News headlines in 2020, page 44

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.

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 11 (IPS) - As the world marks International Youth Day on August 12, it is difficult to ignore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people - particularly on efforts towards youth economic inclusion in Africa. Meaningful and swift action is needed from African states to ensure the damage is not long-lasting.

LONDON, Aug 11 (IPS) - "With advertisements removed in Grenoble you can see the city's beauty and the mountains beyond. Adverts create obstacles. Without them you can breathe," explains Khaled Gaiji, national mobilisation coordinator of the French anti-advertising organisation Résistance à l'Agression Publicitaire (Resistance to Advertising Aggression, or RAP). "Advertising is like an iceberg: the largest impact is below the surface. Adverts colonise our imagination."

GENEVA, Aug 11 (IPS) - The US detains essential keys to the political and economic stability of the planet. The last four years have been challenging for Americans, their allies, and the rest of the world.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug 11 (IPS) - The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement should be dead and buried after President Trump announced US withdrawal immediately after his inauguration in January 2017. After all, most major US presidential candidates in the last election, including Hillary Clinton, had opposed the TPP.

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (IPS) - Even during the best of times, unfortunately members of the global community who have special needs are marginalized and often treated as social outcasts. The COVID crisis which has been raging for over the better part of the year 2020 has posed additional barriers and challenges for these already disenfranchised individuals.

LAWUBA, Eswatini, Aug 10 (IPS) - Sibonisiwe Hlanze, from Lawuba in Eswatini's Shiselweni Region, lights up as she shows off her sleeping mat which she made from what she described as "the highest quality indigenous fibre".