UNITED NATIONS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - United Nations ​Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ​condemns a referral by Yemen's Houthis ⁠of some of the dozens of U.N. staff they have detained to a ​special criminal court, his ‍spokesperson said on Tuesday.

U.N. ​spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the Houthis have arbitrarily detained 59 Yemeni U.N. personnel, who have been held "incommunicado - ⁠some for years - without any due process, in violation of international law."

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Yemen's southern separatists have claimed control over swathes of territory in an apparent major shift in power that risks rekindling a 10-year-old civil war ​after a long lull, raising new uncertainties in a country near important sea routes.

The ​separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), backed in the past by the United Arab Emirates, says it has taken over the eastern provinces of Hadhramaut and Mahra and is now firmly established across ⁠all provinces of the former state of South Yemen.

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed ​an executive order designating one ​of the country’s most prominent Muslim civil rights groups, ⁠the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as a “foreign terrorist organization,” becoming the second high-profile Republican governor to do so ​in recent weeks.

Mohamed Salah reported for Liverpool training on Tuesday as doubts grow about the star's future at the Premier League champions with Saudi clubs intent on making a move for the striker in the winter transfer window.

The 33-year-old Egypt forward was left out of Liverpool's squad for their Champions League tie at Inter Milan on Tuesday following his extraordinary public criticism of Reds manager Arne Slot after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive game.

By Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) -

The U.S. on Tuesday imposed sanctions on actors it ​accused of fueling the war in Sudan, ​taking aim at what it said was a transnational network that recruits former Colombian ⁠military personnel and trains soldiers, including children, to fight for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Hamas said on Tuesday that the Gaza ceasefire plan cannot proceed to its second phase as long as Israeli "violations" persist and called on mediators to pressure Israel to respect the agreement.

The US-sponsored ceasefire, in effect since October 10, halted the war that began after Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it remains fragile as Israel and Hamas accuse each other almost daily of breaches.

JERUSALEM, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Israel is ​set to reopen the ​Allenby Crossing with Jordan to ⁠the passage of goods and aid on Wednesday, an Israeli security official ​said on Tuesday.

The border crossing ‍has been closed ​to aid and goods since September, when a driver bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza opened fire ⁠and killed two Israeli military personnel before being killed by security forces.

Mohamed Salah reported for Liverpool training on Tuesday as doubts continued to grow about the star striker's future at the Premier League champions.

The Egypt forward was left out of Liverpool's squad for their Champions League tie at Inter Milan on Tuesday following his extraordinary public criticism of Reds manager Arne Slot after he was left on the bench for the third consecutive game.

Salah drove himself to Liverpool's training base in Kirkby on Tuesday and posted an Instagram picture of himself in the facility's gym.

GENEVA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Thousands of children have been admitted for ​treatment for acute malnutrition in Gaza ​since an October ceasefire that was supposed to enable a major ⁠increase in humanitarian aid, the U.N. children's agency said on Tuesday.

UNICEF, the biggest provider of malnutrition treatment in Gaza, said that 9,300 ​children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in ‍October, when the first phase of ​an agreement to end the two-year Israel-Hamas war came into effect.

Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday that Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalists killed this year worldwide, with 29 Palestinian reporters slain by its forces in Gaza.

In its annual report, the Paris-based media freedom group said the total number of journalists killed reached 67 globally this year, up from 66 killed in 2024.

Israeli forces accounted for 43 percent of the total, making them "the worst enemy of journalists", RSF said in its report, which documented deaths over 12 months from December 2024.