News headlines in March 2014, page 6

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 20 (IPS) - -- International Women's Day and the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) are overlooking a critical trend: while girls and women are making notable gains, boys and men are falling behind.

ADDIS ABABA, Mar 20 (IPS) - Female fashion designers are drawing on Ethiopia's rich cultural heritage and adding a modern twist to find success at home and increasingly impress abroad. 

GENEVA, Mar 20 (IPS) - As many as 700 people were sentenced to death in Iran last year, according to UN estimates. Most were charged with drug-related crimes and belonged to ethnic minorities, new studies show.

BONN, Mar 20 (IPS) - Of the endangered species listed for protection under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) a great many are forest dwellers – West African elephants, gorillas, bats and many birds.  

GENEVA, Mar 20 (IPS) - The Bali Package, approved on Dec. 7 by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) members, was a historic achievement, representing a significant boost for trade, growth and development around the world. But its true significance lies in what it allows us to do next to conclude the Doha Development Agenda.

MOSCOW, Mar 20 (IPS) - As the West imposes what have been called the most comprehensive sanctions on Russia since the end of the Cold War, many ordinary Russians say they have no fear of any economic measures the U.S. or the EU may take against their country.

ABIDJAN, Mar 19 (IPS) - In West Africa, the Malian and Ivorian political crises have resulted in the biggest number of refugees in the region. But brewing insecurity could mean that they will be unable to return home any time soon as armed groups remain a threat to West Africa.

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine, Mar 19 (IPS) - Crimean officials have reported that roughly 97 percent of Crimeans voted for independence from Ukraine on Sunday, with a turnout of about 80 percent. Yet the security situation in Crimea has led many to question how free the vote really was.

CÓRDOBA, Argentina, Mar 19 (IPS) - Just being young, dark-skinned, poor, and wearing a hood or cap exposes you to arrest as a suspected offender in the Argentine province of Córdoba. Arbitrary police detentions are based on the misdemeanour of "loitering", meant to prevent crime but in fact a violation of constitutional rights.

WASHINGTON, Mar 19 (IPS) - In an unusual intervention in policy debates, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) warned Tuesday that that world was "at risk of pushing our climate system toward abrupt, unpredictable, and potentially irreversible changes with highly damaging impacts."