- Celtic captain McGregor urges Hoops to 'stay calm' against Rangers
- Olympic javelin champion Chopra targets 90m mark in Doha
- Norris backs McLaren to mount 2025 F1 title bid after Miami win
- London, Frankfurt hit record highs on rate-cut hopes
- UK's Cameron urges NATO countries to boost defence spending
- Bank of England holds rate at 16-year high, signals looming cut
- Spanish court shelves Shakira tax fraud case
- Bayern face uncertain future after Champions League exit
- Rafah struck after Biden warning on arms transfers
- European stocks stutter before Bank of England rate call
- Italian tennis star Giorgi retires
- Inevitable Madrid continue Champions League love affair
- Nissan net profit nearly doubles despite China challenges
- Spain vows to block BBVA's hostile bid for rival bank
- Olympic torch relay sets off in Marseille
- Blackstone wins bidding war for UK music rights firm
- Famed Thai holiday isles suffer water shortages after heatwave
- Nissan annual net profit nearly doubles on-year
- Putin says nuclear forces 'always' on alert in Victory Day speech
- Chinese cities lift curbs on buying homes as property crisis bites
- Malaysian team pulls out of season opener after footballer acid attack
- Japan's Mount Fuji barrier delayed
- Markets' rally stutters as traders eye rate cut outlook
- Spanish bank BBVA goes hostile in Sabadell takeover bid
- S. Korea president admits 'shortcomings' in rare address
- Romania opens first crowd-funded hospital
- Swift and Beyonce show the lucrative pop-fashion liaison
- Struggling Crusaders boosted by return of All Blacks pair
- Kewell seeks coaching redemption in AFC Champions League final
- Malaysian team pulls out of showpiece after footballer acid attack
- Israel shells Rafah as Biden vows arms suspension
- Taylor Swift European dates kick off in Paris
- Moscow children celebrate 'victory' amid patriotic education drive
- Hurricanes braced for breakdown storm in Super Rugby showdown
- Chinese city lifts curbs on buying homes as property crisis bites
- Crespo-Kewell Champions League rivalry renewed in Asian final
- S. Korea vows strong Ukraine ties, smooth Russia relations
- Japan's former world figure skating champion Uno, 26, retires
- Battling Brunson fires Knicks over Pacers
- Asian markets mixed as traders eye rate cuts
- Sweden's Eurovision brings kitsch in the shadow of Gaza
- Marquez eyes French MotoGP victory but plays down title talk
- Bank of England set to hold rate at 16-year high
- Sport merely a propaganda tool to Russia, says Ukraine minister
- 'Constant terror' in key Darfur city as fighting closes in
- School's out: how climate change threatens education
- Putin to mark Victory Day emboldened by Ukraine gains
- Former Fiji PM Bainimarama handed one-year prison sentence
- China's Xi in Hungary to celebrate 'new era' with Orban
- Malaysian team pulls out of football season-opener after player assaults
CMSC | -1.53% | 24.14 | $ | |
RYCEF | 2.07% | 5.32 | $ | |
SCS | 0.86% | 12.81 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.78% | 24.43 | $ | |
NGG | 0.32% | 69.84 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.1% | 56.25 | $ | |
VOD | -0.35% | 8.46 | $ | |
RIO | -1.48% | 69.02 | $ | |
BCC | 1.91% | 133.21 | $ | |
RELX | 0.12% | 42.94 | $ | |
BCE | 0.48% | 33.62 | $ | |
JRI | -0.26% | 11.565 | $ | |
BTI | 0.63% | 30.16 | $ | |
BP | -0.13% | 37.53 | $ | |
GSK | -0.02% | 44.14 | $ | |
AZN | 0.84% | 76.97 | $ |
Influential Iraqi cleric backs US campus protests
Iraqi religious leader Moqtada Sadr on Saturday expressed his support for pro-Palestinian encampments at universities in the United States and called for an end to police action against them.
"We call for a halt to the crackdown on voices advocating for peace and freedom," Sadr said in a statement.
"The voice of American universities demanding an end to Zionist terrorism is our voice."
Sadr once led a militia fighting American forces following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
He retains a devoted following of millions among the country's majority Shiite Muslim population, and wields great influence over Iraqi politics.
Protests and encampments have taken place at campuses across the United States, Israel's largest military supplier.
Student protesters say they are expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the death toll since October 7 is at least 34,388, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.
In response to the growing protests, police have carried out large-scale arrests across the country, at times using chemical irritants and Tasers to disperse activists.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas militants from the territory attacked Israel on October 7, resulting in the death of around 1,170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized hostages, 129 of whom Israel estimates remain in Gaza, including 34 who the military says are dead.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas and has carried out relentless bombardment of Gaza alongside a ground invasion.
All Iraqi political factions support the Palestinian cause, and like its neighbour Iran, Israel's sworn enemy, Iraq does not recognise the Israeli state.
P.Anderson--BTB