Russia’s refusal to return body of Ukrainian journalist slows death investigation
washington — Investigations into the death in Russian custody of Viktoria Roshchyna are being hampered by Moscow’s refusal to return the body of the 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist. Ukraine earlier this month announced that Roshchyna had died in Russian custody on…
Record 8 million people diagnosed with TB in 2023, WHO reports
london — More than 8 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis last year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, the highest number recorded since the U.N. health agency began keeping track. About 1.25 million people died of TB last year,…
Companies find solutions to power EVs in energy-challenged Africa
NAIROBI, KENYA — Some companies are coming up with creative ways of making electric vehicles a more realistic option in power-challenged areas of Africa. Countries in Africa have been slow adopters of battery-powered vehicles because finding reliable sources of electricity…
Cryptocurrency promoters on X amplify China-aligned disinformation
Washington — A group of accounts that regularly promote cryptocurrency-related content on X have amplified messages from Chinese official accounts and a China-linked disinformation operation covertly pushing Beijing’s propaganda toward Western social media users known as “Spamouflage”. Spamouflage accounts are…
UNRWA cannot be replaced, say UN top officials in response to Knesset ban
Echoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning late Monday that the development would likely have “devastating consequences” as UNRWA is the principal deliverer of aid relief inside the war-torn enclave, UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the Knesset move “deeply…
Middle East crisis: Live updates on UNRWA, Gaza and more
Our live coverage ranged from the Security Council and UN Headquarters to dispatches from across the Middle East as tensions escalated and the war on Gaza and Lebanon continued in the shadows of a new Israeli ban on UNRWA, the…
Sudan’s ‘living nightmare’ continues as 11 million flee war, mass killings
“The situation in Sudan is catastrophic. There is simply no other way to put it. Hunger disease and sexual violence are rampant. For the people of Sudan, this is a living nightmare,” warned Amy Pope, Director General of the International…
Saudi energy minister commits to crude capacity levels and climate targets
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia is “committed” to maintaining crude capacity at 12.3 million barrels per day, Energy Minister Prince Abulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, he said the world’s largest…
Saudi ‘Davos in the desert’ opens with region on war footing
Riyadh — Global business leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a glitzy investor forum as conflict shakes the region and skepticism mounts over the Gulf kingdom’s most ambitious development projects. The Future Investment Initiative (FII) debuted in 2017…
South Korea says Russia-North Korea military cooperation ‘poses significant security threat’
PENTAGON — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia “poses a significant security threat to the international community.” The comments at a Cabinet meeting in Seoul followed Yoon saying Monday that…