News headlines in 2020, page 11

STOCKHOLM / ROME, Nov 24 (IPS) - If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? And if not now, when? That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow go and learn. - Hillel the Elder, active during the first century BCE.

On 10 December, representatives for the World Food Programme (WFP) will in Norway receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the Oslo City Hall. This is taking place while the COVID-19 pandemic is causing lock-downs and suffering all over world, limiting agricultural production and disrupting supply chains.

GENEVA, Nov 24 (IPS) - Until recently, Benin was best known for its cotton exports and its vibrant clothing designs. Since this year it is also the fastest place in the world to start a company. By providing a full online service, the government helped entrepreneurs create businesses and jobs during the pandemic. A third of Benin's new entrepreneurs are women.

KUALA LUMPUR and SYDNEY, Nov 24 (IPS) - The World Bank has been leading other multilateral development banks (MDBs) and international financial institutions to press developing country governments to de-risk infrastructure and other private, especially foreign investments.

NEW YORK, Nov 23 (IPS) - The alarms warning against climate inaction have sounded for years. Almost a year into the hardest pandemic and maybe the worst economic recession my generation has seen, expert voices everywhere are claiming this to be the golden opportunity to do something to right our course and even find a silver lining in this unfortunate situation, by funding the economic recovery of COVID-19 with a green stimulus package.

OXFORD, Nov 23 (IPS) - The 2020 election has revealed a deeply divided nation, perhaps at its most divided since the Civil War. Many Americans are still uncertain about how the transition to the new administration will be achieved with a minimum of disruption and perhaps even violence. However, the split between pro and anti-Trump voters is not based on two sets of facts, but on facts and alternative facts or falsehoods. 

NEW DELHI, India, Nov 23 (IPS) - Instead of being cowed by her seven-year imprisonment, Wai Wai Nu, emerged stronger and more determined to fight for the rights of all people, including the Rohingya in her native Myanmar.

OXFORD, UK, Nov 23 (IPS) - At the beginning of 2020, there were hopes that this would be a 'super year for nature'. It has not turned out that way. Tropical forests, so crucial for biodiversity, the climate and the indigenous communities who live in them, have continued to be destroyed at alarming rates. In fact, despite the shutdown of large parts of the global economy, rates of deforestation globally have increased since last year.

NEW YORK, Nov 23 (IPS) - Wealthier countries struggling to contain the widening COVID-19 pandemic amid protests over lockdowns and restrictions risk ignoring an even greater danger out there – a looming global food emergency.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Nov 20 (IPS) - Japan should step up and play a role as a global facilitator for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, Dr Daisaku Higashi said at a recent Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP) study meeting.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 20 (IPS) - The world's major military powers exercise their dominance largely because of their massive weapons arsenals, including sophisticated fighter planes, drones, ballistic missiles, warships, battle tanks, heavy artillery—and nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).