First-time voters may have decisive say in Turkish election

By Birsen Altayli and Ezgi Erkoyun ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish university student Yunus Efe has known only one leader of his country – Tayyip Erdogan. As he prepares to vote for the first time in elections this month, the 22-year-old says it is time for change. Efe is one of more than 6 million first-time…

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Chinese state tabloid criticises South Korean protest letter

By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s hawkish state media tabloid, the Global Times, criticised on Monday a letter of protest by South Korea’s embassy in Beijing, the latest public spat amid worsening ties between the Asian neighbours. South Korea’s recent diplomatic push towards Japan and the U.S. would “induce and aggravate the … collapse…

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Thai election agency criticised after snags in early voting

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s election commission came under scrutiny on Monday after what a monitoring group said were widespread complaints in early voting, fuelling concern on social media about the competence of a body appointed under military rule. The People’s Network to Monitor Elections, an alliance of non-governmental organisations, said it received about 300 complaints…

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Erdogan calls opposition ‘pro-LGBT’ at election rally

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan accused the opposition of being “pro-LGBT” at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday, as he stepped up his rhetoric against his opponents a week before what is expected to be a tight election. Elsewhere, protesters threw stones at Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a member of the main opposition…

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Ukraine military says all 35 drones Russia launched overnight destroyed

(Reuters) – Ukraine’s top military command said on Monday that its forces destroyed all 35 Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia had launched overnight at different targets around the country. “The Russian Federation (also) launched 16 missile strikes last night, in particular on the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions,” the General Staff of…

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Chile right-wing parties win majority in vote to draft new constitution

SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Chilean right-wing parties won a majority of votes on Sunday to elect advisers to draft a new constitution, marking a sharp shift from a progressive majority that drafted a failed first constitutional rewrite. With 95.13% of ballots tallied, Chile’s Republican Party, led by former conservative firebrand presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast, secured nearly…

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