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The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, has almost finished her six-year term in what is largely a ceremonial position, yet the French-born politician has become far more than a figurehead over the past few years.She has led opposition to a set of repressive laws introduced by the country's ruling party, Georgian Dream, and more importantly, perhaps, managed to unite a fractious opposition in its attempts to unseat the government in Saturday's parliamentary election. Yet those attempts have failed after Georgian Dream, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, claimed 54% of the vote.Leaders of the main opposition parties, alongside Ms Zourabichvili, say the election was stolen. Image: Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili addresses a...

Hospitals in northern Gaza are struggling to function as Israeli military operations continue and aid agencies warn of a catastrophe unfolding.One of the hospitals, Kamal Adwan, was raided by IDF (Israel Defence Forces) forces last week. Around 100 people were arrested, many of them medical staff.Middle East latest: Israel hit Iranian former nuclear test site, images revealNow, only a few doctors remain to care for hundreds of patients and in desperate conditions. The wounded lie on thin mattresses wherever there is space. Image: Iodine and other debris on the floor of the Kamal Adwan hospital There is the occasional cry or groan of pain, but mostly people are silent, dazed, numb to this catas...

Israel has banned the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from operating in the country - a move which could hamper its work in Gaza.UNRWA's chief Philippe Lazzarini has warned the ban "will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza". Source link

The oil price has dropped steeply as tensions in the Middle East appeared to ease.For the first time since the very start of the month, the cost of a barrel of the benchmark oil Brent crude is below $72 at $71.93. The oil price stood at $76 on Friday evening, before Monday morning's fall of more than 5%.It means the cost of oil is cheaper than it has been for the vast majority of the past two years. The cost of oil impacts the price of filling a tank with petrol or diesel and should trickle down to pump prices in about 10 days. It comes as the threat of further conflict escalation in the Middle East appeared to lessen.Iran and Israel have been exchanging missile strikes but the latest comments from Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei avoided directly threatening Israel in a spee...

Police in Shanghai have been targeting Halloween celebrations, seemingly due to costumes considered politically sensitive.At least half a dozen people in costumes in the city's Zhongshan Park were seen being led away by officers on Friday night. Although there has been no official notice banning Halloween, local officials appear to be trying to prevent a repeat of last year.Then China's financial capital saw some people dressed up in hazmat suits linked to COVID-19 and other outift related to social and economic issues Image: Last year in Shanghai, some wore Halloween costumes linked to sensitive topics like China's handling of COVID-19. Pic: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Others wore costumes made of blank sheets of pape...