Libya’s prolonged political transition is facing renewed strain, with mounting economic pressures and tensions between rival governments threatening the calm that has held since the 2020 ceasefire.

The archives of British naturalist Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution by natural selection revolutionized understanding of nature and humanity’s place within it, are among 74 new additions to a UN list of documentary heritage of universal value.

The number of civilians in South Sudan harmed by conventional parties to the conflict and other armed groups increased by 51 per cent in 2024, the UN Mission in the country (UNMISS) said on Thursday.

Amid reported Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip into Thursday that killed at least 23 people, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, issued an urgent call to “get international media into Gaza” to cover the conflict, in addition to those trapped in the enclave.

DAKAR, Senegal, Apr 17 (IPS) - In a quiet corner of Medina Gounass, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal, one man has taken it upon himself to breathe new life into a place many had abandoned.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 16 (IPS) - This year, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum’s theme is “Youth at the Forefront: Leveraging Science and Social Inclusion for Sustainable Development”, bringing together government representatives, young leaders and policymakers among other relevant stakeholders, to deliberate over youth involvement in the ongoing efforts to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

NEW DELHI, Apr 16 (IPS) - Late in February, India’s noted ornithologist and conservationist, Asad Rahmani, wrote a letter to a wildlife warden in north India expressing his satisfaction about the availability of water in four important wetlands in Kashmir, where migratory birds from central Asia and Europe arrive annually for wintering.

Despite numerous regional and international diplomatic initiatives, the security situation remains critical in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Security Council heard on Wednesday.

The situation in Haiti represents “one of the most complex and urgent crises in the world with implications for reginal and global stability,” said Amy Pope, Director General of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), speaking to journalists in New York on Wednesday.

The United Nations on Wednesday warned that escalating hostilities and access constraints in Gaza are exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands and depriving civilians of shelter, food and medicine.