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For Saudi fan, road to World Cup is a desert trek
For Saudi fan, road to World Cup is a desert trek
World
by  AFP

The idea hit Abdullah Alsulmi earlier this year, while he was watching a television show in which a senior Qatari official promised an "exceptional" experience at the upcoming World Cup. Wearing a wide-brim hat and a backpack to which he'd affixed Saudi and Qatari flags, he said: "I consider myself like a Qatari who is very interested in this World Cup and its success."

Iranian Kurd exiles in Iraq under fire as protests rage
Iranian Kurd exiles in Iraq under fire as protests rage
World
by  AFP

As protests flare across Iran over the death of young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, the Kurdistan region of neighbouring Iraq has paid a price, coming under bombardment from the Islamic republic's forces. A general in Iran has charged that the Kurdish opposition groups have been inciting the Mahsa Amini protests in Iranian Kurdistan, in the face of a lethal crackdown by the security forces.

Myanmar jails Japanese filmmaker for 10 years: diplomatic source
Myanmar jails Japanese filmmaker for 10 years: diplomatic source
World
by  AFP

Myanmar's junta has jailed a Japanese filmmaker for 10 years for encouraging dissent against the military and violating an electronic communications law, a diplomatic source told AFP on Thursday. The court sentenced Kubota to "seven years imprisonment" for breaching an electronic communications law, and three years for encouraging dissent, the source said.

The censor cannot hold: the pressure of controlling China's internet
The censor cannot hold: the pressure of controlling China's internet
World
by  AFP

As a teenager in rural China, Zeng Jiajun used his internet know-how to watch a banned documentary on the bloody military crackdown in Tiananmen Square. In amongst the forbidden fruit was "The Gate of Heavenly Peace", a three-hour documentary on student protests in Tiananmen Square in June 1989.

'A time to help': Indonesians ran to aid of fleeing fans in stadium stampede
'A time to help': Indonesians ran to aid of fleeing fans in stadium stampede
World
by  AFP

As one of the deadliest disasters in the history of football unfolded before his eyes at an Indonesian stadium, photographer Adi Bowo Sucipto put his camera down and rushed to help. Like Sucipto, other photographers and video journalists working that night in the stadium stopped shooting to wrest fleeing football fans who were trapped in the human crush near an exit.

'Watched the whole time': China's surveillance state grows under Xi
'Watched the whole time': China's surveillance state grows under Xi
World
by  AFP

When Chen picked up his phone to vent his anger at getting a parking ticket, his message on WeChat was a drop in the ocean of daily posts on China's biggest social network. Chen quickly deleted the post, but officers tracked him down and detained him within hours, accusing him of "insulting the police".