Yahoo

The US has threatened to impose more economic sanctions on Turkey if it does not free a detained American pastor. Andrew Brunson has been held in Turkey for nearly two years over alleged links to outlawed political groups. The dispute over his release has seen the two Nato allies impose tariffs on one another's goods. This has worsened a crisis for Turkey's currency, the lira, which has lost about a third of its value against the dollar since January. The crisis has prompted widespread selling in other emerging markets, sparking fears of a global crisis. What is the new threat from the US? The lira has staged a small recovery but that is threatened by a fresh tweet from US President Donald Trump.

Celebrated pop star, actress, director and writer Madonna celebrates her 60th birthday on Thursday. The artist - full name Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone - has performed on 10 concert tours and sold more than 300 million records, making her the best-selling female recording artist of all time, according to the Guinness World Records. We take a look at the star's career and life in pictures, from her early beginnings studying dance in New York, to her chart success, film career and family life. Madonna, seen below in a photo from her high school yearbook, grew up in Rochester, Michigan. She moved to New York in 1977 where she studied dance and worked as a model. Madonna is seen below posing for

A video of a large crowd surrounding Iranian policemen in Tehran after they viciously beat up a street vendor and destroyed his small cart was widely circulated on social media on Wednesday. A group of young men surrounded the policemen who were sat in their car. People in the crowd are heard demanding that the policemen get out of their car, chanting “come out”, but they refuse and cover their faces so as not to appear on camera. Millions of Iranian citizens work as street vendors to make ends meet amid the rising poverty and ailing economic situation in the country.

The world's first offshore dairy farm opens in the Port of Rotterdam this year, with the aim of helping the city produce more of its own food sustainably. But will such farms ever be able to produce enough to feed the world's growing urban populations? A Dutch property company, Beladon, is launching the world's first "floating farm" in a city port. It has built the offshore facility right in the middle of Rotterdam's Merwehaven harbour and will use it to farm 40 Meuse-Rhine-Issel cows milked by robots. Built-up urban areas may not seem like the most sensible places to run farms, but reducing the distance food travels before it reaches consumers' plates makes environmental sense as it reduces

Saif Ali Khan celebrated his birthday with family on Wednesday night. Photo: Instagram Saif Ali Khan turns 48 today (August 16). Photo: Instagram Photo: Instagram Saif ALi Khan with kids Sara and Ibrahim from his first wife Amrita Singh on his birthday. Photo: M/s Sanskriti Media Kareena Kapoor's cosuin Kunal Kapoor (right) with his son at Saif Ali Khan's birthday party. Photo: M/s Sanskriti Media Saif Ali Khan's daughter Sara Ali Khan and son Ibrahim Khan. Photo: M/s Sanskriti Media

BEIJING (Reuters) - China rebuffed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for Beijing to rethink its conduct in the South China Sea on Thursday, saying China had the right to react to foreign ships or aircraft that get close to its islands. Duterte said China has no right to repel foreign aircraft and boats passing by its artificial islands in the disputed waterway, and that he hoped China would “temper” its behavior and stop restricting movements. In a statement sent to Reuters, China’s Foreign Ministry said the Spratly Islands are China’s inherent territory and that China respects the right to freedom of navigation and overflight that all countries enjoy in the South China Sea under international

Former Uruguayan leader José Mujica, who was dubbed "the world's poorest president" for his modest lifestyle, says he does not want any pension from his time as a senator. Mr Mujica resigned on Tuesday from the post of senator, which he had held since 2015, when his five-year-term as president had ended. He said he would not serve out his term until 2020 because as he was "tired after a long journey". The former left-wing rebel is 83. The ex-president made his resignation official in a letter to the head of the Senate, Lucía Topolansky, who is also Uruguay's vice-president and Mr Mujica's wife of 13 years. In it he said "the motives [for resigning] are personal, I would call them 'tiredness after