-
April 25th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Godman guilty
Indian godman Asaram Bapu has been found guilty for the 2013 rape of a 16-year-old girl.
Asaram sexually assaulted the teenager at his ashram in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The victim was from Uttar Pradesh. She was living in the ashram as a student.
The 77-year-old godman has hundreds of ashrams and millions of followers around the world. Police were on alert in Jodhpur ahead of the verdict to prevent violence.
Asaram is also on trial in India's Gujarat state for rape. He is expected to appeal today's verdict.
Syria's war
The EU is urging Russia and Iran to pressure the Assad regime to engage in serious talks to end Syria's civil war.
Top EU diplomat Federica Mogherini said Bashar al Assad's key supporters, Moscow and Tehran, had a duty to help wind down the war, now in its eighth year.
The call came at an international donors' conference in Brussels. More than 80 countries, NGOs and the UN are seeking a way to address what the UN says is a humanitarian crisis in Syria.
Macron/Trump
US President Donald Trump has warned Iran not to restart its nuclear programme, as he threatens to torpedo the nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.
Trump was speaking as he welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House.
Standing alongside Macron, the US president said the deal was "insane," and "ridiculous."
The US signed up for it under President Barack Obama.
Macron and his European colleagues favour keeping it, as Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
Malaria day
Today is World Malaria Day. The WHO is hoping to raise awareness about a disease which is completely preventable and completely curable, but still deadly.
The UN health body's latest statistics are from 2016. That year, the WHO says there were 216 million malaria cases in 91 countries. About half a million people died of the mosquito-borne disease.
Africa was home to 90 percent of malaria cases in 2016 and 91 percent of malaria deaths.
Paradise lost
And finally...
The last tourists on Boracay in the Philippines are leaving today. The country's most popular tourist destination is closing for six months in an attempt clean up the paradise lost.
President Duterte ordered the closure after warning of an environmental disaster, calling the resort island a "cesspool."
How did it get to this? Beauty meant tourists. Tourists meant business. That led to development, then over-development, leading to today's squalor.
Boracay locals and businesses are welcoming the shut down. But the beaches will open again in six months. Whether the makeover can lead to permanent change remains to be seen.
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 13:17:57 +0000
-
April 24th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Toronto attack
Ten people died and another 15 were injured when a man mowed them down with a van in the Canadian city of Toronto.
Police say the attack looks to be deliberate, but they don't have a motive yet.
The 25-year-old driver was Alek Minassian. He wasn't on police radar. And Canadian media also say he wasn't a member of any organised militant group.
Armenian politics
Armenia's prime minister has resigned amid mass protests against what critics say were attempts to extend his hold on power.
Serzh Sargsyan had ruled Armenia for ten years, either as president or prime minister.
The opposition is pushing for early parliamentary elections to prevent him from now running Armenia from behind the scenes.
Syria's war
An international meeting chaired by the EU and UN is looking to raise $6 billion in aid for Syria.
Brussels invited 85 governments and NGOs to the two-day conference on aid, reconstruction, and removing explosive devices from devastated cities.
The EU's top diplomat, Federica Mogherini, is calling on key stakeholders - Russia, Turkey and Iran - to push for a lasting ceasefire that would allow aid access and medical evacuations.
Macron in the USA
French President Emmanuel Macron continues his three-day state visit to Washington.
Tuesday's meetings with US President Donald Trump and the administration promise to be interesting.
Macron is hoping to convince Trump not to abandon a multi-sided nuclear deal with Iran.
The president's threat of a trade war with Europe is also vexing European leaders.
And in the past, Macron has mocked Trump's exit from the Paris Climate Accord on global warming.
Macron went on Trump's favourite news network, Fox, to prime the meetings. The French president said, "If you make war against everybody ... it doesn't work. You need allies. We are the allies."
Immunisation week
And finally...
World Immunisation Week begins today.
The WHO says there are more than 19 million unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children in the world. Of them, one in ten, will never receive any vaccinations. And most of them have never been to a doctor.
The UN's health body is hoping to drive that message home this week.
Maybe some of those children will have a better life as a result.
Tue, 24 Apr 2018 13:20:42 +0000
-
April 23rd, 2018 - Daily News Brief
SDC targets DC
The Syrian Democratic Council, which is dominated by the YPG terror group - has filed a request to open an office in Washington DC.
“The SDC's mission in the United States will primarily focus on educating the American people about the Democratic process in Syria," the application reads in documents obtained by TRT World.
Turkey's foreign ministry said it is aware of the filing and intends to take it up with the US State Department.
Regime strikes
The Syrian regime continues to pound a rebel-held area near Damascus, as Assad forces step up efforts to wipe out the insurgency's last foothold near the capital.
On Sunday, the regime targeted a region just south of Damascus that is controlled by Daesh and the Nusra Front, formerly Al Qaeda.
"Yarmouk has been transformed into a death camp, like one of the lower regions of hell," a UN official in the area said, calling for safe passage for sick, wounded and dying civilians.
Afghanistan
Two suspected Taliban attacks in Afghanistan's western Badghis province killed at least 14 troops and police on Monday.
The Taliban have not claimed the attacks, but a deputy police chief in the region blamed the insurgency, and said they had stepped up their attacks on Afghan security forces across the province.
The attacks followed a blast in Kabul on Sunday in which over 50 people were killed when a Daesh suicide bomber attacked a voter registration centre.
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has won the PFA Player of the Year award. The Professional Footballers' Association award is voted by the players themselves. So the best of the best in English football clearly think the Egyptian international is pretty good.
Salah's response - "I'm really honoured just to be nominated because the Premier League has fantastic players ... all the other players who also voted played a really good season and they also deserved to win."
Harry Potter
And finally… After a hit debut on London's West End, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" has opened on Broadway in New York.
The five-hour production is set 19 years after Rowling's book series concluded the boy wizard's teen years with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in 2007. The new story centres on the lives of an adult Harry Potter and his son.
Whoopi Goldberg and Glenn Close were two of the stars who attended the play's red-carpet opening on Broadway.
Mon, 23 Apr 2018 11:09:58 +0000
-
April 20th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
This is TRT World’s Daily News Brief for Thursday, April 20th.
Gaza protest
Thousands of Palestinians are expected to gather along the Gaza-Israel border, as they have every Friday for the past month for mass demonstrations.
l
The protests, dubbed the “Great March of Return”, are calling for Palestinians refugees to return to their former homes, now inside Israel.
Israel’s response to the protest has drawn international criticism, with its security forces killing over 30 Palestinians and wounding hundreds.
The protest ends on May 15, when Palestinians mark the day of the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, when 700,000 people were forced from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948.
Turkey vote
Turkey is set to debate a bill in parliament seeking early presidential and parliamentary lelections.
President Erdogan announced the snap elections for June 24 in a bid to fast-track Turkey’s transition to a presidential system of governance….that was approved in a referendum last year.
Erdogan says the new system is needed to respond to developments in Syria and Iraq, and will ensure economic stability on the domestic front.
Russia Syria
Turkey’s concerns over regional stability have increased since the US-led strikes on Syria.
The strikes, aimed at punishing the Assad regime for the suspected use of chemical weapons, have pit Russia against the US and its allies.
And now Moscow says it has no moral obligation to withhold its S-300 anti-aircraft missiles systems from its ally, the Syrian regime.
Meanwhile, international chemical weapons inspectors are yet to enter the site of the alleged gas attack by the regime, as Washington accuses Russia and the regime of a cover up.
Asperger Nazi regime
A new study says Hans Asperger, the paediatrician who pioneered research into autism, "actively co-operated" with the Nazi regime in Austria.
Asperger, whose name describes a form of autism, "publicly legitimised race hygiene policies" of the Nazis by deeming certain children unworthy to live, the study claims.
He referred them to the notorious Spiegelgrund facility, where nearly 800 children lacking "hereditary worthiness" and "racial purity" died.
Besiktas-Fenerbahce
And finally…
There are two big stories in Football today.
The much-anticipated match between Besiktas and Fenerbahce saw more action off the pitch than on the field.
The Turkish Cup semi-final second leg was abandoned in the 57th minute after the Besiktas manager was hit on the head by an object thrown by Fenerbahce fans..
And in the English Premier League, Arsene Wenger who led Arsenal football club to 10 titles in 22 seasons...will be stepping down at the end of the season...
Fri, 20 Apr 2018 13:26:31 +0000
-
April 19th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Turkey elections
Turkey is headed to the polls on June 24, seventeen months ahead of schedule
President Erdogan announced the snap presidential and parliamentary elections in a bid to fast-track Turkey’s transition to a presidential system of governance approved in a referendum last year.
Erdogan says the new system is needed to respond to developments in Syria and Iraq, and will ensure economic stability on the domestic front.
Chemical probe
One trigger for the early elections in Turkey was the war in Syria across the border.
Ankara welcomed the recent US-led strikes on the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities.
But OPCW inspectors have yet to enter Douma, after its advance security detail from the UN was fired on.
The town in eastern Ghouta was the site of the suspected gas attack that triggered the recent US-led strike on the regime.
Cuba president
Cuba’s parliament has nominated Miguel Diaz-Canel to succeed Raul Castro as president.
Diaz-Canel is a trusted Castro ally. But his elevation to the top job still means it will be the first time since the 1959 revolution that a Castro hasn't been at the helm of the island nation.
Cuba is the only communist country in the Americas.
No confidence Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has sacked his cabinet after a no-confidence vote in parliament.
The governing coalition withdrew its backing for Prime Minister Sapar Isakov, leading to his ouster.
The move exposed an apparent power struggle between the president and ex-president Almazbek Atambayev.
The former president is not a member of parliament, but heads the Social Democratic party, the core of the governing coalition.
Galatasaray win
And finally…
Basketball. And Istanbul's Galatasaray has won the EuroCup women's title.
It was the second EuroCup title win for the Turkish team. It lost Wednesday's return match to Italy's Reyer Venezia, but won the two-game final on aggregate.
Thu, 19 Apr 2018 12:01:02 +0000
-
April 18th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Douma
OPCW experts have yet to enter Douma….The town in Syria that was hit by a suspected chemical attack on April 7, triggering US-led strikes on Syria on Saturday.
The chemical weapons inspectors were meant to go in today, but gunfire in the area prevented that.
The US and its allies say Russia and the Assad regime are stalling the OPCW mission in a bid to clean up the attack site, where dozens died.
Korea peace talks
South Korea is hoping to use a summit with the North next week to start discussions on formally ending the Korean War.
The three-year conflict ended in 1953 with a truce, not a ceasefire. So the two Koreas are technically still at war.
The US also signed the treaty, so it has a stake. And the North-South summit comes ahead of an expected meeting between Trump and the DPRK's Kim Jong-un.
Pompeo nomination
Some of the hype around the Korean meetings comes after US officials said Trump's CIA director at the time met Kim Jong-un two weeks ago.
That ex-CIA director is Mike Pompeo, who's currently in the process of being confirmed as the next US secretary of state.
Although Pompeo is expected to get the job, Senate Democrats aren't making it easy for the trusted Trump lieutenant, last week grilling him on foreign policy.
As Washington's top diplomat he might be meeting Kim again soon, and this time not in secret.
Support for pastor
Relations between Turkey and the US will likely take another hit after Trump voiced support for an American pastor on trial in Turkey on terrorism-related offences.
Andrew Brunson was charged with helping the network of US-based Fetullah Gulen, who orchestrated the attempted coup in Turkey in July 2016.
Trump tweeted, "They call him a spy, but I am more a spy than he is."
We don't know whether Trump was joking, or whether there's even more we don't know about the US president.
Starbucks race education
And finally…
Coffee giant Starbucks is shutting 8,000 stores across the US on May 29 for an afternoon of 'racial bias' training.
Starbucks reacted to the fairly pointless arrest of two black men at a store in Philadelphia, after an employee called in police.
Racial bias training might help. But Starbucks is sure to milk the exercise for the PR. So I guess that'll be a white Americano please, if I can find somewhere to get my fix.
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 14:55:33 +0000
-
April 17th, 2018 - Daily News Brief
Chemical weapons
Moscow has dismissed US suggestions that Russian forces in Syria may have tampered with the site of an alleged gas attack by the Assad regime, which triggered Saturday's US-led strikes.
The OPCW which has gone to investigate the attack has been unable to enter Douma, although Russia says they will let in the chemical weapons inspectors on Wednesday.
The US meanwhile, has done a U-turn on its Russia policy with President Trump saying there won't be any new sanctions on Russia for its support of the Assad regime. This, after UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said Russian companies linked to Syria's chemical weapons programme would be sanctioned.
New missile strikes against Syria reported on Tuesday were denied by the Pentagon. If confirmed, experts believe it was likely an Israeli attack.
Facebook lawsuit
The privacy debate continues to swirl with Facebook well and truly at the centre of it.
After a scandal over the mishandling of user data, Facebook now faces a class action lawsuit over allegations it violated the privacy of its millions of users by using a facial recognition tool on their pictures without their consent.
Facebook says it will fight the case “vigorously."
Russian journalist
Maksim Borodin, a Russian crime reporter who recently wrote about Russian mercenaries fighting for the Assad regime in Syria, has been found dead in unexplained circumstances.
Police are investigating whether he killed himself by jumping from his apartment balcony.
The editor in chief of Novy Den, where Borodin worked, says she does not believe Borodin committed suicide.
#MeToo coverage
The New York Times and New Yorker magazine have won the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their reporting on the sexual harassment scandal surrounding Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The coverage sparked the #MeToo movement that pushed the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace to the centre of US public debate.
Since then, the #MeToo movement has gone global, with an ever-growing list of powerful and abusive men being brought to account for their behaviour.
Plastic eater
And finally…
Scientists have accidentally created an enzyme that could wipe away our plastic waste.
Researchers at Britain’s University of Portsmouth and the US energy department’s renewable energy lab made the discovery while testing an enzyme thought to have evolved in a waste recycling centre in Japan.
The bug, critter, thing, can digest a form of plastic used in millions of tonnes of plastic bottles. Researchers want to improve it so it can work on an industrial scale.
We don't know whether they've considered what might happen if the enzyme gets out, and well, goes public.
Tue, 17 Apr 2018 12:48:22 +0000
Like
Follow