Global Issues

SAN SALVADOR, Sep 17 (IPS) - The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has been widely criticised for his authoritarian tendencies, but has said that the changes he plans will be long-term - which to his critics means a further undercutting of the weak democratic institutions that he has already begun to dismantle.Read the full story, “Bukele Speeds Up Moves Towards Authoritarianism in El Salvador”, on globalissues.org →

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday welcomed the news that secondary schools are due to reopen in Afghanistan on Saturday, after months of closure due to COVID-19, but stressed that girls must not be kept from the classroom. Read the full story, “UNICEF stresses Afghan girls must not be excluded from school”, on globalissues.org →

ROME, Sep 17 (IPS) - Mario Lubetkin is Assistant Director General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)The traumatic events that occurred in recent weeks in Afghanistan have once again placed this Asian country at the center of the world’s attention with high-impact coverage and analysis in the media.Read the full story, “Afghanistan: Efforts To Prevent a Food Crisis Before Everything Becomes More Serious”, on globalissues.org →

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Sep 17 (IPS) - Women, key contributors to agriculture production, are missing at the decision table, with alarming consequences, says Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg in an exclusive interview with IPS.Read the full story, “If Women Farmers were Politicians, the World Would be Fed, says Danielle Nierenberg”, on globalissues.org →

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Friday, specifying the importance of “equal and meaningful participation” of women in public life.  Read the full story, “Afghanistan: Security Council resolution calls for ‘equal and meaningful participation of women’”, on globalissues.org →

Unless wealthy nations commit to tackling emissions now, the world is on a “catastrophic pathway” to 2.7-degrees of heating by the end of the century, UN Secretary General António Guterres warned on Friday. Read the full story, “Paris climate deal could go up in smoke without action: Guterres”, on globalissues.org →

At a virtual event on Friday commemorating the International Day of Peace, the UN chief saluted the “voices, vision and commitment of young people in shaping a more peaceful world”. Read the full story, “Counting on youth, for an ‘equitable and sustainable world for all’”, on globalissues.org →

Every day, approximately 800 women and 6,700 babies lose their lives around the time of childbirth. In addition, nearly 5,400 babies are stillborn daily, with 40% of these deaths occurring in relation to labour and childbirth.  Read the full story, “WHO asks for commitments on maternal and newborn health”, on globalissues.org →

Lebanon’s enduring economic crisis risks reversing decades of gains in people’s wellbeing, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.     Read the full story, “Lebanon crisis: More international assistance needed urgently - WHO chief”, on globalissues.org →

Underfunding has left a “yawning gap” in the UN Refugee Agency’s ability to protect forcibly displaced people worldwide from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNHCR said on Friday.  Read the full story, “Refugees face dire consequences from COVID-19 underfunding, UNHCR warns”, on globalissues.org →