Global Issues

The Implausible Regime Change in Iran and How the War Affects the World 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.

The Implausible Regime Change in Iran and How the War Affects the World

US/Israel #regimechange war in #Iran risks installing an even more authoritarian government dominated by the Revolutionary Guard, repeating failed pattern in Afghanistan, ignoring how external pressure strengthens hardliners

UN relief chief condemns '$1 billion-a-day' cost of war in Middle East The UN’s emergency relief chief on Wednesday condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war in the Middle East, at a time when humanitarian needs are soaring and aid funding is falling dangerously short.

UN relief chief condemns '$1 billion-a-day' cost of war in Middle East

While the world spends a billion dollars daily on Middle East conflict, humanitarian agencies lack basic resources to prevent mass starvation and disease among millions of displaced civilians

#MiddleEastWar
#CostOfWar

The Most Appropriate Response to Falling Birthrates? Embrace Them 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.

The Most Appropriate Response to Falling Birthrates? Embrace Them

Governments are spending billions to force women into childbearing while ignoring what actually works and what people actually want: affordable childcare and reproductive freedom.

#population
#FallingBirthrates

#Rubio Seduces Europe with #Imperial Nostalgia

The U.S. is abandoning the diplomatic pretense of universal values to openly embrace imperial nostalgia and civilizational supremacy, revealing that "rules-based order" was always just a cover for raw power

MIDDLE EAST LIVE 11 March: Civilian toll rises, regional disruption spreads as Security Council meets As the conflict in the Middle East continues to ripple across the region, the UN Security Council is meeting today to discuss the escalating situation, with a morning briefing focused on Lebanon and a second session later on the wider crisis. Across the UN system, agencies are warning of mounting humanitarian needs as displacement rises, services come under strain and regional instability disrupts mobility, trade and aid operations. Stay with us as we bring you the latest developments, reactions and updates from UN Headquarters and across the region. UN News app users can follow the coverage here

MIDDLE EAST LIVE 11 March: Civilian toll rises, regional disruption spreads as Security Council meets

The UN Security Council convenes while civilians bear the cost of conflicts its permanent members have failed to prevent or resolve together.

#Venezuela: ‘An Economically Stable Authoritarian Model Could Become Entrenched’

A government that frees political prisoners while avoiding accountability for rights abuses risks consolidating #authoritarianism with a humanitarian veneer, leaving structural injustices and repressive systems intact.

Tanzanian School Launches Energy Club to Promote Clean Cooking DODOMA, Tanzania , March 11 (IPS) - A cloud of steam rises from a giant aluminium pot as Maria Joseph, a middle-aged cook in a toque blanche and faded apron, plants her feet firmly on the tiled kitchen floor. With both hands clasped around a wooden paddle, she plunges deep into the mound of rice, threatening to burn at the bottom.

Tanzanian School Launches Energy Club to Promote Clean Cooking

Millions of girls across Tanzania suffer daily from toxic smoke while cooking, yet the #cleanenergy transition that could protect their health remains trapped in government offices instead of in their hands.

The Cost of Being Seen: Exposure versus Exploitation NEW YORK, March 11 (IPS) - I have often been asked a simple but important question: How can we make it sustainable if we are not being compensated for it?

The Cost of Being Seen: Exposure versus Exploitation

Young people are offered visibility and exposure as substitutes for power, resources, and decision-making seats, turning what should empower them into #exploitation

15 Years After the Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami BANGKOK, Thailand, March 11 (IPS) - On 11 March 2011, the powerful 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, triggering a 40-meter Tsunami. Many coastal towns along Japan’s Pacific coast were devastated. Approximately 20,000 people lost their lives and around 470,000 were evacuated from their homes.

15 Years After the Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

Apart from Japan, most vulnerable countries in Asia and the Pacific still lack adequate early warning systems and risk reduction strategies, leaving millions exposed to preventable disaster losses.

World News in Brief: Türk’s South Sudan ceasefire call, Ukraine strikes, Gaza food alert, Afghan returnees UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday condemned accounts of “gruesome killings” of civilians in South Sudan, the destruction and poisoning of key water sources and fresh waves of mass displacement.

World News in Brief: Türk’s South Sudan ceasefire call, #Ukraine strikes, #Gaza food alert, #Afghan returnees

UN warns of #atrocities in #SouthSudan yet international community repeatedly fails to enforce accountability, raising questions about hollow #rights condemnations without consequences

An ‘alarming’ two-thirds of children say cyberbullying has increased Around two-thirds of children worldwide report an increase in cyberbullying, with one in two say they don’t know how to get the right support, according to a recent poll carried out by the UN’s top official who works to end violence against children.

An ‘alarming’ two-thirds of children say #cyberbullying has increased

While platforms profit from engagement, half of bullied children don't know where to find help - a gap between the scale of harm and access to solutions

At UN, Malala, Anne Hathaway call for action on women’s rights A Nobel laureate who survived an assassination attempt, a Hollywood actor turned UN advocate and a young Afghan musician whose voice defied repression took the stage at the United Nations on International Women’s Day, delivering a powerful message: justice for women and girls cannot wait.

At UN, Malala, Anne Hathaway call for action on women’s rights

While global leaders make speeches about women's rights, millions of girls still face violence, denial of education, and systemic oppression with little real accountability or resources following through

#Rubio Seduces Europe with #Imperial Nostalgia

The U.S. is abandoning the diplomatic pretense of universal values to openly embrace imperial nostalgia and civilizational supremacy, revealing that "rules-based order" was always just a cover for raw power

Scandinavians cycle to work even on snowy days, here’s why that makes sense Winter cycling is increasing in some places in Scandinavia.

Winter #cycling in Scandinavia is a thing "because of consistent planning choices, reliable maintenance and a cultural commitment to cycling as an everyday activity. When cities treat cycling as essential transport rather than a seasonal option, people continue to cycle, even in the snow."

UN commission opens with focus on justice for women and girls Access to justice for women and girls dominated the agenda on Monday as the Commission on the Status of Women opened its 70th session at UN Headquarters in New York. Government officials, civil society representatives and UN leaders called for renewed efforts to dismantle the discrimination and legal obstacles that continue to limit women’s and girls’ rights worldwide.

UN commission opens with focus on justice for women and girls

Despite decades of commitments, women and girls in many parts of the world still cannot access the justice systems meant to protect them from abuse, discrimination, and exploitation.

#GenderEquality

‘Toxic rain’ warning from oil depot strikes amid ongoing Middle East war Toxic “black rain” linked to strikes on oil depots, mass displacement and continuing disruption to aid supply chains are upending lives across the Middle East and beyond after 10 days of war in the region, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

‘Toxic rain’ warning from oil depot strikes amid ongoing Middle East war

The environmental fallout from military strikes — #toxicrain & air pollution — is an invisible casualty of war, threatening public health long after fighting stops, complicating an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

MIDDLE EAST LIVE 10 March: Displacement, supply shocks and civilian toll rise The conflict in the Middle East continues, with strikes and counter-strikes across the region and the humanitarian toll mounting. UN agencies warn that rising civilian casualties, mass displacement – particularly in Lebanon – and damage to critical infrastructure are deepening the crisis, while disruptions to shipping and energy routes risk driving up global prices and worsening food insecurity. Stay with us for updates from across the United Nations system. UN News app users can follow the coverage here.

MIDDLE EAST LIVE 10 March: #Displacement, supply shocks and civilian toll rise

While the world watches military escalation, silent crises are unfolding: millions displaced, supply chains fractured, and the most vulnerable facing #hunger - consequences that ripple far beyond the region's borders

Humanitarian crisis ‘worsening’ in Afghanistan as war erupts in the Middle East Crises in the region on both Afghanistan’s longest borders are undermining the country’s stability, a senior UN official warned the Security Council on Monday as concerns over Middle East crisis grow amid clashes with Pakistan and a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Humanitarian crisis ‘worsening’ in #Afghanistan as war erupts in the Middle East

Afghanistan faces cascading emergencies from Pakistan to the Middle East, yet its deepening humanitarian crisis risks being overlooked as global attention shifts to newer conflicts

At the Heartland Institute event, Morano expressed delighted “shock” over the “flips on climate” of tech moguls Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, the founders of Amazon and Microsoft respectively, whose companies have abandoned once-ambitious climate promises as they confront the skyrocketing energy demands of their AI businesses. Gates, whose foundation has donated millions of dollars to a think tank run by climate crisis denier Bjorn Lomborg, published a controversial memo in October arguing that climate change “will not lead to humanity’s demise” and advocating for ending climate funding in favor of direct humanitarian aid. Microsoft and Amazon, which have donated large sums to Trump, have both recently embraced fossil-fuel powered AI data centers alongside Trump energy officials and fossil fuel industry players. In early February, Bezos, who is also the owner of the Washington Post, slashed at least 14 reporters from the venerated paper’s climate desk. Just weeks later, the Post published an editorial board opinion, “EPA is right to reverse Obama overreach,” praising Trump’s repeal of the endangerment finding. Morano noted that overall, journalists have been reporting less aggressively about Trump’s fossil fuel agenda. “When you have Lee Zeldin, the EPA chief, calling climate a cult, a scam, religion, he doesn’t even get push-back from reporters,” Morano said. During Trump’s first term, by contrast, environmental officials like Scott Pruitt, who led the Environmental Protection Agency from February 2017 to July 2018, “would have to be very careful on climate,” Morano said. Otherwise “they would be beaten and browed by the media.”

No one is happier at the 'don't mention climate' thing than the absolute worst climate deniers

Great new @rtakver.bsky.social piece in @desmog.com with some harsh criticisms at the dropping of climate as a priority

feat @doctorvive.bsky.social @katharinehayhoe.com

www.desmog.com/2026/03/04/c...

Gender Discrimination: It’s Time to Flip the Narrative UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (IPS) - We have heard it all: When a woman raises her voice, she’s too emotional. When she stands her ground, she’s too difficult. When she leads, she’s too ambitious. If she wears dark suits they whisper ‘why does she always look like a man’. But oh my gosh! if she shows up in a colorful dresses and high heels….

Gender Discrimination: It’s Time to Flip the Narrative

Women leaders are held to impossible double standards: celebrated for navigating crises but blamed for any misstep, while the same resilience praised in men is called hysteria or weakness in women.

#GenderDiscrimination
#LikeAwoman

Global Arms Flow Jump Nearly 10 per cent as European Demand Soars due to Transfers to Ukraine UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (IPS) - The ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia—which began February 2022, with no visible signs of ending—has triggered major arms transfers to Europe.

Global #Arms Flow Jump Nearly 10 per cent as European Demand Soars due to Transfers to Ukraine

Spike in global sales framed as defensive necessity = a self-reinforcing cycle: countries race to outdo each other citing new threats = more arms sales. Arms companies profit, civilians bear the cost

New challenges bring increased risks in combating child sexual abuse, exploitation Despite some progress made globally, children around the world still face serious and evolving risks of being sold, sexually exploited and abused, the UN independent human rights expert on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, Mama Fatima Singhateh, warned on Monday.

New challenges bring increased risks in combating child sexual #abuse, #exploitation

#ChildPredators are adapting faster than protections can evolve, leaving millions of #children vulnerable despite global awareness of the problem

‘No one should be a hibakusha’: Young Japanese activist’s mission to share atomic bomb survivor stories A Japanese peace activist is hoping to promote global nuclear disarmament by keeping alive the stories of the atomic bomb survivors through the creation of a mobile museum.

‘No one should be a hibakusha’: Young Japanese activist’s mission to share #AtomicBomb survivor stories

A race against time to preserve the voices of aging atomic bomb survivors before they're gone, making their lived experiences the most powerful argument against nuclear weapons today

International Women’s Day 2026 - Justice for Women and Girls Needs Action and Political Will UNITED NATIONS, March 9 (IPS) - On International Women’s Day (March 8), global leaders and advocates gather around the rallying cry to strengthen justice systems for all women and girls in a time of increasing pushbacks on gender equality.

#InternationalWomensDay 2026 - Justice for Women and Girls Needs Action and Political Will

The world acknowledges women's rights on paper yet systemic barriers, from discriminatory laws to fear of retaliation, mean most women experience justice as a broken promise rather than a reality

International Women’s Day 2026 - A Resistance Stronger than the Backlash MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, March 9 (IPS) - Consider what International Women’s Day looked like a few years ago, and what it looks like now: the same date, the same global moment of reflection, but a vastly changed global landscape. Gender rights are facing the most coordinated and wide-ranging attack in decades. Anti-rights forces are dismantling protections secured after generations of struggle, destroying infrastructure built to address gender-based violence and realise reproductive rights and rewriting legal frameworks to roll back rights, with a specific focus on excluding transgender people. This is the result of a deliberate, carefully crafted, handsomely funded and globally coordinated strategy.

#InternationalWomensDay 2026 - A Resistance Stronger than the Backlash

Powerful nations actively exporting restrictions on women's and LGBTQI+ rights globally, yet grassroots movements in some of world's most repressive places still winning legal victories those in power thought they could prevent

LIVE: International Women’s Day and CSW70 at the United Nations Welcome to our live coverage of International Women’s Day 2026 and the opening of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women at UN Headquarters in New York. Throughout the day, we will bring you updates, reactions and key moments from across the UN system as global leaders, diplomats and advocates gather to mark International Women's Day and advance the theme “Rights. Justice. Action” for all women and girls.

LIVE: International Women’s Day and #CSW70 at the United Nations

#InternationalWomensDay
#womensrights

International Women’s Day 2026 - This Year’s International Women’s Day Calls for Electing a Woman as the next Secretary-General NEW YORK, March 9 (IPS) - As we observe International Women’s Day (IWD) this year, the global community does so in a time of continuing turbulence, conflicts and uncertainty about the future of our planet.

This Year’s #InternationalWomensDay Calls for Electing a Woman as the next Secretary-General

For 80 years, the UN has championed #equality while never appointing a woman to its top role. Its time this changed!

#WomensRights

International Women’s Day 2026 - The Gender Architecture of Betrayal: Stop Elite Impunity NEW YORK, March 9 (IPS) - International Women’s Day 2026 (IWD 2026), which was commemorated March 8, under the theme, “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls“, calls for action to dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls. It demands an end to systemic violence and misogyny, including calls for justice for Epstein survivors.

#InternationalWomensDay 2026 - The Gender Architecture of Betrayal: Stop Elite Impunity

Elite men dodge accountability for systematic sexual abuse; socialite elite women championing feminism shield predators through association. Powerful protected across borders and institutions

Nearly 700,000 displaced in Lebanon as Middle East crisis escalates On day 10 of the war engulfing the Middle East, UN agencies on Monday reported massive displacement across the region, along with surging food and fuel prices that risk increasing hunger and suffering for the most vulnerable.

Nearly 700,000 displaced in #Lebanon as #MiddleEastCrisis escalates

Including 200,000 children, fleeing their homes while the world's attention fragments across multiple simultaneous crises, leaving little bandwidth for the scale of human suffering unfolding in real time

Nigeria’s Failing Road Transport System Leaves Commuters at the Mercy of Robbers ABUJA, March 9 (IPS) - Abimbola David still remembers being robbed twice in taxis in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. The most recent incident occurred in 2023 when the robbers, who pretended to be passengers, took her belongings while the car was moving.

#Nigeria’s Failing Road #Transport System Leaves Commuters at the Mercy of Robbers

Poorest commuters face deadly crime as the government hasn't invested in safe public transit, forcing them to choose between unregulated minibuses and crimes they can't report to a police force that extorts them