News headlines in 2018, page 22

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 29 (IPS) - Osprey Orielle Lake is the founder and executive director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International and co-chair of International Advocacy for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature. She is the author of the award-winning book Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature.   Emily Arasim has served as WECAN International's media and communications coordinator and project assistant since 2014. She is an avid photojournalist, writer and farmer from New Mexico.The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which arrived thunderously in October, concludes that we have only 12 years remaining to transform our energy systems and ways of living to limit the worst effects of climate change.

OTTAWA, Canada, Oct 29 (IPS) - Canada, which has been described as one of the world's most progressive countries, has legitimized gay rights, vociferously advocated gender empowerment, offered strong support for abortion rights – and recently became the world's first major economy to legalize recreational marijuana.

CANBERRA, Oct 29 (IPS) - At the mouth of the Mataniko River, which winds its way through the vibrant coastal port town of Honiara to the sea, is the sprawling informal community of Lord Howe Settlement, which hugs the banks of the estuary and seafront. A walk from the nearby main road to the beach involves a meandering route through narrow alleys between crowded dwellings, homes to about 630 people, which are clustered among the trees and overhang the water.

LIMA-CAJAZEIRAS, Brazil, Oct 29 (IPS) - Young Peruvians plan to take advantage of the knowledge acquired in Brazil's semi-arid Northeast to bring water to segments of the population who suffer from shortages, after sharing experiences in that ecoregion on the multiple uses of renewable energies in communities affected by climatic phenomena.

KAMPALA, Oct 28 (IPS) - Wambi Michael speaks on INGVILD SOLVANG, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Global Lead on Gender and Social Development on safeguarding staff against sexual harassment and exploitation.How to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment in the aid sector is a question that has come to the forefront in the past year as allegations of sexual harassment and abuse have been made against both Oxfam and United Nations officials.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 (IPS) - Transgender and gender-diverse people are facing unprecedented levels of violence and discrimination around the world and states must act to ensure they are not left behind, said a United Nations rights expert.

BRASILIA, Oct 27 (IPS) - The author of this opinion piece is Brent Millikan, Geographer and Director of International Rivers - BrazilObserving recent political developments in the United States and Brazil, there are clearly similarities between the phenomena of 'Trumpism' and 'Bolsonarism' that do not seem to be a mere coincidence.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 26 (IPS) - Eleni Mourdoukoutas, Africa Renewal*

For years, Kenyans freely used and disposed of plastic bags. The bags were ubiquitous—in the markets, in the gutters and in the guts out of 3 out of every 10 animals taken to slaughter.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 26 (IPS) - Policies that allow for impunity, genocide, and apartheid are "intolerable" and make repatriation of Rohingya refugees impossible, say United Nations investigators.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct 26 (IPS) - The challenges for the success of Ayushman Bharat are more than just at the financial and infrastructural level

On September 24, the government launched the grand government-funded healthcare scheme, the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). While some see its ambitious goals as its main strength, others are sceptical given the inadequate funding for the scheme, the weak infrastructure of primary health care centres, and the time required for the goals to be accomplished. However, nobody disputes the imperative of an insurance scheme as vast as the PMJAY, since every year about 36 million families, or 14% of households, face a medical bill that is equal to the entire annual living expenses of one member of the family. This frequently pushes many families into penury.