Palestinian Yacoub Shaheen wins Arab Idol song contest

With Israel having closed its borders to most foreigners, Bethlehem's residents are getting ready for a muted holiday season.

With Israel having closed its borders to most foreigners, Bethlehem's residents are getting ready for a muted holiday season.

The greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Such is the case of 19-year-old fawaz, winner of this year's Oshodi chess competition. A school drop-out, former bus conductor, and street hawker.

Turkey is home to more refugees than any other country in the world, with more than 3 million Syrians and 300,000 Iraqis. But as the years have gone by, many Turks believe these refugees have overstayed their welcome. Now, as the economic crisis in the country gets worse, attacks have begun to escalate, both rhetorically and physically. Our correspondents Ludovic de Foucaud, Shona Bhattacharyya and Hussein Asad report from Bolu, a city whose mayor wants all foreigners out of Turkey.

The duopoly of Western aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing is under pressure. Russia's MC-21 airliner is now certified to fly and China is pushing ahead with plans to enter the international market.

At the start of the pandemic, London-based Palestinian actor, filmmaker and music producer Mo'min Swaitat discovered 10,000 tapes in the West Bank while in lockdown there – music that documented a moment in Palestinian history that hadn't been heard for 30 years. He spent eight months listening to the tapes, making it his mission to digitise and re-release this window into the past. One of the tapes he found was "The Intifada 1987”, an album by Riad Awwad. Mo'min tells Eve Jackson why the discovery is so important to Palestinians.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said that African countries have said "loud and clear" that Israel won’t be an observer state at the African Union. He added that Arab-Israeli normalization is “a violation of Arab League decisions and resolutions”, and said that US President Joe Biden's administration and the international community need to advocate for a two-state solution to the conflict between the Palestinian Territories and Israel.

We speak to Noam Shuster Eliassi, an Israeli comedian whose latest performance has gone viral in the Arab world. The satirical song "Dubai, Dubai" criticises the recent deal to normalise ties between Israel and the UAE and has been watched, rewatched and tweeted thousands of times. She tells us why she feels the song sends an important message.

On June 24, 2021, Palestinian political activist Nizar Banat died after being violently beaten by Palestinian security forces. Banat was a fierce critic of corruption in the Palestinian Authority. His killing had an immediate effect: Thousands took to the streets in the Palestinian Territories to protest against the ruling Fatah party and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mukul Arya had been India's representative to the Palestinian Authority since last year. The sudden death of the young diplomat has shocked officials in India.

Sanctions on Russia won't work unless the world reduces its use of Russian oil and gas. But it's difficult to do this without also increasing prices. Middle Eastern oil producers could help. But do they want to?

The price of bread is rising rapidly in the Middle East, thanks to concerns about wheat supply from Ukraine and Russia. In the past, such increases have led to violent protests and political upheaval.