Mohammad Moradi posted video online saying he would kill himself to highlight Iran’s crackdown on protests
French authorities are investigating as suicide the drowning of an Iranian man in the south-eastern city of Lyon who had said on social media he was going to kill himself to draw attention to the protest crackdown in Iran.
Mohammad Moradi, 38, was found in the River Rhône that flows through the centre of Lyon late on Monday, a police source told AFP.
Continue reading...Aslam Farouh, believed to have carried out bus stop attacks last month, acted on ‘salafi-jihadi ideology’, officials say
Israeli authorities say they have arrested a suspect in Jerusalem over twin bombings that killed two people last month and that he identifies with Islamic State.
Aslam Farouh, 26, an Arab man with an Israeli residency card, lived between Ramallah and Kafr Akab, a neighbourhood of Jerusalem, the Shin Bet domestic security agency and Israel police said in a joint statement.
Continue reading...On a continent that has long attracted western expeditions, a wave of young people are now exploring sites
A late morning in Khartoum. Inside a low, dusty building in the centre of the Sudanese capital, there are crates of artefacts, a 7ft replica of a 2,000-year-old stone statue of a Nubian god, and students rushing through the corridors. Outside is noisy traffic, blinding sunlight and both branches of the Nile.
Heading down one staircase are Sabrine Jamal, Nadia Musa, Athar Bela and Sabrine al-Sadiq, all studying archaeology at Khartoum University. Not one of them is older than 24 and they see themselves as pioneers, breaking new ground on a continent that has long attracted western expeditions, specialists and adventurers but whose own archaeologists have received less attention overseas.
Continue reading...Foreign affairs committee chair says holding of men allegedly involved in protests part of ‘industrialised taking of hostages’
All British people still in Iran should leave immediately because of the “industrialised” level of people being taken state hostage, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee has said.
Alicia Kearns made her call after the Iranian government said it had arrested seven “British linked” suspects including some dual nationals allegedly involved in the country’s anti-government protests, which began 100 days ago.
Continue reading...President condemns anti-LGBTQ rhetoric after comment by Orit Strook, which she later said referred to certain procedures
A suggestion by one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming ministers that Israeli doctors should be allowed to refuse treatment to LGBTQ patients on religious grounds has heightened fears that the new government poses an unprecedented threat to gay rights.
The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has weighed in to condemn the growing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, saying: “The racist pronouncements of recent days against the LGBTQ community and other sectors of the public make me extremely worried and concerned.” The president, whose post is largely ceremonial but who commands a degree of authority, added that such rhetoric undermined Israeli “democratic and moral values”.
Continue reading...UK Foreign Office is seeking further information about detainees, who include several dual nationals
Seven people with links to Britain have been arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards over anti-government protests that have snowballed across the country in recent months, according to reports.
The people arrested, some of whom are dual nationals, were detained while trying to leave Iran, according to Reuters, citing a statement published by state media.
Continue reading...Saman Yasin had denied charges of attempting to kill security forces
Iran’s supreme court has accepted an appeal by rapper Saman Yasin against his death sentence even as it confirmed the same sentence against another protester.
Yasin, a well-known and acclaimed Kurdish artist and rapper, has been a vocal critic of the Iranian regime amid the current unrest. He wrote messages of support for protesters on his social media channels and has written several protest songs.
Continue reading...Furtive transactions a thing of the past as retailers tentatively sell decorations openly
In previous years during the run-up to Christmas, Alia Obaidi would go to the local market in Riyadh, summon an Indian merchant and whisper her order. A short time later, he’d return with a cardboard box from a back room and furtively collect money.
But things have changed. When Alia, a Lebanese resident of the Saudi capital, made her annual trip to source Christmas decorations this year, she no longer needed the merchant, or the subterfuge.
Continue reading...West Bank city gears up for festive season after two years of pandemic restrictions
There’s once again no room at the inn in Bethlehem as the Palestinian city gears up for its first Christmas season after two years of pandemic restrictions.
During the week of Christmas this year, 120,000 tourists and pilgrims from all over the world are expected to visit the occupied West Bank town, home to the Byzantine Church of the Nativity, which stands on the spot where it is believed Jesus was born. The predicted numbers for 2022 are almost on a par with 2019, when Bethlehem saw an all-time high of 150,000 visitors in the same time period, and 3 million visitors overall.
Continue reading...Extradition of Abdullah al-Senussi over Lockerbie bombing would have closely followed that of Mohammed Abouagela Masud
The extradition to the US of Muammar Gaddafi’s most trusted and notorious aide was abruptly halted by Libya at the 11th hour this week for fear of public anger after the handover of another ex-senior Libyan intelligence operative, officials in Tripoli have told the Guardian.
Abdullah al-Senussi, a former intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Gaddafi, is blamed for a series of lethal bombings directed at western aviation as well as other targets.
Continue reading...Elements of Netanyahu-led coalition have been openly hostile and rolling back of some gay laws is on agenda
The prospect of the far right joining government after Israel’s recent election has left the country’s LGBTQ+ community fearing for the future.
Elements of the incoming coalition led by the prime minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu have not hidden the fact that they are hostile to Palestinians and LGBTQ+ people.
Continue reading...Agreements with parties to support Likud in power could regularise illegal settlements in occupied territories
Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that an extremist anti-Arab party will join his new coalition as he prepares to return as prime minister for what would be the most rightwing government in Israel’s history.
The agreement, which further heightens the powers of Itamar Ben-Gvir, the firebrand head of the Jewish Power party and incoming national security minister, came hours after Netanyahu informed the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, that he had succeeded in forming a government. It is due to be sworn in by 2 January.
Continue reading...Weeks of negotiations conclude with what will be the most rightwing and anti-Arab government in country’s history
Benjamin Netanyahu has informed Israel’s president that he has succeeded in forming a coalition, paving the way for the swearing in of the most rightwing and anti-Arab government in the country’s history.
“I have managed [to form a government],” Netanyahu said on Twitter, minutes before a midnight deadline set by the Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog.
Continue reading...Arrest of Sherif Osman while visiting family in Dubai raises fears for activists at Cop28 climate conference
The United Arab Emirates is preparing to deport an Egyptian-American citizen detained in Dubai who called for protests during the Cop27 climate conference in Egypt, sparking fears about the treatment of civil society during next year’s Cop28 in the Emirates.
Sherif Osman, a former Egyptian army officer who has lived in the US for decades, was detained at a restaurant in Dubai, where he had travelled with his fiancee to see family.
Continue reading...Ben Wallace says Putin regime will supply military technology in return for drones used to attack Ukraine
Russia plans to deepen its military cooperation with Iran in return for Shahed drones that have been used to bomb Ukraine’s cities and energy network since September, according to Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace.
The west must hold Russia’s “enablers to account”, he said, in a Christmas update in which he was also forced to admit the UK had not completed a Ukraine “action plan” by the end of the year as promised.
Continue reading...Finds at site west of Jerusalem named after woman said to have assisted at the birth of Jesus Christ
Archaeologists have unveiled pilgrims’ lamps and other finds from the ”tomb of Salome”, a burial site named after a woman said to have assisted at the birth of Christ.
The tomb was discovered by grave robbers in what is now Tel Lachish national park, west of Jerusalem, in the 1980s.
Continue reading...Open letter signed by Emma Thompson, Mark Rylance and Steve McQueen expresses outrage at Oscar winner’s arrest
Film stars, playwrights, novelists and directors from across the world have rallied to the defence of the Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti, calling for her immediate release from the infamous Evin prison in Tehran.
The Oscar-winning actor was arrested at her home on Saturday and has since told her family she is being detained in Evin. She has been asked to explain Instagram posts in which she denounced the Iranian government for imposing the death penalty on protesters. She had posted a picture of herself in which she was not wearing the hijab and holding a piece of paper reading “women, life, freedom” – the slogan that has come to encapsulate a nationwide protest movement.
Continue reading...Scotland Yard to look into footage in which Beckenham MP tells activist Sayed Alwadaei ‘go back to Bahrain’
Police are to investigate an allegation of racial abuse after the Guardian revealed a confrontation in which the Tory MP Bob Stewart told an activist to “go back to Bahrain”.
Scotland Yard has said it will investigate video footage after a complaint from Sayed Alwadaei, the director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird), who had an angry exchange with Stewart outside a reception hosted by the Bahraini embassy.
Continue reading...Revival of pact could mean lifting sanctions on a country that is viciously suppressing protests and arming Russia
Wary western powers face an unlikely potential dilemma after a sudden push by Tehran to suggest that progress is being made to remove the last outstanding obstacles to a revived agreement to oversee Iran’s nuclear programme.
The unlikely prospect of Joe Biden reviving the dormant 2015 nuclear deal, potentially lifting sanctions and opening the way for Iran to make billions of dollars in oil exports, would be seen as a gross betrayal by supporters of three-month-long street protests, as well as a controversial signal to send to Ukraine about Washington’s priorities.
Continue reading...Daily shows of dissent against repressive 43-year clerical rule continue, with exiled demonstrators asking for help from the west
In late October, Paiman, an Iranian protester from the restive city of Mahabad, lay in a hospital ward, guarded by regime officials who had gunned him down during anti-government demonstrations.
Buckshot from a shotgun blast riddled his legs and torso, and blows to his head with wooden clubs had left him dazed and in agony.
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