Author: Justin M. Larson
Since Sunday, more than 1,000 people were newly displaced from Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan state, as well as the towns of Dilling and El Koaik. They are reportedly seeking shelter in four other states: North and West Kordofan, Khartoum and White Nile.Thousands on the moveFighting across the Kordofans has intensified as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue their battle for control of the country.Humanitarians report that people have also been arriving in White Nile from parts of West Kordofan state that have seen intense clashes this month, including the towns of Babanusa and Heglig.Some 1,600 people – mainly women and children – arrived in the city of Kosti in White…
Speaking to UN News during a visit to UN Headquarters in New York, Gwyn Lewis, the UN’s interim Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, said global attention has shifted elsewhere even as conditions inside the country continue to deteriorate.“The crisis in Myanmar is almost invisible,” she said. “There’s really a sense in country that it’s been forgotten.”Her comments come as the United Nations and humanitarian partners warn that Myanmar’s needs will continue to rise in 2026, with limited resources forcing painful choices about who can be helped. Listen to Ms. Lewis’ interview with UN News. A crisis years in the…
Moose Campbell/BBCThe Flamingo missile is a new, long-range Ukrainian cruise missile, designed for deep strikes against Russia with a range of up to 3,000km Jonathan BealeDefence correspondent in KyivWe’re driven blindfolded to a secret location where Ukraine is making one of its latest weapons. We’re told to turn off our phones – such is the secrecy around the production of Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile.For Ukraine, dispersing and hiding the production of weapons like this is key to survival. Two factories belonging to the company that make it – Fire Point – have already been hit.Inside the one we’re visiting we’re…
British oil giant BP has appointed Woodside Energy boss Meg O’Neill as its next CEO, replacing Murray Auchincloss after less than two years in the role. Auchincloss will step down today, with Carol Howle, BP’s executive vice president for supply, trading and shipping set to serve as interim CEO until O’Neill takes over the role on April 1. She will be BP’s fourth CEO in six years.Auchincloss stepped up from his previous role as chief financial officer to the top job in January 2024, after his predecessor Bernard Looney left the company for failing to disclose a relationship with a…
Current estimates place the total damage and loss between $8 billion and $15 billion – nearly a quarter of Jamaica’s gross domestic product (GDP), said Dennis Zulu, UN Resident Coordinator for Jamaica, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. The hurricane affected more than 626,000 people and claimed 45,000 lives, underscoring its profound human toll.Despite notable progress in recovery efforts, 90 emergency shelters are still up and running, accommodating nearly 950 people who have yet to return home.Communities left exposedEntire communities are still fully exposed, with at least 120,000 buildings – most of them in southwestern Jamaica – having lost their…
Paul KirbyEurope digital editorUkrinform/NurPhotoBelgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is yet to be convinced that the money held in Belgium should be loaned to Ukraine (file pic)European Union leaders begin two days of talks in Brussels with a momentous decision to be taken on whether to loan tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine to fund its military and economic needs.Most of Russia’s €210bn (£185bn; $245bn) worth of assets in the EU are held by Belgium-based organisation Euroclear, and so far Belgium and some other members of the bloc have said they are opposed to using…
Sydney’s devastated Jewish community gathered for the funeral of “Matilda Bee,” an ebullient, smiling 10-year-old girl. Source link
Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, a Baillie Gifford-run technology-focused fund, is calling on shareholders to throw out a plan by Boaz Weinstein’s activist investment fund Saba Capital to overhaul its board of directors.The EWIT board said on Wednesday it would “strongly urge” shareholders to reject a plan by the U.S. hedge fund — which holds a 30% stake in the trust — to remove the incumbent board and appoint three directors in their place.In an update on Wednesday, the trust’s chair, Jonathan Simpson-Dent, said Saba was “an aggressive U.S. hedge fund” which wants to “seize control for its own commercial advantage,…
Military vehicles queue to launch U.S.-made TOW A2 missiles during a live firing exercise in Pingtung county on July 2023.Sam Yeh | Afp | Getty ImagesThe U.S. on Thursday approved its largest arms sale to Taiwan, at $11.15 billion, as the island faces growing threats from China and has been a subject of diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.The Taiwanese defense ministry said the sale — comprising artillery systems, antitank missiles, as well as spare parts for helicopters and anti-ship missiles — falls under the $40 billion supplementary defense budget announced by President Lai Ching-te in November.Lai last month vowed…
Beijing is using its messaging tools to show off its prowess at building infrastructure and project power, taking advantage of what it says is “deep anxiety” in U.S. policies. Source link
The attack on Wednesday brings the total number killed to at least 99 since the Trump administration began bombing boats suspected of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Source link
Pandas have stood for friendship between China and Japan since 1972. But the last two are about to go, and a dispute over Taiwan could get in the way of sending more. Source link
He won the prestigious award for his daring coverage of the Vietnam War for The Associated Press, and went on to cover conflicts for CNN for nearly two decades. Source link
TOKYO, JAPAN – FEBRUARY 03: SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son delivers a speech during an event titled “Transforming Business through AI” in Tokyo, Japan, on February 03, 2025. SoftBank and OpenAI announced that they have agreed a partnership to set up a joint venture for artificial intelligence services in Japan.Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesJapanese tech stocks took a tumble on Thursday as AI infrastructure spending worries on Wall Street crossed the ocean into the Asian markets, with AI-related stocks declining.Softbank Group Corp was among the top losers in the benchmark Nikkei 225, falling as much as…
Israel’s granting of an export permit is the final step to allow the deal, first announced by energy companies in August, to proceed. Source link
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews on Dec. 17, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty ImagesAsia-Pacific markets were set to fall Thursday as investors on Wall Street continued to rotate out of tech and markets look toward an address by U.S. President Donald Trump.The speech is slated to be delivered Thursday at 10 a.m. Singapore time (Wednesday stateside 9 p.m. ET). Trump is expected to speak about his accomplishments in his first 11 months in office and make the case for his administration’s actions against Venezuela.Trump to address the…
President Trump said the United States wanted to reclaim expropriated oil assets, setting off a nationalist reaction in a country where the resource holds a mythical status. Source link
The Democratic measure was defeated mostly along party lines, along with another resolution that would have halted the military’s escalating campaign of boat attacks. Source link
The government has greatly restricted the number of work and study permits issued to foreigners following an unpopular immigration boom during the pandemic. Source link
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The holiday shopping season should feel exciting, but for scammers, it’s rush hour. And this year, one trick is hitting more inboxes and phones than ever: the fake refund scam. If you’ve ever seen an unexpected “Your refund has been issued,” “Your payment failed” or “We owe you money” email or text during November or December, it wasn’t an accident.Scammers know you’re buying more, tracking more packages and juggling more receipts than at any other time of year. That chaos makes fake refund scams incredibly effective and incredibly dangerous.Here’s why these scams…
EPANato countries’ pledge to spend 5% of their economic output on defence is Donald Trump’s “biggest foreign policy success,” the alliance’s chief has said. In an interview with the BBC, Mark Rutte said it was thanks to Donald Trump that Nato was “stronger than it ever was”, adding that Trump “is good news for collective defence, for Nato and for Ukraine”. The US leader has harshly criticised European allies for spending very little on defence – even threatening to withdraw US protection if they fail to do so. The Nato chief has warned that Russia could attack allies within the…
Getty ImagesSpain experienced exceptionally warm weather and low rainfall this summerSpain is to set up a national network of climate shelters in public buildings to offer people refuge from intense heat before next summer, its prime minister has announced.The move was announced as Pedro Sanchez laid out a plan to address the impact of climate change during a conference in Madrid on Wednesday. “Devastating droughts and heatwaves are no longer rare. Some summers, it’s not separate waves we face, but one long heatwave stretching from June through August. This is now the new normal,” he said.Spain experienced its hottest summer…
Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, provided the update during his quarterly briefing on Council resolution 2334 (2016) which calls for Israel to cease settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.He said the UN is doing its part to support the ceasefire. Key to recoveryThe truce came into effect in October and is based on a plan put forward by United States President Donald Trump, with mediation by the country alongside Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye.Speaking from Jerusalem, Mr. Alakbarov urged Israel and Hamas to fully implement the ceasefire, exercise maximum restraint, and adhere to international law, including relevant UN resolutions. “The ceasefire must be consolidated to enable recovery and…
Addressing the media outside the council chamber in New York, he pointed to simmering tensions across Yemen and “dramatic new developments” in its eastern governorates that “are turning up the heat.”Since 2014, Yemeni government forces supported by a Saudi-led military coalition have been battling Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran and control the capital, Sana’a. Risk of wider escalationThis month, forces affiliated with a separatist group called the Southern Transitional Council (STC) advanced on two resource-rich governorates, Hadramawt and al-Mahra.“As I told the Security Council, unilateral actions will not clear a path to peace,” the Secretary-General said. “They deepen divisions. Harden positions. And raise the risk of wider escalation and further fragmentation.”He warned that a full…
