The global financial crisis may have eliminated job opportunities around the world, but it has opened the door for a cultural boom on new shores.

The fight for freedom of expression in Turkey can be seen in the battle between the theater industry and the government effort to silence dissent.

Countries like Cyprus, Israel and Greece have high expectations of becoming players in world energy markets through natural gas production and export.

In Turkey's upcoming presidential election, one man represents the country's two biggest opposition parties, and he is largely unknown.

With oil prices tumbling and new oil projects being scrapped, Norway may need to begin building a post-oil economy sooner than it thought.

They met at eight years old, married, and died together in a Ukrainian trench

At the biggest summit since Copenhagen, negotiators from developed and developing countries converge in Paris to hammer out a meaningful international agreement to combat climate change.

The UN High Commission for Refugees estimates that nearly 50,000 migrants are in Greece, awaiting asylum interviews in which they will make their cases for staying in Europe. While many migrants remain without jobs, some have found work in camps, or have even started their own businesses.

GENEVA — The U.N. weather agency is predicting that the phenomenon known as La Nina is poised to last through the end of this year, a mysterious “triple dip” — the first this century — caused by three straight years of its effect on climate patterns like drought and flooding worldwide. The World Meteorological Organization on Wednesday said La Nina conditions, which involve a large-scale cooling of ocean surface temperatures, have strengthened in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific with an increase in trade winds in recent weeks. The agency’s top official was quick to caution that the “triple dip” doesn’t mean global warming is easing. “It is exceptional to have three consecutive years with a La Nina event. Its cooling influence is temporarily slowing the rise in global temperatures, but it will not halt or reverse the long-term warming trend,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said. La Nina is a natural and cyclical cooling of parts of the equatorial Pacific that changes weather patterns worldwide, as opposed to warming caused by the better-known El Nino — an opposite phenomenon. La Nina often leads to more Atlantic hurricanes, less rain and more wildfires in the western United States, and agricultural losses in the central U.S. Studies have shown La Nina is more expensive to the United States than the El Nino. Together El Nino, La Nina and the neutral condition are called ENSO, which stands for El Nino Southern Oscillation, and they have one of the largest natural effects on climate, at times augmenting and other times dampening the big effects of human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas, scientists say.

United Nations — The U.N. Secretary-General appealed Monday to developed nations to make good on their promise of $100 billion a year to support climate action in developing countries, ahead of a November climate review conference in Egypt.   “Funding for adaptation and resilience must represent at least half of all climate finance,” Antonio Guterres told reporters.    Ministers, climate experts and civil society representatives are meeting this week in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, to prepare the agenda for the November meeting, known as COP27, which will take place in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6 to 18.    The United Nations says G-20 countries account for 80% of global emissions, but they have been slow to deliver on their $100 billion annual pledge.   “Taken together, current pledges and policies are shutting the door on our chance to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, let alone meet the 1.5-degree goal,” he said of the benchmarks set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.    The U.N. warns that failure to reach those goals would spell climate catastrophe.   “The world can’t wait,” he added. “Emissions are at an all-time high and rising.”   Guterres said every government, business, investor and institution must step up with concrete climate action plans.    “I am urging leaders at the highest level to take full part in COP27 and tell the world what climate action they will take nationally and globally,” the U.N. chief said.    U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry is among the leaders in Kinshasa this week.   

LILLE, FRANCE — More than 360 migrants were rescued Sunday while attempting the perilous crossing between the north coast of France and the south coast of England, in small boats, French officials said.    Regional maritime boats and a French Navy patrol ship made multiple trips to rescue groups of people in difficulty in the Channel, the French coastal authority Premar said.   In all, they rescued 367 people, taking them to the French ports of Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk.  Increasing numbers of migrants seeking to reach England are trying to cross the Channel in makeshift boats now that officials have increased security at Calais and the cross-Channel tunnel.  The waterway is one of the busiest sea routes in the world, with more than 400 vessels crossing it every day and the weather conditions are often difficult.  Since the beginning of the year, a record 33,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats.  According to figures from Britain's interior ministry, 94% of the migrants who reached the U.K. in the past four years went on to apply for asylum. Of those who had received a response, most had been successful.  As the law currently stands, a migrant must be physically in the U.K. to start the asylum process. 

DOHA, Qatar — A top Qatari official involved in the country's World Cup organization has put the number of worker deaths for the tournament "between 400 and 500" for the first time, a drastically higher number than any other previously offered by Doha. The comment by Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary-general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to come off the cuff during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. It also threatened to reinvigorate criticism by human rights groups over the toll of hosting the Middle East's first World Cup for the migrant labor that built over $200 billion worth of stadiums, metro lines and new infrastructure needed for the tournament. The Supreme Committee and Qatar's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. In the interview, portions of which Morgan posted online, the British journalist asks al-Thawadi: "What is the honest, realistic total do you think of migrant workers who died from — as a result of work they're doing for the World Cup in totality?" "The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500," al-Thawadi responds. "I don't have the exact number. That's something that's been discussed." But that figure hasn't been discussed publicly by Qatari officials previously. Reports from the Supreme Committee dating from 2014 through the end of 2021 only include the number of deaths of workers involved in building and refurbishing the stadiums now hosting the World Cup. Those released figures put the total number of deaths at 40. They include 37 from what the Qataris describe as nonwork incidents such as heart attacks and three from workplace incidents. One report also separately lists a worker death from the coronavirus amid the pandemic. Al-Thawadi pointed to those figures when discussing work just on stadiums in the interview, right before offering the "between 400 to 500" death toll for all the infrastructure for the tournament. Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken some steps to overhaul the country's employment practices. That includes eliminating its so-called kafala employment system, which tied workers to their employers, who had say over whether they could leave their jobs or even the country. Qatar also has adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals ($275) for workers and required food and housing allowances for employees not receiving those benefits directly from their employers. It also has updated its worker safety rules to prevent deaths. "One death is a death too many. Plain and simple," al-Thawadi adds in the interview. Activists have called on Doha to do more, particularly when it comes to ensuring workers receive their salaries on time and are protected from abusive employers. Al-Thawadi's comment also renews questions on the veracity of both government and private business reporting on worker injuries and deaths across the Gulf Arab states, whose skyscrapers have been built by laborers from South Asia nations like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Mustafa Qadri, the executive director of Equidem Research, a labor consultancy that has published reports on the toll of the construction on migrant laborers, said he was surprised by al-Thawadi's remark. "For him now to come and say there is hundreds, it's shocking," he told The Associated Press. "They have no idea what's going on."  

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan said Saturday that four of its soldiers were killed when a "group of terrorists" from across the Iranian side of the border attacked a routine military patrol operating between the two countries.    The deadly cross-border raid took place in the remote Kech district in southwestern Baluchistan province abutting Iran, the Pakistani military said in a statement.  "Necessary contact with the Iranian side is being made for effective action against terrorists on the Iranian side and to prevent such incidents in the future," the statement said, without providing further details.      The Iranian Embassy in Islamabad condemned the attack and expressed sympathy to the families of the slain soldiers.     "Terrorism is the common pain of the two countries and the two Muslim nations have sacrificed precious lives in the fight against this plague," the Iranian Embassy said on Twitter.     "Undoubtedly, strengthening the joint cooperation between the two countries will prevent terrorist groups from achieving their sinister goals," wrote the Iranian diplomatic mission.    Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “grief and sorrow over the martyrdom” of the security personnel in the terrorist attack, his office said in a statement.  No group immediately took responsibility for Saturday's attack, the second incident this year in Baluchistan, where ethnic Baluch separatists routinely target Pakistani security forces.    In mid-January, four Pakistani troops were killed when a military convoy patrolling along the more than 900-kilometer border came under an insurgent attack from across the Iranian side.     The outlawed Baluchistan Liberation Army, or BLA, routinely takes credit for attacks on Pakistani security forces. Officials in Islamabad say the group has set up sanctuaries in border areas of Iran, charges Tehran rejects.   The Global Terrorism Index, released in March by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace, said that BLA was responsible for 36% of nearly 650 terror-related deaths in Pakistan in 2022, making it "the fastest-growing terrorist group in the world."    Pakistan, the United States, and Britain have designated the BLA as a terrorist organization.    Baluch insurgents claim to be fighting for the independence of Baluchistan, alleging extortion by the central government of the region's natural resources and discrimination against its ethnic Baluch population. Pakistani authorities reject the charges.     The sparsely populated province, which also shares a significant chunk of the country's nearly 2,600-kilometer border with Afghanistan, is at the center of a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure development project being funded by China in Pakistan under Beijing's global Belt and Road Initiative.   

Geneva — Former White House adviser Amy Pope won a vote in Geneva on Monday to head the U.N. migration agency, prevailing in a tense contest against a Portuguese incumbent who had the support of European countries. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Pope would become the first woman to lead the organization when she begins her five-year term on Oct. 1. Pope, who served as Deputy Director General for Management and Reform at IOM, took leave to campaign against her boss Antonio Vitorino, who has been in the position since 2018. Pope wrote on Twitter she was "humbled and honored" to be chosen by IOM's 175 member states as new director general. "I am ready to work with ALL our member states and global partners to unleash the opportunities provided by effective, orderly and humane migration," she wrote. In 2021, Pope served as Senior Advisor on Migration to U.S. President Joe Biden, who publicly backed her candidacy. "As IOM's largest bilateral donor, the United States strongly supports Ms. Pope's vision and looks forward to working with her to implement the critical reforms necessary to create a more effective, inclusive IOM," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. More than 100 million people are forcibly displaced around the world and IOM seeks to ensure humane and orderly migration and intervenes where needed. Vitorino, a former European Commissioner who is close to his compatriot United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, had touted an increase in the body's annual budget among his successes. Asked about the contest earlier this year, Vitorino described it as unprecedented. "We have never happened to have an incumbent director general that faces a competition with one of his deputy generals. Let's call it an innovation," Vitorino told journalists in March. He said at the time he had Portugal's backing as well as the "strong encouragement" of the European Union.

Huge crowds of antigovernment protesters Saturday encircled the Serbian state television building in downtown Belgrade to press their demand for autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic to ease his tight grip on the mainstream media and allow alternative voices. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters, some chanting slogans urging Vucic's resignation, streamed into the rain-drenched streets a day after the president's followers staged an equally big rally in the capital. Most of his supporters were bused into the capital from all over Serbia and some neighboring states. Outside the RTS TV headquarters, the crowds blew whistles and booed loudly. They say that according to the laws, state TV should be unbiased as a public broadcaster, but that it has been openly pro-government. Held for the fourth time since the early May shootings, the opposition-led protests appear to be shaping up into the biggest revolt against Vucic's autocratic rule during his over 10 years in power. The rallies initially erupted in response to two back-to-back mass shootings earlier this month that left 18 people dead and 20 wounded, many of them children from an elementary school. Other protest demands include the resignations of top officials and the revoking of licenses for pro-government media that air violent content and host crime figures and war criminals. Vucic has accused the opposition of abusing the shooting tragedy for political ends. Earlier Saturday, he stepped down from the helm of his populist party amid plans to form a wider political movement. Vucic named his close ally, Milos Vucevic, the current defense minister, as his successor. Holding umbrellas amid heavy rain Saturday, the protesters walked slowly around the RTS television building in central Belgrade, completely covering the streets in the entire area. Many held flowers in memory of the slain children and wore badges reading "vulture" or "hyena," mocking the expressions that officials used to describe the protesters. Vucic has said the new, national movement will be formed in June to include other parties, experts and prominent individuals and promote unity. Analysts say it is a bid to regroup amid mounting public pressure. Critics say the movement could lead to single-party rule, more or less as the case in Vladimir Putin's Russia, which Vucic supports. During the rally Friday, Vucic offered dialogue as he seeks ways to ease mounting public pressure. Opposition parties have pledged to press on with the demonstrations until their demands are fulfilled. They include the ouster of the interior minister and the intelligence chief; the revocation of nationwide broadcast licenses for two pro-government TV stations; and the dismissal of a media-monitoring body. "If they don't fulfill (the demands) we are not leaving from here," said Milica Tomic, a Belgrade resident. "We will be here, if it need be, every day, every week, whenever."

STOCKHOLM — Lower voter turnout and increasingly contested results globally are threatening the credibility of elections, an intergovernmental watchdog warned on Tuesday, as its sub-index for free and fair elections suffered its biggest decline on record in 2023. In its report, the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said 2023 was the eighth consecutive year with a net decline in overall democratic performance, the longest consecutive fall since records began in 1975. The watchdog bases its Global State of Democracy indexes on more than 100 variables and is using four main categories - representation, rights, rule of law and participation - to categorize performance. The category of democracy related to free and fair elections and parliamentary oversight, a sub-category of representation, suffered its worst year on record in 2023. "This report is a call for action to protect democratic elections," IDEA's Secretary-General Kevin Casas-Zamora said in the report. "The success of democracy depends on many things, but it becomes utterly impossible if elections fail." The think-tank said government intimidation and electoral process irregularities, such as fraudulent voter registration and vote-counting, were increasing. It also said that threats of foreign interference, disinformation and the use of artificial intelligence in campaigns added to challenges. It also said that global voter participation had fallen to 55.5% of eligible voters in 2023 from 65.2% in 2008. Globally, in almost 20% of elections between 2020 and 2024, one of the losing candidates or parties rejected the results. IDEA said that the democratic performance in the U.S., which holds a presidential election this year, had recovered somewhat in the past two years, but the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July highlighted continued risks. "Less than half (47%) of the Americans said the 2020 election was 'free and fair' and the country remains deeply polarized," IDEA said.

Instability in Libya, a country where militias rove the land, was demonstrated last week when Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was captured in Tripoli.

An anti-normalization boycott of educational organizations in Israel and Palestine is making much-needed education and dialogue more difficult.

In Syria and across the Middle East, every actor embroiled in conflict is considered a terrorist by someone, making resolutions exceedingly difficult to achieve.

Two decades of failed negotiations, perpetual conflict and an expanded occupation should encourage an alternative to the two-state solution.

With ISIS continuing to terrorize and control broad swaths of the country, and with international intervention now underway, Iraq also faces a potential political crisis.

Through his increasingly belligerent position toward Palestinians and Iran, Netanyahu has managed to incense the United States, Israel's one indispensable ally.

Sectarian warfare in Iraq and a brutal regime in Syria have led to a level of violence and chaos that is extreme even by the Middle East's standards.

Droves of small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe are moving away from growing food crops and turning to tobacco, a trend that seriously threatens the country's food security.

The Great Mosque, in all its majestic grandeur, is less enticing if you're an American woman who somehow finds herself inside it.

The kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls should be the last straw. Nigeria must decisively end the menace of the insurgency group Boko Haram.

The British government has banned the stimulant khat, which will have consequences for Kenyan farmers who had been fetching inflated prices for the crop.

Egypt must adapt to climate change by introducing new crops, investing in farming technology and changing subsidies to protect the most vulnerable.

Just before the teach-in, the school’s Jewish provost called him and asked if he wanted extra security.

The Jerusalem Post Podcast - Travel Edition, Episode E94.