2020-03-29: News Headlines

RT (2020-03-29). China resumes domestic passenger flights in Hubei after easing quarantine restrictions against Covid-19. rt.com Beijing has allowed civilian air travel in its Hubei region, where the Covid-19 outbreak originally began, after a strict lockdown was lifted in all of its major cities except for Wuhan. | The first domestic passenger flight took off at midnight on Sunday as all cities in China's central Hubei Province, with the exception for Wuhan, resumed regular civilian air travel, local media reported. Officials earlier said that airports in the major cities of Xiangyang, Enshi and Shennongjia — all of which had been quarantined in January — are among those to reopen for domestic flights this week. | Wuhan's Tia…

Binoy Kampmark (2020-03-28). Barbaric Decisions: Coronavirus, Refusing Bail and Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org To expose another human being to serious illness, and to the threat of losing their life, is grotesque and quite unnecessary. This is not justice, it is a barbaric decision. — Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, March 26, 2020 Social distancing is not a word that seems to have reached certain parts of the British …

Alan Macleod (2020-03-27). Doctors "Strongly Condemn" UK Decision to Keep Assange Imprisoned During COVID-19 Pandemic. mintpressnews.com Assange's treatment in the UK's Belmarsh Prison has been so poor that convicted murderers and other high-security inmates had to stage a mass protest to secure his transfer to the hospital wing.

Zero Hedge (2020-03-26). US Propaganda: Iran Rounding Up Whistleblowers Trying To Expose Real COVID-19 Death Toll. iranian.com The State Department now seems to be leveling new accusations against Iran and China on a near-daily basis related to their role in facilitating the spread of the deadly coronavirus. On Monday Mike Pompeo issued '5 facts' detailing Iran's recklessness regarding the virus, including the charge Tehran spread it "to at least five countries," and on Wednesday …

The Intercept (2020-03-24). Defectors Tell of Torture and Forced Sterilization in Militant Iranian Cult. iranian.com Interviews with defectors, including several who held senior positions, offer the most detailed account to date of what life was like inside the MEK. Read the full story here.

Marjorie Cohn (2020-03-02). Extradition of Assange Would Set a Dangerous Precedent. zcomm.org The Trump administration is seeking extradition of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to the United States for trial on charges carrying 175 years in prison…