RT (2020-02-25). Wrong dimensions: Trump reportedly misses out on inspecting Taj Mahal graves due to his HEIGHT. rt.com On a sightseeing tour during his first trip to India, US President Donald Trump declined to see the original grave site within the historic Taj Mahal mausoleum, with security staff apparently worried that he wouldn\'t fit inside. | \"Trump was totally amused by the beauty of Taj Mahal,\" Nitin Kumar Singh, the guide who accompanied the presidential couple on their tour of the monument, told IANS. | However, he didn\'t go to see the original graves of [Mughal ruler] Shahjahan and [his wife] Mumtaz as his security personnel felt that he might get hurt as the way to the original graves is narrow and low in height.

RT (2020-02-25). Israel-Gaza ceasefire takes hold after 2 days of fighting. rt.com A ceasefire took hold on the Israel-Gaza border on Tuesday after two days of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, Reuters reported. The frontier fell quiet early on Tuesday, after a Palestinian official said Israel and Islamic Jihad had reached a \"reciprocal and simultaneous ceasefire\" mediated by Egypt and the UN. | Islamic Jihad had fired 80 rockets towards Israeli communities along the Gaza border since Sunday, according to an Israeli military spokeswoman. Israel reportedly attacked sites in Gaza and Syria that killed three members of the militant group. | No casualties were repo…

Joe Penney (2020-02-25). How Medical Negligence at the US Border Killed an Immigrant Father. thenation.com Nebane Abienwi fled a civil conflict in Cameroon. Once in the US, it was shoddy medical care that killed him.

RT (2020-02-25). Residents clash with police as Greek govt proceeds with construction of new migrant center in Lesbos (PHOTOS/VIDEOS). rt.com Greek police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of angry residents who attempted to halt the construction of a migrant detention center on the island of Lesbos. The clashes came amid growing anger over Athens\' immigration policy. | Around 500 people attempted to block the unloading of heavy machinery and police reinforcements on the island, which will house a new migrant camp. Locals set fires and brawled with riot cops as police attempted to restore order, according to local media. | | Riot police reinforcements arrive on a ferry at Lesbos, Greece, February 25, 2020. | © REUTERS/Elias Marcou | Photogra…

RT (2020-02-25). US wargames in South Korea might be scaled back over coronavirus fears — or lack of funding deal with Seoul. rt.com News that the US and South Korea are considering downsizing joint military drills — ostensibly due to coronavirus concerns — comes as the Pentagon is trying to twist Seoul\'s arm into paying billions for the upkeep of US garrisons. | US Defense Secretary Mark Esper made a comment about coronavirus figuring into considerations about the drills at the press conference following a meeting at the Pentagon with his South Korean counterpart Jeong Kyeong-doo. | Looming over the possible downsizing, however, is the unresolved issue of funding for US troops in South Korea. Seoul currently contributes just un…

RT (2020-02-25). Iran's deputy health minister tests positive for coronavirus — local media. rt.com Iran\'s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi has tested positive for coronavirus, Iranian state media has reported. Harirchi has been at the forefront of the country\'s response to the outbreak. | A spokesperson for Iran\'s health ministry confirmed in a television interview on Tuesday that Harirchi has been infected and is under quarantine. | ILNA reported Monday that officials from the city of Qom had said there had been 50 coronavirus deaths there. \"We prefer not to censor what concerns the coronavirus because people\'s lives are in danger,\" the outlet said. | Harirchi rejected that report, however, saying he w…

RT (2020-02-25). 'Go back to school and look at the map!' Twitterati hammer CNN as it draws non-existent SHARED border between Germany & Italy. rt.com CNN has failed a basic geography test, putting Germany much closer to Italy than it actually is, during a report on how the EU is combatting the novel coronavirus. Netizens showed no mercy to the network\'s online team. | News that Germany isn\'t raising the alarm due to the 2019-nCoV outbreak in Italy prompted many established media to report on it, with CNN being no exception. The broadcaster\'s actual report cited a German foreign ministry spokeswoman who said Berlin wasn\'t issuing a travel warning for Italy at the moment, but their Twitter publication wasn\'t as accurate. | Now, you have to read carefully to s…

Eds. (2020-02-25). JP Morgan economists warn of \'catastrophic outcomes\' of human-caused climate crisis. mronline.org \"Don\'t want to hear Greta Thunberg or Extinction Rebellion? Try J.P. Morgan instead.\" |

W. T. Whitney, Jr. (2020-02-25). For the climate: protecting the Commons and fixing Democracy. mronline.org Climate change, unchecked, promises planetary disaster. All forms of life are threatened. Scientific evidence strongly suggests capitalistforms of production and consumption gave rise to climate change in the first place and have allowed the process to advance. |

RT (2020-02-25). \'Delete his entire campaign\': Bloomberg gets roasted after tweeting, then scrubbing, fake Bernie quotes praising \'despots\'. rt.com Billionaire-turned-Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has taken a severe thrashing on social media, after his campaign posted, and then deleted, fake Bernie Sanders quotes hailing alleged \"despots. \" | Bloomberg\'s social media team took aim at the Vermont senator with a series of tweets mocking his factually accurate statement that literacy in Cuba skyrocketed under Fidel Castro. | The official \'Team Bloomberg\' Twitter account shot off a series of posts in which they imagined what Sanders perhaps thinks of other \"famous despots.\" The fake quotes included flattering remarks about Stalin (\"[he]…

RT (2020-02-25). \'Bang-bang-bang\': Bloomberg says he\'d DRONE his critics & shield banks if elected president in leaked audio. rt.com Billionaire Democratic hopeful Michael Bloomberg vowed to \"defend the banks\" and jokingly suggested that he may hunt down his political rivals with Predator drones if elected, a leaked 2016 audio clip has revealed. | The Bloomberg campaign has confirmed the authenticity of the recording, which captured a speech he gave at a closed-door Goldman Sachs event at Yankee Stadium in June 2016. The clip was posted online by a self-styled disgruntled former Goldman executive several days ago and has since made the rounds. | Bloomberg\'s opening remarks can only help to fuel concerns within the progressive wing of his…

RT (2020-02-25). Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled until Arab Spring, dead at 91. rt.com Egypt\'s former leader, Hosni Mubarak, has died aged 91, according to media reports citing his family. The controversial president ruled Egypt for three decades before being jailed on corruption charges. | Mubarak died several weeks after undergoing surgery, Egyptian media reported. A family member told AFP that the former ruler died at Cairo\'s Galaa military hospital. | In a statement, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi hailed Mubarak as a \"military leader and war hero\" and offered his condolences to his family. Mubarak will receive a military funeral, but the time of his burial is still not clear, accord…

RT (2020-02-25). Netanyahu to press ahead with plan to build 3,500 homes for settlers in West Bank. rt.com Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he was moving forward with a plan to build some 3,500 homes for Jewish settlers on the outskirts of Jerusalem. | \"I have given instructions to immediately publish for deposit the plan to build 3,500 housing units in E-1,\" Netanyahu said. He referred to a preliminary stage of the project which had been delayed for six and a half years after international criticism. | Opponents of the construction plan for the E-1 area in the West Bank had cautioned that Israeli housing in the corridor\'s barren hills could bisect the West Bank, cut off Palestinians from Jerusalem and…

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-02-25). Julian Assange and the Imperium\'s Face: Day One of the Extradition Hearings. globalresearch.ca If we are to believe it, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks, the man behind showing the ugliness of power, is the one responsible for having abused it. It is a running theme in the US case against this Australian publisher, who …

WSWS (2020-02-25). The show trial of Julian Assange begins. wsws.org The first day of the British court hearing yesterday to determine if WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange will be extradited to the United States left no doubt that what is taking place is a legal travesty that threatens both Assange\'s life and fundamental democratic rights.

WSWS (2020-02-25). Hundreds protest outside Woolwich Crown Court to demand Assange\'s freedom. wsws.org Protesters were not allowed anywhere near the building, kept behind barricades and an imposing steel fence by security and police.

WSWS (2020-02-25). Rally and march in Melbourne, Australia demands freedom for Julian Assange. wsws.org Many people in the city centre expressed support for the march as it passed, with some joining the demonstration.

BACFJA (2020-02-25). SF Demands Free Julian Assange & Goes Into UK Consulate Building Lobby. indybay.org As part of world day of action to Free Julian Assange activists rallied in San Francisco and then briefly occupied the UK building lobby.

Kevin Gosztola (2020-02-25). As Assange\'s trial begins, his lawyers highlight risk of extradition with CIA spying operation\'s \'extreme measures\'. thegrayzone.com Assange\'s lawyers pointed to CIA surveillance by a Sheldon Adelson-backed private contractor and the Trump administration\'s public contempt for the…

WSWS (2020-02-25). Assange extradition trial opens in London. wsws.org Amid growing popular outrage over the railroading of Assange to a US prison, lawyers for the Department of Justice sought to reframe the charges against him.

Aaron Maté (2020-02-25). The Russiagate Racket targets the Bernie Sanders surge. thegrayzone.com With a familiar playbook of evidence-free, anonymously sourced red-baiting, the forces behind Russiagate try to stop Bernie Sanders\' primary success….

Howard Lisnoff (2020-02-25). The Powerful Are Going After Jane Fonda Again. counterpunch.org The more things change, well readers get the drift here. Jane Fonda, the accomplished actor and protester, who protests right outside of the idiot-in-chief\'s door these days on the pressing issue of environmental ruin, is being tormented once again for an act of protest during the Vietnam War era. Ohio\'s secretary of state, Frank La

Adalah-NY (2020-02-25). BDS protest at sheet maker Brooklinen\'s NYC store over production in Israel. indybay.org At a protest Sunday at Brooklinen\'s new Williamsburg, Brooklyn store, New York human rights advocates called for a boycott of the online sheet and linen retailer, over their Israeli production partners\' involvement in Israel\'s apartheid rule over the Palestinian people.

Jessie Lau (2020-02-25). Hong Kong Is Still Waiting for Its Feminist Uprising. thenation.com Hong Kong Is Still Waiting for Its Feminist Uprising…

Die-In Inside Bank Branch (2020-02-25). Protesters in Silicon Valley Tell Wells Fargo \"Quit the Dirty Energy Business\" indybay.org Demonstrators called on Big Oil\'s largest lender, Wells Fargo, to halt its financing of fossil fuels and invest instead in clean energy solutions to the climate crisis. They took their protest of Feb 21 to a branch in Mountain View, CA.

350Marin, Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club (2020-02-25). Stop Funding Climate Chaos! Big Banks Protest in San Anselmo. indybay.org Creek Park, 451 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, San Anselmo, California 94960…

Leon Kunstenaar (2020-02-25). Wells Fargo Hit By Climate Protest for Second Consecutive Day. indybay.org Silicon Valley Environmental group holds \"visitation\" event at Mountain View branch.

David Swanson (2020-02-25). How Are We Going to Pay for Saving Trillions of Dollars? counterpunch.org Enhanced Medicare for All — that wild scheme that Michael Bloomberg calls \"untried\" because it\'s only been tested for decades in virtually every wealthy nation on earth — would cost $450 billion a year less than the current U.S. system. In the usual propaganda terms (in which you multiply by ten and then — if asked —

Paul Street (2020-02-25). The \"Liberal\" Media\'s Propaganda War on Bernie Sanders. counterpunch.org Last week, three days before the Nevada Caucus, MSDNC\'s Stephanie Ruhle had on an old friend, former Diamond Resorts CEO Stephen Cloobeck, a major Democratic Party funder, to speak from Las Vegas. Asked about one of Ruhle\'s favorite topics, the menace of \"socialist Bernie Sanders,\" Cloobeck called Sanders \"an anarchist\" who \"would love to burn down the United States\" \" (When asked if he would support Trump if Sanders is the nominee, Cloobeck growled \"anyone but Bernie, anyone but Bernie.\"). She later gleamed while one or her many Republican guests, Jeb Bush\'s former campaign manager, called for Michael Bloomberg…

Ralph Nader (2020-02-25). Sanctions and Corruption: Three Major News Stories that Need to be Exposed. globalresearch.ca The news is filled with stories about President Trump and his predecessors imposing sanctions on other countries, their officials, and other prominent persons. But the media rarely spells out exactly what these sanctions are, the intermediaries who enforce them, the …

Stephen Lendman (2020-02-25). No Russian 2020 Election Meddling Says US Intelligence Community Official. globalresearch.ca In January 2017, days before Trump\'s inauguration, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) concluded with \"high confidence (that) Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election (sic).\" | Weeks before the US 2016 …

Sheldon Richman (2020-02-25). The Non-Intervention Principle. counterpunch.org Anyone old enough to think about \"America\'s\" role in the world ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. For example, one ought to be able to argue firmly against U.S. intervention in other countries without feeling obliged to downplay or deny the real crimes that the tyrant du jour has committed. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees.

John W. Whitehead (2020-02-25). Gun-Toting Cops Endanger Students and Turn Schools into Prisons. counterpunch.org \"Every day in communities across the United States, children and adolescents spend the majority of their waking hours in schools that have increasingly come to resemble places of detention more than places of learning.\" —Investigative journalist Annette Fuentes Just when you thought the government couldn\'t get any more tone-deaf about civil liberties and the growing

Jack Rasmus (2020-02-25). The Nevada Caucus and the Desperation of Democrat Elites. counterpunch.org The events of the past week—beginning with the TV debates of the candidates on February 19 and culminating in the Nevada Democrat Party caucus in Nevada on February 22 this past Saturday—show a growing desperation in the ranks of the Democratic Party\'s corporate-driven leadership as the Sanders campaign has assumed a clear lead in the

John Feffer (2020-02-25). Cleaning Up Trump\'s Global Mess. counterpunch.org The next presidential election will not likely hinge on foreign policy. Americans will go to the polls in November to express their fervent support, or disgust, for Donald Trump. The candidates\' positions on the issues — on any issues — matter only to a dwindling number of voters who have somehow managed, over the last

Dean Baker (2020-02-25). What If Buttigieg Said That He Doesn\'t Accept the \"Fashionable\" View That Climate Change is a Problem? counterpunch.org To my knowledge, he hasn\'t said anything like that, but Buttigieg did say that he doesn\'t accept the \"fashionable\" view that current deficits are not a problem. When he made this comment, many progressives denounced him for supporting deficit reducing policies that will slow growth and raise unemployment. Since most plans for deficit reduction also

Binoy Kampmark (2020-02-25). Viral Losses: Australian Universities, Coronavirus and Greed. counterpunch.org There are few things more richly deserved than the punishment of a profligate ruler who finds himself fending off a hungry citizenry. But such matters lie in the realm of government, elections, holding representative office. Universities, notably in Australia, are oblivious to accountability and have, over several decades, become a booming corporatocracy. Institutionally, they constitute

John Eskow (2020-02-25). What Will You Do If the Democrats Steal It from Sanders? counterpunch.org \"If Hillary gave up one of her balls and gave it to Obama, he\'d have two.\" —James Carville \"Well, you know, James Carville is well-known for spouting off his mouth without always knowing what he\'s talking about. And I intend to stay focused on fighting for the American people because what they don\'t need is 20 more years of

Michael Hudson (2020-02-25). The Democrats\' Quandary: In a Struggle Between Oligarchy and Democracy, Something Must Give. counterpunch.org To hear the candidates debate, you would think that their fight was over who could best beat Trump. But when Trump\'s billionaire twin Mike Bloomberg throws a quarter-billion dollars into an ad campaign to bypass the candidates actually running for votes in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, it\'s obvious that what really is at issue

Nicholas Levis (2020-02-25). The Real Meaning of Red Scare 3.0. counterpunch.org The US corporate media, who had such a long run as relative monopolizers of truth, have been discrediting themselves in serial fashion since 9/11. Their lapdoggery to the Bush regime backfired on them during the WMD lie operation and the resulting war of aggression. Then came their participation in the fraudulent business reporting leading up to the 2007-2009 Wall Street crash, and their big lies afterward that \"no one could have imagined.\" The next big rupture arrived in 2015-2016, their million-minutes spent on preemptive coronations of Trump as one candidate and Clinton as the other, and their responsibility f…

Marshall Sahlins (2020-02-25). David Brooks, Public Intellectual. counterpunch.org David Brooks, Public Intellectual I am the very model of a public intellectual, My op-eds in the New York Times are never ineffectual, I\'m expert on all matters from political to sexual, I am the very model of a public intellectual.

WSWS (2020-02-25). Russia seeks to ease tensions with Belarus over energy dispute. wsws.org Russia will compensate Belarus $300 million to offset energy price hikes, as Moscow works to preserve its alliance with Minsk.

WSWS (2020-02-25). Two impoverished teenagers die working in an illegal Peruvian mine. wsws.org The deaths of the 14- and 17-year-old brothers of gas poisoning in the mine are part of a nationwide toll from the exploitation of workers in illegal and unsafe mines.

It\'s Going Down (2020-02-25). Report Back from Lockdown at Chase Corporate Offices in Solidarity with Wet\'suwet\'en. indybay.org The following is an account from the Indigenous group who participated in the Chase corporate office lockdown in so-called San Francisco, California, in solidarity with the Wet\'suwet\'en.

WSWS (2020-02-25). Brazilian oil workers\' unions shut down strike to \"negotiate\" with Labor Court. wsws.org The oil workers union federations ended the three-week strike at state-owned oil giant Petrobras just as it threatened to impact Brazil\'s economy.

Telesur (2020-02-25). Bolivia\'s Electoral Body Disqualifies Evo Morales\' Candidacy. globalresearch.ca The president of the Supreme Electoral Court of Bolivia (TSE) Salvador Romero informed that the former President Evo Morales will not be able to participate in the 2020 general elections, which will be held on May 3. | During a press …

Tom Clifford (2020-02-25). The New Coronavirus Outbreak, COVID-19, Sounds Menacing and Is. globalresearch.ca Tom Clifford Reporting from Beijing | There is no room for complacency or outright fear. The new coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19, sounds menacing and is. But there\'s another viral epidemic hitting countries around the world: the flu. | COVID-19 has, since December, led …

Olivia Alperstein (2020-02-25). We Need to Treat Nuclear War Like the Emergency It Is. globalresearch.ca If the current state of global affairs reminds you of an over-the-top plot by a white-cat-stroking James Bond villain, you\'re not far off. When it comes to nuclear policy, we are closer than ever to a real-life movie disaster. | During …

WSWS (2020-02-25). German right-wing and far-right parties suffer defeat in Hamburg state election. wsws.org Four days after the right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau, the Christian Democrats and Free Democrats, the parties that formed an alliance with the far-right Alternative for Germany to elect the minister president in Thuringia, lost large numbers of votes in Hamburg.

WSWS (2020-02-25). Germany: Tens of thousands take to the streets against right-wing terror. wsws.org Many demonstrators pointed to the complicity of the security agencies and the right-wing policies of all the establishment parties, which paved the way for the neo-Nazi terror.