PORTLAND, USA, January 7 (IPS) - While death is inevitable for everyone, the timing of “The Appointment in Samarra” varies significantly among and within populations. Fortunately, mortality levels of human populations have declined significantly worldwide in recent years, leading to increased survival rates and delayed appointments in Samarra.

UNITED NATIONS, January 7 (IPS) - New estimates show that violence against women and girls remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world – and that one of its fastest-growing frontiers is the digital space.

BRATISLAVA, January 7 (IPS) - “It was an emergency caesarean section when the life of the pregnant woman was at risk. We did the operation with just flashlights and no water, and against a backdrop of constant explosions,” says Dr Oleksandr Zhelezniakov, Director of the Obstetrics Department at Kharkiv Regional Clinical Hospital, in eastern Ukraine.

At least five civilians have been killed and some 30,000 people displaced following renewed fighting in Aleppo, Syria, prompting calls from the UN for immediate de-escalation and a return to political talks.

Some two decades after a shaky political transition, Iraq today is a country “at peace, with increased security and a clear determination to win the battle of development,” says the UN resident coordinator for Iraq on Wednesday.

A sweeping UN human rights report released on Wednesday concludes that in the occupied West Bank, Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid, warning that the discriminatory practices have accelerated dramatically since late 2022 amid growing violence, repression and impunity.

Almost four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aid teams continue to adapt to the lethal reality of working in a modern war zone.

YANGON, Myanmar and BANGKOK , January 6 (IPS) - With thousands of civilians killed in years of civil war and over 22,000 political prisoners still behind bars, no one was surprised that early results from Myanmar’s first but tightly controlled elections since the 2021 coup show the military’s proxy party speeding to victory.

NEW YORK, January 6 (IPS) - The United Nations issued a year end Fact Sheet: Rising global military expenditures, starkly illuminating that last year’s record high of $2.7 trillion in military expenditures, caused a cascade of devastating consequences to human well-being, the environment, possibilities for avoiding climate collapse, as well as blows to employment, ending hunger and poverty, providing health care, education, and other ills, due to a lack of adequate funding support.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, January 6 (IPS) - While US President Donald Trump has blamed the BRICS and foreign investors for de-dollarisation, his rhetoric, actions and policy measures are mainly responsible for the trend’s recent acceleration.