BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec 09 (IPS) - As a feminist activist and defender of women’s rights in Iraq, I would like to share with you my growing concerns about the assassinations, kidnappings, assaults, threats of assassination against and defamation of feminist activists and human rights defenders, which they have faced especially during the popular protests in October 2019–2020, all of which have occurred with impunity.

Land and water resources are “stressed to a critical point”, following significant deterioration over the past decade, according to a major new report released on Thursday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

The increasing needs of refugees and migrants from Venezuela have worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic, say UN rights experts. The number of Venezuelans worldwide who’ve gone on the run has now topped six million, with the vast majority hosted by countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Up to $1.7 trillion is estimated to be wagered on illicit betting markets each year, according to a new report released on Thursday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).  

The COVID-19 pandemic is rolling back progress on key childhood challenges such as poverty, health and access to education, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a new report on Thursday, representing the biggest global crisis for children since the agency was founded 75 years ago. 

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday expressed outrage over an attack on a convoy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in which one of its vehicles was hit, wounding three staff members

On Wednesday morning, seven UN peacekeepers from Togo died and three others were seriously injured when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Bandiagara region in central Mali. 

A meeting to boost support for UN Peacekeeping ended on Wednesday with 62 countries making new pledges, and advancing existing commitments, to help enhance the performance and impact of these operations worldwide. 

With productivity-boosting measures, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement could reduce poverty and inequality while spurring sustainable and inclusive growth, according to a report launched on Wednesday by the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 08 (IPS) - The Brazilian megalopolis of São Paulo recorded 932 flooded premises on Feb. 10, 2020. The Mexican city of Tula de Allende was under water for 48 hours in September 2021. In Lima it almost never rains, but the rivers in the Peruvian capital overflowed in 2017 and left several outlying municipalities covered with mud.