Volkswagen has officially broken ground on its $7 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery-cell plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, marking a major milestone in the automaker’s North American electrification strategy. The facility, developed by Volkswagen’s battery subsidiary PowerCo, is projected to be one of the largest of its kind on the continent and is expected to […]
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In a press briefing on Tuesday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric described reports of Israeli military action as “extremely concerning,” stressing that “we don’t want civilians to be bombed again” or humanitarian operations “derailed again.” Hamas denied that it had any involvement in a reported attack on Israeli forces by Palestinian militants earlier in the day, […]
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Senior UN refugee agency (UNHCR) official in Sudan, Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet, said there had been “significant outflow out of El Fasher into Tawila” – around 60 kilometres west of the city – which is already hosting around 650,000 displaced. New arrivals have recounted stories of widespread ethnically and politically motivated killings, including reports of people […]
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The agency has received reports of summary executions of civilians trying to escape what was the last Sudanese military government stronghold of El Fasher – with indications of ethnic motivations for killings – and of former combatants who have put down their weapons, which is prohibited under humanitarian law. “The risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated […]
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Morocco is taking a bold step to transform its financial system into a true enabler of women’s economic empowerment. In partnership with CGAP, Bank Al-Maghrib and the Ministry of Economy and Finance are in the process of launching a “Women’s Financial Inclusion (WFI) Coalition”. Embedded within the governance of Morocco’s upcoming next phase of the […]
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The U.S. State Department confirmed on October 23, 2025, that Mali was no longer subject to the Visa Bond Pilot Program, which requires certain nationals applying for short-term B-1/B-2 visitor visas to post refundable financial guarantees of up to $15,000. The program, introduced under the Immigration and Nationality Act, targets countries with high visa overstay […]
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Although progress has been made through peace initiatives, such as the Washington Agreement signed on 27 June between the DRC and Rwanda, and the Doha Declaration of Principles signed on 19 July between the Congo River/M23 Alliance and the Congolese Government under Qatari mediation, further efforts are still needed to achieve lasting and sustainable peace. […]
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In the heart of Sudan’s White Nile State, to the south of the country’s capital, Khartoum, Kosti Maternity Hospital handles thousands of deliveries a year, but the ongoing war, the destruction of regional infrastructure and the displacement millions of people, many of them women, has put huge strain on its services. A changing landscape of […]
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The United Kingdom and Türkiye have signed a landmark £8 billion defence agreement for the sale of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, marking the largest British combat aircraft export deal in nearly two decades. The contract was finalized on October 27, 2025, during Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first official visit to Ankara, where he met with […]
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A new UN Women report, At Risk and Underfunded, based on a global survey of 428 women’s rights and civil society groups, finds that one in three have suspended or shut down programmes aimed at ending gender-based violence. More than 40 per cent have scaled back or closed essential services such as shelters, legal aid, […]
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