Syrian groups must disarm to take part in national dialogue, official says
Damascus, Syria Reuters Groups that refuse to lay down their arms and submit to the defence ministry’s authority will play no part in a national dialogue on Syria’s future, a committee set up to prepare for a national conference said on Thursday. The statement raises the prospect of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which […]
Snapshot: Mount Kilimanjaro, seen from Kenya
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North Korea dismantling facility near border for separated families, Seoul says
Seoul, South Korea Reuters North Korea is dismantling a facility at its Mount Kumgang resort used for hosting meetings between families separated after the Korean War, South Korea said on Thursday, in the latest sign of strained tensions between the two Koreas. The Unification Ministry, which handles affairs between the nations, urged Pyongyang to immediately […]
USAID disruptions leave oxygen tanks, TB drugs stuck in ships, warehouses
London, UK/Los Angeles, US Reuters Hundreds of millions of dollars of life-saving medical supplies are stranded in warehouses and on ships around the world due to President Donald Trump’s move to freeze foreign aid, half a dozen sources familiar with the humanitarian program told Reuters. That order and other Trump administration efforts to dismantle the […]
US states say Trump illegally appointed Elon Musk to head DOGE
New York City, US Reuters A group of state attorneys general on Thursday sued to halt Elon Musk’s efforts to slash federal spending as head of President Donald Trump’s new government efficiency agency, escalating the legal fight over the billionaire’s influence in the White House. The lawsuit in Washington, DC, federal court filed by the […]
US deports to Panama nearly 120 migrants of different nationalities
Panama City, Panama Reuters The United States deported 119 people of different nationalities to Panama as part of an agreement between the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Central American nation, Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday. The first flight from the US, carrying people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, […]
Kennedy clinches top US health job despite anti-vaccine views
Washington DC, US Reuters Robert F Kennedy, Jr, a vaccine critic who has pledged to tackle chronic disease, was named US Health Secretary on Thursday after overcoming resistance from the medical establishment and members of Congress with promises to limit his role in vaccination policy. As Kennedy was sworn into the post, US President Donald […]
Tens of thousands in Belgium protest over pension reforms, halting air traffic
Brussels, Belgium Reuters Tens of thousands of Belgians took to the streets on Thursday in protest over the new government’s planned pension reforms, during the first day of a multi-day strike that halted all air traffic in the country. Local police reported on social media platform X that 60,000 people had joined the strike in […]
USAID freeze: Christian aid groups weigh life-threatening choices about who to help
TIFFANY STANLEY, of Associated Press, reports on the tough decisions facing non-profits after the Trump administration froze most foreign aid and sidelined the US Agency for International Development…
Eastern Europe’s media in the crosshairs after USAID funding freeze
Budapest, Hungary/Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Reuters At a 10th February editorial meeting of Hungarian investigative outlet Atlatszo, journalists discussed how they might raise money after their grants from USAID intermediaries were halted amid US President Donald Trump’s drive to shutter the agency. “Without these funds it would be very hard to maintain independent media here […]