Mandatory online classes not accessible for millions in Italy: Communist Youth
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-07
Italy's Communist Youth Front (FGC) has stated that the Italian government's decision to start compulsory online classes for students during the COVID-19 lockdown will exclude millions who do not have internet access. On April 6, Monday, the council of ministers, including education minister Lucia Azzolina, approved a new school decree making online teaching mandatory. | FGC argued that the decree formalizes a model of education which discriminates against the children of workers. According to Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) data, one in three families in the country does not own a computer or ta…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/07/mandatory-online-classes-not-accessible-for-millions-in-italy-communist-youth/

Preserving the legacy of the townsite of Negro Bar, Alta California established in 1849
Michael Harris from Wikipedia | indybay.org | 2020-04-07
Genesis 15: 12-14 speaks of a people enslaved and afflicted for 400 years. For 400 years people of Pan African Ancestry have been enslaved and afflicted throughout the United States of America. Rancho Rio de Los Americans begins to share the legacy along the American River Parkway.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/07/18832147.php

COVID-19 pandemic threatens millions in war-torn Libya and Syria
wsws.org | 2020-04-07
Imperialist wars and proxy conflicts costing hundreds of thousands of lives have destroyed infrastructure critical to fight the spread of coronavirus.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/07/lisy-a07.html

Deaths of Inequality: AOC on Black and Latinx Communities at Epicenter of Epicenter of the Pandemic
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-07
As COVID-19 deaths spike in African-American and immigrant communities, almost a third of New York City's infections are in Queens, one of the most diverse places in the world, and many in the hardest-hit neighborhoods are undocumented and working-class. We speak with Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the neighborhoods at the epicenter of the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, about how the Trump administration's response to the pandemic is causing "deaths of incompetence," "deaths of science denial" and "deaths of inequality."
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/7/aoc_coronavirus_queens_bronx

African Americans Have Contracted and Died of COVID-19 at an Alarming Rate
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-07
The coronavirus entered Milwaukee from a white, affluent suburb. Then it took root in the city's black community and erupted. | As public health officials watched cases rise in March, too many in the community shrugged off warnings. Rumors and conspiracy theories proliferated on social media, pushing the bogus idea that black people are somehow immune to the disease. And mu…
truthout.org/articles/african-americans-have-contracted-and-died-of-covid-19-at-an-alarming-rate/

Morocco releases over 5,600 incarcerated people amid COVID-19 threat in prisons
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-06
Several human rights groups and organizations had appealed to the king for the release of all political prisoners and detainees, a large number of whom were part of the popular Rif protests in Morocco.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/06/morocco-releases-over-5600-incarcerated-people-amid-covid-19-threat-in-prisons/

The COVID-19 pandemic and the African American Nation
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-04-06
San José, CA – Much of the day-to-day news coverage on the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has been on the plight of New York City, which has been the hardest hit to date. With more than 8 million people, NYC is the largest city in the United States, but the number of COVID-19 infections, at more than 63,000, is more than any other entire country in the world except for the United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and China. The death toll of more than 2500 is more than every other country in the world except for Italy, Spain, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Iran and China. | Without try…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/4/6/covid-19-pandemic-and-african-american-nation

'For Life' and Black incarceration; The twin meanings of 'Twisty'
Dennis Broe | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-06
The best network series in what might be a coronavirus-abbreviated season is ABC's For Life, a combination prison/courtroom drama about an innocent African-American inmate sentenced to life imprisonment for being a drug kingpin. The series is based on the true story of Issac Wright Jr., a New Jersey inmate who used his time in prison …
peoplesworld.org/article/for-life-and-black-incarceration-the-twin-meanings-of-twisty/

Human Development: Will It End Soon?
Alton C. Thompson | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-04
Our species–Homo sapiens sapiens–originated in Africa about 40,000 to 130,000 years ago. Even before 130,000 years ago our ancestors were exposed to certain stimuli–from other members of our species, and from the physical surround–and engaged in certain behaviors–especially behaviors related to the acquisition of sustenance, such as gathering, hunting, and even scavenging. Because both occurred …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/04/human-development-will-it-end-soon/

Protect Immigrant Communities: Fear Mounts of Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak in U.S. Border Camps, ICE Jails
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-03
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has joined thousands of medical professionals and immigration rights groups to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement release all prisoners from immigration jails as the coronavirus continues to spread. Meanwhile, immigration advocates are working to prepare crowded encampments of asylum seekers across the U.S.-Mexico border for a potentially catastrophic outbreak of COVID-19. Since the implementation of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, tens of thousands of asylum seekers from regions like Central America and Africa have been stranded in Mexican bord…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/3/covid_us_mexico_border_immigration_jails

International JUULs: E-Cigarette Giant Courts Foreign Governments
VINS | projectcensored.org | 2020-04-03
Since coming under major scrutiny for many marketing scandals, leading e-cigarette company JUUL has begun looking to enter new markets in Europe, Middle East, Africa, South America, and Asia. JUUL,…
projectcensored.org/international-juuls-e-cigarette-giant-courts-foreign-governments/

Mauritius Leaks Expose Exploitation of African Nations
VINS | projectcensored.org | 2020-04-03
In August 2019, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists announced that businesses have used Mauritius as a tax shelter from 1992 to the present. Mauritius originally set up a series…
projectcensored.org/mauritius-leaks-expose-exploitation-of-african-nations/

Editorial from Zimbabwe praises U.N. call to end sanctions
| workers.org | 2020-04-03
The Herald, Zimbabwe's largest newspaper in Harare, the capital, published the following editorial on March 27 commenting on the COVID-19 pandemic and sanctions. With the coronavirus pandemic escalating every second and reaching unprecedented levels globally, it is no time to play political games with people's lives. The big brother mentality . . . | Continue reading Editorial from Zimbabwe praises U.N. call to end sanctions at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/47476/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=editorial-from-zimbabwe-praises-u-n-call-to-end-sanctions

Amazon executives conspired to smear fired worker who led protest over Covid-19 safety conditions
rt.com | 2020-04-03
Amazon's top lawyer crafted a strategy to scapegoat the man who organized a protest at a New York warehouse, calling the African-American ex-employee 'not smart, or articulate.' President Obama's ex-spokesman helped carry it out. | Chris Smalls was fired on Monday, after he led up to 50 of his colleagues at a Staten Island warehouse to walk out in protest over what they described as unsafe working conditions at the mammoth facility, including the lack of protective gear for the workers. A number of political and media figures, including Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), condemned…
rt.com/usa/484843-amazon-smears-protest-leader/

Coronavirus restrictions hamper aid access for Sudanese in need
news.un.org | 2020-04-03
The United Nations and its partners are putting in place alternative plans to ensure the continuity of humanitarian assistance in Sudan, as measures taken by the Government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are having an impact on aid access, deliveries and services.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061072

Uganda's 'Kill the Gays' Bill and Chick-Fil-A
VINS | projectcensored.org | 2020-04-03
In 2014 Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni signed an Anti-Homosexuality bill which criminalized homosexuality and any person who keeps a place of any kind for purposes of homosexuality, as well as…
projectcensored.org/ugandas-kill-the-gays-bill-and-chick-fil-a/

FROM THE FIELD: Sunny days power a better life for displaced Nigerians
news.un.org | 2020-04-02
Water boreholes powered by solar energy are helping to improve life for Nigerians displaced by conflict, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM).
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1060892

Burkina Faso crisis and COVID-19 concerns highlight pressure on Sahel food security
news.un.org | 2020-04-02
Food insecurity levels in the Sahel region are "spiralling out of control", the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday, as it expressed concerns about the potential impact on humanitarian supply chains because of restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1060942

COVID-19 Lays Bare Neoliberalism's Failure In Sudan
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-02
The failure of neoliberalism in addressing the coronavirus crisis is not limited to Sudan. It is a global failure.
therealnews.com/stories/coronavirus-neoliberalism-private-healthcare-failure-sudan

[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

[Comment] Preparedness is essential for malaria-endemic regions during the COVID-19 pandemic
Jigang Wang, Chengchao Xu, Yin Kwan Wong, Yingke He, Ayà¥la A Adegnika, Peter G Kremsner, Selidji T Agnandji, Amadou A Sall, Zhen Liang, Chen Qiu, Fu Long Liao, Tingliang Jiang, Sanjeev Krishna, Youyou Tu | thelancet.com | 2020-03-16
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that first emerged in Wuhan in China's Hubei province1 has quickly spread to the rest of China and many other countries. Within 3 months, more than 125‚Äà000 people have been infected and the death toll had reached over 4600 worldwide on March 12, 2020.2 In an attempt to contain the virus, the Chinese Government has made unprecedented efforts and invested enormous resources and these containment efforts have stemmed the spread of the disease.3 As of March 12, 2020, malaria-endemic regions in Africa have reported a few imported COVID-19 cases inclu…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30561-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Adoption of COVID-19 triage strategies for low-income settings
Rodgers R Ayebare, Robert Flick, Solome Okware, Bongomin Bodo, Mohammed Lamorde | thelancet.com | 2020-03-11
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…
thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30114-4/fulltext?rss=yes