CNN – Europe/Mideast/Africa

By Hadas Gold, CNN When Benjamin Netanyahu hits the campaign trail, he uses what’s been dubbed the Bibimobile — a converted truck turned into a travelling stage ensconced in bulletproof glass. Elevated like a king above his subjects — who fawn over him as the one and only savior to lead Israel. And with polls

By Adam Pourahmadi, CNN Hundreds of Iranian journalists are calling for the release of colleagues Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who were arrested and sent to Tehran’s Evin prison for covering the death of Mahsa Amini, according to independent Iranian newspaper Etemad. “Media freedom is not only the right of journalists but also of society,”

By Heather Chen, Sana Noor Haq, Aditi Sangal, Mike Hayes and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Niamh Kennedy and Abdul Nasir, CNN Violent clashes broke out between security forces and student protesters at university campuses across Iran on Sunday, according to activist and human rights groups in the country. Students continued to protest in large numbers at some of the country’s main universities despite a warning from the head of

By Idris Mukhtar, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Heather Yamour, CNN At least 100 people were killed after two car bombs exploded near Somalia’s education ministry in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday. More than 300 others were wounded in the attack, said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a video statement posted on his official Twitter account.

By Hadas Gold and Richard Allen Greene, CNN Stop us if you’re heard this one before: On Tuesday, Israelis are going to the polls to elect a new Knesset, or parliament. It’s the fifth time in less than four years that voters are casting ballots. Holding elections that often is bound to prompt some questions.

By Uliana Pavlova, Sugam Pokharel, Dennis Lapin and Katharina Krebs, CNN Russia will suspend its participation in the United Nations-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, the country’s defense ministry announced Saturday. Moscow blames Kyiv for the attacks. CNN cannot independently verify Russia’s report. A top Ukrainian

By Niamh Kennedy and Rob Picheta, CNN The head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards has told Iranians to end the weeks-long demonstrations that have gripped the country, warning that Saturday would be their “last day” of protest. Speaking from the funeral of victims of the attack carried out by Islamic State in the city of

By Stephanie Busari, CNN It is a sight Ya Lewa Aji says she can never forget: a baby strapped to her mother’s back, shot dead while the mother lay lifeless on the floor. But she barely had time to take in the scenes of horror unfolding before her as she and her family fled for

By Ivana Kottasová, Olga Voitovych and Nic Robertson, CNN As winter edges ever closer in Ukraine, Alla Melnychuk and her neighbors are racing against the time to save what little they have left. Their apartment building in Irpin was hit during some of the heaviest fighting in March. Most of the windows are still shattered,

By Adam Pourahmadi and Richard Roth, CNN Protesters encountered teargas and gunfire following Friday prayers in the eastern Iranian city of Zahedan, according to videos posted on social media and provided by IranWire, an activist website. Automatic gunfire can be heard in the videos, which also show protesters picking up bullet casings on the ground.

Exclusive by Sam Kiley, CNN Four US-made M4 Carbine rifles lean against the back of the sofa. The young men, mostly dressed in black civilian clothes, are relaxed and chatty. Neighbors pop their heads in to say hello through a door open to the street. Which is odd. Because these men are being hunted, targeted

By Rob Picheta, Tara Subramaniam, Adrienne Vogt and Matt Meyer, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Niamh Kennedy and Rosanne Roobeek, CNN The Dutch foreign ministry is “investigating” reports that China has set up two purportedly illegal police stations in the Netherlands. “We are investigating the activities of these so-called police centers,” Ministry for Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maxine Hovenkamp said in a statement to CNN Thursday. Hovenkamp added that the

By Uliana Pavlova, Sugam Pokharel and Amy Cassidy, CNN Russian President Vladimir Putin took some familiar swipes at the US and its allies during a speech on Thursday, accusing “Western elites” of playing a “dangerous, bloody and dirty game” and seeking to blame them for much of the world’s trouble, including his own invasion of

By Valentina Di Donato and Glen Levy, CNN One person has died and four people, including Spanish soccer player Pablo Mari, were “seriously injured” after a stabbing attack on the outskirts of the Italian city of Milan on Thursday, according to Italian national police. The suspected attacker has been arrested, police said. “A mentally unstable

By Adam Pourahmadi, Mostafa Salem and Celine Alkhaldi, CNN Mourners gathering to commemorate the 40th day since the death of Nika Shahkarami, an Iranian teenager who went missing on September 20 after attending protests in the capital Tehran, were met with gunfire and tear gas by security forces, according to video posted on social media

By Anna Chernova and Rob Picheta, CNN Russian lawmakers agreed to toughen the country’s discriminatory law against so-called same-sex “propaganda,” moving to ban all Russians from promoting or “praising” homosexual relationships or publicly suggesting that they are “normal.” Moscow’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved unanimously amendments to strengthen the law against “propaganda

By Hadas Gold, Mostafa Salem, Mia Albert, Celine Alkhaldi and Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Israel and Lebanon finalized an agreement defining their maritime borders in the Mediterranean on Thursday, President Joe Biden announced on Twitter, inking a United States-brokered deal at the United Nations mission on the land border between the countries. The signing ceremony officially

By Anna Chernova, CNN Russian TV host and 2018 presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak has fled Russia for Lithuania, Russian state news agency TASS reported Thursday. Sobchack entered Lithuania using her Israeli passport, according to the country’s State Security Department director Darius Jauniskis. “Yes, I can confirm that Sobchak is in Lithuania,” TASS cited Jauniskis as

By Eliza Mackintosh, CNN An opposition leader in exile from Belarus has demanded that President Alexsandr Lukashenko be held to account for his regime’s complicity in the Ukraine war and for Russian soldiers to withdraw from Belarusian soil, after a CNN investigation revealed new evidence that the country provided medical assistance to injured Russian troops.

By Tara Subramaniam and Jack Guy, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Gianluca Mezzofiore, Katie Polglase and Adam Pourahmadi, CNN A black-clad Iranian girl stands on top of an overturned garbage bin, waving her headscarf as it is engulfed by flames, amid chants of “death to the dictator.” A moment later, video shows, she crouches to collect another scarf, from a friend, which she will also

By Adam Pourahmadi and Hamdi Alkhshali, CNN At least 15 people were killed and 40 others were injured Wednesday in a “terrorist attack” at the Shahcheragh Shrine in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran, according to state-run media and Iranian officials. Two children were among the victims, according to state-run Press TV. Iranian security forces

By Celine Alkhaldi, Adam Pourahmadi and Tara John, CNN Clashes broke out throughout Iran Wednesday as thousands of people came to the burial site of Mahsa Amini in Saqqez, a city in the Kurdistan province, to mark 40 days since her death, semi-official Iranian state news agency ISNA said. Protests have swept through the Islamic

By Nimi Princewill and Larry Madowo, CNN Nigeria’s southern Bayelsa state is officially nicknamed the ‘glory of all lands.’ But much of it is now a river that has driven entire communities away from their homes. Desperate to survive, many locals fleeing raging floods which have wrecked their homes and livelihoods are also forced to

By Clarissa Ward, Mick Krever, Scott McWhinnie and Dave Alsup, CNN The body of an American man killed in August while fighting alongside the Ukrainian military has been returned to Ukrainian custody by the Russian military. A CNN team witnessed the transfer in the Zaporizhzhia region on Wednesday. The American is 24-year-old Joshua Jones, who

By Tara Subramaniam, Jack Guy and Adrienne Vogt, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By James Frater and Xiaofei Xu, CNN Police in Norway arrested an academic working at the University of Tromsø in the Arctic Circle on Monday, on suspicion of secretly spying for Russia, according to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. Norway’s police told NRK that the man, a researcher at the university, claims to be a Brazilian

By Tara John and Katharina Krebs, CNN Russian President Vladimir Putin called his government to “speed up” decision-making and manufacturing of military equipment as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine goes into its ninth month. “Now, we are also faced with the need to speed up resolution of the issues related to the provision of a special

By Mick Krever, CNN A veil of uncertainty has descended over Ukraine’s southern front, as a counteroffensive raises hopes of further Ukrainian gains and speculation grows about what Russia’s next move might be. There are mixed signals over Russia’s plans for the key city of Kherson, which it has occupied since the early days of

By Tara Subramaniam and Jack Guy, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Abeer Salman and Hadas Gold, CNN At least six Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military on Tuesday, making it the deadliest day of violence in the occupied West Bank this year, CNN analysis of official Palestinian data showed. Five were killed in the old city of Nablus during an Israeli raid there, according

By Anna Chernova, Dakin Andone and Zahra Ullah, CNN A judge in Russia has left Brittney Griner’s verdict in place, upholding on Tuesday the US basketball star’s conviction on drug smuggling charges and reducing only slightly her nine-year prison sentence. Griner’s sentence will be modified to count the time she spent in pretrial detention after

By Nadeen Ebrahim and Abbas Al Lawati, CNN A top Iranian military official issued a warning to Saudi Arabia last week as his government continued to face off against protesters at home. “You are involved in this matter and know that you are vulnerable, it is better to be careful,” he said at the sidelines

By Tara Subramaniam, Aditi Sangal, Jack Guy, Elise Hammond and Mike Hayes, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at Yemen, a country located on the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, sharing a border with Saudi Arabia and Oman. About Yemen (from the CIA World Fact Book)Area: 527,968 sq km (twice the size of Wyoming) Population: 30,984,689 (2022 est.) Median age: 19.8 years Capital: Sanaa Ethnic groups:

CNN Editorial Research Here’s a look at the country of Iraq which borders Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran and the Persian Gulf. About Iraq (from the CIA World Factbook)Area: 438,317 sq km Population: 39,650,145 (2021 est.) Median age: 21.2 years (2020 est.) Capital: Baghdad Ethnic Groups: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20% or other 5%

By Jennifer Hauser and Tara Subramaniam, CNN Boris Johnson was on Sunday battling to win enough support to make what would be a stunning comeback as Britain’s prime minister, as senior Conservative politicians declared their support for former finance minister Rishi Sunak. The two men have become the early favorites to replace Liz Truss, who

By Hande Atay Alam, Aliza Kassim and Tara Subramaniam, CNN Iran said Saturday it would take legal action against the United States, accusing it of “direct involvement” in the protests sweeping the country. Tehran also warned the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia would “not be ignored by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary system” for their role

By Olga Voitovych and Tim Lister, CNN A resident of Kherson has described the situation in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city as tense, with people “emotionally exhausted,” the streets empty from mid-afternoon onwards, and Russian soldiers often seen in civilian clothes. The woman was reached by CNN through a third party, and was speaking shortly before

By Jomana Karadsheh and Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN A female Iranian rock climber, who competed without a hijab at an international competition in South Korea, has taken to social media to thank her supporters — amid conflicting reports over whether she has been put under house arrest. “I am endlessly grateful for the support of you,

By Pierre Meilhan and Richard Roth, CNN The Ukrainian military said it used anti-aircraft missile units and mobile fire groups to destroy Russian cruise missiles during a string of attacks on energy infrastructure across the country Saturday morning. “18 enemy cruise missiles were destroyed by aviation, anti-aircraft missile units and mobile fire groups,” a post

By Valentina Di Donato, Ben Wedeman and Antonia Mortensen, CNN Giorgia Meloni, the hard-right leader who was sworn in as Italy’s first female prime minister on Saturday, won the election on a campaign built around a promise to block migrant ships and support for traditional “family values” and anti-LGBTQ themes. Meloni was sworn in by

By Clarissa Ward, Brent Swails, Tim Lister and Scott McWhinnie, CNN The letter had just three words: mama, alive, healthy. But Olena Yuzvak had no doubt that it was from her son, Dima. The 23-year-old biotech graduate was taken by Russian forces from their front yard in the Kyiv suburb of Hostomel along with Olena

By Celine Alkhaldi and Adam Pourahmadi, CNN A teachers’ union in Iran called for a nationwide teacher strike in protest over the recent deaths and detention of students in the country, the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA) said in a statement on Telegram on Thursday. The council announced a period of public

By Nimi Princewill, CNN Four more bodies of suspected illegal migrants from Ethiopia have been found near the site of a mass grave in northern Malawi that contained the remains of 25 Ethiopian nationals, according to police in the southern African country. Malawi police spokesman Peter Kalaya said the Ethiopians were suspected victims of human

By Rhea Mogul, Aditi Sangal and Matt Meyer, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Valentina Di Donato, Antonia Mortensen, Sugam Pokharel and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sparked controversy this week when audio released by Italian news agency LaPresse revealed the 86-year-old speaking about his “re-established” relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Berlusconi says in the audio that Putin sent him 20 bottles of

By Tara Subramaniam, Sana Noor Haq, Aditi Sangal, Matt Meyer, Maureen Chowdhury and Elise Hammond, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN As Russia faces growing setbacks in Ukraine, it appears to be increasingly turning to Iran for help, in a development that has sparked concern from the West and Tehran’s regional adversaries. Sources familiar with US intelligence have told CNN that Iran has sent military trainers to Crimea to train and advise

By Hannah Ritchie and Teele Rebane, CNN Arman doesn’t sleep much anymore. “In my nightmare, I see someone is following me in the dark, ” he said. “I’m alone and no one is helping me.” He says his life was forever altered in early October, when he was arrested on the streets of Tehran for

By Sebastian Shukla, Frederik Pleitgen and Rich Harlow, CNN The weather in Bakhmut deceives the senses, sunny and warm — almost peaceful. But a deafening boom of outgoing artillery from the critical eastern Ukrainian town shook that notion out of the system, as Ukrainian soldiers on Wednesday launched offensives to try to reclaim positions from

By Mick Krever, CNN The Russian-installed leaders in Ukraine’s Kherson region on Wednesday began massively ramping up the relocation of up to 60,000 people amid warnings over Russia’s ability to withstand a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of generating “hysteria” to compel people to leave. Residents in the city of Kherson began to

By Uliana Pavlova Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that he has signed a law introducing martial law in four Ukrainian regions the Kremlin claims to have annexed, in violation of international law. The regions are Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia does not control the entirety of those regions and is in a

By Olga Voitovych and Mick Krever, CNN A pregnant woman and her husband killed in Kyiv by what Ukrainian officials said was a Russian “kamikaze” drone strike were inseparable, like “yin and yang,” their close friend has told CNN. “These people loved life,” Anna Petrukova said of Victoria Zamchenko and her husband Bohdan, both 34,

By Tara Subramaniam, Aditi Sangal, Sana Noor Haq and Hannah Strange, CNN The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Teele Rebane, CNN Arash says he has grown adept at spotting undercover Iranian law enforcement officers. The doctor says they often visit the emergency room of the public hospital where he works as a general practitioner to search for people injured in the protests that have swept the country since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died

By Joseph Ataman, CNN “She’s wearing white jeans,” the girl’s mother posted on Facebook, “a white hoodie and her grey backpack.” “Help us to find her,” she pleaded. Beneath Delphine Daviet’s message, two pictures completed the post. In one, a young girl, 12-year-old Lola, smiles at the camera, in the other, a pixelated snapshot from