Rights experts call for immediate release of Abu Zubaydah from Guantánamo
On Monday the United States military sent 11 long-term detainees from the facility to Oman after reaching agreement with the Government there on relocation and resettlement. Only 15 detainees now remain, according to news reports. The prison opened in 2002…
Ukraine in grip of third winter of escalating Russian attacks
In a scheduled update mandated by the Council in Geneva, Nada Al-Nashif said that these attacks had led to the deaths of 574 civilians – an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year. She noted that Russian bombardment…
Ukrainian drone attacks target Russia’s Saratov region
Ukrainian forces carried out what Russian officials said Wednesday was a mass drone attack on the Saratov region, causing damage to an industrial enterprise. Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said the attack targeted the neighboring cities of Saratov and Engels, an…
Meta to offer wider range of speech on platforms, CEO says
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that there would be a wider range of speech on Facebook and other Meta platforms. “We’re going to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram,” he…
HMPV is no ‘mysterious China virus’
The recent surge of respiratory infections across northern China and other parts of Asia sparked a wave of fear and misinformation on social networks and in the news suggesting another COVID-19-like pandemic could be imminent. China is reportedly dealing with…
Trump: ‘All hell will break out’ if Hamas hostages not returned
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday held an omnibus press conference at his Florida estate, where he explained his stances on key foreign policy issues as he prepares to take office in two weeks. He forcefully called for the…
Meta shelves fact-checking program in US, adopts X-like ‘Community Notes’ model
Meta is ending its fact-checking program in the U.S. and replacing it with a “Community Notes” system similar to that on Elon Musk-owned X, the Facebook parent said on Tuesday. The Community Notes model will allow users on Meta’s social…
Lebanon: Appeal for $371.4 million to boost life-saving support
Announced at the Grand Serail in Beirut by Deputy Prime Minister Saade el-Shami and UN Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza, the appeal extends emergency efforts through March 2025. It builds on the original Flash Appeal launched in October 2024, following the largest…
Gaza: Humanitarians assist families impacted by recent airstrike in Deir Al-Balah
Personnel from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) conducted the assessment earlier this week in the Yaffa and Al Somud makeshift sites, home to more than 190 families. Several…
More than 5,600 killed in Haiti gang violence in 2024
These deaths represent an increase of over 1,000 on the total killings for 2023, according to figures verified by OHCHR. A further 2,212 people were injured and 1,494 kidnapped. “These figures alone cannot capture the absolute horrors being perpetrated in…