An Egyptian military court on Sunday sentenced in absentia a Spain-based critic of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to life in prison over calls for anti-government protests, state media reported.
Mohamed Ali, a construction contractor and fledgeling actor, burst onto Egypt's political scene in 2019 when videos he posted on social media accusing Sisi and the military elite of corruption went viral.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said Sunday it will investigate comments made at the African Nations Championship in Algeria to "free" the disputed Western Sahara, that have sparked Moroccan fury.
Neighbouring Morocco and Algeria are locked in a bitter rivalry partly over Western Sahara, where the Algiers-backed Polisario movement seeks an independence referendum.
Rabat sees Western Sahara as an integral part of the kingdom and a highly sensitive issue of security and national pride.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani defended the open-ended presence of US and other foreign troops in his country, in an interview published Sunday.
"We think that we need the foreign forces," Sudani told The Wall Street Journal in his first US interview since taking office in October.
US and NATO forces have been training Iraqi soldiers on how to fight the Islamic State group.
"Elimination of ISIS needs some more time," Sudani added.
Palestinian officials Sunday condemned what they labelled the "execution" of a Palestinian man at an Israeli checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, while the army said he was shot during a "violent confrontation".
The ministry slammed the "heinous execution" of Ahmad Kahla, 45, who was shot dead in the morning by troops near the village of Silwad north of Ramallah.
The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire during a "violent confrontation" in which an unnamed person had "attempted to take hold of one of the soldiers' weapons".
Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah on Sunday won his fifth Dakar Rally driver's title and second in a row with Argentina's Kevin Benavides securing his second motorbike crown.
The 52-year-old won three stages and had more than an hour's advantage in the overall standings over Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, who also finished runner-up last year.
Al-Attiyah's Toyota team-mate Lucas Moraes of Brazil finished third in the iconic test of endurance which reached its climax in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Tending to his camels in Petra, Jordan's spectacular archaeological marvel hidden deep in a desert canyon, Hussein Bdoul is all smiles: the tourists are back.
After years in which the Covid pandemic turned the storied "Rose City" into a ghost town, the father of seven is back at work, offering visitors rides on his decorated animals.
"Tourism has returned and the numbers are even greater," said Bdoul, 35, wearing Bedouin garb with a red keffiyeh scarf over his long black hair, reflecting on a resurgence last year.
Iraq's local currency has been on a two-month roller coaster ride following a tightening of procedures for international transfers, with some blaming Washington for the dinar's woes.
While the official exchange rate has been fixed at 1,470 Iraqi dinars against the dollar, the currency was trading at up to 1,600 to the greenback on local markets from mid-November, before settling at about 1,570 dinars, according to state media.
Tens of thousands of people protested in central Tel Aviv Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-right government, which critics say threatens Israeli democracy.
Protesters braved the rain for the rally, brandishing signs with slogans decrying a "government of shame" and urging: "bring down the dictator", AFP correspondents said.
Israeli media reported 80,000 people joined the rally, citing police sources. Police gave no official estimate after reporting 20,000 protesters earlier in the evening.
At least 20,000 people protested in central Tel Aviv Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-right government, which critics say threatens Israeli democracy.
Protesters braved the rain for the rally, brandishing signs with slogans decrying a "government of shame" and urging: "bring down the dictator", AFP correspondents said.
Israeli police estimated that 20,000 people joined the rally, according to public radio, while the organisers said there were "several tens of thousands" of protesters.
Egyptian authorities announced Saturday the discovery of an ancient tomb in Luxor dating back around 3,500 years that archaeologists believe holds the remains of an 18th dynasty royal.
The tomb was unearthed by Egyptian and British researchers on the west bank of the River Nile, where the famous Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Kings lie, said Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
