By Ali Kucukgocmen ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Istanbul barber Hakim Ekinci, a long-time supporter of Tayyip Erdogan, won’t be voting for the president next Sunday, blaming his economic policies for eroding Turks’ purchasing power and leaving many unable to afford even basic foodstuff. Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party were able to maintain their voter base,…
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia is set to deliver its first budget surplus in 15 years on Tuesday, as its coffers bulge with tax windfalls from higher commodities prices and wages, a political win for the centre-left Labor government since coming to power last May. The budget will forecast a small surplus of around A$4 billion…
(Reuters) – Russia launched its biggest swarm of drones for months against Ukraine on Monday, the eve of Russia’s May 9 Victory Day holiday celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany, which Kyiv marked a day earlier in a new break with Moscow. CONFLICT * Kyiv’s mayor said Russia had fired 60 Iranian-made kamikaze drones at…
By Elizabeth Piper and Pavel Polityuk KYSHCHENTSI, Ukraine (Reuters) – Dutchman Kees Huizinga has faced many challenges in the two decades he has spent as a farmer in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has thrown up one challenge he never expected. Around 40 of his 350 workers have signed up to fight in the war, and the…
By Khalid Abdelaziz and El Tayeb Siddig PORT SUDAN, Sudan (Reuters) – Hanadi Al-Sir was among thousands who rushed to Port Sudan, hoping to get on a boat or a plane to escape fierce fighting between the army and rival paramilitary forces. Ten days later she is still camped out in the sweltering heat at…
By Luc Cohen and Hannah Lang (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump will not testify at a civil trial to challenge claims made by writer E. Jean Carroll that he raped her in the 1990s and later defamed her, after letting a Sunday deadline pass without asking the court to appear. Trump’s attorney Joseph…
BEIRUT/DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syrian factions have given mixed reactions to an Arab League decision to lift the suspension on Syria’s membership after more than a decade of isolation, underscoring the deep rifts cut into the country by years of bloodshed. The decision on Sunday by foreign ministers of Arab League countries consolidates a regional push…
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese real estate brokerage agencies need to implement reasonable reductions to fees for housing transactions and leasing services to promote healthy development of the sector, the housing regulator said on Monday. Some real estate brokers in recent years “have charged excessive, unclear and bound fees, and misused clients’ personal information, which has…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of 43 Republicans in the U.S. Senate said they oppose voting on a bill that only raises the U.S. debt ceiling without tackling other priorities, in a letter to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, showing they could block such a plan by Democrats. Citing an economy “in free fall,”…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden said on Friday he was not yet ready to invoke the 14th Amendment to avoid the United States defaulting on its debts as early as June 1, comments which for the first time suggested he has not ruled out the option. “I’ve not gotten there yet,” Biden said in…
