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Israeli court acquits officer of killing autistic Palestinian

An Israeli court on Thursday acquitted a police officer of recklessly killing an unarmed Palestinian man with autism in Jerusalem's Old City.

Iyad Hallak, 32, was shot dead in May 2020 while walking in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, after officers mistook him for an armed assailant.

The Jerusalem district court said the defendant was "acquitted" of "reckless homicide", in a decision decried by Hallak's mother as "injustice".

The mother of Iyad Hallak, a Palestinian with autism shot dead in May 2020, sits surrounded by his portraits at her Jerusalem home

EU lawmakers urge international probe of Greece migrant tragedy

EU lawmakers on Thursday pushed for an independent probe into a migrant boat tragedy off Greece in which hundreds of people are believed to have died, calling an internal investigation by Athens inadequate.

That stance, also backed by the European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency, seeks to shine a light on the June capsizing of an overcrowded vessel headed from North Africa to Europe.

"Maybe 600 people" drowned and "around" 110 people were rescued, EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson told MEPs, based on information from Greek authorities.

Activists from Syria say more than people aboard the trawler were from the country's south, mainly Daraa province

Revealing debut for first Saudi in Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week welcomed its first Saudi designer into the fold on Thursday, with a haute couture show full of daringly revealing looks.

Ashi Studio has been a big name in fashion for years, dressing celebrities including Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Deepika Padukone.

But Thursday was the first time its founder Mohammed Ashi was included in the official Paris Fashion Week line-up, marking "the peak of his career," he told AFP.

Modest and unassuming, he has rarely put his Saudi nationality up front.

Ashi has dressed stars such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga in the past

UAE climate chair urges oil firms to slash emissions

The Emirati oil executive chairing this year's UN climate summit, Sultan Al Jaber, told private and national oil and gas companies on Thursday they must slash their planet-warming emissions.

Sultan al-Jaber, head of the UAE national oil company ADNOC, told ministers from countries of the OPEC oil producers' grouping the industry must "urgently decarbonize its operations and take collective action to eliminate operational emissions".

Sultan Al Jaber's nomination as COP28 president has drawn criticism

Israel strikes Lebanon after mortar fire

The Israeli army said Thursday it struck southern Lebanon after a mortar round launched from its northern neighbour exploded in the border area between the two foes.

The latest military action was launched three months after the two countries saw their worst cross-border fire in years.

It also comes at a time of rising tension between Israel and Arab countries after Israel carried out its biggest military operation in years in the occupied West Bank targeting the Jenin refugee camp, a densely populated urban area and militant stronghold.

Israeli soldiers stand near army self-propelled artillery vehicles on the outskirts of Kiryat Shmona near Israel's border with Lebanon on July 6, 2023

Rubbish-clearing divers come to rescue of 'pearl of Kyrgyzstan'

On the shores of Lake Issyk Kul in mountainous Kyrgyzstan, a group of divers show off their haul for the day -- a boat engine, car tyres, bottles, clothes and plastic items.

"We would love to dive and not find any waste," said Anvar Shamsutdinov, the moustachioed 59-year-old leader of a dozen-strong team of volunteer scuba enthusiasts.

"The beach looks clean but people don't realise what's underwater," he said, as tourists stopped to look.

'We would love to dive and not find any waste,' says Anvar Shamsutdinov

First Saudi at Paris Fashion Week underlines dramatic changes

Saudi Arabia is continuing its multi-billion-dollar entry into all aspects of global culture, hitting a new milestone on Thursday with the first Saudi designer presenting at Paris Fashion Week.

Mohammed Ashi's haute couture show -- his first as part of the official roster after years of dressing top celebrities -- is "the peak of my career," he told AFP at a cocktail soiree at the Ritz Hotel in Paris this week, part of a lavish Saudi PR campaign throughout this fashion season.

Not everyone is comfortable with the underwear displays, after decades when such items were kept strictly behind closed doors

Alps to Atlas: Swiss-inspired cheese comes to Algeria mountains

Sporting a white cap and apron, Rachid Ibersiene bustles around vats at his dairy in Algeria's Atlas Mountains where he has brought the tradition of artisanal cheesemaking back from Switzerland.

"We started with a butane gas bottle and stove," the cheesemonger said, alluding to the growth of his factory since it opened.

In a matter of 15 years, Ibersiene's "Tamgout" cheese -- a blend of the Swiss Gruyere and Dutch Gouda styles -- has become a source of honour for the north African country.

'Tamgout' cheese, a blend of the Swiss Gruyere and Dutch Gouda styles, has become a source of pride in the north African country

Families of Israelis missing in Gaza seek UN, Red Cross help

The families of four Israelis missing in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 came together in Geneva on Wednesday to seek the Red Cross and the UN's help in advancing their cases.

Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin were killed during Israel's 2014 invasion of the Gaza Strip, and their remains are in the hands of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas -- although the militant group has never confirmed their deaths.

The families of four Israelis missing in Gaza visited the headquarters of the Red Cross in Geneva to seek the ICRC's help in advancing their cases

US forces prevented Iran from seizing two tankers near Oman: Pentagon

The US military said Wednesday it had blocked two attempts by the Iranian navy to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman, including one case in which the Iranians fired on the tanker.

Tehran has stepped up actions against tankers in the region since the United States tightened sanctions on Iran's own oil exports and other sections of its economy.

In an image released by US authorities, an Iranian naval vessel approaching the M/T Richmond Voyager to unlawfully seize the commercial tanker in the Gulf of Oman