Palestine’s economy in ruins, as Gaza war sets development back two decades
The joint study by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), revealed that the poverty rate has surged to 58.4 per cent since the 7 October Hamas-led terror attacks began the escalation…
10,000 people feared buried under the rubble in Gaza
“It could take up to three years to retrieve the bodies using the primitive tools they have on hand,” the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said, amid rising temperatures that will accelerate the decomposition of bodies, potentially increasing the threat…
Is social media access a human right? Norway’s Supreme Court to decide
STAVANGER, Norway — A convicted sex offender is asking the Norwegian Supreme Court to declare social media access is a human right. The case before the court Thursday involves a man who molested a minor and used the Snapchat messaging…
Macron says ruling out actions in support of Ukraine weakens resistance to Russia
French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Thursday it would be wrong to rule out any particular actions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying that doing so weakens the capacity to deter Russia. In the interview…
UnitedHealth says hackers potentially stole data from a third of Americans
WASHINGTON — Hackers who breached UnitedHealth’s tech unit in February potentially stole data from a third of Americans, the largest U.S. health insurer’s CEO told a congressional committee on Wednesday. Two congressional panels grilled CEO Andrew Witty about the cyberattack…
Biden campaign criticizes Trump over new Florida abortion law
The U.S. state of Florida has a new law banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. In this presidential campaign, Donald Trump is defending the right of states to regulate reproductive rights. Joe Biden says that decentralized authority threatens…
Drone footage shows how Russian airstrikes devastated Ukrainian city
KYIV, Ukraine — Months of relentless Russian artillery pounding have devastated a strategic city in eastern Ukraine, new drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows, with barely a building left intact, homes and municipal offices charred, and a town…
Russia displays Western equipment captured from Ukrainian army
moscow — An exhibition of Western military equipment captured from Kyiv forces during the fighting in Ukraine opened Wednesday in the Russian capital. The exhibit, organized by the Russian Defense Ministry, features more than 30 pieces of Western-made heavy equipment,…
Russia breached global chemical weapons ban in Ukraine war, US says
washington — The United States on Wednesday accused Russia of violating the international chemical weapons ban by deploying the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and using riot control agents “as a method of warfare” in Ukraine. “The use of…
Explosives clearance enables aid to reach victims of war in Gaza
GENEVA — More than 800 mine action leaders attending a U.N.-sponsored conference in Geneva this week are warning of the ongoing dangers from unexploded ordnance and landmines in countries affected by conflict. A focus of the conference is on the…