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Tunisians target African migrants, dozens expelled: witnesses

Racial tensions in the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax flared into violence targeting migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, dozens of whom were forcibly evicted from the city, witnesses said Wednesday.

Amid the disturbances late Tuesday, police detained some and deported them as far away as the Libyan border more than 300 kilometres (over 200 miles), according to a local rights group.

The latest unrest started after the funeral of a 41-year-old Tunisian man who was stabbed to death Monday in an altercation with migrants, which led to the arrests of three suspects from Cameroon.

Tunisian youths block a road and set tyres on fire amid hih tensions in Sfax on July 4, 2023 after the burial of a young Tunisian stabbed to death during a scuffle between residents and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa

Broken walls, crushed cars: Jenin assesses damage of Israeli raid

As Israeli forces pulled out of Jenin, its Palestinian residents came back to assess the devastation: trashed homes, charred cars and roads strewn with rubble, glass and bullet casings.

The West Bank city and militant stronghold has endured violence before, but the latest offensive was the heaviest in years, with air strikes hitting buildings and armoured bulldozers ripping up streets.

The Israeli army Wednesday declared the end of a two-day military operation in the Jenin area

Iran maintains crackdowns, executions over protests: UN probe

Iran is still meting out harsh punishments on people suspected of involvement in mass protests, including "chilling" executions, a United Nations fact-finding mission said Wednesday.

Iran was rocked by demonstrations sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law.

At a special session in November, the UN Human Rights Council voted to create a high-level investigation into the deadly crackdown.

The UN Human Rights Council held a special session on the situation in Sudan

Second French arrest warrant targets former Nissan chief Ghosn

French investigators issued a second international arrest warrant against former Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in April, a source close to the case told AFP Tuesday.

The warrant was issued by a Paris investigating magistrate when Ghosn did not appear to be charged last year on counts including corruption.

Ghosn currently lives in Lebanon, where he fled after a dramatic 2019 escape from Japanese custody accomplished in part by hiding in an audio-equipment box.

Carlos Ghosn has been in Lebanon since a heist-style escape from Japan in 2019

Tunisia's Jabeur '100% there' for WTA in Saudi link

Tunisian star Ons Jabeur has backed the Women's Tennis Association over their decision to evaluate the potential for playing a tournament in Saudi Arabia.

After finishing as Wimbledon runner-up last year, Jabeur is the sport's most prominent Arab player and her support for the WTA's interest in the Gulf state is a significant boost to the governing body.

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur

Jenin refugee camp, at centre of Israeli raid

Jenin refugee camp, one of the most crowded and impoverished in the occupied West Bank, is synonymous with Palestinian militancy and resistance against Israel which views it as a "terrorism" hub.

In recent years it has been the site of fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups.

This week, Israel launched what it called an "extensive counterterrorism effort" targeting the camp, which has so far killed 10 Palestinians and wounded dozens more.

- Refuge for displaced Palestinians -

People flee the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank during an ongoing Israeli military operation

Carbon 'capture' climate tech is booming, and confusing

Humanity's failure to draw down planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions -- 41 billion tonnes in 2022 -- has thrust once-marginal options for capping or reducing CO2 in the atmosphere to centre stage in climate policy and investment.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC) are both complex industrial processes that isolate CO2 but these newly booming technologies are fundamentally different and often conflated.

Here's a primer on what they are and how they differ.

- What is carbon capture? -

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC)are different technologies for isolating CO2

Tunisian stabbed to death in clash with African migrants

Youths in Tunisia called for vengeance on Tuesday at the funeral of a man stabbed to death during a scuffle between residents and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

Three African migrants were arrested as suspects in the stabbing death of the local man in Tunisia's coastal city of Sfax, a court spokesman said.

The North African country's second-largest city is a departure point for many migrants hoping to reach Italy, and tensions have been rising in Sfax for months.

Police had fired tear gas on Sunday to disperse residents and migrants throwing stones at each other.

Tunisians mourn during the funeral of a man who was fatally stabbed during a scuffle between local residents and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, in Sfax

UN warns world to prepare for El Nino impact

The United Nations on Tuesday warned the world to prepare for the effects of El Nino, saying the weather phenomenon which triggers higher global temperatures is set to persist throughout 2023.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.

The phenomenon occurs on average every two to seven years, and episodes typically last nine to 12 months.

El Nino and La Nina climate patterns

Jordan foreign minister, Assad discuss Syria refugees, drug smuggling

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Jordan's top diplomat Ayman Safadi met Monday in Damascus and discussed war refugees and a crackdown on cross-border drug smuggling, Amman's foreign ministry said.

Safadi's visit comes at a time of increasing regional engagement with the Assad regime, peaking with Damascus's return to the Arab League after years of isolation since Syria's war began in 2011.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) meeting with Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Damascus