News headlines in December 2018, page 9

VIENNA, Dec 07 (IPS) - Laura Gil, Africa Renewal Years back, nuclear energy was a fancy option limited to the industrialized world. In due course, nuclear could be an energy source for much of Africa, where only South Africa currently has a nuclear power plant.

YAOUNDÉ, Dec 06 (IPS) - Ten years ago when I set out on a career in media, my dream was to work for a TV station. The first prospective employer I came across invited me to an interview in his hotel room.

GHENT, Belguim, Dec 06 (IPS) - Unjustified extra charges on drinking water, exploitation of labourers in the countryside and uncontrolled property speculation. In Europe's periphery, citizens' initiatives show how all too prevalent modern-day ailments can be tackled successfully. More often than not with the help of artists.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 06 (IPS) - *Interview with Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. She was also the World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, leading the Bank Group's efforts to campaign for the Paris Agreement.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 06 (IPS) - In midst of the 24th United Nations climate change conference (COP24), many are trying to double down in the search for practical, actionable solutions to the climate crisis: land itself.

PANAMA CITY, Panama, Dec 06 (IPS) - Richard Barathe is Director, UNDP Regional Center for Latin America and the Caribbean

María is a 35-year old Salvadoran woman with three young children. Growing up, María knew her mother but never met her father. When María was six, she started working at the Central Market of San Salvador and at the age of 12 she was raped and became pregnant for the first time.

HUAYRAPATA, Peru, Dec 06 (IPS) - Thirty families from a rural community more than 4,300 meters above sea level will have warm houses that will protect them from the freezing temperatures that each year cause deaths and diseases among children and older adults in this region of the southeastern Peruvian Andes.

UXBRIDGE, Canada, Dec 05 (IPS) - Despite the deep, cold waters, newly discovered undersea mountains off Canada's west coast are home to a rich diversity of life.

STOCKHOLM, Dec 05 (IPS) - Maggie White is Senior Manager - International. Policies, Swedish Water House.

Most people will experience climate change in the form of water – higher frequency and intensity of floods and droughts, an increase in waterborne diseases, and overloaded sewage systems that are unable to cope with new demands.

ACCRA, Dec 05 (IPS) - IPS correspondent Jamila Akweley Okertchiri interviews DR. HANS FRIEDERICH, Director General of the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR)

The bamboo industry in China currently comprises up to 10 million people who make a living out of production of the grass. But while the Asian nation has significant resources of bamboo — three million hectares of plantation and three million hectares of natural forests — the continent of Africa is recorded to have an estimated three and a half million hectares of plantations, excluding conservation areas.