Iraq's local currency has been on a two-month roller coaster ride following a tightening of procedures for international transfers, with some blaming Washington for the dinar's woes.
While the official exchange rate has been fixed at 1,470 Iraqi dinars against the dollar, the currency was trading at up to 1,600 to the greenback on local markets from mid-November, before settling at about 1,570 dinars, according to state media.
Tens of thousands of people protested in central Tel Aviv Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-right government, which critics say threatens Israeli democracy.
Protesters braved the rain for the rally, brandishing signs with slogans decrying a "government of shame" and urging: "bring down the dictator", AFP correspondents said.
Israeli media reported 80,000 people joined the rally, citing police sources. Police gave no official estimate after reporting 20,000 protesters earlier in the evening.
At least 20,000 people protested in central Tel Aviv Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-right government, which critics say threatens Israeli democracy.
Protesters braved the rain for the rally, brandishing signs with slogans decrying a "government of shame" and urging: "bring down the dictator", AFP correspondents said.
Israeli police estimated that 20,000 people joined the rally, according to public radio, while the organisers said there were "several tens of thousands" of protesters.
Egyptian authorities announced Saturday the discovery of an ancient tomb in Luxor dating back around 3,500 years that archaeologists believe holds the remains of an 18th dynasty royal.
The tomb was unearthed by Egyptian and British researchers on the west bank of the River Nile, where the famous Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Kings lie, said Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
A key figure among the families of Beirut's 2020 port explosion victims was released Saturday after his arrest a day earlier sparked protests in the Lebanese capital.
William Noun -- whose brother, a fireman, was killed in the devastating August 4, 2020 port blast -- was arrested Friday over remarks made during a television programme, a judiciary source told AFP.
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema says he has put his World Cup disappointment behind him and is focused on the future, starting with Sunday's Spanish Super Cup final.
The 35-year-old forward dropped out of the France squad injured shortly before their first match, and retired from international duty in December.
Ballon d'Or winner Benzema had been excited to feature after missing France's victory in 2018 because of his involvement in a blackmail scandal over a sex-tape involving his former teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Thousands of Tunisians marched Saturday in the capital to protest against President Kais Saied, whom they accuse of seeking to install a new dictatorship amid a worsening economic crisis.
Separate rallies by different opposition groups were held in Tunis with a heavy police presence, AFP correspondents said.
Held on the 12th anniversary of the fall of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, they come against a backdrop of deepening political divisions and deteriorating economic conditions in the North African country.
French driver Sebastien Loeb won a record sixth successive stage in the Dakar Rally on Saturday although barring a disaster Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah looks set for a fifth title.
Loeb, a record nine-time world rally champion, won the 13th and penultimate stage, a 154 kilometres special from Shaybah to Al-Hofuf, to break Finnish driver Ari Vatanen's mark of five consecutive victories in 1989.
The 48-year-old Prodrive star is in second spot overall -- the same position as he filled last year -- 1 hour and 21 minutes behind Al-Attiyah.
Jordanian film "Farha", vehemently criticised in Israel, is based on true events and represents "only a drop in the ocean" of Palestinian suffering, director Darin J. Sallam told AFP.
Released last month on Netflix, "Farha" depicts atrocities against Palestinians during the 1948 conflict following Israel's creation, which Palestinians call the Nakba, or "catastrophe".
The Arabic-language film tells the story of a Palestinian teenager, Farha, whose village comes under attack by Israeli forces.
Two Palestinians were killed Saturday during an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The two young men were shot dead by Israeli forces "during an assault on the village of Jaba, south of Jenin" in the north of the West Bank, the ministry said.
No further details were provided on the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
The Islamic Jihad militant group condemned the killings in a statement, describing the two men as "heroic martyrs" belonging to the group.
