(2020-04-13). China denies discriminating against 'African brothers' & says accusations by US govt are attempt at diplomatic sabotage. rt.com 
Beijing has rejected allegations that it had enacted prejudiced anti-coronavirus policies against Africans in China, describing the accusations as a ploy by Washington to undermine its standing on the world stage. | China values its strong relationship with its "brothers" in Africa, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday, adding that reports of discriminatory acts against foreigners living in the city of Guangzhou were an attempt by the United States to damage Beijing's relations with African nations. | The Chinese diplomat stressed in a statement released on Sunday that local officials "attach…
(2020-04-13). Indigenous celebrate victory against Dakota Access Pipeline, but remain wary of Judge Boasberg. peoplesworld.org 
On March 25, tribal nations won a notable victory in their long-standing war with the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) when U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg for the District of Columbia ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must develop a full environmental review of the much-maligned project. This was a historic triumph for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which with the support …
(2020-04-13). Libya's UN-recognized govt says 2 strategic cities retaken from forces backing Haftar. rt.com 
The UN-recognized government in Libya said on Monday that its forces had seized two western cities on the coast between Tripoli and the Tunisian border from troops backing eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, AFP reported. | "Our forces took control of Sorman and Sabratha and are pursuing [Haftar's forces]," said a statement by Mohammed Gnunu, spokesman for the forces of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord. | Since 2014, Libya has been split between competing governments and military alliances based in Tripoli and the east. For the past year, the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Ha…
(2020-04-13). What is behind the high percentage of COVID-19 deaths among African Americans? wsws.org The data shows the deadly impact of the virus on the entire working class, especially the most vulnerable workers of all races.
(2020-04-13). We Need a Riot of Empathy. truthout.org Kelly Hayes talks with Tanuja Jagernauth about collective grief and resisting the normalization of mass death. | Note: This a rush transcript and has been lightly edited for clarity. | Copy may not be in its final form. | Kelly Hayes: In a peak moment of tragedy in the COVID-19 crisis, our collective losses are mounting, and with each week, more and more of us know someone who's been lost to this illness, including people we love. Today, we're going to talk about how we can help each other survive these times while not becoming desensitized to t…
(2020-04-13). Wash Your Hands? Despite Pandemic, Thousands Still Have No Water in Detroit, a Coronavirus Hot Spot. democracynow.org 
Water shutoffs continue amid the coronavirus pandemic in Detroit, despite a moratorium and a program to help thousands of residents restore service last month. The lack of water access comes as nearly 1,500 people in Michigan have died from COVID-19, and 40% of those who have died are African-American, despite making up just 14% of the state's population. We speak with community pastor and activist Rev. Roslyn Bouier, who has been working with residents to restore their water.
(2020-04-13). US: African-Americans Are More Vulnerable to COVID-19. telesurenglish.net The U.S.' African-American population is more vulnerable to COVID-19, according to social and demographic studies on the virus. | RELATED: | The reason for this exposure of the African-American population is not its genetics or physical conditions, but the systemic discrimination it suffers. Many of the non-white citizens of the United States are lacking health insurance, so they may also have underlying health problems tha…
(2020-04-13). Thousands Still Have No Water in Detroit, a COVID-19 Hot Spot. truthout.org Water shutoffs continue amid the coronavirus pandemic in Detroit, despite a moratorium and a program to help thousands of residents restore service last month. The lack of water access comes as nearly 1,500 people in Michigan have died from COVID-19, and 40% of those who have died are African-American, despite making up just 14% of the state's population. We speak with community pastor and activist Rev. Roslyn Bouier, who has been working with residents to restore their water. | TRANSCRIPT: | AMY GOODMA…
(2020-04-13). WHO sets up Ebola vaccination sites in DR Congo. yenisafak.com The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday it has set up Ebola vaccination centers in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a day after a second virus-linked death in the country's northeastern region.Pop-up vaccination sites were rapidly set up in Beni to vaccinate contacts linked to recent Ebola deaths in the area, the WHO African Region said on Twitter.It said that the WHO and other partners were working to overcome resistance, and break the chain of transmission within the community.For the last few weeks, no new case had been reported until last Friday when a 26-year-old man died of Ebola in the cit…
(2020-04-13). Burundi launches mass measles vaccination initiative. yenisafak.com Burundi on Monday launched a measles vaccination initiative aiming to immunize more than 17,000 children in the northwest of the country.The initiative hopes to reach children between nine months and 15 years old in Cibitoke province, local medical officer Dr. Norbert Mugabo told reporters.He added that the vaccination effort would continue until April 17, following a measles outbreak that has infected more than 300 children in the province.Mugabo appealed to parents to embrace the vaccination for their children and ignore people seeking to dissuade them on false claims."This vaccination comes during unusual circ…
(2020-04-13). Death toll from coronavirus rises in Morocco, Kuwait. yenisafak.com The death toll from the coronavirus rose Monday to 120 in Morocco, and two in Kuwait, according to health officials.Morocco confirmed two more fatalities, raising the tally to 120, while the number of cases in the country reached 1,746, including 85 additional patients, while 196 recoveries have been registered so far, according to Rabat's Health Ministry.Morocco declared the medical emergency on March 19, and a lockdown till April 20.The government has created a special fund of 10 billion dirhams ($1 billion) to cover expenses related to the rehabilitation of health infrastructure.Kuwaiti Health Ministry announc…
(2020-04-13). "Capitalism is incapable of responding to a crisis of this kind" mronline.org 
The lockdown in South Africa has been extended till the end of April. However, the government's execution of the lockdown, along with decades of under-investment in health, has left the country unprepared.
(2020-04-12). Libya: Haftar's Forces Target Tripoli Hospital Again. telesurenglish.net Forces loyal to eastern-based Libyan General Khalifa Haftar attacked Sunday medical warehouses belonging to the Al-Khadra Hospital in the capital Tripoli for the third time in less than a week, according to the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). | RELATED: | A barrage of Grad rockets hit medical depots from the Al-Khadra General hospital, where over 300 patients were being treated, including two f…
(2020-04-11). Cuban Doctors Arrive in Angola to Train 1500 Health Technicians. telesurenglish.net Angola's Health Minister Silvia Lutucuta informed that 1,500 health technicians will be trained by Cuban doctors in matters of family medicine for community epidemiological surveillance. | RELATED: | "The training will take place at Girassol Hospital… because it has excellent simulators for practical classes, which is an indispensable condition," local outlet SAPO reported. | With that training, "Angolan doctors will…
(2020-04-10). The Racial Politics of 'Return'. thenation.com The Racial Politics of 'Return'
(2020-04-10). Saudi Arabia Violates its Own Ceasefire As Yemen Announces First Cases of Coronavirus. mintpressnews.com The Saudi regime has engaged in a number of questionable activities since the global outbreak of COVID-19, including moving masses of African refugees deported from areas with coronavirus to the Yemeni border.
(2020-04-09). Fight against desert locust swarms goes on in East Africa despite coronavirus crisis measures. news.un.org Sustained efforts to contain East Africa's worst invasion of desert locusts in decades are forging ahead, despite limits on the flow of personnel and equipment stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the UN food agency said Friday.
(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…
(2020-04-08). Albert Woodfox: COVID-19 Offers Public a "Small Window" into What Prisoners Face in Solitary Confinement. democracynow.org 
As millions shelter in place around the world, we speak with Albert Woodfox, who served the longest time in solitary confinement of any prisoner in the United States. Known as one of the Angola Three, along with Robert King and Herman Wallace, Woodfox was held in isolation for nearly 44 years at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola. He was convicted of killing a guard in jail, but always maintained his innocence. He says he was targeted for co-founding the first Black Panther chapter in Angola. He was released in 2016 and is now 73 years old. His memoir is "Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solit…
(2020-04-08). Headlines for April 8, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Daily Death Toll Nears 2,000 as Hundreds of COVID-19 Deaths Go Uncounted, Trump Threatens to Withhold U.S. Funding for World Health Organization, New WH Press Secretary Said Recently, "We Will Not See Diseases Like the Coronavirus Come Here", Trump Fires Inspector General Tasked with Overseeing $2 Trillion Stimulus, China Lifts Lockdown in Wuhan, Where Coronavirus Pandemic Began, EU Coronavirus Stimulus Talks Fail as Deaths Surge in Spain and France, Libyan Rebels Attack Hospital for COVID-19 Patients; Chadian Ex-Dictator Released from Prison, International Labour Organization: Pandemic Could Wipe Out 195 Mi…
(2020-04-08). Over 10,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa; Zimbabwe and South Sudan among most vulnerable. news.un.org The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that the number of COVID-19 cases in Africa has now risen to more than 10,000, claiming more than 500 lives.
(2020-04-07). Course of coronavirus pandemic across Libya, depends on silencing the guns. news.un.org Fighting must stop immediately in Libya if it is to have any chance of staving off the COVID-19 outbreak, the top United Nations official in the North African country said on Tuesday as he condemned an attack on a major Tripoli hospital.
(2020-04-07). Mali: UN mission fulfills mandate, aids battle against coronavirus. news.un.org As the COVID-19 pandemic plagues the world, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali told the Security Council on Tuesday that the mission continues to fulfill its mandate while doing whatever it can to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from overrunning the country.
(2020-04-07). Deaths of Inequality: AOC on Black and Latinx Communities at Epicenter of Epicenter of the Pandemic. democracynow.org 
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."
(2020-04-06). Headlines for April 6, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus Cases Surge in U.S., Surgeon General Warns of "Pearl Harbor Moment" | , Gov. Cuomo Slashes Medicaid as New York Struggles to Get Handle on COVID-19 Cases | , Black Communities Hit Disproportionately Hard by Coronavirus , Coronavirus Cases Appear to Level Off in Parts of Europe, But Death Tolls Remain High | , Boris Johnson Hospitalized for Acute Coronavirus Symptoms | , Japan's Shinzo Abe to Declare Emergency; Filipino Police Kills Man Who Flouted Coronavirus Rules, Low-Paid Garment Workers in Bangladesh Face Mass Unemployment , Former Prime Ministers of Somalia and Libya Die from COVID-19, Complaint…
(2020-04-03). Protect Immigrant Communities: Fear Mounts of Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak in U.S. Border Camps, ICE Jails. democracynow.org 
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…
(2020-03-26). [Correspondence] COVID-19 gives the lie to global health expertise. thelancet.com As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak began spreading in Europe and the USA, a chart started circulating online showing ratings from the 2019 Global Health Security Index, an assessment of 195 countries' capacity to face infectious disease outbreaks, compiled by the US-based Nuclear Threat Initiative and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health's Center for Health Security. The USA was ranked first, and the UK second; South Korea was ranked ninth, and China 51st; most African countries were at the bottom of the ranking.
(2020-03-18). [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. thelancet.com 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.
(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…
(2020-03-05). [Comment] Time to address disparities in the standard of care for Kaposi sarcoma. thelancet.com Despite clinical trial evidence and guideline recommendations to use pegylated liposomal doxorubicin or paclitaxel for AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma, most patients in sub-Saharan Africa continue to receive bleomycin and vincristine.1—3 Before antiretroviral therapy (ART), clinical trials for AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma in resource-abundant settings had shown a superior response for pegylated liposomal doxorubicin compared with bleomycin and vincristine.4 A trial in 2010 showed similar progression-free survival for pegylated liposomal doxorubicin plus ART and for paclitaxel plus ART for advanced AIDS-ass…
(2020-01-07). [Comment] Relaunching human bornavirus research from encephalitis cases with unclear cause. thelancet.com Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1), the first bornavirus to be discovered, was identified as a causative agent of Borna disease, a fatal encephalitis occurring in horses and sheep. BoDV-1 is highly neurotropic and can cause both fatal immune-mediated encephalitis and behavioural disturbances in a broad range of infected animals.1 These observations prompted researchers to investigate the presence of BoDV-1 in patients with psychiatric disorders on the basis of the hypothesis that BoDV-1 might also cause behavioural abnormalities in humans.