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Iran frees Nobel winner for three weeks, sparking calls for 'permanent' release

Iranian authorities on Wednesday freed Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi from prison for three weeks on medical grounds, a move supporters decried as "too little too late" with the Nobel committee urging a permanent release.Addressing reporters in Paris, Mohammadi's 18-year-old son, Ali Rahmani, said he had been able to speak by phone to his mother for the first time in two years.Her lawyer Mostafa Nili earlier announced on X that her jail sentence had been "suspended" for three weeks and she had been released.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iran frees Nobel winner for three weeks, sparking calls for 'permanent' release

Macron wraps up Saudi visit as government faces no-confidence vote

President Emmanuel Macron completed his state visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as France's government faced being ousted in a no-confidence vote.Macron flew out after viewing the ancient AlUla heritage site, a cornerstone of the conservative country's nascent tourism industry, at the end of his three-day tour.The first French state visit to Saudi Arabia since 2006 came against the backdrop of a major political crisis that threatens to force out the minority government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Macron wraps up Saudi visit as government faces no-confidence vote

Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns

Israeli settlers on Wednesday wounded a Palestinian and set buildings on fire while raiding two villages in the occupied West Bank after a nearby settlement outpost was evicted by Israeli forces, Palestinian and Israeli sources said."Israeli civilians entered the village of Beit Furik" east of the Palestinian city of Nablus, the Israeli army said, adding that they "set property on fire, and hurled stones".Local authorities told AFP the attacks took place early on Wednesday morning.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns

Hama, Syrian city at centre of fighting, has brutal history

Syria's fourth-largest city, Hama, which the army on Thursday admitted it lost control of after an Islamist-led rebel advance, was the scene in the 1980s of a massacre that remains among the darkest chapters in the country's history.Around 210 kilometres (130 miles) north of the capital Damascus, Hama is strategic because of its location between Syria's second city Aleppo -- which rebels took on December 1 -- and Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad's power base.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Hama, Syrian city at centre of fighting, has brutal history