Worldwide news. The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique while others talk of a “plurality of worlds”
Indonesian authorities said about 200 inmates remained at large two days after a mass escape from an overcrowded prison on Sumatra island. The prison break Friday occurred when prisoners were let out of their cells at Sialang Bungkuk Prison in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province, to perform prayers. They broke through a prison …
Read more “Indonesia: Two Days After Prison Break, 200 Inmates at Large”
Seventy-nine people in St. George in the U.S. state of Georgia’s southernmost county have been evacuated after a wildfire in the Okefenokee Swamp began encroaching onto private property. The unincorporated community has about 2,000 people. Saturday’s evacuation initially included a sparsely populated rural area of Charleton County. County Administrator Shawn Boatright couldn’t immediately say …
Read more “Blaze Escapes Wildlife Refuge, Prompts Scores to Flee in Georgia”
Iraqi forces have advanced to the northern edge of west Mosul, freeing and evacuating dozens of civilians who had been under the control of Islamic State (IS) extremists, military commanders say. …
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says a delayed new airport in the capital of Islamabad will operational on August 14. …
The semiofficial ILNA news agency says Iran’s state TV censored portions of a campaign film released by President Hassan Rohani, two weeks ahead of the May 19 presidential election. …
France’s election campaign commission says “a significant amount of data” has been leaked on social networks following a hacking attack allegedly suffered by centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, 36 hours before the nation votes Sunday in the crucial runoff against Marine Le Pen. The commission said Saturday that leaked data apparently came from Macron’s “information …
Read more “French Watchdog: Large Amount of Macron Data Leaked”
Wide parts of Syria have enjoyed relative calm despite sporadic clashes after a deal to set up “de-escalation zones” mostly within opposition-controlled areas went into effect, opposition activists and government media outlets said. …
Several national U.S. television news outlets – ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN – have refused to air advertisements from President Donald Trump touting the accomplishments of his first 100 days in office. The paid ads feature nationally recognized television anchors with a “fake news” graphic superimposed on their faces. Trump has used the term “fake …
French investigators have ruled out terrorism as the cause of an EgyptAir plane crash last year, saying they found no traces of explosives on the remains of French victims, French media reported on May 5. …
Relative calm prevailed Saturday in wide parts of Syria despite sporadic violations and clashes in the country’s center after a deal by Russia, Turkey and Iran to set up “de-escalation zones” in mostly opposition-held areas went into effect, opposition activists and government media outlets said. There were no immediate reports of casualties after the …
Read more “Sporadic Violations Reported in Syria’s ‘De-escalation Zones’”
An ambitious plan to raze aging Soviet-era housing and resettle 1.6 million Muscovites in new homes was seen as a shrewd political maneuver to boost Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings. But if that was the intention, it isn’t going well. The plan has proved controversial — and is sowing anger and confusion ahead of local and …
Read more “Moscow’s Plan To Raze ‘Khrushchyovki’ Sparks Anger, Confusion Ahead Of Elections”
Relatives and lawyers of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez want the Red Cross to verify his health and are seeking to bring President Nicolas Maduro’s government before a Spanish court for alleged terrorism crimes. Spain’s laws allow judges to take on cases for crimes committed outside of the country as long as the victims …
Read more “Relatives of Jailed Venezuelan Dissident Seek Global Action”
A Wisconsin-based atheist group has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to strike down President Donald Trump’s order aimed at easing an Internal Revenue Service rule limiting religious organizations’ political activity. A 1954 law prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations, such as churches, from participating in political campaigns. Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the …
Read more “Trump Order on Religious Groups’ Political Activity Brings Lawsuit”
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari attended weekly prayers Friday, a development that eased but did not eliminate concerns about his poor health and its impact on the country. This was the first time in three weeks that Buhari came to worship in the mosque, located inside the presidential villa in Abuja.The president had earlier missed three …
Read more “Nigeria’s Buhari Reappears Amid Continuing Health Concerns”
Iran’s President Hassan Rohani came under criticism from his main conservative rivals during a live televised presidential election debate on May 5 — a debate focusing on politics and culture. …
Afghan militant leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar called for insurgent groups fighting against the government, including the Taliban, to end their war. (RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan) …
The 4th World Gagauz Congress has begun, as members of this ethnic-Turkish group gather in an autonomous region of southern Moldova to celebrate their culture and heritage. (RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service) …
Iran’s main pro-reform opposition leaders plan to speak out from their confinement under house arrest this month to publicly back President Hassan Rouhani for re-election, aides say, helping win over voters disillusioned with the slow pace of change. Rouhani was elected in a landslide in 2013 on promises to ease Iran’s international isolation and open …
Read more “Iran Reformists to Back Rouhani Re-election; Some Voters Grow Cool”
Cities are places where action on climate change can have most impact because they are engines for innovation and also highly vulnerable to a warming planet, the head of the U.N. climate program said on Thursday. More than 140 countries have ratified the Paris agreement on climate change and they are looking for leadership from …
Read more “UN Climate Chief: Cities Best Armed to Fight Climate Change”
A judge in Brazil on Thursday sentenced eight men for planning an attack in the run up to the 2016 Summer Olympics, marking the first time that a much debated anti-terror law formed the basis of a case in Latin America’s largest nation. Federal Judge Marcos Josegrei da Silva sentenced the men to between …
Read more “Brazil Sentences 8 for Planning Attack Ahead of Rio 2016”
The U.S. Senate has approved the funding of 2,500 additional immigrant visas for Afghan interpreters and support staff who have helped U.S. troops and government officials in Afghanistan. …
The U.S. military says it will send a revised war plan for Afghanistan to President Donald Trump as early as next week, with experts saying it likely will include a request for more troops. …
Congress has authorized a new $100 million effort to counter “Russian influence and aggression” and to support civil society organizations in Europe and Eurasia. …
Oystermen, pirates and police clashed violently more than a century ago over who could collect the Chesapeake Bay’s tasty and lucrative oysters. As the shellfish makes a comeback, a modern-day oyster war is brewing, this time between wealthy waterfront property owners and working-class fishermen. Over the past five years, oyster production has doubled on the …
Read more “New Oyster War: Rich Homeowners vs. Working-class Watermen”