News headlines in March 2018

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Mar 30 (IPS) - Devi Asmarani is Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Jakarta-based feminist webmagazine Magdalene.More than a century has passed since Putri Mardika, Indonesia's first ever women's organization, was established but challenges persist in the efforts to influence national politics to bring progress to all women.

WASHINGTON DC, Mar 30 (IPS) - Daryl G. Kimball is Executive Director, Arms Control Association*One year into the unorthodox presidency of Donald Trump, the United States faces an array of complex and dangerous foreign policy challenges that require principled leadership, pragmatism, patience, and smart diplomacy.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 30 (IPS) - Over the last few months, the United States' rhetoric on the Iran nuclear agreement has been ambiguous, creating an uncertain environment for investors. With John Bolton, President Donald Trump has now appointed a national security adviser who is actively seeking to leave the Iran deal.

DAKAR, Mar 29 (IPS) - Bouba Diop looks in delight at his uncle's newly refurbished food canteen in the poor township of Keur Massar on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital Dakar.

DHAKA, Mar 29 (IPS) - Saima W. Hossain, a licensed school psychologist, is the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Autism in the South East Asia Region, Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Autism and NDDs in Bangladesh, and Chairperson of Shuchona FoundationShuchona Foundation is a not-for-profit policy advocacy, research, and capacity-building organization specializing in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and mental health. It is the culmination of the efforts to coordinate and mainstream policies and programs for mental health and NDD's that began with the launch of the of the GAPH-Bangladesh in 2011.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 29 (IPS) - Luca Renda is Senior Strategic Advisor for the UN Development Programme's Regional Bureau for Latin America and the CaribbeanSix months ago, on 18 September 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Maria struck Dominica wreaking unimaginable disaster. Thirty-one people died, thirty-three more remain missing. Roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and over 40 percent of homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

VANCOUVER, Canada, Mar 29 (IPS) - Kaya Dorey* is one of six United Nations Environment Young Champions of the EarthFashion is meant to be trendy. It's fast-paced: in one season, out the next. If you want to keep up, you had better update your wardrobe - that top you bought last summer is already outdated. While things may have been built to last a life-time a generation ago, today they don't even last a year.

ROME, Mar 28 (IPS) - Austism Spectrum Disorder is a name that covers a range of similar disorders affecting a person's interaction, communication and behaviour.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 28 (IPS) - Largely driven by conflict, the number of hungry people has dramatically increased around the world, reversing decades of progress, according to a new report.

NEW YORK, Mar 28 (IPS) - US Defense Secretary James Mattis dropped a political bombshell last week when he said the U.S. has no evidence to confirm reports that the Syrian government had used the deadly chemical sarin on its citizens.