(2020-03-28). [Editorial] COVID-19: learning from experience. thelancet.com Over the past 2 weeks, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has marched relentlessly westward. On March 13, WHO said that Europe was now the centre of the pandemic. A few days later, deaths in Italy surpassed those in China. Iran and Spain had also reported over 1000 deaths as of March 23, and many other European countries and the USA reported increasing numbers of cases, heralding an imminent wave of fatalities. Following the sweep of COVID-19 is a series of dramatic containment measures that reflect the scale of the threat posed by the pandemic.
(2020-03-28). [Editorial] Learning the lessons of Chernobyl: time is running out. thelancet.com Unit number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded on April 26, 1986, causing radiation injuries to hundreds of people within a couple of weeks. High levels of radiation affected clean-up workers (liquidators) involved in the emergency response, more than 500‚Äà000 liquidators involved in later decontamination and containment, and the general population in the surrounding Soviet states. 116‚Äà000 people were evacuated, 220‚Äà000 were permanently relocated, and a 30 km exclusion zone still exists around the plant.
(2020-03-28). [Correspondence] COVID-19 cacophony: is there any orchestra conductor? thelancet.com The first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is currently invading the world, and several countries are now struggling to fight it or trying to delay its start to help smooth its peak size for the purpose of lowering morbidity and mortality, and thereby reduce the overall tension on their health-care system. China's first major outbreaks of COVID-19 happened in January, 2020. Then South Korea, Iran, and Italy entered into this Ravel's Bolero-like epidemic in late February and early March, 2020, and many other countries are preparing to play the same rhythmic pattern in the coming days and weeks.
(2020-03-27). Iran records 144 new Covid-19 deaths as military sets up emergency 2,000-bed hospital in Tehran. rt.com 
Iran saw nearly 150 new fatalities from coronavirus, health officials disclosed on Friday. The country's military has deployed a makeshift hospital in Tehran as the Islamic Republic continues to battle the respiratory illness. | A health ministry official confirmed that Iran suffered 144 deaths from the previous day, pushing its death toll to 2,378. The Islamic Republic currently has 32,332 confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to a government tally. | The latest figures coincide with the creation of a makeshift hospital in the nation's capital. The Iranian military reportedly converted an exhibition center i…
(2020-03-27). Webinar: Coronavirus: Time to End US Sanctions on Iran. indybay.org Online webinar via ZOOM…
(2020-03-27). Doctors, Not Bombs… "Educated in the Idea of Saving Lives" globalresearch.ca Excerpts from Fidel's 2003 speech in Buenos Aires: | "Our country does not drop bombs on other peoples… our country does not possess nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, or biological weapons. Our country's tens of thousands of scientists and doctors have been …
(2020-03-27). US Senators Request to Ease Sanctions Against Venezuela, Iran. telesurenglish.net U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy and 10 other lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin urging them to alleviate the RELATED: | "We are writing to express…
(2020-03-26). 8 Nations Address Letter to UN Chief Urging Sanctions Be Lifted. telesurenglish.net Venezuela has joined Wednesday China, Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and Nicaragua in their plea to United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urge the United States (U.S.) to remove its illegal economic sanctions on these countries amid the coronavirus global pandemic. | RELATED: | "Today we have a common enemy. As you've already recognized, it's a time to prepare, to step up and incre…
(2020-03-26). US Sanctions 20 Iranian, Iraqi Entities Despite Virus Outbreak. telesurenglish.net The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Thursday that they had sanctioned 20 Iranian and Iraqi companies companies, officials, and business associates over their alleged support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. | "The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 20 Iran- and Iraq-based front companies, senior officials, and business associates that provide support to or act for or on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) in addition to transferring lethal aid to Iranian-backed…
(2020-03-26). US Forces Return Qayyara Air Base to Iraqi Control, Withdraw From Mosul Area. iranian.com US forces in Iraq began their withdrawal from a key northern airfield on Thursday, returning Qayyara Air Base to Iraqi control. With its two 11,000-foot runways capable of handling the largest American bombers and transports, Qayyara West Airfield, about 37 miles south of Mosul, played a key role in the fight against Daesh once it …
(2020-03-26). US Propaganda: Iran Rounding Up Whistleblowers Trying To Expose Real COVID-19 Death Toll. iranian.com The State Department now seems to be leveling new accusations against Iran and China on a near-daily basis related to their role in facilitating the spread of the deadly coronavirus. On Monday Mike Pompeo issued '5 facts' detailing Iran's recklessness regarding the virus, including the charge Tehran spread it "to at least five countries," and on Wednesday …
(2020-03-26). Now Is the Time to Cancel Sanctions on Iran. iranian.com U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has often declared that he considers himself to be a devout evangelical Christian, and in November 2019 told the New York Times Magazine that the Bible "informs everything I do." Given that his religious convictions are based on the Bible, he is doubtless familiar with the command from Philippians 2: 4 that everyone should "look not …
(2020-03-26). Iraq: France withdraws forces in anti-ISIS coalition. iranian.com France has withdrawn its troops from Iraq, deployed as part of a U.S.-led coalition against the Daesh/ISIS terror group, according to local Iraqi media. The French forces' departure came after agreements with Baghdad, Iraq's official news agency INA quoted Abdel-Karim Khalaf, a spokesman for Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, as saying. Khalaf did not …
(2020-03-25). Coronavirus: What Newsweek Failed to Mention About "Continuity of Government" globalresearch.ca Though often discussed in relation to nuclear war or a similarly chaotic scenario, "continuity of government" plans can be triggered even by popular, nonviolent opposition to an unpopular war abroad. It exists solely to keep the current system in place, …
(2020-03-25). Deflection: Pompeo Issues '5 Facts' Claiming Iran Exported COVID-19 To "At Least 5 Countries" iranian.com As even Britain is urging its close US ally to moderate its stance on Iran sanctions as the Mideast country's death toll surges from the coronavirus pandemic, the Washington-Tehran tit-for-tat exchanges and blame game over Covid-19 continues unabated. Yesterday Pompeo issued a new list of five allegations of how Iran's leaders have handled the outbreak. Notably, this featured the …
(2020-03-25). Nowruz: A season of renewal, and the time to get counted. iranian.com Every spring, Iranians around the globe join with family and friends to invite the coming of a New Year or Nowruz. Nowruz is the first day of spring, historically rooted in Zoroastrianism but celebrated by Iranians of all religious persuasions as well as Afghans, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, and many others. The celebrations on and …
(2020-03-25). Media Struggle to Defend Washington's Cruelty Toward Venezuela and Iran as Coronavirus Spreads. fair.org 
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(2020-03-24). Business as Usual: Coronavirus, Iran and US Sanctions. dissidentvoice.org Never discount the importance of venality in international relations. While pandemics should provide the glue for a unified front in response — we keep being told of fighting this horrendous "invisible enemy" — it's business as usual in other respects. The United States, with a disparate, confused medical system that risks being overwhelmed, remains committed …
(2020-03-24). Ease sanctions against countries fighting COVID-19: UN human rights chief. news.un.org As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday called for an easing of sanctions against countries such as Iran to allow their medical systems to fight the disease and limit its global spread.
(2020-03-24). UK, Europe & IMF Ramp Up Pressure For Trump To Ease Sanctions On Virus-Ravaged Iran. iranian.com Reports and in some cases video began emerging last week of mass shipments of humanitarian supplies being halted and grounded by skittish EU countries worried about violating US-led sanctions on Iran. This as Iranian leaders have lashed out at Washington for ensuring a worsening coronavirus death toll through its "inhuman" sanctions. But the White House has also …
(2020-03-24). President Rouhani: Hospital check-ins, deaths caused by coronavirus declining. iranian.com President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that the number of people hospitalized and deaths due to the coronavirus are decreasing in Iran, which show important measures have been taken. Speaking at the session of National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus, President Rouhani said only 1/3 of the state employees will be present at their offices …
(2020-03-24). Defectors Tell of Torture and Forced Sterilization in Militant Iranian Cult. iranian.com Interviews with defectors, including several who held senior positions, offer the most detailed account to date of what life was like inside the MEK. Read the full story here.
(2020-03-23). Trump intensifies murderous Iran sanctions during COVID-19 crisis. thegrayzone.com As Iran struggles to contain COVID-19, the US has imposed new sanctions that further weaken the Iranian economy and health…
(2020-03-23). Punishing sanctions against Iran are turning the coronavirus pandemic into a massacre. iranian.com Coronavirus is a crisis. In Iran, it's a massacre – because of Trump's sanctions. Even before COVID-19, these sanctions were recognised by Human Rights Watch as undermining access to healthcare. The virus has taken lives globally but in Iran it has been particularly shocking, with hospital beds in parking lots and mass graves visible from space. Hundreds of lives have been …
(2020-03-23). Goes to show the level of hubris and profound BS of Western produced statistics. iranian.com …
(2020-03-23). The Charlatan and the Villager. iranian.com The despicable Mr. Charlatan is known to all of us, he is the deceiving, conniving, scandalous, and cruel bully whose greed is limitless and his shame none. He is the man of all trades but skilled in nothing, claims to knowledge that he doesn't have, and witnesses to events that hasn't happened. He doesn't care …
(2020-03-22). As US Pulls Military Trainers from Iraq, will the Coronavirus Finally End America's Forever Wars? iranian.com Will the coronavirus result in the second withdrawal of US troops from Iraq? There is an increasing question of whether the some 5,000 US military personnel there can be protected from the outbreak if they remain in that country. In any case, many of those servicemen are involved in training Iraqi troops, and the Baghdad …
(2020-03-22). Pakistan PM once again asks Trump to lift Iran sanctions. iranian.com Prime Minister of Pakistan who believes that US sanctions against Iran are cruel and unfair has once again called upon Donald Trump to lift economic sanctions from the Islamic Republic. Imran Khan in a tweet on Sunday said the people of Iran are facing untold suffering as sanctions are crippling Iran's efforts to fight COVID19. …
(2020-03-22). Official: Upward Trend in Coronavirus Cases in Tehran Stops. iranian.com Governor of Tehran Province said the rising trend in the new cases of COVID-19 in the Iranian province has stopped. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Anushirvan Mohseni said the growing trend in the coronavirus cases in the province of Tehran has stopped. While the growth rate of new infections on March 19 stood at 7 …
(2020-03-20). Pompeo and Netanyahu paved a path to war with Iran, and they're pushing Trump again. thegrayzone.com Though it narrowly averted war with Iran this January, the Trump administration is still pushing for all-out military conflict. The…
(2020-03-20). Expert: US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during pandemic could be genocidal. thegrayzone.com Intensified US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to genocide, a former UN expert warns. Iran…
(2020-03-19). Headlines for March 19, 2020. democracynow.org Italy Records Record 475 Coronavirus Deaths as Infections Continue Climbing, British PM Boris Johnson Closes Schools After Reversing Lax Virus Containment Plan, Millions of Brazilians Protest from Windows and Balconies Demanding President's Ouster, World Health Organization Warns Critical Lack of Testing Is Costing Lives, Egypt Arrests Protesters Calling for Release of Prisoners at Risk of COVID-19, Yemen, Already Wracked by U.S.-Supported, Saudi-Led War, Braces for Coronavirus, Trump Admin Tightens Sanctions That Have Devastated Iran's Public Health System, Trump Signs Coronavirus Relief Bill Providing Paid Leav…
(2020-03-18). [Correspondence] Future of Chernobyl research: the urgency for consolidated action. thelancet.com The Chernobyl nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986, continues to create fears and myths about its health consequences, as shown by the large response to a top-rated HBO miniseries devoted to the tragic event. Risk assessments range from recognising an increase in thyroid cancer incidence in exposed children and adolescents (becoming one of the single most established long-term health effects of the Chernobyl disaster on the general population), to claims of hundreds of thousands of deaths due to the accident.
(2020-03-18). [Correspondence] COVID-19 battle during the toughest sanctions against Iran. thelancet.com Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly throughout the world. WHO declared the outbreak a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.1 In Iran, the first official announcement of deaths from COVID-19 was made on Feb 19, 2020. As of March 16, 2020, 14‚Äà991 people have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and 853 people have died from COVID-19. 4996 people have recovered.2…
(2020-03-13). Latest U.S. Military Strikes Are as Reckless as they are Cruel. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — March 12, 2020 — In response to reports that the U.S. has carried out five airstrikes on Iranian-backed militia sites in Iraq, Jon Rainwater, Executive Director of Peace Action, released the following statement: "At a time of one of the greatest global challenges of our lifetimes, it is shocking that the Trump …
(2020-03-11). Congress Sends Bipartisan Bill to Trump Rebuking Iran War. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — March 11, 2020 — In response to the House passing the bipartisan bill — S.J.Res.68 — that would thwart President Trump from going to war with Iran and end any current hostilities, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement: "Both chambers and …
(2020-02-13). Senate Reclaims War Powers to Thwart Iran War. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — February 13, 2020 — In response to the Senate passing the bipartisan bill — S.J.Res.68 — that would thwart President Trump from going to war with Iran and end any current hostilities, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement: "It's about time …
(2020-02-08). US Deploys 'Mini-Nukes' in Deplorable Threat to World Peace. theantimedia.com These so-called "mini-nukes" represent—despite the diminutive-sounding name—an increased risk of nuclear war.
(2020-02-07). [Comment] Corticosteroids in acute respiratory distress syndrome: a step forward, but more evidence is needed. thelancet.com Debate continues about the potential role of corticosteroids as therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).1—3 In The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Jesús Villar and colleagues4 report the results from a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial investigating prolonged dexamethasone treatment in patients with established moderate-to-severe ARDS, which adds important new data to this debate. In this study, patients in the dexamethasone group had reduced duration of ventilation and mortality compared with those in the control group;4 the primary outcome, ventilator-free days at 28 days, w…
(2020-02-05). Trump Says War With Iran Was "Closer Than You Thought" Last Month. theantimedia.com Trump told reporters that the U.S. came "closer than you thought" to war with Iran last month.
(2020-01-31). House Votes to Rein in Trump's Iran War Powers While Ending Endless Wars. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — January 30, 2020 — In response to two high-profile war powers votes on the House floor today, Peace Action released the following statement: "Our nation's endless wars are on autopilot, with Trump fitfully grabbing the steering wheel until his attention wanders somewhere else. Today's votes are a step toward Congress reclaiming its …
(2020-01-13). [Comment] Fighting malaria with ivermectin: a novel malaria control tool. thelancet.com Malaria is a complex disease involving three interacting living populations, each with its own evolutionary pathway and need of survival: the parasite of genus Plasmodium, which causes the disease in humans; the humans that can be infected by the malaria parasite; and the Anopheles spp mosquito (the vector), which transmits the parasite from human to human. Malaria control strategies targeting these different populations exist. These include mosquitocidal agents that target the aquatic and terrestrial life forms of the mosquito vector,1 prophylactic use of intermittent preventive treatment,2,3 early disease diagn…
(2020-01-08). In the ongoing crisis, Congress must rein in Trump's war powers. peaceaction.org As we feared, President Trump's reckless assassination of Iran's Gen. Soleimani resulted in escalation — direct Iranian missile attacks on two military bases in Iraq. It's painful to watch more violence in a country that has already suffered far too much from endless war. All parties in the US/Iran conflict must cease military action and …
(2019-12-16). [Comment] Planning for the next pandemic: a call for new guidance. thelancet.com "Everything flows and nothing abides, everything gives way and nothing stays fixed"Heraclitus…
(2019-11-07). Take Action — Some actual, SANE legislation. peaceaction.org Trump has plans to spend nearly $2 TRILLION over the next 30 years on unneeded and unnecessary nuclear weapons and delivery systems. This makes no sense. This is insane. That's nearly $100 million wasted every day for thirty years on weapons we are supposed to be getting rid of. To put that amount in perspective, …
(2019-09-25). Take Action to Avoid War with Iran. peaceaction.org photo credit Dear Groundswell Readers, We have to keep pushing Congress this week if we want to avoid war with Iran. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said recently that the U.K. might join a U.S.-led military effort in the Gulf. When other nations step up to join the "coalition of the willing" it's often a bad sign. …
(2019-07-18). Diplomacy Instead of a Disaster in Iran. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — July 18, 2019 — In response to reports of the U.S. shooting down an Iranian drone, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement: "Because of the Trump administration's policy of maximum provocation towards Iran, America stands on the precipice of another blunderous …