Turkey’s opposition has dealt President Tayyip Erdogan a stinging blow by winning control of Istanbul in a re-run mayoral election, breaking his aura of invincibility and delivering a message from voters unhappy over his policies. Ekrem Imamoglu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) secured 54.21% of votes, according to state-owned ... Read More »
Beach Cleanup Campaign in Sidon
Banin Charity Association organized a beach cleanup Thursday in the southern city of Sidon.Dozens of volunteers and activists took part in the campaign. The participants from all different ages spent hours picking up litter along the beach near the city’s crusader castle. A project organizer said that volunteers came from ... Read More »
Xi Jinping lands in North Korea to meet Kim ahead of Trump talks
First visit by Chinese president in 14 years expected to heal rift that has grown over Kim Jong-un’s nuclear programme President Xi Jinping has landed in North Korea for a historic trip to Pyongyang, rebooting a troubled alliance as he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un face their own ... Read More »
Himalayan glacier melting doubled since 2000, spy satellites show
Ice losses indicate ‘devastating’ future for region and 1 billion people who depend on it for water The melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the turn of the century, with more than a quarter of all ice lost over the last four decades, scientists have revealed. The accelerating ... Read More »
Iran says it has shot down US drone over its territory amid tensions over oil tanker attacks
American central military command claims there were ‘no US aircraft’ over Iran at the time Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it has shot down a US drone flying over the country’s territory close to the Strait of Hormuz, amid a growing row between Washington and Tehran over reported attacks on oil ... Read More »
Trump Launches his Official US Presidential Re-election Campaign
US president Donald Trump officially launched his 2020 re-election campaign on Tuesday in front of a huge crowd in Orlando, Florida. Trump said, “We did it once and we are going to do it again”, promising his supporters of an “earthquake at the ballot box”, and confirming that he will ... Read More »
Poor nations hosting most refugees worldwide, need more Western help: U.N.
Developing countries, not rich Western nations, are bearing the brunt of the world’s refugee crisis and are hosting most of the record 70.8 million displaced people who have fled war and persecution, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Half of the world’s forcibly displaced are children and the 2018 total ... Read More »
EU at odds over Albania, Macedonia joining; Cyprus threatens veto over Turkey
European Union states were at loggerheads on Monday over starting talks with Albania and North Macedonia to enter the bloc, while Cyprus threatened to veto any agreement on future enlargement unless the EU toughens its line on Turkish drilling. EU ministers from the bloc’s 28 states meet in Luxembourg on ... Read More »
U.S. says to send more troops to the Middle East, cites Iran threats
Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced on Monday the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for what he said were defensive purposes, citing concerns about a threat from Iran. Fears of a confrontation between Iran and the United States have mounted since last Thursday when ... Read More »
Mohammed Morsi, deposed president of Egypt, has collapsed and died in court, according to state TV
Egypt’s former president, Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who rose to office in the country’s first free elections in 2012 and was ousted a year later by the military, collapsed in court during a trial and died, state TV and his family said. State TV, citing a medical source, ... Read More »