The United States said Friday it was pressing the United Nations not to update a blacklist of companies doing business in Israeli settlements, despite Washington's calls on its ally to stop expansion in occupied Palestinian territory.
The State Department confirmed that it had approached the UN human rights office with concerns about the list, whose first publication in 2020 infuriated Israel.
The United States on Friday expressed alarm over a "full-scale defense partnership" between Moscow and Tehran, describing it as "harmful" to Ukraine, Iran's neighbors and the world.
Iran stands accused by Western powers of supplying drones to Russia -- which rejected the US allegations -- as Moscow batters Ukraine's energy infrastructure in search of an advantage in the bloody conflict.
The convicted ringleader of a "large-scale" Kurdish people-smuggling gang, who is currently on the run, was on Friday sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison, Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
Tarik Namik, 45, of Oldham near Manchester, northwest England, headed a "sophisticated, lucrative criminal enterprise" bringing Kurdish migrants into the UK hidden in the back of lorries.
The T-shirt on sale at Doha's main market declares "Our blood is Arab", and that is the mood buoying Morocco as it prepares to become on Saturday the first Arab nation to play a World Cup quarter-final.
Regional rivalries are being forgotten. Morocco's red flag with a green star is becoming a best-seller seen across Doha ahead of their clash with Portugal.
The flag -- along with those of Qatar, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia -- features on the "Our blood is Arab" T-shirt selling at Doha's Souq Waqif market.
Lebanese authorities on Friday briefly detained a well-known actor for questioning as a witness in a corruption probe involving the country's central bank governor, a judicial source and her agent told AFP.
Actor Stephanie Saliba was detained after failing to appear for previous summons in the case and was subsequently "questioned as a witness" in the investigation into money laundering and illicit enrichment, the source said.
Britain on Friday announced wide-ranging sanctions against 30 targets worldwide, including officials in Iran accused of pursuing "egregious sentences" against anti-regime protesters.
The sanctions against the 10 people connected to Iran's judicial and prison systems came after the clerical regime's first execution of one such protester, which has triggered global condemnation.
Iran was slapped with new sanctions Friday and activists called for fresh protests after the Islamic republic carried out its first execution over demonstrations that have shaken the regime for nearly three months.
Mohsen Shekari, 23, was hanged Thursday after being convicted of "moharebeh" -- or "enmity against God" -- after what rights groups denounced as a show trial.
The judiciary said Shekari was arrested after blocking a Tehran street and wounding a member of the Basij, a paramilitary force linked to Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday touted close security and energy ties with Gulf nations during summits in Saudi Arabia that have highlighted tensions with Washington.
On the third and final day of his visit, Xi attended a gathering of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and a broader China-Arab leaders' meeting.
It was only Xi's third journey outside China since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Taxi driver Youssef Daher has languished for months in prison without charge, one of scores stuck after Lebanese judges launched an open-ended strike in August to demand better wages in a collapsed economy.
Judges have suspended their work as rampant inflation eats away at their salaries, paralysing the judiciary and leaving detainees in limbo -- the latest outcome of Lebanon's years-long financial crisis.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince met Thursday on an Arab outreach visit that has earned a rebuke from Washington, reaching deals in areas including energy and infrastructure.
Agreements worth about $30 billion were to be signed, Saudi state media said, as China seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and as the Saudis, long-term US allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances.
