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CNN —Authorities in Lebanon moved to ban the “Barbie” movie from cinemas on Wednesday, saying it promotes homosexuality and violates the nation’s values. The minister said the movie also “promotes sexual deviance and transsexuality,” by Lebanese state-run media on Wednesday. “Sexual deviance” is a term commonly used in the Middle East to refer to homosexuals. The ban comes amid heightened anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by some politicians and government officials in Lebanon and the wider Middle East. He referred to homosexuality as “sexual perversion” and identified same-sex relations as a “threat” to Lebanon.

Persons: Barbie, Mohammad Mortada, ”, Hassan Nasrallah, Hussain bin Ali, Prophet Mohammed’s, Nasrallah, “ Barbie ” Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Rights Watch Locations: Lebanon, ”, Lebanese, East, Kuwait, Iraq, Denmark, Sweden, Vietnam, South China

Sydney CNN —Four Australian defense personnel are missing in the water off the east coast of Australia after they were forced to ditch their Taipan helicopter in the sea during joint wargame drills with the United States late Friday. Speaking at a press conference in Brisbane on Saturday, Defense Minister Richard Marles said the search was ongoing for the four crew of the Australian Army helicopter. Last night, just after 10.30, an Australian Army helicopter, an MRH-90, ditched in waters close to Hamilton Island. Because there was another helicopter present, a search and rescue was able to commence immediately. A search operation involving both search and rescue aircraft and sea vessels is under way, according to the Australian Defense Ministry.

Persons: Richard Marles, ” Marles, Anthony Albanese, Antony Blinken, Defense Lloyd Austin, ” Blinken, they’ve, ”, Austin, it’s “, Damien Hill, Marles Organizations: Sydney CNN —, Australian Army, Australian Defense Ministry, Defense, Brisbane, Airbus Locations: Australia, United States, Brisbane, Hamilton, Queensland

CNN —At least 31 people have been killed in devastating flash floods that hit parts of Afghanistan over the weekend, authorities said Sunday. In a press conference from Kabul, Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, added that 74 people are injured and at least 41 remain missing. An excavator removes mud and rocks from a damaged house after heavy flooding in Maidan Wardak province. APA damaged house is seen after heavy flooding in the Maidan Wardak province in central Afghanistan on Sunday, July 23, 2023. APAfghan boys look at a truck that was damaged in flash floods in Maidan Wardak province on July 23, 2023.

Persons: Shafiullah Rahimi, Rahimi, ” Organizations: CNN, Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, AP, Getty, Ministry of State for Disaster Management Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Red Crescent, Maidan Wardak, AFP

Auckland, New Zealand CNN —A shooting that erupted inside a building in central Auckland killed at least two people and injured six others, say New Zealand officials, casting a cloud over the Women’s World Cup that was set to start later in the day. The shooting is “an isolated incident,” and “not a national security risk,” New Zealand police said on Twitter, adding that the male shooter was also dead. During a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the Women’s World Cup, which is due to kick off later in the city on Thursday, will “proceed as planned.”“Clearly, with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland. “Auckland Transport says passengers coming in to the city should delay travel. New Zealand’s parliament voted to ban military-style semi-automatic weapons in 2019, weeks after the Christchurch massacre left 50 people dead.

Persons: “, Chris Hipkins, ” Hipkins, Nathan Frandino, Reuters Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, I’m, ” Brown, RNZ, Brown, ”, Nisha, ” Nisha, Jacinda Ardern, Ardern Organizations: New Zealand CNN, Auckland, New, Twitter, CNN, Newshub, Police, Wellington , New Zealand, FIFA, Reuters Auckland Mayor, New Zealand, ”, Auckland Transport Locations: Auckland, New Zealand, Wellington , New, New, Zealand, Norway, American, there’s, Christchurch

London/Hong Kong CNN —The European Union has lifted all import restrictions on food, including fish, produced near the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan just as Tokyo prepares to release treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean. The bloc’s move follows positive results from tests carried out on the products by the Japanese authorities and EU member states, the European Commission said in a statement Thursday. After the Fukushima plant melted down in 2011 following an earthquake and tsunami, the EU restricted food imports from 10 prefectures in Japan and started requiring pre-export tests on food products for radioactivity. It has since regularly reviewed the measures and progressively eased them “as risks declined,” the European Commission said. On Wednesday, Hong Kong, one of the world’s top buyers of Japan’s fish, said it would ban seafood imports from 10 prefectures in the country if Tokyo pressed ahead with the wastewater release.

Persons: “, Ursula von der Leyen, — Mohammed Tawfeeq Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, European, European Commission, International Atomic Energy Agency, ” Locations: Hong Kong, Japan, Tokyo, United States, South Korea, China, Fukushima, Atlanta

CNN —A Guatemalan court has suspended the party of one of the candidates in next month’s presidential run-off election, raising questions over the vote. Movimiento Semilla is the party of opposition candidate Bernardo Arévalo. The FECI investigation established at least 12 deceased people registered by Movimiento Semilla, according to Curruchich. He said in the video message that the party paid a total of approximately US$22,000 in exchange for 5,000 signatures with the aim of reaching the minimum necessary to become a political party and participate in elections. “And it’s evident that it does not have any legal support.”Guatemala has struggled with corruption and poor governance.

Persons: Rafael Curruchich, Bernardo Arévalo, Sandra Torres, Arévalo, ” Organizations: CNN —, Guatemalan Public Ministry, Movimiento Semilla, Semilla, CNN Locations: United States, ” Guatemala, Central America

☆ Syria aid: Russia slammed as 'inhumane' after blocking UN cross-border aid operation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The United States, France and the United Kingdom have condemned Russia’s move to block the proposed extension of a United Nations’ cross-border operation that delivers aid to millions of people in Syria from Turkey. The decision means that UN agencies and humanitarian partners are not authorized to continue using the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syria-Turkey border to provide humanitarian aid to people in the rebel-held area in northwest Syria. Russia had submitted a draft which provided for a six-month extension but it was voted down by France, the UK and the US. More than 4 million people rely on aidRussia and Syria have argued the humanitarian operation violates Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying food and other aid should be delivered from inside the country. The Syrian regime praised Russia’s decision, saying it vetoed “a Western UNSC draft resolution violating Syria’s sovereignty under the pretext of delivering cross-border aid,” Syrian state-run SANA news said on Tuesday.

Persons: Russia’s, Matthew Miller, “, ”, ” Miller, Vassily Nebenzia, SANA, Bassam Sabbagh, ” SANA, Bashar al, Assad Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, State, United Nations Security, Western UNSC, “ Security Locations: United States, France, United Kingdom, Syria, Turkey, Russia, China, Western, Syrian, Syria’s

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CNN —Iran on Saturday executed two men it accused of carrying out a deadly attack on a shrine in Shiraz in October 2022, according to state-run news agency IRNA. Iran’s Supreme Court had rejected an appeal filed for the two men, Mohammed Ramez Rashidi and Sayed Naeem Hashemi Qatali, IRNA quoted Fars Province Chief Prosecutor as saying. Thirteen people were killed, and 40 others injured in the attack that took place at Shahcheragh Shrine in the city of Shiraz in southern Iran on October 26, 2022, according to IRNA. The attack took place on a Wednesday evening, one of the busiest times for the shrine. Protests swept through the Islamic Republic following the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman.

Persons: Mohammed Ramez Rashidi, Sayed Naeem Hashemi Qatali, IRNA, “, Mahsa Amini Organizations: CNN, ISIS Locations: Iran, Shiraz, Iran’s, Fars Province, Shahcheragh, Islamic Republic

Paris, France CNN —Fires raged across protest sites in France and nearly 1,000 people were detained as violent demonstrations over the killing of a 17-year-old shot by police entered a fourth night. France’s Interior Ministry said Saturday 994 people had been detained following the fourth night of violence. Seventy-nine police and gendarmes were injured over Friday night and there had been 58 attacks on police and gendarme stations, it added. It also shared video showing damage to the Alcazar library in Marseille which it said had been vandalized during the night. “The situation is worrisome with the violent riots that have been ongoing in mainland France for several days.

Persons: geolocated, Gerald Darmanin, BFMTV, Darmanin, Benoit Payan, ”, Pascal Prache, Alexis Jumeau, Nahel, Éric Dupond, Moretti, Elysée Organizations: France CNN —, CNN, BFMTV, Marseille, TF1, French Locations: Paris, France, Lyon, Old, Marseille, Alcazar, “, Nanterre, Cayenne, French Guiana, ”

CNN —Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s trial on charges of abuse of political power and misuse of public media began in the country’s highest electoral court on Thursday in Brasilia. If found guilty, Bolsonaro could be ruled ineligible to run for public office for up to eight years. Such claims of flaws in the electoral system have all been denied by Brazil’s electoral authorities. The livestream of the 2022 meeting, which was once available through official channels, was taken down by YouTube for not complying with its fake news policy. Bolsonaro lost last year’s election by the narrowest margin in decades against current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Persons: Jair Bolsonaro’s, Bolsonaro, Benedito Gonçalves, ”, Judge Gonçalves, Walter Braga Netto, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Organizations: CNN, Former, CNN Brasil, Federal Police, YouTube, Brazil’s Democratic Labor Party Locations: Brasilia ., Brasilia

☆ Airstrike in Sudan’s capital kills 17 people, including five children, hours before US and Saudi Arabia broker ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq Alaa Elassar Aaron Pellish | Mohammed Tawfeeq | Alaa Elassar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —At least 17 people were killed, including five children, after an airstrike hit a residential area in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Saturday, according to the country’s health ministry, hours before the United States and Saudi Arabia announced a 72-hour ceasefire. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of the airstrikes on the Mayo, Yarmouk and Mandela neighborhoods in Khartoum, RSF said on social media. Earlier Saturday, the US and Saudi Arabia announced the two warring factions have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in Sudan, the US Embassy in Khartoum and the Saudi foreign ministry said in a joint statement. The joint statement suggested that peace talks facilitated by the US and Saudi Arabia could be disbanded if the ceasefire isn’t honored. Out of 130 hospitals in Khartoum, about 40 hospitals are currently operating, but the rest have stopped due to ongoing deadly clashes.

Persons: RSF, Saudi Arabia “, haven’t, Haitham Ibrahim, “, Ibrahim, al, – Sudan’s, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Dagalo Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, US, ” SAF, RSF, Sudan ’ Health, Saudi, Hadath, Forces, United Nations, Refugees Locations: Sudan’s, Khartoum, United States, Saudi Arabia, Yarmouk district, Mayo, Yarmouk, Mandela, Sudan, Saudi, a.m, West Darfur, tatters, Darfur

☆ Shark attack in Egypt kills a Russian citizen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Egyptian authorities have banned swimming near a beach at an Egyptian Red Sea resort following a deadly shark attack that killed a Russian citizen on Thursday, according to Egyptian and Russian officials. Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, ordered a committee to investigate the incident, according to a statement released by Egypt’s Environment Ministry. Over the past years, several similar incidents have happened in the Egyptian Red Sea. In 2020, a Ukrainian boy lost an arm, and an Egyptian tour guide lost a leg in a shark attack. In 2018, a shark killed a Czech tourist off a Red Sea beach,” according to the state-run Al-Ahram Online newspaper.

Persons: Viktor Voropayev, “, ” Voropayev, Yasmine Fouad Organizations: CNN, TASS, Russian, Environment, Egypt’s Environment Ministry, Environment Ministry, Egyptian Ministry of Environment, Ahram Online Locations: Egyptian, Russian, Hurghada, Russia, Gouna, Soma, Red, Ukrainian, Czech

CNN —The United Arab Emirates has invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the United Nations’ COP28 Climate Summit, which will take place from November 30 in Dubai. The UAE embassy in Damascus said in a post on Twitter on Sunday that Assad had received an invitation to attend COP28 from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi. If Assad attends, it would be his first global summit since the start of the country’s brutal civil war in 2011, and could cause diplomatic tensions for countries which continue to impose sanctions on his regime. A COP28 spokesperson told Reuters in a statement this week: “COP28 is committed to an inclusive COP process that produces transformational solutions. This can only happen if we have everyone in the room.”In March, Assad visited the UAE on an official invitation for the first time since the Syrian civil war began.

CNN —Sudanese actress Asia Abdel-Majid was killed in crossfire during fighting in the capital Khartoum on Wednesday, amid clashes between two warring factions that have devastated Sudan and led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians. The 80-year-old was killed after shells hit her home in Bahri, north of the capital, in fighting between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army, her nephew told CNN. It is unclear if it was the RSF or the army that fired the shot that killed Abdel-Majid. The kindergarten is next door to Abdel-Majid’s home, where she was alone when the shelling took place. ‘Torn apart’Smoke rises over Khartoum during clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese army on April 17, 2023.

“And we kind of thought that they were going to take us.”They waited, well into the early hours of the morning – before finally getting an email from the US State Department. However, the US State Department has advised that American citizens in Sudan “should have no expectation of a US government-coordinated evacuation at this time” due to the security situation and the closure of the airport in Khartoum. “It is imperative that US citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances,” said State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel at a news briefing last Friday. The French Embassy in Sudan was carrying out a separate evacuation for French citizens, and foreigners of other nationalities were welcome. Welker also argued that Americans in Sudan are largely there for humanitarian and educational reasons – and that the US should help retrieve all those who want to leave.

Al-Jamil Al-Fadil, a resident of Tuti in Khartoum, told CNN that projectiles fell on the neighborhood. And in the Kafouri area north of Khartoum, warplanes overhead came under fire from anti-aircraft missiles, eyewitnesses told CNN journalists in Sudan. Food and water shortagesAndou Dieng, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said looting as well as fighting is continuing across the country despite attempted ceasefires. In the capital Khartoum, eyewitnesses and CNN journalists in the north of the city told CNN that RSF paramilitary soldiers are occupying at least one water station, causing shortages to vital water supplies. More than 2,700 people from around 76 countries have arrived in Saudi Arabia in recent days after being evacuated from Sudan, the Saudi ambassador to the UK told CNN on Thursday.

CNN —A once powerful member of the former Sudanese government wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity has been freed from prison in the capital Khartoum. Prisoners of Kober prison were released by authorities after inmates protested the lack of food and water by burning two cars inside the prison grounds, two Sudanese police sources told CNN. Unconfirmed reports claimed the former President al-Bashir was among the prisoners released from Kober prison. Sudan’s then-President, Omar al-Bashir, was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by the ICC, including genocide, related to the Darfur conflict in 2009. He was ousted in a military coup in April 2019 following a lengthy popular uprising and jailed in Khartoum.

☆ At least 78 killed in stampede in Yemen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Mohammed Tawfeeq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Dozens of people were killed in a crowd surge in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, on Wednesday night, the Houthi-run Interior Ministry said in a statement. The director of the Houthi-run Health office in Sanaa, Mutahar al-Marouni, told the Houthi-run Al-Masirah news agency that at least 78 people were killed, and dozens were injured. A view of houses in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen on June 15, 2022. “The dead and injured people were transferred to hospitals, and two merchants in charge of the matter were arrested,” the statement added. During this time of the month, people give alms known as Zakat al-Fitr to the needy.

Hong Kong/Atlanta/London CNN —Oil prices spiked Monday after OPEC+ producers unexpectedly announced that they would cut output. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped 5.31% to $84.13 a barrel, while WTI, the US benchmark, rose 5.48% to $79.83. With oil prices now rising, inflation could remain higher for longer, adding pressure to a hot-button issue for consumers around the world. Saudi Arabia now says it will cut oil production by another half a million barrels a day. “We’re focused on prices for American consumers, not barrels.”In October, OPEC+’s decision to cut production had already rankled the White House.

CNN —At least 100 people were killed after two car bombs exploded near Somalia’s education ministry in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamist group al-Shabaab has claimed other recent attacks. The two car bombs exploded near a busy intersection in the capital and near the Ministry of Education, according to an official with the president’s office. Mohamed Muhudin/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesMohamed Moalim, who owns a restaurant near the ministry, said his wife, Fardawsa Mohamed, a mother of six, tried to help victims of the blast. “We recognized the number plate of the tuk tuk, which was now rubble,” Aden said.

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