A Spanish court has ordered Colombian music superstar Shakira to stand trial on charges of fraudulently failing to pay 14 million euros in tax, filings showed Tuesday.

Prosecutors in Barcelona said in July they would seek a prison sentence of more than eight years against the singer and a fine of nearly 24 million euros ($24 million), after she rejected a plea deal over accusations of tax evasion.

They accuse the 45-year-old "Hips don't Lie" songstress of defrauding the Spanish tax office of 14.5 million euros ($14.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.

With the cost of living surging, free hot bread distribution for the poor has been introduced in Dubai, a rich Gulf emirate where millionaires rub shoulders with hard-working migrants.

The city of skyscrapers soaring above the desert, which imports almost all of its food, has been impacted by rapidly rising consumer prices, a global trend exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Iran is stepping up arrests of activists and journalists in a crackdown against civil society as anti-regime protests rage nationwide, activists say.

Twenty journalists have been imprisoned since the protests erupted earlier this month over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested by the country's notorious morality police, according to the Washington-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Numerous activists and lawyers have also been held, including the prominent freedom of speech campaigner Hossein Ronaghi who was arrested over the weekend.

China announced Monday that it will give Qatar two giant pandas to mark the World Cup being held in the Gulf state.

China's ambassador to Doha, Zhou Jian, said that "Suhail" and "Soraya" would arrive in Qatar in October, ahead of the 32-nation tournament that starts November 20.

The planet's most populous nation did not qualify for the World Cup but Chinese companies have been involved in the construction of mega projects around the event.

Russia found rare support for its war in Ukraine at the UN General Assembly on Monday from Syria, whose leadership has relied on Moscow's support in its civil war.

"Syria reiterates its position on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine and Russia's right to defend and secure its own territory," Foreign Minister Faisal al-Meqdad told the world body.

"We are convinced that the Russian Federation is defending not only itself but justice and humanity's right to reject unipolar hegemony."

Ankara on Monday summoned the Greek ambassador and protested to Washington after accusing Greece of deploying US armoured vehicles on two Aegean islands near the Turkish coast.

Greece branded the move as "completely unfounded and incompatible with international law", and accused Ankara of aggressive behaviour.

Greece and Turkey, which are both part of the US-led NATO defence alliance, have feuded for years over maritime borders and energy exploration rights in the Aegean and east Mediterranean seas.

A year after fleeing the West Bank, a nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has returned to Gaza and is challenging his uncle's embattled successor, 86-year-old president Mahmud Abbas.

Nasser al-Kidwa, 69, a former Palestinian foreign minister, branded Abbas's Palestinian Authority as "totalitarian," and said it was acting with disregard for the people it is supposed to serve who are living under Israeli occupation.

Depositors scuffled and long lines formed at Lebanese banks Monday as they partially reopened after a week-long closure following a slew of heists by customers desperate to access their money.

But most banks remained shut, welcoming only a handful of depositors on appointment, and there was anger from those seeking to withdraw frozen funds desperately needed to weather a crushing economic crisis.

At a closed Beirut branch of Fransabank, dozens of soldiers, internal security forces members and customers had queued for hours.

Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews gathered in the Ukrainian city of Uman for their annual pilgrimage, officials said Sunday, despite authorities asking them to skip the trip because of the war.

Every year, Hasidic Jewish pilgrims come to Uman in central Ukraine from across the world to visit the tomb of one of the main figures of Hasidic Judaism for the Jewish new year celebration of Rosh Hashanah.

"This is the most important day of the year to be able to connect with God. And this a great place to do it," one pilgrim, Aaron Allen, told AFP.

Police clashed with demonstrators trying to reach Iran's embassies in London and Paris on Sunday.

French police used tear gas and employed anti-riot tactics to prevent hundreds of people protesting in the capital from marching on Tehran's diplomatic mission, AFP reporters and eyewitnesses said.

In London, police said they made 12 arrests and five officers were "seriously injured" as demonstrators tried to break through barriers protecting Iran's UK embassy.