Turkey votes Sunday in a momentous election that could extend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 20-year grip on power or put the mostly Muslim nation on a more secular course.. The 69-year-old has steered the nation of 85 million through one of its most transformative and divisive eras in the post-Ottoman state's 100-year history.
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan called for nationwide "freedom" protests on Sunday, after his brief arrest and detention last week triggered deadly unrest.. He called for his supporters to hold protests "at the end of your streets and villages" across the country on Sunday, and announced a return to campaigning on Wednesday for immediate elections.
Thailand votes Sunday in an election that could see pro-democracy opposition parties oust the conservative military-backed government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha after almost a decade in power.. In the controversial last election in 2019, Prayut rode senate support to become prime minister at the head of a complex multi-party coalition.
The Simseks have spent months huddling in tents next to their old home, laid to waste by Turkey's catastrophic quake.. Mehmet, a man in his 30s who lives with his wife in a tent near the Simseks, thinks Erdogan's commitment to build homes is part of a "strategy" to deflect blame for his government's initial failings.
Nine Nepalis reached the summit of Mount Everest on Saturday, opening the route for hundreds of climbers expected to scale the world's highest mountain in the coming weeks.. Early Friday, a trail of headlights snaked up Everest's Khumbu icefall as hundreds followed the footsteps of the rope-fixing team to try to reach the summit in the coming days.
Thousands fled Myanmar's west coast and officials in neighbouring Bangladesh raced to evacuate Rohingya refugees on Saturday as the most powerful cyclone in the region for over a decade churned across the Bay of Bengal.. - 'Panic' - In neighbouring Bangladesh officials moved to evacuate Rohingya refugees from "risky areas" to community centres, while hundreds of people fled a top resort island.
Israeli air strikes battered Gaza and militants fired rockets again on Saturday as deadly fighting resumed after a night of relative calm, despite efforts to secure a truce.. But the move did little to quell the fighting, and on Saturday morning witnesses in Gaza reported that air strikes pounded uninhabited areas of the crowded enclave, while air raid sirens wailed in neighbouring parts of Israel.
At a bus station in Antakya, a city razed to the ground by Turkey's devastating earthquake, emotions remain raw and voters divided ahead of Sunday's pivotal elections The Yener family's building partially collapsed in February's 7.8-magnitude tremor, which killed more than 50,000 people and unleashed a wave of anger at the government's delayed rescue and recovery work.. - 'In two minds' - But back at Antakya's bus station, outrage against the government's handling of the quake will not motivate coach driver Mehmet Kuyumcu to punish Erdogan and the AKP at the ballot box -- he'll be working instead.
Bangladesh Saturday moved to evacuate Rohingya refugees from "risky areas" to community centres and hundreds fled an island as the most powerful cyclone in nearly two decades barrelled towards the country and neighbouring Myanmar, officials said.. Officials said thousands of volunteers were evacuating Rohingyas from "risky areas" to more solid structures such as schools.
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan arrived at his Lahore residence on Saturday after being freed on bail following days of legal drama and nationwide riots over his arrest on corruption charges. . In the early hours of Saturday morning, the former cricket superstar reached his Lahore residence, where videos posted by his PTI party showed more than 100 supporters celebrating his release and throwing rose petals over his car.
