Kurds cautiously optimistic about PKK’s ceasefire with Turkey

Conflict

For more than 40 years, the Turkish government has fought the PKK in eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and Syria. Recent efforts to establish a ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK raise new hopes for stability in the Middle East.

Island nation fights the sea to keep its land

DW

Mexico’s supreme court rules in favor of Ely, a depressed elephant at a zoo

Justice

Many Argentine Catholics pray for long-awaited papal visit 

Sacred Nation

Kyudo: A look into Japan’s oldest martial art

Japan in Focus

Anton Tymoshenko use jokes as a ‘defense mechanism’ as part of his wartime stand-up comedy

Arts, Culture & Media

Stand-up comedy has existed in Ukraine for less than two decades and has only recently become a mainstream form of entertainment. The comedians bringing stand-up culture to Ukraine are trying to figure out where comedy fits during wartime. For many, comedy is both therapeutic and a defense mechanism amid uncertainty.

Inside the race for the world’s fastest train

Transit

Late last year, China broke its own record for the world’s fastest train, clocking in at 281 miles per hour. But in Japan, testing is underway for another type of train — one that levitates and can top 300 miles per hour, showing that the race for the fastest train isn’t just a competition. It could revolutionize the future of travel.

San Diego residents keep watch for ICE agents

Immigration

Some immigrant rights activists in San Diego are responding to President Donald Trump’s plans to launch “the largest deportation operation in American history” by alerting local communities about ICE arrests.

Hungarian filmmakers struggle despite Oscar attention

Arts, Culture & Media

“The Brutalist,” a winner of three Academy awards, was shot almost entirely in Hungary. The central European country has become one of the continent’s most-sought-after destinations for US filmmakers. For Hungarian directors though, making a movie there is fraught with challenges.

Rare cyclone batters Brisbane and Australia’s Gold Coast

Over the weekend, residents of Brisbane, Australia, were bracing for the impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The storm was downgraded to a tropical low, and made landfall on the mainland on Saturday. It was the first storm of its kind in the area in 51 years. The city is further south of where tropical cyclones typically hit, and scientists say climate change is playing a role in increasing extreme weather events around the world.

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