The best replacement for troubles is public issues.

The best alternatives to troubles are rated as following:
★★★★★  public issues
★★★★  issues mills
★★★★  issues
★★★  social issues
★★  issues sociology
★  problems
★  trouble
  private issues

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Speaking about troubles, one probably shouldn't forget about bubbles.

Other search terms related to troubles and their ratings are:
★★★★★ bubbles
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Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of troubles in all years. Click on graph for more.
troubles
public issues
issues mills