News headlines in June 2016, page 8

GENEVA, Jun 10 (IPS) - This is a challenging time for global trade. According to the current World Trade Organization (WTO) new trade forecasts, global goods trade is expected to grow by 2.8%, making 2016 the fifth consecutive year of sub 3% growth. The gross domestic product (GDP) is still the most critical variable in the trade expansion equation, and as long as GDP growth remains low, trade numbers are likely to follow a similar trend.

HARGEISA, Somaliland, Jun 10 (IPS) - Amid the hustle and bustle of downtown Hargeisa, Somaliland's sun-blasted capital, women in various traditional Islamic modes of dress barter, argue and joke with men—much of it particularly volubly. Somaliland women are far from submissive and docile.

LIMA, Jun 10 (IPS) - It is finally official: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski won Peru's presidential elections by the thinnest of leads, and Keiko Fujimori once again just barely missed becoming president - although her party holds a solid majority in Congress, which means it will have a strong influence during the next administration.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 09 (IPS) - Water scarcity, conflict and refugee exodus is the strongest megatrend in West Asia, indicating the status of current trends and how these factors may shape the future, according to UN Environment Programme's sixth Global Environment Outlook - GEO-6 Regional Assessment for West Asia released May 2016.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 09 (IPS) - The exclusion of key regions, contexts and actors must be addressed in order to successfully and significantly reduce HIV and AIDS by 2020, many have noted during the High Level Meeting on Ending AIDS this week.

MONTEVIDEO, Jun 09 (IPS) - Uruguay is just weeks away from finding out if it will have a chance to stop being totally reliant on oil imports at some point in the future, when the first offshore exploration well in national waters – which set a new world record in terms of water depth - is completed.

NEW DELHI, ROME, Jun 09 (IPS) - As the seventh largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, India has fared better than many. Through a mix of interventions from the public and private sector, India's economy has promoted growth and welfare. However, in spite of these developments, the challenge of hunger and malnutrition remain.

YANGON, Jun 09 (IPS) - International aid agencies, big and small, are beating a path to Myanmar, relishing the prospect of launching projects in a nation of 51 million people tentatively emerging from more than five decades of military rule.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 09 (IPS) - The Asia Pacific region - home to two of the world's most populous countries - faces major food security challenges.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), both China and India are not only two of the world's biggest producers of food but also the world's biggest consumers.

ATHENS, Jun 09 (IPS) - Closure of the Western Balkans route has trapped tens of thousands of refugees heading to Central and Northern Europe in Greece, including many unaccompanied minors who either escaped from war zones after having lost their relatives, or were sent ahead in hopes of helping their families follow afterwards.