DUBAI, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Iran and the U.S. have differing views over the scope and mechanism to lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, adding that renewed talks were scheduled in early March and could possibly lead to an interim deal.
(Reporting Parisa Hafezi, writing by Dubai Newsroom, Editing by Alex Richardson)
A Syrian prison warden screams at a group of chained, crouching inmates in a harrowing scene from one of several Ramadan television series this year that tackle the era of former ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Talking about Syria's prisons and the torture, enforced disappearances and executions that took place there was taboo during half a century of the Assad family's iron-fisted rule, but the topics are now fertile ground for creative productions, though not without controversy.
Feb 22 (Reuters) - Australia's centre-left government on Sunday rejected a local media report that said it was working to repatriate Australians in a Syrian camp holding families of suspected Islamic State militants.
The 34 women and children were released on Monday from the camp in northern Syria, but returned to the detention centre due to technical reasons. The group is expected to travel to Damascus before eventually returning to Australia, despite objections from ruling and opposition lawmakers.
By Feras Dalatey
Feb 22 - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for two attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria, as the militant group signaled what it described as a new phase of operations against the country’s leadership.
The militant group said on its Dabiq news agency that it had targeted “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province using a pistol, and attacked two other personnel with machine guns in the northern city of Raqqa.
By Andrea Mandala
MILAN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Italy's state broadcaster RAI was forced to apologise to the Jewish community on Saturday after an off‑air remark advising its producers to "avoid" the Israeli crew was broadcast before coverage of the Four-Man bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics.
The head of RAI's sports division had already resigned earlier in the week after his error-ridden commentary at the Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony two weeks ago triggered a revolt among its journalists.
DUBAI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Students held protests at several Iranian universities at the start of a new semester on Saturday, some clashing with pro-government groups, according to local news agencies and posts on social media.
The protests coincided with ceremonies traditionally held after 40 days to mourn those killed by security forces during last month's anti-government demonstrations, which saw thousands lose their lives in the worst domestic unrest since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Tehran resident Hamid struggles to sleep as fears of renewed conflict haunt the Iranian capital after last year's 12-day war with Israel.
"I don't sleep well at night even while taking pills," Hamid told AFP, as he expressed concern for his "family's health... my kids and grandchildren".
The city woke up to blasts overnight from June 12 to 13 last year as Iran's arch-enemy Israel launched an unprecedented military campaign.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Saturday that FIFA's support of an investment programme in Gaza was "in keeping with the role" of an international federation.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry said on Friday she was unaware that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had attended the first meeting of the Board of Peace alongside US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday.
Libyans have been enjoying Ramadan with feasts and fireworks -- but soaring prices, a devalued currency and political divisions have left many with little to celebrate.
Fifteen years on from the fall of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, the country remains split between east and west, while shortages of goods, including fuel, disrupt daily life, despite Libya sitting atop vast oil and gas reserves.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, shoppers stock up on treats, as families gather for lavish meals before and after the daytime fast that stretches from sunrise to sunset.
Iranian students chanted anti-government slogans and scuffled with counter-protesters on Saturday in the latest display of anger at the country's clerical leaders, who also face a US military build-up aimed at pressuring them into a nuclear deal.
The gatherings at universities, which were reported by both local and diaspora media outlets, followed a mass protest movement that was met with a government crackdown last month that left thousands dead.
