(2020-07-11). [Comment] Offline: Restoring trust in WHO. thelancet.com Belgium has the sad distinction of leading the world league table of deaths from COVID-19. At 843 deaths per million, Belgium is ahead of the UK (650 per million), Italy (576 per million), Sweden (537 per million), and France (458 per million). COVID-19 was first reported in Belgium on Feb 4, 2020, in a 54-year-old man who had been repatriated from Wuhan, China. Community transmission was confirmed in early March after holiday makers returned from school vacation breaks in northern Italy. The national sense of failure and anger is spurring a serious effort to initiate an international inquiry into the global resp…
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] The health-care sector's role in climate stabilisation. thelancet.com Nick Watts and colleagues' 2019 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change1 leaves no doubt that global warming will heavily affect every child born today. Young people—the generation that will have to live through the consequences of a warming world for the longest—are actively taking part in raising awareness for climate change. Inspired by the Fridays for Future movement, thousands of young people have been doing everything possible to bring about social change towards a sustainable ecological lifestyle.
(2020-07-11). Climate Crisis: Fracking Pioneer Goes Bankrupt, Pipelines Get Big Legal Win. therealnews.com 
Fracking pioneer Chesapeake Energy goes bankrupt with industry-wide reverberations, and a trio of pipelines take legal hits as the industry scores a huge legal win.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] The health-care sector's role in climate stabilisation — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Till Bugaj and colleagues and Helga Weisz and colleagues for their comments.
(2020-07-11). [Editorial] COVID-19: the worst may be yet to come. thelancet.com As much of western Europe begins to ease countrywide lockdowns, globally the pandemic may still be in its infancy, with more than 160‚Äà000 new cases reported each day since June 25. Individual countries count cases differently, so direct comparisons are difficult, but the numbers illustrate a worrying pattern. At a subnational level the picture is nuanced, with local hotspots, but at a country level the picture is clear—the world is facing a worsening multipolar pandemic.
(2020-07-11). [Perspectives] The art of survival. thelancet.com An artist can turn bad luck into good fortune. Texas-born author Katherine Anne Porter caught and nearly died from influenza in the 1918—19 pandemic, but the experience gave her the material for Pale Horse, Pale Rider—the title piece of this selection from Penguin Modern Classics—and not only the finest of her very fine short stories, but also the greatest literary account of the "Spanish" influenza. Very few writers besides Porter addressed the disease, effectively making her the laureate of a tragedy that no one much cared to remember until the parallels with COVID-19 recalled it to collective…
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Differential effect of ticagrelor on irreversible harms in diabetes — Authors' reply. thelancet.com Gerald Chi and Jolanta Marszalek raise questions about subgroup analysis and interaction terms in the THEMIS trial. Interaction terms are generally underpowered. At the same time, when several subgroups are compared, interaction terms might be positive by chance because of multiplicity of testing. These are two opposing forces in the interpretation of interaction terms that have long been appreciated in clinical trials. With respect to our work, the THEMIS trial was a positive trial in which we found significant efficacy benefit of ticagrelor in the overall population of patients with stable coronary artery disea…
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Differential effect of ticagrelor on irreversible harms in diabetes. thelancet.com We read with interest the Article by Deepak L Bhatt and colleagues1 on the incremental effect of ticagrelor to aspirin for patients with diabetes and stable coronary artery disease. The THEMIS trial suggested a reduction in ischaemic events but not irreversible harms in the overall population.2 The trial also hypothesised that patients with a history of previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) would show a favourable efficacy—safety tradeoff. The authors found a favourable net clinical benefit in patients with previous PCI but not in those without previous PCI (appendix).
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Older-age opioid-related deaths in the UK. thelancet.com The Lancet Series on drug use1 began with a paper on global patterns of opioid dependence but insufficiently emphasised that the sequelae of these epidemics persist over decades. The risk of drug-related death increases with age in people who are opioid-dependent, and the advantage that young women users (<35 years) have of lower drug-related mortality risk diminishes as they get older.2...
(2020-07-11). [Articles] Ruxolitinib cream for treatment of vitiligo: a randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial. thelancet.com Treatment with ruxolitinib cream was associated with substantial repigmentation of vitiligo lesions up to 52 weeks of treatment, and all doses were well tolerated. These data suggest that ruxolitinib cream might be an effective treatment option for patients with vitiligo.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Organised crime: the missing link in drug policies. thelancet.com Illegal drugs and their effect on public health were discussed in a 2019 Lancet Series.1 However, the Series authors did not report how a global criminal enterprise, the drug—abuse industrial complex,2 is the origin of the problem. This global network of organised crime, corrupt politicians, money laundering, and distribution systems perpetuates this public health crisis. We have reason to believe the drug trade is now expanding under the guise of legal cannabis and cannabidiol, especially in North America, with outreach to other markets in South America, Europe, and Asia.
(2020-07-11). [World Report] US Supreme Court upholds abortion rights, for now. thelancet.com The court's decision means that Louisiana's three abortion clinics will remain open. Susan Jaffe reports.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Predicting erenumab adverse events with single-cell genomics. thelancet.com Erenumab is a CGRP receptor monoclonal antibody for the preventive treatment of migraine. It has been widely prescribed in the USA after receiving US Food and Drug Administration approval in May, 2018. An estimated 7000 prescriptions are written per week,1 which, along with postmarketing reporting, have resulted in the rapid detection of serious adverse events that were not seen during clinical trials. As a result, the product label was revised on Oct 4, 2019, to include constipation with serious complications, including cases requiring hospitalisation and surgery, with most cases reported after a single dose of…
(2020-07-11). [Obituary] Tomisaku Kawasaki. thelancet.com Paediatrician who identified what became known as Kawasaki disease. Born on Feb 7, 1925, in Tokyo, Japan, he died on June 5, 2020, in Tokyo, aged 95 years.
(2020-07-11). [Comment] First step in a new era for treatment of patients with vitiligo. thelancet.com Vitiligo is an acquired depigmentation of the skin, which affects approximately 1% of the population worldwide. The condition can profoundly affect the wellbeing and the social, sexual, and professional lives of affected individuals and thus induces a strong therapeutic demand.1 Actual treatments rely on the use of topical steroids or topical calcineurin inhibitors, and are better combined with sun exposure or phototherapy.1,2 The best results are achieved on the face, while some areas such as bony prominences and hands and feet show a very poor repigmentation rate.
(2020-07-11). [Clinical Picture] A rare cause of left-sided weakness in an elderly woman: amoebic encephalitis. thelancet.com An 85-year-old Gujarati woman with a 1-day history of confusion, left-sided weakness, and slurred speech attended our hospital. She had a history of headaches, which had been extensively investigated for 2 years from 2013. She also had hypertension. She had no history of recent travel.
(2020-07-10). Scheer Intelligence: The Price Of Ignoring The Ferguson Uprising. popularresistance.org August 9 will mark six years since 18-year-old Michael Brown was murdered by policeman Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Miss. Since then, Wilson has walked free and the systemic issues that have plagued this nation throughout its history have gone unaddressed. That changed with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, which so thoroughly shocked Americans and established that the lessons from Ferguson and the Black Lives Matter movement that rose from it never had been absorbed. | Now, at a moment of heightened awareness about racism, Black Lives Matter leaders and Black s and artists such as t…
(2020-07-10). Columbia, SC ers resilient in the face of police repression. liberationnews.org 
ers, s and community members in Columbia, South Carolina are facing severe repression following s against racism and police terror at the end of May. So far, more than 80 people have been arrested, ers and bystanders alike. That number continues to grow as the Richland County Sheriff's Department and Columbia Police Department seek to …
(2020-07-10). Chicago against Duterte's terror law. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL — More than 80 progressive Filipinos and supporters gathered in front of the Philippine Consulate, July 8, to the repressive 'anti-terrorism' measure recently signed into law by President Duterte. The law criminalizes trade union, student, environmental and other s who are working for social and national liberation. The was one of many held across the U.S.
(2020-07-10). Serbia Explosion — Vuƒçiƒá Caught Between Coronavirus and Color Revolution. strategic-culture.org 
On the evenings of July 7th and 9th, a wave of unrest swept through several Serbian cities — chiefly Belgrade — in opposition to an announcement from Vuƒçiƒá that Belgrade would return to the government mandated coronavirus quarantine lockdowns. | Largely the s were ful if energetic, with the vast majority of ers of all ages and walks of life observing norms and voicing their opposition to the announcement that quarantine would return. Many of those ing were not anti-Vuƒçiƒá per se, and their issues were not political in the ele…
(2020-07-10). Putin, Russian Security Council discuss Libyan crisis. yenisafak.com "The situation in Libya was discussed with an emphasis on the absence of alternative to a ful settlement in this country," the Kremlin said in a statement on its official website following the meeting.Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.Libya's new government was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to the military offensive by warlord Khalifa Haftar's forces.The UN recognizes the Libyan government headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj as the country's legitimate authority.
(2020-07-10). Headlines for July 10, 2020. democracynow.org Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Claim of Absolute Immunity, Court Says Much of Oklahoma Remains Indian Country in Landmark Indigenous Sovereignty Case, Hospitals Face Surge as U.S. Reports Record 65,000 New Coronavirus Cases, Surge in Cases Directly Tied to Early Reopenings in Florida, Arizona, Texas, Bolivia's Interim President Tests Positive; India, S. Africa & Mexico Report New Record Highs, 1.3 Million More File for Unemployment as GOP Rejects Extending Jobless Aid, Biden Unveils $700 Billion "Buy American" Economic Recovery Plan, St. Louis Police Break Up City Hall Encampment, With Veto-Proof Majority,…
(2020-07-10). Undercover Patriots: Trump, Tulsa, and the Rise of Military Dissent. counterpunch.org 
It was June 20th and we antiwar vets had traveled all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the midst of a pandemic to President Trump's latest folly, an election 2020 rally where he was to parade his goods and pretend all was well with this country. We never planned to go inside the cavernous
(2020-07-10). NYC mayor bans 'large events' through end of September — except BLM s. rt.com 
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has banned all large public events for the next three months, citing the Covid-19 pandemic — only to make a belated exception for Black Lives Matter rallies, incensing Americans far outside the city. | Fresh from painting a giant "Black Lives Matter" mural on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower, the mayor took to CNN to expand on his office's order to cancel all large gatherings through September 30 on Thursday. But when host Wolf Blitzer asked him about "s," de Blasio couldn't resist taking the day's pandering even further. | "We understand, at this moment in histor…
(2020-07-10). BLM s Captured In Black And White. therealnews.com 
TRNN's Aman Azhar captured these photos June 7-8 shortly after thousands took to the streets of Washington, D.C. demanding an end to racial discrimination and police brutality.
(2020-07-10). Twitter data-mining tool Dataminr fed police real-time info on Black Lives Matter ers, despite promises not to spy. rt.com 
An analytics firm parsing Twitter data in real time for law enforcement and media has been caught funneling detailed info on anti-police-brutality marches to the very agencies users are ing, despite promises not to. | Dataminr, a CIA-funded artificial intelligence startup that mines Twitter's real-time content stream for behavioral patterns and other analytics, has been caught feeding info on police brutality ers from that "firehose" stream back to law enforcement. While the developers had promised they wouldn't enable domestic surveillance after a series of scandals in 2016, Dataminr is once aga…
(2020-07-10). What about armed s? zcomm.org As soon as we pull the trigger, we've dehumanized the enemy and gone to war. When we go to war, nobody wins…
(2020-07-10). 'Day of Rage' against Zionist annexation. workers.org 
When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Unite and fight back! And that's just what thousands of ers did across the U.S. on July 1, the day Israel annexed 30 percent of the West Bank. More cities had demonstrations in the days that followed. At least 40 actions . . . |
(2020-07-10). Students and workers remove 'Confederate General' name from school. workers.org 
Charleston, W.Va. In a huge victory for the growing movement against racism and national oppression, members of the Kanawha County Board of Education of Charleston, W.Va., voted 5-0 on July 6 to change the name of what used to be known as "Stonewall Jackson Middle School." Charleston , July 6. . . . |
(2020-07-10). Bipartisan Torpedo Against the Agreement for Afghanistan. globalresearch.ca Hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, over 2,400 US soldiers killed (plus an unknown number of wounded), about 1,000 billion dollars spent: this is the budget summary of 19 years of US war in Afghanistan, to which the cost for …
(2020-07-10). 'I Could Live With That': How the CIA Made Afghanistan Safe for the Opium Trade. strategic-culture.org Jeffrey ST. CLAIR | "I decided I could live with that." | — Stansfield Turner, Jimmy Carter's CIA director, on the extreme level of civilian casualties in the CIA's covert war in Afghanistan. | The first indelible image of the war in Afghanistan for many Americans was probably that of CBS anchorman Dan Rather, wrapped in the voluminous drapery of a mujahedin fighter, looking like a healthy relative of Lawrence of Arabia (albeit with hair that seemed freshly blow-dried, as some viewers were quick to point out). From his secret mountainside "somewhere in the Hindu Kush," Rather unloaded on his audience a barr…
(2020-07-10). Still Fighting "Whatever" in Afghanistan. dissidentvoice.org This just in: Cable news presenter-hero Jake Tapper finds new spotlight at the Movies with the Millennium Media studio release of The Outpost, based on Tapper's 2012 book The Outpost: an Untold Story of American Valor. Tapper's tale tells the story of a locally massive attack by Taliban-types on a remote American forward operating base, …
(2020-07-10). "I Could Live With That": How the CIA Made Afghanistan Safe for the Opium Trade. counterpunch.org 
Jimmy Carter later confessed in his memoirs that he was more shaken by the invasion of Afghanistan than any other event of his presidency, including the Iranian revolution. Carter was convinced by the CIA that it could be the start of a push by the Soviets toward the Persian Gulf, a scenario that led the president to seriously consider the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
(2020-07-10). False start? Amazon calls TikTok ban order an 'error', says no policy change 'right now'. rt.com 
E-commerce behemoth Amazon has reversed course after ordering employees to remove micro-vlogging app TikTok from smartphones with access to Amazon email "due to security risks," calling the demand an "error." | "This morning's email to some of our employees was sent in error," a company spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday, just hours after the memo went out to Amazon employees. | There is no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTok. | The message had informed workers they had until the end of the day to ditch the popular app or they would lose mobile access to their Amazon email accounts, citing…
(2020-07-10). Congress is a month away from cutting the economy's fiscal life support. mronline.org 
The most important economic problem the United States is facing is the failure to contain Coronavirus and the unethical decisions politicians have been making to reopen without the administrative capacity to limit the virus's spread.
(2020-07-10). Amazon bans TikTok from employees' phones, calls Chinese app a 'security risk'. rt.com 
Amazon has asked all of its employees to remove the TikTok app from their cell phones. The move comes as the US government considers a nationwide ban on the Chinese video app. | "Due to security risks, the TikTok app is no longer permitted on mobile devices that access Amazon email," read a memo sent to employees on Friday. "If you have TikTok on your device, you must remove it by 10-Jul to retain mobile access to Amazon email. At this time, using TikTok from your Amazon laptop browser is allowed." | Amazon sends email to employees requiring they delete the TikTok app off all mobile devices with access to a co…
(2020-07-10). Retired Steelworker leader Jones backs Biden but wishes it was Bernie. peoplesworld.org 
INDIANAPOLIS—Chuck Jones, the retired Steelworkers Local 1999 president who became famous for debunking then-President-elect Donald Trump's lies about the Carrier plant closure outside Indianapolis almost four years ago, is going to vote for Joe Biden. But Jones really wishes he was voting for Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind-Vt., the last man standing against former veep Biden …
(2020-07-10). VenezolanosConBiden And MAGAzuela: Two Sides Of The Same Coin. popularresistance.org The Biden campaign held an online event on Wednesday, July 8 pitched as the former Vice President's "vision for Venezuela and Venezuelans in the U.S." Spoiler alert: his vision for Venezuela barely differs from President Trump. This event, which didn't merit an appearance from Biden himself, was aimed at getting Venezuelan-Americans to volunteer for "Uncle Joe", as Representative Darren Soto (D-Fl) called him. It was an hour and a half of shilling for votes and influence, and it demonstrated that when it comes to Venezuela, policies of regime change, sanctions and a refusal to engage in dialogue unite Venezolanos…
(2020-07-10). Imperial Blind Spots and a Question for Obama. counterpunch.org 
The biggest of the many moral blind-spots that mar the politics of the Democratic Party is American imperialism. Biden Helped Lead the Charge into Iraq Look at the Inauthentic Opposition Party's[1] presumptive presidential nominee. Biden recently chided Donald Trump in not-so veiled terms for failing to overthrow the democratically elected socialist Maduro government of Venezuela?
(2020-07-10). Trump election strategy: Blame China for coronavirus, bad economy. peoplesworld.org 
With the latest opinion polls showing Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 53% to 42%, Trump needs desperate measures. A major part of his re-election strategy now is to up the ante against Beijing. Last weekend, he announced yet again that China had caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the …
(2020-07-10). How Billionaires Get Away With Their Big Con. counterpunch.org About 75 percent of Americans trusted the federal government to "do what is right" when polled during most of the last years of the Eisenhower administration and early years of Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency. In 2019, when the Pew Research Center released its most recent poll of public trust in the government, only 17 percent
(2020-07-10). Japan to buy $23B worth of F-35 fighter jets from US. yenisafak.com The US on Thursday approved a planned purchase by Japan of 105 F-35 joint strike fighters estimated to be worth $23 billion amid escalating tension in the South China Sea between China and US allies.The approved package includes 63 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing aircraft and 42 F-35 short takeoff and landing variants as part of a December 2018 decision by Japan to increase its procurement of F-35s from 42 to 147.Japan does not have a coast to the hotly-conflicted South China Sea, but views it as strategically important due to its role as a vital trading route.If the sale goes through from congress, it wil…
(2020-07-10). House Labor-Health-Education bill could set off social issue uproars. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The mammoth, and often controversial, House money bill for federal labor, health and education spending adds billions of dollars for schools and health programs, but could also set off several social issue uproars when it hits the House floor later this month. The measure doles out and increases funds for the departments of Labor, Health …
(2020-07-10). How Democrats Are Deceived. strategic-culture.org Democrats are deceived in basically the same way that Republicans are, but by a different group of billionaires. | Noah Shachtman is the Editor-in-Chief of the Democratic Party billionaires' Daily Beast 'news' site. On 29 October 2018, he headlined there,
(2020-07-10). Mexico State Oil Company Files $22 Billion Debt Swap amid IMF Threats and White House Visit. mintpressnews.com Mexico's economy is put in the crosshairs by the IMF as the "new NAFTA" takes effect and AMLO is forced to make concessions to avoid an even deeper recession.
(2020-07-10). Venice tests long-delayed flood barrier months after waters swamped city. yenisafak.com Venice tested its long-delayed flood barriers on Friday, in a public demonstration of the strength of the defences months after rising tidal waters swamped its historic canals, squares and palaces.The multi-billion-euro Mose scheme – designed in 1984 but still incomplete a decade after it was due to come into service – has been plagued by corruption and cost overruns.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attended the test and started the computerised system that sent all 78 giant yellow sluice gates rising simultaneously above the water for the first time."We are here for a test, not a parade," Conte said, as crowds prot…
(2020-07-10). Iran reports 142 more deaths due to coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran on Friday confirmed 142 more fatalities caused by the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 12,447.A further of 2,262 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 252,720, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.A total of 215,176 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 3,319 patients remain in critical condition, the official said.Across the world, COVID-19 has claimed over 555,500 lives in 188 countries and regions since emerging in China last December.Nearly 12.3 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the US, Brazil,…
(2020-07-10). Brazilian Epidemiologist Slams Bolsonaro's COVID Response as Far-Right President Tests Positive. democracynow.org 
As Brazil faces the world's second-worst COVID-19 outbreak after the United States, Trump ally and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive, after months of downplaying the severity of the pandemic. Brazil has gone almost two months with no health minister. "Bad political leadership is a major risk factor for the spread of the pandemic," says leading Brazilian epidemiologist Cesar Victora, who coordinates the International Center for Equity in Health at the Federal University of Pelotas.
(2020-07-10). Brazilian Democracy Is at a Stalemate. zcomm.org Interview on the need for a broad front coalition to defeat Bolsonarismo…
(2020-07-10). India launches solar power plant to stop China imports. yenisafak.com Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a solar power plant with the aim to stop reliance on imports from neighbors China and PakistanThe 750-megawatt power plant in the central state of Madhya Pradesh is being dubbed as the largest in Asia by local media.The project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 million tons each year."Several steps are being taken to increase domestic manufacturing and it has been decided that government's departments and institutions will only buy domestically manufactured solar cells and modules," said Modi, in the wake of recent border tensions with Chi…