News headlines in May 2018

ROME, May 31 (IPS) - On June 5th, World Environment Day will be hosted in India under the banner of "Beat Plastic Pollution," aiming to raise awareness and civic engagement alongside creating a global movement to reduce the amount of plastic in the environment.

BUENOS AIRES, May 31 (IPS) - With 80 percent of the population living in urban areas and a vehicle fleet that is growing at the fastest rate in the world, Latin America has the conditions to begin the transition to electric mobility - but public policies are not, at least for now, up to the task.

UNITED NATIONS, May 31 (IPS) - António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in an address to the UN General Assembly, on "Repositioning the UN Development System"I just arrived this morning from Mali – but I wanted to be here personally to thank you for your leadership, engagement and constructive spirit. Allow me to pay a special tribute to the co-facilitators Sabri Boukadoum, Permanent Representative of Algeria, and Ib Petersen, Permanent Representative of Denmark.

UNITED NATIONS, May 31 (IPS) - The battle between two candidates for the presidency of the 193-member General Assembly next week harks back to the day when the president of the highest policy making body at the United Nations was elected on the luck of a draw --following a dead heat.

MEXICO CITY, May 30 (IPS) - Agronomist Irene Salvador decided to learn the process of making corn tortillas in order to preserve and promote this traditional staple food in the Mexican diet, which has lost its presence and nutritional quality.

NEW ORLEANS, United States, May 29 (IPS) - Danielle Nierenberg is Founder and President of Food Tank. Emily Payne is a food and agriculture writer based in New YorkMany factors contribute to the cost of a tomato. For example, what inputs were used (water, soil, fertilizer, pesticides, as well as machinery and/or labor) to grow it? What kind of energy and materials were used to process and package it? Or how much did transportation cost to get it to the shelf?

UNITED NATIONS, May 29 (IPS) - Kacie Candela, PassBlue*From the start, it was a closely watched contest pitting Germany, Belgium and Israel against one another for their regional bloc's two seats in the next term on the United Nations Security Council. Israel has never held a seat on the Council, and as it celebrates its 70-year membership in the UN in 2018, the country was aiming high for the June 8 election.

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 29 (IPS) - Amb. Macharia Kamau is the Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya. Siddharth Chatterjee is the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya. In April 2018, Commonwealth leaders met in a retreat at a royal residence in the English county of Berkshire and agreed on strategies to deepen trade in their 53-member organisation, improve security, tackle climate change, and work togetherfor the betterment of the lives of the people of the Commonwealth.

BULAWAYO, May 29 (IPS) - Zimbabwe goes to the polls in July for the first general election since the departure of Robert Mugabe, and the jockeying over who will represent the country's major political parties is in full throttle.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 28 (IPS) - The United Nations is continuing to fight a relentless battle to eradicate extreme hunger – particularly in the world's poorest nations—by 2030.