News headlines in 2018, page 35

LONDON, Sep 18 (IPS) - Carl Soderbergh is Director of Policy & Communications, Minority Rights Group InternationalMigration has become a focus of debate in recent years. From United States President Donald Trump's vehemently anti-migrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric to Denmark's new ‘ghetto laws', the language has become increasingly heated.

ILLINOIS, United States, Sep 18 (IPS) - Esther Ngumbi is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University in Alabama. She was the 2015 Clinton Global University (CGI U) Mentor for Agriculture and 2015 New Voices Fellow at the Aspen Institute.Recently, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva urged countries, scientists, policymakers and stakeholders invested in building an equitable, sustainable, and thriving planet to pay attention to the soil. He further noted that the future of the planet depends on how healthy the soils of today are.

SYDNEY & KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 18 (IPS) - George Soros, Bill Gates and other pundits have been predicting another financial crisis. In their recent book, Revolution Required: The Ticking Bombs of the G7 ModelPeter Dittus and Herve Hamoun, former senior officials of the Bank of International Settlements, warned of ‘ticking time bombs' in the global financial system waiting to explode, mainly due to the policies of major developed countries.

MANAGUA, Sep 17 (IPS) - Five months after the outbreak of mass protests in Nicaragua, in addition to the more than 300 deaths, the crisis has had visible consequences in terms of increased poverty and migration, as well as the international isolation of the government and a wave of repression that continues unabated.

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Sep 17 (IPS) - Africa needs strong political commitment to accelerate the transformation of its agriculture sector. 

HAVANA, Sep 15 (IPS) - If you enjoy a good daily shower and water comes out every time you turn on the taps in your home, you should feel privileged. There are places in the world where this vital resource for life is becoming scarcer by the day and the forecasts for the future are grim.

MAPUTO, Sep 14 (IPS) - Systemic inequalities based on gender, race, income and geography are mirrored in the digital realm and leave many women, especially the poor and the rural, trailing behind Africa's tech transformation.

WALLINGFORD, CT, US, Sep 14 (IPS) - Emily Walsh is the Community Outreach Director with the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance.

Earlier this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States (EPA) issued a Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) on asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral that is also a known carcinogen. Asbestos is the only definitive cause of mesothelioma, a cancer which affects the linings of internal organs.

OSLO, Norway, Sep 14 (IPS) - Jan Egeland is Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. He co-organized the secret talks between Israel and Palestine that led to the historic 1993 Oslo Accords. Twenty-five years ago, on 13 September 1993, I sat on the White House lawn to witness the landmark signing of the Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Diplomats around me gasped as Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands with former foe, Chairman Yasser Arafat. But for some of us present, the handshake came as no surprise.

MAPUTO, Sep 14 (IPS) - 'Think Bigger', urge the colourful posters on the walls of Idearioan innovation hub in Chamanculo, a modest neighbourhood in Maputo, Mozambique's capital. The message is right on target for the new female trainees, eager eyes glued to laptop screens as they learn internet and computer skills.