The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee that had been in effect since October 2023.

JUBA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday that it evacuated 266 wounded patients across South Sudan in the first half of 2026, an increase of more than 50 percent compared with the same period last year.The ICRC said the surge came as renewed fighting placed severe pressure on local trauma services, just as the country marks 15 years of independence.The global humanitarian organization warned of deepening humanitarian needs fueled by conflict, climate shocks, and the arrival of people fleeing violence in Sudan, while shrinking funding has left a growing number of people without critical aid.Conflict is not getting any better, and the humanitarian needs are also on the rise. This is further complicated by the fact that funding has gone down. As a result, service provision at all levels of health care has been reduced, causing significant strain on hospitals, Rose Ochieng, ICRC's health coordinator in South Sudan, said in a statement.The ICRC said the spike in evacuations came as the intensifying conflict and violence since late 2025 had forced thousands of families to flee their homes, depriving them of their livelihoods and safe access to health care.It said the warring parties must allow the unhindered collection and evacuation of the wounded, ensure unobstructed access to medical care, and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians.The ICRC added that it has evacuated more than 5,000 patients across South Sudan since 2014, noting that access to critical health care remains severely limited across much of the country.

BEIRUT, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Renewed hostilities in Lebanon have caused widespread job losses and sharply reduced incomes among private sector workers, with one in three respondents no longer employed and average labour income falling by an estimated 40.4 percent, a report released Tuesday by the International Labour Organization has shown.The report was based on a survey of 2,485 private sector workers conducted in May in partnership with the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers and the Federation of Employees' and Workers' Unions in Lebanon, the UN agency said.It found that 33 percent of respondents were no longer working at the time of the survey, including 28.2 percent who were unemployed and 4.7 percent who had exited the labour force.Job losses were most severe in conflict-affected southern Lebanon, reaching 76.5 percent among residents of Nabatieh Governorate and 43.2 percent among residents of South Lebanon Governorate.Among workers who remained employed, average labour income declined by 14.8 percent, while those who found new jobs earned on average 30.7 percent less than before, with many moving into informal employment or self-employment, the report said.Many households relied on savings, delayed loan and bill repayments, and reduced food spending to cope with the economic impact, it added.

Paris appeal court upholds conviction of far-right leader Marine Le Pen in embezzlement trial

CAIRO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy on Tuesday warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan's El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, calling for urgent international and regional action to prevent further escalation.In a statement, Fahmy said he was following with deep concern the deteriorating security situation in El Obeid, where more than 500,000 civilians, including tens of thousands of internally displaced people, were facing a tightening siege and sustained drone attacks by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces.The attacks have targeted markets, schools, hospitals, as well as water and electricity facilities, placing civilians at increasing risk and worsening humanitarian conditions, the statement said.Fahmy cautioned that the continued military mobilization around the city and the targeting of residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure could lead to atrocities similar to those witnessed in El Fasher, capital of Sudan's North Darfur State.He called for intensified and coordinated international and regional efforts to prevent the city from descending into a broader humanitarian and security crisis.Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The war has triggered one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, displacing millions of people and devastating critical infrastructure across the country, while repeated mediation efforts have yet to secure a lasting ceasefire.