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STEPHANE Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, says more temporary housing and other shelters being held up by Israel need to reach the suffering people of Gaza. The comments come after at least six Palestinian infants died from hypothermia during a severe cold spell in the Gaza Strip. “My understanding from our humanitarian colleagues is that there’s been a lot of challenges in getting tents and caravans and tarpaulins in. We continue to push. Some are going in but we need more,” Dujarric told reporters. The deaths of the children come as Israel continues to block the entry of…

SOUTHEAST Asia’s largest bank DBS said that 4,000 jobs could be cut in the next three years and be replaced by artificial intelligence as the technology becomes more advanced. “Over the next three years, we envisage that AI could reduce the need to renew about 4,000 temporary/contract staff across our 19 markets working on specific projects,” a spokesperson from the Singapore bank told AFP on Tuesday, confirming earlier reports. “As such, we expect the reduction in workforce will come from natural attrition as these temporary and contract roles are completed over the next few years.” A Bloomberg Intelligence report last…

EASTERN and southern African regional blocs have appointed former leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria to oversee their peace process for the Democratic Republic of Congo where fighting has intensified in the east of the country. The East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) have come together in recent weeks in an attempt to bring peace to eastern DRC, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized large swathes of territory, triggering a humanitarian crisis. The two blocs agreed in a summit on February 8 to merge two separate peace processes — based in Luanda and Nairobi…

SUDAN is facing a growing humanitarian crisis as relief organisations delivering vital humanitarian aid withdraw. In the last few days, the freezing of United States humanitarian assistance to the country has resulted in the reported closure of up to 80 percent of Sudan’s emergency food kitchens, while the dramatic scaling down of the presence of medical NGO Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has led to some of the worst hit parts of the country having no emergency medical cover as violence levels increase. Sudan’s war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support…

MANCHESTER United will scrap free staff lunches at Old Trafford and reduce bonuses as part of a cost-cutting drive to stabilise the club’s finances following five consecutive years of losses. The Premier League club announced on Monday that up to 200 additional jobs could be cut, adding to the 250 roles eliminated last year, in a bid to return to profitability. Man Utd chief executive, Omar Berrada, said the measures were “unfortunate but necessary” to ensure the club’s financial sustainability and compliance with financial regulations. “We have lost money for five years in a row. This cannot continue,” Berrada stated.…

A HAMAS official has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “intentionally sabotaging” the Gaza ceasefire deal after Israel postponed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. In an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday, Basem Naim said Hamas would not engage in further ceasefire talks until Israel releases the 620 Palestinian prisoners who were meant to be freed on Saturday. “Before going to the next step, we have to be sure that the past step, which was releasing 620 prisoners, are already released,” said Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau. “Netanyahu is clearly sending strong messages that he…

A FORMER French surgeon was to go on trial Monday charged with raping or sexually assaulting almost 300 patients, most of them children and some of them unconscious at the time. Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, is already in jail after being found guilty in 2020 of abusing four children, including two of his nieces. In the latest trial, he faces allegations that he assaulted or raped 299 patients, many while waking up from anaesthetic or during post-op checkups, at a dozen hospitals between 1989 and 2014. Some 256 of the victims were under 15, with the youngest aged one and…

VIOLENCE raging in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed “more than 7,000 compatriots”, many of them civilians, since last month, the Congolese premier said Monday. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC — including the main cities of Goma and Bukavu — in the face of limited resistance from Congolese forces. “The security situation in eastern DRC has reached alarming levels,” Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, stressing that since January, “the deaths of more than 7,000 compatriots” had been registered. They include “more…

THE Sudanese army says it has broken a near two-year siege imposed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the key southern state capital of el-Obeid. The breakthrough came hours after the RSF signed a political charter in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to establish a breakaway government in areas under its control. The RSF and the army have been in a vicious battle for power since April 2023, with tens of thousands of people killed and millions forced from their homes. The war has split the country, with the army controlling the north and the east while the RSF…

LIVERPOOL took a big step to winning the Premier League, crushing an uninspiring Manchester City in a showdown on Sunday. Mohamed Salah stole the show, scoring one and providing an assist to send Liverpool 11 points clear at the top of the table although they have played a game more. The Egyptian opened the scoring with his 30th goal of the season before setting up Dominik Szoboszlai to double the lead before half-time. Just days after exiting the Champions League to Real Madrid, this was another sobering defeat for the dethroned English champions, who are now 20 points adrift of…

A SENIOR Hamas leader, Mahmoud Mardawi, says the Palestinian group will not engage in further discussions with Israel through mediators until Israel releases the 620 Palestinian prisoners supposed to be freed on Saturday. Israel said it’s delaying the release until it gets assurances that Hamas stops what Israel calls “humiliating” handovers of captives in staged ceremonies. Palestinian family members who waited all day and night were distraught. “What have the prisoners done? We don’t know what happened. They killed our joy,” said one mother, Najah Zaqqot. Meanwhile, Tens of thousands of people in Lebanon paid their last respects to Hezbollah’s…

AN American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi was diverted to Rome on Sunday due to bomb threat. It was later determined to be “non-credible,” the airline said, adding the flight landed safely in Rome and will depart for Delhi on Monday. The flight, which departed from the John F. Kennedy International Airport, had been heading to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. “American Airlines flight 292, with service from New York to Delhi, diverted to Rome due to a possible security concern,” American Airlines said in a statement. Law enforcement in Rome inspected and cleared…

SOUTH Africa is set to host Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on a state visit, President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed on X without giving a specific date. The invite comes at the end of a week which saw Kyiv excluded from US-Russia talks on how to bring an end to the three-year war in Ukraine. In a phone conversation, Ramaphosa and Zelensky “agreed on the urgent need for an inclusive peace process”, according to a statement from the South African president. A sentiment Zelensky echoed by saying “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”. South Africa, which has in the past been accused of…

THE notorious M23 rebel group is wreaking havoc in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, seizing the region’s two biggest cities in a deadly uprising which has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Central to their campaign is the assertion that ethnic Tutsis living in DR Congo are being persecuted. Digging into the status of Tutsis in DR Congo – and how it relates to the M23 uprising – is a complex and sensitive matter that goes to the heart of who is considered Congolese. For starters, many global authorities argue that in their purported fight against discrimination, the…

WHAT was billed as a pivotal weekend in the Premier League title race may not be over yet – but it is already shaping up to be a painful one for Arsenal’s “very angry” manager Mikel Arteta. The Gunners went into Saturday’s game against West Ham knowing that victory, coupled with a defeat for Liverpool at Manchester City on Sunday, would leave them within touching distance of the Premier League leaders with a game in hand. It was a huge opportunity Arteta’s team, but one they failed to grasp as they delivered a toothless performance against a West Ham side…

TWO Palestinian children were shot in the back and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. Ayman Nasser al-Haymouny, 12, was killed in Hebron while 13-year-old Rimas al-Amouri was shot in the Jenin governorate, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Wafa news agency confirmed. Israeli forces opened fire on al-Haymouny and shot him when he was visiting relatives south of Hebron. He was rushed to hospital where he died from his injuries. Al-Amouri was shot in the abdomen and taken to Jenin Government Hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. She was shot while standing in…

US President Donald Trump has fired Force General CQ Brown as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff as part of a wider shake-up of top military leadership. “I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Saturday. The US president did not provide a reason for dismissing Brown with immediate…

AN aid worker has died from gunshot wounds in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels who captured two key cities in recent weeks are trying to seize more territory. Jerry Muhindo Kavali, 49, was injured two days ago by a bullet that struck the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) office in Masisi where he was working. He was taken to hospital in Goma for life-saving treatment but died of his wounds on Saturday. Colleagues say he was deeply dedicated to humanitarian work and “always had a smile on his face”. Kavali’s death has angered aid workers trying to help…

MALI’s military government says it is investigating allegations that soldiers “coldly executed” at least 24 civilians in the north of the country on Monday. That claim was made by a separatist Tuareg rebel alliance, called Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), which is battling the Malian government in the same region. The FLA accuse Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries of intercepting two passenger vehicles travelling to Algeria from the Malian city of Gao and killing the civilians on board, including women and children. In a statement, army chief Gen Oumar Diarra said the allegations “relayed by terrorist networks, allies and sponsors” follow…

MANCHESTER United were drawn Friday to play Real Sociedad of Spain in the last 16 of this season’s Europa League, while Rangers will take on Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, and Tottenham Hotspur face AZ Alkmaar. Ruben Amorim’s United are struggling in the Premier League this season but finished third in the league phase of the Europa League. They will travel to San Sebastian for the first leg on March 6 before returning a week later against a Real Sociedad side who reached this stage after beating Midtjylland of Denmark in the play-off round. The clubs have met several times in European…