
-
Top Russian official in Washington for talks on improving ties
-
Sinner's former physio to blame for failed dope tests, says ex-physical trainer
-
Germany slams Trump tariffs, US tech titans in crosshairs
-
Trump tariff blitz sparks retaliation threats, economic fears
-
Search for Malaysia's long missing MH370 suspended
-
Hungary announces ICC withdrawal as Israel's Netanyahu visits
-
Trump's tariffs sting Asian giants, including US allies
-
India says 'examining the implications' of US tariffs
-
Evenepoel set to make injury return at Tour de Romandie
-
USA sole bidder for 2031 Women's World Cup, UK set to host in 2035 - Infantino
-
McLaren's Norris says it's 'our turn' for success
-
Lessons and liquids: buried alive in Myanmar's earthquake
-
Trump tariffs spark fears for Asian jobs, exporting sectors
-
Stocks and dollar sink, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Runners fly to North Korea for first post-Covid Pyongyang Marathon
-
Hamilton rubbishes claims he's lost faith in Ferrari
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
S Korea police raise security levels ahead of impeachment verdict
-
China vows 'countermeasures' to sweeping new US tariffs
-
Trump jolts allies, foes and markets with tariff blitz
-
France says EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs
-
Tsunoda vows to bring 'something different' after Red Bull promotion
-
Verstappen not happy with Tsunoda-Lawson Red Bull swap
-
Experts accuse 54 top Nicaragua officials of grave abuses
-
Remains of 30th victim of Los Angeles fires found
-
EU to target US online services after Trump tariffs: France
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Malaysia suspends search for long-missing flight MH370
-
Search for long-missing flight MH370 suspended: Malaysia minister
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
-
Lawson vows to prove he belongs in F1 after shock of Red Bull axing
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
Livestock theft is central to jihadist economy in west Africa
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Danish PM in 'unity' Greenland visit amid US takeover threats
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Lawson says ruthless Red Bull axing was 'tough to hear'
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Thunder roll on
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Japan says US tariffs 'extremely regrettable', may break WTO rules
-
South Koreans anxious, angry as court to rule on impeached president
-
Juve at in-form Roma with Champions League in the balance
-
Injuries put undermanned Bayern's title bid to the test
-
Ovechkin scores 892nd goal -- three away from Gretzky's NHL record
-
Australian former rugby star Petaia signs for NFL's Chargers
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Athletics world watching as 'Grand Slam Track' prepares for launch
-
Heat humble Celtics for sixth straight win, Cavs top Knicks

Gaza hospitals in crisis as Israel-Hamas conflict rages on
Gaza's hospitals were facing "complete collapse", Palestinian medics warned Wednesday as the UN said supplies were running critically low and the Hamas-run health ministry reported 700 deaths in Israeli strikes in 24 hours.
Alarm is growing over the spiralling humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has been bombing since October 7 when Hamas gunmen poured across its border beginning an attack that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, while also kidnapping more than 220 others, according to Israeli officials.
UN figures show over a third of the narrow Palestinian territory's 35 hospitals have closed due to damage or insufficient fuel, and one doctor said he was forced to perform surgeries without anaesthetic.
"The hospitals are in a state of complete collapse," said Mohammed Abu Selmeya, head of Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital.
He told AFP "more than 90 percent of medicines" had run out and "we urgently need fuel to run the generators and to operate hospital departments and operating theatres."
His words came as the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA warned it could be forced to halt its operations by nightfall if it didn't receive any deliveries of fuel.
Israel has cut off Gaza's usual water, food and other supplies, and fewer than 70 relief trucks have entered the impoverished territory since the war began. But none have contained fuel, which Israel fears Hamas will use for weapons and explosives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to "eliminate Hamas" and Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says Israeli strikes since October 7 have killed more than 6,500 people, an increase of over 700 since Tuesday.
"They're not waging war on Hamas, they're waging war on children... It's a massacre," raged Abu Ali Zaarab, after his family home was bombed in the southern town of Rafah.
Tempers flared at the United Nations where Guterres decried the "epic suffering" in Gaza and the "collective punishment" of its 2.4 million people, drawing a furious response from Israel's top diplomat Eli Cohen, who recounted grisly details of how civilians, including children, had been killed in the deadliest single attack in Israel's history.
Violence has also risen sharply in the occupied West Bank, where health officials said more than 100 Palestinians had been killed, mostly in raids by Israeli troops or in clashes with Israeli settlers.
- 'Severe pain but no anaesthetic' -
According to UN figures, 12 of Gaza's 35 hospitals and nearly two-thirds of its 72 primary healthcare clinics have shut down after being damaged by Israeli air strikes or due to fuel shortages.
Fuel is used to power vital services such as hospitals in Gaza which rely on generators, and aid agencies have warned that more people will die if medical equipment, water desalination plants and ambulances stop running.
Once the generators stop running, hospitals will "turn into morgues", the Red Cross has warned.
Hospitals are also struggling with a dramatic shortage of medicines and equipment.
"There's not enough anaesthetic," said Ahmad Abdul Hadi, an orthopaedic surgeon working at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis.
"The wounded are in severe pain but we can't wait for the procedure so we're forced to do the operation. We performed a number of surgeries without anaesthetic. It's tough and painful, but with the lack of resources, what can we do?"
UNRWA has also said its operations were at breaking point from the shortage of fuel.
"If we do not get fuel urgently, we will be forced to halt our operations in the Gaza Strip as of (Wednesday) night," it said on Tuesday.
Petrol stations in the southern town of Rafah had also run dry.
"We ask God for the fuel to arrive so cars, tractors, ambulances and UNRWA operations can function to help the people," taxi driver Ibrahim Namla told AFP.
"If fuel doesn't enter Gaza today or tomorrow, it will be a disaster."
And there has been no let-up in the strikes, with one hitting a building in Rafah where many children were inside, residents said.
"We saw the children being bombarded while their mother was hugging them," said Umm Omar al-Khaldi, whose neighbours were killed. "Where are the Arabs? Where is the humanity? Have mercy on us!"
- 'Double standard' -
The Gaza war has sparked fears of a regional conflagration if it draws in more of Israel's enemies -- especially Lebanon's Hezbollah, a close ally of both Iran and Hamas, which has already traded deadly cross-border with Israeli forces along the border.
As the fighting raged on, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah held talks with senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives in Beirut about how to achieve "real victory... in Gaza and Palestine" and stop Israel's "brutal aggression", the Lebanese movement said.
Jordan's King Abdullah became the latest regional leader to warn that ongoing violence could "lead to an explosion" in the wider Middle East after talks with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron.
And his wife Queen Rania accused Western leaders of a "glaring double standard" for not condemning Israel's killing of Palestinian civilians in its bombardment of Gaza.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli strikes killed eight soldiers in southern Syria with its airforce later hitting Aleppo airport for the fourth time in a fortnight, the defence ministry in Damascus said.
burs-hmw/ami
S.Gregor--AMWN