Russia’s war in Ukraine has driven the number of forcibly displaced people around the world above 100 million for the first time ever, the United Nations said on Monday. “The number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations a…
Moroccan singer in sex assault claims faces campaign in Iraq
A social media campaign in Iraq is calling on Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred to cancel his concert in Baghdad over allegations of sexual assault. The Arabic hashtag “Saad Lamjarred’s concert is rejected” went viral on social media platforms after enter…
Israel blocks MEP from ‘diplomatic visit’ to Palestine
Israel has blocked a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from leading a diplomatic mission to Palestine where politicians are due to investigate the stifling conditions faced by Palestinians in the occupied territories. Manu Pineda, a Spanish polit…
Iran will ‘avenge’ killing of Guards colonel: president
Iran will avenge the killing of a Revolutionary Guards colonel who was shot dead in Tehran, President Ebrahim Raisi warned on Monday. Colonel Sayyad Khodai was shot dead on Sunday outside his home by assailants on motorcycles, in a killing Iran blamed …
Xinjiang crackdown under scrutiny ahead of UN visit
China’s crackdown on Muslim minorities in the remote region of Xinjiang will return to the spotlight next week when Beijing hosts the United Nations human rights chief for the first time in nearly two decades. The highly scrutinised six-day trip by Hig…
Iran says Guards colonel shot dead in Tehran attack
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards colonel was shot dead outside his Tehran home on Sunday, the Guards said, blaming his “assassination” on assailants linked to the United States and its allies. The killing of Colonel Sayyad Khodai is the most high profil…
UN denounces racist, homophobic monkeypox reporting
The United Nations’ AIDS agency on Sunday called some reporting on the monkeypox virus racist and homophobic, warning of exacerbating stigma and undermining the response to the growing outbreak. UNAIDS said “a significant proportion” of recent monkeypo…
Israel political crisis ends as lawmaker rejoins coalition
A lawmaker who quit Israel’s ruling coalition said on Sunday that she was returning to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s 60-member alliance, ending a crisis that lasted just a few days. Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, said on Thur…
Syrian Arab identity doesn’t represent all: Kurdish official
The current Syrian identity does not represent all Syrians, a Syrian Kurdish opposition official said Saturday, arguing that other non-Arabic speaking communities in the country existed and deserved special status. “The current Syrian Arab identity doe…
Israeli court sentences Palestinian jailbreakers to 5 years
An Israeli court on Sunday sentenced six Palestinian inmates to five years in prison fortunneling out of their cell last year and escaping from a high-security facility in the biggest prison break of its kind in decades. The men were also fined 5,000 I…