Erdogan discussed ways to end war, in latest bid to mediate
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he discussed avenues to end Russia’s war during talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, as well as conditions for a possible prisoners exchange.
The comments came after the Turkish leader met in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv with President Volodymyr Zelensky and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday.
Erdogan said he would follow up on the discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I maintain my belief that the war will come to an end at the negotiation table,” Erdogan said in statements after the meeting broadcast by Turkey’s A Haber. “The focus of the talks was how to ultimately end the war.”
Rushdie suspect pleads not guilty to attempted murder, assault
A man accused of stabbing novelist Salman Rushdie last week in western New York pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges on Thursday during an arraignment hearing and was remanded without bail.
Hadi Matar, 24, is accused of wounding Rushdie, 75, on Friday just before the The Satanic Verses author was to deliver a lecture on stage at an educational retreat near Lake Erie.
Rushdie was hospitalised with serious injuries in what writers and politicians around the world decried as an attack on the freedom of expression.
Finland's leader slams video leak of her dancing at parties
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Thursday said she was upset that videos of her dancing at private parties were published online as they were meant to be seen only by friends.
Marin, 36, spoke after a two-minute video of her singing and dancing with well-known local influencers and artists spread on social media and in Finnish media on Wednesday.
The clips were originally posted to a private Instagram account.
Venice fines 'imbecile' tourists for surfing down the Grand Canal
Two foreign tourists who sped down Venice's famous Grand Canal on motorised surf boards have been identified and fined, city authorities said.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the culprits "imbeciles"after they were filmed on the waterway, and offered a restaurant dinner to anyone who could identify them.
It did not take local police long to track them down, fine them €1,500 (S$2,000) each and confiscate their surf boards worth some €25,000, a statement from Brugnaro's office said.
World Cup ticket sales approach 2.5 million, say organisers
A total of 2.45 million tickets have been sold for this year's World Cup in Qatar after over half a million were snapped up in the latest sales period, organisers announced on Thursday.
World football's governing body Fifa said that 520,532 were sold in the period between July 5 and Aug 16, with Qatar, the United States, England, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, France, Argentina, Brazil and Germany the leading countries of residence for those purchasing match tickets.
Fifa stated that the most popular games for ticket sales include Brazil's group-phase encounters against Cameroon and Serbia, Portugal's meeting with Uruguay, Costa Rica's clash with Germany, and Australia against Denmark.
