Ukraine's urgent request for western warplanes to boost its war capabilities against Russia poses a host of challenges that make an early delivery of such aircraft unlikely, experts said Thursday.. - 'Complex to maintain' - While a new fleet of Western aircraft would significantly boost Ukraine's capabilities, it alone would not necessarily be a game changer, experts caution.
Legendary American pop composer Burt Bacharach, whose prolific output provided a chart-topping playlist for the 1960s and 70s with hits like "I Say a Little Prayer," has died in Los Angeles aged 94, US media said Thursday.. Bacharach, who died on Wednesday of natural causes, was known for romantic and melancholic ballads crossing the border between jazz and pop, and regularly topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
It was a moment encapsulating the unspeakable pain of the Turkish earthquake: a father holding his 15-year-old's hand, the only thing visible after her body was crushed by concrete.. A photographer for 40 years, including 15 with AFP, Altan knew that the photograph represented Turkey's pain.
Three ancient cities suffered widespread destruction in Monday's massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria: Antakya, Sanliurfa and Aleppo.. Here are some key facts: - Antakya/Antioch - Antakya, a city of around 250,000 people in south-central Turkey, large parts of which have been reduced to rubble, was once the ancient city of Antioch which rivalled Alexandria as a major centre of early Christianity and was a key staging point on the Silk Road.
Hailed as a European hero on his arrival in Brussels, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky urged EU leaders on Thursday to accelerate the promised delivery of modern long-range weapons. . After Wednesday's visits to London and Paris to lobby Britain, France and Germany for modern fighter jets and long-range missiles, Zelensky flew on to Brussels to address EU leaders and the European parliament.
The UK said Thursday it was aware of "potential escalatory risks" in equipping Ukraine with more Western weaponry, while playing down the prospective delivery of older Typhoon fighter jets.. "We are aware of potential escalatory risks," Sunak's spokesman told reporters about the broader policy of arming Kyiv, when asked about concerns in some European capitals about antagonising Moscow.
A Hong Kong judge sentenced two members of a pro-independence group to five years in prison on Thursday, insisting there would be zero tolerance for advocating violent resistance to China.. On Thursday, judge Kwok Wai-kin said the group had "promoted bloody resistance without any bottom line to overthrow the current regime".
Two dozen children from northern Cyprus and some of their parents were on a school trip to join a volleyball tournament in Turkey when a massive earthquake hit their hotel.. "Thirt-three people are still trapped," the minister told AFP. "The students were on a tour to join a school volleyball tournament."
North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversaw a major military parade showcasing a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported Thursday, including what analysts said was possibly a new solid-fuelled ICBM. The parade on Wednesday to mark the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea's armed forces featured fireworks, military bands and uniformed soldiers marching in unison to spell out "2.8" -- the date of the celebration -- and "75", the official Korean Central News Agency reported.. The weapons on show included at least 10 of the North's largest Hwasong-17 ICBMs, as well as vehicles apparently designed to carry a solid-fuelled ICBM, Seoul-based specialist site NK News reported.
Beijing condemned on Thursday US President Joe Biden's comments that Xi Jinping faced "enormous problems", saying the remarks were "extremely irresponsible".. He also said Xi had "enormous problems", including "an economy that is not functioning very well".
