News headlines in 2019, page 55

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 09 (IPS) - Finbarr Toesland, Africa RenewalMegacities, cities with a population of at least 10 million, are sprouting everywhere in Africa. Cairo in Egypt, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Lagos in Nigeria are already megacities, while Luanda in Angola, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Johannesburg in South Africa will attain the status by 2030, according the United Nations.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 09 (IPS) - The United Nations has condemned an internet shutdown and the blocking of social media channels during Sudan's political crisis, as fears persisted over a crackdown on media freedoms in the turbulent African country.

BRASILIA, Jul 09 (IPS) - When cases of Hansen's disease, better known as leprosy, increase in Brazil, it is not due to a lack of medical assistance but to the growing efficacy of the health system in detecting infections, contrary to the situation in other countries.

COTONOU, Benin, Jul 08 (IPS) - Richard Dossevi parks his motorcycle taxi on one of the busiest street corners in Cotonou, Benin's commercial capital, to wait for commuters amid the summer heat.

LONDON, Jul 08 (IPS) - Professor Joshua Castellino is Executive Director of the UK-based Minority Rights Group International.

Contemporary politics generates a lot of noise and smoke, with little attention devoted to understanding, analysing and fixing the causes of the noise and smoke. The global public discourse is dominated by statements made by politicians and aspirants to power, designed to shock, awe and draw support.

AMSTERDAM, Jul 08 (IPS) - Eco Matser is Hivos global Climate Change / Energy and Development Coordinator.

Whoever still thinks climate change is purely an environmental issue, threatening only nature, needs to think again. Climate change is also essentially a human issue because of its devastating effect on human life – and rights. It exacerbates existing inequalities, undermines democracy and threatens development at large. Likewise, by far the greatest burden will fall on those already in poverty, while the rich will be able to buy their way out of rising heat and hunger.

BONN, Jul 08 (IPS) - Jens Martens is executive director of Global Policy Forum (New York/Bonn) and has been the director of Global Policy Forum Europe since its foundation in 2004. Since 2011 he has also coordinated the international Civil Society Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

When UN Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs in September 2015, they signalled with the title Transforming our World that ‘business as usual’ is no longer an option and fundamental changes in politics and society are necessary.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 05 (IPS) - Ulrika Modeer* is Director of UN Development Programme's Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy & Susanna Moorehead* is Chair of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, universally adopted in 2015, is a plan to create a better and more sustainable future for all in just 15 years, through 17 Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs). It sounds implausible.

UPPSALA, Sweden, Jul 05 (IPS) - When Africa's free trade area launches on 7 July, a key player will be missing. However, Victor Adetula, head of research at Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) in Sweden, predicts that Africa's largest economy, Nigeria, will gradually open up and join the project.

WASHINGTON DC, Jul 04 (IPS) - Marian Starkey is Senior Director of Publications at Population Connection. She has an MSc in Population and Development from the London School of Economics.

Knowledge is power, but with the caveat that said knowledge is based in fact. Otherwise, it's misinformation.