News headlines in February 2021

URBANA, Illinois, Feb 26 (IPS) - The White House, under the Presidency of Joe Biden just released an Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains stating the country needs to have resilient, diverse and secure supply chains to ensure economic prosperity and national security. Among the acknowledged threats that can reduce the resilience of America’s supply chains include climate change and extreme weather events.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 26 (IPS) - The UNFCCC launched its ‘Climate Action: NDC Scorecard’ on Feb 26. The report assesses countries’ progress in meeting climate mitigation, adaptation and financing goals.

Projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are falling "far short" of what is required to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement.

That is according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)which released its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’s) Scorecard today, Feb 26.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 26 (IPS) - A sign outside a laundry in New York city had a frivolously flippant slogan: “We launder dirty clothes, not dirty money.”

And a 2019 movie titled “Laundromat,” based on a book ‘Secrecy World’ by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jake Bernstein, exposed the byzantine world of money laundering.

MONTEVIDEO, Feb 25 (IPS) - Crises, as the one we saw across the US and Mexico last week originated by Winter Storm Uri, provide ample material for reflection. This is particularly clear from a distant viewpoint and when benefitting from the fact of not being directly affected, as strong emotions and reactions that often bias our judgements are absent.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Feb 25 (IPS) - The UNAIDS 2020 Global AIDS Update gave us a clear indication why the world did not meet the Fast-Track targets by 2020.

Inequality, perpetuated by structural oppression such as gender inequality; economic disparity; including human rights abuses and violations.

For most of us living in sub-Saharan Africa, we don’t need a report to tell us this. Our lives are a litany of inequality we know deep in our guts.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb 25 (IPS) - Our deadliest nightmare is back: Political assassinations in Lebanon is back with the horrific murder of Luqman Slim, a vocal critic of Hezbollah. Slim’s assassination is the first killing of a high-profile activist and outspoken journalist in years. What do the political assassinations in Lebanon tell us about the history of this country?

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (IPS) - The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission must prioritise the protection of youth activists who face retaliation from state and non-state actors, said UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (IPS) - A keen awareness about the intersection of our ecosystem and the “accelerating destabilisation of the climate” is helping shift the narrative for climate action and can help us transition from being polluters to becoming protectors of the climate, said Marco Lambertini, Director General at the World Wide Fund for Nature.

APIA, Samoa, Feb 25 (IPS) - Vulnerable people need support, not stricter laws.

Earlier this month, and in December 2020 the Government of Samoa conducted operations that resulted in the confiscation of a total of 1,400 grams of methamphetamine at the border, smuggled from the US.

The law enforcement officials (from the Ministry of Customs and Revenue and the Ministry of Police and Prisons) that intercepted these drugs deserve congratulations for their professionalism and skill. Meth is destructive and harmful - and it is good to see this potential threat removed from the community.

NEW YORK, Feb 25 (IPS) - The question of Western Sahara, known as Africa’s last colony, has recently gained great visibility in international media interestingly due to two drastic developments.