Author: ALJAZEERA

Freezing hundreds of billions of dollars in lenders’ assets was part of dispute over gas project halted by sanctions.A Russian court has ordered the seizure of the assets, accounts, property and shares of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank in the country as part of a lawsuit involving the German banks, court documents showed. The banks are among the guarantor lenders under a contract for the construction of a gas processing plant in Russia with the German company Linde. The project was terminated due to Western sanctions. European banks have largely exited Russia after Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in 2022.…

Ali Bagheri Kani, a 57-year-old political insider with a history of serving in Iran’s diplomatic and security apparatuses, has been appointed interim foreign minister following the death of the man he is replacing, Hossein Amirabdollahian. Amirabdollahian died on Sunday in a helicopter crash in Iran’s mountainous East Azerbaijan province, alongside President Ebrahim Raisi and several other officials and staff. Bagheri Kani is the logical choice to come in as acting foreign minister – he had been Amirabdollahian’s deputy for political affairs. The new foreign minister was born in a village just north of the capital Tehran to a conservative family…

Johannesburg, South Africa – As a teenager living on the East Rand of Johannesburg, Steve Chingwaru thought the flat-topped mounds of rock and earth that dotted the skyline were a natural feature of the cityscape. Jo’burg isn’t very windy, but when the wind does blow – usually around August – the air is filled with orange dust. “It gets in your hair, your clothes, your throat,” says Chingwaru. Now, barely a decade later, the 26-year-old geometallurgist is being flown up to the city of his youth on an almost weekly basis by mining companies who want him to help them…

Israeli officials have seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press (AP) news agency in southern Israel, accusing the news organisation of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera. The Qatari-owned media network and satellite channel is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organisations. The AP denounced the move and accused the government of abusing the recently passed foreign media law. “The Associated Press decries in the strongest terms the actions of the Israeli government to shut down our longstanding live feed showing a…

Kolkata, India — Amirul Laskar has been out of a job for the past three months, since the jute mill where he was employed shut operations citing losses. The 40-year-old worked at the Delta Jute Mill in Manikpur village, about 20km (12 miles) from Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state. Since he lost his job, he has struggled to run his household and pay for food as well as the other needs of his parents, wife and 18-month-old daughter, he told Al Jazeera. “Such disruptions had happened three to four times last year also, when work was suspended for a…

EXPLAINERAmal Clooney was on the panel that advised the ICC prosecutor who applied for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leaders.Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), released a statement on Monday saying he had applied for arrest warrants for top leaders of Israel and Hamas whom his team suspects of committing war crimes and “crimes against humanity” during and since the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year in which about 1,140 people were killed. Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which has continued for more than seven months…

PodcastPodcast, The TakeThe Iranian president’s death after a helicopter crash pushes the country into an election during a turbulent time. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has been killed in a helicopter crash, along with the foreign minister and six others. Now, the government will have to carry out elections during a turbulent moment for Iran and the region. How will Raisi’s death play out? In this episode:  For more: The Take: What will happen to Julian Assange if he is extradited? The Take: Are Israeli officials under threat of ICC prosecution? Episode credits: This episode was produced by David Enders, Zaina…

Iranians are observing the second of five days of public mourning announced by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Iranians have gathered in Tabriz, the capital of the East Azerbaijan province, to mourn at a farewell procession for President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other people in the helicopter, including crew members, were also killed in the crash. On Tuesday, tens of thousands of mourners, waving Iranian flags and portraits of the late president, set out from a central square in the northwestern city where Raisi was headed when his helicopter…

Mokhber led the Iranian supreme leader’s multibillion-dollar charitable conglomerate for 14 years.Mohammad Mokhber is Iran’s interim president now after late President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials were confirmed killed in a helicopter crash and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved his accession to the role. The former first vice president held an extraordinary meeting with judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker, on Monday morning. As per the constitution, the three must set things in motion for a new presidential election to be held within 50 days. Mokhber will remain interim president until then. “We will…

NewsFeedThe first images of the crash site in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province show the burned-out wreckage of part of the helicopter that was carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and seven other passengers who have all been confirmed dead.Published On 20 May 202420 May 2024 Source link