News headlines in 2016, page 30

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 13 (IPS) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, one of the strongest advocates of press freedom, is facing two politically-sensitive issues which are beyond his decision-making jurisdiction: a proposal for a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) aimed at providing journalists with the right to access information, and the creation of a UN Special Envoy ensuring the safety of journalists worldwide.

HONOLULU, Hawaii, USA, Sep 12 (IPS) - "In San Lorenzo they cut down the jungle to plant African oil palms. The only reason they didn't expand more was that indigenous people managed to curb the spread," Ecuadorean activist Santiago Levy said during the World Conservation Congress.

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Sep 11 (IPS) - The international conservation community has taken an important step towards saving African elephants from mass slaughter by voting at a major congress to call on all governments to ban their domestic trade in ivory.

Jinja, UGANDA, Sep 11 (IPS) - Mambera Hellem tells her friends and neighbours about all forms of contraception, yet despite their high HIV risk she knows many of the women she speaks to will not use condoms.

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Sep 10 (IPS) - A major environmental conference of governments and NGOs has called on nations to set aside at least 30 percent of the world's oceans as "highly protected" areas by 2030, but delegates said opposition from China, Japan and South Africa had seriously undermined chances of success.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon, Sep 10 (IPS) - The two-day Second Africa Rural Development Forum concluded Friday with renewed calls to economically empower young people, many of whom are leaving the resource-rich continent and migrating to places like Europe under very risky circumstances.

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Sep 09 (IPS) - Getting just a sliver of the global trade in goods and services worth more than 70 trillion dollars, Africans have every excuse to decide to trade among themselves.

HONOLULU, Hawaii, Sep 08 (IPS) - Japan and South Africa have ignited a furore at a major conservation congress by coming out against a proposed appeal to all governments to ban domestic trade in elephant ivory.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sep 08 (IPS) - At the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders committed to halve the share of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015. The World Bank's poverty line, set at $1/day in 1985, was adjusted to $1.25/day in 2005, an increase of 25% after two decades. This was then re-adjusted to $1.90/day in 2011/2012, an increase by half over 7 years! As these upward adjustments are supposed to reflect changes in the cost of living, but do not seem to parallel inflation or other related measures, they have raised more doubts about poverty line adjustments.

NEW DELHI, Sep 08 (IPS) - Despite bilateral dissonances and an unresolved boundary issue, India and China -- two of the world's most ancient civilisations -- are engaged in vigorous cooperation at various levels. The Asian neighbours' relationship has also focussed global attention in recent years on Asia's demographically dominant, major developing economies engaged in common concerns of poverty alleviation and national development.