STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jul 12 (IPS) - The war in Ukraine continues unabated; young men are sacrificed on battlefields, towns laid waste by aerial attacks, the threat of nuclear disasters is looming. People within an often formerly friendly inclined Europe are now wondering if Vladimir Putin has gone insane. The war in Ukraine is generally called “Putin’s war” and in April 2021 Putin signed a legislation providing him the right to run for two more consecutive terms, thus he could stay in power till 2036.

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, Jul 12 (IPS) - Deep in the heart of Southeastern Mauritania lies the district and town of Bassikounou, nestled on the border with neighboring Mali, over 1,200 kilometers from the capital city of Nouakchott.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul 12 (IPS) - As our planet continues to heat up at an alarming rate, carbon credits, markets and trading have been promoted as effective measures to combat global warming. While there is an urgent need to curb planetary heating, growing reliance on this innovation is problematic, to say the least.

Efforts towards building peace in Colombia following decades of conflict are bearing fruit but the threat of renewed violence still looms, the head of the UN Mission in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.

United Nations-appointed independent human rights experts on Wednesday condemned the forced eviction and displacement of Palestinian families in east Jerusalem by Israeli police, warning the operations may amount to a war crime of forcible transfer.

Severe sand and dust storms (SDS) are becoming increasingly common, with UN climate experts attributing the rise to human-driven causes such as climate change and unsustainable farming practices. To combat this, the UN has designated 12 July its first-ever International Day of Combatting Sand and Dust Storms.

The continuing lack of accountability for the violations and abuses committed by Russian forces in Ukraine is deeply concerning, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Wednesday.

More than 120 million girls are out of school and the world must do more to ensure they can get an education, Nobel laureate and UN Messenger of Peace Malala Yousafzai said in Abuja, Nigeria on Wednesday, her 26th birthday.

As many as 783 million people faced hunger worldwide in 2022 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, repeated weather shocks and conflicts, including in Ukraine, according to a study launched by five United Nations agencies on Wednesday.

Half of humanity lives in countries that are forced to spend more on servicing their debt than on health and education, which is nothing less than a development disaster, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday.