Author: Daily Sabah With Reuters
Dr. Mehdi Davut smiles as he talks about his plans to return for the first time in eight years to his homeland in Syria and see how his aid association may help in Aleppo, a significant city seized last week by anti-regime fighters. “The liberation of Aleppo brought us such joy because Aleppo was a source of pain,” he told Reuters in Istanbul, where some half a million Syrians live. Syrian anti-regime fighters captured Aleppo from Bashar Assad’s forces, bringing hope of return among hundreds of thousands exiled from the city, which has been under Assad’s control since 2016. The…
Former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic will make their Grand Slam returns at next month’s Australian Open, using protected rankings, tournament organizers announced Friday. Kyrgios, ranked 21st, has not played in a Grand Slam since 2022 due to knee, foot, and wrist injuries. Bencic, who gave birth to a daughter in April, will return with a special ranking of 15th. “Kyrgios and Bencic are among six men and six women competing… using protected rankings, setting the main-draw entry ranking cut-off for both fields at No. 98 in the world,” the organizers said in a…
The U.S. issued a federal order on Friday mandating that the national milk supply be tested for bird flu, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters, as authorities seek to grapple with rapid spread of the virus among dairy herds. Bird flu has infected more than 500 dairy herds in top milk state California, and more than 700 nationwide since March, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, raising concerns of the impact to farmers and the milk supply as well as the risk to human health from ongoing spread. Nearly 60 people have contracted the virus since April, most of…
Mike Tyson is being sued in a London court for nearly 1.5 million euros ($1.59 million) for allegedly breaking a deal to promote a gambling company in order to fight social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul. Medier, a Cyprus-registered company that promotes online casino and betting company Rabona, is suing the former heavyweight champion and his company Tyrannic for allegedly reneging on the deal, which was agreed in January. The lawsuit, filed at London’s High Court in October, says Tyson terminated the deal in March – the same day his fight with Paul was announced – because Medier breached their agreement.…
U.S. President Joe Biden changed his mind about pardoning his son Hunter because “circumstances have changed,” the White House said on Friday. Biden’s pardon of his son on Monday came after he had repeatedly promised he would allow the U.S. justice system to play out, and a day after President-elect Donald Trump nominated Kash Patel to lead the FBI. “The fact is, when you think about how the president got to this decision, circumstances have changed. They have,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about the president’s timing. “Republicans said they weren’t going to let up. ……
Russia’s largest lender Sberbank plans to open offices in Russian-controlled parts of the Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia this month, Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of Sberbank’s board, said on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in September 2022, following what Ukraine said were sham referendums. Russian forces do not have full control of any of the four regions though are close to gaining that in Luhansk. Sberbank opened partner offices in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in July 2024. Vedyakhin said the first full-size offices would open in December and start…
The Ukrainian air force said on Friday that Russia launched 53 drones to attack the country overnight. Of 53 drones, it shot down 32 and “lost track” of 16, likely due to electronic warfare. Two drones left Ukraine-controlled airspace and headed to Belarus, according to the statement.
Three climbers from the United States and Canada who went missing on New Zealand’s highest mountain last week are believed to have died, police said on Friday. U.S. nationals Kurt Blair, 56, and Carlos Romero, 50, and a Canadian man whom police have not named, flew by helicopter on Saturday to a camp on Mount Cook, or Aoraki, with plans to summit the 3,724 metre (12,218 ft) mountain. The three men did not turn up for their return flight on Monday morning, triggering a search-and-rescue effort. Items belonging to the men were found on Tuesday before the search was called…
Russia said on Thursday it had decided to close Poland’s consulate general in St. Petersburg in response to Poland’s decision to close the Russian consulate in Poznan. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement it was also declaring three of the Polish consulate’s diplomatic staff members “persona non grata” and that they would have to leave Russia by a certain date. “It was emphasised to the Polish side that Moscow has taken and will continue to take tough retaliatory measures against any unfriendly steps towards Russia,” the statement said.
A rescue operation is under way for the crew of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel that was abandoned off the port of Hodeidah in the Red Sea, three maritime security sources said on Thursday. The cause of the incident remained unclear and the number of crew on board was not known. The crew were forced to abandon the vessel, one of the sources told Reuters, adding that the ship experienced engine problems. Another source said an internal explosion occurred. Iran-aligned Houthi forces have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war…