News headlines in February 2021, page 8

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 04 (IPS) - The 2021-2030 initiative hopes to raise funding for ocean science and focus on the sustainable use of marine resources The United Nations Secretary-General has urged nations to rise to the ‘defining challenge’ of restoring the ocean’s power to support humanity and regulate the climate.

António Guterres addressed the “Brave New Ocean” high level event on Feb. 3. The virtual gathering of world leaders, scientists, philanthropists and ocean advocates marked the start of the UN Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 04 (IPS) - The UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, appealed to the Security Council on February 2 to unite in support of democracy in Myanmar in the wake of a power grab by the military and the declaration of a one-year state of emergency. When million-dollar arms sales knock on the door, human rights violations and war crimes fly out of the window.

As the United Nations grapples for a reaction to the military coup in Myanmar, both China and Russia, two veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), refused to support a statement condemning the army takeover—a collective statement that warrants consensus from all 15 members.

MEXICO CITY, Feb 04 (IPS) - All of Erizo's nightmares are the same. Since his return from the ocean - almost unrecognizable - every bad dream is identical. A wave punches his little boat and throws him into the deep sea where everything is so dark that he can't even see his own hands.

KATMANDU, Feb 03 (IPS) - At last count Nepal had 129 spoken languages, but even as new ones are identified, others are becoming extinct. At least 24 of the languages and dialects spoken in Nepal are ‘endangered’, and the next ones on the verge of disappearing are Dura, Kusunda, and Tillung, each of which have only one speaker left.

YANGON, Myanmar, Feb 03 (IPS) - As night fell on Tuesday, the second day of the military coup in Myanmar, two familiar scenes were being played out on opposite sides of the world.

GENEVA, Feb 03 (IPS) - President Biden and his administration confront a very challenging situation within the United States and abroad. His predecessor, Mr. Trump, refused to accept the defeat or extend any cooperation to the incoming team.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 03 (IPS) - Access to COVID-19 vaccines for many developing countries and most of their people will have to wait as the powerful and better off secure earlier access regardless of need or urgency. More profits, by manufacturing scarcity, will surely cause even more loss of both lives and livelihoods.

HYDERABAD, Feb 02 (IPS) - Yangon resident Ni Ni Aye walked to her office yesterday morning. A couple of hours before, the army had staged a coup by seizing power and declaring a state of emergency in Myanmar. Ni Aye, an employee of one of Yangon’s largest technology firms, tried to call her colleagues and family, but phone services were down. So, she decided to walk to the office and see what was happening.

“There were no armoured vehicles or soldiers with heavy weapons, yet everything was extremely quiet. It was very confusing; nobody had a clue on what is really happening. Then we realised, the action is all happening in the capital,” Ni Aye told IPS.

NEW YORK, Feb 02 (IPS) - For more than two decades, the mantra was “PVE” (preventing violent extremism) and/or “CVE” (countering violent extremism).

Millions of dollars were spent, new NGOs and think tanks emerged, government policy papers were drafted, countless books and articles were published, large and small scale initiatives developed - indeed almost an entire industry in development and foreign policy spaces thrived.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 02 (IPS) - “Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive”. Walter Scott’s lines, already over two centuries old, nicely sum up how pursuit of national advantage and private gain have undermined the public interest and the common good.