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Nodira's husband married a second time without her consent in Kyrgyzstan, where polygamy is banned but common in some communities. Nodira, a mother of five, says her husband married a second time without her consent, and is now pushing her to leave their family home. Although Kyrgyzstan bans polygamy, it's common in some communities for men to marry multiple times with the blessing of religious leaders.
Singapore's blue recycling bins have 40 per cent contamination due to food waste and non-recyclables. Singapore’s blue recycling bins still see 40 per cent contamination, as food waste and non-recyclables undermine recycling and add pressure on Semakau Landfill. Experts say better designed bins and better recycling habits are the combined solution.
Indonesia rewrites the inflation playbook by not hiking interest rates. For over three decades, the standard playbook for taming inflation has remained virtually unchanged. Faced with surging prices, central banks invariably resort to hiking interest rates. The ripple effects are swift: demand cools, consumption slows and inflationary pressures gradually recede. This inflation-targeting framework has anchored global monetary policy since the 1990s, proving highly effe.
Bangladesh's ousted leader Hasina plans to return in December with party colleagues to surrender. “My party leaders and workers are being subjected to tremendous repression. If death comes, I want it to come on my own soil, where my parents are buried and where their blood was shed,” Ms. Hasina said.
New Zealand's first datacentre plan sparks concern over electricity and water use in Makarewa. Plans to build a NZ$3.5bn datacentre in Makarewa in the country’s south has drawn concern about electricity and water use, and potential noise pollutionPeople living near the site of New Zealand’s first planned AI datacentre are calling for more transparency about the project, especially about how the centre’s huge electricity and water use and potential noise pollution could affect them. Singapore.
The US indicted Lawrence Bishnoi and Satinderjeet Singh for directing the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. The US decision to indict jailed Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his alleged North American associate, Satinderjeet Singh (“Goldy Brar”), for allegedly directing the 2023 assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada is more than another organized crime prosecution.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. They agreed on artificial intelligence, batteries, and defense manufacturing. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on July 2 produced a long list of agreements spanning artificial intelligence, batteries, critical minerals, defense manufacturing, energy resilience and financial cooperation.
Russian forces destroyed over 150 Ukrainian gas stations using Geran-2 drones in three months. Over the past three months, Russian forces have destroyed more than 150 gas stations in Ukraine using Geran-2 drones. The strikes are primarily carried out at a distance of 30–50 kilometers from the border and the front line.
Omsk residents are in shock after a surprise Ukrainian attack on the Siberian city. For more than four years, the inhabitants of Omsk, a Siberian city more than 2,250 kilometers east of Moscow, have watched the war against Ukraine from afar. This week they got a close-up view that has left many in shock.
Poland and Ukraine's ties are strained over World War II-era killings at a crucial time in Ukraine's defense against Russia. Poland, steeped in bad memories of the 1939 Nazi-Soviet invasion and decades of dominance from Moscow after World War II, is a firm backer of Ukraine’s defense against Russia. But a flare-up over their own bloody history is threatening ties at a crucial time -- and could have wide repercussions.
The United Nations paused to remember the over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys killed in Srebrenica in July 1995. The town's women and survivors were left to rebuild their lives after the genocide. The UN marked the event to honor the victims and their families. The United Nations paused on Wednesday to remember the more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys killed in the town of Srebrenica in July 1995, and the women and survivors left to rebuild their lives in the aftermath.
The UN Security Council called for urgent de-escalation amid a spike in civilian deaths from Russian drone attacks. The Security Council must use every tool and diplomatic channel to reach an urgent de-escalation, Rosemary DiCarlo, chief of UN political and peacebuilding affairs, told an emergency meeting on Thursday amid escalating deadly Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Stay tuned for live updates.
A cholera outbreak in Sudan has claimed over 100 lives amid war and drone attacks. In war-torn Sudan, a deadly new cholera outbreak has already claimed more than 100 lives, heightening serious concerns for vulnerable communities including in besieged El-Obeid, where daily drone attacks have continued to hamper aid access.
James Jay Carafano says Trump holds all the cards in dealing with Iran amid diplomatic efforts. Despite days of military exchanges between the United States and Iran, Washington insists it remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution. To better understand Washington's posture, RFE/RL spoke with the Heritage Foundation's James Jay Carafano.
Volkswagen is retrenching due to excess capacity and weaker demand in Europe's auto industry. European carmakers have too much capacityDiego Faßnacht reports that Volkswagen’s retrenchment reflects a broader structural crisis in Europe’s auto industry, where excess capacity, weaker demand and intensifying Chinese competition are forcing plant closures and job The post Volkswage.
Nigeria's President ordered an investigation into a fictitious federal agency allocated 1.3 billion naira. President ordered investigation after fictitious federal body allocated funding and office space, triggering renewed scrutiny of corruption A fictitious federal entity that was allocated 1.3 billion naira (£705,248) in Nigeria’s 2026 budget has precipitated a political storm in Africa’s largest democracy in the run-up to January’s general election. The fake agency came to light last October when Fe.
Egypt refused entry to the LGBTQ+ cruise ship Scarlet Lady, which was previously blocked from Turkish waters. Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers told of change as one of those onboard says they will ‘sparkle and spend elsewhere’An LGBTQ+ cruise ship blocked from Turkish waters this week has been refused entry into Egypt. The Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers, including the Broadway performer Patti LuPone, woke on Thursday morning to find a note placed under their cabin doors informing them that the ship was urg.
Representatives from 12 countries conducted a "virtual diplomatic field visit" to a Gaza displacement site. They heard from residents about their pressing needs. The UN facilitated the virtual tour. Representatives from 12 countries carried out a “virtual diplomatic field visit” to a displacement site in the Gaza Strip and heard from some of the residents about their pressing needs, the United Nations said on Thursday.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the Democratic Republic of the Congo's armed forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 group to cease hostilities following recent civilian deaths. He deplored the violence in eastern DR Congo. The conflict has resulted in numerous casualties. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group to cease hostilities as he deplored recent civilian deaths on Thursday.
The US-Iran war brought shipping to a near-standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, stranding 6,000 seafarers. Renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran reportedly brought shipping to a near-standstill in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, leaving around 6,000 seafarers stranded aboard hundreds of vessels and Gulf countries on high alert for further attacks.
The US struck 80 targets in Iran after Iranian forces fired on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. For the second time since the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed, Washington and Tehran have slipped back into direct military confrontation. The United States struck “80 targets in Iran with precision munitions” after Iranian forces fired on several ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz without prior coordination with Tehran.
Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Iran deal could not restore the old maritime order. The 60-day memorandum of understanding has unraveled, exposing unresolved disputes. Raydan noted this outcome was likely, given the strategic importance of the waterway. The deal's collapse has highlighted control issues. The unraveling of the 60-day memorandum of understanding (MoU) was always likely to expose unresolved disputes over who controls one of the world's most strategic waterways, Noam Raydan, the William Sudhaus Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, tells RFE/RL.
US President Donald Trump agreed to grant Ukraine a Patriot missile license in Ankara. US President Donald Trump said the Iran deal was "over" and said he'd agreed to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles during a busty day -- our correspondent Zoriana Stepanenko reports from Ankara.
UN investigators urged Syria's Government to trace thousands of missing detainees after a week-long visit. UN investigators have urged Syria’s Government to trace thousands of missing detainees and hold perpetrators to account after a week-long visit that took in bomb attacks in Damascus, prison visits in the northeast and reports of vigilante violence in Homs.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list includes newly endangered species such as desert frogs and deep-sea snails. These species have evolved to survive in extreme environments, including extreme ocean depths. Human activities like mining threaten their survival, overwhelming their adaptations. Desert frogs and deep-sea snails are among the species newly listed as endangered. Newly endangered animals include desert frogs and snails in extreme ocean depths, both threatened by miningLife has colonised every corner of the planet by evolving ingenious survival strategies but these are increasingly being overwhelmed by destructive human activities, this year’s red list of endangered species has revealed.
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