WASHINGTON DC, December 15 (IPS) - As each Christmas approaches, one song permeates the airwaves across the United States and elsewhere: White Christmas. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, “White Christmas” is the #1 selling physical single of all times with over 50 million copies sold.

PORTLAND, USA, December 15 (IPS) - Will low fertility rates return to the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman any time soon? A simple answer to this vital demographic question is: unlikely.

MANILA, Philippines, December 15 (IPS) - A global crackdown on civic freedoms is intensifying – and women are on the frontlines of the attack. CIVICUS’s 2025 People Power Under Attack report analyses the extent to which freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly are being respected or violated. The report reveals that people in 83 countries now live in conditions where their freedoms are routinely denied, compared to 67 in 2020. In 2020, 13 per cent of the world’s population lived in countries where civic freedoms were broadly respected; now it’s more like 7 per cent. Among the most documented violations in 2025 were detention of human rights defenders, journalists and protesters, and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) were among the most affected.

CARACAS, December 15 (IPS) - A group of 55 researchers gathered and analyzed 1,260 bibliographic references to compile the Second Academic Report on Climate Change in Venezuela. Their final conclusion is that more local studies are still needed to record the direct impacts across different Venezuelan regions and, in particular, to provide data to design the adaptation plans necessary to address climate change.

UNITED NATIONS, December 15 (IPS) - Within a generation, digital systems have changed much of how we learn, work and participate in civic life, especially in more connected regions. This shift is unfolding at different speeds in developing countries, but the direction of travel is unmistakable.

Gathered around the Security Council’s iconic horseshoe table, ambassadors were challenged on Monday to look backwards – when, despite deep rivalry and distrust, the body chose leaders capable of steering the world away from catastrophe towards active cooperation.

In a region long overshadowed by conflict narratives, a new kind of leadership is emerging – quiet, insistent, and unmistakably women-centred.

Humanitarian assistance in Gaza is being delayed because aid cargo is routinely deprioritised in favour of commercial goods, the UN’s aid coordination office (OCHA) warned on Monday, as winter storms continue to worsen already dire living conditions for displaced families.

The 11th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations opened in Riyadh on Sunday with a blunt message for a world riven by distrust: dialogue is not a luxury – it’s a survival strategy.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the “heinous deadly attack” on Sunday against Jewish families gathered in Sydney, Australia, to celebrate Hanukkah.