Aid

Global Sumud Flotilla 將此次攔截行動描述為「暴力突襲」，而 IDF 則敦促維權人士透過「既定管道」運送援助物資。 以色列軍隊在希臘克里特島附近攔截並扣留了來自一支船隊的至少 22 艘船隻的船員，該船隊正試圖突破以色列對加薩走廊的海上封鎖以運送人道主義援助物資。 Global Sumud Flotilla 由約 58 艘船隻組成，載有來自 70 個國家的各界人士，並已於週日從義大利出發。 繼續閱讀...

Three defendants deny plotting arson attack on two homes and a car connected to prime minister in London last yearA series of arson attacks on property linked to Keir Starmer was masterminded by a Russian-speaking contact using the pseudonym “El Money”, a court has heard.Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Petro Pochynok, 35, both from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, a Romanian national, sat with their heads bent towards interpreters as Duncan Atkinson KC, prosecuting, opened the trial over the arson attacks in May last year. Continue reading...

About 500 officers deployed as part of operation at headquarters of Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light Police have raided the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light following an investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences, modern slavery and forced marriage.About 500 officers drawn from across the north-west region were on the ground on Wednesday morning. The officers had warrants to enter the group’s headquarters, which is based out of a former orphanage as well as other properties in Crewe, Cheshire. Continue reading...

Soaring oil prices and the blockade are preventing food, fuel and medicine being delivered to millions of people in desperate need, say NGOsThe volatility of global oil prices caused by the US and Israel’s war on Iran is taking a toll on the most vulnerable people, by slowing or blocking food and medical aid from reaching them.Now aid organisations are calling for a “humanitarian corridor” to be opened through the strait of Hormuz amid rocketing transportation costs. Continue reading...

Ex-NIAID employee David Morens accused of trying to shield correspondence related to outbreak of pandemicAn ex-adviser to former top public US health official Anthony Fauci has been indicted by Trump administration prosecutors on accusations that he illicitly concealed federal records during the Covid pandemic.The justice department on Tuesday announced charges against David Morens, 78, of Chester, Maryland, amid a sharply divisive debate over the origins of the coronavirus, which has become particularly politicized during Donald Trump’s two presidencies. Competing theories – including a natural spillover versus a potential lab leak – have fueled partisan clashes, with splits along ideological lines. Continue reading...

Mandelson’s replacement made comments in February, with diplomat also saying Israel has special relationship with USThe UK’s new ambassador to the US has described Keir Starmer as having been “on the ropes” over the Peter Mandelson scandal and said it is Israel rather than Britain that has a “special relationship” with the White House.Christian Turner, who took office in February to replace Mandelson as the UK’s most senior diplomat in Washington, made the remarks privately to a group of students visiting the US in the same month he was appointed. Continue reading...

Briefings obtained by freedom of information warned a ‘cascade of withdrawals’ could lead to collapse of 2026 South Australian festivalGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAdelaide writers’ week was sacrificed to save the 2026 Adelaide festival, an event that ploughs more than $60m into South Australia’s economy each year, documents show.After the 8 January announcement by the Adelaide festival board that controversial Palestinian Australian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah had been dumped from the AWW program, it wasn’t just fellow Australian and international guest writers and academics who began pulling out in droves. Continue reading...

• The Taliban government announced restrictions on international health NGOs operating in Afghanistan on Monday, citing concerns over 'political interference' and threatening revocation of licenses for non-compliant organizations. • Medical organizations warned that the restrictions would devastate maternal and pediatric health services, particularly in rural areas where international agencies provide 70 percent of healthcare capacity. • The U.S. State Department condemned the move as undermining humanitarian efforts and expressed concern for vulnerable populations, with officials exploring alternative delivery mechanisms for critical medical assistance.

• Ukrainian officials acknowledged on Monday that Russian forces have captured additional territory in eastern Donbas region despite increased deliveries of Western arms and ammunition over the past 30 days. • Kyiv's military command reported that Russian forces are attempting encirclement operations near Bakhmut and Popasna, forcing Ukrainian units into tactical withdrawals in select areas. • The Pentagon reaffirmed commitment to Ukraine, announcing a $500 million weapons package including air defense systems and precision munitions, with U.S. officials emphasizing the long-term nature of support.

• Active fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has intensified blockades on humanitarian corridors, trapping over 2 million internally displaced persons without access to food and medical supplies. • The UN World Food Programme reported that starvation conditions now affect multiple regions, with malnutrition rates among children exceeding 40 percent in some areas. • The U.S. State Department announced an additional $150 million in emergency humanitarian assistance but acknowledged that insecurity makes delivery of aid increasingly difficult.

Mystery of who the child known as Baby Auckland was and how he died has not been solvedA baby boy whose skeletal remains were found wrapped in a 1910 newspaper and with twine around his neck has, finally, been laid to rest.The child has become known as Baby Auckland after he was found at a property in the centre of Bishop Auckland, County Durham. Continue reading...

• The United States has suspended a $150 million military aid package to the Philippines following tensions over Manila's softened stance on South China Sea disputes with China. • State Department officials cited the Philippines' decision to reduce joint naval operations in disputed waters as the reason for the suspension, marking a significant shift in regional alliance strategy. • The move reflects US frustration with shifting regional dynamics and concerns that strategic partners may be accommodating Beijing's territorial claims under economic pressure.

• As of April 25, 2026, Medicaid/CHIP enrollment exceeds pre-pandemic levels in 32 states, totaling 68 million Medicaid and 7.2 million CHIP enrollees nationwide. • The unwinding process disenrolled 25.2 million since September 2024, yet 69% of renewals—56.4 million—were approved in reporting states. • Elevated enrollment supports ongoing public health efforts but strains budgets amid procedural disenrollments in states like Florida and Texas.

• The European Union announced a €2.1 billion emergency aid package for Ukraine on Friday, aimed at supporting reconstruction efforts and civilian needs amid Russia's intensified spring offensive across multiple fronts in eastern Ukraine. • EU officials stated the funds would prioritize healthcare infrastructure, food security, and electricity grid repairs, with disbursement beginning within two weeks pending parliamentary approval scheduled for April 30. • Ukraine's finance minister praised the commitment but warned that current assistance levels remain insufficient to offset projected $14 billion in war-related economic losses this year alone.

• The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released preliminary measurement guidance addressing accounting treatment for paid-in-kind (PIK) dividends on equity-classified preferred stock. • The guidance represents an important clarification for companies issuing preferred stock with dividend structures, affecting financial reporting standards across the U.S. corporate sector. • This regulatory development impacts corporate accounting practices and may influence capital structure decisions for companies considering preferred equity financing.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who allegedly made more than $400,000 on Polymarket, could face up to 60 years in prisonA US soldier who played a role in the January capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is now in custody after allegedly cashing in over $400,000 on wagers about the politician’s removal from office, federal authorities announced on Thursday.Prosecutors say beginning in early December the soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, was involved in planning for the military operation to capture and depose Maduro. Continue reading...

Rosemarie Milsom, who formed and runs Newcastle writers festival, will take over from Louise Adler after the literary festival imploded over invitation to Randa Abdel-FattahIn January, as the implosion of Adelaide writers’ week made headlines around Australia and the world, Rosemarie Milsom was watching closely.The Adelaide festival board, which oversees AWW, had overridden the literary festival’s director, Louise Adler, and disinvited the Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah over past comments she’d made about Israel and Zionism. This decision resulted not in a quieter, less-controversial festival as the board members may have hoped, but a boycott by 200-odd writers, the resignation of Adler – followed by the whole board – a potential defamation lawsuit against the South Australian premier and the collapse of AWW. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration will require all 50 states to explain their plans to revalidate Medicaid providers as part of a national escalation of anti-fraud efforts, announced by Dr. Mehmet Oz on Tuesday. • This marks a significant expansion from previous anti-fraud initiatives that have largely focused on specific states rather than a nationwide mandate. • The move aims to strengthen program integrity and reduce fraudulent claims across the Medicaid system.

Discussions reportedly come after Trump’s decision to stop initiative that allowed group to apply to resettle in the USThe Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send up to 1,100 Afghans who helped US forces during the war in Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a non-profit confirmed on Tuesday.The resettlement talks, first reported by the New York Times, come after Donald Trump’s decision to stop an initiative that allowed Afghans who assisted US war efforts to apply to resettle in the US. Continue reading...

Mexico to investigate possible breach of its constitution and assess US’s role in anti-drug operation near ChihuahuaMexico has launched an investigation into a possible breach of its constitution as it was reported that two US embassy officials who died in a car accident while returning from a raid on a drug lab with local officials in the border state of Chihuahua were CIA operatives.The accident happened early on Sunday, as the officials were driving back from the scene of the raid. Their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged down a 200 metre ravine in the mountains near Chihuahua’s border with the state of Sinaloa. Continue reading...

Civil rights group logs 300% yearly rise from before war and says ‘authoritarian repression … went into overdrive’A civil rights group dedicated to the defense of pro-Palestinian speech said that requests for legal assistance linked to Palestine-related activism in the US continues to far surpass pre-2023 levels, having logged 300% more requests for support last year than in any year prior to Israel’s war in Gaza.Palestine Legal logged some 1,131 requests in 2025. That was less than the record 2,184 requests it received in 2024, amid the peak of student protests and encampments, but well above its yearly average prior to the October 7 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel’s response in Gaza. Continue reading...

• Iran shot down a US F-15E fighter jet over Iranian territory, representing a major battlefield setback in escalating tensions. • President Trump reacted with hours of intense exchanges with aides, reported by The Wall Street Journal as a full meltdown. • The incident underscores growing military confrontations amid collapsing ceasefire and stalled US-Iran diplomacy.

Ex-civil servant testifying about Peter Mandelson says there was a ‘creep’ of senior diplomatic roles going to political figuresUK politics live – latest updatesDowning Street asked the Foreign Office to find a senior diplomatic role for Keir Starmer’s then communications chief, Matthew Doyle, the department’s former lead civil servant revealed on Tuesday.Testifying to MPs at parliament’s foreign affairs select committee, Olly Robbins said he had had several conversations with No 10 about finding a role for Doyle, who was later suspended as a Labour peer after it emerged he had campaigned for a friend charged with possessing indecent images of children. Continue reading...

Victory for abortion rights groups as court finds state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortionA Pennsylvania court on Monday said that the state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortion while striking down a decades-long law banning the use of state Medicaid funds to cover abortion costs.The ruling by a divided seven-judge panel of the appellate-level commonwealth court is a major victory for Planned Parenthood and abortion clinic operators who first sued Pennsylvania over its Medicaid funding restrictions in 2019. Continue reading...

PM sets out chronology of Mandelson’s vetting failure – and insists he has not misled MPsUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has laid out a detailed timeline of events leading up to Peter Mandelson being refused security vetting and how the message was not passed to No 10. Here’s what his statement did tell us – and what it was more vague on. Continue reading...

Sgt Celestino Chavez Jr, accounted for in 2025, given full burial honors and posthumous medals in New MexicoThe remains of a US soldier who went missing in action during the Korean war were identified by DNA analysis, and he was recently laid to rest in his hometown of Gallup, New Mexico, authorities said.US army Sgt Celestino Chavez Jr’s burial ended a decades-long saga that began with him being wounded while defending his post near the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir in North Korea and then being taken to an aid station on 30 November 1950. Chavez, 19, was then reported missing in action three days later, when enemy fighters attacked his convoy. Continue reading...

Activists say clamp down on period products to target insurgents is gender-based violence and violates rightsMyanmar’s military regime is expanding its ban on the distribution of period products, claiming they are being used to treat wounded resistance fighters, according to local activists.The south-east Asian country has been locked in civil war since 2021, when the military usurped the democratic government and launched a violent crackdown on dissidents. Artillery fire, the burning of townships and arbitrary arrests have become common in the years since then. Continue reading...