News headlines in August 2020, page 6

MUMBAI, Aug 14 (IPS) - Basant Lal Chaudhary migrated from his village of 1,200 people in Madhya Pradesh, to a city of 90,000 people in Jammu and Kashmir in 2016. He last worked as a construction worker, before the COVID-19 lockdown forced him out of employment."I used to earn a daily wage of INR 350. That was my only source of income," he shares. During the lockdown, he along with others who worked with him, are finding it difficult to make the ends meet."I don't know whether I will be able to find work here anytime soon."

KAILALI, Nepal, Aug 14 (IPS) - Across Nepal, it is the already under-served and vulnerable who have been affected by the prolonged lockdowns. But it is the Dalit returnees from India who have tested positive and their families who face double discrimination.

Aug 13 (IPS) - The catastrophic explosion in Beirut's port is a manifestation of the Lebanese political elite's predation and dysfunction. Among the country's long-suffering citizens, shock is quickly yielding to fury. It may be the last chance for those in power to effect long-overdue structural reforms.

Aug 13 (IPS) - Most young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa continue to be denied access to information and communications technology because of poor infrastructure and the digital divide.

MBABANE, Aug 13 (IPS) - "Not being able to go to school is not something I'd wish on any child in this world," said 21-year-old Nujeen Mustafa, a young advocate for refugees who fled the Syrian war with her sister. Mustafa, who now lives in Germany, is also the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) high profile supporter.

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (IPS) - Developing country debt has continued to grow rapidly since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis (GFC). Warnings against debt have been reiterated by familiar prophets of debt doom such as new World Bank chief economist, Carmen Reinhartonce dubbed the ‘godmother of austerity'.

SEOUL, Aug 12 (IPS) - On 23 February 2020, the South Korean government raised the national Crisis Alert Level to the highest tier in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, we have witnessed what our society is capable of when faced with a crisis.

CHIRADZULU DISTRICT/BLANTYRE, Malawi, Aug 12 (IPS) - As households in Chiradzulu District in Southern Malawi start preparing their farms for the next maize growing season, Frederick Yohane, 24, is a busy young man.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 12 (IPS) - Migrant workers and refugees in Lebanon will "inevitably" suffer the most as food insecurity threatens the nation following last week's blast.

ILLINOIS, United States, Aug 12 (IPS) - Recently, the UK contributed £17 million pounds to support the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to continue their efforts to combat the desert locust surge in East Africa and improve early warning and forecasting systems.