UN stresses ‘full commitment’ to Ukraine grain deal as Russia offers 60-day extension

UN stresses ‘full commitment’ to Ukraine grain deal as Russia offers 60-day extension

Russia announced earlier that it would agree to a 60-day extension, which is half the number of days agreed when it first expired in November. The UN-brokered deal also endorsed by Türkiye in Istanbul – which includes a Memorandum of Understanding between Russia and the UN to facilitate fertiliser exports – has allowed the exports of 24…

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Myanmar: Social media companies urged to stand up to junta

Myanmar: Social media companies urged to stand up to junta

In an appeal to internet chat platforms to monitor content more carefully and allocate sufficient resources to do so, the rights experts warned that Telegram in particular had become “a hotbed of pro-military activity”. ‘Violent and misogynistic’ Tens of thousands of followers had been drawn to the junta’s “violent and misogynistic content”, warned the rights…

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Syria rights investigators back calls for earthquake ‘failures’ probe

Syria rights investigators back calls for earthquake ‘failures’ probe

The Commission of Inquiry on Syria pointed to “failures that hindered the delivery of urgent and lifesaving aid” to the largely opposition-held northwest region, in the days after the 6 February quakes. Humanitarian assessments point to more than 7,000 people killed in Syria by the natural disaster. Rescue equipment lacking At a press conference in…

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Türkiye-Syria quakes: Migration chief hails ‘proud and brave’ citizens of Antakya

Türkiye-Syria quakes: Migration chief hails ‘proud and brave’ citizens of Antakya

“In the ruins of historic Antakya city today, I met proud and brave people whose past has been eradicated, whose present is full of suffering and whose future is uncertain,” said António Vitorino, following a two-day visit to Türkiye, which included meetings with senior Government officials. “I am in awe of IOM colleagues and our many…

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Horn of Africa hunger emergency: ‘129,000 looking death in the eyes’

Horn of Africa hunger emergency: ‘129,000 looking death in the eyes’

In an appeal for $178 million to support humanitarian assistance across the seven affected countries in the Greater Horn region, veteran WHO worker Liesbeth Aelbrecht warned that the situation was worse than anything she’d seen in more than two decades in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. “These 48 million people do include as…

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Rghts experts ‘deeply disturbed’ by Russian Wagner Group recruitment of prisoners

Rghts experts ‘deeply disturbed’ by Russian Wagner Group recruitment of prisoners

In a statement, the dozen experts said representatives from the Russian-owned mercenary outfit had been “offering pardons for criminal sentences to prisoners who join the group and take part in the war in Ukraine, as well as a monthly payment to their relatives”. The experts – members of the Working Group on the use of Mercenaries, the Working Group…

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