2020-04-10: News Headlines

RT (2020-04-10). Fears of MILLIONS becoming infected soon in war-torn Yemen as first Covid-19 case recorded. rt.com The first confirmed Covid-19 case has been recorded in war-torn Yemen as the devastated nation braces for the pandemic to hit. A local health official has warned that up to 90 percent of the population could become infected. | The first case of the disease was recorded in the large eastern Hadhramaut Province, the country's emergency committee to combat Covid-19 announced on Friday. The patient is in stable condition and is receiving treatment, the officials said. | Yemen has been devastated by a bloody civil war, which began after the Houthi rebel movement toppled President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who went int…

repost (2020-04-10). Venezuela Pres Maduro's Message to American people. indybay.org Oil rich Venezuela is again threatened with invasion, by Nazi Trump, with no opposition from any Democrat, sending an armada to Venezuela's shores, in the middle of a pandemic, under the obviously false pretext of drug-pushing, which the world knows Venezuela does not do. The democratically elected government of Nicolas Maduro has sent an open letter to the American people. See www.globalresearch.ca/letter-president-maduro-people-united-states/5708882

Helen Yaffe (2020-04-10). Cuban Medical Science in the Service of Humanity. counterpunch.org By 21 March, Cuba had sent healthcare professionals to 37 countries to collaborate in combating the pandemic. Italy received 53 Cuban medics who had previously worked in West Africa during the deadly Ebola outbreak of 2014. Cuba also stepped into the breach in mid-March when a cruise ship with over 600 mostly British passengers and

Charles McKelvey (2020-04-10). Cuban Development of Biomedical High Technology. counterpunch.org As the United States and the nations of Europe experience the sad tragedy of an uncontrolled pandemic, they for the most part have not noticed the well-organized and coherent plan of the Cuban government against Covid-19, being carried out with the determined and patriotic support of the people; nor the availability of a Cuban

Fight Back (2020-04-10). Interview with Italian communists on COVID-19 impact and the working class. fightbacknews.org Fight Back! interviews Guido Salza, the head of the International Relations Department of the Italian communist organization Fronte Popolare. | Fight Back!: How are the working people of Italy being impacted by the pandemic? | Guido Salza: A clear picture of the dynamics of the infection are not yet apparent. However, it is likely that the working class is paying the highest price. Similar to what happened in China, COVID has spread very fast in the most industrial areas of our country. The more concentrated the production and population are (as it is in Lombardia, Piemonte, Veneto and Emilia Romagna), the more t…

sputniknews (2020-04-10). 'We Can See Your Privates Nige': Farage Flashes Shorts on Livestream and People Struggle to Unsee It. sputniknews.com While much of the world population is self-isolating to sit out the coronavirus pandemic, politicians and other high-profile personas have ditched strict attire for cosier outfits while making video appearances — but the Brexit party leader's choice was mocked by many as borderline NSFW.

Eds. (2020-04-09). Adolf Trump goes for Venezuela: A jump into nothingness? mronline.org In the midst of a desolate scenario, when the United States has become the country with the highest number of those infected by the Coronavirus, President Donald Trump and his team of serial criminals like Elliott Abrams, Cuban-American Mauricio Claver-Carone, Marco Rubio and others, announced that their country and 22 other nations would launch a …

Merriam Ansara (2020-04-09). Despite U.S. blockade, Cuba's comprehensive health system looks after every citizen. peoplesworld.org HAVANA—For the past three weeks, I have been working mornings in my local doctor's office. My volunteer job is to go through the six drawers of around 1,500 patients attended by my doctor, Marta Gálvez. The neighborhood is in Nuevo Vedado, near the Plaza of the Revolution, and stretches from La Rosa to Ermita to …

Anya Parampil (2020-04-09). Colonialism & coronavirus: 800,000 Haitians may die of COVID-19. thegrayzone.com Gutted by US-allied, neoliberal governments which have controlled the country since 2004, Haiti's healthcare sector braces for a potential catastrophe….

Chris Gelardi (2020-04-09). Colonialism Made Puerto Rico Vulnerable to Coronavirus Catastrophe. thenation.com Colonialism Made Puerto Rico Vulnerable to Coronavirus Catastrophe…

teleSUR (2020-04-09). Bolsonaro Is Good President Only for 33 Percent of Brazilians. telesurenglish.net Amid debates about what needs to be done to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, Datafolha published an opinion poll according to which 80 percent of the population says they suspect RELATED: | The investigation was carried out between April 5 and Ap…

teleSUR (2020-04-09). Ghebreyesus: 'Africa Will Not Be Testing Ground for Any Vaccine'. telesurenglish.net Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization leader, condemned the suggestion of testing an anti-COVID vaccine on the African population. These statements, qualified as racism, were made by two doctors who were live on French television. | RELATED: The main argument for the hypothetical vaccine testing is Africa does not have the defense and preventive resources as other regions. Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Loc…

teleSUR (2020-04-09). UN Seeks $130 Million To Prevent Hunger Catastrophe in Zimbabwe. telesurenglish.net The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it needed US$130 million to fund emergency operations in Zimbabwe until August and prevent a catastrophe in the southern African nation, as climate- and recession-induced food shortages deepened. | RELATED: | The WFP added 7.7 million Zimbabweans, half the population, need food aid after a devastating drought and cyclone last year. A lack of predictable…

graham (2020-04-09). Covid-19 to plunge half a billion people into poverty. truepublica.org.uk New research published by UNU-WIDER today warns that the economic fallout from the global pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people, or 8% of the total human population. This would be the first time that poverty has increased globally in thirty years, since 1990. The authors of the UNU-WIDER study — Andy Sumner and Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez …

teleSUR (2020-04-09). Trinidad & Tobago Rejects Possible US Intervention on Venezuela. telesurenglish.net Besides stressing that his country's stance on Venezuela has not changed, RELATED: | "Our position remains the same. Trin…

Staff (2020-04-08). "A Systematic Issue of Disparity": Black People in Louisiana Account for 70% of COVID-19 Deaths. democracynow.org Louisiana faces one of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus in the United States. New data shows black people account for 70% of all the state's coronavirus deaths, though they comprise just 32% of the state's population. Louisiana also has the highest incarceration rate in the country, and more than 65% of the people in its jails and prisons are black. At least 28 people are infected, and 22 corrections staff have tested positive. State corrections officials are sending infected prisoners to the Louisiana State Penitentiary — known as Angola, the largest maximum-security prison in the United States [mdas…

Stansfield Smith (2020-04-08). Open Letter to Condemn Trump Administration's Hypocritical Indictment on Drug Charges of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and High-Ranking Venezuelan Officials. dissidentvoice.org We, the undersigned organizations and prominent individuals, condemn the false claims of criminal charges by the US government against the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and other high-ranking officials with the pretext of their alleged involvement in international drug trafficking. The US government is offering a $15 million bounty for information that would …

Ben Norton (2020-04-08). Billionaire-backed Human Rights Watch lobbies for lethal US sanctions on leftist governments as Covid crisis rages. thegrayzone.com Regime change-hungry HRW is proudly taking credit for crushing new US sanctions on Nicaragua while pushing to escalate Washington's economic…

Staff (2020-04-07). Headlines for April 7, 2020. democracynow.org Boris Johnson in Intensive Care for COVID-19, U.K.'s Foreign Secretary Deputized | , Most of U.S. Population Told to Stay Home as Medical Equipment Shortages Continue to Mar Response, Trump Ignored Coronavirus Warnings from His Own Administration as Early as January | , Grocery Stores Report Coronavirus Deaths as Workers Say They Are Not Receiving Adequate Protection, WI Primary Vote Goes Ahead After Ruling by State Supreme Court; SCOTUS Throws Out Mail-in Ballot Extension, New York Appears to Flatten COVID-19 Curve as Cuomo Tightens Preventive Measures, Gov't Called to Release Data on Racial Makeup of COVID-19 D…

TNIDHUC (2020-04-07). In Response to President Maduro's Letter to the People of the United States. dissidentvoice.org The Network in Defense of Humanity, US Chapter, expresses our heartfelt solidarity with the people of Venezuela and its only legitimate President Nicolas Maduro Moros in this hour of danger. The US administration is creating more conflict and aggression against Venezuela, while people all over the world are fighting a dangerous virus pandemic. Two weeks …

Leonardo Flores (2020-04-07). Trump Should Fight COVID-19, Not Venezuela. mintpressnews.com Trump has been threatening military action against Venezuela since August 2017 and a naval blockade since August 2019. The recent deployment of the Navy towards Venezuela is the first step in backing up both threats.

Fight Back (2020-04-06). President Maduro's Message to the People of the US. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the people of the US. The Trump administration is escalating attempts to bring down President Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution, making bogus charges against Maduro and other officials. The Trump administration also published a plan that would radically alter the Venezuelan government's branches of power. This is to prepare for yet another coup attempt by the U.S. in support of unelected scoundrels. This past week President Trump ordered a serious increase of US Naval ships patrolling Caribbean w…

Alan Macleod (2020-04-06). Amid Sanctions and Military Mobilization, Maduro Pens Letter Urging Americans to Question Trump. mintpressnews.com "I wholeheartedly ask you not to allow your country to be dragged once again into another unending conflict, another Vietnam, another Iraq, but this time, closer to home."

Matt Sedlar (2020-04-06). Sanctioning the Way for COVID-19. cepr.net MarketWatch See article on original site While the United States is fighting COVID-19 here at home, US sanctions against other governments are aiding the virus' spread abroad. They've already likely contributed to many unnecessary deaths in Iran, and Venezuela's experience with the pandemic may also be much more deadly due to these punitive measures. COVID-19 …

Shaoqing Lei, Fang Jiang, Wating Su, Chang Chen, Jingli Chen, Wei Mei, Li-Ying Zhan, Yifan Jia, Liangqing Zhang, Danyong Liu, Zhong-Yuan Xia, Zhengyuan Xia (2020-04-04). [Research Paper] Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing surgeries during the incubation period of COVID-19 infection. thelancet.com In this retrospective cohort study of 34 operative patients with confirmed COVID-19, 15 (44 ∑1%) patients needed ICU care, and the mortality rate was 20 ∑5%.

Anya Parampil (2020-04-03). Ex UN anti-narcotics chief & mob expert says US Treasury running 'mafia racket' against Venezuela. thegrayzone.com Pino Arlacchi, the former Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Prevention, says US is behaving…

Aaron Maté (2020-04-01). Pompeo's 'transition' plan tells Venezuela to suffer into submission. thegrayzone.com Declaring that "Nicolas Maduro will never again govern Venezuela," Mike Pompeo unveils a so-called "transition" plan that tells Venezuelans to…

Ben Norton (2020-03-31). Brazil's ex-President Lula on Venezuela: Maduro is democratic, Guaidó should be in prison, US blockade kills civilians. thegrayzone.com In comments ignored by English-language media, Lula da Silva slammed the US coup attempt against Venezuela, calling Nicolás Maduro a…

Huali Wang, Tao Li, Paola Barbarino, Serge Gauthier, Henry Brodaty, José Luis Molinuevo, Hengge Xie, Yongan Sun, Enyan Yu, Yanqing Tang, Wendy Weidner, Xin Yu (2020-03-30). [Correspondence] Dementia care during COVID-19. thelancet.com Older adults are vulnerable at the onset of natural disasters and crisis, and this has been especially true during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.1 With the aggressive spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the death toll has risen worldwide. According to an interactive online tool that estimates the potential number of deaths from COVID-19 in a population, by age group, in individual countries and regional groupings worldwide under a range of scenarios, most of those who have died were older adults, most of whom had underlying health problems.

CounterSpin (2020-03-13). Julio López Varona on Puerto Rico's Disaster Capitalism. fair.org Media…

Joe Emersberger (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,

Rodgers R Ayebare, Robert Flick, Solome Okware, Bongomin Bodo, Mohammed Lamorde (2020-03-11). [Correspondence] Adoption of COVID-19 triage strategies for low-income settings. thelancet.com Despite major advances in epidemic preparedness, Africa remains uniquely susceptible to novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). According to the Infectious Disease Vulnerability Index,1 22 of the 25 countries most susceptible to an infectious disease outbreak are in Africa. The high prevalence of HIV, tuberculosis, and other pathogens might potentiate the severity of COVID-19 and contribute to diagnostic uncertainty. Health-care systems and human resources are already spread thin. And although the young age of the population (with more than half aged younger than 20 years) might prove protective, it also means…

Dorothy Shaw (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.

Ranu S Dhillon, Devabhaktuni Srikrishna, Gerardo Chowell (2020-03-09). [Comment] Getting to zero in the DR Congo Ebola outbreak. thelancet.com Any plan to stop the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo must be based on a quantitative understanding of the proportion of the at-risk population that needs to be protected by effective control measures for transmission to decline sufficiently and quickly enough for the outbreak to end.

Venezuela Analysis (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.

Larisa Rudenko, Irina Isakova-Sivak (2020-01-21). [Comment] Oral influenza vaccination—a possible solution for the next pandemic? thelancet.com Influenza is a vaccine-preventable disease caused by a constantly mutating virus, which means that the vaccine composition must be updated almost every year. The burden of seasonal influenza is high,1 but the emergence of a pandemic virus can cause substantially more damage to both populations and health-care systems.2 When a pandemic starts, demand for the specific vaccine soars, leading to a global shortage.

Miranda I Teboh-Ewungkem, Gideon A Ngwa (2020-01-13). [Comment] Fighting malaria with ivermectin: a novel malaria control tool. thelancet.com Malaria is a complex disease involving three interacting living populations, each with its own evolutionary pathway and need of survival: the parasite of genus Plasmodium, which causes the disease in humans; the humans that can be infected by the malaria parasite; and the Anopheles spp mosquito (the vector), which transmits the parasite from human to human. Malaria control strategies targeting these different populations exist. These include mosquitocidal agents that target the aquatic and terrestrial life forms of the mosquito vector,1 prophylactic use of intermittent preventive treatment,2,3 early disease diagn…

Walter T McNicholas (2019-12-02). [Comment] Active management of mild obstructive sleep apnoea: the evidence grows. thelancet.com Obstructive sleep apnoea is highly prevalent and reports indicate a prevalence for mild obstructive sleep apnoea of up to 35% in the general population.1 However, a lower prevalence of about 5% is reported in the general population for the clinical syndrome when sleep disordered breathing, as determined by the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI), is combined with relevant daytime manifestations such as excessive sleepiness.1,2 Because many patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, even in the mild category, report debilitating symptoms of sleepiness and other measures of impaired quality of life, the active management of…