New investigation shows how a US Christian right group is pushing an ‘unproven, unethical’ treatment to ‘reverse’ abortions
Illustration: Inge Snip
25 March 2021 (openDemocracy)* — “You are the first client I personally have worked with in Germany, but we have assisted many women all over Europe,” a US-based nurse told an openDemocracy undercover reporter, posing as a woman who had taken the first, but not the second, pill required to have a medical abortion.
(UN News)* — Though significant steps have been taken to prevent debt crises across the world sparked by the COVID-19 crisis, they have not been sufficient to restore economic stability in many developing countries, according to a policy brief issued by the UN Secretary-General on Monday 29 March 2021.
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UN News\Vibhu Mishra | Developing countries, in particular, have been hit hard by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured, here a daily wage earner during the COVID-19 lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal.
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 30 2021 (IPS)* – COVID-19 has set back the uneven progress of recent decades, directly causing more than two million deaths. The slowdown, due to the pandemic and policy responses, has pushed hundreds of millions more into poverty, hunger and worse, also deepening many inequalities.
Anis Chowdhury
Development setbacks
The outlook for developing countries is grim, with output losses of 5.7% in 2020. Compared to pre-pandemic trends, the expected 8.1% loss by end-2021 will be much worse than advanced countries dropping 4.7%.
COVID-19 has further set back progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As progress was largely ‘not on track’ even before the pandemic, developing countries will need much support to mitigate the new setbacks, let alone get back on track.
In late 2020 Robert J. Burrowes and myself were asked by some Melbourne activists protesting against the lockdowns and Covid vaccinations to help them develop more effective strategy.
Anita McKone
Many of the protesters were new to activism, and those with an inclination towards following a nonviolent approach wanted education in this area.
In February, Robert and I ran two Introduction to Nonviolent Action workshops, and one Nonviolent Strategy weekend, and with the inspiration and input of this great group of participants, I have now put the basics of a worldwide nonviolent campaign strategy to defeat the Great Reset on a website. We have named this campaign We Are Human, We Are Free.
The website is designed as a resource that activists anywhere in the world can use to develop effective local nonviolent campaigns.
(UN News)* — Now is not the moment to reduce humanitarian aid to Syria, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Monday 29 March 2021, stressing that after 10 years of conflict, more support was needed to avoid further “dramatic and widespread” deterioration.
Mark Lowcock, who’s also the Humanitarian Affairs chief, said that after a decade of “death, destruction, displacement, disease, dread and despair”, Syrians “see no respite”.
