News headlines in October 2015, page 3

ITABORAÍ, Brazil, Oct 23 (IPS) - Itaboraí still recalls its origins as a sprawling city that sprang up along a highway, not far from Rio de Janeiro. But a few years ago big modern buildings began to sprout all over this city in southeast Brazil, whose offices and shops are almost all empty today.

MONROVIA, Oct 22 (IPS) - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently affirmed her commitment to the land rights of Liberia's local communities, who rely on the forests for their livelihoods and have cared for them for generations.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 22 (IPS) - As the flow of migrants continues to rise – from war-ravaged countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa to Europe – so do the horror stories of the harsh treatment meted out to these refugees.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct 22 (IPS) - "We are lucky a local dam will give us cheap and uninterrupted power supply. Currently, we remain without electricity for 14-16 hours every day," Muhammad Shafique, a schoolteacher in Upper Dir, told IPS.

CASPANA, Chile, Oct 21 (IPS) - Terrace farming as practiced from time immemorial by native peoples in the Andes mountains contributes to food security as a strategy of adaptation in an environment where the geography and other conditions make the production of nutritional foods a complex undertaking.

NAIROBI and HARARE, Oct 21 (IPS) - Kenya has made tremendous steps towards ensuring that the elderly population does not slide into extreme poverty, hunger and, consequently, premature death.

LUJÁN DE CUYO, Argentina, Oct 20 (IPS) - The region of Cuyo in west-central Argentina is famous for its vineyards. But it is one of the areas in the country hit hardest by the effects of climate change, such as desertification and the melting of mountain top snow. And local winegrowers have come up with their own way to fight global warming.

NEW YORK, Oct 20 (IPS) - The demographic revolutions the world is experiencing are profound and far-reaching, affecting virtually every aspect of human society. Whether in politics, business, international relations, environmental affairs or even personal matters, understanding the fundamental demographic changes underway and anticipating their juggernaut consequences can contribute considerably to the setting of meaningful goals, designing effective strategies and achieving genuine progress.

MEXICO CITY, Oct 19 (IPS) - Nearly a month since Pope Francis ended his historic visit to Cuba, any hope that authorities would loosen control on free expression in the country is fading as fast as the chants that welcomed him.

NEW DELHI, Oct 19 (IPS) - After Adam Smith and Amartya Sen, Angus Deaton, this year's Nobel laureate in economics, has contributed most to broaden and enrich our understanding of human well-being. His brilliant and path-breaking contributions to the theory and measurement of consumption, poverty, inequality, nutrition – and, more recently, aging, morbidity and suicides – have inspired a generation of economists to carry out reformulations, refinements and extensions.