WorldViews Analysis Iraqi Kurd s voted in their independence referendum. Now what? For millions of ethnic Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan, Monday was a historic day. After a century of despair and neglect, they had the chance to vote for their own independence in a controversial referendum staged by the Kurdistan Regional Government — the body that holds sway over the predominantly Kurdish areas of northern Iraq. Official results are expected in the coming days, with a "yes" vote in favor of independence almost certain to win out. But for everyone else in the region, this is where the problems begin. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres issued a statement on Monday lamenting the "potentially destabilizing effects" of the vote. The Iraqi government, as well as Turkey and Iran — nations on Iraqi Kurdistan's borders with sizable Kurdish minorities of their own — have rejected the referendum. Kurdish o...
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A statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, has been unveiled in central Moscow in a controversial ceremony that merged military pomp with religious ritual. The nine-metre (30ft) monument depicts Kalashnikov clutching his eponymous automatic weapon. Tuesday’s event was attended by high-ranking Russian officials including Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, and Vladimir Medinsky, the culture minister. “This is Russia’s cultural brand,” said Medinsky, before a Russian Orthodox priest blessed the statue. “He created this weapon to defend his motherland,” said Father Konstantin, shrugging off suggestions that it was inappropriate to sprinkle holy water on a statue of a weapons designer. Some members of the crowd crossed themselves as the priest blessed the monument. A guard of honour from the Russian defence ministry stood to attention throughout the ceremony, which also featured second world war-era military songs. “Our weapon is a holy weapon,’ Archpries...
Rohingya crisis: UN sees 'ethnic cleansing' in Myanmar The security operation targeting Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar "seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing", the UN human rights chief says. Zeid Raad Al Hussein urged Myanmar to end the "cruel military operation" in Rakhine state. More than 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted there late last month. The military says it is responding to attacks by Rohingya militants and denies it is targeting civilians. The violence began on 25 August when the Rohingya militants attacked police posts in northern Rakhine, killing 12 security personnel. Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar since then say the military responded with a brutal campaign, burning villages and attacking civilians in a bid to drive them out. The Rohingya, a stateless mostly Muslim minority in Buddhist-majority Rakhine, have long experienced persecution in Myanmar, which says they are illegal immigran...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said pursuing further sanctions against North Korea is "useless", saying "they'd rather eat grass than give up their nuclear programme". The US said on Monday it would table a new UN resolution on tougher sanctions in the wake of the latest test of a nuclear bomb by the North on Sunday. Mr Putin also said that the ramping up of "military hysteria" could lead to global catastrophe. He said diplomacy was the only answer. China, the North's main ally, has also called for a return to negotiations. What did Vladimir Putin say about sanctions? The Russian leader was speaking at the meeting of the Brics group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in Xiamen, China. Although he condemned the North's test as "provocative", Mr Putin said: "Sanctions of any kind would now be useless and ineffective. "They'd rather eat grass than abandon their [nuclear weapons] programme...
While the football world is focused on the players being sold by Monaco, Alex Lynch has a look at how they’re sticking to their prudent transfer policy. When Monaco beat Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund en route to the Champions League semi finals, it was inevitable that their impressive core of young superstars was going to get broken up this summer. Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy have already moved to Manchester City and Tiemoue Bakayoko has made his way to Chelsea. Thomas Lemar has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal and Mbappe might become the world’s most expensive player. None of these developments are surprising, but despite being set to lose more than 100 million euros worth of talent, Monaco are still having a good transfer window. This is because they have stuck to their philosophy of giving talented youngsters a chance to become world class stars. All of the recognizable faces from Monaco’s team last season weren’t always the burgeoning world stars that ...