News headlines in November 2015

JIQUILISCO /SAN MIGUEL, El Salvador, Nov 30 (IPS) - Knife in hand, Domitila Reyes deftly cuts open the leaves covering the cob of corn, which she carefully removes from the plant – a process she carries out over and over all morning long, standing in the middle of a sea of corn, a staple in the diet of El Salvador.

HARARE, ZIMBABWE, Nov 30 (IPS) - It was all smiles as Bertha Chibhememe of Sangwe communal area in Chiredzi, south eastern Zimbabwe, showed off her traditional seed varieties at a seed fair. A 45-year-old smallholder in Zimbabwe's lowveld region, Chibhememe told how her "nzara yapera" maize variety is thriving in a changing climate.

LILONGWE, Malawi, Nov 30 (IPS) - In the last few years, Malawi has successfully managed to reduce infant and under five mortality. But reducing malnutrition, which affects an estimated 1.4 million children, continues to be a costly challenge for the country.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Nov 29 (IPS) - On a sunny November day in Addis Ababa the courtyard of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) centre is packed with people—some attend a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reception clinic, others get essential supplies, while students attend classes, and many simply play volleyball, table football or dominoes to pass the time.

NAIROBI, Nov 28 (IPS) - Extreme weather conditions, an impact of climate change faced by African countries despite contributing the least global emissions, is attracting the attention of many as the clock ticks towards the start of the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21).

WEST BENGAL, INDIA, Nov 27 (IPS) - In Bengal's mangrove forests, the effects of climate change are forcing men to leave their families in search of work. But now, seaweed farming is offering the women left behind financial stability and empowerment.

Nov 27 (IPS) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet says the climate summit in Paris "is not the end of a process but a beginning," and that it will produce "an agreement that, although insufficient with respect to the original goal, shows that people believe it is better to move ahead than to stand still."

LUSAKA, Zambia, Nov 26 (IPS) - The long-awaited African Girls' Summit on Ending Child Marriage is here.

KAMPALA, Uganda, Nov 26 (IPS) - Climate Change needs to be at the top of the country's agenda, according to a project examining Uganda's policies. It says the country hasn't paid enough attention to climate change in national development and agriculture plans and this needs to be turned around before it's too late.

São José Dos Campos, Brazil, Nov 26 (IPS) - For the rural community of Pacheco in northeastern Brazil, the local school has never been so important. It is now the only place in the drought-stricken area that has water on tap.