News headlines in August 2015, page 2

CANCUN, Mexico, Aug 27 (IPS) - The recent explosions that apparently destroyed a 2,000-year-old temple in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria were yet another grim example of how the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS) uses conventional weapons to further its agenda.

VIENNA, Aug 27 (IPS) - The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has agreed to give the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) a grant in support of a project aimed at improving the productivity and competitiveness of the shrimp value chain in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 27 (IPS) - Back in 1996, when South Korea voluntarily quit the 132-member Group of 77 (G77) – described as the largest single coalition of developing nations -- it joined the 34-member Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), long known as the "rich man's club" based in Paris.

MANAGUA, Aug 27 (IPS) - Central America's toolbox to pull 23 million people – almost half of the population – out of poverty must include three indispensable tools: universal access to water, a sustainable power supply, and adaptation to climate change.

HIROSHIMA, Aug 27 (IPS) - As the international community gears up to commemorate the 20^th anniversary next year of the opening up of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) for signature, a group of eminent persons (GEM) has launched a concerted campaign for entry into force of a global ban on nuclear weapon testing.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida, Aug 27 (IPS) - Millions in the New York City area are excited about Pope Francis' visit on Sep. 25 to address the U.N. General Assembly as worldwide consensus grows on the need to shift global investments from fossil fuels to clean, efficient, renewable energy in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) scheduled to replace the expiring Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

HARGEISA, Aug 27 (IPS) - Bar Seed is the only female member in Somaliland's 82-person Parliament, but activists hope upcoming national elections may end her isolation.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 26 (IPS) - Imagine having to venture out into a conflict zone in search of water because rebel groups and government forces have targeted the pipelines. Imagine walking miles in the blazing summer heat, then waiting hours at a public tap to fill up your containers. Now imagine realizing the jugs are too heavy to carry back home.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 26 (IPS) - With over 1.5 million displaced, 800,000 of whom are children, and continuously escalating violence in northeastern Nigeria, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the humanitarian situation as "particularly worrying" during a visit to the country.

OLLAGÃœE, Chile, Aug 26 (IPS) - Chile, a land of volcanoes and geysers, has started building South America's first geothermal plant, which would open a door to this kind of renewable energy in this country that depends largely on fossil fuels.