15 April 2021 — United States President Joe Biden called in early February for “ending all American support for offensive operations in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” At the time, I, like many human rights advocates who have been documenting abuses committed during the armed conflict in Yemen, thought we were finally moving in the right direction after years of work.
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].
CDC | A shortage of new treatments for serious illnesses has left people dangerously exposed to the world’s most dangerous bacteria.
The alert from the World Health Organization (WHO) is delivered in a report showing that none of the 43 antibiotics in development today sufficiently addresses the growing threat posed by 13 priority drug-resistant bacteria.
“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.
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 14 2021 (IPS)* – 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.
Operated by the US State Department, the anti-terrorism programme offers money for information on people outside the country, who the Government has designated as being associated with terrorism, although they have not been charged with any crimes.
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.
UNICEF/Richard Humphries | According to a 2021 UNFPA report, nearly half of all women are denied their bodily autonomy, placing them at higher risk of risk of gender-based violence and harmful practices such as early marriage.
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.
Current World Bank projections show up to 3.6 million people are expected to fall back into poverty this year in Brazil | Image from Wall Street International.
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
Over two million Indians from the state of Kerala were working in the Gulf before the pandemic. | Iain Masterton / Alamy Stock Photo, all rights reserved.
8 April 2021 (openDemocracy)* — Like millions before him, Manoj migrated from the southwestern Indian state of Kerala to the Gulf in search of work in 2019. He found a job at a construction company in Bahrain that described itself as a “regional leader”. The pay, at 240 dinars (£577) a month, was far more than he could expect to find at home.
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.
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.