Morning Mail: International Women's Day #IWD2015, Sydney Mardi Gras, MH370 anniversary

ardian Australia's Morning Mail Monday 9 March 2015 g
International Women's Day
To anyone who thinks there's no need for International Women's Day, what world do you live in? We have made great strides but there's a long way to go - women continue to be hit hardest by financial crises. But women's equality isn't a zero sum game, write Melanne Verveer and Mayesha Alam, it's vital for peace and prosperity. “Equality is a profoundly conservative aim and it won’t achieve anything": Germaine Greer, in a panel discussion at the Sydney Opera House yesterday, said feminism is ageist and the Abbott government's “attacks” on pensioners make aged care one of the most pressing feminist issues facing Australia today. For International Women's Day we listed 10 inspirational feminists. And no, not all of them are women. These are the 10 best and worst countries for female public leaders – displayed in charts - and a UN report warns the income of female workers across the world will lag behind men’s for another 70 yearsif the gender pay gap continues to reduce at the present painfully slow rate. We have a range of International Women's Day image galleries: the day observed from Nepal to Mexico City; a history of women in science, and;Australian women in uniform - then and now. Follow all our #IWD2015 coverage on the tag page here.
Sydney Mardi Gras
More than 10,000 people took part in the 37th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade on Saturday night, kicked off by the Dykes on Bykes convoy and a lead float celebrating Indigenous Australians and the historic Freedom Rides 50 years ago. See our gallery - Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2015 – in pictures. Long before she knew she had a gay son, Christine Milne was campaigning for equal rights with Bob Brown and Michael Kirby. Now, Mardi Gras isn't just a night out for the Greens leader. It's personal. Did you see any of our culture team's top picks from the bumper celebration program?
Australian news and politics
Everything I do, I do it for you – Tony Abbott made a weekend pitch to voters via YouTube to talk up his government’s first 18 months in office, and to let Australia know he's listening Lawyers for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have welcomed indications Jakarta will respect the ongoing legal appeals of several of the 10 prisoners Indonesia is preparing to execute. Tony Abbott says he has asked to speak to his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, after the transfer of Chan and Sukumaran, but he is still waiting for a “final call” with Indonesia’s president. Prince Charles and Prince Harry have been deputised to attend the Anzac centenary commemorations at Gallipoli. High-risk inmates charged with terror offences will be banned from speaking Arabic during visits and phone calls in the super-maximum prison unit at NSW’s Goulburn jail, while two teenage brothers have been stopped at Sydney airport under suspicion of travelling to the Middle East to join extremist groups. BRW's list of the richest self-made women in Australia has a couple of surprises this year,including personal trainer Michelle Bridges.
Around the world
Moscow authorities have detained five men, and charged two of them, with involvement in themurder of Kremlin critic and opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. Authorities say one of the men charged served in a police unit in Chechnya, and the three not yet charged are being treated as suspects. Russia’s most prominent opposition politician,Alexei Navalny, was released from prison on Friday, and vowed that the murder of his ally Boris Nemtsov during his 15-day sentence had not intimidated him. Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to Isis, according to a video posted online after female suicide bombers killed at least 50 in coordinated attacks A report published on the first anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has revealed nothing unusual except that locator beacon battery had already expired before MH370 vanished. Malaysia has vowed to continue the search, as Tony Abbott says the search "can't go on forever", but still has a long way to go before Australia thinks about calling it off. Greek-Australian finance minister Yanis Varoufakis – who has become a media phenomenon since Greece’s radical government came to power – has been warned by his own prime minister to talk less and do more.
One last thing
It’s easy to mock the beards, tattoos and fixed-wheel bicycles, but can hipsters and the 'flat white economy' save the world? Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I've missed, let me know on Twitter @earleyedition.