News headlines in 2015, page 63

JOHANNESBURG, Jun 12 (IPS) - Africa is known as the ‘paradox of plenty'. How can a continent so rich in natural resources be so poor?

MEDICILÂNDIA, Brazil, Jun 11 (IPS) - "Now we realise what a paradise we live in," said Darcirio Wronski, a leader of the organic cacao producers in the region where the Trans-Amazonian highway cuts across the Xingú river basin in northern Brazil.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 11 (IPS) - According to new data released by the World Bank Tuesday, investments in infrastructure in 139 emerging economies shot up to 107.5 billion dollars in 2014, with just five countries – Brazil, Colombia, India, Peru and Turkey – accounting for 73 percent of the total.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 11 (IPS) - As climate talks wind down in Bonn, Germany, observers of the negotiations say that despite some progress on a draft text, key issues remain unresolved and will carry over at least until the next round in August.

CAPE TOWN, Jun 11 (IPS) - Renewable energy is at the forefront of the changes sweeping Africa, and a "triple win" is within the region's grasp to increase agricultural productivity, improve resilience to climate change, and contribute to long-term reductions in dangerous carbon emissions.

LONDON, Jun 11 (IPS) - One of the promises made by the leaders of the world's seven richest nations when they met at Schloss Elmau in Germany earlier this week was an energy transition over the next decades, aiming to gradually phase out fossil fuel emissions this century to avoid the worst of climate change.

PRAIA/PARIS, Jun 11 (IPS) - Elida Almeida is Cape Verde's newest star, with thousands of fans in Africa and Europe. She sings, dances, plays the guitar, tells jokes, and makes her audiences laugh as well as groove. But behind it all, her music carries a serious message, about the importance of overcoming setbacks, avoiding unplanned pregnancy and following one's dreams.

TAIPEI, Jun 10 (IPS) - I live on a crowded, subtropical island ​nation ​in the Western Pacific, on the opposite side of the "Pacific Pond" from North America. And just south of Taiwan is the ​many-splendored island nation of the ​Philippines. We are neighbours. You can fly there in one hour, it's that close.

GEORGETOWN, Jun 10 (IPS) - Despite its highly variable climate, Guyana is the only Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country that enjoys food security. But rapid climate change could pose a challenge not only for Guyana, but for its Caribbean neigbours who depend on the South American country for much of their produce.

MAROUA, Cameroon, Jun 10 (IPS) - Twelve-year-old Bienvienue Taguieke was expected to obey her parents and marry a man 40 years her senior, but an association of women in Cameroon's Far North Region, where child marriages are rife, put a stop to it in a sign that women are starting to speaking out against the practice.