News headlines in December 2016, page 3

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 (IPS) - A new Ebola vaccine may be the first to successfully protect against one of the world's most lethal pathogens, according to a trial involving over 11,000 participants in Guinea.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 22 (IPS) - The UN Security Council has indefinitely postponed a vote on a draft resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements.

KAMPALA, Dec 22 (IPS) - Coffee production provides a quarter of Uganda's foreign exchange earnings and supports some 1.7 million smallholder farmers, but crop yields are being undermined by disease, pests and inadequate services from agricultural extension officers, as well as climatic changes in the East African country.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 22 (IPS) - As he packs his bags to head home to South Korea, the outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been sharply critical of the decision-making process in the world body – specifically the veto powers in the Security Council and the increasing "consensus" rule in voting – where a single country can defy the rest of the 192 members, particularly on politically and financially sensitive issues.

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 (IPS) - Without any hint of irony, the World Bank's most recent Doing Business Report 2017 promises ‘Equal Opportunity for All'. Bangladesh ranked 176th among 190 economies, below civil war-ravaged Iraq and Syria! Bangladesh even slipped two places from 174 in the 2016 ranking and is three places below its 2015 ranking.

WASHINGTON DC, Dec 21 (IPS) - This year's World Food Prize pays tribute to biofortificationan intervention that strengthens efforts to address one of the world's most insidious and pervasive public health challenges—hidden hunger. That is good news for the majority of the two billion people globally who suffer from hidden hunger, and likewise for those fighting to end the epidemic.

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 21 (IPS) - Smart phone users in the Ethiopian capital are rejoicing. After a two-month blackout the Ethiopian government has permitted the return of mobile data.

NEW YORK, Dec 20 (IPS) - With the future of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur now in jeopardy, the safety and security of the Sudanese region's most vulnerable communities hangs in the balance.

NEW YORK, Dec 20 (IPS) - Since the decision by the U.S. army to suspend the Dakota Access pipeline on 4 December, many are still unsure of the controversial pipeline's future or its implications for other mega infrastructure projects affecting indigenous communities across North America.

DHAKA, Dec 20 (IPS) - 2016 has been a dramatic year for the world, and for the media. Political dysfunction appears to be on the rise, putting social media under increasing critical scrutiny even as prestigious global commercial news brands capable of acting as the fourth estate are downsizing.