World

CHINA: Saturday (16th of July) saw a US Navy destroyer sail near the disputed Spratly Islands, the second such “freedom of navigation” exercise in the South China Sea in a week, according to the US Navy. Chinese officials claimed to have “forced away” the USS Benfold, which was sailing near the disputed Paracel Islands, on Wednesday. In the South China …

US: A profession that lacks “basic human respect,” says Halima Aden—the first supermodel to model in a headscarf and appear for photos wearing a burkini—has forced her to abandon her lucrative contracts. It was a matter of protecting her self-worth and well-being in a fast and loose sector that gradually clashed with her Muslim principles for the Somali-American born in …

SRI LANKA: As he departed the country to avoid a popular uprising against his government, Sri Lanka’s ousted president declared he took “all conceivable means” to avert the island nation’s economic disaster. A vote in Parliament on Friday approved the resignation of Gotabhaye Rajapakse from office (Jul 15). After hundreds of thousands of anti-government protestors descended on Colombo a week …

US: All four of the United States’ men’s 100m sprinters advanced to the finals on Saturday, giving the Americans renewed hope of a clean sweep in the event for the first time since 1991. Toe-to-toe at 7:50 p.m. will be Fred Kerley, Marvin Bracy, Trayvon Bromell, and Christian Coleman (0250 GMT). There have been no clean sweeps since Carl Lewis …

US: President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave each other a fist bump to try to heal their strained relationship, the US leader left the country on Saturday (July 16) with little tangible evidence that the trip had been worthwhile. His first journey to the Middle East as president, President Biden’s four-day visit to Israel and …

UKRAINE: Agreements were signed on Thursday (Jul 14) by the United States and more than 40 other countries, following what Kiev claimed was a Russian missile strike that killed civilians well from the front line. “Russian missiles targeted two communities in western Ukraine, killing 20 people, including three young children,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at an international summit. Since …

IRAN: In less than a week, acclaimed director Jafar Panahi has become Iran’s third filmmaker detained. Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who won a Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival for his film “Taxi,” was arrested in Tehran on Monday when Panahi went to the prosecutor’s office to check on him. According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, Rasoulof …

ITALY: After a day of political drama that threatened to topple Italy’s national unity government, President Sergio Mattarella rejected Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s resignation on Thursday (July 14). ECB President Mario Draghi stated Thursday that he would quit after the 5-Star Movement, a coalition party, failed to support him in a confidence vote over his strategy to curb increasing prices. …

US: Friday (Jul 15), Saudi Arabia said that restrictions on “all airlines” accessing its airspace would be lifted ahead of US President Joe Biden’s arrival in Saudi Arabia. US President Barack Obama hailed Riyadh’s “historic” decision, the latest concession to the Jewish state, which it has refused to recognize despite Israel’s persistent attempts to build connections with the Arab world. …

US: Trump’s first wife and mother of his three oldest children, Ivana Trump, died on Thursday at the age of 73, the former president revealed. The death of Ivana Trump was announced by Donald Trump on his Truth Social social media network. Law enforcement officials are investigating if she went down the steps at her Manhattan residence, according to the …