spokesman for the US force in Afghanistan, Col. Sonny Leggett has tweeted. | A U.S. Bombardier E-11A crashed today in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. While the cause of crash is under investigation, there are no indications the crash was caused by enem…
(2020-01-27). Plane crashes in Taliban-controlled area of central Afghanistan — media. rt.com 
A plane crashed on Monday in Afghanistan's central Ghazni Province, an area controlled by the Taliban, local media report, citing officials. There were no immediate reports on casualties, though later some reports estimated tolls. | The jet went down in a Taliban-controlled area in the central Ghazni Province, Ariana News said, citing the Ministry of Interior Affairs. A source told local TOLOnews that "special forces" would be dispatched to the site. | Footage, said to be from the site of the crash, shows a large plume of smoke rising. | ŸàŸÑÿߟäÿ© ÿ&…
(2020-01-27). Taliban claims plane carrying high-ranking US officers crashes in Afghanistan. rt.com Taliban militants say that a US military aircraft crashed in Ghazni, central Afghanistan, killing everyone on board. A statement quoted by Reuters has claimed that it was brought down. The US military is investigating. | UPDATE: A Taliban spokesman said that the aircraft's crew and everyone on board, including what he claimed were high-ranking officers, were killed on the spot. | The so-far unverified claim includes a suggestion that the officers…
(2020-01-27). WATCH first footage allegedly showing wreckage of US plane that crashed in Afghanistan. rt.com 
Remains of an aircraft which crashed in the Taliban-held part of central Afghanistan can allegedly be seen in a video circulating on social media. The symbols on the plane appear to be similar to those used by the US military. | UPDATE: In the video, several people can be seen inspecting a crash site. A roundel, identical to the ones used by some US Air Force planes, is visible on the aircraft's fuselage. | US Central Command spokesperson, Major…
(2020-01-27). OPCW cannot be influenced by outside actors, the watchdog needs to be salvaged, British general tells RT. rt.com 
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) needs to salvage its reputation after whistleblowers offered credible evidence of deceitful reporting on the Douma incident, a former head of UK commandos has said. | The international chemical weapons watchdog is under increasing pressure to come clean about how it prepared its report into the April 2018 incident in the Damascus suburb. Several scientists from the watchdog blew the whistle, alleging that the findings by inspectors who went on a fact-finding mission to Syria had been distorted or ignored by the OPCW's management, which was more co…
(2020-01-27). Genocide Scholar Warns That the Groundwork for Genocide in the US Has Been Laid. mintpressnews.com 
Brynn Tannehill, a defense analyst and genocide scholar, took to Twitter to warn that the necessary conditions and many of the precursor events for genocide in the US "are in motion."
(2020-01-27). Israel's Auschwitz Commemoration: A Kidnapping of Jewish history. mintpressnews.com 
As world leaders gathered in Jerusalem to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, Zochrot, an
(2020-01-27). "Respect for Graduate Student Workers Act" introduced in House and Senate. peoplesworld.org 
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—The Harvard Graduate Student Union-UAW, which is in the midst of contentious contract negotiations, puts the situation faced by its members in stark perspective: "Harvard University, which has a $41 billion endowment, admits that many students and student workers here are food insecure. But instead of agreeing to fair compensation in a union contract, …
(2020-01-27). Passenger plane with 130 on board slides off runway, stops in the middle of a road in western Iran (VIDEO). rt.com 
A packed Iranian passenger plane skidded of the runway and ended up in the middle of a city street, local media report. | Caspian Airlines Flight 6936 took off from Tehran at around 6: 44am local time and was trying to land in the city of Bandar-e Mahshahr in southwestern Khuzestan Province when it skidded off the runway on Monday, Tasnim News said. | Videos from the scene, which are circulating on social media, show the Boeing aircraft lying on its belly in the middle of the road. Passengers were calmly evacuated from the plane, while some wreckage from the fuselage could be seen on the ground. | Dramatic f…
(2020-01-27). Oman's top diplomat visits Iran for 2nd time in week to discuss Gulf security. rt.com 
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hosted his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi on Sunday, the second such visit in one week, for talks on security in the Gulf. | Alawi made his visit to Tehran after his trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, which Zarif skipped after scheduling changes to the annual event. | Zarif and Alawi discussed "bilateral cooperation regarding the Strait of Hormuz and emphasized their governments' will… to guarantee maritime and energy security for all," according to Iran's foreign ministry. | It was their second meeting in the Iranian capital since la…
(2020-01-27). What do presidential candidates do when they're stuck in the Senate? peoplesworld.org 
MANCHESTER, N.H.—What do Democratic presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Benne,t and Amy Klobuchar do when they want to be out on the campaign trail — but instead are stuck in the U.S. Senate, serving as jurors in the impeachment trial of GOP President Donald Trump? The answer, at least with two weeks to …
(2020-01-27). Under Pressure in Impeachment Trial, Trump Steps Up Attacks on Reproductive Rights. democracynow.org 
Donald Trump on Friday became the first sitting president in U.S. history to attend the so-called March for Life, the annual anti-abortion rally held in Washington, D.C., that draws thousands of participants. President Trump — who once described himself as "pro-choice in every respect" — accused Democrats of infanticide and falsely stated that Virginia Governor Ralph Northam supports an abortion bill that would "execute a baby after birth." The March for Life began in 1974 in response to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion. Past…
(2020-01-27). The Vile Message Democrats Are Sending With Impeachment. truthdig.com 
People of color have suffered the brunt of Trump's abuses, so why are there no articles of impeachment that speak to their pain?
(2020-01-27). 'Bombshell' or nothing to see here? Dems clamor for Bolton impeachment testimony as manuscript claims Trump-Ukraine quid-pro-quo. rt.com 
Ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton's book claims Donald Trump admitted a Ukraine quid-pro-quo, prompting Democrats to declare it's game-over for the US president, as his supporters dismiss it as yet another nothingburger. | Democrats have renewed their demands for Bolton to testify in the Senate impeachment trial after a manuscript of the inveterate hawk's new tell-all book on his time in the White House asserted Trump had told Bolton the administration should keep sitting on $391 million in military aid to Ukraine until Kiev reopened an investigation of Burisma Holdings, the natural gas firm tied to for…
(2020-01-27). Explosive Bolton Book Allegations Spark New Calls for Witnesses to Testify at Impeachment Trial. democracynow.org 
Calls are growing for the Senate to call witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial, after The New York Times published details about former national security adviser John Bolton's forthcoming book. In the book, Bolton writes that President Trump personally told him in August that he wanted to maintain a freeze on $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until Ukraine turned over materials related to former Vice President Joe Biden and supporters of Hillary Clinton in Ukraine. The New York Times broke the story on Sunday, one day after President Trump's legal team began its defense of the president. D…
(2020-01-27). Cool-headed Indian man survives terrifying TIGER ATTACK by playing dead (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Netizens the world over have been stunned by one Maharashtra man's unlikeliest of escapes when he came face to face with an adult male tiger that had been terrorizing his village in western India. | The unnamed man was forced into the impossible position of playing dead and not moving a muscle as the bengal tiger loomed over him – and even lay down beside him. Hair-raising eyewitness footage of the man's lucky escape in Binaki village has been shared online. | Here's the full video
(2020-01-27). Palestinian PM calls on world powers 'to reject' Trump's peace plan for Middle East. rt.com 
The Palestinian prime minister on Monday urged world powers to reject Donald Trump's peace plan, which they said President Mahmoud Abbas had refused to discuss with his US counterpart, AFP reported. | Trump is due to unveil his proposal for Middle East peace this week in Washington, where he is scheduled to meet Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz. | Palestinian leaders, who have not been invited to the White House, have already rejected the US initiative. However, the details of Trump's plan, which has been in the works since 2017, are not yet public. | Palestinian PM Mohammad Shta…
(2020-01-27). 'Makes a lot of sense': White House to unveil 'deal of the century' Mid-East peace plan Tuesday as Trump receives Netanyahu. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump has said that the White House will unveil its long-awaited and long-delayed Middle East peace plan on Tuesday. Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu is already in DC, but no Palestinian envoy is present. | Trump made the remark as he received Netanyahu, who is in Washington for the release of the plan dubbed the "deal of the century." | Trump said the plan "makes a lot of sense" for everybody and is "good for" Palestinians — but reports suggest that the plan is unlikely to offer the prospect of statehood to Palestine. Adding to the sense that the deal will offer more to Israel, is the…
(2020-01-27). Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in coronavirus outbreak epicenter Wuhan to supervise epidemic control efforts. rt.com 
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, which is the ground zero of the 2019-nCoV novel coronavirus outbreak that has already infected more than 2,800 people and claimed 80 lives across the nation. | "At the instruction of China's Chairman Xi Jinping, [Li, who is] a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and the head of the working group, created due to the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus, has arrived in Wuhan to inspect and control the effort on fighting the epidemic," the State Council said in…
(2020-01-27). Mongolia closes border with China, shuts down ALL universities & training centers to stop coronavirus spread. rt.com 
China's northern neighbor Mongolia has decided to close border crossings and all universities across the country, in a bid to stop the rapid spread of the previously-unknown coronavirus that has killed more than 80 people. | All border crossings with China will remain closed for vehicles and pedestrians from Monday until March 2, the state-run Montsame News Agency reported, citing a government meeting. No restrictions were placed on railways and air travel. | All universities, vocational training centers and the popular Nairamdal international youth camp will also be closed during this time period. | The gover…
(2020-01-27). China & India to take control of one-third of global economy. rt.com 
The developing markets of China and India will make up 35 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2060, nearing the US and European nations' combined share, according to the Japan Center for Economic Research. | The Tokyo-based think tank says China's share of the world's economy will be about 20 percent and India's nearly 16 percent, up from 17 percent and four percent in 2019, respectively. | Also on rt.com | | China is forecast to keep its current number-two position…
(2020-01-27). 'I'm not worried': French coronavirus patient speaks out as death toll & global concerns continue to rise. rt.com 
A French national of Chinese origin, who has contracted the deadly virus and is hospitalized in Bordeaux, says he is "not worried" about his affliction. The total number of infections has surpassed 2,000 while 56 people have died. | France has become the first European country where cases of the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) have been confirmed. So far, three people have been diagnosed with the deadly disease — one in Bordeaux and two in Paris. | The Bordeaux patient, a 48-year-old man who has not been named, had traveled to China recently, spoke to the local media. The man said he had likely contracted the…
(2020-01-27). Bolton's bombshell explodes main Trump defense argument in Senate. peoplesworld.org 
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(2020-01-27). Hong Kong hospital hit by homemade bomb day after protesters set fire to coronavirus quarantine building. rt.com 
A small bomb prompted evacuation and temporarily disrupted work at a hospital in Hong Kong. Masked protesters had earlier firebombed a proposed quarantine area for possible coronavirus victims. | The explosive device was hidden in a bathroom stall inside the Caritas Medical Center and went off at around 2: 30am on Monday. About 20 patients were evacuated, after which a bomb squad examined the scene. The hospital's emergency department had to limit its work until services were fully restored later in the morning. No one was injured in the blast. | "After the explosion, there was a lot of white smoke, and a small…
(2020-01-27). Italy's regional voters thwart hopes of Matteo Salvini's League party. thecanary.co 
Italian voters have thwarted right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini's hopes of turning an election in a key northern region into a springboard for regaining national power.Nearly complete results from Sunday's election for the governorship of the prosperous Emilia-Romagna region had his League party candidate winning only 43.7% of support to the 51.4% garnered by the incumbent governor Stefano Bonaccini from the centre-left Democrats.The Democrats are in Italy's national coalition government led by premier Giuseppe Conte. | Italy, Emilia-Romagna regional election, 61.5% counted: | Bonaccini (CSX-LEFT | S&D | G/E…
(2020-01-27). India to begin teaching teens how to build their OWN AI using DIY kits. rt.com 
An Indian deep-tech startup will begin teaching the country's teenagers how to build their own artificial intelligence systems using DIY kits, before applying what they've learned to real-world problems. | Tech start-up CYRAN developed the 'BUDDHI AI DIY Kit', with 'Buddhi' standing for "Build, Understand, Design, Deploy Human-like Intelligence." It also means 'brain' or 'mind' in Hindi. | The pack includes an AI handbook, DIY AI projects, lessons, exercises, presentations, and videos while making use of both proprietary software and hardware like AI actuation circuit boards powered by AI computing-engines.
(2020-01-27). Is the DNC Planning to Go to War Against the Left? truthdig.com 
Progressives raised alarm this weekend after Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez released his picks for the 2020 Democratic National Convention committees. | The list of nominees, Sunrise Movement political director Evan Weber Kevin Gosztola, managing editor of Related Articles:
(2020-01-27). 'People want to know the truth': Red Army veteran speaks out on liberation of Auschwitz & distortions of history. rt.com 
Soviet veteran Ivan Martynushkin remembers the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It was a "massive celebration" with the Red Army's role recognized front and center. Fifteen years on, however, something has shifted. | As time goes on, those anniversary events have become "different in tone" and attitudes toward Soviet veterans "drastically changed." No longer revered in Europe for their role in liberating Poland, Martynushkin says "implicit accusations" began to creep in that the Red Army "were aggressors" who did not truly liberate Poland. In 2015, relations between Moscow and the rest of Europ…
(2020-01-27). Remembering My Hero, Howard Zinn. truthdig.com 
The renowned historian Howard Zinn died on January 27, 2010. On the occasion of the 10 year anniversary of his passing, we are revisiting the following piece by whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg about his close friend and "the best human being [he's] ever known," I just learned that my friend Howard Zinn died today. Earlier this morning, I was being interviewed by the Boston Phoenix, in connection with the February release of a documentary in which he is featured prominently. The interviewer asked me who m…
(2020-01-27). French Yellow Vests hold large solidarity demo for Julian Assange at Belmarsh prison. thecanary.co 
Members of the French
(2020-01-27). Russia has drugs to treat 'coronavirus,' but global epidemic possible by March — Moscow experts. rt.com 
Russia has about 30 medicines that can treat the dangerous new Chinese coronavirus, according to the country's former chief federal sanitary inspector, Dr Gennady Onishchenko. | "In order to reassure everyone: There are about 30 drugs that are available today, and are being used, [which can] work against this virus. Twelve of them are ones we [also use to] treat HIV infection," Onishchenko, who is now an MP in the national parliament (Duma), told the radio station Echo of Moscow. | However, Alexander Sergeev, head of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), offered a bleak prediction. He believes a global epidem…
(2020-01-27). Russia detains Japanese citizen in Vladivostok on suspicion of SPYING — Foreign ministry. rt.com 
A Japanese citizen has been detained in Vladivostok while trying to obtain classified material about Russia's military capabilities, officials have confirmed. He has since left the country. | The suspected spy was arrested on Saturday while trying to obtain secrets about what military assets Moscow has in the Far East, the Russian foreign ministry said. The Japanese national, who was in Russia on a journalism-related visa, was instructed to leave the country within 72 hours. He obliged and departed on Sunday. | "The Japanese diplomats accredited in Russia have been issued with a note of protest, stating that s…
(2020-01-27). Man 'in difficult financial situation' abandons young children at Moscow airport — Russian cops investigating. rt.com 
Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against a man who dumped his children at the country's busiest airport. | According to authorities, 41-year-old Viktor Gavrilov from the Far Eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur arrived on a long-haul flight from Khabarovsk to Moscow's Sheremetyevo before abandoning his two sons. | The man then boarded a different plane to Rostov, near the Black Sea, leaving his kids with their identifying documents and a note: "Please help my children. Please place them in a temporary shelter, because at the moment I have a very difficult financial situation. I'll pick…
(2020-01-27). Kicked to the Kerb: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova stuns Angelique Kerber to reach Australian Open quarter-finals (VIDEO). rt.com 
Russian starlet Anastasian Pavlyuchenkova produced a superb performance to knock former champion Angelique Kerber out of the Australian Open and move into the quarter-finals of the tournament in Melbourne. | Pavlyuchenkova fell behind after losing a first-set tiebreak before powering back into the match and winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 to book her place in the last eight of the women's draw. | The 28-year-old's progression ensured she reached her third quarter-final in the last four years in Melbourne, which has been a happy hunting ground in the past. | It also guaranteed that the tournament would crown a brand new…
(2020-01-27). Australian fires and drought: Government cut climate change research, ignored scientists. peoplesworld.org 
The catastrophic nature of the bush fires in Australia these past months in all likelihood could have been prevented or been less severe if governments had listened to scientists and acted on their advice. Instead, funding was cut to the very organizations that are critical to our understanding of bush fires and climate change, and …
(2020-01-27). This week in history: January 27-February 2. wsws.org 25 years ago: US emergency loan to Mexico in peso crisisOn January 31, 1995, US President Bill Clinton invoked executive power to extend a $50 billion loan to Mexico amid the ongoing peso crisis. The bailout was motivated by the need to appease Wall Street investors and avert total international financial collapse. It was also an effort to deter a potential surge in immigration due to increased austerity measures and the instability of the Mexican economy.
(2020-01-27). Basta Thanks Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange for Revealing Bush's War Crimes. indybay.org MacArthur&Fruitvale…
(2020-01-27). An interview with a "yellow vest" protester on the fight to free Julian Assange. wsws.org Corinne was one of around 100 protesters who came from France to take part in Saturday's rally in support of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange outside Belmarsh prison.
(2020-01-27). Canada's complicity in the persecution of Julian Assange. wsws.org The Canadian political establishment has maintained a deafening and complicit silence on the persecution of Assange throughout the past nine years.
(2020-01-27). French "Yellow Vests" rally for Julian Assange outside London's Belmarsh Prison. wsws.org The protest testified to the global scope of the support for Assange, despite the relentless lies and slanders that have been directed against him by the corporate media.
(2020-01-27). The Problem With Impeachment. truthdig.com Chris Hedges is off and will return with a new column Tuesday afternoon. Below, reposted as the Senate conducts the impeachment trial of President Trump, is a Hedges column from Sept. 26, 2019. It was written in the week that Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the start of impeachment inquiries in the House, roughly three months before the lower chamber voted to impeach. | Impeaching Donald Trump would do nothing to halt the deep decay that has beset the American republic. It would not magically restore democratic institutions. It would not return us to the rule of law. It would not curb the predatory appetites of th…
(2020-01-27). The World Demands US Out of the Middle East — Will the US Listen? globalresearch.ca The world is saying no to war with Iran and US out of the Middle East. Hundreds of protests were held in the United States and around the world on Saturday with a unified voice of "No War." These protests …
(2020-01-27). DNC's Tom Perez nominates regime-change agents, Israel lobbyists, and Wall Street consultants to rig the game against Bernie. thegrayzone.com With Sen. Bernie Sanders surging in the polls, DNC chair Tom Perez has put forward a cartoonishly neoliberal cast of…
(2020-01-27). To rig primary against Bernie, DNC's Tom Perez nominates regime-change agents, Israel lobbyists, and Wall Street consultants. thegrayzone.com With Senator Bernie Sanders surging in the polls, DNC chair Tom Perez has put forward a cartoonishly neoliberal cast of…
(2020-01-27). Yemen: Saudi Coalition Claims 'Tactical Withdrawal" After Houthi Forces Retake Key Province. mintpressnews.com Saudi forces have called their defeat in the face of the Houthi advance a "tactical withdrawal" amid scathing criticism and sarcasm by activists and media pundits.
(2020-01-27). Tampa says: No war with Iran and U.S. out of the Middle East! fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – Activists and community members came together January 25 to demand "No war with Iran and U.S. out of the Middle East." The protest took place in downtown Tampa and coincided with hundreds of protests around the United States and the world in an International Day of Action against the Trump administration's war mongering. The event was hosted by ANSWER Suncoast, Tampa Bay SDS and the Tampa Anti-War Committee. | Gareth, a member of Tampa Bay SDS, explained why they attended the protest: "We need to center the people living under these conditions and having to face these horrible atrocities carried out b…