Middle East

Trump Threatens BBC with $1 Billion Lawsuit over Speech Edit
Trump Threatens BBC with $1 Billion Lawsuit over Speech Edit

Donald Trump has threatened the BBC with a $1 billion lawsuit over the editing of a speech he gave just before the 2021 US Capitol riots, a source close to the US president's legal team told AFP Monday. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Fox News report that Trump's letter gave the UK broadcaster a Friday deadline to ...

Mamdani: Debunking the Fallacies of an Islamist Demagogue
Op-edMamdani: Debunking the Fallacies of an Islamist Demagogue

The New York elections attest to the ubiquitousness of domestic political events in a globalized era and more specifically in New York City, which recapitulates the promises, illusions, and contradictions of the global era. The overlapping variables of the urban order and its economic, social, cultural, and religious factors coalesce to define the ...

French Court Frees Ex-President Sarkozy From Jail Pending Appeal
French Court Frees Ex-President Sarkozy From Jail Pending Appeal

Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday was freed from prison, a 20-day experience the former president called a "nightmare," as a judge ordered his release pending an appeal decision over Libyan funding. Sarkozy was freed from La Santé prison in Paris shortly before 3 pm (1400 GMT) on Monday, a source familiar with the case told AFP. The ...

Bulgaria Adjourns Extradition Hearing for Beirut Blast Shipowner
Bulgaria Adjourns Extradition Hearing for Beirut Blast Shipowner

A Bulgarian court on Monday adjourned an extradition hearing for a shipowner wanted over a devastating blast at Beirut port in 2020, asking Lebanon to confirm he would not face the death penalty. Lebanon wants Bulgaria to extradite Igor Grechushkin, a 48-year-old Russian-Cypriot, over the disaster, one of the world's largest non-nuclear ...

Nigeria: Where Every Fault Line Is Exploding
SpotlightNigeria: Where Every Fault Line Is Exploding

The tragic events of Monday, November 11, speak volumes about Nigeria’s downward spiral. Nearly 200 jihadists were killed in clashes between Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) around Lake Chad, according to several local sources. The infighting highlights the extreme fragmentation of a conflict that has torn apart ...

Damascus: When Electricity Becomes a Luxury
VideosDamascus: When Electricity Becomes a Luxury

In the suburbs of Damascus, hammering sounds still echo, but anger is rising. The new Syrian government has raised electricity prices up to sixty times, making power nearly unaffordable. Blackouts can last more than twenty hours, forcing many to depend on costly private generators. Street vendor Alaa Moussa says, “No one can pay. There’s no ...

Syria Foils Two Islamic State Plots to Assassinate Sharaa
Syria Foils Two Islamic State Plots to Assassinate Sharaa

According to Reuters, Syrian authorities have thwarted two separate Islamic State (IS) plots to assassinate President Ahmed al-Sharaa in recent months, in what officials described as a direct threat to the leader as he prepares to join a U.S.-led coalition against the militant group. Two senior officials, one Syrian and one from the broader ...

BBC Expected to Apologize Over Trump Row After Chief Resignation
BBC Expected to Apologize Over Trump Row After Chief Resignation

The BBC was on Monday expected to apologize for editing a speech that suggested Donald Trump had directly instigated an attack on the US Capitol, resulting in the dramatic resignations of the broadcaster's top brass. Director general Tim Davie and the BBC News CEO Deborah Turness stepped down on Sunday after accusations that a documentary by ...

Gaza's Health Ministry says 15 Palestinian Bodies Received Under Truce Exchange Deal
Gaza's Health Ministry says 15 Palestinian Bodies Received Under Truce Exchange Deal

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said it had received on Monday the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners under the US-brokered ceasefire exchange deal. "The ministry of health announces the receipt of 15 bodies of martyrs released today by the Israeli occupation through the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies received to 315" under ...

Elections in Iraq: Youth Divided
VideosElections in Iraq: Youth Divided

As Iraq heads to parliamentary elections on November 11, the nation’s youth is divided between boycotting and voting. Some heed Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr’s call to abstain, citing corruption and failing public services. Others see casting a ballot as a civic duty, fueled by hopes for change. Closely watched by Iran, the election could reshape ...

France's Sarkozy says Prison a 'Nightmare' as Prosecutors Seek his Release
France's Sarkozy says Prison a 'Nightmare' as Prosecutors Seek his Release

Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday called his imprisonment a "nightmare" as prosecutors requested the former French president be released from jail pending an appeals trial over Libyan funding. A lower court in September found the right-winger -- who was head of state from 2007 to 2012 -- guilty of seeking to acquire funding from Moammar ...

Belly Dancing: A Quiet Act of Freedom in Riyadh
VideosBelly Dancing: A Quiet Act of Freedom in Riyadh

Riyadh: In a women-only gym, the beat of drums fills the air. Barefoot and with scarves tied around their hips, Saudi women practice belly dancing away from prying eyes. Once taboo, the dance has become a way for them to reclaim their bodies, boost their confidence, and assert their strength. In a transforming Saudi Arabia, they dance for ...