News headlines in 2020, page 93

NEW YORK, Mar 25 (IPS) - I was able to take office as the secretary general to the largest global interfaith organization – Religions for Peace - with interreligious councils (IRCs) composed of senior-most religious leaders representing their religious institutions, in 90 countries, and 6 regional IRCs, a week before we had to ask all employees to work from home, in compliance with New York State law.

ROME, Mar 24 (IPS) - Most developing countries have good policies, programmes and projects in place. Many of these have been prepared with assistance from development partners or international financing institutions such as the World Bank, the regional development banks, the UN agencies or bilateral aid agencies.

Most of these are of high quality and have gone through intensive review and quality control.  The major challenge is to effectively implement these policies, programmes and projects. Unfortunately this does not often happen and leads to huge lost opportunities. This is particularly the case in the poorest countries, many of which are conflict affected. 

MBABANE, Mar 24 (IPS) - Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still widely practised in the African country of Djibouti. Despite efforts by the government and development agencies to curb this practice, culture, tradition and religion continue to slow down progress.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, Mar 24 (IPS) - We are living in a critical time. As we face existential environmental challenges from climate crises to the mass extinction of species, it is difficult sometimes to see solutions and new ideas. This is why we all need to celebrate and give visibility to creative and courageous efforts of people and organizations striving towards a healthy planet for all.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 24 (IPS) - Many soldiers have seen first-hand the horrors of war and, terrifying though it often was, they knew who they were fighting, and could recognise their enemy.

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 24 (IPS) - The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is hard to predict as events are still unfolding, and estimates vary dramatically. UNCTAD estimates lost output in the order of US$1 trillion, just over a third of Bloomberg's expectation of US$2.7 trillion in losses. The OECD expects global economic growth to halve from already anaemic levels.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 24 (IPS) - When US President Donald Trump repeatedly characterized the fast-spreading COVID-19 as a "Chinese virus" last week, it prompted some white supremacists to resurrect an age old ethnic slur against Chinese and East Asians: the "Yellow Peril" which, in a bygone era, was touted as a xenophobic threat to the Western world.

JAKARTA, Mar 23 (IPS) - Samsul sounded very happy last Monday (Mar. 16) when recounting his experience of catching crabs worth more than $60 in a single day. 

MUMBAI, India, Mar 23 (IPS) - Over the past few years, worsening air quality in India—and in north India specifically—has awakened policy makers and civil society to take urgent action.

NEW YORK and LONDON, Mar 23 (IPS) - Austerity policies pushed by international financial institutions have weakened public health systems, despite current financial support packages, condemning many people to die.