The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday heard sobering briefings on the human rights situations in Ukraine and Gaza, along with a call to confront structural racism and intersectional discrimination worldwide.

The UN Secretary-General is “appalled” by the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as civilians face yet another wave of mass displacement with few safe places to go.

Agricultural land is more than just a resource to produce food – for many older adults around the world, a land deed is the only safety net they have as they enter their old age. As a result, they hold onto it tightly.

Temperatures across lower South America have plummeted – falling as low as -15° Celsius or 5° Fahrenheit in some places – as a rare polar cold wave grips the region, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Thursday.

The landmark Financing for Development conference in Sevilla has concluded with a renewed sense of resolve and a focus on action that can change lives worldwide, according to UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

Civil society organisations have welcomed the consensus reached at the landmark sustainable development conference concluding this Thursday in Sevilla, while cautioning that real progress will depend on sustained action.

CARACAS, July 2 (IPS) - Having hydroelectric power without damming rivers, dismantling the environment or displacing populations is possible in Latin America and the Caribbean, with reversible power plants that take advantage of their mountainous geography, and pave the way for only renewable sources to generate electricity.

BRUSSELS, Belgium / MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, July 2 (IPS) - When tanks rolled through Myanmar’s streets in 2021, civil society groups worldwide sounded the alarm. When Viktor Orbán systematically dismantled Hungary’s free press, democracy activists demanded international action. And as authoritarianism returns to Tanzania ahead of elections, it’s once again civil society calling for democratic freedoms to be respected.

SEVILLE & BHUBANESWAR, July 2 (IPS) - While droughts creep in stealthily, their impacts are often more devastating and far-reaching than any other disaster. Inter-community conflict, extremist violence, and violence and injustice against vulnerable girls and women happen at the intersection of climate-induced droughts and drought-impoverished communities.

A key water reservoir serving Khan Younis in southern Gaza has become inaccessible following new Israeli displacement orders, sparking fears of a collapse in the city’s water distribution network and worsening already dire humanitarian conditions, the United Nations warned on Wednesday.