Saudi Arabia driving ban on women to be lifted
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has issued a decree allowing women to drive for the first time, to the joy of activists.
The Gulf kingdom is the only country in the world that bans women from driving.
Until now, only men were allowed licences and women who drove in public risked being arrested and fined.
Praise for the move has been pouring in from inside the Saudi kingdom, as well as around the world. US President Donald Trump said it was a "positive step" towards promoting women's rights.
Campaigner Sahar Nassif told the BBC from Jeddah that she was "very, very excited - jumping up and down and laughing".
"I'm going to buy my dream car, a convertible Mustang, and it's going to be black and yellow!"
Thousands of Qatar World Cup workers ‘subjected to life-threatening heat’
• Human Rights Watch says hundreds of workers dying every year
• Statutory work breaks in summer midday hours not sufficient
• Statutory work breaks in summer midday hours not sufficient
Many thousands of migrant workers on construction sites in Qatar, including those building stadiums for the 2022 World Cup, are being subjected to potentially life-threatening heat and humidity, according to new research on the extreme summer conditions in the Gulf. Hundreds of workers are dying every year, the campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a strong statement, but they claim that the Qatar authorities have refused to make necessary information public or adequately investigate the deaths, which could be caused by labouring in the region’s fierce climate.
HRW argues that millions of workers are in jeopardy, including those in the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – because statutory work breaks imposed during summer midday hours do not protect them sufficiently. An analysis of the weather in Doha last summer has also shown that workers on World Cup construction projects were in danger, despite the more advanced system used by the tournament organiser, Humidex, which measures safety levels of heat and humidity.
Ukraine ammunition depot explosion: 24,000 people evacuated after Kalynivka blasts
Prime Minister says 'external factors' behind blasts
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated after massive explosions and a blaze at a military ammunition depot in central Ukraine.
Ukranian emergency services said the blasts occurred at a military base near Kalynivka in the Vynnytsya region, 270km (168 miles) west of Kiev.
One person was injured, it said.
More than 30,000 people have been bussed out of the area by authorities. The electricity and gas supply has also been switched off.
Iraq warns Kurds as they claim victory in independence vote
A day after a disputed referendum by Iraqi Kurds, Turkey and Iraq have staged military drills near the region as Ankara threatens sanctions. The Kurdish leader has said an overwhelming majority backed independence.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued an ultimatum to leaders of the autonomous region of Kurdistan on Tuesday, asking them to place their two international airports under the control of the central government or face a flight ban as soon as Friday.
Al-Abadi made the demand a day after the Kurdish independence referendum, which he called a "historic and strategic mistake by the Kurdish leadership."
Exclusive: 'We are not terrorists,' says Rohingya guerilla commander
Nearly half a million people have fled violence in Burma in recent weeks, as global furore mounts over authorities’ treatment of Rohingya Muslims. Now for the first time, a Rohingya guerilla leader speaks to FRANCE 24 about taking up arms.
In late August, insurgents from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) staged a series of coordinated deadly attacks against Burmese authorities. In conversation with FRANCE 24, one of the Rohingya guerilla group’s commanders sheds light on ARSA amid accusations it is linked to hardline Islamic extremists.
“We are not terrorists, we are not Islamic State group and we are not a Bangladeshi terrorist organisation,” says local ARSA commander Armen. “We don’t want help from Al Qaeda. We want donations from sovereign states.”
No gas. No food. No power. Puerto Ricans fear their future
Updated 0143 GMT (0943 HKT) September 27, 2017
Power is out. Food is short. There's not enough water to drink, let alone wash. A week after Hurricane Maria smashed Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm, the situation is not much better. In many ways, it's getting worse.
Hospitals that should be saving people are instead unable to provide care.
At the Canovanas Medical Center, doctors face a lack of supplies. Dr. Norbert Seda said they were running out of fuel for the generator and had only two or three days of medicine and supplies left.
While residents were prepared for the storm's arrival and mercifully few were killed directly by the hurricane, the need for medical treatment is getting greater.
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