There have been significant developments in Iraq in recent months – which has so far avoided being dragged into the widening Middle East conflict – but corruption and other challenges persist, the new UN Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Friday.

One of the last partially functional health centres in besieged northern Gaza was hit several times overnight into Friday, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

There can be “no life without healthy land as we cannot survive,” according to an Olympic athlete who has been attending a global meeting being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, focused on halting desertification and land loss and promoting the restoration and sustainable use of land.

More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.

THE HAGUE & SRINAGAR, Dec 05 (IPS) - Developing nations should not bear the brunt of the climate crisis caused by the industrialized world's historical emissions. This was the resounding message as the Solomon Islands, India, and Iran, among others, presented their cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 05 (IPS) - As the Sudanese Civil War continues to ravage the people of Sudan, conditions for internally displaced persons grow more dire every day. The situation in Sudan is currently the biggest displacement crisis in the world. Famine, violence, and gender-based violence are rampant. Described as “an invisible crisis” by the United Nations (UN) new emergency relief chief, Tom Fletcher, many believe that the humanitarian response has been largely ineffective in tackling the urgent and growing scale of needs.

BULAWAYO, Dec 05 (IPS) - On the dusty plains of Shamva District in Zimbabwe, Wilfred Mudavanhu's maize field defies drought.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 05 (IPS) - The conclusion of the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) brings with it a blend of urgency, frustration, and a glimmer of hope for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Dec 05 (IPS) - Despite uneven economic recovery since the pandemic, poverty, inequality, and food insecurity continue to worsen, including in the Asia-Pacific region, which used to fare better than the rest of the Global South.

THE HAGUE, Dec 05 (IPS) - At The Hague, the United Nation’s highest court heard Fiji, a small island nation, lay out its arguments on the threat posed by climate change and the legal obligations, especially those of developed nations.