#TODAYS 5 TOP STORIES
![Several people were killed as worshippers attended Easter service [Chamila Karunarathne/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images]](https://i1.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/5a335164043148a1bd494924bfb818e7_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
![Egypt’s parliament had on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of the changes [Cliff Owen/AP]](https://i2.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/76527f534e924880955cfedb3db042ef_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
New Zealand and France to call for an end to online terror
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday that she and French President Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting...
Read more![Migrants wait in the courtyard of a detention centre in the village of Karareem, around 50km from Misrata, Libya. [File: Manu Brabo/AP]](https://i1.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/50a76a14641b41e3a03bbeb7ae295984_18.jpg?resize=120%2C86&ssl=1)
Israel jails French consulate worker for gun smuggling
An Israeli court on Monday sentenced a former French consulate worker to seven years in prison for smuggling guns from...
![Victoire Mukambanda and Cecile Mukarugwiza attend screening of a film about the Rwanda trial in which they gave evidence at the UN headquarters in New York on October 19, 2016 [File: J Countess/Getty]](https://i2.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/6875b9f0078e4cc0baa8f6fb8b75ff67_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
How the courage of a few Rwandan women changed the world
Long before Twitter, Harvey Weinstein, and #MeToo, African women in a Rwandan village decided to speak up about rape. Their courage...
Should the government stop the Uber-Careem acquisition deal?
In late March 2019, the global ride-hailing giant Uber announced its acquisition of its Middle-Eastern competitor, Careem, for $3.1 bln,...
It is time to address water and food scarcity in NENA
The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, one of the most arid areas of the world, has been grappling...
Egyptian opinions split as debate on regulating polygamy develops
Controversy over polygamy in Egypt is far from new. The battle between religious scholars and women’s rights activists and organizations...
![Algeria gained independence from France in 1962 [Getty Images]](https://i2.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/b0c89f692889483eb7c32b7183d23b55_18.jpg?resize=360%2C180&ssl=1)
![Migrants wait in the courtyard of a detention centre in the village of Karareem, around 50km from Misrata, Libya. [File: Manu Brabo/AP]](https://i1.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/50a76a14641b41e3a03bbeb7ae295984_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
How will clashes in Libya affect refugees hoping to reach Europe?
It's been three months since Abdi* went to Bani Walid, a town known to Libya's refugees and migrants as the "ghost city" due...
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Saudi Arabia posts $7.41 bln budget surplus in Q1, says finance minister
Saudi Arabia had a budget surplus of 27.8 billion riyals ($7.41 billion) in the first quarter of this year, its...
Read more![The bill requires final approval by Iran's constitutional watchdog to become law [File: Mindaugas Kulbis/AP Photo]](https://i0.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/84904d05a5e248629116803c79f7e4bd_18.jpg?resize=350%2C250&ssl=1)
Iran’s parliament approves bill labeling US army as ‘terrorist’
Iranian legislators on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that labels all US military forces as "terrorist", a day after Washington...
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Activist combats social stigma of people with disabilities in Jordan
Aya Aghabi does not take no for an answer as she defies the odds of being a person with a...
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![Victoire Mukambanda and Cecile Mukarugwiza attend screening of a film about the Rwanda trial in which they gave evidence at the UN headquarters in New York on October 19, 2016 [File: J Countess/Getty]](https://i2.wp.com/middleeastaffairs.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/6875b9f0078e4cc0baa8f6fb8b75ff67_18.jpg?resize=120%2C86&ssl=1)
