(2020-05-30). [Editorial] COVID-19 in Africa: no room for complacency. thelancet.com Despite over 100‚Äà000 confirmed cases and infections in every country, the passage of COVID-19 through the African continent remains somewhat enigmatic. High numbers of deaths were expected in the region due to fragile health systems, lack of access to preventive measures, barriers to testing, and potentially vulnerable populations. But, according to WHO, Africa is the least affected region globally, with 1 ∑5% of the world's reported COVID-19 cases and 0 ∑1% of the world's deaths. Although comparisons are inaccurate, mortality rates have been lower compared with outbreaks of similar si…
(2020-05-30). [Perspectives] A call for food system change. thelancet.com In shutting down entire societies, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fundamental inequities and inadequacies of market-driven economies that prioritise profits over human welfare. Inequities show up in businesses that furlough employees while paying high salaries and bonuses to executives. They are also revealed by the dependence of food systems on poorly paid workers and cheap global supply chains. The COVID-19 crisis demonstrates how current food systems fail to protect populations from hunger and diet-influenced non-communicable diseases and why the poor, disenfranchised, discriminated against, and chronic…
(2020-05-29). The Only Way to Save Grizzlies: Connect Their Habitats. counterpunch.org 
Linkages, biological corridors, demographic connectivity or intervening areas. These are the lands outside and between the Grizzly Bear Recovery Areas in the Northern Rockies. Over the past 20 years grizzly bears have begun to recolonize this historic habitat, increasing the possibilities of linking genetically isolated populations and reestablishing a breeding population in the vast Bitterroot
(2020-05-29). Haiti's Revolutions and Revisions: An Interview with Charles Forsdick and Christian Hà∏gsbjerg. mronline.org Toussaint stressed that freedom was something that had to be fought for and taken from below by the masses themselves.
(2020-05-29). Blaming the COVID-19 Pandemic on Too Many Humans: a Critique of Overpopulation Ideology. counterpunch.org A world gripped by a deadly virus has precipitated a deluge of punditry claiming to have found the primal cause of the pandemic. In a recent article Anthony Judge, for example, claims to have tapped into "the collective subconscious" to blame what he calls overpopulation. How well does this claim hold up? Mr. Judge is concerned
(2020-05-29). Nursing union NYSNA provides cover for Cuomo's push to reopen the economy. wsws.org The New York State Nurses Association is promoting the illusion that the political establishment responsible for jeopardizing the health of the population and frontline health care workers can be pressured into adopting socially responsible policies.
(2020-05-29). Child poverty and hunger set to spike in Puerto Rico. wsws.org Even before the pandemic, the island was reeling from a decade-long economic recession, chronically low labor force participation rates and a public debt crisis that served as a pretext for years of severe austerity policies.
(2020-05-28). Latin America and Caribbean: Millions more could miss meals due to COVID-19 pandemic. news.un.org Some 14 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean could experience severe food insecurity this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to projections released on Thursday by the World Food Programme (WFP).
(2020-05-28). US: Bid To Discard Lawsuit On Cuban Properties Granted In Court. telesurenglish.net South Florida District Judge Robert N. Scola dismissed on Thursday a lawsuit against Booking, Hotels, Expedia, and Orbitz supported by Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, activated by Trump administration in May 2019. | RELATED: | Scola definitively dismissed the lawsuit filed by Mario Del Valle, Enrique Falla, and Angelo Pou after accepting requests from hotel and travel booking companies. The plaintiffs accused the compa…
(2020-05-28). Haiti: HR Groups Warn of Prisoner Vulnerability to COVID. telesurenglish.net Haiti's social justice organizations warned on May 27 about the health situation due to the COVID-19 outbreak in penitentiary centers. | RELATED: | "In practically all of the prisons, there are dozens of prisoners suffering from a fever, but we can't say for certain it's COVID-19," Haiti's National Human Rights Institution's Director, Renan Hédouville, stated. | According to the human rights advocators, "the figure is…
(2020-05-28). Venezuela Cuts Back Oil Production, Mulls Gasoline Price Hike. venezuelanalysis.com Four Iranian tankers carrying fuel and additives have arrived in recent days.
(2020-05-28). Fourth Iranian Tanker Arrives In Venezuela's Territory. telesurenglish.net The Faxon became the fourth Iranian-flagged tanker to reach Venezuela's Exclusive Economic Zone, as it entered this country jurisdictional waters, on Thursday. | RELATED: | This vessel is the fourth out of five to arrive after Forest, Fortune and Petunia entered in the past days to bring gasoline and related products as part of the bilateral energy deals signed by both countries. | Video: El buque iraní Faxon ingresó en el mar terr…
(2020-05-28). Venezuela: Gold Kept at Bank of England Needed to Fight COVID. globalresearch.ca Venezuela's Central Bank (BCV) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) agreed to use part of the gold deposited in the Bank of England to acquire food and medicine to face the Covid-19 pandemic, BCV President Calixto Ortega declared on Wednesday….
(2020-05-28). US Military Brigade to Fight Drug Trafficking in Colombia. telesurenglish.net A U.S. brigade of special anti-drug units will arrive in Colombia in support of an operation announced by Washington in April that actually seeks to deploy military forces in the country's border states with Venezuela. | RELATED: | The U.S. Embassy in Colombia announced in a statement that a Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) will travel to Colombia under the guise of helping it in its fight against drug traff…
(2020-05-27). Venezuela brands U.S.-backed Citgo sale 'an act of modern piracy'. mronline.org 
Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez last year branded the move an "organised crime that violates international law.
(2020-05-27). In 2007, acclaimed US physician Paul Farmer pushed for Cuban Medical Brigades to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. zcomm.org Today Code Pink is making a push for that. It would be a lock in a civilized world. Click below to here to read Farmer's letter. In it, he glowingly sums up his decades of working closely with Cuban doctors in Haiti.
(2020-05-27). Experts: Cuba is Close To The Post-COVID Stage. telesurenglish.net Cuba is making the necessary adjustments to enter…
(2020-05-27). UN agencies welcome donor pledges for Venezuelan refugees and migrants. news.un.org The UN refugee and migration agencies have welcomed $2.79 billion pledged by donors at a solidarity conference aimed at supporting Venezuelans who fled the protracted crisis in their country for host communities across the region.
(2020-05-26). Ondansetron Use in Pregnancy and Congenital Malformations. jamanetwork.com To the Editor Dr Huybrechts and colleagues conducted a population-based cohort study of intravenous ondansetron use during pregnancy and congenital malformations and found no association.
(2020-05-26). Ondansetron Use in Pregnancy and Congenital Malformations—Reply. jamanetwork.com In Reply Ms Saban and colleagues raise questions about treatment with intravenous ondansetron in our cohort study of congenital malformations. We reported an adjusted relative risk (RR) of oral clefts of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.63-1.43) for intravenous ondansetron and 1.24 (95% CI, 1.03-1.48) for oral ondansetron in an earlier publication. Although the point estimate is lower for intravenous ondansetron compared with oral ondansetron, the 95% CI was wide, with an upper limit similar to that for oral ondansetron. Although the increase in risk was statistically significant for oral ondansetron and was not for intravenous o…
(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.
(2020-05-29). Iran's fourth oil tanker "FAXON" takes berth at Venezuelan port. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 29 (MNA) — Iranian tanker "FAXON", carrying gasoline, took berth at Venezuelan port on Friday.
(2020-05-28). General Appeal Regarding the International Health Emergency —Covid 19. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following appeal that was initiated by the German Communist Party (DKP), Communist Party Of Peoples Of Spain (CPPS), and the Communist Party Of Venezuela (CPV). Freedom Road Socialist Organization is among the signers. | The Communist and Workers' parties that suscribe the present APPEAL declare: | 1. The serious international situation which has come from the unstoppable global capitalist crisis – now expressed as a health emergency that spreads throughout so many countries – requires strong and decisive social and political action that puts the needs of the worki…
(2020-05-29). US Military To Fight Drug Trafficking In Colombia Along Venezuela Border. popularresistance.org A US brigade of special anti-drug units will arrive in Colombia in support of an operation announced by Washington in April that actually seeks to deploy military forces in the country's border states with Venezuela. | The US Embassy in Colombia announced in a statement that a Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) will travel to Colombia under the guise of helping it in its fight against drug trafficking. | The mission will begin in early June, extend over several months, and focus its efforts on the Zonas Futuro, as delimited by the Colombian government. | The Zonas Futuro cover 2.4 percent of Colombian terri…
