A disaster response expert has implored the United States to lift its economic sanctions against Syria, warning that the restrictions are hampering rescue and relief operations in the earthquake-ravaged country. “We need heavy equipment, ambulances, and firefighting vehicles to continue to rescue and remove the rubble, and this entails l...
After sustained pressure from organized workers and their allies, freight rail giant CSX Transportation agreed Tuesday to provide 5,000 employees in two unions with four days of paid sick leave each year—an industry-first move progressive said should serve as an example for other companies to follow. The agreement reached between Jacksonville,...
Geneva, Switzerland (AFP): The sole border crossing used to shuttle life-saving aid from Turkiye into conflict-ravaged Syria has seen its operations disrupted by the deadly earthquake that struck the two countries, the UN has said. “The cross-border operation has itself been impacted,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian...
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – The United Nations humanitarian partners in Somalia and its government have sought $2.6 billion to assist millions of people in the drought-hit Horn of Africa country. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has estimated that 8.25 million people — nearly half of Somalia’s popul...
NEW DELHI (AA) – Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti has been detained in the Indian capital New Delhi for protesting against the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir administration’s anti-encroachment drive in the valley. At the protest site, Mufti said: “Jammu and Kashmir has been turned into Afghanistan by the Bharatiya J...
Jindayris, Syria (AFP): Extended family members pulled a newborn baby alive from the rubble of a home in northern Syria, after finding her still tied by her umbilical cord to her mother, who died in Monday’s massive quake, a relative said. The infant is the sole survivor of her immediate family, the rest of whom […]
Bamako, Mali (AFP): Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has pledged assistance to West African states battling insurgency as Moscow seeks to expand its influence on a continent in a diplomatic tug-of-war between global powers. Lavrov hailed the alliance that has been forged between Moscow and Bamako in fighting “extremists” on h...
PARIS (AA) – French magazine Charlie Hebdo has drawn criticism from Parisians with a cartoon it published mocking Türkiye after the country was hit by two deadly earthquakes on Monday. The cartoon, posted on Twitter under the heading “cartoon of the day,” shows buildings near collapse and lying in rubble, a flipped-over car, and pi...
LONDON (AA) – World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria a “grade three emergency” — with a “critical 48 hour window” to save people who are trapped. WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge said that they are channeling all resources to these two countries, saying the “k...
SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) – Five members of a family, including two children aged three and five and an infant, have been found dead in a rented accommodation in a northern district of Indian-occupied Kashmir. Faraz Ahmad, a resident of Kralpora village in the Kupwara district, where the unfortunate incident occurred, said that the [&he...
