Month: November 2017

With the Islamic State and other jihadist groups facing imminent defeat in Syria, Ankara is becoming increasingly concerned that many fighters will escape into Turkey. In the past few years over 300 people have been killed in attacks in Turkey, blamed on jihadists. But with the prospect of thousands more militants escaping Syria to Turkey, …

Read more “Threat of Jihadist Exodus Spurs Security Crackdown in Turkey”

Dozens of activists across Russia’s region of Bashkortostan picketed various sites in the region’s capital on November 14, demanding that mandatory Bashkir language classes be continued in schools. …

Survivors of a powerful earthquake that hit Iran on November 12 are expressing frustration over a shortage of aid, food, and shelter. …

Congressional lawmakers pressed the United States’ top law enforcement official on his recollection of interactions between President Donald Trump’s election campaign and Russian officials. …

New Zealand needs to transform its agricultural sector if the country is to meet its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the nation’s new climate change minister said as world leaders met in Germany to try to tackle global warming. James Shaw, leader of the country’s Green Party, said New Zealand was a developed …

Read more “New Zealand Says Changes in Agriculture Key to Becoming Carbon Neutral by 2050”

The number of people living with diabetes has tripled since 2000, pushing the global cost of the disease to $850 billion a year, medical experts said Tuesday. The majority of those affected have type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and lack of exercise, and the epidemic is spreading particularly fast in poorer countries …

Read more “Cost of Diabetes Epidemic Reaches $850 Billion a Year”

The maker of Barbie says it will sell a doll modeled after Ibtihaj Muhammad, an American fencer who competed in last year’s Olympics while wearing a hijab.   Mattel says the doll will be available online next fall. The doll is part of the Barbie “Shero” line that honors women who break boundaries. Past dolls …

Read more “Barbie Makes Doll of Hijab-wearing Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad”

The spiritual head of the Anglican Church will meet in Moscow this month with Russian Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Orthodox Church has said. …

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has apologized for causing distress with remarks about an Iranian-British mother jailed in Iran. …

Kyrgyz opposition leader Omurbek Babanov, who finished second in the October 15 presidential poll and is being investigated for alleged calls for disturbances, has stepped down as the leader of the Respublika–Ata-Jurt (Republic–Homeland) parliamentary faction. …

The head of the Russian state oil company Rosneft has been summoned to testify as a witness on November 13 in the extortion trial of former Economy Minister Aleksei Ulyukayev, but it is not clear whether he will appear in court. …

Two became three as a scheduled Monday morning meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was expanded to include Japan’s Shinzo Abe. The change underscored the growing three-way relationship concerning regional security, especially regarding how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, as well as countering …

Read more “Trump Promises ‘Major Statement’ on Trade After Trip”

The U.S. envoy for efforts to end the Ukrainian conflict, Kurt Volker, is set to meet with Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov on November 13 to explore deploying United Nations peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine. …

Just 14 months ago, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called former U.S. President Barak Obama a “son of a whore,” prompting Obama to avoid meeting his Philippine counterpart at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Laos. But times have changed. Now that association, better known as ASEAN, is meeting in Manila and Duterte is …

Read more “Regional Leadership Raises Image of Once-erratic Philippine President”

U.S. President Donald Trump says tensions on the Korean Peninsula and global trade will be key issues as a gathering of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) kicks off in the Philippines. …

The United Nations says Asia Pacific countries need to address issues surrounding the rights of migrant workers as international talks move toward a Global Compact on migrant labor. The Global Compact’s rise, with a final agreement set for 2018, was a result of the migrant crisis faced by the European Union with the influx of …

Read more “UN Presses Asia Pacific to Support Migrant Worker Rights, Reform”

Runners taking part in Lebanon’s annual marathon are urging Prime Minister Saad Hariri to return home after he resigned under mysterious circumstances during a visit to Saudi Arabia.   Spectators along the 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometer) course held signs reading “Running for you” and “Waiting for you,” addressed to the prime minister, who participated in …

Read more “At Beirut Marathon, Lebanese Call for PM to Return”