海角大神

As Democratic candidates prepare for their first debate, the race is being framed once again around electability, a self-perpetuating concept that鈥檚 both reflective of 鈥� and has a direct impact on 鈥� their standing in polls.聽

In the #MeToo era, editors must be extremely cautious in handling sexual assault accusations. But allegation fatigue should not cause news outlets 鈥� or other institutions 鈥� to pass over credible new charges.

Americans flock to the Caribbean for its sandy beaches, sunny skies 鈥撀燼nd the safety of the resort bubble. When crime brings down walls between resort and host country, questions about justice and equality emerge.聽

We touched earlier on the plight of child migrants in North America. And humanitarian needs persist around the globe. But here's another reality: big progress for children and families.

The swift retreat of Exit Glacier,聽in聽Alaska鈥檚 Kenai Mountains, offers a clear sign of how climate change can affect a region in a very short time.

In India, more parents now merely suggest a potential marriage match to their children rather than force an arranged one. In Tunisia, Muslim women can now freely marry a non-Muslim. And according to the J. Walter Thompson marketing firm, choosing to be single for life is a global trend, driven by affluent young people who are 鈥渃onfident, fulfilled, and empowered.鈥�

These news items may show traditional ideas about family are changing faster than ever. But how fast and in what direction? In the first of its kind, a United Nations report looks at the global data and finds a rising diversity of family forms. This shift requires a 鈥渞eality check鈥� on laws and policies, states the report 鈥淔amilies in a Changing World.鈥�

鈥淲e have seen great progress on eliminating discrimination against women in laws. However it is no accident that family laws have been the slowest to change,鈥� says Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the U.N. under-secretary-general and executive director of U.N. Women.

Just 38% of families are聽couples (married or unmarried) with children, the report says, as the rates of delayed marriage, divorce, and cohabitation keep rising. About a quarter of households include extended family. And 42 countries or territories have given the right to marry or partnership recognition to same-sex couples.

One big driver of the new diversity, says the report, is that 鈥渨omen are increasingly able to exercise agency and voice within their families.鈥� This has 鈥渢riggered some shifts in the balance of power within the home.鈥�

Whatever their forms, families still play a unique role. They 鈥渃an be places of love and affection, and pivotal for each member鈥檚 sense of identity and belonging,鈥� the report states.

For people of faith, marriage still plays an essential part in life. Marriage is 鈥渢he single most compelling metaphor for the relationship between God and us,鈥� says Britain鈥檚 former chief rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, because it 鈥渋nvolves commitment, a mutual pledge of openness and trust, a promise that neither will walk away in difficult times.鈥� One reality that needs attention, according to the UN, is that at least 101 million women are raising children on their own.

Since the 1950s, the world has seen a strong trend toward gender equality in family laws. This adjustment to new forms of family has helped reinforce the enduring importance of the institution. Or as Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka puts it, 鈥淔amilies are places of love, where we can go for support and nourishment.鈥�