Global News

Moscow said on Friday that the global energy market “cannot remain stable” without its oil, piling pressure on Washington to lift more sanctions as the Middle East war strangles supplies. The United States has eased some oil sanctions on Russia imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, prompting backlash from Western allies who urged Washington to keep up restrictions as the Ukraine conflict drags into its fifth year. The US-Israel strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have upended the world’s energy and transport sectors, virtually halting activity in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The United States is temporarily allowing the sale of oil from Russia — one of the world’s largest oil producers and exporters — that is at sea, the Treasury Department said Thursday, as nations scrambled to boost supply and bring down prices. Oil prices soared to almost $120 a barrel this week, the highest price since the pandemic. — G7 resistance — R...

A landslide in the Gamo Zone ​of southern Ethiopia earlier ‌this week has killed at least 64 people, regional officials said ​on Thursday. Another 50 people could ​be missing. The landslide happened ⁠following heavy rains. “It has ​been confirmed that 64 people have ​lost their lives, and efforts are continuing intensively to locate 50 people ​whose whereabouts are unknown,” ​the Gamo Zone communications office said in ‌a ⁠statement on its Facebook page. The southern Ethiopia regional state office also gave a death toll ​of ​56. A photo ⁠posted on Facebook by the Ethiopian Broadcasting ​Corporation showed residents standing ​at ⁠the scene of the landslide, with parts of a nearby ⁠hillside ​stripped of vegetation and ​some people standing knee-deep in mud. SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/IhM4xQc

BY HANNA ARHIROVA AP Russian and Ukrainian officials made rival claims of battlefield successes in their 4-year-old war, with Ukraine saying it pushed Moscow’s forces back across places on the front line and the Kremlin insisting  Russia’s invasion of its neighbor  is making progress. At the same time, Russia’s almost daily attacks on Ukrainian civilian areas continued, killing several people, as Washington postponed its sponsored talks between the two sides due to the war in the Middle East. Russia and Ukraine tout contradictory success claims Despite being short of soldiers, Ukrainian forces have recently retaken nearly all the territory of the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk industrial region during a counteroffensive, driving Russian troops out of more than 400 square kilometers (150 square miles), Maj. Gen. Oleksandr Komarenko said in an interview published Tuesday by local media outlet RBC-Ukraine. Russian troops are poorly supplied and lack support, Andrii Kyianenko, t...

By DÁNICA COTO AP Drones operated by  Haitian security forces  and private contractors have killed at least 1,243 people and injured 738 others, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Of those killed, 17 were children and 43 were adults not believed to be members of any criminal group. Of those injured, at least 49 were believed to be civilians, according to the rights group. The killings took place between March 1, 2025, and Jan. 21, 2026. The most lethal drone operation killed 57 people, it noted. “Haitian authorities should urgently rein in the security forces and private contractors working for them before more children die,” Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. A spokesperson for Haiti’s National Police did not respond to a request for comment. The nonprofit said the number of armed drone attacks in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince,  which is 90% controlled by gangs , has “significantly increased” in recent months, with 57 r...

Europe became the world’s biggest arms importer over the last five years as governments reacted to Russia’s threat and ‌waning confidence in U.S. security commitments, data from the Stockholm International ‌Peace Research Institute showed on Monday. European countries more than trebled their arms imports in 2021-25 versus 2016-2020 ​to supply Ukraine in its defence against Russian invasion and to rebuild their own militaries after decades of under-investment. “The sharp increase in arms flows to European states pushed global arms transfers up almost 10 per cent,” Mathew George, Director of the ‌SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, said. Europe ⁠accounted for 33% of global arms imports, up from 12% in the previous five-year period, the report showed. Despite boosting domestic production, ⁠European countries continued to increase purchases of U.S. weapons, especially combat aircraft and long-range air-defence systems. MIDDLE EAST Arms imports by Middle Eastern states fell 13%, though Sa...

BY DYEPKAZAH SHIBAYAN AP Nigeria’s military killed 45 militants in the country’s northwest region, the Katsina state government said Saturday. The clashes between the military and the gunmen happened on Friday in the Danmusa area of Katsina, the state’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Nasir Mua’zu said in a statement. It followed a failed attempt by the gunmen to steal cattle on Thursday. “Seeking revenge, the bandits returned in large numbers on March 6,” Mua’zu said. “What followed was an intense and fierce battle. The army successfully neutralized all 45 bandits.” Nigeria is battling a  complex security crisis  from different armed groups, especially in the north of the country. The United States has  sent troops  to the West African nation to help advise its military on the fight against insecurity. Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are  Boko Haram  and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic S...