Debt burden threatens poor countries’ development goals, UN official says
HAMBURG, Germany — The world’s poorest countries are having to prioritize debt service over investments, United Nations Development Program administrator Achim Steiner said on Monday, scuppering progress towards their sustainable development goals. Speaking at an event in Hamburg, Steiner said…
Russian court sentences 72-year-old American to nearly 7 years in prison for fighting in Ukraine
MOSCOW — A Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old American in a closed trial to nearly seven years in prison for allegedly fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. Prosecutors said Stephen Hubbard signed a contract with the Ukrainian military…
Nobel Prize in medicine honors American duo for their discovery of microRNA
STOCKHOLM — The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, tiny pieces of genetic material that alter how genes work at the cellular level and could…
Ukrainian forces strike oil terminal in Crimea
Ukrainian forces carried out an attack Monday on an oil terminal in the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine’s military said the site it hit in Feodosia was used to supply Russian forces. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday it shot down 12…
US aviation authority OKs SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle for Monday flight
Washington — SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket can return to flight for a mission planned for Monday to launch the European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft from Florida, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday. Elon Musk’s company, which has engaged…
Dutch defense minister pledges $440M for drone action plan with Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine — Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on a surprise visit to Kyiv on Sunday that his country will invest 400 million euros ($440 million) in advanced drone development with Ukraine and deliver more F-16s in the coming…
Rwanda begins Marburg vaccinations to curb deadly outbreak
KIGALI — Rwanda said Sunday it had begun administering vaccine doses against the Marburg virus to try to combat an outbreak of the Ebola-like disease in the east African country, where it has so far killed 12 people. “The vaccination…
As affordable housing disappears, states scramble to shore up losses
Los Angeles — For more than two decades, the low rent on Marina Maalouf’s apartment in a blocky affordable housing development in Los Angeles’ Chinatown was a saving grace for her family, including a granddaughter who has autism. But that…
A letter from a mother in Gaza: Hardships, heartbreak and hope
That day was in November 2023, around a month into the war in Gaza. Ala’a is among an estimated 155,000 pregnant women and new mothers in the Gaza Strip who for the past year have been forced to give birth under…
Lebanon: UNHCR chief issues urgent aid appeal to stem humanitarian catastrophe
According to the Lebanese health ministry over 2,000 Lebanese have been killed and nearly 10,000 wounded since the start of Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza a year ago. Israel intensified its bombing campaign across the whole of Lebanon following…