World news

New year hope and joy reign in a Damascus freed from Assad

Shawdesh Desk: Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing “revolution” flags as Syria saw in the new year with hope following 13 years of civil war. Gunshots rang

Zimbabwe abolishes death penalty almost 20 years after its last hanging

Shawdesh Desk: Zimbabwe has abolished the death penalty, a widely expected move in a country that last carried out the punishment nearly two decades ago. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who once

Gaza healthcare nearing ‘total collapse’ due to Israeli strikes: UN

Shawdesh desk: A United Nations report published Tuesday found that Israeli strikes on and near hospitals in the Gaza Strip had left healthcare in the Palestinian territory on the verge

Gaza: Hospitals closed, aid denied, civilians trapped

Shawdesh desk: Essential services that sustain life – healthcare, emergency aid, and humanitarian access – are being systematically dismantled in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to the UN Office for

Taliban order NGOs to stop employing women or face closure

Shawdesh Desk: The Taliban says it will close all national and foreign nongovernmental groups in Afghanistan employing women. It comes two years after they told NGOs to suspend the employment

US, foreign leaders praise Jimmy Carter’s legacy

Shawdesh Desk: Joe Biden led US presidents and other world leaders in paying tribute to Jimmy Carter, who died aged 100. ‘America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman

Korea plane crash kills 179

Shawdesh Desk: A Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea crashed on arrival on Sunday, smashing into a barrier and bursting into flames, killing everyone aboard

Putin apologises to Azerbaijan over plane crash

Shawdesh desk: Vladimir Putin admitted Saturday Russian air defence was working when an Azerbaijani Airlines plane tried to land in Grozny before crashing, breaking the Kremlin’s silence as speculation mounted