Author: ALJAZEERA

Every year, April 17 marks Palestinian Prisoner’s Day, a day dedicated to the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Campaigners use the day to call for the human rights of such prisoners to be upheld and for those who have been detained without charge to be released. On Monday, Israel released 150 Palestinian prisoners detained during the war in the Gaza Strip. These prisoners, including two Palestine Red Crescent Society workers, said they suffered abuse during their 50 days in Israeli prison, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. Here’s more about Palestinian Prisoner’s Day and the situation…

As the world calls for calm, President Raisi vows ‘slightest attack’ will be met with a ‘strong and fierce response’.The “tiniest attack” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, Iran’s president has reiterated as concern over the threat of full-scale war in the Middle East persists. President Ebrahim Raisi’s warning came on Wednesday as he spoke at Iran’s annual army parade. The world is braced for potential retaliation to Iran’s attack on Israel which took place over the weekend. Israel has pledged to respond, despite calls for it to hold back persisting on all sides, and the UK’s…

Tehran, Iran – Israel has pledged to “exact a price” from Iran in response to missile and drone attacks launched by Tehran in retaliation to the deadly bombing of its consulate in Syria at the beginning of this month. Israel’s war cabinet has met several times to debate a course of action to complement a diplomatic push against Iran since Saturday’s unprecedented direct attacks on Israel, with Israeli army chief of staff Herzi Halevi saying a military response is certain. Iranian President Raisi threatened a “massive and harsh response” on Wednesday if Israel decides to launch a direct military assault…

Ramallah, occupied West Bank – In early March, a Uruguayan e-commerce company sent Marwan Khanfar and others a message on Slack. “Good morning [company] team, I hope you have had an amazing weekend,” the message began. “Unfortunately, due to concerns regarding political stability and compliance with legal regulations,” it continued, “it will not be possible to directly hire employees residing in Palestine from now on.” The company said the only exceptions would be made for “temporary consultants” providing their services through a third party, though the 10 percent fees the third party charges would not be covered. In this instance…

Four days ago, Iraq’s airspace had hundreds of projectiles fired from Iran flying through it towards Israel, caught in the crossfire of what many fear could be the opening salvoes of a regional war dragging in the United States. On Monday, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani was in Washington, DC, meeting President Joe Biden and other top US officials – a preplanned trip that took on new importance for all involved. From the White House, al-Sudani addressed the uptick in tensions, saying he encouraged “all efforts to stop the expansion of the area of the conflict”, highlighting his fears…

Warsaw/Katowice, Poland – Not long after walking through the doors of an employment agency on the ninth floor of a skyscraper in Hong Kong, Stephanie* was captivated by the idea of working in Poland. Sitting on her bed in her employer’s home later that evening in late 2021, the domestic worker from the Philippines contemplated leaving behind the neon lights of Asia for a brighter future in Europe. Less than a year later, Stephanie landed in Warsaw, joining the growing ranks of Filipinos filling factories, warehouses, farms, hotels, households and construction sites in Poland. There, Stephanie’s dream collided with the…

By the end of Tuesday, more than 142mm (5.59 inches) of rain had soaked Dubai over 24 hours.Heavy thunderstorms have lashed the United Arab Emirates (UAE), dumping more than a year and a half’s rain on the desert city-state of Dubai in just a few hours and flooding major highways and its international airport. The rains began late on Monday, soaking the sands and roads of Dubai with some 20mm (0.79 inches) of rain, according to meteorological data collected at Dubai International Airport. The storms intensified at about 9am (05:00 GMT) on Tuesday and continued throughout the day, dumping more…

Budget proposes higher capital gains taxes and billions in spending on education, housing, jobs and mental health.Canada will ask the wealthy to pay higher taxes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government seeks to shore up flagging support among young voters ahead of an election expected next year. Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland said in the annual budget announcement on Tuesday that the wealthiest Canadians should pay more, while billions of dollars would be invested in education, housing, jobs and mental health services. The budget proposes 53 billion Canadian dollars ($38bn) in new spending over five years, much of it directed…

Children are among those killed in attack on Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp as Israeli warplanes strike home in Rafah. Source link

Saint-Urbain-Premier, Quebec, Canada – In clear safety glasses and heavy beige overalls, Jean-Francois Touchette is in his element. All around him are pipes, tubes, temperature gauges and various humming instruments: all the machinery needed to turn tree sap into maple syrup. Touchette’s syrup operation is a small one, run out of a modest, two-storey wooden building at the end of a long dirt driveway in rural Quebec. But as winter turns to spring, Touchette — like thousands of other maple growers in the Canadian province — faces pressure to collect, boil and bottle his harvest. “It’s a small factory. I’m…