UNITED NATIONS, Mar 16 (IPS) - UN officials and activists gathered to discuss the essential relationships between sustainable peace and gender equality during a two week-long UN meeting, begining March 13.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 16 (IPS) - Increasing travel restrictions have prevented delegates from attending this year's UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), according to several women's rights groups.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mar 16 (IPS) - As Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries continue to build on the momentum of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the 22^nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech in 2016, special emphasis is being placed on agriculture as outlined in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

ROME, Mar 15 (IPS) - The problem is rather complex and often not recognised: in one of the major regions of both origin and destination for migrants and refugees -- the Near East and North of Africa, 10 per cent of rural communities is made up of forcibly displaced persons, while more than 25 per cent of the young rural people plan to emigrate.

DAYLESFORD, Australia, Mar 15 (IPS) - A recent report from Equality Now titled 'The World's Shame: The Global Rape Epidemic' offered a series of recommendations for strengthened laws to deter and punish sexual violence against women and girls.

PENANG, Mar 15 (IPS) - Last year Uber started testing driver-less cars, with humans inside to make corrections in case something goes wrong. If the tests go well, Uber will presumably replace their present army of drivers with fleets of the new cars.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 14 (IPS) - A new UN initiative launched on Monday night calls the women's pay gap, which sees women paid 23 percent less than men globally: "the biggest robbery in history."

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 14 (IPS) - Recent disturbing trends in international finance have particularly problematic implications, especially for developing countries. The recently released United Nations report, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2017 (WESP 2017) is the only recent report of a multilateral inter-governmental organization to recognize these problems, especially as they are relevant to the financing requirements for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

JAKARTA, Mar 14 (IPS) - The Indonesian government is tapping children as advocates against child marriage in this Southeast Asian country where over 340,000 girls get married before they reach 18 years old every year.

ALICANTE, Spain, Mar 14 (IPS) - Wikipedia has much to offer under "aging". Highly recommended are the 10 points by the world's oldest living man, 114, Walter Breuning.