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Turkey’s withdrawal on Thursday from an international treaty to prevent violence against women is not a step backward, President Tayyip Erdogan said, defending a move that has drawn condemnation from many Turks and Western allies. “Some circles are trying to portray our withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention as a step …

Lower Kootenay Band finds human remains at former residential school in British Columbia – the third such discovery in weeks A First Nations community in western Canada has discovered the remains of nearly 200 people on the grounds of a former residential school, adding to the growing tally of unmarked …

The European Union agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire with the United Kingdom in a post-Brexit dispute dubbed the “sausage war” by extending a grace period for shipments of certain meat products from Britain to Northern Ireland. The bloc will also make it easier for medicines and guide dogs to …

Spain’s ruling Socialists will “never” allow an independence referendum in Catalonia, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday, as his government prepares to resume negotiations with Catalan separatists. His comments come a week after nine Catalan political leaders were pardoned and freed from jail for their part in the northeastern region’s …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the failure to implement measures to tackle the coronavirus had caused a “great crisis” and he chastised ruling party officials for risking the safety of the country and people, state media reported on Wednesday. The report by state news agency KCNA did not …

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he had received Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 earlier this year after previously declining to disclose which vaccine he had taken. Putin, 68, received two vaccine shots against COVID-19 in March and April, the Kremlin has said. Authorities did not publish video footage …

Medical experts fear a fresh spike in cases by September or October as pressure grows on the government for tougher restrictions. A resurgence of COVID cases could lead to France having the fourth wave, a top scientist has warned. The French government’s leading scientific adviser Professor Jean-Francois Delfraissy said the …

The Iranian armed forces have launched a large-scale military exercise in an area of the Caspian Sea of around 77,000 square kilometers (48,000 square miles), testing naval and airborne units as well as electronic warfare systems. On Wednesday morning, the naval and airborne units of the Iranian armed forces began …

Russia on Wednesday reported 669 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, a record number of fatalities for the second day in a row, according to a government tally. The country is grappling with a spike of infections spurred by the highly infectious Delta variant, and President Vladimir Putin was …

A spike in deaths has been reported in Canada’s British Columbia as it bears the brunt of a record-breaking heatwave stifling the country. Dozens of people are believed to have fallen victim to the extreme temperatures. A wave of searing heat has plagued Canada’s western provinces since Friday, resulting in …

At least seven migrants drowned after a boat carrying them capsized five miles off the Italian island of Lampedusa early on Wednesday, ANSA news agency reported. Another nine were still missing – but 46 people were rescued and were being brought to the Mediterranean island, the agency added. Hundreds of …

The Afghan Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that government forces had liberated five cities from the Taliban in the past 24 hours. Government forces recaptured control of Khost in Baghlan, Shinwari in Parwan, Khan Chahar Bagh, and Pashtun Kot in Faryab, and Kaldar in Balkh, the Afghan Ministry of …

Spokesman says forces prepared to chase their opponents well beyond the northern Ethiopian region. Tigrayan fighters have reportedly taken control of more territory in the embattled northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, a day after regaining the regional capital, Mekelle, from retreating federal government forces and pledging to drive all “enemies” …

Malaysia’s king on Wednesday asked for a special parliamentary sitting to be convened before Aug. 1, according to the speakers of both houses of parliament, as the country remains under lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Two weeks earlier, King Al-Sultan Abdullah said the country’s parliament should reconvene as …

Eurozone economic sentiment surged in June to a 21-year-high as an accelerated pace of COVID-19 vaccinations led to further reopening and an improved mood across all sectors of the economy, notably in retail and services. The European Commission’s monthly sentiment survey for the 19 countries sharing the euro on Tuesday …

President Joe Biden will nominate academic Amy Gutmann as US ambassador to Germany, two sources familiar with the issue said on Wednesday, as the two countries move closer after relations deteriorated under former President Donald Trump. Gutmann, 71, who would be the first woman to serve in the role, is …

The Colombian government’s chief negotiator on Tuesday rebuffed accusations from the leaders of protests that President Ivan Duque’s administration was not committed to talks, saying it was listening to people’s frustrations but would not allow violence. Last week, a senior protest leader warned that demonstrations – which have been rumbling …

Myanmar’s authorities will free around 700 prisoners from Yangon’s Insein jail on Wednesday, prison chief Zaw Zaw told Reuters, in a release that is expected to include some of the thousands of people detained for opposing military rule. The prison chief said he did not have a list of those …

Australian officials extended lockdown and social distancing measures to more of the country on Wednesday, with four major cities already under a hard lockdown in a race to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant. Summary | NSW total cases in latest outbreak top 170 South Australia logs …

Search-and-rescue efforts stretched through a sixth day on Tuesday at the site of a collapsed Florida condominium complex where at least a dozen people died and 149 more remained missing amid fading hopes of finding anyone else alive. Remains of the 12th casualty in the disaster, which could rank as …