Middle East crisis: Updates for 20 January; Guterres calls for ‘immediate action’ to protect civilians, release of all hostages
Following the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the UN Security Council is meeting in New York to hear from the Secretary-General and foreign ministers from the Middle East and beyond. UN chief António Guterres told the…
Guterres urges support for the Middle East amid current ‘turbulent period’
António Guterres addressed the Council’s first quarterly debate on the Middle East for the year, held against the backdrop of Sunday’s temporary ceasefire in Gaza, the end of hostilities in Lebanon sparked by the war, and the fall of the…
India’s ‘digital arrest’ scammers stealing savings of citizens
Bengaluru, India — Within five hours, while sitting at home in India, retired professor Kamta Prasad Singh handed over his hard-earned savings to online fraudsters impersonating police. The cybercrime known as “digital arrest” — where fraudsters pose online as law…
Ukraine reports downing 93 Russian drones
Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 93 of the 141 drones that Russian forces launched overnight in attacks targeting regions across the country. The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv,…
How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat
SAN FRANCISCO — If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so,…
23-year-old American loses nearly all eyesight defending Ukraine
At 23, American Army veteran Manus McCaffery volunteered to join the fight against Russian aggression in Ukraine. In 2022, a Russian shell left him partially blind, but despite his wounds he continues to fight for those on the front lines….
California marine sanctuary protects waters from oil drilling
After President Joe Biden announced a ban on oil and gas drilling off most of the U.S. coastline in early January, President-elect Donald Trump quickly vowed to reverse it after he takes office on January 20. But there is one…
TikTok says it’s restoring service to US users based on Trump’s promised executive order
Washington — TikTok said Sunday it was restoring service to users in the United States after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban that President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive…
Guterres welcomes start of ceasefire in Gaza as UN ramps up food deliveries
“We stand ready to support this implementation and scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer,” the UN chief said in a social media post. He added: “It is imperative that…
TikTok goes dark for US users; company pins hope on Trump
WASHINGTON — TikTok stopped working in the United States late on Saturday and disappeared from Apple and Google app stores ahead of a law that takes effect Sunday requiring the shutdown of the app used by 170 million Americans. President-elect…