Africa

Imeteo.sk: Kedden (3. 10.) délelőtt röviddel 9:00 óra után ismét megmozdult a föld Pozsony környékén. Ezúttal feltehetően a magyarországi Rajka közelében volt a 9:02-kor bekövetkezett 3,1 magnitúdójú földrengés, amelynek 10 kilométeres mélységben volt az epicentruma. Somorja és Dénesdtorcsmisérd (Dunajská Lužna/Szenci járás) környékéről is számos, gyenge rengésekről szóló észlelést jeleztek.

Az ukrán Oscsadbank a magyar hatóságok által múlt héten elkobzott készpénz és arany azonnali visszaszolgáltatását követeli – közölték a bankot Magyarországon képviselő ügyvédek az Euronews-szal.

Ma.hu: Kedd (3. 10.) hajnalban 6,0-es magnitúdójú földrengés rázta meg Olaszország déli részét, a rengés központja Nápoly közelében volt. A földmozgás azonban a vártnál jóval kisebb hatást okozott a felszínen. A szakértők szerint ennek oka a rengés szokatlanul nagy, körülbelül 373 kilométeres mélysége volt. A beszámolók alapján a térségben élők ugyan érezték a földmozgást, de komoly károkról vagy sérülésekről nem érkezett jelentés.

Col Randrianirina, who seized power last year, did not give a reason for dissolving his government.

US-Präsident Donald Trump kündigt an, dass die USA notfalls Tanker durch die Strasse von Hormus eskortieren werden. Gleichzeitig stellt er Lockerungen von Öl-Sanktionen in Aussicht, um die Preise zu senken.

Remarks by Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis on macroeconomic developments in the euro area, digital finance (including tokenisation and stablecoins), and energy prices and their implications for the euro area economy in the context of heightened geopolitical instability.

Cellou Dalein Diallo accuses the junta-leader-turned-president of erasing political threats.

Four soldiers were injured but all are now in a stable condition, Ghana's army says.

The Swiss referendum on reducing broadcasting licence fees has been defeated by a clear margin: around 62 percent of voters rejected the "200 francs is enough!" initiative. Households currently pay 335 francs per year to finance the public broadcaster SRG SSR, which produces radio and television programmes in the four national languages.

By Anwarul K. Chowdhury
NEW YORK, Mar 9 2026 (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.

Such moments remind us once again that women’s equality and empowerment are not only issues concerning women; those are relevant for humanity as a whole – for all of us. This crucial point needs to be internalized by every one of us.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury

• This year’s International Women’s Day (March 8) was special as the United Nations would hopefully and appropriately elect a woman as its next Secretary-General.

• Let me underscore here an unacceptable reality: in its eighty years of existence, the United Nations has not yet elected a woman Secretary-General—eight decades, nine men, and not one woman. What an embarrassment – what a shame!

How can an institution that speaks of equality at every podium continue to model inequality at its pinnacle? The credibility of the UN’s advocacy depends on its own reflection in the mirror.

• A stark and undeniable reality of our world today is that patriarchy and misogyny continue to thrive as scourges pulling humanity away from our aspiration to live in a world of equality, peace and justice. No country in the world has reached full legal equality for women and girls.

• In many parts of the world, we are witnessing renewed attempts to undermine the hard-earned gains achieved through decades of advocacy for women’s rights and gender equality.

• Women’s organizations, feminist activists and women human rights defenders remain the courageous voices challenging discrimination and injustice. Their role is indispensable for advancing human dignity and human progress.

• My work has taken me to many parts of the world, and time and again I have seen the transformative impact of women’s leadership and participation in shaping peaceful, inclusive and resilient societies.

We should always remember that without peace, development is impossible, and without development, peace is not achievable – but without women, neither peace nor development is conceivable.

The theme of IWD 2026 – “Rights, Justice, Action: For All Women and Girls” – is both timely and compelling. It reminds us that progress requires not only recognition of rights but also determined action to ensure justice and equality in practice.

Let me assert again that feminism is about smart policy which is inclusive, uses all potential and leaves no one behind.

I am proud to be a feminist. All of us need to be. That is how we make our planet a better place to live for all.

Let me also recall that in the year 2000 on this very day, as the President of Security Council, I had the honor of steering the pioneering statement by the whole Council leading to the conceptual and political breakthroughs paving the way for the consensus adoption of the UNSCR 1325 on 31 October 2000 under the Namibian Presidency.

On this IWD, let us renew our commitment to building a gender-equal world. Our individual actions, conversations and mindsets can transform our larger society.

Together we can make change happen!!!

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations; Initiator of the UNSCR 1325 as the President of the UN Security Council in March 2000; and Founder of the Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP)

IPS UN Bureau

 

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The world will gather at UN Headquarters in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70)– the UN’ largest annual forum dedicated to gender equality and women’s rights. What happens here influences laws, policies, funding and accountability across countries and generations. This year’s focus is clear: rights, justice and action for all women and girls. The CSW70 will take place March 9-19. Credit: United Nations

By Shihana Mohamed
NEW YORK, Mar 9 2026 (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.

The independent experts, who serve in their individual capacities under mandates from the UN Human Rights Council, warned that the alleged acts documented in the ‘Epstein Files’ provide disturbing and credible evidence of widespread, systematic sexual abuse, trafficking, and exploitation of women and girls.

The UN experts stated that, “So grave is the scale, nature, systematic character, and transnational reach of these atrocities against women and girls, that a number of them may reasonably meet the legal threshold of crimes against humanity.” They said, “No one is too wealthy or too powerful to be above the law.”

Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.” However, no nation has closed the legal gaps between men and women.

While we are told that women now hold more legal rights than at any point in history, 2026 data reveals a devastating reality: women globally hold only 64 per cent of the legal rights of men.

Thus, the global crisis of women’s safety is not a failure of individual morality; it is a result of structural barriers. For survivors of systemic exploitation, the deepest betrayal lies not in the absence of laws, but in the complicity embedded within the very architecture of gender.

Architecture of Betrayal
We must call out the hypocrisy reinforcing this architecture: the “Socialite-Feminist Paradox.” The Epstein scandal exposed a troubling contradiction within elite social networks. Some influential figures build public personas on the rhetoric of “empowerment of women and girls,” yet privately maintain ties to predatory networks.

This contradiction becomes most striking when individuals who publicly champion gender equality such as high-profile participants in initiatives like HeForShe, are linked to Epstein’s social orbit.

When prominent advocates attach their “feminist” brands to the orbit of known predators, they serve as reputation shields, signaling legitimacy and safety to the outside world. Young women drawn by promises of empowerment trust these figures. They become victims of the very networks those reputations shield.

Within this gender architecture, such actors become the interior designers of impunity, dressing up a house of horrors to resemble a palace of progress.

Support Beams of Hypocrisy
The architecture of betrayal extends to the highest levels of global governance. Jeffrey Epstein maintained a vast network of elite social and financial contacts, including politicians, business leaders, and royalty, exposing how predatory networks can intersect with influential institutions.

Recent scrutiny has intensified following the release of documents connected to the Epstein investigation by the United States Department of Justice, which revealed troubling communications between Emirati diplomat Hind Al-Owais and Epstein.

In early 2026, former Norwegian prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland also faced investigation over alleged “aggravated corruption” and extensive email ties to Epstein, while Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, publicly apologized for maintaining a friendship with him after his 2008 conviction.

Figures such as Terje Rød-Larsen, former Norwegian diplomat and International Peace Institute President, likewise operated within the same elite UN-linked and international policy circles Epstein sought to access.

These are not just “lapses in judgment”; they are the structural supports that allow predatory systems to persist behind the mask of elite influence and advocacy.

Architecture of Complicity
While individuals failed, prestigious institutions provided the foundation. Major banks, Ivy League universities such as Harvard and MIT, and elite think tanks accepted Epstein’s wealth—often described as “blood money”—in exchange for social legitimacy.

These were not “bystanders”; they were the infrastructure of the abuse. By accepting donations from a known predator, these institutions provided the social cover that allowed the grooming of vulnerable girls to continue.

They signaled to the world – and to the victims – that a billionaire’s endowment was more valuable than a young woman’s safety.

Justice in Flawed Architecture
The ultimate instrument of elite impunity is the statute of limitations. Within this gendered architecture of power, justice is not defeated by evidence but by the calendar. Predators rely on the legal expiration of trauma, counting on time to erode memory, courage, and consequence.

The UN experts urged US Authorities that statutes of limitations preventing prosecution of grave crimes attributed to the Epstein criminal enterprise must be lifted.

As of February 2026, new legislation like Virginia’s Law ((named after Virginia Giuffre) has been introduced to remove these time limits for survivors of sexual abuse and trafficking.

Path Towards Accountability
The survivors of the Epstein network have broken the silence. This IWD 2026, we must break the system that allowed that silence to exist.

We know what happened. Now, we must act; our demands must be absolute:

We must urge governments to use the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in March 2026 to commit to tangible, measurable progress toward closing the global legal protection gap for survivors.

We must abolish statutes of limitations to ensure that time does not wash away the crimes of the powerful.

We do not want “rights” that can be bought off by a billionaire’s legal team, or “justice” that stops at a non-disclosure agreement.

We must push for legislation that bans “secret” settlements which protect unnamed co-conspirators in trafficking cases. No one – regardless of their political or social status – should be “un-indictable.”

We must stop platforming “rights advocates” who have not fully accounted for their ties to predatory networks. Influence must be earned through integrity, not proximity to power.

We must strip away the “advocate” title from anyone who traded the safety of girls for the social or financial perks of an elite boys’ club.

We must demand that any organization – be it a bank, an Ivy League University, a laboratory, or a non-profit – that knowingly benefits from the proceeds of exploitation be held legally and financially accountable as a co-conspirator.

We must institute legal requirements for institutions to disclose the sources of large private endowments, with strict “vetting clauses” regarding human rights records.

We must redirect assets seized from trafficking and exploitation networks into survivor-led healing funds and legal aid for marginalized women.

We must ensure that justice is not a privilege; it is a fundamental human right that cannot be bought, silenced, or erased by time. We demand action to ensure that ALL women – regardless of the status of their abuser – are equally protected under the law.

The theme of IWD 2026 “Rights. Justice. Action.” is not a request for a seat at the table; it is a demand to dismantle the table where elite impunity is served.

Shihana Mohamed, a Sri Lankan national, is President of Asia Global Network and a US Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project and Equality Now on advancing the rights of women and girls. She is also a founding member and Coordinator of the United Nations Asia Network for Diversity and Inclusion (UN-ANDI). She is a dedicated human rights activist and a strong advocate for gender equality and the advancement of women.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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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. This type of crime is common in Abuja and other major cities in Nigeria. It is known locally as “one-chance”. […]

Chocolate bars may have shot up in price but West Africa's cocoa farmers are facing economic ruin.

Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo regains the world half-marathon record as he claimed victory in Lisbon on Sunday.

Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo regains the world half-marathon record as he claimed victory in Lisbon on Sunday.

La route des Balkans reste toujours l'une des principales voies d'accès l'Union européenne, pour les exilés du Proche et du Moyen Orient, d'Afrique ou d'Asie. Alors que les frontières Schengen se ferment, Frontex se déploie dans les Balkans, qui sont toujours un « sas d'accès » à la « forteresse Europe ». Notre fil d'infos en continu.

- Le fil de l'Info / Bosnie-Herzégovine, Albanie, Kosovo, Bulgarie, Questions européennes, Populations, minorités et migrations, Migrants Balkans, Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Turquie, Grèce, Moldavie, Macédoine du Nord, Monténégro, Slovénie, Roumanie, Serbie, Gratuit, Grèce immigration

La route des Balkans reste toujours l'une des principales voies d'accès l'Union européenne, pour les exilés du Proche et du Moyen Orient, d'Afrique ou d'Asie. Alors que les frontières Schengen se ferment, Frontex se déploie dans les Balkans, qui sont toujours un « sas d'accès » à la « forteresse Europe ». Notre fil d'infos en continu.

- Le fil de l'Info / Bosnie-Herzégovine, Albanie, Kosovo, Bulgarie, Questions européennes, Populations, minorités et migrations, Migrants Balkans, Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Turquie, Grèce, Moldavie, Macédoine du Nord, Monténégro, Slovénie, Roumanie, Serbie, Gratuit, Grèce immigration