UN officials call for ceasefire compliance after 15 people killed in Lebanon
The timelines envisaged in the November ceasefire agreement “have not been met”, according to a joint statement by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and head of the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, and force commander Aroldo Lázaro. The agreement…
DR CONGO CRISIS: Updates as top UN official tells emergency Security Council meeting ‘we are trapped’
Intensifying hostilities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo involving the non-state armed group M23 have caused further mass displacement in the mineral-rich region, with fears that the regional capital Goma could come under attack, UN agencies warned on Friday….
Trump discussing TikTok purchase with multiple people; decision in 30 days
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was in talks with multiple people over buying TikTok and would likely have a decision on the popular app’s future in the next 30 days. “I have…
CIA: COVID likely originated in a lab, but agency has ‘low confidence’ in report
WASHINGTON — The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment released Saturday that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has “low…
Exiled Russian artists raise funds to help Ukraine
More than 50 exiled Russian artists who left the country for Europe to escape the war have raised more than $100,000 in an online charity auction. The funds will be sent to various Ukrainian initiatives aimed at helping Ukrainian refugees…
War plunges Russia deeper into demographic crisis
President Vladimir Putin openly admits that demographics present Russia with one of its most serious challenges. U.S. experts believe that even without taking into account the effects of the war with Ukraine, Russia’s population will shrink further substantially in the…
Big Tech wants data centers plugged into power plants; utilities balk
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — Looking for a quick fix for their fast-growing electricity diets, tech giants are increasingly looking to strike deals with power plant owners to plug in directly, avoiding a potentially longer and more expensive process of hooking into…
UN relocates non-critical staff from North Kivu, DR Congo
The UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, is relocating administrative staff and others in North Kivu that can continue performing their duties from elsewhere in response to the deteriorating security situation and intensifying hostilities involving the non-State armed group M23,…
Moldovan president visits Kyiv to talk energy, security
KYIV, UKRAINE — Moldovan President Maia Sandu visited Kyiv on Saturday for talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid growing tensions in Transnistria, a pro-Russian separatist enclave of Moldova that neighbors Ukraine. The territory, which has a population of half…
App provides immediate fire information to Los Angeles residents
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — From his home in northern California, Nick Russell, a former farm manager, is monitoring the Los Angeles-area fires. He knows that about 600 kilometers south, people in Los Angeles are relying on his team’s live neighborhood-by-neighborhood updates…