(2020-03-24). Sanctions: Unilateral Coercive Measures for Regime Change in Venezuela. counterpunch.org In discussing the issue of "sanctions" there are two main points that need to be made. One is the use of the correct terminology when referring to the government actions that the US, Canada and the EU take in order to achieve regime change. The second is of course the impact that those actions have.
(2020-03-24). Millions in India under coronavirus lockdown. yenisafak.com More than half of India's 1.3 billion population is under complete lockdown, as the coronavirus or COVID-19 cases on Tuesday surged to 511 with 10 deaths.As many as 75 districts including national capital Delhi and commercial hub Mumbai are under lockdown till March 31.The government had to enforce curfew in many places as people did not observe voluntary isolation.In a statement issued late on Monday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented that people were not taking the lockdown seriously. Taking to Twitter, he asked people to save their lives and of their family members by remaining indoors."He [prime m…
(2020-03-23). Images of Cuban Doctors Helping Italy Go Viral, Burst Media Narrative. mintpressnews.com 
Videos of Cuban doctors volunteering to travel halfway across the world to put themselves in mortal danger for the good of people they have never met stirred the heartstrings of even the most cynical observer.
(2020-03-23). Amid coronavirus pandemic, Bolsonaro's Brazil begs for Cuban doctors — after expelling them. peoplesworld.org 
The coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed the health infrastructure of countries around the world. Desperate to contain the deadly virus, hard-hit countries, including even rich European nations like Italy and Britain, have reached out for expert medical help from Cuba, China, and Venezuela. Even Brazil, currently under the control of a far-right administration that has joined …
(2020-03-23). Cuban doctors travel to Italy to help fight Covid-19. mronline.org 
This is the sixth Cuban team to join the fight against the pandemic in the world and the first to travel to Europe, reported Cuban Television.
(2020-03-23). Venezuelan President Demands US Lift Economic Sanctions. telesurenglish.net Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, requested that the U.S. government lift its sanctions due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak that whas already had a major affect on the Venezuelan economy. | RELATED: | Maduro called on the Venezuelan people to help demand the end of the economic blockade, especially during this "worldwide crisis period". The Bolivarian Republic leader also requested the elimination of "financial, oil and food sanctions. | "Venezu…
(2020-03-23). COVID-19 Pandemic and Coronavirus Suppression — Should Schools Close? globalresearch.ca The world is in the grip of a COVID-19 pandemic that is now impacting relatively poor countries in Africa and South Asia. Rich island continent Australia (population 25 million) has only about 1,000 cases so far and has achieved this …
(2020-03-23). US States Release 'Low-Risk' Inmates Over COVID-19 Spread. telesurenglish.net Thousands of 'low-risk' inmates in at least 16 U.S. states are being released in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in crowded jails and prisons. | RELATED: | "Jails can be incubators for disease so we have to take bold and drastic steps," New Jersey's Attorney General Gurbir Singh Grewal said, adding this measure is made to protect the health of prisoners and limit COVID-19 effect in prison population. | T…
(2020-03-23). COVID-19 in the Caribbean: Overview of the Situation, Outbreak. telesurenglish.net In the wake of the coronavirus global outbreak, the Caribbean Public Health Agency has raised the risk level in the region from "moderate to high" to "very high." | Governments in the region are focusing on precautionary measures such as mandatory quarantines and restrictions for travelers arriving from countries with important numbers of infected people, including China and the United States. | RELATED: | Here is an…
(2020-03-23). EU Supports Iran, Venezuela Bids for IMF COVID-19 Funds. telesurenglish.net Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) supported Monday Iran and Venezuela's requests for financial aid to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fight the coronavirus pandemic. | RELATED: | "We are going to support this request because these countries are in a very difficult situation mainly due to the U.S. sanctions that prevent them from having income by selling their oil," EU Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell said at a vi…
(2020-03-23). Venezuela: 200 Nationals Stranded at US Base To be Repatriated. telesurenglish.net Venezuelan citizens, who are stranded in North American territory due to the Covid- 19 sanitary emergency, will be repatriated by the government, a new report said on Monday. | RELATED: According to local news media, the Bolivarian government requested U.S authorities to allow a Conviasa airline flight to return the Venezuelan citizens. This is an administrative measure to restrain the virus' spread and give all Venezuelan citizens the sa…
(2020-03-23). The role of intellectuals in the Bolivarian Revolution: A conversation with Luis Britto Garcia. mronline.org 
Venezuela's most acclaimed contemporary writer talks about the Bolivarian Revolution and its dialectical relation with cultural producers.
(2020-03-22). Cuba Comes to Italy's Aid by Sending Team of Doctors and Nurses. telesurenglish.net The island-nation of Cuba has dispatched a team of doctors and nurses to help Italy combat the coronavirus outbreak that killed over 4,000 people inside the country in the last month. | RELATED: | Cuba announced on Sunday that the team of doctors and nurses to Italy after the worst-affected region, Lombardy, asked the island-nation for immediate assistance in helping them fight the coronavirus. | The Caribbean i…
(2020-03-21). U.S. Teamsters get warm welcome at Venezuela's Canaima laptop plant. fightbacknews.org Caracas, Venezuela – A Freedom Road Socialist Organization labor delegation toured the Canaima laptops and tablets factory in Caracas, Venezuela on March 12. The Canaima plant is located within walking distance of the bridge where U.S. puppet Juan Guaido launched a failed coup d'état April 30, 2019. Upon arrival, leading representatives of the Canaima assembly plant greeted the American Teamsters with genuine smiles and warm handshakes. | A Venezuelan educator and Canaima spokesperson, Oscar Martinez, explained the assembly plant's purpose, "Our goal is to produce a laptop or tablet for every school-aged child i…
(2020-03-21). Cuba's Welcome to a Covid-19-Stricken Cruise Ship Reflects a Long Pattern of Global Humanitarian Commitment. thenation.com Cuba's Welcome to a Covid-19-Stricken Cruise Ship Reflects a Long Pattern of Global Humanitarian Commitment…
(2020-03-20). Expert: US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during pandemic could be genocidal. thegrayzone.com Intensified US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to genocide, a former UN expert warns. Iran…
(2020-03-19). Iranian Doctors Urge Neighbours to Liquidate Any US Biological Labs Amid Coronavirus Fears. iranian.com With over 17,300 cases and 1,135 deaths to date, Iran has been one of the countries hit hardest by COVID-19, with the virus affecting not only the population at large, but a big portion of the political elite as well. Last week, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said there was evidence that the pandemic may have …
(2020-03-19). Cuban drug could save thousands of lives in COVID-19 pandemic. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-18). Big Tech Firms are Using Automation to Censor News About the Coronavirus. mintpressnews.com Social media is awash with people angry that their posts have been removed for no legitimate reason. MintPress was no exception, with a story about Cuba's response to the coronavirus flagged and blocked.
(2020-03-18). 'The US Has Played With Puerto Rico's Economy for the Last 122 Years' – CounterSpin interview with Julio López Varona on Puerto Rican debt. fair.org 
Janine Jackson interviewed the Center for Popular Democracy's Julio López Varona about Puerto Rican debt for the Media…
(2020-03-18). Cuba shows a lead in solidarity amid COVID-19 crisis. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-17). Italy and UK rely on help from Cuba, China, Venezuela to fight coronavirus — as US steps up brutal sanctions. thegrayzone.com Italy requested doctors from China, Cuba, and Venezuela to contain the coronavirus, while Cuba rescued a ship of British citizens….
(2020-03-17). US ramps up sanctions devastating Venezuela's health sector as coronavirus spreads. thegrayzone.com Promising to "smash" Venezuela's government during a "maximum pressure March," Trump has imposed crushing sanctions that force Venezuela to spend…
(2020-03-15). Corporate Media Condone Destruction of Venezuela's Voting Machines. fair.org 
The vast majority of Venezuela's voting machines were incinerated on March 7 in a fire that engulfed the main warehouse of the National Electoral Council. Corporate outlets followed the familiar script of blaming the victim, repeating the US State Department talking point that the Venezuelan electoral system is "rigged" and floating outlandish conspiracy theories.
(2020-03-13). Julio López Varona on Puerto Rico's Disaster Capitalism. fair.org 
Media…
(2020-03-13). No, Venezuela does not have a six child per family policy. zcomm.org I respect UK journalist Andrew Buncombe. As I noted for FAIR last year, he was one of the few corporate journalists who reported on a study linking Trump's financial sanctions on Venezuela to thousands of deaths by the end of 2018. Since 2018, Trump has repeatedly intensified the sanctions and threatened Venezuela with military action,
(2020-03-09). [Comment] Patchy progress on the ICPD: are we asking the right questions? thelancet.com The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda, set in 1994 in Cairo and revisited 25 years later in Nairobi in 2019, included goals for equitable education of women, reduction of infant and child mortality, reduction of maternal mortality, and access to reproductive and sexual health services, including family planning, through its well known Programme of Action.1 The ICPD was ground-breaking in recognising the benefits that empowerment of women and girls would have for themselves, their families, and, ultimately, their countries.
(2020-03-04). [Correspondence] Has China faced only a herald wave of SARS-CoV-2? thelancet.com The attack rate of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) calculated by mathematical models, from estimates of the basic reproduction number, R0, of 2—3, suggests that 50—60% of the population should eventually be infected because the population seems to be entirely naive to the new virus.1 The observed attack rate on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship remained slightly below 20% (705 of 3711 passengers and crew members became infected).1 It is of upmost importance to know whether the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in China is subsiding, as local authorities and the entire international…
(2020-02-24). [Articles] Effects of updated demography, disability weights, and cervical cancer burden on estimates of human papillomavirus vaccination impact at the global, regional, and national levels: a PRIME modelling study. thelancet.com HPV vaccination provides greater health benefits and is more cost-effective than was previously estimated. The demography update, which incorporates population aging, has the largest effect on the health impact estimates. The WHO African region is expected to gain the greatest health benefits and should be prioritised for HPV vaccination.
(2020-02-17). [Research Paper] Global variation in the prevalence of bullying victimisation amongst adolescents: Role of peer and parental supports. thelancet.com Bullying victimisation is a global public health problem that has been predominantly studied in high income countries. This study aimed to estimate the population level prevalence of bullying victimisation and its association with peer and parental supports amongst adolescents across low and middle income to high income countries (LMICHICs).
(2020-02-06). Embassy Protection Collective: "We Are Not the Ones Who Violated the Law" theantimedia.com In this exclusive interview, VA talks to the activists who defended the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC ahead of their trial.
(2020-02-06). [Commentary] Extreme population exposure: Hurricane Dorian medical response in Great Abaco, Bahamas. thelancet.com Hurricane Dorian's ensemble of extreme winds, wave action, and pelting rains laid waste to exquisitely vulnerable human settlements throughout the Abaco islands in northwest Bahamas. Dorian, the strongest hurricane ever to impact the Bahamas, pulled a towering storm surge onshore. Combined with 20 inches of rain, vast expanses of Abaco islands were submerged. The system's forward movement slowed to near standstill, creating one of the longest-duration population exposures to a hurricane in history [1].
(2020-02-06). [Spotlight] Coronavirus epidemic: preparing for extracorporeal organ support in intensive care. thelancet.com Zoonotic viral infections are more frequently crossing species to infect human populations. In 2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus was transmitted to humans from exotic animals in wet markets in China, and in 2015, the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus was transmitted from camels in Saudi Arabia. In both cases, and with the 2019 coronavirus outbreak in China, the original host of the virus is likely to be bats.
(2020-02-05). [Correspondence] Nicotine patches with e-cigarettes for smoking cessation: Twitter discussion from a respirology journal club. thelancet.com On Dec 12, 2019, our Twitter-based University of Toronto Respirology and Sleep Journal Club1 discussed Walker and colleagues' pragmatic, randomised, parallel-arm trial designed to look at the effectiveness of combining nicotine patches with an e-cigarette (with and without nicotine) on 6-month smoking abstinence.2 Our discussions highlighted the challenges of studying populations of smokers in general, given the habitual nature of the exposure, challenges related to follow-up, and a need for reliable and valid objective measures of smoking abstinence (appendix).