News headlines in March 2013, page 6

QUITO, Mar 25 (IPS) - Ecuador hopes to move forward in the fight against violence against women by typifying femicide – gender-motivated killings – as a specific crime in the new penal code.

HARARE, Mar 25 (IPS) - Zimbabwe's rail transport system may be nearing extinction if the government does not take drastic action to solve the series of operational challenges that have made commuter and goods train services rare here.

NEW YORK, Mar 25 (IPS) - On Tuesday, leaders of five large emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, known as the BRICS – will gather in Durban, South Africa to discuss harnessing their formidable resources on behalf of faster development progress in Africa and elsewhere.

NEW DELHI, Mar 25 (IPS) - Bhagwat Singh Gohil frets for the future of his bountiful orchards in Mithi Virdi village in western Gujarat state's coastal district Bhavnagar. "After contending with droughts, rough seas and earthquakes we are staring at the possibility of a man-made disaster in the shape of a nuclear power park."

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Mar 24 (IPS) - For Egypt's commercial marine fishermen, making a living has never been more dangerous. Egyptian crews driven further afield in search of fish have faced pirate attacks, spent months in dingy foreign prisons, and come under fire from coast guard vessels. Dozens of fishermen have been held for ransom, abused by authorities, or shot and killed.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 24 (IPS) - Once dubbed "the most powerful woman in the world" by the London Times, Nafis Sadik learned at an early age that persistence leads to opportunities for change - and backlash from the Pope.

JERUSALEM, Mar 23 (IPS) - On his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, U.S. President Barack Obama laid out his vision for a revival of the long-stalled peace talks. Yet, it was clear from his statements that a settlement freeze is no longer an immediate requirement. And, he carefully avoided mentioning the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution, to the Israeli Prime Minister's delight.

WASHINGTON, Mar 23 (IPS) - The 35-member Organisation of American States (OAS) on Friday voted unanimously to approve a series of reforms to the Inter-American human rights system, but stepped back from proposals that had caused the greatest concern among civil society groups.

KARACHI, Mar 23 (IPS) - Fifty-six-year-old Perween Rehman had dedicated her life to humanitarian work. As head of the Orangi Pilot Project's Research and Training Institute (OPP-RTI), she spent years working in one of the largest informal settlements in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, helping to overhaul a primitive sanitation system that was expected to serve Orangi's 1.5 million inhabitants.

SRINAGAR, Mar 23 (IPS) - The girl band in Kashmir was silenced; the male bands are running into fears of another kind of silence.