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Israeli lawyers rally against judicial overhaul plans

Hundreds of Israeli lawyers rallied Thursday outside a Tel Aviv court to protest against the government's controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system.

The rare demonstration by attorneys follows the justice minister outlining proposals such as allowing politicians to override Supreme Court decisions.

Wearing her black robe, lawyer Orna Sher said the "dangerous" proposals by Justice Minister Yariv Levin were a threat to democracy.

Lawyers protest the Israeli government's controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Tel Aviv District Court of Justice on January 12

Oil boss as climate talks host: what's behind UAE's choice?

The United Arab Emirates has picked the head of its national oil company as president of this year's COP28 climate talks, prompting criticism from environmental activists.

Here we examine the UAE's reasons for choosing Sultan Al Jaber and what message it is sending ahead of the UN climate talks later this year.

- Who is Sultan Al Jaber? -

Al Jaber is the chief executive of the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which is one of the world's biggest oil firms.

Sultan al-Jaber is the CEO of oil company ADNOC and the United Arab Emirates' special envoy on climate change

UAE agrees to roll over Pakistan debt, add $1 billion more

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to roll over $2 billion owed by Pakistan and provide the country with an extra loan of $1 billion, Islamabad said Thursday.

The agreement comes as Pakistan grapples with a major foreign exchange crisis, holding enough reserves to pay for just three weeks of imports.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in the UAE earlier Thursday for talks with top Gulf officials to seek help for the battered economy.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan welcomes Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Abu Dhabi

Macron says won't apologise to Algeria for colonisation

President Emmanuel Macron has said he will not "ask forgiveness" from Algeria for French colonisation but hopes to continue working towards reconciliation with his counterpart Abdelmajid Tebboune.

"It's not up to me to ask forgiveness, that's not what this is about, that word would break all of our ties," he said in an interview for Le Point magazine published late Wednesday.

"The worst thing would be to decide: 'we apologise and each go our own way'," Macron said.

"Work on memory and history isn't a settling of all accounts," he added.

President Emmanuel Macron expressed hope that Abdelmajid Tebboune 'will be able to come to France in 2023'

UAE names oil chief to head COP28 climate talks

The head of the United Arab Emirates' national oil company was named Thursday as president of this year's COP28 climate talks, prompting fierce criticism from environmental activists.

Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), will be the first CEO to take the role at the UN summit, the official WAM news agency reported.

"I sincerely believe that climate action today is an immense economic opportunity for investment in sustainable growth," he was quoted as saying, promising a "pragmatic" approach.

Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber's appointment as the president of COP28 has drawn criticism from environmental activists

Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank: Palestinian ministry

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man Thursday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, as the army claimed rocks were thrown at Israeli forces during a raid.

The 41-year-old killed was named as Samir Aouni Harbi Aslan by the ministry, which said he was hit in the chest "by a bullet of the Israeli occupation army" in Qalandia refugee camp, near Ramallah.

The Israeli military said troops had fired on people who "hurled rocks and blocks from the rooftops aiming at soldiers operating beneath".

A Palestinian gunman attends the funeral of Samir Aslan, 41, at Qalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, on January 12, 2023

Two repatriated IS wives jailed on arrival back in Spain

A Madrid court ordered two Spanish women who married Islamic State (IS) fighters remanded in custody Wednesday on terror-related charges after they were flown back from Syrian detention camps with 13 children, legal documents showed.

They arrived at Torrejon de Ardoz military airbase near Madrid late Monday nearly two months after the Spanish government agreed to fly them home from the notorious Roj detention camp in Kurdish-controlled north-eastern Syria.

The two Spanish women and their children were expatriated from Roj detention camp in  Kurdish-controlled north-eastern Syria

WHO seeks more China Covid data, praises US 'transparency'

The WHO reiterated Wednesday the need for China to share more data on its explosive Covid outbreak, while praising Washington's "radical transparency" in its efforts to battle a new sub-variant.

The World Health Organization has repeatedly voiced concern that China's official statistics are not showing the true impact of its current surge in Covid cases.

"WHO still believes that deaths are heavily underreported from China," its emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters.

'WHO still believes that deaths are heavily underreported from China,' its emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters

Palestinian shot dead after knifing Israeli: army, emergency services

A civilian shot dead a Palestinian who had knifed an Israeli near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, the army and emergency services said, the second of two deadly incidents on Wednesday.

The inauguration in late December of the most right-wing government in Israel's history, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has sparked fears of a military escalation in the West Bank which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israeli security forces and armed settlers gather near a settlement in the occupied West Bank after the stabbing attack

Turkish envoy assumes Israel post as relations warm

Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, presented his credentials to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, the latest move in rebuilding ties after years of crisis between the two countries.

Relations were frozen in 2010 after a deadly Israeli raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship, part of a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid that was trying to breach a blockade on the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

Turkey's ambassador to Israel Sakir Ozkan Torunlar (R), presents his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog after Israel and Turkey announced in August the full restoration of relations and the return of ambassadors to both countries