Turki finally summoned the courage last year to come out as gay, but his family's refusal to accept him forced the 20-year-old to seek safety -- and freedom -- outside conservative Saudi Arabia.. Now Turki, who asked to be identified by first name only for safety reasons, enjoys "a modest life in a shared flat" that he said, most importantly, is "full of freedom".
Some 67 million children partially or fully missed routine vaccines globally between 2019 and 2021 because of lockdowns and health care disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations said Wednesday.. Of the 67 million children whose vaccinations were "severely disrupted," 48 million missed out on routine vaccines entirely, UNICEF said, flagging concerns about potential polio and measles outbreaks.
Florida on Wednesday extended its controversial ban on lessons related to gender identity and sexual orientation to all school grades, a move pushed by the southern US state's Republican governor and likely presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.. The new rule stipulates that teachers "shall not intentionally provide classroom instruction to students in grades 4 through 12 on sexual orientation or gender identity unless such instruction is ... expressly required by state academic standards."
When he became Cuba's first civilian president in decades in 2018, Miguel Diaz-Canel was portrayed as the moderate face of a younger, modern generation.. This happened in 2021, when Diaz-Canel showed his tough side during historic anti-government protests in the midst of the island's worst economic crisis in decades.
Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel clinched a second five-year term Wednesday in a parliamentary vote for which he was the sole candidate in a country where political opposition is illegal.. "Taking into account the announced results, I declare lawmaker Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez the elected president of the Republic," said Lazo.
The UN secretary-general is convening an international meeting on Afghanistan May 1-2 in Doha, where envoys will seek a "durable way forward" for the war-ravaged nation, his spokesman said Wednesday.. "The purpose of this kind of small group meeting is for us to reinvigorate the international engagement around the common objectives for a durable way forward on the situation in Afghanistan," Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah, called Wednesday during a visit to Israel for "maximum" international backing for the protest movement that rocked the Islamic republic following Mahsa Amini's death.. Iranian authorities have accused Israel and other foes of the Islamic republic of fomenting the unrest that followed Amini's death in custody in September after her arrest for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday demanded that unionists end their boycott of the devolved government in Northern Ireland, in a speech marking 25 years of peace in the divided territory.. Vowing to deploy the "full force" of the UK government to bolster Northern Ireland's economy, the prime minister praised the contributions of his predecessor Tony Blair and others who forged the peace in 1998.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday demanded that unionists end their boycott of the devolved government in Northern Ireland, in a speech marking 25 years of peace in the divided territory.. Vowing to deploy the "full force" of the UK government to bolster Northern Ireland's economy, the prime minister praised the contributions of his predecessor Tony Blair and others who forged the peace in 1998.
The US Supreme Court rejected Wednesday the claim of sovereign immunity by a Turkish bank accused of violating Iran sanctions, in a case that has added tensions to ties between Washington and Ankara.. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly rejected the allegations facing Halkbank, insisting that Turkey did not violate the US embargo on Iran.
