The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland’s main pro-union party, is stepping down after he was charged with “allegations of an historical nature,” the DUP announced on Friday.

Jeffrey Donaldson, 61, confirmed to his party in a letter that he had been charged with historical allegations and resigned as leader with immediate effect, the party said in a statement.

“In accordance with the Party Rules, the Party Officers have suspended Mr Donaldson from membership, pending the outcome of a judicial process,” it continued.

The announcement came hours after police issued a statement on Friday saying that a 61-year-old man had been charged with non-recent sexual offenses, but did not name the person.

“Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland arrested and charged a 61-year-old man for non-recent sexual offences,” the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) statement said. “A 57-year-old woman was also arrested and charged at the time for aiding and abetting additional offences.”

UK and Irish media have reported that the police charges relate to Donaldson. Both individuals charged by police are expected to appear before Newry Magistrates Court on April 24.

Donaldson’s social media accounts were deleted overnight, including on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn. His page on the DUP’s website was also taken down.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill said Friday her “priority” was to “continue to provide the leadership the public expect and deserve” following Donaldson’s resignation.

“The DUP Leader has resigned after being charged with serious offences,” she said in the statement, adding: “This is now a matter for the criminal justice system.”

O’Neill, who is a member of the pro-united Ireland party Sinn Fein, is joint head of the Northern Irish government alongside Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP, a pro-union, pro-United Kingdom party.

O’Neill said that she will strive to “ensure the four-party executive coalition delivers for the whole of our community now and in the future.”

Donaldson had been chief whip of the DUP since May 2015 and became party leader in 2021.

First elected in 1997, he was the longest serving sitting lawmaker in Northern Ireland before his resignation, according to the DUP.

He was first elected as a member of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), but switched his affiliation to the DUP in 2004.

Under his leadership, the DUP refused to participate in Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government in protest over post-Brexit trading rules. This two-year political deadlock came to an end in February.

The DUP announced on Friday it had unanimously appointed Gavin Robinson as interim party leader.

When Ghanaian Afro-dancehall and reggae star Stonebwoy visited Jamaica earlier this year for the Island Music Conference, he made headlines with an impromptu freestyle alongside Shaggy, Sean Paul and Wyclef Jean. But for the 36-year-old, the trip was about more than just performing — it was a pilgrimage.

Arriving in the capital, Kingston, just a week after the US release of the biopic “Bob Marley: One Love,” the singer linked up with the Reggae legend’s grandson, Yohan Marley, to record new music for Stonebwoy’s forthcoming album. The session was the Ghanaian’s first visit to Bob Marley’s iconic Tuff Gong Studio.

“I’m inside of a legendary monument, and this is a monumental situation right now,” said Stonebwoy as he laid down his tracks, seamlessly alternating between English, Jamaican Patois, and Ghanaian Twi, riffing off other collaborators in the studio.

“It’s emotional, man,” the visibly affected singer said during the session. “It means a lot. I feel like I’m surrounded by the spirits of those who built here.”

“Once upon a time, Bob Marley was probably sitting in the same spot that I am sitting in,” he added. “It’s like a world reserve for music, for consciousness, for somebody who stood up for humanity in his music.”

Jamaican sounds take root in Ghana

Very few have propelled Ghana’s dancehall movement to greater heights than Stonebwoy, whose real name is Livingstone Etse Satekla. He is not only one of the most renowned Reggae and dancehall artists across Africa but he also commands the respect and admiration of Caribbean audiences.

For Stonebwoy, there’s nothing strange about a Ghanaian having such a deep affection for music forms that originated in Jamaica.

“The influence of the motherland is significant in the formation of Reggae, dancehall, and Caribbean music styles,” he noted, likening the storytelling and style of these genres to Highlife, a West African fusion of traditional rhythms with jazz and calypso.

“It’s the message of the style of music that influenced me to go the direction I did,” Stonebwoy said.

“Highlife music is definitely a style of music that also tells a lot of conscious stories, just like reggae.”

“We can relate, and we love each other’s journeys,” he added. “It’s time for us to continue to bring it together in order to sing one song, like Bob Marley said.”

While at Tuff Gong Studios, he recalled that the first Bob Marley song he ever heard was “Three Little Birds,” a childhood favorite of Stonebwoy’s often played by his father.

“The Rastafarian communities were in their primes during those times, in the eighties and nineties, so there was that movement across the whole of Africa that was indulging,” Stonebwoy recalled.

“And then, of course, the music flew over to support the ideologies and cancel out apartheid, so like there was an influx of consciousness.

“The energy in which the messages were delivered was so captivating to my heart.”

Inspired by his idol, Stonebwoy embraces the “One Love” ethos, which transcends Marley’s song title. Rooted in Rastafarian beliefs, “One Love” embodies a profound message of hope, unity, and universal love.

In 2023, Stonebwoy was part of a “Buffalo Soldier” remake on Marley’s posthumous album “Africa Unite.” The album reinterpreted Marley’s classics with Afrobeats rhythms, aligning with Stonebwoy’s aim to spread peace, love, and unity through his music.

“It’s all about one love, Blackness, and Africa,” he said.

Uniting the Black diaspora through music

From Afrobeats to reggae, Stonebwoy has worked with musicians including Rick Ross, Beanie Man, Shaggy, Keri Hilson, Russ, Davido, and Angelique Kidjo, shining brightest when mentoring emerging artists.

He has also hosted Ghana’s BHIM Festival for seven years, showcasing African-Caribbean music. Each year includes a cypher for upcoming artists to showcase their freestyle skills, reminiscent of Stonebwoy’s own beginnings at the Kashari Level rap battles on Adom FM two decades ago. And he has consistently supported other artists, even those not signed to his Burniton Music Group label.

“There are a lot of people that I helped release singles, et cetera, without any formal agreement whatsoever,” he said. “I have my platform for everybody.”

As much as Stonebwoy has accomplished, he still hopes to do more, including eventually collaborating with Rihanna and Taylor Swift.

“I know it’s going to happen one day,” he said.

Until then, he has his eyes set on making sure the sounds of the Black diaspora continue to dominate worldwide.

“We have a certain kind of message, a certain kind of tone, a certain kind of voice, and a void to fill,” Stonebwoy explained.

“When you have a seat at the table, you really do have to work at it and go grab it because just like the greatest of greats have ever come and dominated and inspired all of us, the same way we also have come and take a place.”

On April 12, Stonebwoy is set to drop the single titled “Ekelebe,” featuring Nigerian rapper Odumodublvck.

A series of Israeli airstrikes targeting areas close to the Syrian city of Aleppo have led to casualties among both civilians and military personnel on Friday, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.

Thirty-eight people were killed, according to Reuters, including five members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. One of the Hezbollah fighters was a local field commander whose brother was killed in an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon in November, Reuters said.

Israeli warplanes initiated an attack around 1:45 a.m., local time from the direction of Athriya, southeast of Aleppo, according to a military source quoted by SANA.

The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the attack.

Israel has previously launched attacks on Aleppo and the Syrian capital Damascus, including before the October 7 war, saying it feared that Iran would turn Syria into “a base for aggression” against the Jewish state.

Both Syria and Israel consider each other enemies and do not share diplomatic relations.

Friday’s strikes are some of the deadliest since Israel intensified its military campaign against Iran-backed groups in Syria and others last year, following the October 7 attack on Israel by the Iran-backed group Hamas.

Following the Hamas assault, clashes between Iran-backed groups in the region and Israel have notably increased. Armed groups have also engaged in attacks with US troops backing Israel in the Middle East.

In Syria, Hezbollah maintains a strong presence, having done so since the 2011 Arab Spring protests which in some parts of the Middle East spiraled into proxy wars. Hezbollah was an active participant, fighting alongside Iran-aligned forces in Syria and on behalf of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who brutally quashed the opposition.

An Iran-backed Islamist movement with one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, Hezbollah has since October 7 been embroiled in intense cross-border fighting with Israel. Its involvement in the war has sparked fears that Israel’s war in Gaza could spill over into a wider regional conflict.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

As the total solar eclipse, occurring across Mexico, the United States and Canada on April 8, draws near, experts are reminding spectators to grab a pair of eclipse glasses to view the celestial event safely — and to make sure they aren’t fake.

Counterfeit eclipse glasses are “polluting the marketplace,” according to a release shared by the American Astronomical Society, or AAS.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face from view for a few moments. About 32 million people in the US live within the 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) path of totality, or locations where the moon will appear to completely cover the sun and the lunar shadow falls on the Earth’s surface. People outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial solar eclipse in which the moon only blocks part of the sun’s face.

The only time it’s safe to view the sun without eye protection is during the totality of a total solar eclipse, or the brief period when the moon completely blocks the light of the sun, according to NASA.

Otherwise, experts say it’s absolutely necessary to wear certified eclipse glasses or use handheld solar viewers that meet a specific safety standard, known as ISO 12312-2, when watching all other phases of a total or partial solar eclipse. The safety standard means that the lenses meet international requirements for direct solar viewing, according to the AAS.

The lenses of solar eclipse glasses are made of black polymer, or resin infused with carbon particles, that blocks nearly all visible, infrared and ultraviolet light, according to The Planetary Society. And sunglasses won’t work in place of eclipse glasses or solar viewers.

“Sunglasses, smoked glass, unfiltered telescopes or magnifiers, and polarizing filters are unsafe. Inspect your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer before use — if torn, scratched, or otherwise damaged, discard the device,” according to a release by the American Optometric Association.

Looking at the sun without properly made eclipse glasses can result in severe eye injury, from temporary vision impairment to permanent blindness. But the AAS has discovered the production of fraudulent eclipse glasses that won’t provide the necessary protection needed to view the sun safely without incurring eye damage.

How to spot fake eclipse glasses

The counterfeit glasses might be hard to spot because they include information and even original artwork that suggest they were made by a known reputable manufacturer of the products, but different factories that have yet to be identified actually made them, according to the AAS.

“Until recently, the only counterfeit products we knew of were cardboard-frame eclipse glasses made by an unidentified factory in China but printed with ‘Mfg. by: American Paper Optics’ (APO) on them,” the AAS shared in a news release. “APO is one of the major U.S. manufacturers of safe solar viewers and prints its name and address on its eclipse glasses, whereas the Chinese copycat products have APO’s name but not its address. Thankfully, these particular counterfeits appear to be safe.”

But close tracking by the AAS has revealed that more unidentified factories are producing counterfeit glasses printed with the name and address of a Chinese factory called Cangnan County Qiwei Craft Co., which creates safe products. Some of the fake glasses also include the name or logo of Solar Eclipse International, Canada, which is Qiwei’s North American distributor.

While some of the glasses appear to be safe and are virtually indistinguishable from actual Qiwei products, others have lenses about as dark as sunglasses, which means they aren’t safe to use, according to the AAS.

“Filters that provide safe, comfortable views of the Sun generally transmit between 1 part in 100,000 (0.001%) and 1 part in 2,000,000 (0.00005%) of its visible light,” said Rick Fienberg, project manager of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force, in a statement. “Solar filters are at least 1,000 times darker than even the darkest regular sunglasses.”

The AAS has curated a list of safe manufacturers and resellers of eclipse glasses and filters for optical devices, including cameras and smartphones. The AAS task force for the eclipse has confirmed that solar viewers and glasses made by all known manufacturers of the products in the US and across Europe, as well as some Chinese manufacturers, have been tested in a lab.

“We now recommend that if you want to buy solar viewers online, buy only from sites you reach by clicking on the links from our list, or from a seller whose identity you can verify and whose name appears on our list,” according to the AAS. “We recommend not buying eclipse glasses from random sellers in online marketplaces, even if they claim to get their products from a supplier on our list or to be approved by the AAS or NASA. The U.S. space agency doesn’t approve or endorse commercial products, so any claim to the contrary is a warning sign that you’re not dealing with a trustworthy seller. Similarly, if a vendor claims to be on the AAS suppliers list but you can’t find it there, you shouldn’t trust them.”

Tips for safely viewing the eclipse and testing your glasses

For those who didn’t purchase their glasses directly from a vetted vendor on the list, there are ways to test eclipse glasses before April 8.

“There’s no way to tell just by looking at them whether eclipse glasses are genuinely safe,” Fienberg said, “but it’s easy to tell if they are not safe.”

Try on the glasses indoors first. Nothing should be visible through the lenses, and even the brightest lights should only appear very faintly. If furnishings or wall decor are visible through the lenses, these glasses aren’t safe to view the sun.

But if the glasses pass the indoor test, the AAS recommends putting them on outside during a sunny day and looking around. Again, nothing should be visible through the lenses, unless the sun is reflecting off an exceptionally shiny surface, and even then the light will appear faint if the glasses are safe.

If the glasses pass that second test, try looking at the sun through them for less than a second. If the glasses are safe, the sun will appear comfortably bright and likely white, yellow, orange or bluish white.

On the day of the eclipse, stand still and cover your eyes with the glasses or solar viewer before looking up. And never remove the glasses while looking at the sun. For those who wear eyeglasses, wear eclipse glasses on top of them or hold up a handheld viewer in front of them.

And remember to outfit any camera lenses, binoculars or telescopes used to observe the eclipse with the proper solar filters. Never look through an unfiltered optical device of any kind in this situation, even while wearing eclipse glasses.

Avoid eclipse eye damage

It’s only safe to view the eclipse without eye protection when the moon completely blocks the sun from view and no light is visible — and be sure to put your eclipse glasses back on before any light reappears.

Looking at the sun without proper eye protection can result in solar retinopathy, or retinal damage from exposure to solar radiation. While the highly specialized cells inside our eyes don’t feel any pain, the rods and cones and photochemical reactors become inflamed and damaged when looking at the sun, said Ronald Benner, an optometrist and president of the American Optometric Association.

It’s a bit like the effect that occurs when we see a camera flash go off, which can distort our vision for a few minutes before it goes away. But the intensity of solar retinopathy causes permanent damage that won’t be immediately apparent. Overnight, the cells can die, and they won’t be replaced. There is no treatment for solar retinopathy. It can improve or worsen, but it is a permanent condition.

The changes in a person’s vision depend on the type of damage that is done, and these can occur in one or both eyes.

“The retina is an extension of the brain, so it’s actually neurological tissue, and when you damage that, it doesn’t always come back,” Benner said. “If you damage one cell, that cell may never be the same. But if you damage a group of cells, then you’re going to end up with blotchy vision, like having someone dab oil on your windshield. If you just kind of damage them and they don’t completely die, then color vision is going to be altered. What can you do about it? Absolutely nothing other than prevent it.”

If the damage occurs in the center of someone’s vision, it can affect the ability to read or recognize faces, Benner said.

If you experience vision issues or eye discomfort after viewing the eclipse, Benner recommends booking an appointment immediately using the American Optometric Association’s doctor locator. Symptoms may take hours to a few days to manifest, and they include loss of central vision, altered color vision or distorted vision.

“For most people, it’s an alteration of color vision,” Benner said. “The next morning, colors just don’t look right, or it may be bleached out it or just kind of hazy all the time. For others, it may be that they actually have holes in their vision.”

And always keep an eye on children wearing eclipse glasses to make sure they don’t take them off and look directly at the sun. Benner advises that parents talk to their children on how and when they can view the eclipse and when they can take their glasses on and off. And if parents worry that their kids may take off their glasses at the wrong moment, make plans to watch the eclipse on TV or use the pinhole projection method to view the eclipse indirectly.

“Make sure that you’re protecting not just yourself, but more importantly your children,” Benner said. “If your child experiences eye damage, they have to live with it the rest of their life. And they may not be able to tell you, ‘I’m not seeing clearly out of one eye.’”

A decision by the United Nations to appoint Saudi Arabia as the chair of a gender equality forum has been criticized by women’s rights advocates.

The UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) unanimously appointed Saudi Arabia to chair its 69th session in 2025, according to the Saudi Arabia Mission to the UN. Saudi ambassador to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, was elected as chair Wednesday.

Ahead of the decision, Amnesty International Deputy Director for Advocacy Sherine Tadros called out Saudi Arabia for its notorious treatment of women.

“The Commission on the Status of Women has a clear mandate to promote women’s rights and gender equality and it is vital for the chair of the commission to uphold this. Saudi Arabia’s abysmal record when it comes to protecting and promoting the rights of women puts a spotlight on the vast gulf between the lived reality for women and girls in Saudi Arabia, and the aspirations of the commission,” Tadros said Friday.

“Saudi Arabia cannot prove its commitment to women’s rights merely by securing a leadership role in the commission. It must demonstrate its commitment through concrete actions domestically,” Tadros added.

Human Rights Watch also warned about the UN decision, saying last week that “Saudi Arabia systematically discriminates against women and persecutes women’s rights activists.”

But Saudi Arabia says it is eager to help women by working with the CSW as part of its new vision for the kingdom.

“The kingdom’s chairmanship of the committee comes as an affirmation of its interest in cooperation within the framework of the international community in enhancing women’s rights and empowerment, and it is also in line with the qualitative achievements achieved by the kingdom in this field, thanks to the special attention and care the kingdom’s leadership pays to (women’s) empowerment and rights,” state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Wednesday.

The Saudi government website “Saudi Vision 2030” says it aims for “a strong, thriving, and stable Saudi Arabia that provides opportunity for all.”

The Saudi Press Agency added, “The Saudi Vision 2030 also included priorities and targets that focused on women’s full participation at all levels and investing their energies in a manner consistent with their enormous capabilities.”

“The Argentine president’s expressions have deteriorated the trust of our nation and offended the dignity of President (Gustavo) Petro, who was elected democratically,” the Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

Of Petro, a former guerilla who became Colombia’s first left-wing president following a 2022 election victory, Milei said, “You can’t expect much from someone who was a terrorist murderer.”

Milei, a former television pundit with a reputation for bombast, also attacked Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the interview, calling him “ignorant.”

López Obrador, a left-wing populist, has previously criticized Milei’s policies and compared him to a dictator. On Thursday, in a post on social media, López Obrador hit back, wondering why Argentinians “voted for someone who is not right, who despises the people.”

Defense for Israel and hopes for Trump

In the nearly hour-long interview, conducted in Buenos Aires, Milei also defended Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, saying its war in Gaza is “within the rule of law.”

Milei, who was born Catholic but has expressed a wish to convert to Judaism, said that his meeting in February with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the warmest he had held since entering office.

Milei also admitted he privately hopes former President Donald Trump wins the US election in November, but that he intends to be an ally with the United States regardless of who will be in the White House next year.

“Argentina’s allies are the United States and Israel; it’s not a secret my ideas are more akin to those of the Republican party, but we have an excellent relationship with the Democrats too,” Milei told Oppenheimer.

Central Bank is ‘mechanism of fraud’

Milei also reiterated his intention to shut down the country’s central bank, calling the institution a “mechanism of fraud.”

“A central bank is a fairly recent invention. Argentina’s was founded in 1925, and our country was a world power before that,” Milei said, without elaborating who would be responsible for fiscal policy in the country if the Central Bank ceased to exist.

Milei admitted his reform push has stalled in Argentina’s Congress in recent weeks, but his government maintains the intention to close the central bank within three years. Closing the bank was a central promise of his campaign, as he sought to assure voters he could right the country’s floundering economy.

In the interview, Milei claimed his government’s greatest success since entering office in December has been to beat the hyper-inflation and achieve a fiscal surplus for the first time in years.

Argentina’s inflation rate remains the highest in the world at over 270% year on year, but data published this month suggests that price rises have calmed in March compared to February.

Milei celebrated Argentina’s fiscal surplus, achieved last month for the first time in years, and said that fiscal stability is “a beacon” of his government.

“I’m confident that soon, inflation will go back to single digits,” Milei said. “It could be May, we are not sure, but what we are clear about is that this policy is here to stay and for us, zero deficit is like the main mast for Ulysses.”

Milei’s government achieved fiscal parity this year with a robust set of cuts to government spending, including shutting down the Argentina national press agency TELAM and reducing aid to soup kitchens in the poorest suburbs of Buenos Aires.

Argentina’s poverty rate is over 50%, according to a report from the Argentina’s Catholic University in Buenos Aires.

Dozens of worshippers died after a bus headed to an Easter conference plunged off a cliff in South Africa’s Limpopo province on Thursday.

The crash claimed the lives of 45 people and one is seriously injured, the country’s transport department said in a statement.

The sole survivor is an eight-year-old girl who has been airlifted to hospital, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported.

According to the SABC, the passengers were pilgrims traveling from Gaborone – the capital city of neighboring country Botswana – to a church for an Easter conference.

The crash happened in the Mamatlakala mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken. The bus reportedly caught fire after falling.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

In a statement, the province’s transport department said that “according to reports, the driver lost control and the bus fell onto a rocky surface, some 50 meters under the bridge and caught fire.”

Efforts are ongoing to recover the bodies of the passengers who were killed, according to the statement.

“Some bodies burned beyond recognition,” the local department said. Others are “trapped inside the debris and others [are] scattered on the scene,” it added.

South African Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said the government would repatriate the bodies to Botswana, the broadcaster said.

“I am sending my heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the tragic bus crash near Mamatlakala. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. We continue to urge responsible driving at all times with heightened alertness as more people are on our roads this Easter weekend,” Chikunga said in a statement.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the government to stop funding religious schools whose students defy the country’s mandatory military service, posing one of the most serious threats to date for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

Netanyahu relies on two Ultra-Orthodox parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism – to maintain a governing coalition. His wartime cabinet partners – Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, of the National Unity Party – have been heavily critical of Netanyahu’s approach to the issue of Ultra-Orthodox conscription.

“The judges of the High Court of Justice want to saw off the branch of existence of the Jewish people,” Ariyeh Deri, leader of the Shas party, said in a statement on X. “The people of Israel are engaged in a war of existence on several fronts and the High Court of Justice judges did everything tonight to create a fratricidal war as well.”

Young men studying in yeshivas have since the country’s founding been exempt from mandatory military service – in practice, exempting all Ultra-Orthodox Israelis. But the exemption has never been enshrined in a law that the Supreme Court views as equitable, and for years has been carried out by patch-work government mandates. Netanyahu this week attempted to delay the Supreme Court’s deadline to pass a law that would make official the exemption.

After decades of rulings on the subject, the Supreme Court told the government that it was illegal for the government to both fund yeshivas and exempt their students from conscription. In a ruling late Thursday, the Supreme Court said that starting on April 1, the government could no longer transfer funds to yeshivas whose students did not receive legitimate deferments.

Yitzhak Goldknopf, leader of the United Torah Judaism party, called the ruling “a sign of disgrace and contempt.”

“The State of Israel arose to be a home for the Jewish people whose Torah is true Torah, and there is no power in the world that can do it,” he said. “Without the Torah, we have no right to exist.”

Ultra-Orthodox Jews view religious study as fundamental to the preservation of Judaism. For many of those who live in Israel, that means study is just as important to Israel’s defense as the military.

Gantz, of the National Unity Party, said that the court “ruled the obvious today. The time has come for the government to do the obvious. It’s time for action.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The UN human rights office described sexual violence in Haiti as “severely underreported and largely unpunished” in a harrowing report released Thursday that documented cases of rape and forced sexual relations with gang members, as well surging levels of gang violence in the country.

The report, from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), also found that more than 1,500 people have been killed by gang violence in Haiti so far this year, set to outpace the 4,451 killings in 2023, as the country slides deeper into chaos and anarchy, with heavily armed gangs battling authorities in the capital city in recent weeks.

“Corruption, impunity, and poor governance, compounded by increasing levels of gang violence, have eroded the rule of law and brought state institutions, which should be the basis of a democratic society, close to collapse,” the report stated.

The violence has caused the internal displacement of approximately 313,900 people as of December 2023, according to the OHCHR.

The gangs also continue to recruit children, who are often used as lookouts for other gang members to carry out kidnappings and robberies, according to testimonies collected by the OHCHR.

“All these practices are outrageous and must stop at once,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

The report comes two weeks after Ariel Henry announced he would resign as Haiti’s prime minister, bowing to the demands of gang leaders who had orchestrated prison breaks and attacked government offices in an attempt to overthrow Henry’s leadership.

Members of a transitional council established in Henry’s place issued their first statement Wednesday saying that they are finalizing a document that would officially form the council. Once the presidential council is formed, the statement said, it will “appoint a prime minister, with whom he will constitute a government of national unity and put Haiti back on the path of democratic legitimacy, stability and dignity.”

In the UN report, researchers found that weapons and ammunition are regularly trafficked through Haiti’s borders – despite an arms embargo. The flow of arms enables the gangs to have superior firepower to the police forces.

“It is shocking that despite the horrific situation on the ground, arms keep still pouring in. I appeal for a more effective implementation of the arms embargo,” Türk said.

The Haitian National Police face a range of other challenges including their officers being severely underpaid and understaffed, resulting in a police-to-population ratio of 1.3 officers per 1,000 citizens, the OHCHR found.

The OHCHR also reported that so-called “self-defense brigades” made up of civilians have been executing individuals accused of petty crime or suspected of association with gangs. At least 528 cases of lynching were reported in 2023, and 59 so far in 2024, mostly in Port-au-Prince, the report stated.

Haiti’s criminal justice system has remained dysfunctional as national anti-corruption and accountability mechanisms are chronically under-resourced, the OHCHR found.

“Widespread corruption and dysfunction of the justice system greatly contribute to the pervasive impunity for grave human rights violations, and they need to be addressed urgently,” said Türk.

“Accountability is paramount to restore public trust in the rule of law and the state institutions,” he added.

The report found a high level of self-censorship among journalists due to threats or fear of reprisals by gangs. The OHCHR documented four cases of journalists killed in 2023 with no investigations opened regarding the deaths.

The gangs have also caused extensive damage to Haitians’ property. More than 1,880 homes and businesses have been looted or destroyed since January 2023, the OHCHR found. In the Artibonite Valley, Haiti’s breadbasket, gangs have attacked farm properties and also stolen hundreds of livestock.

Garbage piling up in landfills isn’t just an eyesore, it’s also a climate nightmare, belching out large amounts of planet-warming methane gas. In the United States, the problem could be much worse than previously thought, according to a new study measuring methane pollution at hundreds of landfills across the country.

Scientists flew over more than 200 landfills across 18 states from 2018 to 2022, in what they say is the largest measurement-based survey of America’s landfills. Their results revealed average methane emissions were much higher than those officially reported, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Science.

Methane — an invisible, odorless gas with over 80 times more warming power than carbon dioxide in the near-term — is produced by various sources, the biggest of wich are oil and gas and agriculture. Landfills tend to be a less well-known methane source, but they also have a huge impact, estimated at around 20% of global human-caused methane emissions.

Landfills produce methane when organic waste such as food scraps, paper and wood decompose without oxygen, creating the perfect environment for methane-producing bacteria.

Most landfills in the US are federally required to measure methane emissions four times a year through walking surveys using handheld sensors. The accuracy of these surveys can vary, as people tend to avoid areas that are unsafe to walk through, including steep slopes and where garbage is actively being dumped, according to the study.

Estimates of landfill methane emissions therefore tend to be based on models rather than direct measurements — but this means potential gaps in data. Advanced monitoring systems using remote sensing from aircraft, drones and satellites can provide a more accurate and comprehensive picture, the report noted.

Using airborne imaging spectrometers, the scientists detected methane plumes at 52% of the landfills they measured. This far exceeds the rate of methane detection in airborne studies undertaken for the oil and gas sector, the report notes.

The results show current reporting systems, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), are missing large methane sources, the scientist concluded. Average methane emission rates from landfills were 1.4 times higher than those being reported to the GHGRP, the report found.

The study also found landfill methane emissions were generally much more persistent than those from oil and gas production, with 60% lasting for multiple months or even years.

“When we would come back and survey again later in a few weeks or a few months … or over the course of a few years, we always saw [the methane],” Cusworth said.

Rob Jackson, professor of environmental science at Stanford University, who was not involved with the study, said landfills were “super-emitters.”

Unfortunately, the problem of landfills is unlikely to go away anytime soon. “Even in a future where there is not a reliance on fossil fuels, humans will likely still be generating waste,” Cusworth said. “Even if we transition to cleaner fuels, we’re still going to be dealing with waste management.”

Scientists say the rapid reduction of methane is one of the most effective ways to slow climate change because of its powerful short-term planet-heating impact.

Yet most methane policies in the US target the oil and gas industry. “If we’re going to hit our climate targets, reductions in methane emissions can’t come from oil and gas alone,” Cusworth said. “Landfills should be garnering a similar type of attention as oil and gas.”