(2020-04-04). Pakistani man SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE in front of PM Khan's office in protest of police & government. rt.com 
A man in Pakistan self-immolated outside of Prime Minister Imran Khan's office in the capital city, leaving a note stating that officials failed to act on a series of complaints he filed, police told local media. | The man, named as Faisal Mehmood, 45, set himself on fire near the PM's office in Islamabad on Friday, leaving a letter behind explaining his motives, police said. In the hand-written missive, Mehmood argued that local law enforcement had ignored a spate of complaints submitted through the Prime Minister Secretariat, and had instead taken action against him in retaliation. | Dousing himself with a c…
(2020-04-04). Making the breast of quarantine: Ex-pro golfer Paige Spirinac entertains fans with 'cleavage' trick shot (VIDEO). rt.com 
Former pro golfer Paige Spirinac has been getting creative with her putting technique while in Covid-19 lockdown, delighting fans with a particular trick shot with a club wedged in her cleavage. | Like millions around the world, US golfer-turned-Instagram star Spirinac is currently holed up in self-isolation as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. | But declining the chance to hit the fairways or even the driving range, Spirinac has nonetheless been honing her skills for the greens – and in novel style. | The 26-year-old blonde shared a video with her 2.3 million Instagram followers of herself at home demonstrat…
(2020-04-04). Tariffs ALWAYS an option! Trump hopes Russia & Saudis reach oil deal 'fair' for US as Putin seeks cooperation from ALL sides. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of imposing tariffs on oil imports, due to a 'massive excess' supply on the global market created by the Saudi-Russian price war and exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. | "There's too much oil, there's a glut," Trump said at a White House press conference on Friday, when asked what he discussed with oil industry executives earlier in the day. While lower gas prices at the pump were a good thing for Americans impacted by the economic shutdown over the pandemic, they were also hurting the US energy sector, he said. | It's a free market, they'll figure it out.
(2020-04-04). 'Govt sends us NAKED against Covid-19′: RT speaks to French nurse from caregivers' undressing flashmob. rt.com 
French caregivers battling Covid-19 are appallingly underequipped and overloaded with fresh cases, a local nurse said, explaining a recent action which saw medics posing naked to show their vulnerability to the deadly contagion. | The unorthodox demonstration kicked off earlier this week, with dozens of nurses undressing in a silent protest against the government "sending us naked to face this pandemic," as Melina Dufraigne-Laflechelle, one of the nurses behind the flashmob, put it on RT France. | Using the hashtag #apoilcontrelecovid (naked against the Covid), the silent protest featured medics of all ages po…
(2020-04-04). Bodies of Covid-19 victims pile up in streets of Ecuador as residents beg authorities for help. rt.com 
As the coronavirus pandemic rips through Ecuador, some cities are struggling to cope with a deluge of fatalities, pushing residents to make harrowing pleas for help as the bodies of loved ones accumulate in the streets. | The port city of Guayaquil, around 260 miles south of the capital, Quito, has been hit especially hard in the outbreak, leaving hospitals and morgues utterly overwhelmed in a flood of new patients and deaths. With local authorities unable to keep up with the influx of casualties, President Lenin Moreno has created a task force to tackle the problem, tapping Jorge Wated, board chairman at BanE…
(2020-04-04). Pointing fingers won't beat coronavirus, former UN head Ban Ki-moon tells RT. rt.com 
Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has criticized leaders in Washington and London for "pointing fingers" at China during the coronavirus pandemic. "Not a single country" has the capacity to fight the virus alone, he told RT. | Politicians in London suggest that China will face a "reckoning" from Britain after the Covid-19 pandemic subsides, due to its initial attempts to downplay the threat of the virus. Speaking on RT's Going Underground, Ban Ki-moon said that "pointing fingers" during a time of crisis hampers a true international response to the crisis. | "Not a single country, however powerful… has…
(2020-04-04). Master-class on social distancing: Russian cosmonauts share tips on how to cope with coronavirus isolation with RT. rt.com 
Social distancing and self-isolation may be new concepts for people on Earth, but it's nothing new for residents of the International Space Station. Two Russian cosmonauts gave some advice on how to spend time indoors. | Fifty-five-year-old cosmonaut Andrei Borisenko is quite familiar with being confined to tight quarters for long periods of time, after making two flights into space and spending a total of 337 days in orbit. He told RT Russia that the best antidote to depression in such situations is to keep yourself busy. | Occupy yourself with something… Reread your favorite books. My parents live in St. P…
(2020-04-04). US reports record 1,300+ Covid-19 deaths & 30,000+ new cases in 24hrs as New York braces for 'D-Day'. rt.com 
With little sign of the curve flattening, the US has confirmed over 1,300 Covid-19 deaths in a single day, as well as more than 30,000 new cases, as New York City sounds alarms that its hospitals will soon run out of ventilators.
(2020-04-04). Why coronavirus could spark a capitalist supernova. mronline.org 
There is no magic money tree — the 'rescue packages' aim to rescue a rotten system, and won't work.
(2020-04-04). Russian national wealth fund covers half of expenses for coronavirus medical aid sent to New York. rt.com 
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has announced it is investing in production of testing systems, medicine, and medical equipment necessary to battle the spread of Covid-19. | Russia has recently delivered personal protective and medical equipment supplies to New York, which has become the worst coronavirus-affected US city. The Russian plane carrying the vital cargo arrived in the US on April 1. | Also on rt.com | | "RDIF paid half of the cost of medical supplies for clinics, hospital…
(2020-04-04). Saudi Arabia denies trying to kill US shale, shifts blame for oil supply glut on Russia. rt.com 
Having boosted its oil output to historic records, Saudi Arabia denied that it seeks to "get rid of" US shale oil producers, after Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Riyadh of aggressively targeting competitors. | Rejecting the accusation as "fully devoid of truth," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud insisted that the Kingdom is and has always been "seeking to reach more cuts and achieve oil market equilibrium for the interest of shale oil producers." | Despite pumping oil at a record pace of 12 million barrels per day and offering its customers unprecedented discounts, Riyadh reject…
(2020-04-04). Section of apartment building collapses due to gas explosion in Moscow Region. rt.com 
One person was killed in a town east of Moscow after a powerful explosion caused a section of a five-story building to collapse. A gas leak is being blamed for the incident. | The blast took place on Saturday afternoon in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, a town of 118,000 people around 80km from the Russian capital. Images making the rounds on social media show the entire section — from just under the roof all the way down to the 1st floor — reduced to rubble. | t.co/g5DlUywl1O #BREAKINGonRT (2020-04-04). Call of the indigenous peoples, afro-descendants and peoples' organizations of Latin America. mronline.org 
The crisis that COVID-19 has provoked globally presents a crossroads to the peoples of Abya Yala — Latin America. The popular organizations are the first line of resistance against the worst expressions of the decomposing system.
(2020-04-04). U.S. gig and informal workers strike demanding better protection during COVID-19 outbreak. mronline.org 
Workers at Amazon, Instacart and Whole Foods protested on March 30 and 31 over concerns about unsafe working conditions, inadequate safety measures and lack of enough pay.
(2020-04-04). Angola 3 Newsletter: DECARCERATE!!!! indybay.org We dedicate this newsletter to the men, women and children in detention centers, jails and prisons, where they are unable to social distance or sanitize–leaving them to anxiously wait for the virus to take hold in their facilities. Please encourage your local governments to take action before the virus hits.
(2020-04-04). [Editorial] COVID-19 will not leave behind refugees and migrants. thelancet.com Never has the "leave no one behind" pledge felt more urgent. As nations around the world implement measures to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, including lockdowns and restrictions on individuals' movements, they must heed their global commitments. When member states adopted the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, they promised to ensure no one will be left behind. Chief among the world's most vulnerable people are refugees and migrants. The COVID-19 crisis puts these groups at enormous risk.
(2020-04-04). Trump Sends Gunnboats to Venezuela While World Partners to Fight Pandemic. zcomm.org The indictment against Venezuelan officials is bizarre. There is no footprint for it in any DEA document that is available…
(2020-04-04). [World Report] Developing antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2. thelancet.com Laboratories and diagnostic companies are racing to produce antibody tests, a key part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anna Petherick reports.
(2020-04-04). [Editorial] Redefining vulnerability in the era of COVID-19. thelancet.com What does it mean to be vulnerable? Vulnerable groups of people are those that are disproportionally exposed to risk, but who is included in these groups can change dynamically. A person not considered vulnerable at the outset of a pandemic can become vulnerable depending on the policy response. The risks of sudden loss of income or access to social support have consequences that are difficult to estimate and constitute a challenge in identifying all those who might become vulnerable. Certainly, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable groups are not only elderly people, those with ill health and comorbidities, or…
(2020-04-04). [Comment] A planetary health perspective on COVID-19: a call for papers. thelancet.com It is natural during the unfolding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to focus on emergency response planning, including containment, treatment procedures, and vaccine development, and nobody would doubt the need for these measures. However, an emergency can also open a window of opportunity for reflection and learning. We live in increasingly global, interdependent, and environmentally constrained societies and the COVID-19 pandemic exemplifies these aspects of our world. We would therefore be wise to take a broad integrated perspective on this disease, the impacts of which are already spilling over in…
(2020-04-04). [Comment] The COVID-19 pandemic in the USA: what might we expect? thelancet.com As of March 19, 2020, 191‚Äà127 cases of, including 7807 deaths attributed to, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported worldwide.1 The incidence of reported cases in China has dramatically reduced to tens per day as a result of strict social distancing measures; however, the pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is now generating sustained transmission in many countries including the USA. In The Lancet, Isaac Ghinai, Tristan D McPherson, and colleagues2 report details of the first known human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the USA, which was…
(2020-04-04). [Comment] Offline: COVID-19—what countries must do now. thelancet.com How should countries plan for the approaching health crisis caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, himself struck down with infection, has written to every household warning that, "we know things will get worse before they get better". The UK Government is right to prepare the public for the coming human catastrophe. All governments have a responsibility to do the same. But this advice does not go far enough. Here are five critical actions that need to be considered immediately.
(2020-04-04). [Correspondence] Education and research are essential for lasting peace in Yemen. thelancet.com Yemen, known to many as the land of Sheba, and Manhattan of the desert, is now referred to only as one of the poorest countries on Earth. The name Yemen has become synonymous with cholera, famine, death, instability, and war. The war continues to erase the lives, history, and the future of Yemenis, and meaningful aid and peace have yet to reach Yemen.
(2020-04-04). [Editorial] Open versus endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms. thelancet.com When the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) released draft guidelines on the diagnosis and management of abdominal aortic aneurysms in May, 2018, it caused outcry. By recommending that endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of unruptured aneurysms should not be offered—even in patients for whom open surgical repair was contraindicated—critics said that many patients would be denied life-saving treatment and that the guidelines were unworkable.
(2020-04-04). [World Report] 2020 Canada Gairdner Award winners announced. thelancet.com On March 31, the Gairdner Foundation announced the winners of its annual prizes in biomedical science and global health. Talha Burki spoke with the laureates.
(2020-04-04). [Correspondence] Authoritarianism and the threat of infectious diseases. thelancet.com Punitive social policy, encompassing the dismantling of the welfare state with the expansion of the penal state and its associated institutions, as nicely stated by Elias Nosrati and Michael Marmot in their Perspective,1 might indeed be considered an upstream social determinant of health. Nosrati and Marmot's analysis relates to the findings described by Navarro and colleagues,2 linking political ideology with policies aimed at reducing social inequalities such as welfare state and labour market policies.
(2020-04-04). [Correspondence] Mass drug administration: time to consider drug pollution? thelancet.com Mass drug administration is the strategy recommended by WHO to control or eliminate many neglected tropical diseases that cause devastating consequences worldwide. This strategic approach, which has produced unquestionable benefits, consists of treating every person, infected or not, living in a defined geographical area at approximately the same time.1 In 2017, more than 1 ∑7 billion treatments (mainly albendazole, mebendazole, ivermectin, azithromycin, and praziquantel) were delivered to 1 ∑04 billion individuals.
(2020-04-04). [Correspondence] Obsolete medical law in Japan harms doctors' health. thelancet.com Japan has achieved one of the most successful health-care systems in the world.1 Under the nation's insurance scheme, Japanese citizens have taken for granted that anyone can choose any health-care facility and receive the most advanced medical care across the nation. However, little attention has been paid to the fact that such a health system is supported by dedicated and self-sacrificing medical professionals. Such overloaded expectation is especially high in rural areas where the number of doctors remains low.
(2020-04-04). [Perspectives] Face transplants as surgical acts and psychosocial processes. thelancet.com In 2017 the face of Katie Stubblefield made headlines. Not the face she was born with or the face that emerged after 22 reconstructive surgeries. This was another face altogether: a transplant that Stubblefield would receive from Adrea Schneider. There have been 46 recorded face transplants in history. Katie's was the 40th—only the third to have taken place at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, which also undertook the first face transplant in the USA, on Connie Culp, in 2008. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it took 11 surgeons and staff from 15 specialties more than 31 hours to transplant Stubblefield's new…
(2020-04-04). [Correspondence] Chagas disease: still a neglected emergency? thelancet.com 10 years after highlighting the health consequences for millions of people infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, a 2019 report from the Pan American Health Organization concluded that there has been little progress in the prevention and treatment of Chagas disease, a problem that now extends beyond Latin America.1…
(2020-04-04). Webinar: Racial Justice has no Borders: War & Militarization in the time of Pandemic. indybay.org Online (go to link below)…
(2020-04-04). Russian doctors, nurses protest against horrifying conditions in hospitals. wsws.org Nurses and doctors have walked off their jobs, pleading for medical and personal protective equipment, and renovations of dilapidated hospital buildings.
(2020-04-04). Ecuadorians protest bodies of COVID-19 victims being left in the streets. wsws.org Desperate families and neighbors have flooded social media with videos and reports of corpses rotting in their living rooms, sidewalks and parks for days.
(2020-04-04). Amid India's calamitous lockdown, Modi seeks to censor coronavirus reports. wsws.org India's Supreme Court has ordered media outlets to publicize "official" government-authored coronavirus reports, and threatened prosecution if they disseminate "fake news."
(2020-04-04). The future will be socialist — or it will not be at all. zcomm.org We are shackled by a system that has outlived its usefulness. COVID-19 paves the way for radical systemic change and a transition to a socialized economy…
(2020-04-04). Amid war threats, Washington blocks UN resolution demanding end to sanctions. wsws.org The Trump administration has brushed aside calls for an end to punishing sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, threatening both countries with military aggression.
(2020-04-04). First COVID-19 Death Reported in Asia's Largest Slum, Dharavi. telesurenglish.net Asia's largest slum located in India's financial capital of Mumbai has reported its first COVID-19 fatality, according to local reports. | RELATED: | The patient, a 56-year-old man, had no travel history and was admitted to a local hospital with a fever on Sunday and tested positive for the new coronavirus on Wednesday, an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said, according to Al Jazeera. | The aut…
(2020-04-04). Letter from a Caterpillar worker in Illinois: "This is class biological warfare" wsws.org A Caterpillar worker writes about the dangerous conditions workers face during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the complicity of the United Auto Workers union.
(2020-04-04). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Point-of-care manufacturing to help fight COVID-19. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org When it comes to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayo Clinic is relying not only on clinicians, but also engineers. Supply chain management and manufacturing capabilities are being readied to help in the fight against COVID-19. On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Jonathan Morris, co-director of Mayo Clinic's 3D Anatomic Modeling Lab, and Mark Wehde, chair …
(2020-04-04). Coronavirus crisis: Hunger and malnutrition spread in Germany. wsws.org Research indicates some 13 million people in Germany are living in poverty or confront hunger, malnutrition and social misery due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
(2020-04-04). Coronavirus Pandemic Makes the Case for Criminal Justice Reform. zcomm.org "We need to think of our jails and our prisons as part of our community"
(2020-04-04). COVID-19 expert answers questions on how the virus makes people sick and more. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Experts continue to learn more about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and how it behaves. Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and director of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, is answering questions about how the virus makes people sick, how it compares to influenza, and how the COVID-19 pandemic response is affecting the …
(2020-04-04). Turkish workers strike as bosses keep them at work despite COVID-19. wsws.org As of Friday night, Turkey had passed 20,000 cases and 400 deaths in the global coronavirus pandemic.
(2020-04-04). In Time of Pandemic Praise for the UN. zcomm.org What the WHO and the SG of the UN have so far done during the health crisis, while worthy of headlines, posed no direct challenge to sovereignty or geopolitics…
(2020-04-04). No Fennel in the Sausage, No $600 for the Jobless. zcomm.org In plagues past and pandemic present, the wealthy exude the same contempt for those without wealth…
(2020-04-04). COVID-19: Advice for caring for people with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org With the COVID-19 pandemic at the forefront of daily life, how much information should you share with a loved one who has Alzheimer's disease, dementia or mild cognitive impairment? And how do you explain the necessary precautions and social distancing requirements? Dr. Joseph Sirven, a Mayo Clinic neurologist, says it depends on the person's exact …
(2020-04-04). Science needs to guide us, says Mayo Clinic's Dr. Gianrico Farrugia on "Face the Nation" newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. ? Mayo Clinic President and CEO Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., shared his perspective on next steps to address the COVID-19 pandemic on CBS News' "Face the Nation" program that aired Sunday. Mayo Clinic President and CEO Gianrico Farrugia, M.D. In his interview with "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan, Dr. Farrugia said the focus …
(2020-04-04). Pandemic accelerates union-government-employer collaboration in Australia. wsws.org ACTU leader Sally McManus is being feted by the corporate media as a "star" of the deepening coronavirus crisis.
(2020-04-04). Unemployment surges in Europe amid COVID-19 pandemic. wsws.org The catastrophe now unfolding in Europe is rooted not in the biological properties of the coronavirus, but in the political bankruptcy of European capitalism.
(2020-04-04). Tips to stay mentally healthy while staying at home. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Social distancing guidelines in the U.S. have extended until April 30 and many states now have stay-at-home orders to protect the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. But isolation and loneliness can affect people's emotional health, especially older adults. "Social interaction and emotional health are definitely intertwined, and during this time when social interaction can't be …