Global Issues

KABUL, March 12 (IPS) - In the bone-chilling Afghanistan winter, a woman was dragged into a public square early this year and publicly lashed for a crime she may or not have committed. According to the ruling handed by the Taliban Supreme Court, the woman and the male culprit who was jointly accused of extra-marital affair received 30 lashes each and a one-year suspended prison sentence. The sentence was carried out in the presence of several local officials and residents in a province whose name is left out to protect the victim. Read the full story, “Public Flogging in Afghanistan Strips Women of Dignity”, on globalissues.org →

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan & SHRINGAR, India, March 12 (IPS) - Global wildlife is facing a deepening crisis as the latest United Nations assessment warns that nearly half of the world’s migratory species are in decline due to human activity, habitat destruction, and climate change. Read the full story, “One in Four Migratory Species Under Threat, But Conservation Efforts Can Reap Rewards”, on globalissues.org →

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 12 (IPS) - The US/Israeli war on Iran might be like messing with a hornets’ nest, spreading fear and chaos all around. The Israeli government claimed that the war was a “preventive” measure to address an immediate threat of Iran constructing a nuclear bomb. However, this war has obviously been meticulously planned over a long period of time and it now seemed to be the right time to put this plan into action. Read the full story, “The Implausible Regime Change in Iran and How the War Affects the World”, on globalissues.org →

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, USA, March 12 (IPS) - As birthrates continue to decline in many industrialized countries, anxious governments are running out of schemes to keep women procreating. Read the full story, “The Most Appropriate Response to Falling Birthrates? Embrace Them”, on globalissues.org →

The crisis in the Middle East continues to reverberate across the region and beyond. Oil prices have climbed to around $100 a barrel as attacks on shipping and energy infrastructure disrupt key supply routes. Strikes and counterstrikes between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran continue, while ships have reportedly been hit in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, raising fears of wider shocks to global markets. Meanwhile, UN agencies are expanding humanitarian relief efforts as displacement rises and civilian needs grow across the region. Stay with us for live updates from across the UN system. App users can follow coverage here.Read the full story, “MIDDLE EAST LIVE 12 March: Shipping attacks, rising oil prices and widening humanitarian crisis”, on globalissues.org →

Lebanon is facing a “perfect storm of unpredictable challenges” as conflict, mass displacement and dwindling humanitarian resources converge, the UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, has warned.Read the full story, “‘Perfect storm’: Lebanon crisis deepens as civilians bear the brunt”, on globalissues.org →

Scores of Ukrainian children are still missing after being deported far and wide across Russia and occupied territories while their families continue to search for them, human rights investigators said on Thursday.Read the full story, “Russia deportation of Ukraine children is crime against humanity: independent probe”, on globalissues.org →

The UN chief on Thursday urged all combatants to cease hostilities in the Middle East, uphold international law, protect civilians and make an immediate return to the negotiating table.Read the full story, “With Middle East ‘pushed to breaking point’, UN chief urges ceasefire, return to diplomacy”, on globalissues.org →

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Thursday he was appalled by the devastating impact on civilians of increasing drone attacks in Sudan, amid reports that more than 200 civilians have been killed by drones since 4 March alone, in the Kordofan region and White Nile state.Read the full story, “World News in Brief: Deadly drone attacks in Sudan, violence against women in the spotlight, more clashes in DR Congo”, on globalissues.org →

CIVICUS discusses the situation in Venezuela following US intervention and the ousting of President Nicolás Maduro with Verónica Zubillaga, a Venezuelan sociologist who specialises in urban violence, state repression and community responses to armed violence. Read the full story, “VENEZUELA: ‘An Economically Stable Authoritarian Model Could Become Entrenched’”, on globalissues.org →