National Security

U.S. Gas Prices hit 14-Year High

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2022

AAA reported that the average U.S. gas prices have reached $4.009 per gallon on Sunday, the highest since July 17 of 2008 when gas prices hit a record $4.114 per gallon.

In just the past week, average prices soared 11 percent. Gas was an average of $3.604 one week ago and just $2.760 one year ago. Prices are highest in California, where the average price is $5.288.

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, average gas prices have reached $5 for regular fuel, while some stations are reportedly selling premium gas for more than $7 a gallon.

Hawaii has the second highest prices at $4.695, followed by Nevada and Oregon with averages of $4.526 and $4.466.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, tweeted over the weekend “To make it implicitly clear, this is the cost of bipartisan sanctions on Russia for their war on Ukraine.”

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De Haan also told USA Today that more cities are likely to see prices hit $5 a gallon in the coming weeks. He said prices soaring to an average of $4 a gallon “was unlikely to have happened without Russian action.”

GasBuddy also predicts a national average price of $4.25 by Memorial Day. “Seasonal factors including increased demand for gas, refinery maintenance and the switch to summer blend gas, on top of current geopolitical tensions, could propel prices upward of $4.25 per gallon by Memorial Day,” GasBuddy said in a statement.

Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced its 31 member countries coordinated to release crude oil to help counter rising prices. President Biden announced that the U.S. would give 30 million barrels from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to “help blunt gas prices here at home.”

International

Mental health crisis spikes among Afghan women after Taliban regained control two years ago

Published

2 days ago

September 21, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

The women of Afghanistan are suffering a mental health crisis since the Taliban regained power two years ago. According to a joint report from three U.N. agencies released Tuesday, approximately 70% of women experience feelings of anxiety, isolation and depression.

The numbers continue to rise, as there has already been a significant jump between April and June of this year alone, with an increase from 57% the preceding quarter.

The report, conducted by U.N. Women, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, interviewed women online, in-person and in group consultations as well as individual telesurveys.

592 Afghan women in 22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces took part in the study. The Associated Press reports:

They have barred women from most areas of public life and work and banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade. They have prohibited Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organizations. The ban was extended to employees of the United Nations in April.

Opportunities to study continued to shrink as community-based education by international organizations was banned and home-based schooling initiatives were regularly shut down by the de facto authorities — a term use by the U.N. for the Taliban government.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education and the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The report also served as a vessel for Afghan women to send a message to the rest of the world: do not validate the Taliban government. Forty-six percent of women said international recognition of the Taliban government should not happen under any circumstances, while 50% warned that recognition should only occur under specific conditions contingent on improving women’s rights.

The report notes that the women expressed concern that recognition would only encourage the Taliban government to continue becoming stricter in their policies and practices against women and girls.

Afghan women had specific ideas and suggestions: they “urged the international community to continue political and economic sanctions against the Taliban, including by not granting exemptions to a travel ban. They urged an increase in engagement with the Taliban on gender equality and women’s rights, including by engaging community and religious leaders in awareness and advocacy efforts” writes the Associated Press.