Children’s lives at risk from US funding cuts to vaccine alliance: CEO
NAIROBI: The head of a global vaccine organisation told AFP on Friday that aid cuts by the United States and other donors have forced it to slash its malaria programme in Africa, threatening tens of thousands of children's lives. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, brings together government and private do»»»
Spring freeze delivers widespread crop losses across mid-Atlantic farms - UPI.com
A late-season freeze this week brought damaging cold to the mid-Atlantic, threatening crops just as orchards and berry fields entered critical stages of growth. Record lows were set in parts of the region Monday and Tuesday, including 24 degrees Fahrenheit in Allentown, Pa. Temperatures also droppe»»»
US still delivering weapons to Ukraine, Zelenskyy says, as Prince Harry visits Kyiv
KYIV: US weapons deliveries to Ukraine haven’t stopped despite the Iran war, and Ukrainian long-range strikes continue to hammer Russian oil production and manufacturing plants, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday. “Of course, we are hitting what is painful for Russia, and it is v»»»
Justice Department ends death penalty moratorium, rescinds Biden-era commutations - UPI.com
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday that the Department of Justice is ending it moratorium on seeking the death penalty in federal capital cases, reinstating the use of single-chemical lethal injection and adding firing squad to methods of execution. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | »»»
IRGC Navy Seizes Epaminondas Container Ship in Strait of Hormuz
Exclusive images obtained by Tasnim show Epaminondas, a large MSC-operated containership, after it was intercepted and transferred to Iranian territorial waters by the IRGC Navy in the Strait of Hormuz as part of ongoing maritime security operations targeting violating ships. The IRGC Navy announce»»»
Wounded Lebanese journalist recounts hours of agony after Israeli strike killed colleague Amal Khalil
BEIRUT: A Lebanese journalist who was wounded in an Israeli airstrike that killed her colleague this week described hours of agony as they waited for help to arrive, in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday. Zeinab Faraj, a young freelance photographer and video journalist, frequently mo»»»
Is Israel silencing witnesses? Rising journalist deaths raise accountability concerns
DUBAI: The killing of Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil on Wednesday has renewed scrutiny over the rising number of media workers killed in conflicts involving Israel, with press freedom groups questioning accountability and transparency. Khalil, a correspondent for Al-Akhbar, was reportedly shelteri»»»
Leavitt: Witkoff, Kushner heading to Pakistan Saturday for Iran talks - UPI.com
Special envoy Steve Witkoff (L) and President Donald Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner are heading to Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, to have more talks with Iran to make a peace deal. File Photo courtesy Ukrainian President's Office | License Photo April 24 (UPI) -- Talks with Iran are s»»»
Amir, US president discuss regional developments, maritime security and global supply chains
DOHA: His Highness the Amir of the Saate of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a telephone call from President of the friendly United States of America, HE Donald Trump. The two sides reviewed the latest regional developments, particularly the ceasefire agreement between the United Stat»»»
WHO approves first malaria treatment for infants
GENEVA: The World Health Organization announced Friday that it had given prequalification approval to a malaria treatment for newborns and infants for the first time. Artemether-lumefantrine is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest victims of the mosquito-borne d»»»
Is Israel’s ‘buffer zone’ expansion a bid to control Lebanon’s offshore gas?
BEIRUT: Lebanon faces growing concern over what officials describe as potential Israeli encroachment onto its offshore energy resources, after the Israeli military published a map extending its buffer zone into the Mediterranean, raising questions about the fate of the Qana gas field. The map, rele»»»
Hundreds of alleged MS-13 members tried at mass hearing in El Salvador mega-jail
Hundreds of alleged members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-A3) gang were tried at an El Salvador prison on Thursday, accused of collectively carrying out more than 29,000 murders. Mass trials are a centrepiece of President Nayib Bukele's "war" on gangs. Hundreds of alleged Mara Salvatrucha gang m»»»
Trump administration reclassifies medical marijuana as a 'less-dangerous drug'
President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday reclassified state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, easing research barriers and granting tax relief. The change falls short of federal legalisation but marks a major shift in US cannabis policy. President Donald Trump's acting»»»
US soldier bet on Maduro capture on Polymarket
A US Special Forces soldier involved in the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been charged with multiple crimes, including unlawful use of classified government information, after allegedly using insider knowledge to place bets on Polymarket that earned him over $400,000.»»»
Sanchez brushes off reported Pentagon email mulling suspending Spain's NATO membership
Spain's centre-left Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday declined to comment on a reported Pentagon email written by top policy adviser Elbridge Colby raising the possibility of suspending Madrid from the NATO military alliance. The note reportedly also suggested reconsidering US suppor»»»
Tornado barrels through Oklahoma
A tornado tore through the US state of Oklahoma on Thursday, ripping roofs off homes and damaging power infrastructure as it struck parts of Enid, a town of about 50,000 near the northern border, with no fatalities reported but residents trapped in their homes and extensive damage recorded, accordi»»»
Stars and Stripes ombudsman fired by Department of Defense - UPI.com
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Thursday fired Stars and Stripes' ombudsman, whose job it had to been to protect the newspapers' editorial independence and report to Congress if military officials were interfering with it. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo April 24 (UPI) -- Th»»»
Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire as Trump says ‘great chance’ for peace deal
Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire by three weeks on Thursday following a meeting of officials from both sides at the White House. US President Donald Trump said he believed there was a "great chance" the two countries would agree on a peace deal, even though Israel and Hezbollah have accu»»»
Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire as Trump says ‘great chance’ for peace deal
Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire by three weeks on Thursday following a meeting of officials from both sides at the White House. US President Donald Trump said he believed there was a "great chance" the two countries would agree on a peace deal, even though Israel and Hezbollah have»»»
Strait of Hormuz: Iran, US seize ships
US President Donald Trump says he is not rushing into a peace agreement with Iran, downplaying concerns over Iranian small boats even after they seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and arguing that Tehran is unable to strike a deal due to divisions within its leadership, an accusati»»»
Tête à tête - 'The world bailed out the banks, no one is bailing out the children,' UNICEF says
In an interview with FRANCE 24, UNICEF global spokesperson James Elder discussed the situation in Lebanon, where "critical infrastructure that girls and boys rely on" have been targeted, giving Lebanese people "a sense that there really is nowhere safe". He also declared that humanitarian groups li»»»
Spotlight - Trump's favourite field marshall: A profile of Asim Munir
One of the notable aspects of Pakistan being the centre of peace talks is just how the country positioned itself as the mediator, or facilitator, between the US and Iran. Analysts point to a number of key moments that made Islamabad the go-to for President Trump. First, after the US mediated talks »»»
US Defense Secretary Hegseth: 'US blockade has gone global'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Operation Epic Fury has achieved a decisive result in just weeks, focused on preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He noted the mission is entering a new phase, giving Iran the chance to pursue a “good and wise” peace deal, while emphasising the streng»»»
Spotlight - Retired US Army Colonel discusses naval strategy in Hormuz
Joe Buccino is the former communications director of US Central Command, CentCom, which directs and commands American military operations in the Middle East, Central and Sout Asia. He’s a retired US Army Colonel. And the author of ‘When Every Word Counts: How to Earn Trust, Command Attention, and C»»»
Orient Express train exhibition in Paris
Finally, a legendary rail journey from Paris to Istanbul is in the spotlight as the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris hosts an exhibition dedicated to the Orient Express, with France 2 taking a closer look, in a report brought to us by Nick Rushworth.»»»
'I wasn't in politics before and I'm not going to be after': Macron to quit politics in 2027
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he will quit politics in 2027 as the final year in his second term approaches. He added that at this late stage in office, the "hardest thing" was to strike a balance between defending his record and acknowledging what "didn't work out".»»»
Iraq deadlock persists over next prime minister
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s main Shiite alliance failed on Friday to agree on a new candidate for prime minister after US pressure stymied the chances of frontrunner Nouri Al-Maliki. Leaders of the Coordination Framework — a ruling coalition of Shiite groups with varying ties to Iran who had initially nominate»»»
62,000 Somalis displaced by drought since beginning of year UN says
Geneva: The United Nations revealed Friday that the drought plaguing Somalia since the beginning of the year has displaced approximately 62,000 people across five regions. The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), in its latest report, anticipates that the total number of displaced p»»»
Meta to add AWS Graviton cores to run agentic AI - UPI.com
Meta announced it will add "tens of millions" of AWA Graviton cores to its stack to help it manage agentic AI. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo April 24 (UPI) -- Meta announced Friday that it's partnering with Amazon Web Services to add millions of AWS Gravitron cores to Meta's compu»»»
Venezuela ends amnesty after thousands are freed - UPI.com
Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez said that the amnesty, enacted into law and intended to pardon alleged political crimes committed since 1999, “has come to an end.” Photo by Miguel Gutierrez/EPA April 24 (UPI) -- Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced she was ending t»»»
Saudi deputy FM meets US embassy official
RIYADH: Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed A. Elkhereiji met Alison Dilworth, charge d’affaires of the US Embassy to the Kingdom, in Riyadh. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and discussed current developments in the region and issues of mutual interest, the Kingdom’s Forei»»»
Macron bands Trump with Putin, Xi as ‘dead against’ Europe
ATHENS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday banded US President Donald Trump together with Russia’s Vladmir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping as world leaders who are “dead against” Europe. Macron’s bromance with the mercurial US leader has cooled in recent months, and the White House has made no»»»
Conflict and climate crisis push 266m into acute food insecurity
ROME: Two-thirds of people facing food crises globally last year lived in just 10 countries, with a third of them in Sudan, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN-backed yearly report said on Friday. Conflict remained the main driver of acute food insecurity, according to the Global Re»»»
Thailand offers backing for Myanmar’s bid to normalize ASEAN ties
BANGKOK: Thailand wants to play a leading role in Myanmar’s bid to normalize its ties with Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN after five years on the sidelines, the Thai foreign minister said ahead of a meeting on Wednesday with new President Min Aung Hlaing. Former military chief Min Aung Hlaing led a 20»»»
Syrian forces arrest Amjad Youssef, suspect in 2013 Tadamon massacre - UPI.com
The Syrian Interior Ministry said Amjad Youssef had been hiding out in Hama province since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Photo courtesy of the Syrian Interior Ministry/X April 24 (UPI) -- Authorities arrested a key suspect in the 2013 massacre of civilians in the Tadamon dis»»»
Press Review - After losing her son, healthy British woman will legally end her life in Swiss clinic
PRESS REVIEW – Friday, April 24: We look at reactions in the German, Russian and Kazakh press after an important oil pipeline from Russia is suspended to Germany. Russia says it's for "technical" reasons, but the German press say it is "political". Also: the press is divided over the case of a»»»
Tête à tête - Humanitarian worker Mike Penrose on the 'Food from Ukraine' programme
In an interview with FRANCE 24, Mike Penrose, a veteran humanitarian worker and special adviser to the government of Ukraine on the "Food from Ukraine" humanitarian programme, explained that this initiative "increases the value of the aid that's being distributed" in an "era of diminishing amounts »»»
Who Can Challenge West's Blackmail and Global Finance Control?
Freezing other nations’ assets and using them as leverage has long been a trademark negotiation tactic of the West, Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of research at the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, tells Sputnik. While the chief depositories remain in the West, and the US dollar is s»»»
Peruvian police raid ex-election chief's home in probe - UPI.com
Piero Corvetto, head of Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes, resigned Wednesday amid mounting political and legal pressure over logistical failures on election day, Photo by John Reyes Mejía/EPA April 24 (UPI) -- Peru's National Police raided the home of former election chief Piero Corvet»»»
Full List of 240 MPs Elected on April 19
The Central Election Commission announced on Friday evening the names of the 240 MPs elected on April 19 to Bulgaria’s 52nd National Assembly. Progressive Bulgaria will have 131 MPs, GERB-UDF 39, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria 37, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms 21, and Vazrazhdane »»»
Aoun: Lebanon Rejects Being A Bargaining Chip in Regional Conflicts
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Lebanon “refuses to be a bargaining chip in regional conflicts,” stressing it “negotiates in its own name, in defense of its national interests and sovereignty,” as Beirut pursues a US-sponsored diplomatic track backed by European and Arab support to reach a last»»»
Sovereignty of Falklands rests with the UK, Britain tells US
LONDON: The sovereignty of the Falkland Islands rests with Britain, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday after an internal Pentagon email suggested reviewing the US position on the Falklands as punishment for Britain’s stance on the Iran war. “We could not be clearer about»»»
Amir receives phone call from US President
Doha, Qatar: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a phone call today from President of the United States of America HE Donald Trump. During the call, they reviewed the latest regional developments, particularly the ceasefire agreement between the United States of America and the Isl»»»
Meta to cut workforce by 10% as artificial intelligence spending surges
Meta outlined plans to cut about 8,000 jobs on Thursday as it invests heavily in artificial intelligence. The move comes as part of a broader tech-sector shift towards cost control, with Microsoft also weighing voluntary buyouts ahead of next week’s earnings reports. Meta plans to cut a tenth of it»»»
FDA begins push to study psychedelics for mental health disorders - UPI.com
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on researching the effects of psychedelic drugs in medical treatment on Saturday in the Oval Office. The FDA has begun to make changes to allow more research on the drugs for mental health treatment. Photo by Allison Robbert/UPI | License Photo April »»»
Gaza Reconstruction Back on the Table, Parallel Track to the Board of Peace
The reconstruction of the Gaza Strip has returned to the agenda in recent days during Egyptian talks with international parties, amid a stalemate in implementing the ceasefire and earlier reports of funding problems facing the “Board of Peace” led by U.S. President Donald Trump. Those reports were »»»
Heidelberg Materials acquires Turkish partner Sabanci’s 40% stake in cement maker Akcansa for $437mn
Heidelberg Materials (Frankfurt/HEI) has agreed to acquire a 39.72% stake in Akcansa (AKCNS) from Turkish partner Sabanci Holding (SAHOL), Heidelberg has announced. SAHOL, meanwhile, said separately that HEI, its part»»»
Which countries have fertility rates above the replacement level - OWID
Fertility rates — which measure the average number of children per woman — have been falling worldwide. Since 1950, global fertility rates have halved, from almost 5 children per woman to 2.2, Our World in Data (OWID) reports. »»»
Which countries have fertility rates above the replacement level - OWID
Fertility rates — which measure the average number of children per woman — have been falling worldwide. Since 1950, global fertility rates have halved, from almost 5 children per woman to 2.2, Our World in Data (OWID) reports. »»»