News headlines in 2014, page 44

PENANG, Sep 17 (IPS) - As the United Nations hosts a Climate Summit Sep. 23, the lingering question is whether the meeting of world leaders will wind up as another talk fest.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 17 (IPS) - On Sep. 23, I have invited world leaders from government, business, finance and civil society to a Climate Summit in New York so they can show the world how they will advance action on climate change and move towards a meaningful universal new agreement next year at the December climate negotiations in Paris.

WASHINGTON, Sep 17 (IPS) - U.S. combat troops may be deployed against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) if the strategy announced by President Barack Obama last week fails to make substantial progress against the radical Sunni group, Washington's top military officer warned here Tuesday.

SALELOLOGA, Samoa, Sep 17 (IPS) - Rural farming families in Samoa, a small island developing state in the central South Pacific Ocean, are reaping the rewards of supplying produce to the international organic market with the help of a local women's business organisation.

ROME, Sep 17 (IPS) - The number of hungry people in the world has declined by over 100 million in the last decade and over 200 million since 1990-92, but 805 million people around the world still go hungry every day, according to the latest UN estimates.

KABUL, Sep 16 (IPS) - Nasrin Mohamadi, a mother of four, has promised herself never to set foot in an Afghan public hospital again. After her first experience in a maternity ward, she has lost all faith in the state's healthcare system.

ROME, Sep 16 (IPS) - After a two-year referendum campaign, Scots are finally voting Thursday on whether their country will regain its independence after more than 300 years of "marriage" with England.

CODRINGTON, Barbuda, Sep 16 (IPS) - Local fishermen are singing the blues over a sweeping set of new ocean management regulations, signed into law by the Barbuda Council, to zone their coastal waters, strengthen fisheries management, and establish a network of marine sanctuaries.

PANAMA CITY, Sep 16 (IPS) - Panama is the first Latin American country to have adopted a national strategy to combat what is known as hidden hunger, with a plan aimed at eliminating micronutrient deficiencies among the most vulnerable segments of the population by means of biofortification of food crops.

ZARANJ, Afghanistan, Sep 16 (IPS) - "Of course I'm scared, but what else can I possibly do?" asks Ahmed, a middle-aged man seated on the carpeted floor of a hotel located on the southern edge of Afghanistan. He is bound for Iran, but he still has no idea when or how he'll cross the border.