News headlines in May 2015, page 7

KINGSTOWN, May 14 (IPS) - For 32 years, Joel Poyer, a forest technician, has been tending to the forest of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

NEW YORK, May 14 (IPS) - The days of African presidents rewriting the constitution to crown themselves Presidents for Life may be coming to a close but Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza appears to have missed the signs of this historical shift.

BUENOS AIRES, May 14 (IPS) - In spite of strides in social progress, Latin America's maternal mortality rates remain unacceptable, and many of the deaths are avoidable, occurring partly because of neglect of the prescriptions provided by experts: preventive action and health promotion.

VIENNA, May 14 (IPS) - Events are being organised around the world to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, but a recent seminar held in the Austrian capital was not held to applaud the body's past contributions.

VIENNA, May 14 (IPS) - When, in 2003, Professor Richard Smalley, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, listed the top 10 problems facing humanity for the next 50 years in order of priority, energy was at the top of his list, followed by water, then food.

NEW YORK, May 13 (IPS) - Thefts, murders and mutilation of Africa's wildlife, from white rhinos to elephants with their prized horns and tusks, are at an all-time high, say conservationists who are keeping track of the poaching of species by fortune-seeking hunters.

JAKARTA, May 13 (IPS) - Every afternoon, Wahyu sets up his wooden food cart by the side of a busy road in Central Jakarta to sell sweet buns, known as ‘bakpao', to people passing by. In a good month, the street vendor can make around 800,000 rupiah, which amounts to roughly 62 dollars.

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (IPS) - "We can really argue as much as we want but if we put ourselves in the skin of victims, we just have to do something to stop this."

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (IPS) - Virtually every major international conference concludes with a "programme of action" (PoA) – described in U.N. jargon as "an outcome document" – preceded by a political declaration where 193 member states religiously pledge to honour their commitments.

May 12 (IPS) - Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, co-curator of a spectacular World Voices week with over 100 African writers, closed the event with an admonition.