Finance : Little change in banking activity in third quarter of last year (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
International banking activity was little changed in the third quarter of 2016, with cross-border claims dropping slightly by $65 billion between end-June and end-September 2016 to reach $28.2 trillion, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has said.

Finance : Ecuador revives campaign for UN tax body (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The Republic of Ecuador, currently chair of the largest single coalition of developing countries at the United Nations, is reviving a longstanding campaign for the creation of an inter- governmental UN tax body and the elimination of tax havens and illicit financial flows.

Chile : Measures are proposed to address violence in Mapuche land (PRIV)
(IPS, Santiago)
The lands where the Mapuche indigenous people live in southern Chile are caught up in a spiral of violence, which a presidential commission is setting out to stop with 50 proposals, such as the constitutional recognition of indigenous people and their representation in parliament, in a first shift in the government=B4s treatment of native peoples.

Uganda : Farmer field schools help women lead on climate change (PRIV)
(IPS, Kampala)
Discussions around climate change have largely ignored how men and women are affected by climate change differently, instead choosing to highlight the extreme and unpredictable weather patterns or decreases in agricultural productivity.

Zambia : Armyworm outbreak - is climate change to blame? (PRIV)
(IPS, Pemba)
Surrender Hamufuba of Mwanamambo village in Pemba district recalls how he battled Armyworms in 2012. Fast-forward to 2016 and it is a similar story - another pest infestation on an even larger scale.