TV News LIES

It is a routine Nathan Blanc knows well. At 9am on Tuesday morning, the 19-year-old will report, as instructed in his draft papers, to a military base near Tel Aviv. There he will state his objection to serving in the Israeli army. Following his refusal to enlist, Blanc expects to be arrested and sentenced to between 10 and 20 days in jail.

He will then be taken to Military Prison Number 6 to serve his time. And then, following his release, the cycle will begin over again.

Apple boss Tim Cook has apologised to Chinese consumers after state media accused the firm of arrogance and greed and of "throwing its weight around".

A two-week long Chinese media campaign had focused on Apple repair policies. A statement on Apple's China website said "misunderstandings" may have led to the perception "Apple's attitude was arrogant" towards Chinese customers.

Gunmen kidnapped eight men from Syria's Alawite minority as they crossed into northern Lebanon on Monday, residents and security sources said, in a bid to gain the release of a Sunni Muslim man believed to be held by Syrian forces.

Lebanon's frontier has increasingly been drawn into violence from neighboring Syria's civil war, now in its third year. Sectarian tensions have been on the rise in both countries, with Sunni Muslims in Lebanon supporting the largely Sunni revolt against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

A popular television satirist known as Egypt's Jon Stewart was released on bail Sunday after nearly five hours of interrogation over allegations that he broke the law by insulting Islam and the country's leader.

Bassem Youssef is the most prominent critic of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to be called in for questioning in recent weeks in what the opposition says is a campaign to intimidate critics. Arrest warrants have been issued for five prominent anti-government activists accused of instigating violence.

The top Swedish prosecutor pursuing sexual assault charges against Julian Assange has abruptly left the case and one of Mr Assange's accusers has sacked her lawyer.

The turmoil in the Swedish Prosecution Authority's effort to extradite Mr Assange comes as another leading Swedish judge prepares to deliver an unprecedented public lecture in Australia next week on the WikiLeaks publisher's case.

Car bombs hit five Shiite mosques in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk just after prayers on Friday, killing 19 worshippers and injuring another 130.

Ten years after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq is still grappling with political turmoil and Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda, who are stepping up attacks on Shi'ite targets and security forces.