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New tensions between White House, Israeli PM

New tensions emerged this week between President Joe Biden's administration and Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israeli premier's criticism of US weapons deliveries -- comments the White House described Thursday as "vexing" and "disappointing."

The issue began when Netanyahu claimed in a video posted on social media earlier this week that the US administration -- Israel's main military backer -- has been "withholding weapons and ammunitions" from his country in recent months.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said 'no other country is doing more' to help Israel defend itself

Activists file torture complaint against Iranian held in France

Activists said Thursday they were filing a torture complaint against an Iranian citizen held in France who was reportedly a former senior figure in state television in the Islamic republic.

Bashir Biazar has been held in administrative detention in France since June 3 pending expulsion from the country for separate reasons, at a time of strained relations between Paris and Tehran.

His lawyer has denounced his detention and planned expulsion as "political" while officials in Iran have condemned France over his arrest and urged his release.

Iranian Bashir Biazar may now face a torture trial rather than expulsion from France

Nobel committee condemns jail term for Iranian laureate Mohammadi

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Thursday criticised an Iranian court's decision to slap an additional one-year jail term on imprisoned 2023 Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.

Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, called it "a flagrant violation of human rights and a travesty of justice".

Mohammadi, 52, has been jailed since November 2021 over several past convictions relating to her campaigns against the obligatory hijab for women and capital punishment in Iran.

Narges Mohammadi has not seen her children for eight years

Kuwait announces power cuts as demand spikes in summer heat

Kuwait has announced temporary power cuts in some parts of the country during peak consumption hours, saying it is struggling to meet increased demand spurred by extreme summer heat.

In a statement on Wednesday, Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said the scheduled cuts would occur for up to two hours a day, in the first such step for the OPEC member state as climate change causes temperatures to rise.

The sun sets behind overhead power lines in Kuwait City -- the electricity ministry said power plants were unable to meet increased demand

Iraqis flock to river or ice rink to escape searing heat

In the sizzling Baghdad heat, Mussa Abdallah takes to the Tigris river during the day to cool off, while others opt for ice skating to escape the relentless temperatures.

"At the end of the day, I'm sweaty and exhausted because of the sun," said Abdallah, a 21-year-old house painter in the Iraqi capital.

"At home, there's no electricity. If I want to wash, the water is scalding hot," he added, describing how water stored above ground virtually boils at this time of year.

Iraqis skate at the Zayouna Mall ice skating rink in the capital Baghdad

Israel-Hezbollah tensions drive fears of widening Gaza war

Fears of a regional war rose Thursday after Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement said none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict, and Israel said it had approved plans for a Lebanon offensive.

Hezbollah said it fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for a deadly air strike in south Lebanon that Israel said killed a Hezbollah operative.

Hezbollah also claimed several other attacks on Israeli troops and positions on Thursday.

An Israeli firefighter and a resident take cover as sirens sound to warn of rockets launched from southern Lebanon, amid near-daily cross-border clashes

Hajj death toll tops 1,000 after extreme heat: AFP tally

The death toll from this year's hajj has exceeded 1,000, an AFP tally said Thursday, more than half unregistered worshippers who performed the pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia.

The new deaths reported Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided a breakdown showing that of 658 Egyptians who died, 630 were unregistered pilgrims.

Around 10 countries have reported 1,081 deaths during the pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once.

A Turkish pilgrim pours cold water on her head to cool off in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca

Climate change made deadly heat 35x more likely in US, Mexico, C. America

Deadly heat that blanketed the United States, Mexico and Central America recently was made 35 times more likely due to global warming, an international network of climate scientists said on Thursday.

The World Weather Attribution (WWA) group of scientists also said that extreme highs witnessed over that region in May and June were four times as likely to occur today as a quarter of a century ago.

People protect themselves from the sun during a heat wave hitting the country, in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, in May 2024

Swedish court acquits former Syrian general of war crimes charges

A Stockholm court on Thursday acquitted a Syrian former general of war crimes charges, saying prosecutors had not proved his involvement in the attacks carried out during the country's civil war.

Former brigadier general Mohammed Hamo, 65, who lives in Sweden and was one of the highest-ranking Syrian military officials to stand trial in Europe. He stood accused of "aiding and abetting" war crimes in the first half of 2012.

The Stockholm district court said that while the Syrian military had used "indiscriminate attacks", the prosecution did not prove that Mohammed Hamo was involved

Four in five people want more climate action: UN survey

Four in every five people want their country to strengthen its commitments to addressing climate change, according to a global poll of 75,000 participants published on Thursday.

The survey by the UN Development Program, Oxford University and GeoPoll posed 15 questions by randomized telephone calls to people in 77 countries representing 87 percent of the world's population.

The key finding was that 80 percent of respondents want their governments to increase efforts to fight against global warming.

The sun sets behind overhead power lines in Kuwait City as the government requested citizens to ration their electricity usage amid soaring temperatures