Rebels had captured the city in January in major escalation of 10-year-old conflict
At least 773 people were killed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s largest city of Goma and its vicinity this week amid fighting with Rwanda-backed rebels who captured the city in a major escalation of a decade-long conflict, Congolese authorities have said.
The rebels’ advance into other areas was slowed by a weakened military that recovered some villages from them.
Continue reading...Move would threaten life-saving global humanitarian aid programs, from HIV/Aids treatments to clean water access
The website for the US Agency for International Development, or USAid, appeared to be offline on Saturday, as the Trump administration moves to put the free-standing agency, and its current $42.8bn budget for global humanitarian operations, under state department control.
A message stating that the “server IP address could not be found” appeared when attempts were made to access the website on Saturday.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands rally against government and in memory of railway station roof collapse that killed 15
Serbia’s powerful populist leader Aleksandar Vučić was facing his biggest challenge yet as student-led demonstrations intensified at the weekend in what was being called the Balkan country’s greatest ever protest movement.
Three months to the day after a concrete canopy collapsed at the entrance of Novi Sad’s railway station, tens of thousands of protesters converged on the northern city, blockading its three bridges in commemoration of the 15 people killed in the accident. The tragedy has been blamed squarely on government ineptitude and graft.
Continue reading...Border has been closed since May 2024 for even the most urgent medical cases and evacuations are significant first step
The Rafah terminal that marks the crossing between southern Gaza and Egypt straddles a complicated border. On the Egyptian side, a double arch marks the entry to the terminal buildings themselves, and beyond, Gaza.
Television cameras on the Egyptian side caught the moment on Saturday that the crossing, which has been closed since May, was reopened for medical evacuations showing one young girl, whose foot had been amputated, being loaded into an Egyptian ambulance.
Continue reading...Assault by the Rapid Support Forces in city of Omdurman also leaves more than 150 people wounded
Fighters with the opposition Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have attacked an open market in the Sudanese city of Omdurman, killing 54 people.
The attack on Sabrein market also wounded at least 158 others, Sudan’s health ministry said.
Continue reading...Two men handed over to Red Cross in southern Gaza Strip with a third due to be freed in Gaza City in exchange for jailed Palestinians
Middle East crisis live: Hamas release of more hostages under way
Three more Israelis – all male civilian hostages – were being released to Israel on Saturday as part of the continuing ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas handed the first two hostages over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday morning before they were received by the Israeli military a short while later.
Continue reading...Experts say use of groups to warn others about dangerous men is indictment on governments’ failure to keep women safe
“Any info on Chris* please? Thanks.” The words in a Facebook post, above three pictures of a man. In the comments, a woman replies: “He was also posted a few days ago by someone.”
Further down, a second woman replies: “I’m shaking, I’m his fiancee.”
Continue reading...Incident reveals Russia’s maritime presence in the area is in a state of disrepair and disarray, argue western sources
A fire onboard a Russian spy ship off the coast of Syria has underlined the poor state of the Russian navy as its toehold in the Mediterranean hangs in the balance, analysts and western security services say.
The 55-year-old Kildin got into trouble off the Syrian coast last Thursday, when flames and thick black smoke could be seen billowing from its funnel and it hoisted two black balls up its mast, signifying that the crew no longer had control of the vessel.
Continue reading...Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said it could not ‘confirm any survivors’ aboard plane that went down near Roosevelt Mall
A medical transport jet carrying a child patient, her mother and four others including crew crashed into a north-east Philadelphia neighborhood on Friday evening, erupting in a fireball and setting several homes ablaze just 30 seconds after taking off.
“We cannot confirm any survivors,” said a statement from Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which operated the Learjet 55. “Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground.”
Continue reading...Francesco Cancellato, whose reporting exposes fascists within PM Meloni’s far-right party, condemns ‘violation’
An Italian investigative journalist who is known for exposing young fascists within prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party was targeted with spyware made by Israel-based Paragon Solutions, according to a WhatsApp notification received by the journalist.
Francesco Cancellato, the editor-in-chief of the Italian investigative news outlet Fanpage, was the first person to come forward publicly after WhatsApp announced on Friday that 90 journalists and other members of civil society had been targeted by the spyware.
Continue reading...Forest service website among many sites affected as agencies scramble to comply with president’s orders
On Thursday, the Trump administration ordered the US agriculture department to unpublish its websites documenting or referencing the climate crisis.
By Friday, the landing pages on the United States Forest Service website for key resources, research and adaptation tools – including those that provide vital context and vulnerability assessments for wildfires – had gone dark, leaving behind an error message or just a single line: “You are not authorized to access this page.”
Continue reading...The coalition government will be led by the conservative New Flemish Alliance party’s Bart De Wever
Five Belgian parties struck a coalition deal on Friday to form a new government headed by the Flemish conservative Bart De Wever, after more than seven months of tortuous negotiations.
The agreement paves the way for De Wever to become the first nationalist from the Dutch-speaking Flanders region to be Belgian premier – although in recent years he has backed off on calls for it to become an independent country.
Continue reading...US secretary of state to visit region amid concern over Trump threat to ‘take back’ canal and tensions over China
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, will travel to Central America this week on a five-country tour that will focus on limiting migration to the United States, curbing Chinese influence in the region and on securing Donald Trump’s ambitious goal of reasserting US control over the Panama canal.
Rubio will travel to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic from Saturday to Thursday this week, meeting with the presidents of each. It is the first time in more than a century that a secretary’s first official visit abroad will be to Central America.
Continue reading...White House has claimed goods shipped from Canada and Mexico to the US would face a 25% levy starting Saturday
Justin Trudeau says Canada will bring a “forceful but reasonable” retaliation to any tariffs imposed by the US as his country braces for the economic fallout of a trade war.
“I won’t sugarcoat it – our nation could be facing difficult times in the coming days and weeks,” Trudeau said on Friday while speaking to an advisory council on Canada-US relations. “I know Canadians might be anxious and worried, but I want them to know the federal government – and indeed, all orders of government – have their backs.”
Continue reading...British-Israeli Emily Damari was taken on 7 October 2023 and says Hamas denied her medical treatment after shooting her twice
The freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari spoke to Keir Starmer on Friday and told the prime minister Hamas held her in facilities belonging to the UN refugee agency Unrwa, her mother, Mandy, has said.
Damari, 28, who was released 12 days ago, after more than 15 months in captivity in Gaza, with two fingers missing, also told Starmer that Hamas had denied her access to medical treatment after shooting her twice.
Continue reading...Plan to tighten migration policy was brought by the opposition leader Friedrich Merz with the help of AfD
The German parliament has rejected a bill to tighten immigration controls brought by the frontrunner to be the next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, with the backing of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.
It came after a similar but non-binding motion was passed by parliament on Wednesday with the votes of the AfD, prompting a wave of protest from those who said it was a breach in Germany’s longstanding “firewall” between the far right and the mainstream.
Continue reading...Richard Grenell’s visit prompts fresh speculation of rapprochement between Washington and Caracas
A Donald Trump special envoy has flown to Venezuela to hold talks with its authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, fuelling fresh speculation of a possible deal between the two governments.
Richard Grenell, a prominent Maga cheerleader and diplomat who was the US ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, was set to land in Caracas on Friday, according to CNN.
Continue reading...Hearing likely in May, seven months after government decided to carve out jet parts from arms export ban
A high court judge has ruled a judicial review must be quickly heard on government claims that national security entitles ministers to sell parts for F-35 jets to Israel even though Britain accepts that there is a risk they will be used in breach of international humanitarian law.
The hearing will most likely take place in May – nearly seven months after the Labour government made the contentious decision to carve out F-35 parts from the ban on arms exports to Israel.
Continue reading...European Central Bank picks two themes for redesign submissions: ‘iconic personalities’ or rivers and birds
He was a master of notes, and now the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven could be one of the faces of the redesigned euro, the first time the EU currency’s banknotes have been revamped.
In a process that started in 2021 and has already involved a public inquiry and two multidisciplinary advisory groups, the European Central Bank (ECB) has selected two themes for the redesign.
Continue reading...Pharmaceutical company says that it will not go ahead with investment at Speke, near Liverpool
Donald Trump’s White House will invoke emergency powers to introduce tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Reuters reports:
Two sources familiar with the matter said that Trump was expected to invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as the legal basis for the tariffs, declaring a national emergency over fentanyl overdoses that killed nearly 75,000 Americans in 2023 and illegal immigration.
The statute enacted in 1977 and modified after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 gives the president broad powers to impose economic sanctions in a crisis.
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