[Correspondence] Refugee access to COVID-19 vaccines in Lebanon
Nadine K Jawad, Lina Abu Taweeleh, Jad A Elharake, Nicole Khamis, Osaid Alser, Fatima M Karaki, Layla Aboukhater | thelancet.com | 2021-05-22
Lebanon is currently experiencing multiple unprecedented crises–political, infrastructural, and economic. The Beirut port explosion, in August, 2020, damaged 36% of health facilities.1 The Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value, pushing more than half of the population into poverty.1 Complicating its desperate plight, Lebanon hosts the largest refugee population per capita in the world.2 The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this situation, leaving an ill-equipped health-care system overwhelmed.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00925-9/fulltext?rss=yes

UK covid cases rise due to ending containment and spread of Indian variant
wsws.org | 2021-05-22
The Tories are responding to the demands of big business that no more lockdowns are imposed and to their support base in the more affluent suburban and rural areas of the country not living in the overcrowded urban centres being hit by the resurgence of the virus.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/22/couk-m22.html

[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
ACCCOS | thelancet.com | 2021-05-22
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.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00441-4/fulltext?rss=yes

COVID-19: Like in Dante's 'Inferno', Indians are going through nine circles of hell
Eds. | mronline.org | 2021-05-21
Akin to how characters in Dante's poem paid for their sins in hell, Indians are paying with their lives during a pandemic for electing a government that is utterly incompetent and bigoted. | May 21, 2021…
mronline.org/2021/05/21/covid-19-like-in-dantes-inferno-indians-are-going-through-nine-circles-of-hell/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=covid-19-like-in-dantes-inferno-indians-are-going-through-nine-circles-of-hell

COVID-19: Like in Dante's 'Inferno', Indians are going through nine circles of hell
Eds. | mronline.org | 2021-05-21
Akin to how characters in Dante's poem paid for their sins in hell, Indians are paying with their lives during a pandemic for electing a government that is utterly incompetent and bigoted. | May 21, 2021…
mronline.org/2021/05/21/covid-19-like-in-dantes-inferno-indians-are-going-through-nine-circles-of-hell/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=covid-19-like-in-dantes-inferno-indians-are-going-through-nine-circles-of-hell

COVID-19 Has Unleashed Death and Dehumanization in India's Capital
Nitheesh Narayanan | counterpunch.org | 2021-05-21
India's second COVID-19 wave has caused large-scale death and devastation leading to bodies piling up in overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, which have reached their breaking point. In front of the mortuary of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, one of the biggest government hospitals in New Delhi, India, on May 5, the day starts with five bodies…
counterpunch.org/2021/05/21/covid-19-has-unleashed-death-and-dehumanization-in-indias-capital/

The Cautionary Tale Of "Doctor America": How Dr. Tom Dooley–Once A Universally Revered Secular Saint to Millions–Found the CIA and Lost His Halo
James Bradley | covertactionmagazine.com | 2021-05-21
How the Dulles brothers, the CIA and the U.S. Navy conspired to turn a decent man into a deceitful spreader of disinformation in support of the Vietnam War The Cold War birthed imaginary nations like East Germany and West Germany, North Korea and South Korea. By 1954 H·ªì Chí Minh had defeated Vietnam's French colonial …
covertactionmagazine.com/2021/05/21/the-cautionary-tale-of-doctor-america-how-dr-tom-dooley-once-a-universally-revered-secular-saint-to-millions-during-the-eisenhower-era-found-the-cia-and-lost-his-ha/

Former Colorado police officers charged for arrest and injury of woman with dementia
wsws.org | 2021-05-21
Karen Garner was assaulted by police in Loveland, Colorado after being suspected of shoplifting items worth $13.88 from a Walmart.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/21/focf-m21.html

Of Class Rings, Bone Fragments and Fish Ponds: the Interminable Search for US MIAs in Vietnam
Mark Ashwill | counterpunch.org | 2021-05-21
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…
counterpunch.org/2021/05/21/of-class-rings-bone-fragments-fish-ponds-the-interminable-search-for-us-mias-in-vietnam/

Microsoft vs Indian Farmers: Agri-Stacking the System
Colin Todhunter | counterpunch.org | 2021-05-21
In April, the Indian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft, allowing its local partner CropData to leverage a master database of farmers. The MoU seems to be part of the AgriStack policy initiative, which involves the roll out of 'disruptive' technologies and digital databases in the agricultural sector. Based on press reports…
counterpunch.org/2021/05/21/microsoft-vs-indian-farmers-agri-stacking-the-system/

Australian government ban on citizens returning from India claims lives
wsws.org | 2021-05-21
The Australian government knew that its Indian travel ban would result in deaths, because it was told as much by leading medical experts.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/21/auba-m21.html

Stop blaming people for failure to vaccinate
Newsclick | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-05-21
Journalist Aunindyo Chakravarty busts the myths regarding vaccine hesitancy in India and talks about how it is in fact poor planning that has led to the crisis in this process…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/05/21/stop-blaming-people-for-failure-to-vaccinate/

Down with Woke Imperialism!
Nicky Reid | counterpunch.org | 2021-05-21
I am a transwoman of no color. I am an agoraphobic welfare queen. I am a genderqueer millennial who has been diagnosed with virtually every mental illness in the DSM. I am intersectional but my existence is not a box checking exercise, though I have been diagnosed with Obsessive Box Checking Disorder. I used to…
counterpunch.org/2021/05/21/down-with-woke-imperialism/

Former Syrian Army Pilot Working For Militants Assassinated In Greater Idlib (Photos)
Anonymous669 | southfront.org | 2021-05-21
Col. Abdul Halim al-Khalil. | On May 21, a senior commander of the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL) was assassinated in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib. | The commander, Col. Abdul Halim al-Khalil, was killed when an explosive device ripped through his pickup truck in the town of Salqin in the northern countryside of Idlib. The explosion didn't result in any other losses. | Col. Al-Khalil, originally from the town of Baluon in the southern Idlib countryside, defected from the Syrian Arab Air…
southfront.org/former-syrian-army-pilot-working-for-militants-assassinated-in-greater-idlib-photos/

Greater Idlib: Local Gunmen Attack Turkish Border Post Following Shooting Incident (Videos)
Anonymous669 | southfront.org | 2021-05-21
Illustrative image | On May 21, heavy clashes broke out between Syrian gunmen and Turkish border guards near the town of Atimah in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib. | According to opposition sources, local gunmen attacked a Turkish border post in response to an attack in which a child was shot by Turkish service members. The victim, who sustained severe wounds, was reportedly guarding a sheep herd near the Turkish border line when he was shot for no reason. | The Turkish border post was targeted with machine…
southfront.org/greater-idlib-local-gunmen-attack-turkish-border-post-following-shooting-incident-videos/

Colombian Police Crack Down On Protests With Long-Range Weapons
telesurenglish.net | 2021-05-20
Colombians on Wednesday denounced that the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) cracked down on peaceful protests with long and short-range weapons. | RELATED: | Colombians Rekindle Their National Strike Amid State Terrorism | Videos posted on social networks show agents shooting at farmers in Bucaramanga. According to witnesses, at least 25 protesters were wounded. | In Caucasia, dozens of children, pregnant women, and elderly people had to take refuge from police brutality in La No…
telesurenglish.net/news/Colombian-Police-Crack-Down-On-Protests-With-Long-range-Weapons-20210520-0001.html

Video: Month of Celebration Unearths Civilian Woes in Syria's North
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2021-05-20
Any sort of …
globalresearch.ca/video-month-celebration-unearths-civilian-woes-syria-north/5745767

COVID-19 mutations trigger new outbreaks across Southeast Asia
wsws.org | 2021-05-20
The infection surges are another stark warning of how quickly the pandemic, driven by more infectious variants like B.1.617, first identified in India, can get out of control.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/20/cose-m20.html

India in the Face of Neoliberalism, Pandemic as Part of the Tragedy
Internationalist 360 ∞ | libya360.wordpress.com | 2021-05-20
Misión Verdad India's structural conflict is a product of inequality as a continuation of colonization and a caste system that prevails in its society (Photo: PTI). In times of global pandemic, the neoliberal drift, a continuation of a colonial system, continues to test emerging countries that will have to confront their internal contradictions in order… Read…
libya360.wordpress.com/2021/05/20/india-in-the-face-of-neoliberalism-pandemic-as-part-of-the-tragedy/

India in the Face of Neoliberalism, Pandemic as Part of the Tragedy
Internationalist 360 ∞ | libya360.wordpress.com | 2021-05-20
Misión Verdad India's structural conflict is a product of inequality as a continuation of colonization and a caste system that prevails in its society (Photo: PTI). In times of global pandemic, the neoliberal drift, a continuation of a colonial system, continues to test emerging countries that will have to confront their internal contradictions in order… Read…
libya360.wordpress.com/2021/05/20/india-in-the-face-of-neoliberalism-pandemic-as-part-of-the-tragedy/

India To Defer Vaccination for Recovered COVID-19 Patients
telesurenglish.net | 2021-05-20
India's Health Ministry has announced deferring the COVID-19 vaccination by three months in four specific situations including patients recovering from the COVID-19 infection. | RELATED: | India Reports the Highest Death Toll in a Single Day Worldwide | Individuals with lab tests proven they have tested positive for the virus should defer their vaccination by three months after recovery. COVID-19 patients who have been given anti-SARS-2 monoclonal antibodies or convalescent pla…
telesurenglish.net/news/India-To-Defer-Vaccination-for-Recovered-COVID-19-Patients-20210520-0013.html

India: Marginalised communities, informal workers and women bear the brunt of COVID-19 second wave
Markela Panegyres | greenleft.org.au | 2021-05-20
India's response to COVID-19's second wave must prioritise the needs of the most marginalised, says Sion Kongari.
greenleft.org.au/content/india-marginalised-communities-informal-workers-and-women-bear-brunt-covid-19-second-wave

COVID-19 has unleashed death and dehumanization in India's capital
Nitheesh Narayanan | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-05-20
India's second COVID-19 wave has caused large-scale death and devastation leading to bodies piling up in overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, which have reached their breaking point. In…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/05/20/covid-19-has-unleashed-death-and-dehumanization-in-indias-capital/

As India's daily COVID-19 deaths reach new high, Modi opposes free vaccinations
wsws.org | 2021-05-20
In keeping with its systematic prioritization of profits over lives, the Modi government is refusing to provide free vaccinations to India's impoverished population, although this would cost a mere 0.32 percent of GDP.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/20/inva-m20.html

COVID-19 Has Unleashed Death and Dehumanization in India's Capital
Internationalist 360 ∞ | libya360.wordpress.com | 2021-05-20
Nitheesh Narayanan Punjabi Bagh Crematorium in New Delhi. Photo: Nitheesh Narayanan Nitheesh Narayanan shares a first-hand account of helping a family through loss and bureacracy amid the COVID-19 crisis raging in India India's second COVID-19 wave has caused large-scale death and devastation leading to bodies piling up in overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, which have reached… Read…
libya360.wordpress.com/2021/05/20/covid-19-has-unleashed-death-and-dehumanization-in-indias-capital/

The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act Signals Accountability for Violence Against Asian and Other Communities of Color
commondreams.org | 2021-05-20
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2021/05/20/covid-19-hate-crimes-act-signals-accountability-violence-against-asian-and-other?cd-origin=rss

Opposition erupts in Japan against the Tokyo Olympics
wsws.org | 2021-05-20
Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitals already stretched, nurses and other medical staff have protested plans to deploy 500 nurses to the Tokyo Olympics.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/20/japa-m20.html

Turkey Manufacturing Water Crisis to Pressure Damascus and Syria's Kurds
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2021-05-20
Turkey has reduced …
globalresearch.ca/turkey-manufacturing-water-crisis-pressure-damascus-syria-kurds/5745786

Microsoft vs Indian Farmers: Agri-Stacking the System
Colin Todhunter | dissidentvoice.org | 2021-05-20
In April, the Indian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft, allowing its local partner CropData to leverage a master database of farmers. The MoU seems to be part of the AgriStack policy initiative, which involves the roll out of 'disruptive' technologies and digital databases in the agricultural sector. Based on press reports …
dissidentvoice.org/2021/05/microsoft-vs-indian-farmers-agri-stacking-the-system/

Microsoft vs Indian Farmers: Agri-Stacking the System
Colin Todhunter | globalresearch.ca | 2021-05-20
In April, the …
globalresearch.ca/microsoft-vs-indian-farmers-agri-stacking-system/5745755

Bermuda To See Subtropical Cyclone by Friday -US NHC
telesurenglish.net | 2021-05-20
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported on Thursday that a low-pressure system off Bermuda is set to become a subtropical cyclone by Friday. | RELATED: | Black Woman Sworn in as Governor in Bermuda | "A non-tropical low-pressure system located about 650 miles east-northeast of Bermuda is now moving northward, and recent satellite wind data indicate that the system has gale-force winds," the NHC explained. | May 20, 8 am EDT: NHC is monitoring a non-tropical low pressure system located 7…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bermuda-To-See-Subtropical-Cyclone-by-Friday–US-NHC-20210520-0026.html

The Power of Romanticism today: 21st Century Irrationalism
Caoimhghin àì Croidheáin | dissidentvoice.org | 2021-05-20
Christianity defeated and wiped out the old faith of the pagans. Then with great fervour and diligence it strove to cast out and utterly destroy every last possible occasion of sin; and in doing so it ruined or demolished all the marvelous statues, besides the other sculptures, the pictures, mosaics and ornaments representing the false …
dissidentvoice.org/2021/05/the-power-of-romanticism-today-21st-century-irrationalism/

Militants Deported From al-Quneitra Town Following Siege By Syrian Army (Photos)
Anonymous669 | southfront.org | 2021-05-20
Illustrative image | On May 20, 30 militants and their families left the town of Umm Batnah in al-Quneitra as a part of a deal with Syrian authorities. | The militants violated the 2018 reconciliation agreement and carried out several attacks on Syrian government forces. One May 1, the Syrian Arab Army, that was fed up with the militants' radical behavior, imposed a siege on Umm Batnah after an attack that targeted on…
southfront.org/militants-deported-from-al-quneitra-town-following-siege-by-syrian-army-photos/

Epic Footage: Afrin Liberation Forces' Deadly Attack On Turkish Proxies
Anonymous669 | southfront.org | 2021-05-20
Screen grab from the ALF's raid footage. | On May 20, the Afrin Liberation Forces (ALF) claimed responsibility for a recent raid that targeted a position of the Syrian National Army (SNA) near the town of Bosoufane in the southern part of Turkish-occupied Afrin. | The Kurdish guerrilla group shared footage of the daring raid, which took place early on May 19. The footage, that was filmed…
southfront.org/epic-footage-afrin-liberation-forces-deadly-attack-on-turkish-proxies/

Charges filed against police officers for fracturing elderly woman's arm
Andrew Emett | nationofchange.org | 2021-05-20
"Ensuring public trust in law enforcement and in our criminal justice system is vital to our community's safety and our fundamental belief in fairness."
nationofchange.org/2021/05/20/charges-filed-against-police-officers-for-fracturing-elderly-womans-arm/

Journalists bodies demand release of investigative reporter in Bangladesh
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2021-05-20
Several journalists bodies in Bangladesh including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have demanded the immediate release of investigative journalist Rozina Islam, who was arrested for allegedly violating the colonial-era official secrecy law, Official Secrets Act (OSA), on May 17. | "Bangladesh police and authorities should recognize that Rozina Islam is a journalist whose work is a public service and should immediately drop the case against her and allow her to go free," CPJ stated. | Razina has been associated with Prothom Alo newspaper and was detained on Monday night. Her arrest triggered protests an…
peoplesdispatch.org/2021/05/20/journalists-bodies-demand-release-of-investigative-reporter-in-bangladesh/

As Indian variant spreads in Europe, governments reopen across the continent
wsws.org | 2021-05-20
The reopening is taking place amid a competition among the European states over which economy can most quickly restart, and particularly over access to tourism revenue for the Summer holiday season.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/20/euro-m20.html