Category: World

Liberia’s push to link women’s livelihoods with protection from violence has moved into a new phase after UN Women Liberia and its partners convened an inception meeting in Monrovia for the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Women’s Economic Empowerment component.The meeting, held at the One UN House, brought together government representatives, civil society organisations, private sector actors and development partners to align implementation plans for a programme designed to support vulnerable women and girls, including survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, former

Congo’s Ebola outbreak has widened to 1,077 suspected cases and 246 deaths, intensifying pressure on health authorities as responders struggle to contain transmission in conflict-hit eastern provinces.Health officials are treating the outbreak as one of the most serious Ebola emergencies faced by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in years, with cases linked to the Bundibugyo strain, a less common form of the virus for which no licensed vaccine or specific treatment is widely available. The figures mark a sharp

Global investment in oil projects is set to fall for a third consecutive year as the Middle East conflict forces governments and companies to redirect capital towards gas, alternative supply routes and cleaner energy systems.The International Energy Agency’s latest investment assessment points to a sharp reordering of global energy priorities, with upstream oil spending weakening even as overall energy security concerns intensify. The shift reflects both immediate disruption from the war involving Iran and longer-term caution over committing large sums

Italy has placed Rome, Florence, Bologna and Turin under its highest heat warning as an early-season heatwave pushes temperatures well above normal and raises health risks for residents, workers and visitors.The Ministry of Health’s Level 3 red alert applies on Thursday, signalling conditions that can affect not only vulnerable people but also healthy and active adults. The alert marks the first peak of the 2026 heat bulletin season, which began this week and covers 27 urban centres monitored for temperature,

Africa’s top continental body has launched a new humanitarian coordination platform aimed at tightening crisis response across a region facing widening displacement, hunger, conflict and climate-linked disasters.The African Humanitarian Coordination Platform was unveiled by the African Union Commission through its Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development after a continental engagement in Mahé, Seychelles, held from 18 to 19 May 2026. The meeting endorsed the platform’s terms of reference and adopted a draft 2026–2027 Joint Implementation Plan designed to

Brussels faces resistance from Germany and Spain over a proposed EU-wide move to force telecom operators to remove Huawei and ZTE equipment from critical networks, exposing a rift between the European Commission’s security agenda and national concerns over cost, timing and market disruption.Officials in Berlin and Madrid are pushing back against plans that would turn the EU’s existing 5G security guidance into binding law, arguing that member states should retain discretion over how they manage high-risk suppliers in domestic telecom

Jazeera Airways has launched a limited Eid and summer fare campaign, offering one-way tickets from KD15, or about $48.75, as Kuwait’s low-cost carrier moves to capture holiday demand across leisure, family and business routes.Bookings under the Special Eid and beyond sale are open until 31 May 2026, with travel valid from 27 May to 30 September 2026. The campaign covers selected destinations on the airline’s network and is aimed at travellers planning Eid breaks, school-holiday trips and summer visits across

Britain’s May temperature record has been broken for the second time in 24 hours as a powerful spring heatwave tightened its grip on Western Europe, pushing authorities to issue health warnings, restrict outdoor activity in some areas and urge vulnerable people to avoid prolonged exposure.The temperature reached 35.1C at Kew Gardens in London and Heathrow on Tuesday, surpassing the 34.8C recorded at Kew Gardens a day earlier. Both readings exceeded the previous UK May record of 32.8C, set in 1922

South Africa’s diesel shock has turned a distant Middle East conflict into a domestic economic threat, exposing how sharply the country’s transport, mining, farming and power systems now depend on imported refined fuel.The Iran war and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz have pushed global energy markets into a new phase of volatility, but South Africa’s vulnerability is not driven by crude oil alone. The deeper weakness lies in diesel, the fuel that moves freight, powers generators, supports mechanised agriculture

Forty high-performing schoolgirls from underprivileged communities in Ghana will receive annual scholarships under the newly launched Educating Linda programme, a joint initiative of Merck Foundation, Ghana’s First Lady Lordina Dramani Mahama and the Lordina Foundation aimed at keeping girls in classrooms until graduation.The programme, formally launched in Accra, is designed to remove financial barriers that often force girls out of school, including tuition costs, uniforms, stationery and other basic learning needs. It marks a new phase in Merck Foundation’s partnership

Donald Trump has urged Saudi Arabia and Qatar to move first in a renewed push to expand the Abraham Accords, linking wider recognition of Israel to US efforts to secure a deal with Iran and recast the Middle East diplomatic order.The US president said countries involved in the Iran negotiations should join the normalisation framework, naming Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan among those he wants brought into the accords. He described such participation as “mandatory” and

Wes Streeting has intensified pressure on Keir Starmer to impose tougher curbs on children’s access to social media, warning that Britain’s current approach to mobile phones and online platforms amounts to “giving children a hammer and saw” without enough protection from the harm they can cause.The former health secretary, who quit government this month after accusing Starmer of lacking the ambition needed to improve Britain, said ministers had been too cautious in responding to evidence of harm linked to addictive

Pope Leo XIV has used the first encyclical of his papacy to call for tighter regulation, transparency and human oversight of artificial intelligence, warning that unchecked systems could intensify misinformation, deepen inequality and make war easier to wage.The document, Magnifica Humanitas, places AI at the centre of the new pontificate’s social agenda, treating the technology not as a narrow technical issue but as a test of human dignity, democratic accountability and peace. Released at the Vatican on May 25, the

Mexico will host Iran’s national football team during the 2026 World Cup, with the squad expected to sleep in Tijuana and cross into the United States only on match days after Washington declined to accommodate the team for a tournament-long stay.President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government had agreed to the arrangement after football authorities sought Mexico’s help, making clear that Mexico saw no reason to deny the Iranian delegation a base during the competition. The decision moves Iran’s operating camp

MTN Uganda is exploring a partnership with Starlink as the arrival of satellite broadband reshapes the country’s data market and pushes established telecom operators to treat the new entrant as a possible infrastructure ally rather than a direct threat.The talks follow Uganda’s decision to clear Starlink Services LLC for operations after a long regulatory process. The Uganda Communications Commission signed a memorandum of understanding and a five-year operational licence agreement with Starlink on May 15 at State House, Entebbe, in

Rugby Africa has appointed former NBA Africa executive Aïcha Diop as chief of staff to its president, Herbert Mensah, in a move aimed at strengthening the organisation’s governance, commercial execution and continental growth strategy.Diop will work directly with Mensah as Rugby Africa seeks to sharpen coordination across its 40 member unions, expand competitions, deepen partnerships and raise the profile of the sport in markets where participation is still developing. Her appointment places a senior executive with experience in basketball, brand

Nicolas Cage’s first leading television role has arrived with a strong critical start, as Spider-Noir opened on MGM+ with a 91 per cent Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes from 45 reviews, giving Sony’s live-action Spider-Man television experiment an early boost before its global Prime Video launch on 27 May.The eight-episode series places Cage at the centre of a 1930s New York crime story as Ben Reilly, a weary private investigator forced to confront his past as the city’s masked vigilante.

Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty opened its ninth season with “There’s Something About Morty,” an episode that turns abstract logic into narrative machinery, using mathematical incompleteness, self-reference and paradox as more than decorative references in the show’s familiar multiverse chaos.The season premiered on Sunday, May 24, at 11pm ET in the United States, restoring the animated science-fiction comedy to its weekly Adult Swim slot after a shortened gap between seasons. The first episode places Rick’s isolation and Morty’s increasingly separate

Australia is moving to extend its domestic gas reservation scheme across liquefied natural gas projects and export arrangements, including volumes tied to existing contracts, sharpening a policy shift aimed at easing pressure on households, power generators and manufacturers exposed to volatile east coast gas prices.The draft design framework for the scheme requires LNG exporters to supply gas equal to 20 per cent of their export volumes to the domestic market from 1 July 2027. The measure marks one of Canberra’s

Gold rose more than 1 per cent on Monday as hopes of a possible US-Iran agreement pushed oil prices lower, weakened the dollar and reshaped inflation expectations across commodity and currency markets.Spot bullion climbed to about $4,559 an ounce, while US gold futures traded near $4,560, extending gains as investors assessed signals that Washington and Tehran had moved closer to a framework that could ease pressure on Gulf energy flows. Brent crude fell below $100 a barrel during Asian and

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in Orange County after an overheating chemical storage tank at a Garden Grove aerospace facility raised fears of an explosion, toxic release or hazardous spill affecting tens of thousands of residents.The emergency proclamation covers a GKN Aerospace site where a tank holding roughly 5,000 to 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate began heating and emitting fumes on May 21. The volatile, highly flammable liquid is widely used in plastics, resins and