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[ad_1] Paris CNN  —  Impromptu protests broke out in Paris and across several French cities Thursday evening following a move by the government to force through reforms of the pension system that will push up the retirement age from 62 to 64. While the proposed reforms of France’s cherished pensions system were already controversial, it was the manner in which the bill was approved – sidestepping a vote in the country’s lower house, where President Emmanuel Macron’s party crucially lacks an outright majority – that arguably sparked the most anger. And that fury is widespread in France. Figures from pollster IFOP show that 83% of young adults (18-24) and 78% of those aged over 35 found the government’s manner of passing the bill “unjustified.” Even among pro-Macron voters – those who voted for him in the first round of last year’s presidential election, before a runoff with hi...

[ad_1] CNN  —  One of Iran’s best-known actresses , who was arrested after she criticized the execution of a man involved in nationwide protests, was released on bail on Wednesday, state-aligned ISNA said. Taraneh Alidoosti, who starred in the 2016 Oscar-winning film “The Salesman,” had condemned the hanging of Mohsen Shekari, who was killed last month in the first known execution linked to the protests. Shekari was reportedly convicted of “waging war against God” for allegedly stabbing a member of the Basij paramilitary force at a protest in Tehran on September 23. Alidoosti’s lawyer told ISNA that she was released on bail and reformist outlet Shargh Daily published a picture showing her on the street after her release from the notorious Evin prison without the traditional Islamic hijab covering. Another picture on social m...

[ad_1] Tel Aviv CNN  —  In a sea of Israeli flags, Yiftach Golov holds one that looks a little different. Among the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets for the 13th week in a row on Saturday, Golov hoists a brown flag that represents a group called “Brother and Sisters in Arms.” They are veterans – many, like Golov, from elite forces – who now feel they are fighting on a new battlefield: To save Israeli democracy. “We believe this is our responsibility to go once again called to the flag of the nation to stop this madness to defend Israel,” Golov said, as he weaved his way through the protesters on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan street, between the high-rises that house many of Israel’s high tech companies. During the second intifada, in the early 2000s, Golov served in a special forces reconnaissance unit. He was never before particularly political, ...

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here . Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN  —  When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his decision to delay a controversial plan to weaken the country’s judiciary on Monday, he invoked the biblical story of the Judgement of Solomon, where the king had to rule between two women, both claiming to be the mother of a child. Solomon ordered that the child be cut in two, and the woman who protested the ruling was determined to be the real mother. Before Netanyahu spoke, supporters of the judicial overhaul had gathered in the streets following calls from right-wing politicians to come out, allowing the prime minister to make his address as protesters from both sides rallied simultaneously for the first time in weeks. ...

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in today’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, CNN’s three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here . Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN  —  As the Ukraine war approaches the one-year mark , the United States is ramping up efforts to choke off Russia’s economy and it has set its sight on the Middle East. A top US Treasury official arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday to warn the regional business hub that helping Moscow evade sanctions wouldn’t be without consequences. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson, met with senior government officials from several UAE ministries, where he discussed “rooting out evasion of US sanctions, particularly on Russia and Iran,” as well as the US’ “commitment to take additional actions against those evading or fac...