Ireland finally won their first Test match on Friday when they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi, ending a streak of seven successive losses.

Captain Andy Balbirnie led from the front with an undefeated 58 as Ireland reached their modest target of 111 in the final session of the third day.

Ireland had played their first Test back in 2018 when they were defeated by Pakistan.

"We're absolutely excited. We've created history. The monkey is off the back and it's very special to do that," said Balbirnie whose team were wobbling at 13-3 at one stage.

Famine in the Gaza Strip is almost inevitable unless the Israel-Hamas war changes, the United Nations said Friday.

The UN and other humanitarian actors have not yet declared a state of famine in Gaza, despite worsening conditions in the Palestinian territory since the war started with the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

However, "once a famine is declared, it is too late for too many people", said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

Left-wing firebrand George Galloway was elected to the UK parliament on Friday after tapping into anger over the Israel-Hamas war in a chaotic by-election marred by allegations of anti-Semitism.

Galloway, 69, first became an MP in 1987 and will return to the House of Commons for the first time since 2015 after winning the seat of Rochdale, in northwest England, by nearly 6,000 votes.

A high-level WTO conference ended Saturday with a temporary extension of an e-commerce moratorium but no deals on agriculture and fisheries, throwing into doubt the effectiveness of the multilateral trade body.

The outcomes of the World Trade Organization's 13th ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi highlighted the sharp divisions between the body´s 164 members amid geopolitical tensions and economic headwinds that are threatening global commerce.

Iranians voted on Friday in elections for parliament and a key clerical body, amid fears of a low turnout and with conservatives expected to tighten their grip on power.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has called for a strong turnout, was the first to cast his ballot. He vote at a polling station in central Tehran, state television reported.

The elections are the first in Iran since widespread protests erupted after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

More than 30 news organizations signed an open letter Thursday expressing solidarity with journalists working in Gaza and calling for their protection and freedom to report.

The letter, coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists, was signed by global news agencies AFP, AP and Reuters, as well as other leading media outlets including the New York Times, BBC News and Israel's Haaretz.

It is unrealistic to think the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, can easily be replaced, its head said on Thursday in the face of calls for its abolition.

"It is a little bit short-sighted to believe that UNRWA can just technically hand over all its activities to other UN agencies or NGOs," Philippe Lazzarini told journalists at the agency's headquarters in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

"It's an agency (that's) quite unique because we are... primarily providing government-like services to one of the most destitute communities in the region," he said.

Aviva Siegel survived 51 days as a Hamas hostage in Gaza, held in captivity alongside her husband Keith. Now freed, she clings to the hope of them seeing each other again.

The Israeli kindergarten teacher, 62, said she will not rest until he is returned safe and well.

"We don't know if he's alive. We don't know if he's dead. It's hard," she told AFP during a visit to Geneva, where she met Red Cross leaders and UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Thursday.

The UN, which has warned of "almost inevitable" widespread starvation in northern Gaza, uses strict criteria to declare a famine.

In the Jabalia refugee camp north of Gaza City, dozens of children wander around carrying empty pots, looking for anything edible.

Nearly five months after the start of the war, Gazans are despairing at the little humanitarian aid entering the coastal territory, particularly in the north. Some say they resort to eating leaves, or fodder for livestock.

Thousands of Palestinians flocked to an aid distribution point early Thursday, desperate for food amid Gaza's looming famine, only to be met with lethal chaos including live fire by Israeli troops.

By mid-afternoon the Hamas-run health ministry said more than 100 people were reported dead in the grisly incident which underscored worsening shortages in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.