Ricardo Vaz (2020-03-23). IMF Rejects Venezuela COVID-19 Emergency Fund Appeal. globalresearch.ca The International Monetary Fund has rejected a Venezuelan appeal for an emergency US $5 billion loan to face the Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza revealed on Tuesday afternoon that President Nicolas Maduro had sent a letter to IMF …

Nino Pagliccia (2020-03-23). The IMF Abandons Venezuelans to the Threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic. counterpunch.org No government that had to bow to the power of a financial institution like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) knows the harsh consequences to which it will have to submit. That includes the Venezuelan government. And yet last March 15 president Nicolas Maduro filed a formal request to the IMF for a financing facility of

WSWS (2020-03-23). Coronavirus crisis in New York: As doctors warn of "our Chernobyl," state government plans Medicaid cuts. wsws.org Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been calling for the deployment of the military, warned on Sunday that between 40 and 80 percent of the population of New York state (roughly 19.5 million people) would be infected.

Telesur (2020-03-23). Cuba Sends 53 Doctors and Nurses to Fight Covid-19 in Italy. globalresearch.ca Cuban health authorities announced on Thursday that the country will send 53 health professionals to Lombardy, Italy, to help contain the new coronavirus pandemic. | The 53 doctors and nurses have experience in caring for these types of diseases. In 2014, …

yenisafak (2020-03-23). COVID-19: UK's faith groups react to mandatory cremation. yenisafak.com Britain's Muslim and Jewish communities are worried about the government's mandatory cremation plans, which may become law after the probable passing of an emergency coronavirus bill.As the bill designed to give extra powers to the government will be discussed at the House of Commons Monday, Muslim and Jewish populations in the U.K. have expressed their concerns about the cremation as it is against their beliefs regarding the burial practices.According to the legislation, which is still to be voted on, "personal choice for body disposal will be respected as far as possible."But it also says "where there is no sui…

yenisafak (2020-03-23). How will the coronavirus pandemic end? yenisafak.com The coronavirus pandemic could come to an end with three possible case scenarios: if people become immune to the virus, if a vaccine is developed, or if the virus mutates losing its potency with time, an expert said.Mehmet Ceyhan, a professor at Ankara-based Hacettepe University, said the first rule for protection against the virus is maintaining good hygiene, particularly frequent hand washing.He said the virus may spread among humans during its incubation period which ranges from two to 14 days."This virus spreads through droplets, just like flu, meningitis, pneumonia and measles. In SARS and MERS, the illness…

teleSUR (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…

Nino Pagliccia (2020-03-22). The IMF Abandons Venezuelans to the Threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Political Decision. globalresearch.ca No government that had to bow to the power of a financial institution like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) knows the harsh consequences to which it will have to submit. That includes the Venezuelan government. And yet last March 15 …

W. T. Whitney, Jr. (2020-03-21). Fighting COVID-19 in Cuba, China and the United States. mronline.org The pandemic has effectively provided a laboratory-like demonstration that people do better when states can plan ahead, apply national resources unequivocally to the public good, put science in the service of the people, and practice international solidarity. These are characteristics of socialist societies. |

Fight Back (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…

teleSUR (2020-03-21). COVID-19 Will Increase Poverty & Unemployment in LatAm: ECLAC. telesurenglish.net The executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Barcena, said Friday that COVID-19 would directly impact the already weakened world economy. She claims increasing poverty in the region for 35 million people, as well as endangering an essential global public good: human health. | RELATED: | Barcena added that supply and demand will be affected, "either thr…

teleSUR (2020-03-21). Cuba Sends 144 Health Workers to Combat the Covid-19 in Jamaica. telesurenglish.net Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Saturday announced that his country is sending a medical brigade to combat the Covid-19 Pandemic in Jamaica, a Caribbean country that has been going through a severe economic and political crisis for the past years. | RELATED: | "For more than 60 years of revolution, Cuba and our people have defended solidarity as a principle. Evidence…

Peter Kornbluh (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…

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2020-03-20). Fighting COVID-19 in Cuba, China, and the United States. peoplesworld.org Governments, according to Thomas Jefferson, are supposed to guarantee people's rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." COVID-19 has put people's lives and health in the spotlight now. What kinds of tools do governments have at their disposal to protect lives and health? Cuba has the advantages of forward-looking leadership, well-orchestrated state planning, …

RT (2020-03-20). California governor issues mandatory STAY AT HOME order, projects 56% of population infected with coronavirus in 8 weeks. rt.com California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a mandatory "stay at home" order to all residents, shuttering all businesses beyond "critical sectors" while suggesting the state's hospitals could soon hit their breaking point. | "Everyone is required to stay home except to get food, care for a relative or friend, get necessary health care, or go to an essential job," read a

Aaron Maté (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…

Jeb Sprague (2020-03-20). The US government's 'divide and conquer' tactics in the Caribbean. thecanary.co Recent multilateral meetings in Kingston and Mar-a-Lago signal US attempts at intensifying divisions in the Caribbean. 'Shithole countries' (as president Donald Trump

teleSUR (2020-03-20). Cuba Restricts Entry of Foreigners Due to Coronavirus. telesurenglish.net The President of Cuba, RELATED: | The president reiterated that the world is currently experiencing an "unprecedented challenge" with the rapid increase in con…

teleSUR (2020-03-20). Venezuela Guarantees Medicines to Fight Coronavirus. telesurenglish.net The President of Venezuela, After the national social quarantine was decreed, the Venezuelan authorities have highlighted the importance of complying with this measure to prevent new cases of contagion in the territory, which so far has reported 42 infected people. | "We have the treatments, we have all the medicines we need for the treatments, we have…

Sputnik News (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 …

Susan Price (2020-03-19). Cuban drug could save thousands of lives in COVID-19 pandemic. greenleft.org.au

Alan Macleod (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.

Janine Jackson (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…

Susan Price (2020-03-18). Cuba shows a lead in solidarity amid COVID-19 crisis. greenleft.org.au

Ben Norton (2020-03-17). Amid coronavirus pandemic, Bolsonaro's Brazil begs for Cuban doctors — after expelling them. thegrayzone.com Brazil's far-right government requested the return of thousands of Cuban doctors to help fight the coronavirus. Months ago, President Jair…

Ben Norton (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….

Leonardo Flores (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…

Lucas Koerner (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.

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,

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.

Maria Morris (2020-03-06). Are Our Prisons and Jails Ready for COVID-19? aclu.org The | country and the world face a public health emergency in the new coronavirus | causing COVID-19. The media is filled with concerns about how we will respond. | Will we close schools? Cancel sporting events and other large gatherings? Work | from home? Avoid public transportation? | But | little has been said about one of the most vulnerable sectors of our | population: the people in our prisons and jails. Although people often think of | prisons and jails as closed environments, they are not. Medical staff, correctional | staff, and visitors come from the community into the facilities every day and | then…

Antoine Flahault (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…

Kaja M Abbas, Kevin van Zandvoort, Marc Brisson, Mark Jit (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.

Tuhin Biswas, James G. Scott, Kerim Munir, Hannah J. Thomas, M. Mamun Huda, Md. Mehedi Hasan, Tim David de Vries, Janeen Baxter, Abdullah A. Mamun (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).

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.

Elizabeth Greig, Barth A. Green, Henri R. Ford, Didi Bertrand Farmer, Krista Marie Nottage, Zelde Espinel, James M. Shultz (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].

Claudio Ronco, Paolo Navalesi, Jean Louis Vincent (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.

Nermin Diab, Matthew B Stanbrook, M Hashim Khan, Anju Anand (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).