Daily Archives: 2021-05-22

2021-05-22: News Headlines

Bruce J Kirenga, Pauline Byakika-Kibwika (2021-05-22). [Comment] Excess COVID-19 mortality among critically ill patients in Africa. thelancet.com As of March 25, 2021, a global total of 124‚Äà215‚Äà843 cases of COVID-19, including 2‚Äà734‚Äà374 deaths, had been reported to WHO.1 COVID-19 is now the 12th leading cause of death worldwide, the sixth leading cause of death in high-income countries, and the 41st leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa.2 However, the reasons why there are lower numbers of cases and deaths reported in sub-Saharan Africa are unclear. One possibility is that there are inadequate levels of testing, which could translate to unreported COVID-19 deaths (both i…

ACCCOS (2021-05-22). [Articles] Patient care and clinical outcomes for patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to African high-care or intensive care units (ACCCOS): a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study. thelancet.com Mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19 is higher in African countries than reported from studies done in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Increased mortality was associated with insufficient critical care resources, as well as the comorbidities of HIV/AIDS, diabetes, chronic liver disease, and kidney disease, and severity of organ dysfunction at admission.

WSWS (2021-05-22). Spain's PSOE-Podemos regime intensifies expulsions of refugees to Morocco. wsws.org The PSOE-Podemos government is expelling thousands of migrants from Spain's enclave of Ceuta to Morocco while detaining refugees and children in horrific conditions.

Simukai Chigudu (2021-05-22). [Perspectives] An ironic guide to colonialism in global health. thelancet.com There is something axiomatic about the idea of an evidence-based approach to global health. Who could argue against such a noble enterprise? The uses of evidence and its applications—extended from individual patients to populations at large—are attractive whether in the boardrooms of Geneva or among humanitarian doctors in South Sudan's refugee camps. This approach rationalises complex and diffuse social processes, subtly reconstituting them as discernible medical problems to be solved through technical intervention.

repost (2021-05-22). South African Dockers Stopping Unloading of Israeli Cargo From Zim Ship. indybay.org South African Durban dockers will refuse to unload an Israeli ZIM ship on Friday May 21. In 2010 they also took action to stop the movement of Israeli cargo. This action is backed by COSATA and other trade unions and community groups.

Saheli Chowdhury (2021-05-21). US Extradition of Alex Saab is Illegal & Unfounded: Lawyers & Legal Experts (International Delegation Proposed). orinocotribune.com May 20 (Special for OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuelan businessman and diplomatic envoy Alex Saab, held in Cape Verde and facing extradition to the US, is a victim of political persecution and his case is comparable to that of Julian Assange or Chelsea Manning. Saab, who had engaged in brokering deals that would evade the US economic blockade against Venezuela and bring fuel, food, and other needed materials to the South American country, was detained in the African island nation of Cape Verde last June. | Over the course of the past year, Saab's case has made waves on the African continent and in Venezuela, wh…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-05-21). Spain cracks down on migrants after mass border crossing. peoplesdispatch.org The migrants were intercepted by Spanish security personnel patrolling the borders and at least 5,600 were sent back to Morocco by May 19. Meanwhile, hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children remain stranded in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta…

Editor2 (2021-05-21). West Africa: ECOWAS Court Orders Cape Verde to Release Venezuelan Diplomat Saab. orinocotribune.com Abuja — Eight days after the African Bar Association's (AfBA) warning to Cape Verde Island over the detention of a Venezuelan diplomat, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court has ruled that the arrest and detention was illegal. | On Monday, the ECOWAS court in Abuja said diplomat Alex Saab should be released and paid $200,000 for unlawful detention. | The AfBA on March 8 had also ordered Cape Verde Island to immediately release Mr. Saab, an accredited Venezuelan special envoy and alternate permanent representative to the African Union. | Mr. Saab was arrested by the Cape Verdean author…

Mark Ashwill (2021-05-21). Of Class Rings, Bone Fragments and Fish Ponds: the Interminable Search for US MIAs in Vietnam. counterpunch.org The search for POWs and MIAs became a hot button issue in the years and decades following the war, so much so that it had to be addressed before diplomatic relations could be normalized in 1995 under President Clinton. This was in spite of pressure from the US business community that realized it was late to the economic game in post-1986 ƒê·ªïi M·ªõi(Renovation) Vietnam. The ubiquitous POW flag, an anachronism almost from day one, was introduced in 1972. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter established the National POW/MIA Recognition Day, which falls on the third Friday…

WSWS (2021-05-21). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org One-day national strike by French postal workers over job cuts and pay; Spanish bank workers begin strikes and protests against job cuts; UK bus drivers at two London companies set strike days; public sector strike in Kaduna state Nigeria against mass sackings…

2021-05-22 19:28 | 15:28 EST | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0