News headlines in February 2018, page 3

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 21 (IPS) - A new initiative aims to use data to shed light on a pervasive multi-billion dollar criminal industry: human trafficking.

Created by the International Organization for Migration and Polaris, the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) is the world's first human trafficking data portal.

DOUALA, Cameroon, Feb 20 (IPS) - Luc Ngwéa Cameroonian researcher and freelance consultant, is the author of a series of studies on higher education and has taught at the University of Douala (Cameroon), and at universities in Nanterre and Avignon (France)."Brain drain is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa," says the World Economic Outlook (October 2016), a report published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "The migration of young and educated workers takes a large toll on a region whose human capital is already scarce. The concentration of migrants among those who are educated is higher than in other developing economies.

DOHA, Qatar, Feb 20 (IPS) - Adel Abdek Ghafar is a Fellow - Foreign Policy at Brookings Doha Center*A pillar of the Saudi social contract has been the allocation of oil rents to the population in exchange for loyalty and fidelity to the Saud clan. A key weakness of Vision 2030 is its lack of focus on the potential political consequences of economic reforms. The plan seems to assume that its ramifications will be easily borne by the Saudi population.

MIAMI, Feb 20 (IPS) - Joaquín Roy is Jean Monnet Professor and Director of the European Union Center at the University of Miami.It is the country of paradox, based on the double column of creativity and tradition. Americans are unable to escape the twin submission to the adamnism of being the first and the last to accept that the rest of the planet can be more original and may outrank them in any field.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Feb 20 (IPS) - It was a shutdown that was emblematic of the instability plaguing the Maldives in recent months.

On Feb. 8, Raajje TV, an opposition aligned TV channel in the atolls, suspended broadcasting due to lack of security.

DOHA, Qatar, Feb 19 (IPS) - Adel Abdel Ghafar is a Fellow - Foreign Policy at Brookings Doha Center*The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing a process of change in its social, economic, and political structures unseen since its founding in 1932. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and a group of close advisors, aided by an army of multinational consultants and investment bankers, have been driving this transformation.

ROME, Feb 19 (IPS) - Roberto Savio is founder of IPS Inter Press Service and President EmeritusAmazon has recently introduced Amazon Go, a shop where the customer enters, chooses a product from the shelves, charges the price on a magnetic card and swipes it on the way out, transferring the charge to the customer's bank account . No queues, no cashiers, fast and easy, and the first shop in Seattle has been a roaring success.

SANTIAGO, Feb 18 (IPS) - Identifying territories where rural poverty is most entrenched in Latin America and the Caribbean to apply new tools and innovative policies to combat hunger is the new strategy that will be discussed at a ministerial meeting to be held in early March.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 16 (IPS) - Perhaps no major political or humanitarian disaster is as overlooked as the ongoing crisis in Libya. For example, although the New York Times in September 2017 published a total of seven articles mentioning Libya, only one of them touched on the violence ripping it apart. Even the Times' gesture merely highlighted the latest permutation of the US government's foreign military decisions.

ABIDJAN, Cote d’Ivoire, Feb 16 (IPS) - Akinwumi A. Adesina is President of the African Development BankOver the past few years, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has confirmed its position as Africa's premier development finance institution, generating significant impact on the continent's economic and social development.