Ali Khan

Tunisia said it started deploying armed police around tourist sites today after last week’s massacre at a beach resort, as authorities finished identifying all 38 foreigners killed in the jihadist attack.

A British military plane carrying home eight bodies of its nationals killed in the assault arrived in Britain, as Tunisia’s health ministry confirmed that 30 Britons were among the dead.

A man who created a Bangladesh- based nonprofit organisation credited with helping more than 150 million people out of poverty was named the winner of the 2015 World Food Prize today.

Fazle Hasan Abed created BRAC, originally known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, as a temporary relief organization to help with recovery from the 1970 typhoon that killed about 500,000 people and the subsequent war fought in 1971 to win independence from Pakistan.

Bangladesh was once listed as the second poorest country in the world.

Iran has met its commitments under a preliminary nuclear deal setting up the current talks on a final agreement, leaving it with several tons less of the material it could use to make weapons, according to a U.N. report issued today.

The report said more than four tons of the enriched uranium had been fed into a pipeline that ends with conversion of it into oxide, which is much less likely to be used to make nuclear arms.

The EU today welcomed the re-establishment of full diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba after 54 years, calling it a “historic milestone”.

But the European Union also urged further work to lift a trade embargo established in 1962 which remains in place, calling it “outdated and inconsistent”.

US President Barack Obama has also urged Republican-controlled Congress to end the embargo, saying the policy “was not working”.

Oregon today became the fourth US state to allow the recreational use of marijuana, amid a growing legalisation trend in the western United States.

The changes in the northwestern state’s law come after voters in November approved a ballot measure making it legal to smoke, grow and own pot, though the drug remains illegal under federal law.

From now on, people in Oregon aged 21 and up can legally use marijuana for recreational purposes and grow up to four plants.

The Uber ride-sharing service is facing roadblocks in Brazil.

The Sao Paulo city council voted 48-1 late yesterday to prohibit the use of smartphone-based ride-sharing applications like Uber in the city of 12 million. And the city council of the capital city of Brasilia also approved such a ban.

The Sao Paulo measure still needs another vote and then the approval of Mayor Fernando Haddad before taking effect. In Brasilia, the measure goes straight to federal district Gov. Rodrigo Rollemberg for his approval.

The head of the UN cultural organisation today called for a campaign against the “culture cleansing” being carried out by Islamic State jihadists.

“Extremists don’t destroy heritage as a collateral damage, they target it systematically to strike societies at their core,” Irina Bokova said in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London.

“This strategy seeks to destroy identities by eliminating heritage and cultural markers,” she said.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras vowed today to push ahead with a controversial bailout referendum despite pressure from European leaders, and urged creditors to accept a fresh reform offer by Athens.

Hours after Greece became the first advanced economy to default on the IMF, the leftist leader used a televised address to tell Greeks to vote ‘No’ on Sunday to creditor austerity demands.

European ministers were due later Wednesday to consider a new proposal from Athens but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has already insisted there can be no new deal before the referendum.

Macy’s is the latest company to end its relationship with Donald Trump as the fallout from the Republican presidential candidate’s remarks about Mexican immigrants continues.

Macy’s has carried a Trump menswear line since 2004. Macy’s said in a statement the retailer is disappointed and distressed by Trump’s remarks.

Companies have been cutting ties with the real estate mogul after his presidential campaign kickoff speech last week in which he declared that some Mexican immigrants bring drugs and crime to the US and are rapists.

China and France’s plan to team up on projects in Africa and Asia is a win-win deal that will “serve the interests of all”, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said today.

In recent years, China has muscled out Western nations from emerging economies, especially in Africa, but appears to be changing tack with the deal which was signed yesterday and branded as “historic” by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.