News headlines in 2018, page 46

TEGUCIGALPA, Aug 04 (IPS) - A series of laws that came into force in the last five years and the petition for amparo by 35 journalists and 22 social communicators against the government's "Secrecy Law" give an idea of the atmosphere in Honduras with regard to freedom of expression.

GENEVA / WASHINGTON, Aug 03 (IPS) - David Kaye is the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression for the United Nations and Edison Lanza is Special Rapporteur for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the free press are strategic, designed to undermine confidence in reporting and raise doubts about verifiable facts.

The President has labelled the media as being the "enemy of the American people" "very dishonest" or "fake news," and accused the press of "distorting democracy" or spreading "conspiracy theories and blind hatred".

STOCKHOLM, Aug 03 (IPS) - Stefan Ingves is the governor of Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, described as the world's oldest central bank.

Sweden is rapidly moving away from cash. Demand for cash has dropped by more than 50 percent over the past decade as a growing number of people rely on debit cards or a mobile phone application, Swish, which enables real-time payments between individuals.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 03 (IPS) - Sustainability, stability, and security—the three overlapping issues are an increasing concern among many especially in Africa where land degradation is displacing citizens and livelihoods.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Aug 02 (IPS) - Hardly a day goes by in the development world without hearing the term "platform". Like in the business world, it's becoming harder for any development organization to provide a single service or product that will make broad impact. Airbnb doesn't build homes, it creates a network that brings together host and guests.

ROME, Aug 02 (IPS) - Thousands of migrant minors placed in reception facilities upon arrival in Italy, as a first step in identification and later relocation into other structures for asylum seekers, are untraceable and feared trafficked.

POMBAL, Brazil, Aug 02 (IPS) - "The sun which used to torment us now blesses us," said one of the 19 women who run the Community Bakery of Varzea Comprida dos Oliveiras, a settlement in the rural area of Pombal, a municipality of the state of Paraiba, in Brazil's semi-arid Northeast.

WASHINGTON DC, Aug 01 (IPS) - Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association.

Rhetoric escalated between the United States and Iran when U.S. President Donald Trump irresponsibly tweeted July 22 that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani must "NEVER EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN" or else suffer consequences the likes of which "FEW HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

WASHINGTON, Aug 01 (IPS) - The world's food systems face two immense challenges today. One, to produce enough food to nourish a global population of seven billion people without harming the environment. Two, to make sure food systems deliver nutrition to everyone, particularly the world's poorest, many of whom suffer from chronic under-nutrition.

BANGKOK, Aug 01 (IPS) - As preparations are underway for an important formal discussion between countries committed to the Paris Agreement; Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, has been determining its progress towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 to 25 percent by 2030. But experts have warned against merely emphasising policies to affect real changes.