Shakira wants day in Spanish court, rejects plea deal

Lebanese-Colombian superstar Shakira rejected a plea deal on Spanish tax fraud charges and wants to prove her innocence in court, her lawyers said Wednesday. Prosecutors accuse the 45-year-old “Hips don’t Lie” songstress of defrauding the Spanish tax o…

Morocco’s former PM shares homophobic monkeypox theory

Morocco’s former prime minister Saad Eddin El Othmani is under fire for sharing a homophobic theory regarding monkeypox, as the virus spreads rapidly worldwide. “The vast majority of modern monkeypox cases are sexually transmitted, and the vast majorit…

Israel approves 1,446 settlement units in Jerusalem

The Israeli “Jerusalem District Planning Committee” approved the building of 1,446 new settlement units southeast of Jerusalem on Tuesday, which the committee had been discussing previously. The plan extends control over the lands of the Palestinian to…

Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Israeli PM in Amman

Jordan’s King Abdullah on Wednesday told Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid in Amman that Palestinians should be part of US-sponsored regional economic projects to underpin stability in the Middle East. He told Lapid, in their first meeting after US Pre…

Iran says probing claimed Pakistani airline near-miss

Iran is investigating a claim of a near-miss in its airspace between two Pakistani passenger jets due to human error by air traffic controllers, state media said on Wednesday. The report comes a day afterPakistan International Airlines said two of its …