Caliphate ‘a living hell’
For the millions forced to endure the Islamic State group’s brutal rule, life in the “caliphate” was a living hell where girls were enslaved, music was banned and homosexuality was punishable by death. The jihadists a
Yildrim squares up for Istanbul election battle
If former Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim wants a reminder of how much he needs to win as Istanbul mayor in this month’s election, he just has to listen to his boss. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who started his own poli
Hundreds airlifted
A cruise liner that ran into trouble in rough seas off Norway was being towed to port yesterday after hundreds of passengers were helicoptered to safety. The Viking Sky lost power and started drifting mid-afternoon Saturday in perilous
Kazakhstan former PM named leader’s top aide
Kazakhstan’s new president yesterday appointed a recently dismissed prime minister to head his administration -- a move almost certainly approved by the country’s veteran leader, who resigned this week. The appointment of e
Syria’s return to Arab League not on summit agenda
The Arab League said yesterday it was not planning to discuss reinstating Syria’s membership at a summit later this month, more than eight years after suspending it as the country descended into war. The pan-Arab bloc, which is s
Thai junta takes shock lead
Thailand’s ruling junta took an unexpected lead in the country’s first election since a 2014 coup with more than 90 percent of ballots counted, putting it on course to return to power at the expense of the kingdom’s p
Djokovic, Osaka win openers
Novak Djokovic put his Indian Wells disappointment behind him on Friday at the ATP and WTA Miami Open with a ruthless 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 destruction of Australian Bernard Tomic to move into the third round. The Serbian world number one endured a meek exit at the hands of German Philipp Kohlschreiber i
Sterling downs Czechs
Raheem Sterling showed that he is coming of age on the international stage as his hat-trick saw England start their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign by hammering the Czech Republic 5-0, while Antoine Griezmann inspired France to a battering of Moldova. Manchester City attacker Sterling had scored ju
