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AFGHANISTAN: Afghans fleeing battling warlords and ethnic persecution are dying from the cold, hunger and violence in refugee camps. Most of the victims are children. The UN doesn’t bring food and relief supplies to “internally displaced people” forced to move within the country because of domestic conflicts…. Although the Taliban fell more than a year ago, in the city of Herat, little has changed for women who still are forced to endure strict religious restrictions. Morals police still nab women caught talking with men on the streets, take them to a hospital and force them to endure an exam to determine whether they’ve had sex. Human Rights Watch reports that not only do women have no voice, they also may be arrested for going unveiled in public, trying to drive a car or getting in a cab driven by a male who’s not close kin. In more liberal Kabul, women from the Ministry of Religious Affairs harass women on the streets for un-Islamic behavior, such as wearing makeup.

ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires became the first Latin America city to legalize “civil unions” between same-sex couples. Despite opposition from churches, which argued that city lawmakers had no authority to define such unions, the move passed December 13. Under the ordinance, however, homosexual couples do not have the right to adopt children. Holland, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland have similar legalized partnerships.

BULGARIA: Human rights groups are calling for the country to close its mental institutions, which the groups charge are more like Soviet-era labor camps than sanctuaries of care. Many of the country’s 100 “social care homes,” which house some 8,000 abandoned adults and children, are unheated and have no glass in their windows, despite sub-freezing temperatures. Residents suffer from illnesses ranging from severe schizophrenia to learning disabilities. They often are left to pace outside barefoot in the snow. In 2001, one in 10 residents died.

CHINA/INDIA: The UN predicts that by 2050, China will have 1.462 billion people, and India’s population will grow from one billion to 1.572 billion.

ISLAM: Without a universally recognized leader, the most radical Muslim groups get the most attention. In response, moderate Muslim thinkers in North America, Europe and even some in traditionally Islamic countries, are networking to guide the religion. At a meeting of moderates from Morocco, Egypt, Yemen and the United States, discussion topics were freedom of religion, women’s rights, and the role of Islam in democratic societies. A wide variety of Muslim theologians and jurists are seeking to reform how Islam is applied in today’s world. They won’t, however, discuss, let alone challenge, the basic tenets of the faith. Such could bring a heresy charge, which in many Muslim countries is punishable by death.

KUWAIT: With no bars or discos be-cause alcohol is banned and dancing is restricted, youth in oil-rich Kuwait are finding other things to do with their free time. Drugs such as hashish are more readily available than black-market beer. Consumerism has arrived in this deeply conservative Muslim country. Shopping malls are popular diversions for Kuwaitis, especially young ones who hang out to discreetly eye the opposite sex.

IRAN: Stoning women accused of adultery rarely happens today, but Iran’s 11 female legislators are pushing to change the penalty to a jail sentence. While reform-minded lawmakers dominate the legislature, the hard-line Guardian Council must approve any change in the penalty.

LATIN AMERICA: UNICEF reports that Latin American countries have made some of the developing world’s greatest advances in bettering children’s health and education. In the past decade, mortality of children under five went down by 25 percent, polio was wiped out and tetanus went down by 90 percent. Still, Latin America is the world’s most economically disparate region. Most children there suffer dire consequences. Around 500,000 die annually from curable ailments. About 0.5 percent of Latin Americans have HIV, and AIDS orphans number almost 200,000. The region is second only to Africa in its number of AIDS orphans.

MORMONS: The Mormon Web site reports that 60,000 Latter-day Saints are in proselytizing missions in 165 countries. Around three-quarters of them are young men ages 19 to 26. Each missionary works 60 to 65 hours per week for 18 months (women and couples) or two years (men). In addition, about 8,300 Mormons serve as health specialists and doctors in developing countries. Others with special skills, such as craftsmen, artisans, builders, teachers and agricultural experts, also serve on the field. Southern Baptists are the evangelical group with the largest number of missionaries, with 5,480 serving more than two years in 185 countries. In the past two years, more than 30,000 Southern Baptists have served in stints of one week to two years.

UGANDA: Some local governments have banned night group prayers, a practice of “born-again” churches. Reasons range from suspicions that prayer groups were clandestinely rebel-recruiting to cutting down on “noise pollution.” Churches say that the governments are attacking their religious freedom.

WATER: One-fifth of the world’s population suffered water shortages in 2000. By 2025, that number will rise to 30 percent, reports the Marseilles, France-based World Water Council. Water demand is rising three times as fast as the population growth rate.

WOMEN: A recent Red Cross report found that women suffer more in war and need protections they’re entitled to under international humanitarian law. Issues facing women in war zones include physical safety, sexual violence, displacement, the problem of missing relatives and its impact on survivors, and lack of access to healthcare and hygiene, food, water and shelter. Some 80 percent of war victims are women and children as military conflicts take place in towns and cities, not on frontlines. Women serve crucial roles in raising new generations that respect laws and treaties.

January 31, 2003