World news

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has completed a year in office riding high in opinion polls, his reputation further enhanced by his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 67 percent of people judged Mitsotakis’s premiership positively in the run-up to Tuesday’s anniversary in a Marc poll published by Proto Thema weekly on Sunday.…

Thousands of protesters in Sudan have been staging a sit-in outside the administrative headquarters in the town of Nertiti, central Darfur, for more than a week. They accuse the government of failing to protect them from militia attacks. Sudan’s police chief and his deputy were sacked on the weekend. Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan reports from…

Nearly five million Melbourne residents will be put under another lockdown after coronavirus cases surged in Australia’s second-largest city. From midnight on Wednesday, residents will be confined to their homes for six weeks – unless undertaking essential business such as travelling to work, studying, shopping for food or attending medical appointments – as officials scrambled to…

Residents of Serbia’s Sandzak have raised alarm over the number of coronavirus patients in the southwestern region’s hospitals amid a rising death toll, appealing for urgent help from the authorities. Local media and social media users published videos and photos online last month, showing patients in the region’s central town of Novi Pazar lying on blankets…

Burundi has launched a campaign of mass testing for the coronavirus in the country’s largest city, in a significant shift in policy for a nation which has largely ignored the dangers of the outbreak. Many Bujumbura residents, including students, participated in the screening in three centres in the north, centre and south of the commercial…

Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has said China’s new national security law does not spell “doom and gloom” for the city as her government used the legislation to grant police sweeping new powers, including the authority to intercept communications and conduct searches without a warrant. Lam on Tuesday called the new law “mild” and said…

Ricardo, second left, and Luis Enrique – sons of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli – are seen with their lawyers and a police officer after being detained in Guatemala City on Monday [Luis Echeverria/Reuters] US prosecutors have charged two sons of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli in connection with bribery and money laundering linked to…

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, seen here speaking in the House of Commons in Ottawa, said he would be attending a meeting of parliament instead of meeting with United States President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Washington, DC, the US [File: Blair Gable/Reuters] Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not…

Award-winning Kentucky writer Wendell Berry and his wife sued the University of Kentucky on Monday to try to stop the removal of a mural that has been the object of protest for its depictions of Black people and Native Americans. University President Eli Capilouto announced last month that the mural would be coming down. The…

Turkey will respond if the European Union imposes further sanctions on Ankara, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday after meeting the EU’s top diplomat. France’s foreign minister said last week EU ministers would discuss Turkey on July 13 and said new sanctions on Ankara could be considered in addition to steps taken over Turkey’s…

India reported 467 deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday, taking its death toll above 20,000.  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been tested again for coronavirus, after showing symptoms of the disease including a fever. A group of more than 200 scientists are urging the World Health Organization to acknowledge that the coronavirus can spread in the…

Bolsonaro has repeatedly played down the impact of the coronavirus, even as Brazil has suffered one of the world’s worst outbreaks [File: Andre Borges/AP] Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro described his lungs as “clean” after he underwent a second test for the novel coronavirus and local media reported he had symptoms associated with the COVID-19 respiratory…

China has launched a special task force to ramp up political policing to maintain social stability, according to the official Procuratorial Daily. It is latest move to rein in dissent over Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus and protests in Hong Kong. The task force should “crack down on all kinds of infiltration, subversion, sabotage, violent…

More than a dozen Native American leaders and organisations sent a letter to National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday calling for the United States league to force Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the team name immediately. The letter was signed by 15 Native American advocates and obtained by the Associated…

The governor of Georgia on Monday declared a state of emergency and authorised the activation of up to 1,000 United States National Guard troops after a weekend of violence in Atlanta left five people dead, including an eight-year-old girl. A statement from Governor Brian Kemp’s office says troops will provide support at certain locations including…

Prosecutors said Ethan Melzer admitted his role in plotting an attack in a voluntary May 30 interview with military investigators and the FBI [Christof Stache/AFP] A United States Army private – who, according to federal prosecutors, confessed to his role in plotting a deadly attack on his own military unit – pleaded not guilty to charges he…

A white woman in the United States who called police and falsely accused an African-American man of threatening her life after he asked her to leash her dog in New York’s Central Park is being criminally charged over the incident, Manhattan’s district attorney said on Monday. Amy Cooper, 41, whose actions on May 25 were…

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) branch of the Department of Homeland Security issued new rules for exchange students Monday that could present challenges for universities and schools amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The “Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall…

The Open Skies treaty is known as one of the pillars of global security after the end of the Cold War. The pact allows the US, Russia, Canada and European countries to fly over each other’s territories and monitor military activity. But earlier this year, US President Donald Trump announced Washington wants to withdraw from the…

A leading Iraqi expert on ISIL (ISIS) and other armed groups was shot dead in Baghdad on Monday after receiving threats from Iran-backed militias, security and interior officials said. Hisham al-Hashemi, 47, was shot near his home in the Zeyouneh area of Baghdad and pronounced dead at a hospital, the officials said, speaking on condition of…

Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred Monday to New York to face charges that she recruited women and girls, one as young as 14, for him to sexually abuse, the Bureau of Prisons confirmed. Prosecutors have asked a judge to schedule a Friday court appearance in Manhattan federal court for Maxwell, 58, who…

The United States surpassed 130,000 deaths in its battle with the coronavirus pandemic on Monday as new cases surge throughout the country, placing President Donald Trump’s response to the crisis under increasing scrutiny.  Confirmed deaths were at 130,007 as of Monday afternoon eastern US time, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.  Nationally, cases are…

Some of India’s popular monuments have reopened for the first time in more than three months, but its most famous – the Taj Mahal – and others in the city of Agra remain closed. The number of coronavirus cases in India has continued to rise, and the area around the Taj Mahal is under quarantine.…

LeBron James was told to “shut up and dribble” by a Fox News anchor in 2018 in response to the three-time NBA champion’s comments on racism and being Black in the United States. Colin Kaepernick was driven out of the NFL after the 2016 season and blasted by Donald Trump for taking a knee during…

Some of the earliest statues of the Buddha are among precious items housed at the National Museum of Afghanistan. But the US estimates that nearly 70 percent of the treasures have been looted from the museum or destroyed during four decades of war or under strict Taliban rule. Now, historians at the University of Chicago…

Bubba Wallace has been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and successfully campaigned to have Confederate flags removed from NASCAR events [Matt Slocum/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Network] After a weekend spent stoking division, President Donald Trump on Monday went after NASCAR’s only Black driver and criticised its decision to ban the…

Lozoya ran PEMEX between 2012 and 2016 [File: Jon Nazca/Reuters] Spain’s National Administrative Tribunal has agreed to extradite Emilio Lozoya, former chief executive of oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), to Mexico. Lozoya, 45, is wanted in Mexico on charges including bribery and money laundering in cases involving Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht SA as well as…

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Qatar exceeded 100,000 and Kuwait surpassed 50,000 on Monday. Qatar, which has seen its daily case numbers fall from a peak of 2,355 in late May, added 546 new cases and five deaths in the past 24 hours to give a total of 133 deaths and 100,345 cases…

The border between Australia’s two most populous states is closing indefinitely as coronavirus infections soar on one side. Authorities in Victoria are scrambling to bring the spiking case numbers back down in the state, locking down residents and bringing in more social distancing measures. Australia has fared better than many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic,…

Dozens of people are feared dead in southern Japan, as torrential rain and severe flooding continue across several Asian countries. Many of the victims were elders who have been staying at a nursing home in the region. Rescue teams are still on the lookout for survivors. Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride has the latest. SOURCE: Al…

China has begun pulling back troops from along its contested border with India, Indian government sources have said, following the worst clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in nearly 50 years, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead. The Chinese military was seen dismantling tents and structures on Monday at a location in the Galwan Valley…

Two healthy pots of coriander and two of spinach are enough to provide a sense of achievement for Theyiesinuo Keditsu, a young English professor and mother of four. Keditsu, who claims she has the “thumb of death,” planted the seeds and was amazed at how they grew. The indigenous Naga people in India’s northeast, once…

A Lebanese cargo ship carrying 52 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean has been denied access to Italy and Malta, forcing its captain to accommodate the stranded people in the vessel’s dirty cattle cages. “I am running out of food and water to give them,” said Mohammad Shaaban, the captain of the Talia, the ship used…

Hundreds of drones have lit up the night sky in the South Korean capital, Seoul, for a spectacular showcase of motivational and awareness messages as the fight against the coronavirus pandemic continues. Three hundred unmanned aerial vehicles were programmed to form images above the Han River on Saturday night, displaying messages of key precautionary measures…

A new Israeli spy satellite, called Ofek 16, is shot into space from a site in central Israel [Reuters] Israel has launched a new spy satellite that it said would provide high-quality surveillance for its military intelligence.  In a statement on Monday, Israel’s Ministry of Defence and Israel Aerospace Industries said “Ofek 16” was shot…

Authorities in a city in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia have issued a warning after a hospital reported a case of suspected bubonic plague – one of the deadliest diseases in history. The health committee of the city of Bayan Nur issued the third-level alert on Sunday, the second lowest in a four-level system.…

Yuriko Koike has been re-elected Tokyo governor, according to an exit poll released by public broadcaster NHK, after winning over voters with her handling of the coronavirus pandemic in the Japanese capital. Koike’s victory in the city that will host the Olympic Games next year had been widely expected even though the capital confirmed 111…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced a broad government restructuring on Sunday for more “agile and swift” decision-making amid the coronavirus pandemic, merging government entities and appointing new economy and industry ministers. The head of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC, Sultan al-Jaber, was named as industry and advanced technology minister and Abdullah al-Marri…

Officials in Texas are warning that hospitals in the United States state could soon be overwhelmed if coronavirus cases continue to surge. The border between the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales will be closed at midnight on Tuesday for the first time in a century. More than 11.4 million people around the…

Victoria police arrive at the public housing towers along Racecourse Road that were placed under lockdown due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Melbourne, Australia [James Ross/AAP Image via Reuters] The border between Australia’s two most populous states will close from Tuesday for an indefinite period, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday, after…

Rescue workers in Japan continued to comb through the wreckage of houses destroyed by flooding and landslides on the southern island of Kyushu, as officials said at least 40 people were feared dead following torrential rain that hit the area over the weekend. At least 21 people have been confirmed dead and a further 18…

A humanitarian rescue ship stranded in the Mediterranean for days has “finally” received instructions to sail to an Italian port, so the 180 migrants on board can be disembarked. In a social media post on Sunday, SOS Mediterranee also described “relief on the #Ocean Viking” when the ship’s crew and passengers learned that the rescued…

The ruling conservatives overwhelmingly won Croatia’s parliamentary elections amid a spike in new coronavirus cases, with smaller right-wing parties also picking up seats. With more than 90 percent of the vote counted on Sunday night, the governing Croatian Democratic Union, or HDZ, had won 66 seats in Croatia’s 151-seat parliament and is likely to form…

A top Trump administration health official says it is not clear whether it will be safe to hold the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Jacksonville next month as Florida sees record numbers of coronavirus cases. The comments on Sunday came a month after Republican officials moved the event from North Carolina over a dispute over…

Croatian Prime Minister and the leader of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) Andrej Plenkovic gestures after exit polls were announced during parliamentary election, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Zagreb, Croatia, July 5, 2020 [Marko Djurica/Reuters] Croatia’s ruling centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is set to win a parliamentary election on Sunday, held…

A fire that broke out at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility last week caused significant damage that could slow the development of advanced centrifuges, an Iranian nuclear official said on Sunday. No one was hurt in the mysterious blaze last Thursday at the site, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation.  Iran’s top security body…

Iran is expressing frustration at attempts to save the 2015 nuclear deal. It has triggered a mechanism to resolve issues with the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The Iranian foreign minister sent a letter to European leaders on Friday, accusing them of not living up to their side of the agreement. Javad Zarif says Tehran…

Libya’s UN-recognised government on Sunday condemned overnight air raids against a recently recaptured airbase in the west of the country saying the attack was carried out by a “foreign air force”. Fighters loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) seized back the al-Watiya airbase, 140km (90 miles) southwest of the capital Tripoli, from troops…

Algeria buried the remains of 24 resistance fighters returned from Paris after more than a century and a half as it marked the 58th anniversary of its independence from France. The skulls of the fighters – shot and decapitated in the early years of the French occupation – were laid to rest on Sunday during…

Mali’s president has met the leader of a protest movement that has brought many thousands on to the streets, the presidency said on Sunday. A video posted on the presidency’s Twitter account showed the meeting between President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Mahmoud Dicko, an imam and leading figure of the so-called June 5 movement, in…

One of two people hit by a man who drove his car onto a blocked Seattle freeway and then into a crowd protesting police brutality has died. Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle died on Saturday evening at Harborview Medical Center, spokesperson Susan Gregg said.  Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, was also hit by the…

As the United States election approaches, a new dynamic is playing out. President Donald Trump is not just fending off attacks by members of the opposing party, but also from his own. Some prominent Republicans have publicly stated they will vote for former Vice President Joe Biden and are working to help get him elected.…

There are not many artists in East Africa who get to witness their own stellar achievement in their lifetime. Haacaaluu Hundeessa, the undisputed king of contemporary Oromo music of resistance (also known as Geerarsa), did. Such was the explosive impact of Haacaaluu’s songs that many within his Oromo community saw him as indispensable to their struggle…

At least 34 people are believed to have been killed in southern Japan, as torrential rain and severe flooding continues across several Asian countries. Nearly half of the victims in the Kumamoto region were living in a nursing home. Al Jazeera’s Sara Khairat reports. SOURCE: Al Jazeera News

A cartoon posted on the social media account of a weekly Kansas newspaper owned by a county Republican Party chairman has been condemned for comparing a state mandate requiring all residents to wear masks in public in light of the coronavirus pandemic with the roundup of Jews during the holocaust. The cartoon posted on the…

Books by prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy figures have become unavailable in the Chinese-ruled city’s public libraries as they are being reviewed to see whether they violate a new national security law, a government department said on Sunday. The sweeping legislation, which came into force on Tuesday night at the same time its contents were published,…

UK police said on Sunday revellers who packed London’s Soho district the night pubs finally reopened made it “crystal clear” drunk people cannot socially distance. England’s hospitality sector sprung back to life after a three-month coronavirus hiatus on what the media dubbed as either “Super Saturday” or “Independence Day”. Pubs and restaurants were allowed to…

Two rockets targeted American diplomatic and military installations overnight, Iraq’s security forces said on Sunday, as a powerful Iran-backed armed group denied responsibility for a series of such attacks. Since October, US diplomats and troops across Iraq have been targeted by about three dozen rocket attacks that Washington has blamed on pro-Iranian armed factions. In…

Argentina’s government has given next year’s Olympic athletes special permission to train. At the same time, it has reimposed tight restrictions on outdoor exercise for everyone else as a measure to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Al Jazeera’s Daniel Schweimler reports from Buenos Aires. SOURCE: Al Jazeera News

South Korea is going ahead with its annual opening of its beaches for the summer, but with special arrangements in place because of the pandemic. Rob McBride reports from the city of Busan, which is a favourite tourist destination. SOURCE: Al Jazeera News

On the evening of June 15, hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops laid aside their arms and took on each other in a brawl on the ridge of a mountain in Ladakh, a desolate high-altitude plateau in the northeast Kashmir. The clashes, in which clubs and stones were used, left a bloody trail of dead…

India’s southwesterly monsoon has lashed the western parts of the country with heavy and persistent rain, causing widespread disruption and leaving roads and buildings flooded. India’s financial capital, Mumbai, was badly hit with the rising waters causing large traffic jams. People were seen wading through knee-deep waters while motorists had to take extra care on…

As the coronavirus has caused TV channels to cut back on in-studio interviews, pundits and politicians – and the rest – have been left to their own devices on how best to frame themselves in their “natural environments”. Enter the bookshelf – seemingly the perfect solution. Not only does it texturise the background behind a…

Deep floodwaters and the risk of more mudslides that left about 20 people confirmed or presumed dead hampered search and rescue operations on Sunday in southern Japan, including at elderly home facilities where more than a dozen perished and scores are still stranded. Rescue helicopters plucked more people from their homes in the Kumamoto region.…

Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region on Saturday locked down an area with about 200,000 residents following a surge in cases of the new coronavirus. Catalonia’s regional president Quim Torra said there had been a “sharp rise” in infections in Segria, a zone that includes the city of Lleida some 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Barcelona.…

On Monday, July 6 at 19:30 GMT:As nations around the world struggle to flatten the coronavirus curve, some have been able to keep numbers of new infections down and health services running, allowing themselves to gradually open up.  New ZealandIn March the government decided to go for a full elimination strategy.  At the time New…

The number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States has hit almost 130,000 as the country wraps up its July 4 Independence Day celebrations. More than 2.8 million people have been infected in the US with the states of Florida and Texas posting a combined record of almost 20,000 cases in just one day. The…

Kanye West shows United States President Donald Trump a photograph of a hydrogen plane during a meeting at the White House in 2018 [File: Evan Vucci/AP] American rapper Kanye West, a vocal supporter of United States President Donald Trump, has announced that he will run for president in 2020, raising bewildered reactions to his move…

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is poised to be re-elected in Sunday’s polls, buoyed by public support for her coronavirus handling despite a recent rise in infections that has raised concerns of a resurgence of the disease. The first woman to head the Japanese capital, Koike, 67, is also viewed as a potential candidate to succeed…

United States President Donald Trump has vowed to defeat the “radical left” in a July Fourth Independence Day speech at the White House, condemning recent efforts to remove or rethink monuments to historical figures as attempts to destroy the US. Trump claimed without evidence that 99 percent of the coronavirus cases in the US were…

British historian and TV presenter David Starkey has relinquished his honorary fellowship at a University of Cambridge college after he drew outrage for his comments about Black people and whether slavery should be considered genocide. Starkey said in an interview for a YouTube show posted online Tuesday: “Slavery was not genocide, otherwise there wouldn’t be…

The United States marked a subdued Fourth of July holiday with social distancing and restrictions on crowds preventing the typical gatherings and firework displays amid a surge in coronavirus infections in southern and western states.  Racial justice protests were also planned in the US capital on Saturday, where President Donald Trump is set to deliver…

Hagia Sophia, or Ayasofya, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Istanbul, Turkey [Murad Sezer/Reuters] Converting Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia monument from a museum to a mosque would be “unacceptable”, a senior official in the Russian Orthodox Church said on Saturday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed restoring the mosque status of the World Heritage…

Ethiopia has suffered days of unrest since the killing of a prominent musician and activist. More than 90 people were killed in protests following the death of the ethnic Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa. The 34-year-old was shot dead in Addis Ababa on Monday night. Large crowds gathered for his funeral in his hometown of Ambo…

Voters in the Dominican Republic are set to defy rising coronavirus infections to choose a new president in an election that could end 16 years of unbroken rule by the centre-left Dominican Liberation Party (PLD).   Opposition candidate Luis Abinader is favourite in Sunday’s election, having taken a commanding lead in opinion polls despite being…

People relished their first pub drinks in more than three months, went to restaurants, and finally got haircuts on Saturday as England took its biggest steps yet towards resumption of normal life after the coronavirus lockdown. Some pubs started serving from 6am, sparking worries of over-indulgence on what the media dubbed a “Super Saturday” of…

The blaze, which affected a transformer in the power station in the city of Ahvaz, was put out by firefighters and electricity was restored after partial outages [Al Jazeera] A fire broke out at a power station in southwest Iran on Saturday, the latest of several blazes and explosions to hit sensitive sites. The blaze,…

The girlfriend of President Donald Trump’s eldest son has tested positive for coronavirus. Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News television personality who is dating Donald Trump Jr and is a top fundraising official in the president’s re-election campaign, had traveled to South Dakota to see Trump’s Fourth of July speech and celebration fireworks at Mount…

Critics say the law, passed this week, is aimed at crushing dissent and a long-running campaign for greater democracy in the major financial hub [File: Tyrone Siu/Reuters] China has fired back at Canada for criticising Beijing’s national security law for Hong Kong, the second rebuke in a week that has added to strains on their…

Al-Qaeda-linked armed group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attacks [Feisal Omar/Reuters] Explosions rocked two of Somalia’s largest cities on Saturday as officials said a suicide car bomber detonated near the port in Mogadishu and a landmine in a restaurant on the outskirts of Baidoa killed four people. Al-Shabab, which is fighting to overthrow the country’s…

Two US aircraft carriers conducted exercises in the disputed South China Sea on Saturday with China also carrying out manoeuvres that have been criticised by the Pentagon and neighbouring states. The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan were performed operations and exercises in the South China Sea “to support a free and open Indo-Pacific”, a…

An Israeli municipal government is planning to turn an industrial neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem into a technology hub. But opponents say the project is another attempt to illegally solidify Israeli control over occupied Palestinian land. Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett reports. SOURCE: Al Jazeera News

Health workers in Ecuador’s capital say hospitals are on the verge of collapse, because of the number of new coronavirus cases. More than 59,000 people are infected and at least 4,600 have died. Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports. SOURCE: Al Jazeera News

England is dropping coronavirus travel restrictions for visitors from dozens of nations. From July 10, people arriving from 59 countries and 14 British overseas territories will no longer have to quarantine for two weeks. Holiday favourites France, Spain and Italy are on the list. But the United States and China are not. Al Jazeera’s Rory…

Walugembe recently acquired his motorcycle and it was being driven by a colleague when it was impounded [File: Getty Images] A Ugandan man has died after setting fire to himself in a police station when officers allegedly demanded a bribe to release his motorcycle, which he was using as a taxi and which had been…

Two women have been struck by a fast-moving car with one critically injured after a driver sped through a protest-related closure on a freeway in Seattle. A 24-year-old woman from Seattle suffered critical, life-threatening injuries and a 32-year-old woman from Bellingham, a city about 145km (90 miles) north, suffered serious wounds early Saturday, Washington State…

Fourteen people are feared dead after a nursing home was flooded in western Japan as record heavy rains hit the region, a local governor said. The victims were found “in cardio-respiratory arrest” at the facility for elderly people that was inundated after a nearby river broke its banks, governor Ikuo Kabashima from the western region…

On The Listening Post this week: Big brands are part of an advertising boycott against Facebook over racist content and hate speech. Plus, lockdown TV puts bookshelves in the spotlight. The Great Facebook Boycott: Will it make any difference? The two biggest news stories of 2020 – the coronavirus pandemic and the racial inequality protests…

Six migrants on board a rescue ship in the Mediterranean Sea tried to kill themselves and others have gotten into fights and threatened fellow passengers and crew members in growing desperation over their inability to find a country willing to take them in, the charity that operates the vessel said. SOS Mediterranee, which operates the…

In the meeting, Akar reiterated Turkey’s support for Libyan people to ensure they live ‘comfortably, happier and more confidently’ [Anadolu] Libya’s United Nations-recognised government based in Tripoli has said Turkey’s defence minister and military chief have visited the war-torn Libyan capital. It is the second visit in weeks by a minister from Turkey, the main…

People of Hong Kong are finding creative ways to voice dissent after Beijing blanketed the city in a new security law and police began arresting people displaying now forbidden political slogans. Faced with the sudden threat of prosecution for anything that might promote greater autonomy or independence for the restless city, residents are using wordplay…

United States President Donald Trump railed on Friday against “angry mobs” that tried to tear down statues of Confederate leaders and other historical figures, warning thousands of supporters at Mount Rushmore that protesters were trying to erase the country’s history. The speech and fireworks on the eve of the US Independence Day came against the…

There has been a boom in the number of hydropower projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dozens of power plants have been built in recent years, as the country tries to reduce its reliance on coal for energy. But, new construction projects are facing protests for their effect on the environment and the livelihoods of people.…

Nine Malian soldiers have been killed in an ambush in the conflict-wracked centre of the country as they made their way to the site of a massacre of villagers, the army said. The latest attack took place on Thursday at the entrance to Gouari, one of the villages where armed men killed about 30 civilians…

Six migrants have attempted suicide on board the rescue vessel Ocean Viking, prompting a state of emergency to be declared. SOS Mediterranee, which operates the Ocean Viking, said in a statement on Friday that two migrants jumped overboard and were rescued from the sea again, while three others were stopped before they jumped off the ship. It…

US President Donald Trump will be an unwanted guest of the Sioux People as he begins his July Fourth celebration weekend with a massive event on Friday where masks and social distancing are not required as coronavirus cases spike across the country. Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner wrote a letter informing Trump he was not welcome…

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries hit by serious coronavirus outbreaks to “wake up” to the realities on the ground instead of bickering, and to “take control” of the pandemic.  Brazil passed 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, as cities reopen bars, restaurants and gyms sparking fears infections will keep rising. Saudi Arabia passed milestone…

Iranian investigators have determined the cause of a fire at the Natanz nuclear plant, a spokesman for Iran’s top security body said on Friday, while declining to immediately release details of the findings over “security reasons”. The National Security Council’s statement came as Gholamreza Jalali, the head of Iran’s civilian defence, told state television that…

The United States headed into the Fourth of July weekend with many parades and fireworks displays cancelled, beaches and bars closed, and health authorities warning that this will be a crucial test of Americans’ self-control that could determine the trajectory of the surging coronavirus outbreak. With confirmed cases climbing in 40 states, governors have ordered…

A Turkish court on Friday opened a trial in absentia of 20 Saudi nationals indicted for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Washington Post columnist was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018. The Saudi nationals, including two former aides to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), are…