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Iran flooding kills 24 people in two days

Two days of flooding near the Iranian capital have killed at least 24 people and another 19 are still missing, officials said on Friday.

"Because of strong rain and floods in the village of Emamzadeh Davoud to the west and the Firouzkouh, Roudehen and Damavand regions east of Tehran, 24 people are dead," a Red Crescent statement said.

"A search and rescue operation for 19 missing persons is ongoing," it added.

A handout picture from the Iranian Red Crescent shows a rescue team at the site of flash flooding in Emamzadeh Davoud on July 29, 2022

Palestinian teen shot dead by Israeli army: ministry

A Palestinian teenager was killed on Friday in clashes with the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Amjad Nashaat Abu Alia, 16, "died of critical wounds sustained by live bullets in the chest", during clashes near the village of Al-Mughayer, close to Ramallah, the ministry said in a statement.

An AFP photographer at the scene reported 300 to 400 Palestinians had gathered for a protest march against Israeli settlement expansion in the area.

Israeli forces contain Palestinian protesters during a demonstration against settlement expansion, in the village of al-Mughayer, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on July 29, 2022

Bahrain latest to ban block-buster Thor

Gulf state Bahrain has joined other Middle Eastern countries in imposing a cinema ban on the fourth instalment of superhero saga Thor, a Hollywood blockbuster featuring gay characters.

"The ministry of information has decided to halt projection of one of the films showing in cinema halls for the sake of preserving and safeguarding society's moral values," the ministry said in a brief statement late Thursday.

The ministry did not specify the name of the film banned, but screenings of "Thor: Love and Thunder" have halted.

US actress Natalie Portman poses on the red carpet on arrival to attend the UK Gala Screening in London o0f the film "Thor: Love and Thunder" which is now banned in some Middle Eastern countries

Macron counts on Saudi prince to 'ease' Ukraine war effects

French leader Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to work "to ease the effects" of the Ukraine war, Macron's office said Friday, after talks in Paris that marked the full diplomatic rehabilitation of the Saudi leader.

Like US President Joe Biden who visited Riyadh earlier this month, Macron had been keen to secure extra oil production from the de facto Saudi leader who was a pariah in the West until recently.

Macron warmly greeted the kingdom's de-facto ruler ahead of a dinner, defying objections from activists

Macron greets visiting Saudi crown prince with handshake: AFP TV

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to talks at the Elysee Palace in Paris with a long handshake, despite outrage from rights groups over their meeting.

Macron warmly greeted the kingdom's de-facto ruler ahead of a dinner, AFP TV pictures showed, defying objections from activists the talks are deeply inappropriate less than four years after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Macron warmly greeted the kingdom's de-facto ruler ahead of a dinner, defying objections from activists

Moscow's ex-chief rabbi warns of 'dark clouds' for Russian Jews

Moscow's former chief rabbi now living in exile in Israel warned Thursday of "dark clouds on the horizon" for Russian Jews, as ties between the two countries deteriorate over the Ukraine war.

Pinchas Goldschmidt, who left Russia in March over opposition to the conflict, told reporters that "the Jewish community was pressured... to openly support the war. Our community did not support the war."

Moscow's former chief rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, seen in this file photo taken on December 4, 2016, left Russia in March over opposition to the Ukraine conflict

More protests or fresh polls? Iraq mulls political paralysis

The storming of Iraq's parliament by hundreds of supporters of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has piled pressure on his political opponents working to form a government nearly 10 months after an election.

"Neither side is willing to make any concessions," political scientist Ali al-Baidar said Thursday, one day after crowds breached Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone and staged a parliamentary sit-in, waving flags and demanding change.

Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr gather inside  Iraq's parliament in Baghdad's high-security Green Zone on Wednesday night

Saudi prince stays in 'world's most expensive home' during Paris trip

During his trip to France to meet President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is staying at a lavish chateau dubbed "the world's most expensive home" when he purchased it in 2015.

The Chateau Louis XIV in Louveciennes outside Paris is a new-build mansion intended to mimic the extravagant luxury of the nearby Versailles Palace, once the seat of the French royal family.

The new-build chateau sits on the site of a 19th-century castle that was bulldozed in 2009

At least seven dead in floods near Tehran

At least seven people were killed in floods near Tehran Thursday, most in a landslide that dumped mud four metres deep in a village west of the capital, emergency services said.

The flash flooding near Tehran, in the foothills of the Alborz mountains, comes less than a week after floods in the normally arid south of Iran left 22 people dead.

Footage from the village of Emamzadeh Davoud posted on social media showed a teenager caked in mud clinging to a pole as a roaring spate of debris-filled water rushes past him. A wall is seen collapsing moments later.

At least six people were killed in floods near Tehran most in a landslide that dumped mud four metres deep in a village west of the capital

Alarm as Earth hits 'Overshoot Day' Thursday: NGOs

Mankind marks a dubious milestone Thursday, the day by which humanity has consumed all earth can sustainably produce for this year, with NGOS warning the rest of 2022 will be lived in resource deficit.

The date -- dubbed "Earth Overshoot Day" -- marks a tipping point when people have used up "all that ecosystems can regenerate in one year", according to the Global Footprint Network and WWF.

Change from 1971 to 2022 of "Earth Overshoot Day" which designates the date when humanity has consumed all natural resources that the Earth can renew in a year