News headlines in March 2015, page 9

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 16 (IPS) - 2015 marks anniversaries for two significant commitments made to increasing women's participation at peace tables.

BALI, Indonesia, Mar 16 (IPS) - Over the past three decades, 50 percent of the 544,150 square kilometres that comprise Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, has been taken over by the palm oil industry.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 16 (IPS) - The ongoing conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen have helped spiral arms sales upwards to the Middle East, according to a study released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

NEW YORK, Mar 16 (IPS) - It is estimated that women account for two-thirds of the 1.4 billion people currently living in extreme poverty. They also make up 60 per cent of the world's 572 million working poor.

SENDAI, Japan, Mar 16 (IPS) - Cyclone Pam has not only caused unprecedented damages to the Pacific island of Vanuatu but also lent urgency to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's plea that disaster risk reduction is in "everybody's interest".

MANILA, Mar 15 (IPS) - Filipino Catholic priest and activist Reverend Father Robert Reyes, dubbed by media as the "running priest", joined a protest of environmental and public health activists last week by running along the streets of the Makati Business District, the Philippines' financial capital, to urge the government to immediately re-export the 50 Canadian containers filled with hazardous wastes that have been in the Port of Manila for 600 days now.

BRATISLAVA, Mar 15 (IPS) - Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups in Central and Eastern Europe, which still faced mixed prospects as they fight for rights and acceptance, are now taking some heart from the "failure" of a referendum in Slovakia, a member of the European Union.

ROME, Mar 14 (IPS) - Rural women make major contributions to rural economies by producing and processing food, feeding and caring for families, generating income and contributing to the overall well-being of their households – but, in many countries, they face discrimination in access to agricultural assets, education, healthcare and employment, among others, preventing them from fully enjoying their basic rights.

MANAGUA, Mar 14 (IPS) - Nicaragua, the second-poorest country in the Americas, is tapping into its depleted coffers to upgrade its ageing military fleet with costly new equipment from Russia – a move that has sparked controversy at home and concern among the country's Central American neighbours.