BAGHDAD: An old adage about Arabic books claims that “Cairo writes, Beirut prints and Baghdad reads.” While this might not entirely be the case today, the last part of the famous phrase still holds true — Iraqis love to read.

Buying, reading and discussing books have long been a crucial part of Iraqi intellectual life that endures to this day, notwithstanding the country’s political ups and downs.

TUNIS: Tunisia’s president has rejected accusations that he is stoking anti-Black racism, saying that he has sub-Saharan African friends and that his comments last month targeting migrants were misinterpreted by his enemies.
President Kais Saied drew international criticism and concern with those comments, in which he ordered a crackdown on sub-Saharan African migrants and lashed out at a perceived plot to erase Tunisia’s identity. The comments fanned racist abuse targeting Black people in Tunisia, and prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens.

JERUSALEM: The Israeli air force said on Thursday that it had dismissed a reservist officer in the military for trying to orchestrate group walkouts from training flights as part of a spreading protest at judicial reforms planned by the government.
In its first disciplinary measure during the political crisis roiling Israel, the military said in a statement that the colonel, whose name as not been published, “behaved … in a manner unbecoming of his officer’s rank and station.”

NEW YORK: Kuwait wants to empower its female population as “equal partners” to help boost the country’s drive for a sustainable future, its minister for social and women’s affairs has said.
Mai Al-Baghli told the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women in New York that her country wanted women to achieve progress at various levels, including technological innovation.
Al-Baghli said that the session came at a crucial time, with only seven years ahead of the deadline for attaining objectives of global sustainable development, set at 2030.

ISTANBUL: Turkish riot police fired pepper spray to disperse a group of protesters pushing back against a line of police on Wednesday as a rally to mark International Women’s Day was winding down in central Istanbul.
Women whistled and chanted “We do not keep quiet, we are not scared, we do not bow down”, as they pushed riot police shields, triggering the tussles with police, while the rest of the crowd of around 2,000 dispersed.