Hundreds of UN staff pressure rights chief to call Gaza a genocide, letter shows
Over 500 staff at the UN human rights office have urged Chief Volker Turk to declare Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide, according to Reuters.
In a letter, they argued the scale of killings and destruction meets the legal definition and warned that silence would damage the UN’s credibility, recalling its failure during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Israel rejects the accusation, citing self-defense after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Since then, nearly 63,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry, with parts of the enclave facing famine.
Rights groups and some UN experts already call it genocide, though the UN itself says such judgments rest with international courts. South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice is still pending, Reuters reported.
Mexico to suspend package shipments to US as tariff exemption set to expire
Mexico has halted small package shipments to the United States as Washington prepares to end a tariff exemption for goods worth under $800. The “de minimis” rule, in place since 2016, allowed duty-free entry but will expire Friday under President Donald Trump’s trade agenda, Al Jazeera reported.
Mexico said it is awaiting clarity on how the new tariffs will be applied, joining several European countries that have taken similar steps. The White House plans to impose tariffs of 10 to 40 percent, either based on package value or a flat rate of $80–$200 per item. Mexico is negotiating its rate while pledging tougher action against drug cartels and higher tariffs on Chinese imports to secure a deal.
Nigeria bans exports of raw shea nuts used for cosmetic products to help grow local economy
Nigeria’s government has banned the export of raw shea nuts, an essential raw material in many cosmetic products, in a bid to grow the country into a global supplier of refined shea butter and other skincare ingredients, Associated Press reported.
The immediate ban on the crop will be in place for six months and then reviewed, Vice President Kashim Shettima said.
Nigeria follows a growing list of other West African countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Ivory Coast and Ghana, that have banned or restricted export of the crop in the past two years.
“The ban will transform Nigeria from an exporter of raw shea nut to a global supplier of refined shea butter, oil, and other derivatives,” Shettima said Tuesday, according to Associated Press.
Mass Russian drone and missile attack kills 14 and injures 48 in Ukraine’s capital
Russia bombarded the Ukrainian capital with drones and missiles early Thursday, including a rare strike in the city center, killing at least 14 people and wounding 48, local authorities said, Associated Press reported.
It was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, making it one of the war’s biggest air attacks.
Among the dead were three children ages 2, 14 and 17, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. The numbers are expected to rise. Rescue teams were on site to pull people trapped underneath the rubble, according to Associated Press.
