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A first group of Syrian Kurds were headed for the northeastern border town of Ras al-Ain Monday following years of displacement, months after an integration deal between the Kurds and Damascus.The January agreement on merging Kurdish forces and civil institutions into the state included the return of displaced Kurds but residents of Ras al-Ain had still been waiting, prompting appeals to authorities for assistance.Tens of thousands of Kurds were displaced when Turkiye and allied Syrian fighters seized an Arab-majority strip of territory along the Turkish border, including Ras al-Ain, from Kurdish control in 2019 during Syria’s civil war.Jawan Isso, from a committee representing displaced people from Ras al-Ain, told AFP that a “first batch” of some 2,500 people were headed home Monday.”This step is the result of efforts by all sides and ongoing coordination” between the Damascus and Kurdish authorities, he said, adding that “the second batch will be transferred in the coming days”.An AFP correspondent saw dozens of trucks loaded with furniture and other belongings waiting to set off from near the city of Hasakeh, with men, women and children eager to depart.”I’ve been waiting for this moment… it’s like a dream for a person to return to their home,” said returnee Nora Khodor, 37. “I’m happy for an end to this suffering.”Human rights groups say residents’ homes and belongings were seized or looted after the offensive.Some of the fighters subsequently settled in the area with their families, with some reportedly still living in Ras al-Ain, a formerly ethnically-mixed region in Syria’s northeast known as Sari Kani in Kurdish.Turkiye launched successive cross-border offensives against Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria before the new Syrian Islamist authorities ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.The new authorities have been extending central government control across the country, including formerly Kurdish-held areas.”We are very happy about returning,” said Rawda Mohammed, 39.”I asked about my home,” she said. “They told me it is totally destroyed, but we didn’t get pessimistic because we’re happy to return, and when we get there we’ll see what we can do.”Some 5.5mn people remain internally displaced in Syria following the more than 13-year civil war, according to the United Nations.The committee representing displaced people from Ras al-Ain said Monday’s transfer was “the start of a path towards a full return”, emphasising the need to protect property, housing and land rights” and provide basic services and infrastructure for returnees. Related Story Source link
Britain won both the men’s and women’s 4x200m freestyle relays on the opening day of the European swimming championships on Monday as French swim star Leon Marchand took silver with his team as he returns from injury.The four-woman British team of Freya Colbert, Abbie Wood, Leah Schlosshan and Freya Anderson crushed their rivals and narrowly missed out on the continental record with their time of 7min 45.93sec.Behind them, the battle for the podium was tight between Hungary, Germany and Russia.Ultimately the Hungarian women took silver in 7:49.09, ahead of Russia, competing under a neutral flag (7:49.13). The German women missed the podium by a hundredth of a second.Moments later, the British men emulated their compatriots winning gold in 7:01.52, thanks to Matthew Richards, Jack McMillan, James Guy and Duncan Scott.France were spurred on by the home crowd and four-time Olympic champion Marchand, but finished second in 7:02.23. The bronze medal went to Germany (7:02.28).”It’s my first European medal and a team one as well, so it’s cool, I’m happy,” said Marchand.”I was a bit nervous about going first, as it was a first for me. Plus I wasn’t quite sure where I stood in terms of form, so this was reassuring.”Earlier Russia’s Ilia Borodin took the men’s 4x200m freestyle gold as Olympic and world champion Marchand skipped that event.Borodin clocked 4:08.17 with Italy’s Alberto Razzetti taking silver in 4:10.40. Britain’s Max Litchfield won bronze in 4:11.58.The 23-year-old Borodin, competing as a neutral athlete as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, had won bronze at the world championships in Singapore last year.A major rival of Marchand during their junior careers, Borodin would undoubtedly have welcomed the chance to face the world record holder (4:02.50) in the event.However, the Frenchman has been forced to cut back on his events this week because of a lingering thigh injury that severely hinders his ability to swim the breaststroke.Marchand is entered, however, in the 200m butterfly and 400m freestyle, and the relays with the French team. Related Story Source link
China’s Yu Zidi competes in the women’s 200m butterfly final at the China Open Swimming Championships in Shenzhen,…
Ukraine’s world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh dominated the women’s high jump to win the first gold on offer at the world indoor championships in Torun, Poland, Friday. Mahuchikh, the Olympic champion who won a first world indoor title in Belgrade in 2022, cleared a best of 2.01m. Australia’s reigning world indoor and outdoor champion Nicola Olyslagers shared silver with Serbia’s Angelina Topic and Ukrainian Yuliya Levchenko. “Before Torun, I had already collected the full set of world indoor medals but, coming here, I realised how I’m hungry for the gold one,” said Mahuchikh. “Torun is the city where many Ukrainians moved after the war was started in our country but I was really surprised how many fans came here to support me. It was amazing.” The four medallists were the sole jumpers left in competition at the 1.96m mark. The bar was raised to 1.99m and first up was Mahuchikh. She sailed over, but so did the three others. Mahuchikh kept up the pressure with a first time clearance of 2.01m. All three of her rivals struggled with that height, registering three failures apiece to hand victory to the Ukrainian, who had three failed attempts at 2.06m. One of the stars of the three-day competition in Poland is Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, who smashed the indoor 800m world record last month. Untimely injuries have prevented the 24-year-old from taking part in the past three editions of the world indoors. But the Briton, who earned Tokyo Olympic silver and Paris Olympic gold and who has two world outdoor silver medals and a bronze, looks to be in perfect shape and coasted through her heat in 2:00.32. “I am glad to take the win today, it is a job well done,” said Hodgkinson. “It is all about controlling your pace. I am happy to run again tomorrow. “I have gone to the championships before and then not run due to injury so I am really happy now to get to the start line and go to the next round. I hope I will end with the gold medal.” The semi-finals of the women’s 800m are scheduled for 1122 GMT on Saturday, with the final set for 1853 GMT on Sunday. Azu leads favourites Defending champion Jeremiah Azu safely negotiated the first round of the men’s 60m, with the semi-finals set for 1916 GMT and the final at 2022 GMT later Friday. “Coming here as the title defender, I don’t feel any pressure,” said Britain’s Azu. “Today is going to be a long day. It looks a lot easier on TV than it is in reality. I want to bring the title back to the UK.” Azu, who clocked a heat-winning 6.55sec, finds himself in the middle of a US-Jamaica sandwich. The strong trio of Jamaicans led by Kishane Thompson, the world and Olympic 100m silver medallist, all won their heats as they seek to end the Caribbean island’s gold drought in the event. The US team have never had a problem picking up golds, with the likes of Maurice Greene, Justin Gatlin, Christian Coleman and Trayvon Bromell all previously winning on the world indoor stage. Bromell, who won back in 2016 and was part of the world gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team last year in Tokyo, won his heat in a leading 6.52sec. US newcomer Jordan Anthony, world leader at 6.43sec – joint ninth on the world indoor all-time list, also cruised in his heat. “I felt really good during the race,” said Bromell. “I am in the kind of a shape I was in when I won the world indoor title in Portland 10 years ago. “I have been struggling with injuries for the last couple of years but now I feel ready,” added the 30-year-old. The other finals in the evening session of day one of competition are the women’s shot put and the men’s triple jump. Source link
US President Donald Trump has branded Nato allies ‘cowards’ for not heeding his demand for military assistance against Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.Trump has recently veered between saying that Washington needs no help to secure the vital waterway for oil tankers, and then lashing out at other countries for failing to help.’Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!’ Trump posted on his Truth Social network.’They didn't want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran. Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don't want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices.’So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!’The 79-year-old Republican, a long-term sceptic of the Western military alliance, has launched a series of diatribes against the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) in recent days.On Thursday, six major international powers, including Britain, France, Germany and Japan said that they were ready to ‘contribute to appropriate efforts’ to secure the Strait of Hormuz.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear that this presupposed an end to combat.French President Emmanuel Macron said after a European Union summit in Brussels that defending international law and promoting de-escalation was ‘the best we can do,’ adding: ‘I have not heard anyone here express a willingness to enter this conflict – quite the opposite.’However, they have not formally committed to any mission to work in the crucial waterway – while other allies such as Germany and Italy have ruled out doing anything before a truce in the Middle East war.None of the countries Trump has called on to help was consulted before the US-Israeli mission started.An effective Iranian blockade has paralyzed commercial shipping through the crucial maritime chokepoint, which in peacetime sees a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass through it.Global oil prices have spiked as a result of the war, which erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, leading Tehran to retaliate with strikes across the Gulf region. Source link
Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams speaks at a press conference in Belfast as a High Court lawsuit…
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