The 60th session of the Commission for Social Development kicked off on Monday, in a virtual format, with appeals to make COVID-19 a turning point for humanity, and a focus on making social protection systems universally available. 

ROME, Feb 07 (IPS) - We are sitting in the heart of Rome, Via Panisperna, where Dr. Roberto Savio has had his office for the last 58 years. His energy and activity, both mental and physical, belies his age. At 87, he walks the 7 kilometres from his house to his office building and climbs two flights of stairs to reach his office. When I caution him about the traffic on the roads of Rome as he walks home every evening, he is very relaxed about it. “Look here, Rome is over 2,000 years old, and these roads were meant for pedestrians, not cars.”

Johannesburg, South Africa, Feb 07 (IPS) - Ongoing insecurity and an unfolding humanitarian crisis in northern Mozambique need a strategically planned response to deal decisively with the insurgency that has plagued the area since October 2017.

AUSTRALIA, Feb 07 (IPS) - Safeguarding food security has long been a critical priority for the Chinese central government. President Xi’s latest comments and meetings demonstrate continued concerns at the top about China’s food security. Ahead of the 20th National Congress this year and the release of the No 1 policy document, there are already several hints regarding what the Chinese central authorities could prioritise in terms of food security for this year and beyond. Other factors, including the potential influences of gene-edited plants, commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops, and of a Russia-Ukraine conflict should also be considered.

United Nations Security Council sanctions are no longer the “blunt instrument” they once were, having transformed since the 1990s into “a vital tool” that minimizes negative consequences for civilians, and States that are not directly being targeted.

Feb 07 (IPS) - As an agricultural and environmental scientist, I’ve worked for decades exploring the practical challenges that smallholder farmers encounter in East Africa. These include controlling weeds that can choke their crops and looking for new ways to deal with pests or diseases that threaten their harvests.

Tropical Cyclone Batsirai wrought havoc across Madagascar over the weekend, the second deadly storm to batter the African island nation since the beginning of the year.

As the debris clears, the scale of destruction is laid bare. When Super Typhoon Rai - Odette as it’s known locally - barrelled down on the Philippines on 16 December, its 195km/h winds and torrential rain tore through hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and vital infrastructure, putting millions of lives in peril.

Newly published research from the Netherlands has revealed the existence of a more transmissible and damaging variant of HIV, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said on Monday.

NEW DELHI, Feb 07 (IPS) - The year 2021 began with several new vaccines showing efficacy in randomized trials, but despite 26 authorised Covid-19 vaccines globally, and at least another 200 in development (The Lancet, 2021), the first few weeks of year 2022 brought a sense of uncertainty.