World

Olaf Scholz was on Monday officially named to lead his centre-left Social Democrats into Germany’s snap elections in February, but the embattled chancellor faces a tough fight to win a second term.The way had been cleared for Scholz to become the SPD’s chancellor candidate after his popular defence minister, Boris Pistorius, last week ruled himself …

German Social Democrats name Scholz as top candidate for snap polls Read More »

Israel conducted strikes against Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold on Monday and battles raged in Lebanon’s south after the Iran-backed militant group claimed 50 attacks on Israeli targets the day before.The heavy exchanges of fire over the weekend included deadly strikes on Beirut and other areas of Lebanon, and fighting on the ground between Hezbollah militants and …

Fresh strikes, clashes in Lebanon after ceasefire calls Read More »

Russia said Monday its air defences had shot down eight ballistic missiles fired by Ukraine, amid heightened tensions over Kyiv’s use of Western-supplied long-range arms against Russia.Ukraine also targeted a Russian fuel depot while Russian aerial attacks wounded more than 30 in strikes on Odesa and Kharkiv, the latest wave of attacks.The nearly three-year war …

Russia and Ukraine trade aerial attacks amid escalation fears Read More »

Talks to agree the world’s first treaty to curb plastic pollution cannot fail and must tackle both production and consumption, the UN’s environment chief told AFP on Monday.Negotiators are deeply divided on issues including whether to limit new plastic manufacturing and phase out some chemicals, raising concerns that the talks could fail.”I can’t entertain that …

Plastic pollution talks must not fail: UN environment chief Read More »

A final round of talks on a treaty to curb plastic pollution opened on Monday, with deep differences between nations emerging almost immediately.The meeting started just hours after a chaotic end to the COP29 climate talks in Baku, where delegates agreed to a boost in climate funding that developing countries slammed as insufficient.Opening the plastics …

Deep divisions on display at plastic pollution treaty talks Read More »

Three suspects held in the United Arab Emirates over the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi are from Uzbekistan, authorities in the Gulf state announced Monday, saying they were working to determine their motives.UAE-based rabbi Tzvi Kogan, 28, was found dead by security services last week, following what Israeli officials and an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group he …

UAE names Uzbek suspects in Israeli rabbi’s murder Read More »

Acclaimed Indian author Amitav Ghosh has won the coveted Dutch Erasmus Prize for his writings on climate change and its impact on humanity, especially on the Indian subcontinent.Ghosh “has delved deeply into the question of how to do justice to this existential threat that defies our imagination,” the prize committee said in a statement.The Erasmus …

Indian author Ghosh wins top Dutch prize Read More »

Filiz Demiral was at home in Istanbul when she got the phone call in August 2020 that would turn her life upside down: her 20-year-daughter Ceyda had been found dead with the police telling her it was suicide. But Demiral refused to believe it. And as the forensic evidence emerged, it quickly became clear she had …

For Ceyda: A Turkish mum’s fight for justice for murdered daughter Read More »

A pro-Russia far-right candidate took a surprise lead Monday in Romania’s presidential election, as the EU-leaning premier was knocked out of the race that will be decided in a December run off.The result is a political earthquake in the country of 19 million, a NATO member which has so far resisted nationalist appeals, setting itself apart …

Pro-Russia candidate leads Romanian polls, PM out of the race Read More »

Ukrainian drones hit a fuel and energy facility in the Russian region of Kaluga, a source in Ukrainian military intelligence said Monday, in Kyiv’s latest attack on Moscow’s energy sites.The claim came as Ukrainian authorities said a Russian missile strike had wounded nearly two dozen people in the eastern city of Kharkiv and that Moscow …

Ukraine drones hit Russian oil energy facility: Kyiv source Read More »