NEW YORK, July 4 (IPS) - UN Member States adopted the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ at the Fourth Financing for Development Forum (FfD4) which concluded July 3– the culmination of months of contentious negotiations that pitted wealthy nations against the developing world in competing visions for reform of the global economic architecture.

LONDON, July 4 (IPS) - Joshua Wong sits in a maximum-security prison cell, knowing the Hong Kong authorities are determined to silence him forever. On 6 June, police arrived at Stanley Prison bringing fresh charges that could see the high-profile democracy campaigner imprisoned for life. This is the reality of Hong Kong: even when behind bars, activists can be considered too dangerous ever to be freed.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 4 (IPS) - Concerns about the impacts of invasive species is not new; it dates to the 19th century. The term was popularized in Charles Elton’s 1958 book “The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants”. However, the concept gained significant attention in the 1990s and early 2000s as academic interest surged. This led to an increase in publications by invasion biologists.

UNITED NATIONS, July 4 (IPS) - The prospect of New Yorkers electing their first Muslim Mayor, come November, has ignited a rash of paranoid statements by right-wing US politicians, including Islamophobia– the irrational fear and hatred against Islam and Muslims.Last week, a Republican politician caricatured America’s iconic Statue of Liberty wearing a burqa– an outer garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the entire body and face. But that internet meme, spreading across social media, was deleted after protests.

UNITED NATIONS, July 3 (IPS) - Since the wake of the Sudanese Civil War in 2023, Sudan has faced a dire humanitarian crisis that has been marked by extreme violence, widespread civilian displacement, and an overwhelming lack of basic services in relation to the massive scale of needs. The latest reports from a host of United Nations (UN) organizations shed light on the rapid deterioration of living conditions for Sudanese internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.

UNITED NATIONS, July 3 (IPS) - The UN has been criticized by some member states for overstepping the mandate of its Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine during a debate in the General Assembly.

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, July 3 (IPS) - A new report has raised concerns about the exclusion of African fish workers from trade protocols between their governments and developed countries, resulting in impoverished communities relying on fishing.

UNITED NATIONS, July 3 (IPS) - “Myanmar cannot become a forgotten crisis,” Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), has said. “This country has faced cyclones, war, conflict, violence, climate and now immense suffering.”

GENEVA, July 3 (IPS) - Recent proposals to relocate UN operations to lower-cost duty stations ignore demonstrable economic patterns. Empirical evidence suggests that establishing UN hubs often triggers localized inflation, negating projected savings.

As returns of Afghan refugees and those living in refugee-like conditions from Iran and Pakistan increase – many forcibly – women and girls are arriving in a country where their rights, safety, and futures face severe threats, according to a new UN-led report.