Author: BBC

Last week, an ex-intelligence officer, Colonel Rabih Alenezi, told the BBC that he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Gulf state to make way for The Line, part of the Neom eco-project.One of them was subsequently shot and killed for protesting against eviction. A statement issued by Saudi state security at the time alleged that he had opened fire on security forces and they had been forced to retaliate. Human rights organisations and the UN have said he was killed simply for resisting eviction.At least 47 other villagers were detained after resisting evictions, many of whom…

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A Paris court has acquitted director Roman Polanski of defaming a British actor who accused him of raping her when she was a teenager. In 2019, he told Paris Match magazine that Charlotte Lewis had lied about being sexually assaulted by him four decades ago.Ms Lewis, 56, brought the case against the 90-year-old filmmaker.She told the court in March that she had become the victim of a “smear campaign” that “nearly destroyed” her.Ms Lewis told the BBC she will appeal the decision.The court’s verdict relates to the charge of defamation and not to Ms Lewis’s accusation of rape against Mr…

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Two Native American tribes in South Dakota have barred its governor, Kristi Noem, from their land as she doubles down on derogatory commentary against tribal leaders and reservation life.The latest bans add to existing exclusions from four other reservations this year. Ms Noem is now banned from nearly one-fifth of state territory.It comes after the Republican cut short a disastrous national media book tour.Ms Noem was once a frontrunner to be Donald Trump’s running mate this year.Less than three months ago, she topped a poll of candidates to run as vice-president for the November election. However, a crop of recent…

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White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday that the US still believed “it would be a mistake to launch a major military operation into the heart of Rafah that would put huge numbers of civilians at risk without a clear strategic gain”. “We are still working with Israel on a better way to ensure the defeat of Hamas everywhere in Gaza, including in Rafah,” he added.Qatar’s prime minister meanwhile warned on Tuesday that the Rafah operation had “sent backward” his country and Egypt’s efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.”Especially…

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