News headlines in October 2017, page 6

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - This month the world marks two key International Days: for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October and for Disaster Reduction, four days earlier. It is no coincidence that they are profoundly connected.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - Civil society groups have called on the United States to reverse its decision to withdraw from a UN body, citing concerns for press freedom and journalists' safety.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - This year marks the 25th anniversary of the declaration of 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty by the United Nations General Assembly. Under the theme "Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and inclusive societies," this year's commemoration reminds us of the importance of inequality, dignity, solidarity and equal voice in the fight to end poverty everywhere.

MEDAN, Indonesia, Oct 17 (IPS) - Repeated volcanic eruptions of Mount Sinabung since 2010 have displaced thousands of people, leaving villages around the mountain deserted, with volcanic ash, lava and mud covering the soil, trees and empty houses.

GENEVA, Oct 17 (IPS) - On the occasion of the 2017 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue H. E. Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim observed that the unprecedented rise of violence and insecurity in the Arab region combined, breed poverty and societal decline.

STOCKHOLM, Oct 17 (IPS) - "Too many things happened. The police called me to the station almost every day. My whole working day was spent defending myself. I had no time to write articles. Then came the attempted coup d'etat and my name was on a list kept by the national security service. I was forced to flee the country."

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 17 (IPS) - Poverty is a blight, and one that disproportionately affects sub-Saharan Africa. It is a vast and complex issue whose tentacles reach into many areas, including climate change, sustainable development and–crucially–global security. The link between poverty and violent extremism is compelling, and means that if we want to address extremism, we must fight inequality too.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16 (IPS) - One drizzly morning in some lush green tea plantations in Rwanda, I was on my way to visit a local community, to assess nutrition indicators among women and children. We stopped in a green blanket of tea fields and spoke to one young tea picker, I'll call her Mary, who had a baby strapped to her back.

SANTIAGO, Oct 16 (IPS) - On September 15, we announced the "State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" report, published in collaboration with five United Nations organisations, including FAO. The 144-page study shows numerous results and analyses of various dimensions and indicators, but the message is the same: after a long downward trend in the world's hunger levels, we are now taking a step backwards.

ROME, Oct 16 (IPS) - On this International Day of Rural Women, the world celebrates women and girls in rural areas and the critical role they play in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.