Australia violated human rights treaty with Nauru detainees, UN committee finds

A UN committee has found that Australia violated a human rights treaty by detaining a group of asylum seekers, including minors, on Nauru even after they were granted refugee status.

Under Australia’s immigration policies, those attempting to reach the country by…[Read more]

Erdoğan vows to make up for local vote mishap

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday promised to compensate for his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) unprecedented losses in last year’s local elections.

“We will work wholeheartedly to make up for the road crash in the March 31 elections at the first possibility,” Erdoğan t…[Read more]

Türkiye’s AFAD provides crucial flour aid to Gaza amidst food crisis

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has reported that it has distributed flour to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is experiencing a food crisis due to Israeli attacks.

AFAD, in collaboration with the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees…[Read more]

‘Türkiye won’t hesitate to protect itself against terrorists’

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye would not hesitate to take action against terrorists posing a threat to its national security.

Noting that Türkiye has shown its firm commitment to its survival and security time and again, Erdoğan told a news conference after a cabinet meet…[Read more]

Israel wipes out 2 Gazan families amid renewed push for cease-fire

At least 17 people from two families were among some 88 Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza over the weekend, the territory’s health authorities confirmed Sunday.

Israel’s latest killings come amid as mediators launched a new cease-fire push to end its 15-month genocidal…[Read more]

Macron affirms Trump has ‘solid ally’ in France, urges realism from Ukraine over territory

French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was a “a solid ally” of President-elect Donald Trump on Monday as he outlined his vision for global diplomacy in 2025, while warning that France could lose the incoming U.S. leader’s respect by being “we…[Read more]

Former French president Sarkozy faces court over alleged €50 million Gaddafi pact

Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy goes on trial on Monday on charges he accepted some 50 million euros in illegal campaign financing from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Sarkozy, who has been twice convicted for separate crimes since leaving office, h…[Read more]

Iran nuclear programme nearing ‘point of no return’, France’s Macron says

French president says Paris will engage with the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump on the ‘Iranian question’.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called Iran the main “strategic and security challenge” for Europeans in the Middle East, raising…[Read more]

‘Out of kilter’: Indian migrants fuel surge as Labor struggles to rein in numbers

A massive surge in migrants from India is hampering efforts to rein in overall numbers, fuelled by a controversial pact signed by Anthony Albanese after Covid.

A massive surge in migrants from India that has continued since Covid is hampering the government’s effor…[Read more]

Relentless warming is driving the water cycle to new extremes, the 2024 global water report shows

Last year, Earth experienced its hottest year on record − for the fourth year in a row. Rising temperatures are changing the way water moves around our planet, wreaking havoc on the water cycle.

The 2024 Global Water Monitor Report released today s…[Read more]

Australia needs better ways of storing renewable electricity for later. That’s where ‘flow batteries’ can help

As more and more solar and wind energy enters Australia’s grid, we will need ways to store it for later.

We can store electricity in several different ways, from pumped hydroelectric systems to large lithium-ion battery systems. We can…[Read more]

CDP chief Noda rejects grand coalition with LDP

Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, on Saturday rejected the idea of forming a grand coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
“We want to focus on uniting the power of opposition parties to change the government,”…[Read more]

Biden blocks Japan’s Nippon Steel from buying US Steel

US President Joe Biden has blocked the takeover of US Steel by a bigger Japanese firm, delivering on a political promise despite fears the move could hurt Washington’s relations with Tokyo and scare off other foreign investors.

Biden cited threats to national security in rejecting the Nippon…[Read more]

World’s oldest person dies in Japan aged 116

Tomiko Itooka died on December 29 at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo prefecture, in central Japan.

Tomiko Itooka, a Japanese woman who was the world’s oldest person according to Guinness World Records, has died at the age of 116.

Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of elderly policies, said Ito…[Read more]

Over 3,000 terrorists ‘neutralized’ in 2024: Spokesperson

“Our struggle will continue uninterruptedly until the last terrorist is no longer a threat to our country,” Aktürk told reporters during a press briefing in the capital Ankara.

In the past week alone, 49 terrorists were “neutralized,” Aktürk said, without specifying the organizations t…[Read more]

Tens of thousands of people in Istanbul protest Gaza war

Tens of thousands of people gathered on Istanbul’s Galata Bridge on New Year’s Day on Wednesday to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanted “Free Palestine” in the protest, organized by the National Will Platform, a coaliti…[Read more]

The Erdoğan whisperer behind Turkey’s economic pivot

Vice-president Cevdet Yılmaz has played a crucial backstage role managing the turn to financial orthodoxy

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Cevdet Yılmaz as vice-president in 2023, the former bureaucrat’s eastern hometown of Bingöl burst into celebration: reveller…[Read more]

France says it carried out missile strikes against ISIS in Syria last weekend

France carried out missile strikes last weekend in Syria, targeting Islamic State sites in the country, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday.
“On Sunday, French air forces carried out targeted strikes against Islamic State sites based on Syrian…[Read more]

French rescuers save 107 migrants in English Channel on Christmas day

French authorities said they rescued 107 migrants in the English Channel on Christmas Day in 12 operations along the northern coast. At least 73 migrants have died trying to cross the Channel this year, making 2024 the deadliest year on record for the crossings.

French…[Read more]

French far-right leader Le Pen predicts quick demise of new Bayrou govt

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Tuesday predicted an early presidential election, saying that President Emmanuel Macron “is finished” a day after his fourth prime minister in a year named a new government. Le Pen is seen as being in a strong position to take the…[Read more]