CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The southern African nation of Malawi has declared a state of disaster over drought in 23 of its 28 districts and the president says it urgently needs more than $200 million in humanitarian assistance, less than a month after neighboring Zambia also appealed for help. Malawi is the latest country … Read more
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders gathered Thursday to consider new ways to help boost arms and ammunition production for Ukraine and to discuss the war in Gaza amid deep concern about Israeli plans to launch a ground offensive in the city of Rafah. Ukraine’s munition stocks are desperately low, and Russia has more and better-armed … Read more
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel this week as part of his sixth urgent mission to the Middle East since the Israelis’ war with Hamas began in October, as relations between the two countries have soured dramatically in recent weeks. The visit comes amid a flurry of … Read more
GUATEMALA CITY — As Haiti once again spirals into chaos with another wave of gang violence, a number of government and aid agencies reported Saturday that their facilities and aid supplies have been looted. Gangs have raged through Haiti in recent weeks, attacking key institutions and shutting down the main international airport. The chaos has … Read more
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A crowd of about 100 people tried to shove through a metal gate in Haiti’s capital as a guard with a baton pushed them back, threatening to hit them. Undeterred, children and adults alike, some of them carrying babies, kept elbowing each other trying to enter. “Let us in! We’re hungry!” they … Read more
As American military pilots closed in on the northern coast of Gaza, AP journalists aboard the aid mission could hardly spot a single building left untouched by six months of brutal war. They watched as three tons of humanitarian aid — food, water and hygiene products supplied by Jordan— tumbled out of the rear of … Read more
BERLIN — German lawmakers on Thursday rejected a new call by the opposition for the government to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, a day after Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his refusal to supply the weapons. The main center-right opposition bloc has sought to keep up pressure on the issue and exploit divisions in … Read more
NEBAR HADNET, Ethiopia — The cruel realities of war and drought seem to have merged for Tinseu Hiluf, a widow living in the arid depths of Ethiopia’s Tigray region who is raising four children left behind by her sister’s recent death in childbirth. A two-year war between federal troops and regional forces killed one of … Read more
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Another top donor to the U.N. agency aiding Palestinians said Saturday that it would resume funding, weeks after more than a dozen countries halted hundreds of millions of dollars of support in response to Israeli allegations against the organization. Sweden’s reversal came as a ship bearing tons of humanitarian aid was preparing … Read more
LARNACA, Cyprus — A ship was preparing Friday to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza with humanitarian aid, the European Commission president said, as international donors launch a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger and shortages of essential supplies after five months of war. The vessel, belonging to Spain’s Open Arms, … Read more