News headlines in 2018, page 16

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 21 (IPS) - A discussion held earlier this week at the ongoing Convention of Biodiversity's (CBD) Conference of Parties in Egypt highlighted that grants to curb deforestation in the Amazon are not enough if they are accompanied with investments that increase the loss of biodiversity.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 21 (IPS) - "We can't work just to pay the electric bill," complained José Hilario dos Santos, president of the Residents Association of Morro de Santa Marta, a favela or shantytown embedded in Botafogo, a traditional middle-class neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro.

NEW CALEDONIA, Nov 20 (IPS) - Cameron Diver is the Deputy Director-General of the Pacific Community (SPC).

We live on a "blue planet" where water covers around 75 percent of the Earth's surface. Without water we would simply not survive as a species. As we strive to find pathways to and take action for inclusive sustainable development, we must ensure that our ocean, our seas, rivers, lakes, waterways and wetlands, together with their invaluable biodiversity, are preserved, sustainably used and integrated into development programming.

WINDSOR, England, Nov 20 (IPS) - Dr Cyrus Rustomjee, is a senior fellow with Global Economy Programme, Centre for International Governance Innovation; and is managing director of CETAWorld, an independent consulting practice.

The blue economy—a concept and economic model that balances economic development with equity and environmental protection, and one that uses marine resources to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own—is not a new idea.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 20 (IPS) - Wendell C Balderas is Media and Communications Manager, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA)Thailand is set to become the first Asian country to introduce standardized packaging of tobacco. On 14 November 2018, the Thai National Committee on Tobacco Control approved the Ministry of Health Regulation that requires cigarettes in Thailand to be sold in packaging stripped of the fancy, colorful and unique cigarette branding.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 19 (IPS) - Rangita de Silva de Alwis* is Associate Dean of International Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania Law School & Special Adviser to the President of Wellesley College on Women's Leadership.

"From the tuk tuk drivers in Cambodia… to the school children in South Africa, women and men and girls and boys are taking a stand to prevent violence against women," says Executive Director of UN Women and Under Secretary General Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

LONDON, Nov 19 (IPS) - New York Times bestselling author Jeetendr Sehdev believes that chief marketing officers need to start thinking differently about the younger generations they're struggling to engage with.

Ahead of his keynote, ‘Human 2.0: Sacrifice Everything If You Believe In Something', at The Future of Marketing on November 22, Sehdev chats to The Drum about his book ‘The Kim Kardashian Principle', how the Nike Colin Kaepernick campaign implemented his rules to create their success and why brands should embrace the hate from social media.

KISUMU/VIHIGA, Kenya, Nov 19 (IPS) - Despite the humid late October midday weather in Kisumu County near the shores of Lake Victoria, Jane Kisia is busy walking around her fish ponds feeding her fish. As she rhythmically throws handfuls of pellets into the ponds, located within her homestead, the fish ravenously gobble them up.

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (IPS) - Anna Shen is an international consultant for the United Nations, an entrepreneur, and advisor to start ups around the world.

Global poverty is undoubtedly the most critical economic and moral challenge of the 21st century. While economists debate how to raise up the world's poorest – the more than 800 million people living on less than US$1.25 a day.-- entrepreneurs are spurring innovation and growth in emerging markets.

Nov 19 (IPS) - Parents from low-income families often struggle to find the time to support their children, are alienated from educational systems themselves, and lack access to the networks that middle- and higher-income parents have.Neha is a first-generation learner. Her mother, Hema, a maid, wants her only daughter to grow up to become a government servant. This, according to her, will give her family security, stable water and electricity connections, and also an attached toilet, apart from a better living environment.