(2020-03-26). An Often Overlooked Region of India is a Beacon to the World for Taking on the Coronavirus. counterpunch.org K.K. Shailaja is the health minister in the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, the state in the southwest of India that has a population of 35 million people. On January 25, 2020, she convened a high-level meeting to discuss the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. What had particularly worried her is that there
(2020-03-26). Media Struggle to Defend Washington's Cruelty. zcomm.org U.S sanctions toward Venezuela and Iran continue as Coronavirus Spreads…
(2020-03-26). Cuba's Coronavirus Response Is Putting Other Countries to Shame. zcomm.org Cuba is caricatured by the Right as a totalitarian hellhole. But its response to the coronavirus pandemic — from sending doctors to other countries to pioneering anti-viral treatments to converting factories into mask-making machines — is putting other countries, even rich countries, to shame…
(2020-03-26). Radical Individualism and Profit vs. Human Solidarity:The United States And Cuba. counterpunch.org On Ideology The economic and political structure of capitalism requires "an ideology, a consciousness, a way in which the citizenry can be taught to accept the system as it is. This ideology has many branches but one root, the maintenance and enhancement of the capitalist economic system. The elements of the dominant political ideology include:
(2020-03-26). 8 Nations Address Letter to UN Chief Urging Sanctions Be Lifted. telesurenglish.net Venezuela has joined Wednesday China, Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and Nicaragua in their plea to United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urge the United States (U.S.) to remove its illegal economic sanctions on these countries amid the coronavirus global pandemic. | RELATED: | "Today we have a common enemy. As you've already recognized, it's a time to prepare, to step up and incre…
(2020-03-26). CDC: Housing, Not Handcuffs Is the Way to Stop COVID-19 Amongst Homeless Populations. indybay.org Advocates Hail First Step, Call for More Help…
(2020-03-26). Venezuela: U.S. blocks flights to repatriate citizens amid COVID-19. mronline.org Arreaza reiterated that the request for humanitarian flights responds to a request made by Venezuelans themselves to the Venezuelan Attention System in the United States.
(2020-03-25). Some basic lessons from the pandemic. mronline.org The coronavirus attack has so far been much less deadly than the Spanish flu of a century ago. That had affected 500 million people worldwide, about 27 per cent of the world's population of the time, and had a death rate of about 10 per cent among those affected.
(2020-03-25). "People Go Before Money. This Is About Saving Lives," Says San Juan Mayor on Pandemic in Puerto Rico. democracynow.org 
Puerto Rico announced a record $787 million financial package to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic Monday, as the island's death toll hits two with 39 cases reported. The pandemic follows a series of devastating earthquakes in Puerto Rico earlier this year and comes as the island continues to deal with fallout from Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico's infrastructure and killed at least 3,000. "One of the things that I think is evident is that with the Trump administration and FEMA, we have to continue to remind them, time and time again, that we are people and that we deserve to be…
(2020-03-25). Venezuela's Coronavirus Response Might Surprise You. mintpressnews.com 
Unlike in the United States where coronavirus treatment can cost up to $35,000 and where Trump seems more concerned about the economy than about peoples' lives, Venezuela is handling the crisis by placing value in health over profits.
(2020-03-25). Maduro Calls for Dialogue With the Opposition Over COVID-19. telesurenglish.net The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, announced this Wednesday that a meeting with all the opposition sectors is necessary to attack the coronavirus pandemic more effectively. | "I am willing to meet with all the sectors that want to talk about the coronavirus pandemic, the care of our people, and reach agreements with them based on national interests," said the head of state. | RELATED: | He also highligh…
(2020-03-25). Twitter Censors Official Prensa Latina Account. telesurenglish.net The Cuban news agency Prensa Latina (PL) denounced the blocking of its official profile on the social network Twitter and three of its reporters' accounts. The press agency qualifies it as part of the hostile policy of the U.S. against Cuba. | RELATED: | The blocked accounts were those of editors Luisa M. González (@luisamgg) and Fausto Triana (@prensalatinaft), Prensa Latina's president Luis E. González (@LuisEGonzalezA3 ) and…
(2020-03-25). Cuba to Send Doctors to Four Caribbean Countries and Argentina. telesurenglish.net Cuba's health authorities announced that new brigades of doctors and nurses with experience in handling critical situations are heading to Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica on Wednesday and Thursday. | RELATED: | The first group with 25 health workers left for Belize this morning from the Central Unit for Medical Cooperation in Havana. | "We are aware that the current situation is difficult, but we are…
(2020-03-25). Caribbean Governments Join Forces Against COVID-19. telesurenglish.net The Health and Foreign Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) held Tuesday the first extraordinary meeting of the regional bloc on COVID-19, during which the delegations proposed joint actions to confront the pandemic. | RELATED: | More than 33 countries, territories, and regional organizations participated in what was called the First Extraordinary Meeting of Health and Foreign Ministers of the ACS, wh…
(2020-03-25). After expelling Cuban doctors, Brazil requests their help to fight COVID-19. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-25). Arrest the virus, free the prisoners! mronline.org 
We cannot allow the capitalist ruling class to turn a blind eye to the plight of the incarcerated population — not in general, nor in the particular circumstance of the global pandemic of Covid-19. In the U.S., there are 2.3 million human beings in state, federal, and county jails and more than 52,000 in immigrant …
(2020-03-25). Media Struggle to Defend Washington's Cruelty Toward Venezuela and Iran as Coronavirus Spreads. fair.org 
AP (New York Times, An Associated Press article (New York Times,
(2020-03-24). King David's Ancient Road: How Israeli Archaeologists Are Aiding the Theft of Silwan. mintpressnews.com 
Claiming "science" as their reason and in total disregard for the wellbeing of the population, tunnels are dug under Palestinian homes in Silwan, destroying foundations and forcing residents to flee.
(2020-03-24). "Humanitarian Solidarity": Even Under U.S. Sanctions, Cuba Sends Doctor Brigade to Italy and More. democracynow.org 
As Italy's death toll soars past 6,000, Cuba has sent medical brigades to combat COVID-19. Cuba has also deployed doctors to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada. "The arrival of a medical brigade from Cuba to Italy is pretty historic. You have a leading European nation accepting support in the form of a medical team from a small Caribbean island," says our guest, Peter Kornbluh, director of the Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. "It just goes to the history of Cuba's deep and long-lasting commitment to humanitarian solidarity with other cou…
(2020-03-24). Cuba saves Italians from coronavirus despite US blockade. thegrayzone.com Red Lines host Anya Parampil provides a coronavirus update, highlighting the heroic work of Cuban doctors who have traveled to…
(2020-03-24). President Maduro Denounces New Terrorist Plan Against Venezuela. telesurenglish.net The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, denounced this Tuesday that terrorist groups are training from Colombia to attack the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | "The conspiracies continue. Yesterday, a person named Jorge Alberto Molinares Duque was captured on the Barranquilla-Riohacha highway, moving in a vehicle and carrying an arsenal of weapons there," the president reported. | Likewise, t…
(2020-03-24). Headlines for March 24, 2020. democracynow.org U.N. Calls for Global Ceasefire So Countries Can Unite in Fight Against Coronavirus Pandemic, Italy's COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 6,000 as Spain Officials Say Nearly 4,000 Health Workers Are Infected | , Trump Says Country Will Be "Open for Business Very Soon" Despite Skyrocketing COVID-19 Infections | , 16 U.S. States Enforce Stay-at-Home Orders Amid Coronavirus Pandemic Affecting Over 40% of Population, Texas Orders Abortion Providers to Stop Performing Procedures, Texas Lt. Gov.: Elderly Should "Sacrifice" for U.S. Economy Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Man in AZ Dies, Wife in Critical Condition, After Couple Took Ch…
(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…
(2020-03-18). '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…
(2020-03-17). 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….
(2020-03-13). 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). [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.
(2020-02-06). 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.
(2020-02-05). [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).