Volodymyr Zelenskyy marks 5 years as president of Ukraine
May 20 marked Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s fifth anniversary as Ukraine’s president. By law, the president serves five years, but elections have been postponed while the country remains under martial law. Katerina Besedina examines Zelenskyy’s challenging term so far. Anna Rice narrates….
Myanmar: UN rights office warns of growing crisis in Rakhine state
Fierce battles have intensified between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, displacing tens of thousands of people in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in recent days. An estimated 45,000 Rohingya have reportedly fled to an area…
WMO warns of up to seven major hurricanes in North Atlantic in 2024
Typically, an average year sees 14 named storms with wind speeds exceeding 65 kilometres (40 miles) per hour. However, this year, 17 to 25 storms are expected, with four to seven of them potentially becoming major hurricanes, characterized by winds…
Civilians in Ukraine describe continued Russian attacks in north-eastern regions
The spokesperson for the UN human rights office (OHCHR), Liz Throssell, said that people left the Kharkiv region frontline and have been forced to stay in “cold, dark basements, with no electricity” due to aerial bombardments, drone and missile strikes,…
Sudan: Deteriorating situation in El Fasher, health system collapsing nationwide
The fighting has reportedly forced thousands of people to flee since 10 May and caused hundreds of civilian casualties, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York. “Unfortunately, in El Fasher South Hospital – which is the only functioning…
Gaza: World court orders Israel to halt military operations in Rafah
This follows a request from South Africa in a pending case accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Reading the new provisional measures in an open session at the court in The Hague, ICJ Justice Nawaf Salam…
Remote workers quietly take ‘workations’ without telling the boss
Remote work has allowed for the rise of hush “workations,” when employees work remotely, often from a holiday location, without telling their boss. The COVID-19 pandemic helped drive the trend, not only because it prompted the rise of telework, but…
Ukraine says Russia ‘bogged down’ in battle for border town
Russian forces have become “bogged down” trying to capture the northeastern border town of Vovchansk but fighting on the eastern front remains intense, Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Friday. Kyiv has been battling a Russian land assault on its…
Scientists: Climate change, rapid urbanization worsen impact of East African rains
NAIROBI, Kenya — The impact of the calamitous rains that struck East Africa from March to May was intensified by a mix of climate change and rapid growth of urban areas, an international team of climate scientists said in a…
World’s largest tree passes health check
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, California — High in the evergreen canopy of General Sherman, the world’s largest tree, researchers searched for evidence of an emerging threat to giant sequoias: bark beetles. The climbers descended the towering 2,200-year-old tree with good news…