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Month: February 2025

‘We all have someone missing’: Families of the thousands of Syrians ‘disappeared’ by Assad regime share stories of loss

It has been two months since Bashar al-Assad, the former president of Syria, was forced to flee the country, as rebel forces – now installed as the interim government – advanced on Damascus, putting an end to 50 years of…

Israeli military operation displaces 40,000 in the West Bank

Several refugee camps are nearly empty after Israeli forces launched Operation Iron Wall on 21 January, making it the longest operation in the West Bank since the second intifada, according to the agency. The operation started in Jenin camp and…

Russia drone attacks spark fire, damage homes

Russian drone attacks caused a fire in Kyiv, injured a woman in Sumy and damaged several homes, according to Ukrainian officials. Meanwhile, the Russian military reported downing 15 Ukrainian drones overnight, including seven in the Krasnodar region. Nobody was hurt…

High-stakes AI summit in Paris: World leaders, tech titans and challenging diplomatic talks

PARIS —  Major world leaders are meeting for an AI summit in Paris, where challenging diplomatic talks are expected as tech titans fight for dominance in the fast-moving technology industry. Heads of state, top government officials, CEOs and scientists from…

Almost all nations miss UN deadline for new climate targets

PARIS —  Nearly all nations missed a UN deadline Monday to submit new targets for slashing carbon emissions, including major economies under pressure to show leadership following the U.S. retreat on climate change. Just 10 of nearly 200 countries required…

Trump to announce 25% steel, aluminum tariffs in latest trade escalation

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE —  U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will announce on Monday new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., which would come on top of existing metals duties in another…

Soaring egg prices in US pique interest in backyard chickens

NEW YORK —  Thinking about backyard chickens as egg prices soar? Think hard, especially in light of the bird flu outbreak. Keeping home chickens as a pastime has continued to grow since the pandemic. But if eggs are the goal,…

Baltic states switch to European power grid, ending Russia ties

VILNIUS —  Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said on Sunday they had successfully synchronized their electricity systems to the European continental power grid, one day after severing decades-old energy ties to Russia and Belarus. Planned for many years, the complex switch…

Economists raise concern over sustainability of Indonesian meal program

JAKARTA, INDONESIA —  Economists are raising concerns about the viability of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s program launched this year to combat child nutrition. According to an Indonesian Ministry of Health Nutritional Status Study report, 21.6% of children ages 3 and…

After years of conflict, Timor-Leste turns peacemaker

Timor-Leste’s road to peace has not been easy. In 1976, not long after Indonesia became independent it invaded the eastern part of the island of Timor, formerly a Portuguese colony. An unhappy period of occupation, punctuated by violent repression, followed…