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The second senior EU official confirmed that. A third source, also an EU official, said the Commission was "cooperating actively with WFP to resolve systemic defects" but said no aid was suspended at this stage. Last year, it contributed more than half of the $2.2 billion of funding that went to the humanitarian response there. The U.N. report did not attempt to quantify the amount of aid that was diverted but said its findings "suggest that post-delivery aid diversion in Somalia is widespread and systemic". In all, investigators collected data from 55 IDP sites in Somalia and found aid diversion in all of them, the report said.

Persons: Ayenat, Balazs Ujvari, Antonio Guterres, Devex, Jessica Jennings, gatekeepers, Gabriela Baczynska, Michelle Nichols, Aaron Ross, Emma Farge, Daphne Psaledakis, Joe Bavier, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, European Union, Food Programme, Reuters, European Commission, EU, WFP, U.N, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, European, Somali Disaster Management Office, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Dollow, Somalia, NAIROBI, GENEVA, Ethiopia, United States, Nairobi, Geneva

A three-storey building standing opposite had been swept 60 metres (200 feet) down the road by the floodwaters, Hasadi said. "The situation is very, very tragic," said Qais, a rescue worker from Tunisia at the seafront who only gave his first name. [1/4]A view shows the destruction, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 16, 2023. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-fetori Acquire Licensing Rights"The work is ongoing and is very, very, very complicated," he told Reuters. Libya's continuing political divisions, with rival administrations and parliaments in the east and west, could hamper the aid effort.

Persons: Tarek Faheem al, Hasadi, Qais, Kamal Al, Omran, Storm Daniel, Hayder Al, Muammar Gaddafi, Khalifa Haftar's, Derna, Ayman al, Ahmed Elumami, Omar Abdel, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Alex Richardson Organizations: Organization for, REUTERS, Reuters, Health Organization, Italy's, United Nations, Libya's National, for Disease, NATO, Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, Thomson Locations: DERNA, Libya, Derna, Derna's, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Italian, Italy's Embassy, Infrastructure, Razek, Cairo, Geneva

☆ Bahrain activist al-Khawaja says airline denied her boarding to Manama
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Human rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja flashes a "V" sign after being released outside the Airport Police Station, in Muharraq, north of Manama September 18, 2014. Maryam al-Khawaja said she was told at a British Airways' counter at Heathrow Airport that she was not allowed to board her flight and should contact Bahraini immigration authorities. "Effectively we are being denied boarding by British Airways on behalf of the Bahraini government," she said in a video taken in British Airways' check-in area, and posted on X, formerly called Twitter. British Airways did not immediately respond to request for comment. Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, also a Danish citizen, is a former president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and is serving a life sentence for his role in Bahrain's pro-democracy protests in 2011.

Persons: Maryam al, Khawaja, Hamad, Mohammed, Abdulhadi al, Maryam, General Agnes Callamard, Olive Moore, Maryam Al, Zainab, Mary Lawlor, Abduljalil, Naji Fateel, " Lawlor, Abdulhadi, Al Khalifa, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Muvija M, Emma Farge, William Maclean, Mark Potter Organizations: Police, REUTERS, Rights, British Airways, Heathrow Airport, Bahraini, Reuters, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Muharraq, Manama, Rights RIYADH, London, Gulf, Bahrain, Danish, Riyadh, Shi'ite Iran, Teheran

☆ Aid agencies call for end to mass graves after Libya floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Displaced people receive food aid from private schools and parents from east of Libya, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 15, 2023. A torrent washed away whole districts of Derna, a city in eastern Libya, on Sunday night after two dams collapsed. A U.N. report published on Thursday said that over 1,000 bodies in Derna and over 100 bodies in Albayda had been buried in mass graves after the floods on Sept. 11. "Bodies are littering the streets, washing back on shore and are buried under collapsed buildings and debris. He warned that unexploded ordnances, common in some parts of Libya, posed a risk for those involved in recovering the dead.

Persons: Omran, Kazunobu Kojima, Cross, Bilal Sablouh, Emma Farge, Miranda Murray, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, World Health Organization, WHO, International Committee, International Federation of, Red Crescent Societies, Regional, ICRC, Thomson Locations: Libya, Derna, WHO's, Albayda, Africa, Geneva, Benghazi

☆ 'They knew' - Libyans express fury that warnings went unheeded before catastrophic flood
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

"The Libyan government knew what was going on in the Derna River Valley and the danger of the situation for a very long time." In his report, hydrologist Ashour cites an unpublished 2006 study from the Water Resources Ministry on "the danger of the situation." The Turkish company, Arsel, lists a project on its website to repair the Derna dams as having begun in 2007 and been completed in 2012. Even as the catastrophe was unfolding on Sunday night, the Water Resources Ministry issued a post on its Facebook page telling residents not to worry. "When the water started flowing into the house, me and my two sons with their wives escaped to the roof.

Persons: hydrologist Abdul Wanis Ashour, Ashour, Abdulqader Mohamed Alfakhakhri, Alwad Alshawly, hydrologist Ashour, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Al Qaeda, Omar al, Moghairbi, Marwan Alfaituri, Abdulmenam, Ghaithi, Petteri Taalas, Gaddafi, Khalifa Hafter, Abdulhamid, Aguila Saleh, Yousef Alfkakhri, Tom Perry, Angus McDowall, Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam, Tarek Amara, Emma Farge, Mariana Sandoval, Peter Graff, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Reuters, Public Water Commission, Sebha University, of, Applied Sciences, Water Resources Ministry, NATO, Islamic, Gaddafi's, Libya's, Derna, Sunday, World Meteorological Organization, Libyan National Army, Thomson Locations: Libya, Derna, Tripoli, Turkish, Islamic State, Geneva, Libyan, Benghazi

[1/5] People walk amidst the wreckage, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 15, 2023. "Bodies are littering the streets, washing back on shore and are buried under collapsed buildings and debris. Mohammad al-Qabisi, head of Derna's Wahda Hospital, said a field hospital was treating people with chronic illnesses needing regular attention. Thursday's U.N. report said more than 1,000 bodies in Derna and over 100 bodies in Al Bayda, another coastal city which was hit by flooding, had been buried in mass graves. The ICRC sent a cargo flight to Benghazi, eastern Libya's largest city, on Friday with 5,000 body bags.

Persons: Omran, DERNA, Bilal Sablouh, Ibrahim al, Mohammad al, Nouri Mohamed, Derna's, Kazunobu Kojima, Derna, Thursday's U.N, Al Bayda, I've, Ahmed Bayram, Saad Rajab Mohamed al, Martin Griffiths, Ahmed Elumami, Ayman al, Laila Bassam, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Nayera Abdallah, Mark Heinrich, William Maclean, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, WHO, World Health Organization, Reuters, Derna's, Organization for, International Committee, Cross, International Federation of, Red Crescent Societies, ICRC, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee, Thomson Locations: Derna, Libya, U.N, GENEVA, Libyan, Africa, Geneva, Libya's Tripoli, Libya's, WHO's, Al, Benghazi, Susah, Beirut

☆ Libya flood: fury that warnings went unheeded
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/4] A view shows the damaged areas, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya, September 13, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. In his report, hydrologist Ashour cites an unpublished 2006 study from the Water Resources Ministry on "the danger of the situation." The Turkish company, Arsel, lists a project on its website to repair the Derna dams as having begun in 2007 and been completed in 2012. Even as the catastrophe was unfolding on Sunday night, the Water Resources Ministry issued a post on its Facebook page telling residents not to worry. "When the water started flowing into the house, me and my two sons with their wives escaped to the roof.

Persons: Marwan Alfaituri, hydrologist Abdul Wanis Ashour, Ashour, Abdulqader Mohamed Alfakhakhri, Alwad Alshawly, hydrologist Ashour, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Al Qaeda, Omar al, Moghairbi, Abdulmenam, Ghaithi, Petteri Taalas, Gaddafi, Khalifa Hafter, Abdulhamid, Aguila Saleh, Yousef Alfkakhri, Tom Perry, Angus McDowall, Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam, Tarek Amara, Emma Farge, Mariana Sandoval, Peter Graff, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Reuters, Public Water Commission, Sebha University, of, Applied Sciences, Water Resources Ministry, NATO, Islamic, Gaddafi's, Libya's, Derna, Sunday, World Meteorological Organization, Libyan National Army, Thomson Locations: Derna, Libya, Tripoli, Turkish, Islamic State, Geneva, Libyan, Benghazi

☆ Libyans Come Together for Flood Aid Effort Despite Conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

Ministers from the Tripoli-based government visited the eastern city of Benghazi on Thursday. A humanitarian source involved in the relief effort said eastern authorities had barred foreign aid flowing to Derna through the internationally recognised Tripoli government, whose legitimacy the eastern administration rejects. A source in the eastern administration denied this, saying it had not rejected aid being channelled via Tripoli. Relief operations in Derna have been directed by Haftar's LNA, the military coalition that controls eastern Libya and was for years in open conflict with western factions. Turkey, long the main supporter of the Tripoli government, rapidly sent an aid team to Derna through Benghazi, the LNA-controlled capital of eastern regions.

Persons: Ahmed Elumami, Ayman al, DERNA, Elias al, Biltrees, Tim Eaton, Khalifa Haftar, FAULTLINES, Eaton, OCHA, Haftar's LNA, Haftar, Emma Farge, Angelo Amante, Tom Perry, Angus McDowall, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, Chatham House, United Nations, Brigade Locations: Libya, Misrata, Tripoli, Benghazi, Zawiya, Derna, NATO, Chatham, Libya's, Turkey, Geneva, Rome, Beirut

"We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far," he told reporters via video link. 'NEVER FELT AS FRIGHTENED'[1/6]People are stuck on a road as a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Shahhat city, Libya, September 11. At Tripoli airport in northwest Libya, a woman started to wail loudly as she received a call saying most of her family were dead or missing. "If a huge flood happens the result will be catastrophic for the people of the wadi and the city," the paper said. Pope Francis was among world leaders who said they were deeply saddened by the deaths and destruction in Libya.

Persons: Daniel, Storm Daniel, Abu Chkiouat, Derna, Al Jazeera, Tamer Ramadan, Martin Griffiths, Ali Al, Saadi, Mostafa Salem, Salem, wail, Walid Abdulati, Karim al, Al, Khalifah, hydrologist, Omar Al, Mukhtar, Pope Francis, Tarek Amara, Ayman Werfali, Ahmed Elumami, Al Bayda, Laila Bassam, Friedrieke Heine, Angus McDowall, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Clauda Tanios, Jana Choukeir, Gavin Jones, Emma Farge, Tom Perry, Ingrid Melander, Alison Williams, Peter Graff, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: UN, Storm, Reuters, International Federation of, Red Crescent Societies, United, REUTERS, Libyan, Mukhtar University, Norway's Refugee, Thomson Locations: Libya's, Libya, Derna, Benghazi, United Nations, Turkey, Tripoli, Al Jazeera, NATO, Misrata, Norway's, Tunisia, Al

☆ WHO Dismisses Biosecurity Expert After Sexual Misconduct Inquiry, Lawyer Cries Foul
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said it has dismissed a biosecurity expert after an internal inquiry upheld allegations of sexual misconduct but the man's lawyer dismissed the investigation as a smear campaign. "(The expert) has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process," WHO spokesperson Marcia Poole said in an email to Reuters overnight. The expert's lawyer told Reuters on Thursday that her client contested the allegations against him and would challenge the dismissal. "This shows the true aim of the campaign - which was to smear my client without a visible accuser." Asked to respond, the WHO spokesperson said the staff member had been dismissed following a thorough investigation.

Persons: Marcia Poole, Emma Farge, Jon Boyle Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Reuters Locations: GENEVA, Swiss

☆ Ukraine war brings surge in global use of cluster bombs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cluster munitions, fired from the ground or by aircraft, explode mid-air, spraying smaller 'bomblets' over a wide area. Neither Russia nor Ukraine is a party to the ban, nor is the United States, which began supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine this year. In Ukraine, the report said Russia had used cluster munitions "repeatedly", while Ukraine had also used them, but to "a lesser extent". The report covered last year, and therefore excludes this year's use by Ukraine of U.S. cluster munitions, which Kyiv began receiving in July. It also said its cluster munitions leave behind far fewer unexploded bomblets than those used by Russia.

Persons: Ivan Alvarado, Mary Wareham, Washington, Emma Farge, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Cluster Munitions Coalition, Human Rights Watch, Kyiv, Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, United States, Geneva, Kyiv, Moscow, U.S, Myanmar, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen

☆ Sand dredging is 'sterilising' ocean floor, UN warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Around 6 billion tons of marine sand is being dug up each year in a growing practice that a U.N. agency said is unsustainable and can wipe out local marine life irreversibly. The findings from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) coincide with the launch of a new platform 'Marine Sand Watch' backed by funding from the Swiss government that monitors dredging activities using marine tracking and artificial intelligence. "The amount of sand we are withdrawing from the environment is considerable and has a large impact," UNEP's Pascal Peduzzi told a Geneva press briefing. In some cases, companies remove all the sand to the bedrock, meaning that "life may never recover", Peduzzi added. China, the Netherlands, the United States and Belgium are among the countries most active in the sector, he said.

Persons: Ann Wang, Pascal Peduzzi, Peduzzi, Arnaud Vander Velpen, Emma Farge, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, University of Geneva, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, Swiss, Geneva, China, United States, Netherlands, Belgium

☆ Africa endures more severe warming than elsewhere, posing risk of conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Africa is responsible for only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions but is suffering disproportionately from climate change," the State of the Climate in Africa 2022 report said. On average, each African produced 1.04 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2021, less than a quarter of the global average. The report said the average rate of warming in Africa was 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade in the 1991-2022 period, compared with 0.2 degrees in the world as a whole. The warming has been fastest in North Africa which has been subject to multiple heatwaves since last year. Overall, the report said that agricultural productivity had fallen due to climate change, noting a decline of 34% since 1961 which is set to drive up import needs sharply.

Persons: Thomas Mukoya, Emma Farge, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, stoke, World Meteorological Organization, Thomson Locations: Industrial, Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, North Africa, West Africa

☆ Fighting in Ethiopia's Amhara kills at least 183, UN says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Fighting between Ethiopia's military and militiamen in the Amhara region has killed at least 183 people, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday, providing the most comprehensive independent death toll to date of the month-long conflict. The conflict has been fuelled by accusations among many in Amhara, Ethiopia's second most populous region, that the government is trying to undermine its security. At least four people were killed in fresh fighting that erupted in the town of Debre Tabor on Sunday, two doctors said. The clashes broke out about a week after Ethiopia's military entered the town, one of the doctors said. The other doctor said at least seven people had died - three civilians and four police officers, who were fighting in support of the military.

Persons: Emma Farge, Dawit, George Obulutsa, Aaron Ross, Nick Macfie Organizations: UN, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Amhara, Ethiopia's, Fano, Debre Tabor, Geneva, Addis Ababa

☆ Sudan's military ruler Burhan begins tour as UN warns of war spreading
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stands among troops,in an unknown location, in this picture released on May 30, 2023. Burhan, who is also armed forces chief, plans to chair a cabinet meeting. The army circulated videos on Friday of Burhan visiting the Atbara artillery base, north of Khartoum in River Nile state. The $2.6 billion Sudan appeal is just 26% funded, a U.N. spokesperson told a Geneva briefing, calling on donors to speed up promised aid. These acts of brutality contribute to an emerging pattern of targeted ethnic violence," the department said in a statement.

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Martin Griffiths, Griffiths, Susanna Borges, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Nafisa, Moaz Abd, Kirsti Knolle, Angus MacSwan, Mike Harrison, William Mallard Organizations: Sudanese Armed Forces, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Rapid Support Forces, Sans Frontieres, Washington, State Department, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Khartoum, Sudan, Port Sudan, Omdurman, Nile, Kordofan, Darfur, Geneva, Chad, West Darfur, Dubai, Cairo

☆ Plastic levels in Swiss-French lake as high as world's oceans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FOUNEX, Switzerland Aug 25 (Reuters) - Lake Geneva, nestled at the foot of the Alps, has long been considered as a near-pristine body of water, but new research has found that its plastic pollution levels are as high as those in the oceans. Oceaneye, a Geneva-based non-profit that has for more than a decade been scouring the seas to collect plastic fragments, has turned its attention closer to home to landlocked Switzerland. [1/5]A boat of NGO Oceaneye collects plastic fragments in the water of Lake Leman in Founex near Geneva, Switzerland August 21, 2023. Microplastics derive from the breakdown of various consumer and industrial plastic waste over time and their concentrations are accumulating in the world's oceans. "When we began working on this 12 years ago and talked about plastic fragments in water, people took us for wackos and now it is a recognised problem."

Persons: Pascal Hagmann, Denis Balibouse, Hagmann, Cecile Mantovani, Emma Farge, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Switzerland, Lake Geneva, Geneva, Lac Leman, Lake Leman, Founex, Leman, Europe, France, Switzerland's, Evian

☆ UN reopens European office after security issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The European headquarters of the United Nations is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland, September 2, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The United Nations has reopened its European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland after earlier on Friday shutting it due to an intrusion. "Please be informed that the issue at the Palais des Nations has now been solved. The Palais des Nations building houses the UN Human Rights Council and is a hub for diplomats, humanitarian workers and state officials. Reporting by Emma Farge; Writing by Maria Sheahan, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Friederike Heine; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Emma Farge, Maria Sheahan, Kirsti Knolle, Friederike Heine, Toby Chopra Organizations: United Nations, Rights, Palais des Nations, Reuters, UN Human Rights, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Switzerland

☆ AI unlikely to destroy most jobs, but clerical workers at risk, ILO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. It warned, however, that clerical work would likely be the hardest hit, potentially hitting female employment harder, given women's over-representation in this sector, especially in wealthier countries. An explosion of interest in generative AI and its chatbot applications has sparked fears over job destruction, similar to those that emerged when the moving assembly line was introduced in the early 1900s and after mainframe computers in the 1950s. But most other professions, like managers and sales workers, are only marginally exposed, it said. Still, the U.N. agency's report warned that the impact of generative AI on affected workers could still be "brutal".

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Emma Farge, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, International Labour Organization, Thomson

Human Rights Watch/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI/HARAR, Ethiopia, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian border guards have killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, including women and children, who attempted enter the kingdom along its mountainous border with Yemen, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday. In a 73-page report, the rights group said Saudi guards used explosive weapons to kill some migrants and shot at others from close range. Saudi authorities have also strongly denied allegations made by U.N. officials in 2022 that border guards systematically killed migrants last year. HRW said it based its report on witness testimony as well as 350 videos and photos of wounded and killed migrants, and satellite imagery showing the location of Saudi Arabian guard posts. A letter issued by the kingdom's U.N. mission in March 2023 rejected the allegation, saying that Saudi border security regulations "ensure humane treatment...no form of mistreatment or torture is tolerated."

Persons: U.N, Nadia Hardman, Hardman, Mustafa Sofian Mohammed, Mustafa, Sofian Mohammed Abdulla, Mustafa's, Stephane Dujarric, Andrew Mills, Emma Farge, Daphne Psaledakis, Dawit, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Human Rights, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Rights Watch, Saudi, Ethiopian, Reuters, State Department, Al, Al Thawra Hospital, International Organization for Migration, Hallelujah, HRW, Rehabilitation, Torture, UN Human Rights, Gulf Bureau, Tiksa, Milan Pavicic, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Rights DUBAI, HARAR, Saudi Arabian, Saudi, Addis Ababa, U.S, Tigray, Horn of Africa, Aden, Ethiopian, Harar, Al Thawra, Sanaa, Addis, New York, Gulf, Tiksa Negeri, Milan, Gdansk, Geneva, Washington

☆ UN says Ukrainian POWs in Donetsk not killed by rocket, as Russia claimed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The prisoners being held in a Russian-controlled detention facility in Olenivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, were killed by an apparent explosion July 28-29 2022. Unverified Russia media video footage showed the burned out remains of the prison and charred bodies. Russia's defence ministry said at the time that a missile strike by a U.S.-made HIMARS rocket was responsible. Kyiv, which frequently raises the incident, has maintained that Russia conducted the explosion at the Olenivka prison in order to hide mistreatment of the Ukrainian captives held inside. The U.N. rights office has previously said both Russia and Ukraine have abused prisoners of war during the conflict, although the former has done so on a bigger scale.

Persons: Human Rights Volker Turk, Emma Farge, Max Hunder, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Human Rights, UN, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Donetsk, Russian, Olenivka, Russia, U.S, Kyiv, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ UN starts removing oil from decaying tanker near Yemen in Red Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska. "The ship-to-ship transfer of oil which has started today is the critical next step in avoiding an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe on a colossal scale." The oil transfer is expected to take 19 days to complete, the United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP) said in a statement. "We are obviously very cautious – it's only the beginning of a transfer," UNDP spokesperson Sarah Bel told a Geneva press briefing when asked about the operation's risks. "The cost of an oil spill is estimated to be approximately $20 billion, and it will take years to clean up," she added.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Sarah Bel, Nadine Awadalla, Nayera Abdallah, Emma Farge, Clauda Tanios, Louise Heavens, Jan Harvey Organizations: United Nations, Programme, UNDP, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, GENEVA, Alaska, Yemen, Geneva, Dubai

[1/3] An exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne that fixed the borders of modern Turkey at the end of World War I is seen at the Historical Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, July 21, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseLAUSANNE, Switzerland, July 23 (Reuters) - The Treaty of Lausanne that formed modern Turkey is still cherished by some but remains a disappointment for others including Kurds and Armenians who hoped for autonomous regions and justice for Ottoman-era crimes. Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan commemorated the anniversary in a statement last year, praising elements of it and saying that Turkey had meticulously monitored its implementation. You must show what this (treaty) means," Karnusian told Reuters, saying that it stood for the "origin of the denial of what happened" to the Armenians. "I think it (the treaty) has endured because everyone's equally unhappy about it," he said.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Tayyip Erdogan, Koyuncu, Karnusian, Jonathan Conlin, everyone's, Emma Farge, Frances Kerry Organizations: Historical Museum, REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lausanne, Turkey, Switzerland, Swiss, Britain, France, Ottoman Empire

[1/3] People cool off near the Spanish Steps, during a heatwave across Italy, as temperatures are expected to rise further in the coming days, in Rome, Italy July 18, 2023. They have added fresh urgency to talks this week between the United States and China, the world's top greenhouse gas polluters. "Whilst most of the attention focuses on daytime maximum temperatures, it is the overnight temperatures which have the biggest health risks, especially for vulnerable populations," it said. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service says 2022 and 2021 were the continent's hottest summers on record. In a large part of the territory, night-time temperatures were in the top 5% of the highest recorded at this time of year.

Persons: Remo Casilli, John Kerry, Xi Jinping, Carlo Spanu, Anita Elshoy, Elshoy, AEMET, Talim, Angelo Amante, Emma Farge, Giselda, Crispian Balmer, Angeliki Koutantou, Emma Pinedo Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Matthias Williams, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, Europe, U.S, Asia Italy, ROME, Asia, United States, Sardinia, Lazio, heatwaves, Death, China's, Greece, Swiss, India, South Korea, China, Beijing, North America, North Africa, Sicily, Sulcis, Norway, Spain, Catalonia, Aragon, Mallorca, Andujar, 44.9C, Toledo, Dervenochoria, Athens

☆ Switzerland fights to contain forest fire near Italy border as winds pick up
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Denis Balibouse | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BITSCH, Switzerland, July 18 (Reuters) - Swiss firefighters on Tuesday were battling a forest fire that has forced more than 200 people to evacuate, and authorities warned winds were making the blaze difficult to contain. The fire broke out on Monday on the forested flank of a mountain in Bitsch in the Valais canton near the Italian border. An helicopter carries water to a wildfire on the flank of a mountain in Bitsch near Brig, Switzerland, July 18, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseThe situation could deteriorate further if winds grow stronger, said Adrienne Bellwald, spokesperson for the cantonal police. Its Federal Office for the Environment has warned forest fires could become more frequent, especially in summer, due to an increase in hot, dry weather caused by climate change.

Persons: Mario Schaller, Denis Balibouse, Adrienne Bellwald, Noele Illien, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Janet Lawrence, Conor Humphries, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Helicopters, REUTERS, Federal Office, Environment, Reuters, World Meteorological Organization, Thomson Locations: Switzerland, Bitsch, Valais, Brig, Europe, Asia, United States

☆ Swiss police evacuate villages due to wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, July 17 (Reuters) - Swiss police ordered the evacuation of several mountain villages late on Monday as a forest fire spread, while it was not immediately clear how many people were affected. It later added that three other villages were to be evacuated and warned of rockfalls. Air Zermatt, which operates four of the helicopters, said efforts to extinguish the fire would continue through the night. Valais police posted pictures showing a helicopter dangling a water cannon above a forest fire in the afternoon. loadingThe area is affected by the same Mediterranean heatwave affecting southern Europe, with temperatures set to exceed 30 Celsius in parts of the Valais canton this week, forecasts show.

Persons: Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Josie Kao Organizations: Swiss, Twitter, rockfalls, Air Zermatt, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Valais, Ried, Morel, Brig, Air, Europe

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