Headlines

Eurovision facing fractious 2026 as unity unravels

The Eurovision Song Contest heads into its 70th anniversary edition next year mired in its biggest-ever political boycott, with five countries staying away over Israel's participation. Eurovision organisers announced Monday that 35 countries would take part in the world's

Fresh rains flood streets in war-scarred Gaza

Some pushed cars through the Gaza Strip's flooded streets, while others took to donkey-pulled carts to wade through the floodwaters after fresh winter rains lashed the war-battered Palestinian territory. The rains have flooded tents and makeshift shelters in Gaza, where most of

Iraq's dreams of wheat independence dashed by water crisis

NAJAF, Iraq, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Iraqi wheat farmer Ma'an al-Fatlawi has long depended on the nearby Euphrates River to feed his fields near the city of Najaf. But this ​year, those waters, which made the Fertile Crescent a cradle of ancient civilisation 10,000 years ​ago, are