News headlines in October 2018, page 6

MUMBAI, India, Oct 16 (IPS) - Shekhar Kapur* is director, actor and producer, who rose to international prominence with the 1998 Bollywood movie, Bandit Queen. Water is becoming a private privilege rather than a community resource. It is also one of the world's most precious resources. As vital to the survival of the human species as the air that we breathe.

SOUTH CAROLINA, USA, Oct 16 (IPS) - George C. Greene, IV is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Water Mission*, a nonprofit Christian engineering organization that designs, builds, and implements safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions for people in developing countries and disaster areasOn Friday, September 28, the world first heard the devastating news out of Indonesia that a 7.5 magnitude earthquake had struck the island of Sulawesi. The quake caused substantial soil liquefaction — where the earth literally turned to liquid and started to flow — with entire homes sinking into the ground. It also triggered a tsunami, confirmed to be as high as 23 feet, that devastated the coastal areas.

ROME, Oct 15 (IPS) - This article is part of a series of opinion pieces to mark World Food Day October 16   José Graziano da Silva is Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsJust three years ago, in September 2015, all United Nations Member States approved the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The eradication of hunger and all forms of malnutrition (Sustainable Development Goal number 2) was defined by world leaders as a cardinal objective of the Agenda, a sine qua non condition for a safer, fairer and more peaceful world.

GENEVA, Oct 15 (IPS) - This article is part of a series of opinion pieces to mark World Food Day October 16   Herve Verhoosel is Senior Spokesperson at the UN World Food Programme (WFP) How much would you expect to pay for the most basic plate of food? The kind of thing you might whip up at home – nothing fancy, just enough to fill you up and meet a third of today's calorie needs. A soup, maybe, or a simple stew – some beans or lentils, a handful of rice, bread, or corn?

Oct 15 (IPS) - India recently launched a sex offender registry to deter sex offenders from perpetrating crimes against women and children by indicating that the government is keeping track of them. The personal details of 440,000 sex offenders who have been convicted for various crimes like "eve-teasing", child sexual abuse, rape and gang rape will be registered in this database and accessible to law enforcement.

WASHINGTON DC, Oct 15 (IPS) - Philippe Le Houérou is President, International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank affiliateThe International Finance Corporation is rapidly greening its portfolio.

This past fiscal year, 36 percent of our own accounts and mobilization supported climate-smart projects — up from 12 percent a decade ago. Since May, we have been applying a carbon price to all project finance investments in the cement, chemicals, and thermal power sectors, at $40-80 per metric ton.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 15 (IPS) - While it can be a challenging issue, migration must be seen as an opportunity and be met with sound, coherent policies that neither stem nor promote the phenomenon.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 (IPS) - Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya.By 2050 Africa will have 830 million young people. Many countries in the global south, India included are seeing a youth(men and women) bulge. To reap a demographic dividend countries in the global south need to share and exchange knowledge to leapfrog socio-economic transformation.

ROME, Oct 15 (IPS) - According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 820 million people are currently suffering from chronic undernourishment across the globe. The reasons for the surge are complex, but are attributed to increasing conflict, economic slowdowns and the rise in extreme weather events related to climate change.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 15 (IPS) - As Ethiopia undergoes a period of unprecedented change and reform, the Global Green Growth Institute(GGGI) is partnering with the Ethiopian government to try and ensure this vital period of transition includes the country embracing sustainable growth and avoiding the environmental mistakes made by Western nations.