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Iraqis stand amid ruins the day after a bombing in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 550 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. The death toll for a devastating day of attacks across Iraq rose to 119 on Tuesday as the worst hit cities of Basra and Hillah south of Baghdad reported new deaths from bombings the previous day, the country's deadliest so far this year. Image Credit: AP

United Nations: According to a new report, at least 245 million women around the world have been widowed and more than 115 million live in devastating poverty.

The report, entitled Invisible Forgotten Sufferers: The Plight of Widows around the World, was launched on Tuesday by Cherie Blair, wife of the former British prime minister, in New York.

It said the most dire consequences are faced by 2 million Afghan widows.

At least 740,000 Iraqi widows are also suffering after they lost their husbands as a result of the ongoing conflicts.

In Africa, widows and their children are evicted from their family homes, and elderly widows are caring for grandchildren orphaned by the HIV/AIDS crisis.

There are also child widows aged 7 to 17 in developing countries.