UNRWA cannot be replaced, say UN top officials in response to Knesset ban
Echoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning late Monday that the development would likely have “devastating consequences” as UNRWA is the principal deliverer of aid relief inside the war-torn enclave, UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the Knesset move “deeply…
Middle East crisis: Live updates on UNRWA, Gaza and more
Our live coverage ranged from the Security Council and UN Headquarters to dispatches from across the Middle East as tensions escalated and the war on Gaza and Lebanon continued in the shadows of a new Israeli ban on UNRWA, the…
Sudan’s ‘living nightmare’ continues as 11 million flee war, mass killings
“The situation in Sudan is catastrophic. There is simply no other way to put it. Hunger disease and sexual violence are rampant. For the people of Sudan, this is a living nightmare,” warned Amy Pope, Director General of the International…
Saudi energy minister commits to crude capacity levels and climate targets
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia is “committed” to maintaining crude capacity at 12.3 million barrels per day, Energy Minister Prince Abulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, he said the world’s largest…
Saudi ‘Davos in the desert’ opens with region on war footing
Riyadh — Global business leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a glitzy investor forum as conflict shakes the region and skepticism mounts over the Gulf kingdom’s most ambitious development projects. The Future Investment Initiative (FII) debuted in 2017…
South Korea says Russia-North Korea military cooperation ‘poses significant security threat’
PENTAGON — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia “poses a significant security threat to the international community.” The comments at a Cabinet meeting in Seoul followed Yoon saying Monday that…
US, South Korea to confer on North Korean troop deployment to Russia
state department — Top diplomatic and military officials from the United States and South Korea are set to convene in Washington this Thursday as the two allies closely monitor and express concerns about North Korea’s deployment of about 10,000 troops…
One person dead in Iowa from Lassa fever, state health department says
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services on Monday confirmed the death of a middle-aged eastern Iowa resident from Lassa fever. The individual had recently returned from travel to West Africa, where it is believed the person contracted the…
Pakistan, Afghanistan launch polio vaccination drives as cases resurge
Islamabad — Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan simultaneously launched fresh vaccination campaigns against polio Monday amid a resurgence in cases in the only two countries globally where the virus continues to be endemic and paralyze children. The World Health Organization reported…
Texas Country Boys give charity concerts in war-torn Ukraine
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a musical group of American Christians calling themselves the Texas Country Boys have been playing charity events in Ukraine. Tetiana Kukurika met with the band members to find out why Ukraine is so…