OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, Oct 18 (IPS) - A woman shopkeeper is standing on a plastic chair to avoid knee high swirling rainwater mixed with sewage. "I work with a women's cooperative selling products made by Palestinian women in my shop. The sewage water has gone into the electric wires, so I have no electricity. Everything in the shop is destroyed. The metal door installed to protect the settlers prevents the water from flowing out into the main drain. . . . This means we suffer every time it rains. They want us to move from here. This is why they make our life hard," she cries.

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (IPS) - As the United Nations' Second Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017) comes to an end, more self-congratulation is likely. Claims of victory in the war against poverty will be backed by recently released poverty estimates from the World Bank, entrusted by the UN system to monitor poverty.

ROME, Oct 18 (IPS) - The world is running out of antibiotics to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned while announcing the World Antibiotic Awareness Week on 13-19 November.

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 18 (IPS) - The Argentine biodiesel industry, which in the last 10 years has become one of the most powerful in the world, has an uncertain future, faced with protectionist measures in the United States and Europe and doubts in the international scenario about the environmental impact of these fuels based on agricultural products.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - This month the world marks two key International Days: for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October and for Disaster Reduction, four days earlier. It is no coincidence that they are profoundly connected.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - Civil society groups have called on the United States to reverse its decision to withdraw from a UN body, citing concerns for press freedom and journalists' safety.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - This year marks the 25th anniversary of the declaration of 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty by the United Nations General Assembly. Under the theme "Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and inclusive societies," this year's commemoration reminds us of the importance of inequality, dignity, solidarity and equal voice in the fight to end poverty everywhere.

MEDAN, Indonesia, Oct 17 (IPS) - Repeated volcanic eruptions of Mount Sinabung since 2010 have displaced thousands of people, leaving villages around the mountain deserted, with volcanic ash, lava and mud covering the soil, trees and empty houses.

GENEVA, Oct 17 (IPS) - On the occasion of the 2017 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue H. E. Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim observed that the unprecedented rise of violence and insecurity in the Arab region combined, breed poverty and societal decline.

STOCKHOLM, Oct 17 (IPS) - "Too many things happened. The police called me to the station almost every day. My whole working day was spent defending myself. I had no time to write articles. Then came the attempted coup d'etat and my name was on a list kept by the national security service. I was forced to flee the country."