News headlines in 2020, page 37

NAIROBI, Sep 04 (IPS) - Regina Njagi's four children, aged between 11 and 17, have not benefitted from online learning since the COVID-19 led to the closure of all schools in Kenya, earlier in March. With the closure, Njagi lost her job as a teacher at a local private school.

BRATISLAVA, Sep 04 (IPS) - A Slovak businessman with alleged links to organised crime has been found not guilty of ordering the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak in a ruling that has left press freedom campaigner and politicians shocked.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 04 (IPS) - Although we have not convened in this Hall since March, New York-based delegations have worked tirelessly to uphold the values and principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations, whilst contending with the COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON, Sep 03 (IPS) - While the COVID-19 crisis is sending shockwaves around the globe, low-income developing countries (LIDCs) are in a particularly difficult position to respond. LIDCs have both been hit hard by external shocks and are suffering severe domestic contractions from the spread of the virus and the lockdown measures to contain it. At the same time, limited resources and weak institutions constrain the capacity of many LIDC governments to support their economies.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 03 (IPS) - Qatar officials reiterated their claim on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) be held responsible for their "discrimination" against Qatari citizens, as the third day of public hearings proceeded at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nation's highest court. But foreign policy experts caution that the case is not good for stability in the Persian Gulf region.

ROME, Sep 03 (IPS) - Five years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda we are far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the recently launched SOFI Report (The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020), we are not on track to eradicate poverty, hunger and malnutrition. On the contrary, with the current trends, the global number of undernourished people in 2030 would exceed 840 million. Moreover, WHO has reported alarming rates of overweight and obesity, globally affecting 39% and 13% of the adult population, respectively.

PARIS, Sep 02 (IPS) - Even as their income dries up and their touring opportunities disappear because of the Covid-19 pandemic, some artists are using their work to call out injustice, criticize inept leaders and spark social change.

PORT OF SPAIN, Sep 02 (IPS) - Trinity Hills in Trinidad and Tobago's southeast region, also affectionately known as the Three Sisters, is home to a wildlife sanctuary that serves as a sort of incubator for fauna to reproduce and replenish the surrounding forest reserves of the Victoria-Mayaro region that includes the communities of Guayaguayare and Moruga. But a draft management plan for the Trinity Hills environment project and reports from surrounding communities suggest that urgent action is needed to prevent losses to the sanctuary and forest reserve.

MUMBAI, India, Sep 02 (IPS) - For the past five months, our screens have been flooded with distressing imagery of one catastrophe after another: From the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable communities, to cyclones in West Bengal, Odishaand Maharashtra.

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON D.C., Sep 02 (IPS) - On 27 August the World Bank announced that it will suspend the Doing Business Report over data irregularities, until it conducts a review and audit. The halting of the report was welcomed by trade unions, academics and human rights groups.