News stories by External Source, page 3

I am an educated Afghan woman and a former government employee. I have long been active in women’s rights struggles, education, and community development. For me, living in Afghanistan is fraught with dangers and difficulties. In a context where women are denied the right to study, work, or participate in public life, my previous roles in government institutions and international organizations, and my afvocacy for women’s rights, place me at particular risk.

I greet the particular Churches of the Global South gathered at the Amazonian Museum of Belém, joining the prophetic voice of my brother Cardinals who have taken part in COP 30, telling the world with words and gestures that the Amazon region remains a living symbol of creation with an urgent need for care.

PARWAN, Afghanistan, November 13 (IPS) - When Roya, a former police officer under Afghanistan’s Republic government, left the country with her family, she felt a great sense of relief, having escaped from the horrors of Taliban rule. She never imagined that less than three years later she would be forced back into the same conditions, only worse.

Violence against women is a human rights emergency in every country. One in three women worldwide experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.

FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, November 6 (IPS) - The Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, is the name given by the Taliban to their religious police, tasked with enforcing strict Islamist rule on the people of Afghanistan. But for Afghan women, the name evokes only fear and terror, as they bear the harshest consequences of its actions.

Dr. David Edwards is the General Secretary of Education International, the voice of teachers and other education employees around the world. Through its 386 member organizations, Education International represents over 32.5 million teachers and education support personnel in 178 countries.

From the 10th to the 21st of November 2025, the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) will be hosted in Belém, Brazil. The world gathers in the Amazon’s gateway city to chart a course for climate action. (unfccc.int)

We are in a climate emergency. The Earth is already over 1.3 °C warmer than pre-industrial times. 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded.

Poverty is not just scarcity. It is exclusion, stigma, and invisibility. Poverty is not a personal failure. It is a systemic failure. A denial of dignity and human rights.

KABUL, October 14 (IPS) - At the end of September, the Taliban abruptly severed Wi-Fi and fiber-optic internet in Afghanistan for 48 hours without any explanation. The disruption caused consternation and suffering among millions of Afghans, especially those who depend on the internet for education and online commerce.