GENEVA – The United Nations’ aid chief has welcomed Israel’s announcement yesterday of secure land routes into Gaza for humanitarian convoys, and said the UN would try to reach as many starving people as possible. “Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through,” UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said on...
NAIROBI – Despite billions of dollars in international support, Somalia’s army has melted in the face of a months-long offensive by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al- Shabaab insurgency, and donors are running out of patience. Using hundreds of fighters and a vehicle packed with explosives for a suicide attack, Al-Shabaab retook the town of Moqokori on 7...
BEIJING – China yesterday said it regretted the United States’ decision to withdraw from the United Nations cultural and education agency United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). “This is not the action that a responsible major country should take,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. “China has always firmly supported the work of...
JERUSALEM – More than 100 aid organisations and human rights groups yesterday warned that “mass starvation” was spreading in Gaza, as the United States said its top envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and aid corridor. Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, where...
MANILA – Heavy flooding inundated the Philippines’ capital yesterday, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee and schools and government offices to shut, while a fresh storm brewed off the coast. At least six people have died and another six remain missing after Tropical Storm Wipha skirted the country on Friday, according to the...
PROGRESSIVE platforms that focus on providing for the basic needs of people are seeing success across the world. New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is surrounded by supporters after a press conference with union leaders in New York City, on July 2, 2025 [David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters] It might seem bizarre to speak of hope...
Fuel control switches to the engines of an Air India flight that crashed shortly after take-off, killing 260 people, were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position moments before impact, a preliminary investigation report said Saturday. The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame...
GAZA CITY – Gaza’s civil defence agency on Thursday said at least 52 people, including eight children, were killed by Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory battered by more than 21 months of war. The latest deadly strikes and gunfire came just hours after Hamas, which runs Gaza, announced it was willing to release 10...
LONDON – Five seafarers have been rescued after a cargo ship was attacked and sunk off Yemen, maritime monitors said yesterday, as a search continues for the remaining crew. The MV Eternity C, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, was badly damaged in an attack in the Red Sea that started on Monday and continued into Tuesday....
BEIJING – Five people are missing after a house was buried in a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall in southwest China yesterday, authorities and state media said. The landslide in Xuyong county in Sichuan province occurred after more than 150 millimetres (six inches) of rain fell in just three hours overnight, the local government said...