Latest in World Highlight
Latest in World
Hamburg votes on 2024 Olympics bid
People in Hamburg and Kiel are voting in a referendum on Hamburg’s bid to host the Olympics in 2024. Opinion polls point to a majority of ‘yes’ votes, but costs and security concerns have boosted the ‘no’ camp. Polling stations in both cities opened on Sunday morning and will be open until 6:00 p.m. local …
Turkey in process of handing over body of dead pilot to Russia
Turkey has confirmed it has received the body of a Russian pilot shot down on Tuesday and will deliver it to Russia. The incident, which occurred along the Turkish-Syrian border, has sparked international outrage. The Turkish prime minister said on Sunday the body of the Russian pilot killed after his plane was shot down along …
Al-Sisi heads to Paris for climate conference
The Egyptian president will deliver a speech on the behalf of African countries to express their support for achieving an agreement on climate change
Putin’s anti-‘Islamic State’ coalition dilemma
The downing of a Russian bomber leaves Putin with some tough decisions. Will he change his views on Assad and join a broader anti-“IS” coalition or stick with an alliance of two with Iran? Fiona Clark reports. President Putin must be wondering where it all went wrong. It seemed for a moment that Russia had …
‘Islamic State’ trolled with photoshopped rubber ducks
In the following days, social media users responded in good humour, with some of them replacing the text on the group’s infamous flag with the words “duck duck duck duck duck duck duck duck duck duck duck”
Challenger Tyson Fury beats Vladimir Klitschko to take heavyweight boxing titles
British heavyweight Tyson Fury has been crowned heavyweight champion in Düsseldorf on a unanimous points decision. In a huge boxing upset, Fury has taken the champion’s four titles. The two heavyweights squared up in front of 50,000 fans at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf on Saturday – home to Bundesliga Second Division side Fortuna Düsseldorf. …
Putin orders economic sanctions against Turkey over downing of jet
Vladimir Putin has approved a raft of economic sanctions against Turkey in retaliation for the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish forces. The move came after Turkey’s Erdogan expressed regret over the incident. President Putin on Saturday signed a decree which bans the import of some Turkish products and forbids Russian firms from hiring …
Mass grave of ‘Islamic State’ victims found near Sinjar in Iraq
Officials in Iraq’s north say they’ve found a mass grave containing the remains of over 100 people killed by “Islamic State.” It’s said to be the sixth such find near Sinjar since the town was retaken from the group. At least 113 members of the Yazidi minority were found in the bomb-rigged grave about 10 …
‘Hostile Climate’: A pall over Venezuela elections
A dead opposition politician, a nervous government, and an era ending. Venezuela’s forthcoming election could being Chavismo to its conclusion. Mostly, everyone is hoping that the situation remains peaceful. “The murder is a bad omen for December 6,” said Juan Francisco Alonso, a journalist who works for the Venezuelan daily newspaper El Universal. That’s when …
57 people fired from French airports: French official
Authorities will inspect personal in workplaces that require extra security
Thousands take to London streets in protest against UK Syria intervention
Protestors took to the London streets amid calls for the UK to continue airstrikes against the ‘Islamic State’ terror group. The opposition Labour Party remains divided over intervening militarily in Syria. As many as several thousand people protested in London on Saturday against the possibility of British airstrikes in Syria, as the country’s lawmakers remained …
A rare win for accountability advocates in Chicago
Protests continue in Chicago after the release of a police video showing an officer killing a teenage boy last year. The city spent a long time trying to avoid holding the police accountable. The protests that brought Black Friday commerce to a halt in Chicago this week were about more than the death of just …
Russia is ready to block Turkey-Syria border: Lavrov
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry asks citizens to delay trips to Russia
Experts confident secret chamber in King Tut’s tomb belongs to Nefertiti
Experts say they’re ’90 percent’ sure they’ve uncovered a chamber in King Tut’s tomb containing the final resting place of Nefertiti. If true, archeologists say it would be one of the biggest discoveries of the century. Egypt’s antiquities minister said on Saturday experts were ’90 percent’ sure they had uncovered a hidden chamber in Tutankhamun’s …
Facebook dads and same-sex couples to benefit from changes to parental leave
Beginning next year, full-time Facebook employees around the globe will be entitled to four months paid parental leaves. The social network currently offers just four weeks leave to employees outside the United States. Facebook’s head of human resources, Lori Matloff Goler, said employees will be allowed to take the paid leave at any point up …
Israel to open first diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi
Israel has announced plans to open an office dedicated to renewable energy in the United Arab Emirates. If the plan is carried through, it will serve as the country’s first official representation in the Gulf State. Israeli officials said on Friday that the country plans to open an office dealing with renewable energy in the …
Amid the mourning, French unity shows cracks
As France paid homage to the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks, there are growing fears of a rollback of French freedoms and rights. Elizabeth Bryant reports from Paris
Lake Chad recedes to ‘catastrophic’ levels
Countries that share Lake Chad will be asking world leaders at the climate talks in Paris to help them transfer water from the Congo basin. The once rich lake has lost 90 percent of its water due to climate change. Kanada Souley casts his nets in the low waters of Lake Chad. The 40-year-old is …
Energy for all of Africa by 2030?
Almost two-thirds of people living in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity. Even those who are connected to the grid often find themselves struggling with blackouts. In 15 years, this could change. In Zimbabwe, a country of 14 million people, the past two months have seen power outages that last sometimes 20 hours a …
France wants to hit ‘nerve center’ of ‘IS’
The main objective of the anti-terror coalition is to destroy the “Islamic State” headquarters in Raqqa, the French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said. Moscow and Berlin pledged to work with France in Syria
US soldiers reportedly arrive in Syria to train Kurds fighting ‘Islamic State’
The Britain-based monitoring group, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Thursday that “more than 50 American instructors” had arrived in northern and northeastern Syria in the past two days
Attacks against Muslims on the rise after Paris strikes
Hate mongers in several European countries have been targeting Muslims after the Paris attacks. Experts say there is an urgent need to stop demonising one religious community and develop strategies for reconciliation
Turkey and Russia – online outrage
After a Russian fighter jet was shot down by Turkey’s air force, the two country’s governments are locked in a war of words. Things are similar online
Pope: Failure at COP21 in Paris would be ‘catastrophic’
Before warning of the devastating effects of climate change in a speech at the United Nations office in Nairobi, Pope Francis had already gotten a taste of them
German court verdict hampers illegal downloads
Germany’s top criminal and civil court has ruled that Internet providers can be ordered to block certain websites. But it stressed that copyright holders must first try other means to stop illegal content distibution. Thursday’s verdict by the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe means that illegal downloads of copyright material like films and music …
Tough challenges for African entrepreneurs in Germany
Setting up a small business in Germany can take longer than in Africa. There is no informal sector and entrepreneurs face tight regulations. Plenty of patience and a willingness to learn German are highly recommended. Judging by the sound the customers are making and the smell of beer mixed with that of hair products and …
Cameron makes case for UK air strikes against IS
David Cameron has urged MPs to back UK airstrikes against ‘Islamic State’ in Syria. In a speech to the House of Commons, almost a fortnight since terror attacks in Paris killed 130 people, Cameron said that the terrorist organization is using its safe havens in northern Syria to launch plots against Britain. All seven plots in Britain this year were either plotted by ISIS or inspired by its propaganda, he said, using one of the alternate acronyms for IS
Cameron makes case for UK airstrikes against ‘IS’
British Prime Minister David Cameron wants lawmakers to approve airstrikes against ‘IS’ militants in Syria, reports Samira Shackle from London, and the chances are good that he will get a majority in favor. David Cameron has urged MPs to back UK airstrikes against the self-styled “Islamic State” (IS) in Syria. In a speech to the …
Germany ‘to send reconnaissance jets to Syria’
A defence expert from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats said on Thursday that Germany would send Tornado jets to provide reconnaissance assistance in the fight against the self-styled “Islamic State” (IS)
Hollande seeks unity with Russia in anti-‘IS’ coalition
The French president embarked on the latest stage of his diplomatic efforts to forge a stronger alliance against “IS”, in the wake of Turkey’s downing of the Russian warplane