Manhattan police have obtained a warrant for the arrest of 26-year-old Luigi Nicholas Mangione , suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson . Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, while carrying a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush. Mangione is being held without bail in Pennsylvania on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors charged him with five counts, including murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Here's the latest: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says “violence to combat any sort of corporate greed is unacceptable” and the White House will “continue to condemn any form of violence.” She declined to comment on the investigation into the Dec. 4 shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson or reports that writings belonging to the suspect, Luigi Mangione, said insurance companies care more about profits than their customers. “This is horrific,” Jean-Pierre said of the fatal shooting of Thompson as he walked in Manhattan. He didn’t appear to say anything as deputies led him to a waiting car outside. “I’m deeply grateful to the men and women of law enforcement whose efforts to solve the horrific murder of Brian Thompson led to the arrest of a suspect in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Hochul said in the statement. “I am coordinating with the District Attorney’s Office and will sign a request for a governor’s warrant to ensure this individual is tried and held accountable. Public safety is my top priority and I’ll do everything in my power to keep the streets of New York safe.” That’s according to a spokesperson for the governor who said Gov. Hochul will do it as soon as possible. Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of a healthcare executive in New York City, apparently was living a charmed life: the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer, valedictorian of his elite Baltimore prep school and with degrees from one of the nation’s top private universities. Friends at an exclusive co-living space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Hawaii where the 26-year-old Mangione once lived widely considered him a “great guy,” and pictures on his social media accounts show a fit, smiling, handsome young man on beaches and at parties. Now, investigators in New York and Pennsylvania are working to piece together why Mangione may have diverged from this path to make the violent and radical decision to gun down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a brazen attack on a Manhattan street. The killing sparked widespread discussions about corporate greed, unfairness in the medical insurance industry and even inspired folk-hero sentiment toward his killer. ▶ Read more about Luigi Mangione Peter Weeks, the Blair County district attorney, says he’ll work with New York officials to try to return suspect Luigi Mangione there to face charges. Weeks said the New York charges are “more serious” than in Blair County. “We believe their charges take precedent,” Weeks said, promising to do what’s needed to accommodate New York’s prosecution first. Weeks spoke to reporters after a brief hearing at which a defense lawyer said Mangione will fight extradition. The defense asked for a hearing on the issue. In the meantime, Mangione will be detained at a state prison in western Pennsylvania. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said Tuesday it will seek a Governor’s warrant to secure Mangione’s extradition to Manhattan. Under state law, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul can issue a warrant of arrest demanding Mangione’s return to the state. Such a warrant must recite the facts necessary to the validity of its issuance and be sealed with the state seal. It would then be presented to law enforcement in Pennsylvania to expedite Mangione’s return to New York. But Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks says it won’t be a substantial barrier to returning Mangione to New York. He noted that defendants contest extradition “all the time,” including in simple retail theft cases. Dickey, his defense lawyer, questioned whether the second-degree murder charge filed in New York might be eligible for bail under Pennsylvania law, but prosecutors raised concerns about both public safety and Mangione being a potential flight risk, and the judge denied it. Mangione will continue to be housed at a state prison in Huntingdon. He has 14 days to challenge the detention. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have a month to seek a governor’s warrant out of New York. Mangione, wearing an orange jumpsuit, mostly stared straight ahead at the hearing, occasionally consulting papers, rocking in his chair, or looking back at the gallery. At one point, he began to speak to respond to the court discussion, but was quieted by his lawyer. Luigi Mangione, 26, has also been denied bail at a brief court hearing in western Pennsylvania. He has 14 days to challenge the bail decision. That’s with some intervention from owner Elon Musk. The account, which hasn’t posted since June, was briefly suspended by X. But after a user inquired about it in a post Monday, Musk responded “This happened without my knowledge. Looking into it.” The account was later reinstated. Other social media companies such as Meta have removed his accounts. According to X rules, the platform removes “any accounts maintained by individual perpetrators of terrorist, violent extremist, or mass violent attacks, as well as any accounts glorifying the perpetrator(s), or dedicated to sharing manifestos and/or third party links where related content is hosted.” Mangione is not accused of perpetrating a terrorist or mass attack — he has been charged with murder — and his account doesn’t appear to share any writings about the case. He shouted something that was partly unintelligible, but referred to an “insult to the intelligence of the American people.” He’s there for an arraignment on local charges stemming from his arrest Monday. He was dressed in an orange jumpsuit as officers led him from a vehicle into the courthouse. Local defense lawyer Thomas Dickey is expected to represent the 26-year-old at a Tuesday afternoon hearing at the Blair County Courthouse. Dickey declined comment before the hearing. Mangione could have the Pennsylvania charges read aloud to him and may be asked to enter a plea. They include possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. In New York, he was charged late Monday with murder in the death of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione likely was motivated by his anger with what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain with corporate greed, said a a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press. He wrote that the U.S. has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that the profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin, based on a review of the suspect’s hand-written notes and social media postings. He appeared to view the targeted killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO as a symbolic takedown, asserting in his note that he is the “first to face it with such brutal honesty,” the bulletin said. Mangione called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski a “political revolutionary” and may have found inspiration from the man who carried out a series of bombings while railing against modern society and technology, the document said. A felony warrant filed in New York cites Altoona Officer Christy Wasser as saying she found the writings along with a semi-automatic pistol and an apparent silencer. The filing echoes earlier statements from NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny who said Mangione had a three-page, handwritten document that shows “some ill will toward corporate America.” Mangione is now charged in Pennsylvania with being a fugitive of justice. A customer at the McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested said one of his friends had commented beforehand that the man looked like the suspect wanted for the shooting in New York City. “It started out almost a little bit like a joke, my one friend thought he looked like the shooter,” said the customer, who declined to give his full name, on Tuesday. “It wasn’t really a joke, but we laughed about it,” he added. The warrant on murder and other charges is a step that could help expedite his extradition from Pennsylvania. In court papers made public Tuesday, a New York City police detective reiterated key findings in the investigation he said tied Mangione to the killing, including surveillance footage and a fake ID he used to check into a Manhattan hostel on Nov. 24. Police officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, found that ID when they arrested Mangione on Monday. Mangione is being held without bail in Pennsylvania on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors charged him with five counts, including murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Mangione doesn’t yet have a lawyer who can speak on his behalf, court officials said. Images of Mangione released Tuesday by Pennsylvania State Police showed him pulling down his mask in the corner of the McDonald’s while holding what appeared to be hash browns and wearing a winter jacket and ski cap. In another photo from a holding cell, he stood unsmiling with rumpled hair. Mangione’s cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione, announced Tuesday morning that he’s postponing a fundraiser planned later this week at the Hayfields Country Club north of Baltimore, which was purchased by the Mangione family in 1986. “Because of the nature of this terrible situation involving my Cousin I do not believe it is appropriate to hold my fundraising event scheduled for this Thursday at Hayfields,” Nino Mangione said in a social media post. “I want to thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. My family and I are heartbroken and ask that you remember the family of Mr. Thompson in your prayers. Thank you.” Officers used New York City’s muscular surveillance system . Investigators analyzed DNA samples, fingerprints and internet addresses. Police went door to door looking for witnesses. When an arrest came five days later , those sprawling investigative efforts shared credit with an alert civilian’s instincts. A customer at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania noticed another patron who resembled the man in the oblique security-camera photos New York police had publicized. He remains jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. By late Monday evening, prosecutors in Manhattan had added a charge of murder, according to an online court docket. It’s unclear whether Luigi Nicholas Mangione has an attorney who can comment on the allegations. Asked at Monday’s arraignment whether he needed a public defender, Mangione asked whether he could “answer that at a future date.”

In Sarah's case, she ultimately decided to choose a dental clinic that offered a mid-range price for the root canal procedure. The clinic's reputation for high-quality care and positive patient reviews influenced her decision, as she prioritized the value of effective treatment and long-lasting results over the initial cost.The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) has the potential to boost 99.6 per cent of Indian exports with market access to European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and drive $100 billion investment, the government said on Saturday. This was conveyed during the visit of a delegation led by Sunil Barthwal, Secretary, Department of Commerce to Norway on Friday, aimed at furthering the objectives of TEPA which was signed in March this year. The Commerce Secretary highlighted unprecedented opportunities for Norwegian industry as the Indian economy rises from being the fifth largest economy to becoming the third largest economy in the world over the next three-four years, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Barthwal met Tomas Norvoll, State Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries of Norway to discuss promoting trade and investments, mobility for Indian professionals, re-energising existing institutional mechanisms and next steps for the TEPA ratification. The Commerce Secretary also called on HE Cecilie Myrseth, Minister of Trade and Industry and HE Jan Christian Vestre, Minister of Health and Care Services. The visit also included discussions with business stakeholders including Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (NHO), Innovation Norway, Shipbuilders Association, Raeder Bing Law Firm and leaders and CEOs of several large Norwegian companies. These firms represented diverse sectors, in particular, renewable energy, shipping industry, consumer goods, green hydrogen, textiles, seafood, mining, Information technology and other sectors of mutual interest. India signed TEPA with four developed nations - Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein — which is an important economic bloc in Europe. The agreement will give a boost to 'Make in India' and provide opportunities to the young and talented workforce, according to the government. EFTA is offering 92.2 per cent of its tariff lines which covers 99.6 per cent of India's exports. The EFTA's market access offer covers 100 per cent of non-agri products and tariff concession on processed agricultural products (PAP). India is offering 82.7 per cent of its tariff lines which covers 95.3 per cent of EFTA exports. India has offered 105 sub-sectors to the EFTA and secured commitments in 114 from Norway. TEPA is expected to accelerate the creation of a large number of direct jobs for India's young aspirational workforce in the next 15 years in India, including better facilities for vocational and technical training. (With inputs from IANS) Beware of SBI's fake reward point claims; fraudulent messages can compromise your data LG Corp to cancel own shares worth $356.8 bn by 2026 to boost corporate value Adani Group stocks rebound as Sensex and Nifty surgeThe lowest turnover of the last 11 weeks did not stop the benchmark of the Greek stock market from recording another day of growth, albeit small, on Tuesday, making it five in a row. It has now put clear blue water between itself and the 1,400-point psychological milestone. Corporate results for the third quarter continued to flow in, with one the companies benefiting from such news being Hellenic Exchanges, which runs the stock market. The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,408.05 points, adding 0.13% to Monday’s 1,406.20 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.15%, ending at 3,409.42 points, though mid-caps contracted 0.05%. The banks index advanced 0.40%, as National grew 1.57% and Eurobank earned 0.64%, while Alpha declined 0.49% and Piraeus gave up 0.44%. Ellaktor grabbed 3.21%, while Cenergy Holdings parted with 1.86%. In total 49 stocks reported gains, 41 recorded losses and 28 remained unchanged. Turnover amounted to 63.8 million euros, down from Monday’s €206.6 million. In Nicosia, the general index of the Cyprus Stock Exchange increased 2.08% to close at 210.49 points.

In the latest Italian Serie A standings, Udinese has finally put an end to their 5-match winless streak, gaining momentum as they closely trail behind AC Milan by just a 2-point difference. The recent performance of Udinese has been nothing short of impressive, showcasing their resilience and determination to climb up the league table.New Delhi: Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the BJP and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal. Out of the 46 seats where byelections were held, the BJP and its allies won 26, a gain of nine seats, followed by Congress with seven -- a loss of six seats. Assembly Election Results Live Updates Maharashtra Election Results Jharkhand Election Results Bypoll Election Results The Trinamool Congress won six, the Aam Aadmi Party three and the Samajwadi Party two seats. The LDF in Kerala and BAP in Rajasthan got one each. Apart from this, two seats in Sikkim were won unopposed by Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) candidates. In the bypolls to two Lok Sabha constituencies, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi cruised to her maiden electoral victory from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala with a margin of over 4.1 lakh votes against CPI(M)-led LDF's Sathyan Mokeri. The party also won Nanded in Maharashtra by a narrow margin after recounting of votes. After the reverses in the Lok Sabha election, the ruling BJP-led alliance secured its hold over the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh with its candidates winning seven out of nine seats. The BJP retained four seats -- Ghaziabad, Khair, Majhawan and Phulpur -- and wrested Katehari and Kundarki from the SP while its ally RLD retained one. The Samajwadi Party, which had four of these seats, retained Sishamau and Karhal. 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"This victory is the result of the security, good governance and public welfare policies of the double-engine government and the tireless hard work of dedicated workers," Adityanath said on X. The ruling BJP won five of the seven seats in Rajasthan, wresting three from Congress and one from the RLP. The Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) and the Congress retained one seat each. In a boost to the Bhagwant Mann-led government, the ruling AAP in Punjab wrested Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak and Chabbewal assembly segments from the Congress, which ousted AAP from Barnala. The ruling NDA in Bihar swept the bypolls to four assembly segments, retaining Imamganj (HAM) and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari (BJP), Ramgarh (BJP) and Belaganj (JD-U), receiving a boost ahead of the assembly elections due next year. The TMC trounced the opposition in West Bengal, retaining five seats and wresting Madarihat from the BJP, further cementing its political dominance in the state despite the the ongoing protests over the RG Kar incident. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the results of the byelections would help her work for the people. "I would like to thank and congratulate the 'Maa, Mati and Manush' from the bottom of my heart. Your blessings will help us work for the people in the coming days. We all are common people and that is our identity. We are not zamindars, but the custodians of the people," she posted on X. The ruling National People's Party (NPP) in Meghalaya also got a boost as party candidate and Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's wife Mehtab Chandee Agitok Sangma wrested the Gambegre seat from Congress. The Congress won the byelections to all three assembly seats in Karnataka, wresting one each from the BJP and its ally JD(S). In Kerala, it retained the Palakkad assembly seat while the ruling LDF maintained its hold in Chelakkara assembly seat. Giving credit to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's leadership as well as the five guarantees for the Congress party's success, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said it was a prelude to the 2028 assembly election where the party would once again win. The BJP long with its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United Peoples' Party Liberal (UPPL) won all five assembly constituencies in Assam. The AGP and UPPL retained the Bongaigaon and Sidli (ST) constituencies, respectively. The BJP retained Behali and Dholai (SC), and wrested Samaguri from the Congress. The ruling BJP wrested the Vav assembly constituency in Gujarat from the Congress and retained the Raipur City South assembly seat in Chattisgarh and Kedarnath assembly seat in Uttarakhand. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP retained the Budhni seat, where byelection was necessitated following the resignation of former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but suffered a setback as state minister Ramniwas Rawat lost in the Vijaypur assembly seat with the Congress retaining the seat. Rawat had won the seat on a Congress ticket in the 2023 assembly polls but then switched over to the BJP, which made him forest minister in the Mohan Yadav government. He had won from Vijaypur in Sheopur district as a Congress candidate in 1990, 1993, 2003, 2008 and 2013 as well. Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) candidates Aditya Golay and Satish Chandra Rai were on Saturday elected unopposed in the bypolls to Soreng-Chakung and Namchi-Singhithang assembly constituencies, officials said. The assembly bypolls were held in nine seats in Uttar Pradesh, seven seats in Rajasthan, six seats in West Bengal, five seats in Assam, four seats each in Punjab and Bihar, three seats in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya. Assembly Election Results Live Updates Maharashtra Poll Results Highlights 2024 Jharkhand Poll Results Highlights 2024 (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )

Suntek Solar launches TRUZON SOLAR to Drive India’s Renewable Energy Revolution with Superstar Mahesh BabuIn the northern areas of China, cities such as Beijing and Tianjin are experiencing a sharp drop in temperatures, with thermometers dipping below freezing and staying there for extended periods. This sudden cold spell has caught many off guard, prompting the issuance of alerts for icy roads and potential frostbite risks. Local authorities have also been working diligently to ensure that heating systems are functioning properly and that vulnerable populations are taken care of during this period of extreme cold.

Klopp's influence on the team was evident in every aspect of their performance. His passion, energy, and tactical acumen have transformed Liverpool into a formidable force in world football. The unity and spirit within the squad are a testament to his leadership, inspiring the players to push themselves to new heights.

The incident not only drew attention to the issue of littering but also highlighted the influence that public figures have on society. As a well-known actor, Zhang Ruoyun's actions are often closely watched and imitated by fans and followers. By acknowledging his mistake and apologizing sincerely, he demonstrated accountability and a willingness to learn from his errors.FPGA-Accelerated LLMs: The Future of AI Inferencing is Here

In conclusion, the story of the former Barcelona superstar serves as a cautionary tale about the unpredictable nature of football and the fragility of a player's career. Despite experiencing a drastic decline in his market value, the player's determination, talent, and perseverance ultimately led to a remarkable comeback and a new chapter in his footballing journey. His journey from riches to rags and back to riches is a testament to the resilience and spirit of a true champion, and a reminder that in football, as in life, anything is possible with hard work and belief.

Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) fans have been recently disappointed by the collapse of popular "moon theory," which had sparked speculation about the release date of the game's next trailer. This theory gained traction after Rockstar Games shared a promotional image for GTA Online in September 2023, featuring a moon in the Waning Gibbous phase, coinciding with the announcement of GTA 6’s first trailer release in December. Assembly Election Results Election Results 2024 Live Updates Maharashtra Assembly Election Results 2024 Live Updates Jharkhand Assembly Election Results 2024 Live Updates Another similar image followed in November 2024, further fueling hopes for a second trailer announcement aligned with the moon's phases. However, Rockstar Games has not provided any official confirmation regarding the second trailer’s release, leaving fans in suspense. Despite fans' best efforts to decode Rockstar’s marketing strategies, including tracking Take-Two earnings calls and past game promotion patterns, it seems Rockstar isn't using lunar cycles to determine trailer release dates after all. GTA 6 may release in 2025: What to expect Take-Two Interactive has confirmed that GTA 6 will take players back to a reimagined Vice City, featuring two new protagonists: Jason and Lucia, who will be the series' first female lead. The initial trailer suggests the pair will be involved in criminal activities. The game is rumoured to have exciting new features, including more enterable buildings, a returning basketball minigame, and Fast & Furious-inspired missions. GTA 6 will launch first on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, with a PC release potentially following later.Another critical factor in the success of Nantong Development Zone in cross-border e-commerce is its unwavering determination to excel. In a highly competitive environment where only the fittest survive, Nantong has shown a relentless drive to push boundaries, set new standards, and exceed expectations. This relentless pursuit of excellence has earned Nantong a reputation for reliability, quality, and efficiency, making it a preferred choice for businesses looking to expand their global reach.

The act of sticking a watch on the window of a high-speed train may seem innocent and even amusing to some, but it carries unforeseen risks and potential consequences. Watches, particularly those with metal components or built-in electronic devices, can generate heat when exposed to direct sunlight or other heat sources. When placed on the glass surface of a high-speed train window, the watch can act as a focal point for heat accumulation, leading to elevated temperatures and potential damage to the glass.Twenty years ago, Somalia was headed for catastrophe. Conflict, drought and government collapse threatened to plunge 200,000 people into famine. But relief groups lacked enough food for everyone and had no consistent way of identifying those most at risk of starvation. A man angered about his clan’s limited share of food aid fired shots at humanitarian workers. Nicholas Haan, an American then working on the aid effort for the United Nations, had an idea: Create an evidence-driven system that objectively classified acute food insecurity and engaged both international experts and Somali leaders so all agreed on how to manage the crisis. The idea worked, Haan said. Locals helped gather evidence for the analysis. That led to greater acceptance of tough decisions on where to send aid, he said. The process Haan and other aid workers sketched out in about a month eventually evolved into the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, a global partnership that’s a linchpin in today’s vast system for monitoring and alleviating hunger. It is designed to sound the alarm about developing food crises so organizations can respond and prevent famine and mass starvation . But as hunger crises sweep parts of the developing world this year, the technocratic assumptions on which the IPC warning system rests are colliding with messy and brutal realities. In March, the IPC warned that famine was imminent in northern Gaza. In August, it said famine had taken hold in part of Sudan’s North Darfur state. Nevertheless, U.N. officials said in early November that the entire population of northern Gaza was at “imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence.” In Darfur, little aid has reached Zamzam, a famine-stricken camp for displaced people, and its estimated 500,000 residents are at risk of dying of hunger-related causes. Critically, the IPC is struggling to access the data it needs to conduct informed analyses . With most of the world’s food crises being driven by conflict, it has become increasingly difficult to gather the information the IPC requires to classify vulnerable nations on its five-stage acute food-security scale. In Gaza, Israeli bombing and restrictions on movement have impeded efforts to collect statistics on malnutrition, deaths unrelated to trauma , and other essential data. In Sudan, violence, military roadblocks, bureaucratic obstruction and a telecommunications blackout have disrupted efforts to test for malnutrition, count deaths and survey people about their access to food. Another frequently false assumption underpinning the IPC’s work: The world will respond promptly to its warnings. In reality, significant aid sometimes comes after the starving are already dying in droves. Perhaps the system’s greatest weakness – one its creator Haan points to himself – is the premise that governments in hunger-stricken countries will cooperate fully with the IPC, the U.N. and other outside helpers. G overnment involvement can be the system’s greatest strength, Haan said, empowering countries to solve their own problems. But Reuters found that giving local officials a seat at the table – as the IPC usually does – also can pose a conflict of interest, positioning them to undermine the hunger monitor’s work and harming the people it is meant to protect. This is especially true in cases of civil war, when a government’s military strategy can trump humanitarian goals. “It inadvertently gives a veto to any belligerent party that does not want a famine declared,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, president of the humanitarian relief group Refugees International and former director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance in the U.S. Agency for International Development. In three countries now suffering severe food crises, Reuters found that governments or rebels have blocked or falsified the flow of data to the IPC or have tried to suppress its findings. In Ethiopia, the government disliked an IPC finding that 350,000 people were experiencing catastrophic acute food insecurity – so it stopped working with the IPC. In Yemen, Houthi rebels commandeered the IPC’s research process and exaggerated a food crisis to try to get more aid. In Sudan, the government tried to invalidate a survey that showed high rates of acute malnutrition among children. Ethiopian and Sudanese officials told Reuters the IPC analyses were flawed. Houthi representatives said their research documented a legitimate humanitarian crisis . One reason for such sabotage: Governments fear the international stigma and domestic political blowback from being unable to perform one of their most basic duties – feeding their own people. “Countries don’t want to be told they’re presiding over a famine,” said Mark Lowcock, who coordinated U.N. emergency relief efforts from 2017 to 2021. “It does not win you international kudos and admiration. So these state entities try to wiggle and weave to avoid having that exposed.” The IPC acknowledges that the impediments sometimes slow its work and delay alerts seeking urgently needed resources for places with extreme hunger crises. That is one reason for new protocols the IPC announced Nov. 22. IPC Global Program Manager Jose Lopez, in response to questions about the warning system’s shortcomings, said the IPC will now require that its technical experts take over government-headed analyses within two weeks of when evidence points to famine and there are exceptional circumstances, such as government interference or delay. The IPC said the change is intended to ensure timely, unbiased reports during crises, in hopes of halting mass starvation and preventing widespread deaths. In October, the IPC also issued new guidance on how analysts should incorporate conflict conditions into their reports . The guidance cites the IPC’s failure to warn early enough that South Sudan seemed headed for famine in 2020. Armed militias were fighting over resources and historic grievances, displacing tens of thousands of people. Analysts hadn’t adequately factored in the impact of the organized violence on food security, the document says. The guidance directs analysts to consider ways conflict can drive food insecurity, such as cutting access to food, causing prices to skyrocket and disrupting crop production. Reuters’ examination of how the IPC operates and whether it is an effective alert system is based on internal IPC documents and communications, meeting minutes of humanitarian organizations and data on aid delivery, nutrition and donations. Reporters also interviewed dozens of aid workers, government officials, IPC analysts and academics who study food security. Many of the problems plaguing the IPC are beyond its control, from civil war and other conflicts that obstruct data collection to tardy reactions to its forecasts by aid donors and distributors. The IPC says its hunger analyses help direct $6 billion in annual aid to the more than 35 nations it monitors. But $15 billion of requests for food security and nutrition globally went unmet in 2023 , according to U.N. data that tracks the flow of aid. Martin Griffiths, who stepped down as U.N. humanitarian relief chief in June, said shortage s of data, money and access to areas where people are starving has created a situation in which “your hands are tied behind your back from the beginning.” The U.N.’s own internal weaknesses also can hamper relief efforts. In Ethiopia, massive amounts of aid from the U.N.’s World Food Program (WFP) were diverted, in part because of the organization’s lax administrative controls. An internal WFP report on Sudan identifies a range of problems in the organization’s response there, including an inability to respond adequately to the crisis, missed funding opportunities and what it describes as “anti-fraud challenges,” Reuters reported Wednesday. Today, the IPC is an independent body funded by Western nations and overseen by 19 large humanitarian organizations and intergovernmental institutions. Though its duties are far-reaching, its resources are tight: It has just 60 paid staff and an $8.5 million annual budget. It relies on hundreds of analysts from governments and partner agencies to produce reports on hunger and acute malnutrition in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. IPC reports rank areas for acute food insecurity on a one-to-five scale that slides from minimal to stressed, crisis, emergency and famine. In each country, a “technical working group,” usually headed by the national government, analyzes data, classifies areas on the IPC scale and issues periodic reports. Rather than gathering its own data, the IPC relies on the WFP, a multi-billion-dollar global distributor of food aid, and other relief organizations and government agencies to provide it. When famine is in play, the group’s analysis often gets another layer of scrutiny – from the IPC’s five-member Famine Review Committee, which vets and verifies the finding. The IPC’s hunger analyses require rigorously examining data on factors scientifically linked to food security, such as crop yields, food prices and malnutrition. Although those uniform standards and technical rigor are important, it is essential that they don’t become a barrier or slow the process of delivering aid, said Deepmala Mahla, chief humanitarian officer for the relief organization CARE, an IPC partner. “The single largest driver of hunger in the world is conflict,” Mahla said. “This means that people who are most desperately in need are in the hardest-to-reach areas. The single most pressing IPC challenge is the difficulty in collecting mortality and nutrition data from these areas.” In Gaza, Israel’s 13-month military campaign has displaced an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians, many of them multiple times. Bombings, movement restrictions and evacuations ordered by Israel’s military block access to health care and keep aid workers from reaching people in need. All this makes it extremely difficult for the IPC to get data for two of the statistics it seeks for a famine determination – malnutrition and hunger-related deaths , aid workers told Reuters. The IPC’s preferred method for assessing acute malnutrition levels is to measure children’s weight and height. But Israeli bombing has destroyed many of Gaza’s hospitals and clinics – and along with them, scales and height boards. Humanitarian organizations instead trained health workers to measure children’s upper arms. The IPC relied on such measurements in October, when it reported that acute malnutrition rates in Gaza were 10 times higher than before the conflict but still below its threshold for deeming an area in famine. But the data was collected in August and September, before conditions worsened in the north, where Israel is conducting intense attacks. Since October, health workers have been unable to get there to collect malnutrition data. The conflict also has imperiled the data collectors themselves, who often are aid workers. At least 337 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli operation began , the most ever in a single crisis, according to the U.N. In November 2023, a few weeks before IPC analysts began working to gauge whether Gaza was in famine, a convoy carrying staff and family from Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF) came under fire, killing two. MSF said the convoy was clearly marked with the aid group’s logo and said all evidence pointed to a deliberate attack by Israel. So worried was the IPC about aid workers’ safety in Gaza that it set up anonymized Zoom calls to conduct its work, six participants told Reuters. Some of the IPC analysts worked for humanitarian organizations on the ground in Gaza, and the IPC feared they could be targeted by Israel. So each day, a facilitator would conceal the analysts’ identities before letting them into the virtual meeting room. Instead of screen names, they had numbers: Analyst 1, Analyst 2, Analyst 3. All kept their cameras off. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to Reuters questions about the MSF incident, attacks on aid workers or the IPC’s efforts to protect its analysts . COGAT, the Israeli government body that oversees aid to Gaza, told Reuters that in recent months a new Israeli government board has begun focusing on the safety of humanitarian workers. It “facilitates efficient and rapid information sharing” to help them distribute aid safely and effectively, COGAT said. The IPC did not have a group of analysts working in Gaza when Israel’s military operation began. So the IPC set up an ad hoc group, headed by its own staff rather than local government representatives. The arrangement was meant to protect the group’s neutrality, two IPC sources said. Almost everywhere else the IPC operates, a government official heads the working group. The IPC works on the assumption that governments want to get aid to the starving. But Reuters found that several governments or ruling factions sought to manipulate or suppress data collection for IPC analyses. They have used the IPC’s own rigorous requirements to exclude crucial evidence of famine and delay the publication of reports warning about the risk of famine. In Sudan, the government sought to suppress a key malnutrition and mortality s tudy that helped show that the huge displaced persons camp called Zamzam was in famine. The camp formed in 2004, during attacks by the Sudanese government and Janjaweed-aligned militia that resulted in ethnically motivated mass killings. It now shelters about 500,000 displaced people. MSF randomly selected and measured the upper arms of 659 children there in January. The aid group found almost 25% to be acutely malnourished – higher than the IPC’s 15% threshold for famine. It also found alarmingly high mortality rates among the wider population. At the end of March and into early April, the group screened another 4 7 ,000 children and found one of every three malnourished. Some children died while waiting in line to be screened, said Seham Abdullah, a 28-year-old doctor who worked on the survey and is still treating patients there. Others died on the way to the clinic, she said. “The children are sent away because there are no beds,” Abdullah told Reuters. “Then they come back later and their conditions are worse.” MSF treatment for malnourished children has been hindered by sporadic aid shipments. For a time this fall, it was unable to treat 5,000 children with acute malnutrition because warring parties were preventing supplies from reaching the camp. MSF’s child nutrition and mortality survey from January gave the IPC valuable data points as it worked to determine if the area was in famine. A famine analysis considers people’s access to food, along with malnutrition and mortality rates. But the Sudanese government – engaged in a civil war with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and adamantly opposed to a famine declaration for strategic reasons – rejected the study. Ibrahim Khatir, head of the North Darfur health ministry, told Reuters in August that MSF’s findings were exaggerated to drum up funding. Aid organizations “d o it as advertising so they can get more support,” he said. “So they can get nice houses, cars, salaries, they rely on the suffering, the hunger.” In response to Khatir’s remarks, MSF noted the statistical rigor of its analysis and called its findings “unambiguous.” “The plight of Sudanese people, only receiving a trickle of humanitarian aid at best while trapped by hunger and war, is nothing short of outrageous,” Michel-Olivier Lacharité, MSF head of emergency operations, said in an emailed statement to Reuters. In June, Sudan’s ambassador to the U.N., Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, criticized outsiders’ efforts to declare famine in Sudan, which he called “a narrative whereby famine can be dictated from above.” A famine declaration would increase pressure on the government to open a key aid-shipment border crossing from Chad, which he called a “Pandora’s box” that would open up arms smuggling to the RSF. Sudan’s agriculture minister, Abubakr al-Bushra, raised similar objections in a letter later that month to Lopez, the IPC chief. Lopez replied that the IPC could not factor Sudan’s military concerns into its analysis. “The issues you raised about the risks of diversion of humanitarian assistance and of a potential conflict expansion go beyond the purpose and objectives of a Famine Review,” Lopez said in the July 4 letter, seen by Reuters. After MSF published its nutrition and mortality findings on Zamzam in February, it took the IPC six months to alert the world that famine was happening there. Over that time, the average number of graves dug daily in Zamzam grew. Reuters used high-resolution optical and radar satellite imagery to examine activity in seven Zamzam graveyards. The images reveal an average rate of at least 1.6 new graves added each day in March. By November, that rate had grown to at least 4 each day . The analysis is likely an undercount because it is impossible to know if the images reveal every burial, especially small children’s graves. In February, MSF estimated that one child was dying every two hours in the camp. The news agency’s use of satellite imagery is an example of new types of data that could be incorporated into the IPC’s analyses, Haan said. The Famine Review Committee cited Reuters’ work as one piece of evidence in its August famine finding. The IPC is now working with Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab to explore ways of using similar analyses in its reports, Haan said. It also is exploring machine-learning techniques, which rely on computer models to predict outcomes. Zamzam’s misery continues. The camp has come under intense shelling this week, a volunteer worker and an aid organization told Reuters. Sudan isn’t the only place where the IPC ran into intense government resistance . In June 2021, the IPC analyzed the risk of famine in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where paramilitary forces were then in the midst of violent conflict with government forces. The hunger monitor found that more than 350,000 people were in Phase 5, or catastrophic conditions. Ethiopia’s central government challenged the IPC’s methodology and conclusions, but the IPC published its analysis anyway. It added a disclaimer: “This report has not been endorsed by the Government of Ethiopia.” The government reacted furiously. It “perceived the publication as unilateral and unauthorized,” a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. The government later expelled seven senior U.N. officials and blocked further IPC access in Ethiopia. No IPC analyses have been performed in Ethiopia since, although the government official said talks recently began in an effort to improve relations between the government and the IPC. Strong-arming of the IPC and the broader humanitarian relief system became severe in Yemen in 2023, when Houthi rebel forces who control the country’s north tried to exaggerate a hunger crisis to draw international humanitarian aid, four sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. Houthi rebels have been accused of massive aid diversion there. The Houthis’ humanitarian arm handpicked data collectors in 2023 to conduct surveys to assess the population’s access to food, according to three sources from the U.N.’s WFP. Reuters was unable to learn specifics about how the data was collected. The Houthis then used the data to press the IPC to say that many urban areas were experiencing food emergencies when in fact people had access to food and markets, said an IPC working group member, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said that Houthi officers threatened IPC members with consequences if they did not classify areas as the Houthis wanted. Houthi security forces have arrested and held incommunicado dozens of U.N. staff and employees of nongovernmental organizations. In a written response to questions from Reuters, the Houthi Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (SCMCHA) said the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is an “undisputed fact and not fabricated.” “The data collection process was carried out in the required manner according to the standards agreed upon with the World Food Program,” the SCMCHA said, noting that half of the data collectors were selected by the WFP. It denied diverting aid and threatening aid workers and said the arrests of U.N. staff were lawful. “These are false and untrue allegations,” the statement read. “We completely reject them. No pressure was exerted on the committee.” A global IPC team reviewed the Houthi-collected data and found that it overstated hunger levels, three IPC sources told Reuters. The IPC decided not to publish the Houthi-led analysis. And because of security concerns, it did not publish its own evaluation, either, the sources said. Even when the IPC’s work is unhindered and timely, donor countries often respond sluggishly to warnings of a food crisis. And conflict, closed borders and movement restrictions make it difficult to deliver aid. That can leave humanitarian agencies with too little money to keep hunger from worsening. The world supplied only 39% of the aid that agencies requested in 2023 to alleviate food insecurity and improve nutrition, according to U.N. data. This year is on track for only slightly better results. Government officials from seven donor countries told Reuters they take note of the IPC’s reports, but they also weigh budgetary and political priorities, climate predictions, logistical hurdles to delivering aid, and the actions of other donors. Germany would pay attention to an IPC Phase 4 or Phase 5 determination, said Andreas von Brandt, Berlin’s ambassador to the U.N. in Rome. But it wouldn’t guarantee a response. “Our funds are limited,” von Brandt said. “Even in the best years we wouldn’t have all the funds to suffice.” The first famine the IPC identified – in 2011 in Somalia – illustrates the devastating toll when aid arrives too late. Drought and armed conflict among militant groups fighting for control of the country’s south led to mass displacement and dire food shortages from 2010 through 2012. IPC analyses repeatedly warned of an imminent risk of famine. Yet donors balked at sending relief to a region controlled by militants the U.S. had labeled as terrorists . Humanitarian aid to the afflicted area dropped by half from 2008 to 2011, as aid workers came under attack. Only after an IPC analysis found the area in famine in July 2011 did donor nations and organizations respond with a deluge of aid. By then, much of the damage had already been done. It turned out to be one of the deadliest famines of the 21st century. An estimated 258,000 people – most of them children under 5 – died from hunger-related causes, according to a 2013 analysis commissioned by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Almost half died before famine was even declared, the study found. The geopolitical roadblocks and the failure of the various arms of the humanitarian aid system to work together to prevent starvation frustrates Haan, 20 years after he came up with his idea to classify hunger. “All of that comes crashing down on the woman and the girl and the young boy in Zamzam who can’t eat tonight, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to eat tonight, no reason at all,” he said. Reporting by Lena Masri, Deborah Nelson, Maggie Michael, Steve Stecklow, Ryan McNeill, Jaimi Dowdell and Benjamin Lesser. Source: Reuters (Additional reporting by Giulia Paravicini, Kaylee Kang, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Allison Martell and Charlie Szymanski. 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