(Al Jazeera Media Network) More than 7,000 people have been killed in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since last month, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa says, with a “significant” number of civilians among the dead.
Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Switzerland on Monday, Suminwa warned that “the security situation in eastern DRC has reached alarming levels.”
About 3,000 deaths were reported in Goma, the capital of the eastern DRC’s North...
(BBC News) The US has twice sided with Russia in votes at the UN to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the Trump administration's change of stance on the war.
First the two countries opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow's actions and supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity, which was passed by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Then they backed a US-drafted resolution at the UN Security Council calling for...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Germany’s Friedrich Merz has pledged to achieve “independence” from the United States after his centre-right alliance won parliamentary elections held amid doubts about US President Donald Trump’s commitment to Europe’s security.
Merz, who faces complex negotiations with smaller parties to form a government after ruling out co-operation with the second-placed hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), said on Sunday that it would be his “absolute priority” to strengthen Europe so it does not have...
(BBC News) Indian authorities have banned two highly addictive opioids in response to a BBC investigation which found they were fuelling a public health crisis in parts of West Africa.
In a letter seen by the BBC from India's Drugs Controller General, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi said permission to manufacture and export the drugs had been withdrawn.
BBC Eye found pharmaceutical company Aveo had been illegally exporting a harmful mix of tapentadol and carisoprodol in countries such...
(BBC News) A notorious gang leader has died after he was shot inside a courthouse in Sri Lanka by a gunman disguised as a lawyer, say police.
Police say the gunman used a revolver which was smuggled in a hollowed-out book by a female suspect, who remains at large.
Gang leader Sanjeewa Kumara Samararathne had been escorted to court to face proceedings when he was shot. Police say he was a suspect in multiple murder cases.
The...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Ukraine’s diplomatic situation was upended during the past week, as its main ally, the United States, reversed several positions.
US President Donald Trump announced on February 12 that he was beginning direct talks with Russia to end the war, overturning his predecessor’s promise that there would be “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”.
On the same day, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Russian diplomatic language invoking “realism”, when he told Ukraine Defence Contact Group partners...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States President Donald Trump has said he will “probably” meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this month while launching a broadside effectively accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being to blame for Moscow’s invasion.
Addressing reporters after US and Russian officials met for their first round of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Trump dismissed complaints that Kyiv had been denied a seat at negotiations to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“I...
(BBC News) Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both his lungs and his condition remains "complex", the Vatican says.
The 88-year-old has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday.
"The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon... demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy," the Vatican said.
It said lab tests, a chest X-ray and the...
(BBC News) The US State Department has dropped a statement from its website which stated that Washington does not support Taiwan's independence – a move which has sparked anger in China.
China said the revision "sends a wrong... signal to separatist forces advocating for Taiwan independence," and asked the US to "correct its mistakes".
The department's fact sheet on Taiwan-US relations earlier included the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" – this was removed last week...
(BBC News) Sir Keir Starmer says "there must be a US backstop" for a lasting peace agreement in Ukraine, after European leaders met in Paris for an emergency summit on Ukraine.
The UK prime minister says "this is a once in a generation moment for the collective security of Europe."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Europe and the US must work together on security, and Polish PM Donald Tusk says there should be no decisions about Ukraine...
