Last month, the president of Madagascar and the country’s Institute for Applied Research launched Covid-Organics (CVO), a drink derived from the artemisia plant they claim can treat and prevent Covid-19. Now other countries in the region are beginning to import the herbal remedy, despite a lack of scientific research to back up its billing as a miracle cure for the coronavirus.  

So far, the coronavirus outbreak in Africa has been much more limited than elsewhere. While concerns remain that fragile healthcare systems make the continent particularly vulnerable, Africa is still far behind Europe and North America when it comes to the intensity of the crisis. The World Health Organization has held a media briefing on the pandemic and how it's impacting the African continent. In this show, we speak to Dr. Michel Yao, Program Manager for Emergency Response in Africa at the WHO. He was a participant at the event. 

The SA forums goons make a pulp scifi/fantasy 'zine that puts old William Gaines to shame! I mean, additional shame, on top of the misogyny and functional illiteracy.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed what he called a "very insulting" congressional resolution seeking to limit his war powers in Iran.

The Girl Genius comic for Wednesday, March 25, 2020 has been posted.

The Girl Genius comic for Friday, March 27, 2020 has been posted.

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With parents and policymakers agonising over when to reopen schools as lockdowns ease, scientists are still struggling to find out how the new coronavirus affects children.

Dozens of Afghan migrants are feared dead after Iranian border guards allegedly forced them into a river on the Iran-Afghan border on May 1. Of the 57 men and boys in the group only 12 are known to have survived. One of the survivors told the France 24 Observers team that he and the others were arrested and tortured by guards from an Iranian border post overlooking the Harirud river. His account, along with amateur videos circulating on social media in Afghanistan, allowed the Observers team to pinpoint the location of the Iranian border post. 

The United States on Friday stunned other members of the UN Security Council by preventing a vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world to help troubled nations better fight the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats said.

French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on Thursday detailed his government’s plan for easing Covid-19 confinement measures on May 11, warning that the exit from lockdown would be gradual and targeted to stem a resurgence of the viral outbreak. 

France on Thursday recorded 178 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours, a 0.7 percent rise from the previous day in the lowest rate of increase in four days, taking the total number of deaths to 25,987. 

We continue our coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Middle East. Iran is one of the worst-hit countries in the region – authorities there have reported more than 6,000 deaths. But observers and health experts say the numbers are in reality much higher. After weighing up economic risks against health ones, the country's leadership decided to reopen businesses in late April, followed by schools and mosques. We speak to a doctor from Tehran, who has been on the frontlines of the battle against Covid-19. He has asked for his identity to be concealed.

A choice between lives and livelihoods? Iranian authorities have gradually been easing confinement since April 11, this in a nation hit early and hard by Covid-19. Did they have to reopen mosques? Could they afford to keep the sanctions-squeezed country in lockdown and risk a complete collapse of the economy or does opening it up make it worse? Already there are signs of a resurgence of coronavirus. The show features Sanam Shantyaei's exclusive interview with a frontline medic in Tehran while Esfandyar Batmanghelidj and Behnam Ben Taleblu disagree on whether the US should ease sanctions.

Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on Wednesday after six months without one as parties squabbled until the last minute over Cabinet seats in backroom deals.

The Iraqi parliament approved its new government headed by Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, now prime minister. The move ends six months of political vacuum, but many challenges lie ahead, including the country's struggling economy and the re-emergence of the Islamic State group. 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced they had successfully launched the country’s first military satellite on Wednesday, at a time of fresh tensions with US forces in the Gulf.

North and South Korean troops exchanged fire along their tense border on Sunday, the South’s military said, blaming North Korean soldiers for targeting a guard post.

New Zealand on Monday recorded no new cases of the coronavirus for the first time since March 16 and less than a week after the Pacific nation ended a strict lockdown that appears to have contained the outbreak.

Indian police have filed a complaint against an LG Chem subsidiary over a toxic gas leak at its chemical plant in the south of the country that killed 11 people and sickened almost a thousand more.

"For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else."

"The customer doesn't expect everything will go right all the time; the big test is what you do when things go wrong."

"That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing."

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Book 5 of the MegaTokyo: Endgames series is live for all platforms! Amazon Kindle and Paperback can be purchased here. Nook readers can follow this link. Of note, if you are completely unwilling to order through Amazon, you can also order the paperback through Barnes & Noble. And for the first time, Kobo users can go here and be a part of the launch day as well! Thank you again for all your support, and with luck it won’t be long...

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