'Unseen' News and Views – By Baher Kamal & The Like
Biden’s U-Turn on Pledge Heightens Risks to Civilians in Yemen, Libya
Southern Transitional Council forces backed by the United Arab Emirates prepare to storm the presidential palace in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen on August 9, 2019. © 2019 AP Photo
Dispelling myths around the starvation and disease that could kill 34 million people
FLASHBACK: A WFP helicopter arrives in Thonyor Payam, Leer County, as famine is declared in South Sudan in 2017. Photo: WFP/George Fominyen
14 April 2021 (WFP)* — A staggering 34 million people in 20 countries are teetering on the brink of famine, with immediate action needed to avert huge loss of life. In Yemen and South Sudan 155,000 people are already suffering famine or famine-like conditions, with conflict, insecurity and resulting displacement putting people at imminent risk of starvation.
(UN News)* — A lack of new treatments for common infections has left people dangerously exposed to the “world’s most dangerous bacteria”, the UN health agency said on Thursday [15 April 2021].
“The persistent failure to develop, manufacture, and distribute effective new antibiotics is further fuelling the impact of antimicrobial resistance and threatens our ability to successfully treat bacterial infections,” said Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Assistant Director General on antimicrobial resistance.
– A new Cold War – this time, between the US and China —is threatening to paralyze the UN’s most powerful body, even as military conflicts and civil wars are sweeping across the world, mostly in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
The UN Security Council is now the battleground for a new Cold War between the US and China. Credit: United Nations
(UN News)* — A so-called “Rewards for Justice” programme in the United States is violating the human rights of some of the individuals it targets, independent UN human rights experts on 14 April 2021 said.
It also offers financial incentives to foreigners who claim to have terrorist ties, if they cooperate with US authorities.
(UN News)* — Almost half of women in some 57 countries do not have the power to make choices over their healthcare, contraception, or sex lives, a new United Nations report launched on Wednesday [14 April 2021], has revealed.
According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)’s State of World Population report, the lack of bodily autonomy may have worsened during the coronavirus pandemic, placing record numbers of women and girls at risk of gender-based violence and harmful practices such as early marriage.
11 April 2021 (Wall Street International)* — Brazil is not a poor country. With a GDP of roughly 1.8 trillion dollars, and a population of 210 million, what we produce amounts to US$2,830 per month per four-member family.
In Brazil, living with the equivalent 15 thousand Real a month would be a dream for most families. In fact, a moderate reduction in inequality would be sufficient to make sure everyone has a dignified and comfortable life.
Indian labourers have been denied pay, food and accommodation. Now, some are demanding their rights
11 April 2021 (Wall Street International)*— All of us alive on the planet today are part of the most significant transition in centuries, whether we know it or not, whether it has touched us lightly or heavily and whether we choose to be or not. Not since the Industrial Revolution has such a total and radical social upheaval occurred.
As with most major cultural shifts, this one follows a technological innovation of which we are all aware and that is the invention of the Internet along with its ready accessibility on a handheld ubiquitous device.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us refocus on the actions we can take to keep healthy. Maintaining a healthy diet, for example, plays a central role in our overall health and immune systems. ©FAO/Maxim Zmeyev
10 April 2021 (FAO)* — If there was ever a time that made us pay attention to our health, it has been this one of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year has also made that clear that not everything in the world of health is under our control. However, many of us are lucky enough to have a say in one important element and that is what we eat.
