Egypt imposes nighttime curfew, partially closes shops to fight coronavirus spread
rt.com | 2020-03-24
The Egyptian government has imposed a two-week long curfew and is shutting down shops and restaurants to curb the spread of the coronavirus epidemic in the country. | The curfew will be in force between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. starting Wednesday and apply to all citizens and transport, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced in a televised address. Violators would be subjected to fines and prison terms. | Businesses will have to stay shut between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. on all days except Fridays and Saturdays, when they will not be allowed to open at all. | Cafes and restaurants will be allowed to deliver foo…
rt.com/news/483945-egypt-imposes-curfew-coronavirus/

Libya: Haftar militias target prison in Tripoli
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-24
The UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) said Tuesday that militias affiliated with Eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar targeted the Ain Zara prison facility in southern Tripoli.Spokesman for the GNA-led Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) Operation, Mustafa al-Majee, told Anadolu Agency three security officers were injured in the attack.Despite the GNA approval on a humanitarian cease-fire to focus on efforts to combat the coronavirus, Haftar has regularly violated the terms by attacking different locations in Tripoli, he said.GNA justice minister has appealed to the international commun…
yenisafak.com/en/world/libya-haftar-militias-target-prison-in-tripoli-3514865

German shipment of 6 million masks lost in Kenya
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-24
Nearly six million medical masks recently purchased by Germany have disappeared at an airport in Kenya, Der Spiegel a weekly German news magazine reported on its website on Tuesday. | German Defense Ministry has confirmed that authorities have begun an investigation into the incident, but did not provide any further details., | Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government had recently ordered nearly ‚Ǩ241 million ($262 million) worth of medical masks, other protective equipment, and material to cope up with a potential shortage amid the coronavirus outbreak. | Due to arrive in the country on…
yenisafak.com/en/world/german-shipment-of-6-million-masks-lost-in-kenya-3514855

Unique female white giraffe and calf killed at hands of illegal poachers in Kenya
Ashley Curtin | nationofchange.org | 2020-03-23
"Its killing is a blow to tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species, and a wake-up call for continued support to conservation efforts."
nationofchange.org/2020/03/23/unique-female-white-giraffe-and-calf-killed-at-hands-of-illegal-poachers-in-kenya/

COVID-19 in the Caribbean: Overview of the Situation, Outbreak
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-23
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: | Africa, Latin America Fragile Targets for Coronavirus Spread | Here is an…
telesurenglish.net/news/Overview-of-the-COVID-19-Outbreak-in-the-Caribbean-Region-20200323-0015.html

Can Democrats widen their appeal to embrace rural working-class America?
Tim Libretti | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-23
We hear these days about the importance of the African-American vote within the Democratic base, and rightly so. This base has played a key role in the Democratic primaries and, according to all indications, will play a key role in determining the Democratic presidential candidate. Democratic candidates would also be wise, though, as well as …
peoplesworld.org/article/can-democrats-widen-their-appeal-to-embrace-rural-working-class-america/

Guinea Voted in Contested Elections Amid Protests, COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-22
Guineans voted Sunday in a referendum and parliamentary election contested by the opposition and held despite deadly protests and the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. | RELATED: | Africa Lockdowns Begin as Coronavirus Cases Above 1,000 | President Alpha Conde, 82, wants to change the constitution to introduce social reforms, but his opponents say his real…
telesurenglish.net/news/Guinea-Voted-in-Contested-Elections-Amid-Protests-Coronavirus-20200322-0011.html

UN welcomes response by Libyan parties to calls for humanitarian pause
news.un.org | 2020-03-21
The United Nations on Saturday welcomed the "positive responses" of Libya's Tripoli-based government and the Libyan National Army (LNA) to calls for a pause to stop the fighting, in the hopes that this would allow humanitarian access throughout the crisis-torn country and head off the potential threat of COVID-19.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059942

[Perspectives] Sean Wasserman: rising star in TB-HIV research and medicine
Richard Lane | thelancet.com | 2020-03-21
A year spent working in a township hospital outside Cape Town, South Africa, was a defining career moment for Sean Wasserman, winner of the 2019 Stephen Lawn TB-HIV Research Leadership Prize, which is supported by The Union. "I remember seeing the devastation caused by untreated HIV and common opportunistic infections including TB and meningitis, and was inspired by the high quality of medicine practised by my consultants in this challenging environment. I knew from that point on that I wanted to make a contribution in the emerging field of infectious diseases medicine in South Africa", he says.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30598-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Obituary] Lionel Henry Opie
Geoff Watts | thelancet.com | 2020-03-21
Leading African cardiologist. He was born in Hanover, South Africa, on May 6, 1933, and died in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb 20, 2020, aged 86 years.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30601-2/fulltext?rss=yes

Doctor: As Coronavirus Cases Spike Worldwide, We Need Global Cooperation to Halt Spread
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-20
As the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 10,000, with over 250,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, we speak with Stanford University's global health expert Dr. Michele Barry, an infectious disease doctor. Italy has surpassed China in coronavirus deaths, and cases are rising in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, as the governor of California has ordered all 40 million residents to shelter in place.
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/20/coronavirus_dr_michele_barry

UN rights chief urges South Sudan authorities to address inter-communal violence
news.un.org | 2020-03-20
Authorities in South Sudan must address intercommunal violence if the nation is to achieve lasting peace, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday, in response to a recent escalation in fighting in the east and central parts of the country.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059822

UNHCR delivers much-needed aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad
news.un.org | 2020-03-20
Nearly 94 tonnes of emergency aid has been airlifted into Chad to support thousands of people who have fled ongoing violence in Sudan's West Darfur state, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059842

UN, an 'ally' in Kenya in fight against COVID-19: a UN Resident Coordinator blog
news.un.org | 2020-03-19
The United Nations is working closely with the Kenyan Government to help prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus or COVID-19. By Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1059812

[Research Paper] A phase 1b randomized study of the safety and immunological responses to vaccination with H4:IC31, H56:IC31, and BCG revaccination in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-uninfected adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa
Linda-Gail Bekker, One Dintwe, Andrew Fiore-Gartland, Keren Middelkoop, Julia Hutter, Anthony Williams, April K. Randhawa, Morten Ruhwald, Ingrid Kromann, Peter L. Andersen, Carlos A. DiazGranados, Kathryn T. Rutkowski, Dereck Tait, Maurine D. Miner, Erica Andersen-Nissen, Stephen C. De Rosa, Kelly E. Seaton, Georgia D. Tomaras, M. Juliana McElrath, Ann Ginsberg, James G. Kublin, HVTN 602 | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
BCG revaccination administered as a single dose ID and both H4: IC31 and H56: IC31 administered as 2 doses IM had acceptable safety profiles in healthy, QFT-negative, previously BCG-vaccinated adolescents. Characterization of the assays and the immunogenicity of these vaccines may help to identify valuable markers of protection for upcoming immune correlates analyses of C-040-404 and future TB vaccine efficacy trials.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30057-2/fulltext?rss=yes

Spain Locks Down & Nationalizes Private Healthcare as Coronavirus Deaths Double & Cases Skyrocket
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-17
Europe is the epicenter of coronavirus, and Spain now has the second most cases in Europe, with more than 2,000 new cases in 24 hours and the number of deaths doubled. We'll go to Madrid for an update, where more than half of the country's cases have been reported. This comes as the Spanish government announced it is nationalizing hospitals and private healthcare companies to better manage the pandemic. We are joined by María Carrión, a freelance journalist and former Democracy Now! producer who is also executive director of FiSahara and co-founder of Nomads HRC, which focus on human rights in Western Sahara.
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/17/spain_coronavirus

"Something Is Wrong in America": Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor & Michael Eric Dyson Debate Sanders v Biden
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-16
Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders faced off in their first one-on-one debate Sunday night in the midst of an unprecedented national crisis, with 3,600 reported COVID-19 cases, 61 deaths so far, 33 states closing schools and mass shutdowns in major cities. The rivals clashed on how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Medicare for All, the climate crisis, Joe Biden's record and whether or not the U.S. needs a revolution. We play highlights from the debate and get responses from scholars Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Michael Eric Dyson. Taylor is assistant professor of African-America…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/16/keeanga_yamahtta_taylor_michael_eric_dyson

The Government Has a Secret Plan to Track Everyone's Faces at Airports. We're Suing
Ashley Gorski | aclu.org | 2020-03-12
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration are putting us on an extraordinarily dangerous path toward the normalization of face surveillance. But because key facts about this surveillance are still secret, the public lacks the information it needs to hold these agencies to account. We're suing to bring some much-needed transparency., , Over the past few years, CBP and the TSA have dramatically expanded their use of facial recognition technology at the airport and other U.S. ports of entr…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/the-government-has-a-secret-plan-to-track-everyones-faces-at-airports-were-suing

[Commentary] We all progress through progress towards gender equality
Pavel V. Ovseiko, Anand Ahankari | thelancet.com | 2020-03-04
Ubuntu

[Research Paper] Violence-related knife injuries in a UK city; epidemiology and impact on secondary care resources
Nabeela S. Malik, Beau Munoz, Cynthia de Courcey, Rizwana Imran, Kwang C. Lee, Saisakul Chernbumroong, Jonathan Bishop, Janet M. Lord, George Gkoutos, Douglas M. Bowley, Mark A. Foster | thelancet.com | 2020-03-03
Knife injuries constitute 12 ∑9% of trauma team workload. Violence recidivism and intoxication are common, and females are predominantly injured in a domestic setting, presenting opportunities for targeted violence reduction interventions. 13 ∑9% of injuries involved machetes, with implications for law enforcement strategies.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30040-7/fulltext?rss=yes

[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
Kaja M Abbas, Kevin van Zandvoort, Marc Brisson, Mark Jit | thelancet.com | 2020-02-24
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.
thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30022-X/fulltext?rss=yes