WASHINGTON DC, Apr 06 (IPS) - Violent extremism is the topic du jour, as government officials are busy developing plans of action on "preventing or countering violent extremism" (P/CVE). In these plans there is dutiful reference to engaging "women". The more progressive mention gender sensitivity.

CASABLANCA, Morocco, Apr 06 (IPS) - This is not a minor issue. Chickpea, faba bean, lentil, common bean, field pea, mung bean, black gram, pigeon pea, cowpea, and grass pea are the major pulse crops produced globally. And these especially play an important role in food and nutritional security and sustainable agricultural production systems in the drylands, which cover over 40 per cent of the world's land area and are home to approximately 2.5 billion people.

NEW DELHI, Apr 06 (IPS) - It was in 2001 that the Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs, Jim O'Neill, coined the acronym, BRICs, to denote the special category of large emerging economies, which he predicted were destined to transform the structure of the global economy, through sustained growth in the twenty first century. According to him, the BRICs, namely, Brazil, Russia, India and China, which at the turn of the century accounted for 25% of global Gross domestic product (GDP), could double their share to 50%.

BEIRA, Mozambique, Apr 06 (IPS) - Mozambique's second largest city, Beira, is heading for climate change-induced disaster. Cyclones, floods, storm surges and the rising sea level are threatening to annihilate this important Indian Ocean coastal city; a city which is strategic for landlocked countries like Zimbabwe and Zambia.

JOHANNESBURG, Apr 05 (IPS) - South Africa celebrated human rights month this March with President Zuma recalling the "heroism of our people who stood up for their rights." However, this same month which commemorates the sacrifices of those who took part in the struggle against apartheid and those who died in the Sharpeville Massacre of 21 March 1960 was not a happy one for today's civil society activists and organisations engaged in defending human rights. Two shocking incidents raise troubling questions for the future of civil society in the country.

NEW DELHI, India, Apr 05 (IPS) - Women comprise nearly half of India's 1.2 billion population, yet gender bias and patriarchal mindsets continue to plague them well into the 21st century. Even holy places -- temples and mosques -- it seems aren't free from discriminating against the fair sex.

MANAGUA, Apr 05 (IPS) - A three-year drought, added to massive deforestation in the past few decades, has dried up most of Nicaragua's water sources and has led to an increasingly severe water supply crisis.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 04 (IPS) - Land mines are not the only type of explosive devices that families returning home after conflicts risk stumbling across, representatives from the UN's Mine Action Service (UNMAS) told journalists here Monday.

NEW YORK, Apr 04 (IPS) - At the invitation of President Obama, on April 1 more than 50 leaders of countries, including all countries possessing nuclear arsenals, except Russia and North Korea, gathered in Washington for the fourth Nuclear Security Summit.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Apr 04 (IPS) - When Africa's oldest protected marine area, Tsitsikamma -- the largest in the world, incorporating 80 km of rocky coastline, bustling with marine life, much of it endangered -- was opened as a pilot for public fishing on December 15, 2015, there was a big outcry.