Month: July 2018

Bangladeshi cities have signed up en masse to a U.N. campaign to develop local action plans and improve infrastructure to prepare for disasters, officials said Tuesday. Low-lying, densely-populated Bangladesh is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, hit every year by cyclones that are becoming more frequent due to climate change. About 60 percent of …

Read more “Bangladesh Cities Join UN Drive to Build Defenses Against Disasters”

Poland braced for protests on Tuesday against the conservative government’s makeover of the judiciary that takes effect at midnight despite strong opposition at home and legal action against the changes by the European Union. Through legislation and personnel changes, the Law and Justice (PiS) party has taken de facto control of the entire judicial system, …

Read more “Poland Braces for Protests as Government’s Judicial Reforms Kick In”

Tajik opposition activists who opt or are forced to move abroad to carry out their work are being lured back by Dushanbe. But a return to the homeland essentially means giving up their vision for change. …

The invalidated mayoral vote in the Moldovan capital have robbed pro-Western candidate Andrei Nastase of his victory, but have propelled him to the top of a protest movement that could shake the foundation of Moldova’s besieged political establishment. …

A top Ukrainian military officer has condemned an order by Russian President Vladimir Putin to name several Russian military units after cities and other places in Ukraine. …

African heads of state have pledged to coordinate efforts to improve the continent’s security and defeat jihadist organizations, particularly in Nigeria and the Sahel region, during talks Monday at the 31st African Union summit held in Mauritania’s capital.   French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Nouakchott Monday to discuss the battle against Islamic extremism and …

Read more “African Leaders Talk Security With French President”

Like fans all over soccer-mad Brazil, Carlos Junior followed every move the national team made on the field Monday in its 2-0 victory over Mexico. He wiped his brow every time Mexico closed in but failed to score. He banged the table or a drum when Brazil took a shot and missed. And he jumped …

Read more “Brazil Fan Who Is Deaf, Blind Follows World Cup With Help”

Azerbaijan experienced a total electrical blackout early on July 3, but authorities reported that supplies were quickly being restored throughout the country. …

A White House spokeswoman said the United States continues to reject Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula, days after President Donald Trump cast doubt on that position. …

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday denounced President Donald Trump’s handling of global trade disputes, issuing a report that argued tariffs imposed by Washington and retaliation by its partners would boomerang badly on the American economy. The Chamber, the nation’s largest business lobbying group and a traditional ally of Trump’s Republican Party, said the …

Read more “Top US Business Group Assails Trump’s Handling of Trade Dispute”

A top U.S. State Department official said Washington is aiming to do as much as possible to shut off Iran’s oil export revenues. …

The last time most Thais saw politician Suthep Thaugsuban was in 2015 when he entered the Buddhist monkhood and announced his retirement after spearheading protests that culminated in a military coup against a government he detested. The military, after taking power, clamped a tight lid on politics, and the rivalry between the military-royalist establishment and …

Read more “Thailand’s Political Tough-Guy Back in the Fray to Support Military as Vote Nears”

Mexico City has elected a woman mayor for the first time in history, local politician and scientist Claudia Sheinbaum, according to exit polls. Sheinbaum, 56, won the election to lead North America’s largest city with between 47.5 and 55.5 percent of the vote, according to an estimate by polling firm Mitofsky. A woman had previously …

Read more “Exit Polls: First Woman Elected Mexico City Mayor”

Iranian state media reported clashes late Sunday between police and people protesting water shortages and pollution in southwestern Iran. The IRNA news agency said protesters in the city of Abadan threw stones and other objects at police, and that officers had brought the situation under control. A night earlier, there were similar clashes at a …

Read more “Protesters, Police Clash at Iranian Demonstration Over Water”

The Indian Embassy in Kabul condemned the deadly attack by a suicide bomber that targeted a group of Hindus and Sikhs in the eastern Afghan province on Nangarhar. …