BBC News (World)

2022-11-14 18:00:57 Kherson 'beginning of the end of the war' - Zelensky in liberated city

The liberation of Kherson marks the "beginning of the end" of the war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on a visit to the city.

Ukraine is "moving forward" and ready for peace, he told soldiers.

Losing the southern city was a major setback for Russia - though Moscow insists it remains Russian territory.

Russia declared it the centre of the illegally-annexed Kherson region, and it was the only regional capital to be occupied since the invasion.

Kherson was captured in March, weeks after the invasion began. The region was then one of four to be illegally annexed after self-styled referendums in September. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-14 09:00:35 Istanbul: Six dead, dozens wounded in Turkey explosion

At least six people have been killed and 81 wounded in an explosion in a busy area of central Istanbul, Turkish authorities have said.

The blast happened at about 16:20 local time (13:20 GMT) on Sunday on a shopping street in the Taksim Square area.

A suspect has now been arrested, the interior minister said.

Vice-President Fuat Oktay earlier said the blast was thought to be a terrorist attack carried out by a woman.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the perpetrators would be punished. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-13 18:01:52 US midterms: Democrats retain control of Senate after key Nevada victory

The Democrats will retain majority control of the US Senate after winning a pivotal race in the state of Nevada.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is projected to defeat Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, who was backed by former President Donald Trump.

The results amount to the best midterm performance for a sitting party in 20 years.

US President Joe Biden said he was incredibly pleased, and it was time for Republicans to decide "who they are".

Democratic Senate Majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said the results showed the American people had rejected what he called the "violent rhetoric" of the Republican Party. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-12 18:00:41 Twitter drama continues with blue-tick confusion

Twitter halted its new $8 blue tick subscription offering on Friday in the latest head spinning reversal at the social media platform since billionaire Elon Musk bought the company.

The move came as a number of accounts impersonating big brands received the blue tick, previously a signal that the firm had verified the user as real.

In one instance, a user claiming to be drugs firm Eli Lilly said "insulin was free".

Twitter did not comment.

The incident added to the concerns about how Mr Musk's leadership was affecting the spread of misinformation on the platform. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-12 13:01:12 US midterms: Senate race neck and neck as Democrat Mark Kelly wins Arizona

US President Joe Biden's Democrats have inched closer to keeping control of the Senate, with a projected win in Arizona following the midterm elections.

Three days after Americans voted, the BBC's US partner CBS estimates Democrat Mark Kelly has beaten Republican challenger Blake Masters.

That would leave the Senate at 49 Democratic seats and 49 Republican seats.

Just Nevada and Georgia are yet to be decided.

The vote count in Nevada is neck and neck, while Georgia's race will be settled by a run-off election next month. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-11 17:01:06 Itaewon crush: Officer under investigation found dead at home

A South Korean police officer, under investigation over the deadly Halloween crush in Seoul, has been found dead at his home in a suspected suicide.

The 55-year-old, identified as Inspector Jeong, was an intelligence officer working with the local police.

Jeong was a suspect in an investigation over the police's response to the crush, which tragically killed 156 mostly young people, and injured 196.

He was suspended on Wednesday, after allegedly covering up police failings.

Jeong was accused of ordering colleagues to delete an intelligence report - written ahead of the Halloween event - which warned of the possibility of a serious incident taking place. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-11 16:00:12 Quick explainers of major money and tech news
Join Observers.com telegram channel Open / Comment

2022-11-11 09:00:24 Midterm elections results: Rivalry spills open as Trump lashes out at DeSantis

Rivalry between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis has spilt open after the Republican ex-president came swinging out against his one-time acolyte on Thursday night.

Mr Trump belittled the Florida governor as an "average" politician whose success was owed to his patronage.

Mr DeSantis, 44, stormed to re-election in Tuesday's midterms, making him the Republicans' biggest rising star and a clear challenger to Mr Trump.

The ex-president warned him against it.

In a lengthy statement, Mr Trump dismissed Mr DeSantis as a political lightweight who had come to him "in desperate shape" when running for his first term in office in 2017. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-10 17:00:38 Taraneh Alidoosti: Top Iranian actress poses without headscarf

A top Iranian actress has posted an image of herself on Instagram without a headscarf to signal solidarity with anti-government demonstrations.

Taraneh Alidoosti - best known for her role in the Oscar-winning film The Salesman - also held a sign reading "Woman, Life, Freedom" in Kurdish.

The slogan has become a common rallying cry among protesters.

Demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody are entering their seventh week.

The 22-year-old died after she was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating Iran's strict rules requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or Islamic headscarf. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-10 09:01:37 FTX: Cryptocurrency giant Binance walks away from bailout

Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has walked away from a bailout deal of its smaller rival FTX.

Binance said that after due diligence, it would not pursue the deal.

It said reports of "mishandled customer funds and alleged US agency investigations" had swayed its decision.

FTX had been struggling with a surge in withdrawals that caused a "liquidity crunch".

Concerns about FTX's financial health reportedly triggered $6bn (£5.2bn) of withdrawals in just three days.

The Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating FTX's handling of customer funds and its crypto-lending activities. read more Open / Comment