News headlines in 2020, page 53

Jul 16 (IPS) - The global outbreak of Covid-19 has disrupted the food system throughout the world. From initial lockdown by the national governments to slow the spread of the Covid-19 to now opening of the economies have had food security implications for all players in the food system ranging for the farmers to consumers and the rest in between.

NEW YORK, Jul 16 (IPS) - In May 2019, senior members of Ghana's law enforcement posed for photos with the U.S. ambassador to their country at a ceremony in the capital, Accra. Between them they held boxes and bags, gifts from the U.S. government to Ghana which, according to one of the recipients, contained Israeli phone hacking technology.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 16 (IPS) - The United Nations has been relentlessly pursuing a highly-ambitious blueprint for the sustainable future of humanity –harking back to the adoption of a new global economic agenda by the General Assembly back in 2015.

PARIS/NEW YORK, Jul 16 (IPS) - Every year, the Sustainable Development Report (SDR) tracks the performance of all UN member states on the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – adopted in 2015 by world leaders. This article discusses progress made on the SDGs in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and South Asia, as well as the likely short-term impacts of COVID-19 in these regions where reported daily cases and virus transmission are growing rapidly. It identifies five key measures that international cooperation efforts should urgently include to address the immediate consequences of the health and economic crises in vulnerable countries and population groups.

ILLINOIS, United States, Jul 16 (IPS) - African countries are beginning to reopen bordersand this is finally enabling many citizens to resume their normal life. However, there is still an urgent need for African countries to prioritize agriculture to tackle food insecurity issues that have been exacerbated by COVID and will continue to be an issue into the near future. According to the latest estimates by the United Nations World Food ProgrammeCOVID-19's compounding effects could drive 270 million people into food insecurity.

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 16 (IPS) - Announcing an independent evaluation of the global Covid-19 response on 9th July, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked why it has been "difficult for humans to unite and fight a common enemy that is killing people indiscriminately?".

NAIROBI, Jul 15 (IPS) - While men are more likely to die from COVID-19, women are facing the full blow of the socio-economic fallout from the ongoing pandemic as well seeing a reversal in equality gains made over the last two decades, says an all-women panel of international thought leaders, who met virtually during a discussion convened by IPS.

OVALLE, Chile, Jul 15 (IPS) - "The harvested water has helped us at critical times and the fog nets have also brought us visibility. Today we produce beer here and many tourists come," says Daniel Rojas, president of the Peña Blanca Agricultural Community in Chile.

Jul 15 (IPS) - In March, 10,000 NHS staff signed a letter to UK prime minister Boris Johnson demanding better protection against COVID-19. Nurses and doctors wanted to treat patients without fear of infecting them and to minimise their own risk of falling ill. But they lacked the proper protective equipment.

GENEVA, Jul 15 (IPS) - Two years have passed since the introduction of the illegal pay cuts imposed on staff in the Professional category-- and above-- working for the UN in Geneva, following a cost of living survey conducted by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) in 2016.