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Iran president demands US 'guarantees' on nuclear deal

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi demanded US "guarantees" it will not withdraw again from a nuclear deal if it is revived ahead of his debut visit to the United Nations.

With Western hopes fading for restoration of the landmark 2015 agreement with world powers, the hardline cleric said in a US television interview that he would still back a "good deal and a fair deal"

But he said: "It needs to be lasting. There needs to be guarantees."

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organization  leaders' summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022

'Extremely rare' Rameses II-era burial cave found in Israel

Israeli archaeologists on Sunday announced the "once-in-a-lifetime" discovery of a burial cave from the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, filled with dozens of pottery pieces and bronze artefacts.

The cave was uncovered on a beach Tuesday, when a mechanical digger working at the Palmahim national park hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.

The cave was uncovered on a beach when a mechanical digger  hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave

Iranian woman's death galvanises critics of 'morality police'

As Iran reels from a woman's death after her arrest by its "morality police", the Sunday front page of financial newspaper Asia declared: "Dear Mahsa, your name will become a symbol."

The police unit -- responsible for enforcing Iran's strict dress code for women, notably the wearing of a headscarf in public -- had already faced growing criticism in recent months over its excessive use of force.

The death of Mahsa Amini, 22, has reignited calls to rein in its actions against women suspected of violating the dress code, in effect since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Mahsa Armini's death in the custody of Iran's morality police has provoked outrage

Dented plaque, creaking hospital and Queen's complex legacy in Aden

A battered plaque in a rundown hospital and a crackly, black-and-white newsreel are all that remain of Queen Elizabeth II's 1954 visit to Aden, the war-torn Yemeni city whose troubles are a reminder of Britain's complicated legacy in the Middle East.

The plaque, scratched and dented and inscribed in English and Arabic, testifies that the queen, then 28, laid the foundation stone for the Al-Joumhouria hospital on April 27, 1954, less than a year after her coronation.

Yemen's councillor Sayyid Abubakr bin Shaikh Alkaff kneels before Queen Elizabeth II and is knighted during her visit to Aden, on April 29, 1954

Qatar-based sound artist says it's time to slow down and listen

In a noisy, chaotic and fast-paced world, the Qatar-based sound artist Guillaume Rousere is on a mission: to get people to slow down and listen again.

Birdsong, insects chirping, the sound of wind brushing through tall grass or over sand dunes -- all these form part of what the 44-year-old Frenchman calls his "sound art".

"Sound art is a discipline where the principal medium is sound and where the aim is to listen," said Rousere, who lives in the Gulf state that will soon host the World Cup.

Bird song, insects chirping, the sound of wind over sand dunes -- all these form part of what Qatar-based Frenchman Guillaume Rousere calls his "sound art" 

Police fire tear gas to disperse demo over woman's death: media

Security forces on Saturday fired tear gas to disperse protesters in northwest Iran after the death of a woman arrested in Tehran by the Islamic republic's "morality police", local media reported.

Mahsa Amini, 22, was on a visit with her family to the Iranian capital when she was detained on Tuesday by the police unit responsible for enforcing Iran's strict dress code for women, including the wearing of the headscarf in public.

She was declared dead on Friday by state television after having spent three days in a coma.

The public debate about the hijab has resurfaced in Iran, as local media reported measures that may indicate more tight controls

21 million Shiites mark Arbaeen in Iraq's Karbala

Dressed in black, 21 million pilgrims from around the world massed in the Iraqi city of Karbala on Saturday for the Arbaeen commemoration, against the backdrop of a political crisis.

Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the 7th-century killing of Imam Hussein by the forces of the Caliph Yazid -- a formative event in Shiite Islam.

The annual festival sees men and women from across Iraq and beyond travel to Karbala, where Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas are buried, for one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

Shiite Muslim devotees gather in Iraq's central holy shrine city of Karbala to mark Arbaeen

Influx of Iranians bolsters Iraq's Arbaeen pilgrimage

Twenty million pilgrims, swelled by a record influx of Iranians, have converged on the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala to mark Arbaeen, an annual Shiite festival that climaxes on Saturday.

It is one of the world's biggest religious gatherings, keenly observed in Iraq and neighbouring Iran, both Shiite majority countries.

The event marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein -- a founding figure in Shiite Islam and grandson of the Prophet Mohammed -- by the forces of the caliph Yazid in 680 AD.

Shiite Muslims gather in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala, to  mark 40 days after the holy day of Ashura commemorating the seventh century killing of Imam Hussein

Head of Lebanon's victorious Mayyas dance troupe chides politicians

The choreographer leading a Lebanese dance troupe that shot to fame by winning the 'America's Got Talent' TV contest castigated Lebanese politicians and called for revolution upon landing back in Beirut Friday.

Dozens of relatives offered the Mayyas troupe flowers at Beirut airport while thousands of Lebanese were glued to their televisions to catch a glimpse of the performers who filled them with pride and joy in a country wrecked by nearly three years of economic crisis.

Members of the Lebanese dance group Mayyas pose for a group photo while surrounding their choreographer Nadim Cherfan (C) upon arrival at Beirut International Airport on September 16, 2022 after winning the "America's Got Talent" TV contest

Anger as Iran woman dies after morality police arrest

A young Iranian woman who fell into a coma after being arrested in Tehran by the notorious morality police died on Friday, state media and her family said, with activists urging those responsible for her "suspicious" death be brought to justice.

Mahsa Amini, 22, was on a visit with her family to the Iranian capital when she was detained on Tuesday by the police unit responsible for enforcing the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women, which include the compulsory wearing of the headscarf in public.

The public debate about the hijab has resurfaced in Iran, as local media reported measures that may indicate more tight controls