News headlines in October 2019

LAGOS, Nigeria, Oct 31 (IPS) - This is part of a series of features from across the globe on human trafficking. IPS coverage is supported by the Riana Group."Human trafficking is when someone is taken from Nigeria to another country to be a prostitute. Or, to do other illegal jobs that are not good for humanity," said Kingsley Chidiebere, a commercial motorcycle rider in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 31 (IPS) - The UN Climate Action Summit 2019, which took place in the days leading up to the 74th UN General Assembly, delivered new pathways and practical actions for governments and private sector to intensify climate action.

ROME, Oct 31 (IPS) - Barely a week passes without alarming news of the most recent scientific research into the global climate crisis compounding a growing sense of urgency, particularly the impact on small island states from rising sea levels and extreme weather.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 31 (IPS) - Over half of the world's population now live in cities, with numbers expected to double by 2050, but while urbanization poses serious challenges, cities can also be powerhouses for sustainable development; something the UN is spotlighting on World Cities Daymarked 31 October. 

VILLA DE ZAACHILA, Mexico, Oct 30 (IPS) - The sun's rays are also used to cook food and thus replace the burning of firewood and gas, improve the health of local residents and fuel the energy transition towards the use of renewable sources - the objectives of an enterprise in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

WASHINGTON DC, Oct 30 (IPS) - Leading economic indicators have slowed or reversed. Criticisms of official statistics are mounting. But the IMF and World Bank continue to forecast 6-percent growth by simple extrapolation.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30 (IPS) - The crème de la crème of Hollywood was in Marrakech, Morocco, for the wedding of British movie star Idris Elba in April this year. Elba tied the knot with his Canadian model girlfriend, former Miss Vancouver Sabrina Dhowre, at the Ksar Char-Bagh hotel, an exquisite Alhambra-style hotel.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 29 (IPS) - The annual rhythm of the United Nations year peaks with the General Assembly in September. One month on, it's a good time to reflect on this year's gathering which was remarkable for its focus on fighting climate change, the transforming effect of one 16 year old girl telling it like it is, and the way people heard her words in a way they haven't heard before.

SHILLONG, India, Oct 29 (IPS) - The sun has barely risen when Phlida Kharshala shakes her 8-year-old grandson awake. He hoists an empty cone-shaped bamboo basket on his back, sets the woven strap flat across his forehead and off they go into the wilderness.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 29 (IPS) - A Republican US Senator of a bygone era was once quoted as saying "a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money."