Hundreds in Istanbul sign petitions against Erdogan’s canal project
Hundreds of people in Istanbul have signed petitions in the past two days opposing a massive canal project championed by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, which they say will wreak environmental havoc in the city.
Factbox: Erdogan pushes ‘crazy’ Istanbul canal dream despite opposition
President Tayyip Erdogan has revived plans to dig a canal on the edge of Istanbul despite opposition from hundreds of petitioners and the city’s new mayor against the kind of mega project that has come to define Turkey’s economic boom and bust.
Leviathan gas field to start up after Israeli ministry grants approval
Companies developing the huge natural gas field Leviathan will begin production on Tuesday after receiving approval from Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry, one of the project’s partners said on Friday.
India’s internet shutdowns costing mobile carriers millions of rupees in lost revenue
Indian mobile operators are losing around 24.5 million rupees ($350,000) in revenue every hour they are forced to suspend internet services on government orders to control protests against a new citizenship law, a top lobby group said on Friday.
Italy court rules home-growing cannabis is legal, reigniting dispute
Italy’s Supreme Court has ruled that small-scale domestic cultivation of cannabis is legal, in a landmark decision triggering calls for further legalization from weed advocates and anger from the country’s conservatives.
Taiwan has ‘urgent’ need for infiltration law in face of China: president
Taiwan “urgently” needs to pass a planned anti-infiltration law to face threats from China to penetrate the island, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday, denouncing China’s opposition to it as illogical and hypocritical.
U.N. experts urge Pakistan to clear scholar of blasphemy, lift death sentence
United Nations human rights experts called on Pakistan’s high court on Friday to clear liberal academic Junaid Hafeez of blasphemy charges and overturn his death sentence.
Thai navy SEAL who took part in cave rescue dies after year-long infection
A Thai navy SEAL who took part in the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in northern Thailand last year has died from a blood infection he contracted during the operation, the Royal Thai Navy said on Friday.
Pakistan seizes five suspected al Qaeda militants
Pakistan has arrested five suspected al Qaeda militants planning an attack on security personnel, authorities in the eastern state of Punjab said on Friday.
India security clampdown keeps citizenship law protests under control
India deployed thousands of police and shut down mobile internet services across many cities on Friday to control protests against a new citizenship law, with flashpoint Friday prayers passing largely peacefully.
