Author: ALJAZEERA

The conflict is taking a heavy toll on civilians with millions forced from their homes and on the verge of famine.Sudan is facing a humanitarian crisis as its civil war drags on. The United Nations says 25 million people – half the population – need urgent assistance. About 30,000 people are dead and millions more have been forced from their homes. Diplomacy has stalled, and aid groups face major challenges getting to those in need. So is there a path to ending the war? And can anything be done to ease the suffering of Sudan’s people? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Hala Alkarib…

Sugnu, India – Ratan Kumar Singh, a 58-year-old high school teacher, never imagined he would be happy to see armed fighters, or “revolutionaries” as he called them. But on May 28 last year, Singh welcomed them to his town of Sugnu in Manipur, a state in India’s northeast corner bordering Myanmar. For nearly three weeks, the small town had managed to dodge the ethnic violence between the Meitei community and the Kuki-Zo tribespeople that had engulfed the rest of the state since May 3. But that day, four people were killed in the area and 12 injured as bullets found…

Russian president makes comments as Israel weighs its response to Iranian missile and drone attack.Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for restraint as Israel weighs its response to Iran’s unprecedented weekend drone and missile attack. Putin made the remarks in a phone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday. The leaders discussed what the Kremlin called “retaliatory measures taken by Iran” after an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on April 1. Putin urged all sides to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation that would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle…

On the plate in front of me, raw mango slices have been carefully arranged into the petals of a flower. My friend, Alka Dogra, urges me to eat them right away. One bite, and immediately, my tastebuds are alight with hot, piquant salt that pairs beautifully with the sourness of the fruit. “This has the hari mirch pisyun loon (green chilli salt) from Uttarakhand you so wanted to taste,” she shares. But I hardly listen, already transported back in time. It’s lunchtime in sixth grade and we’re eating our way through our lunches. A girl named Mahima brings out a…

From blocking bridges to economic boycotts, direct action for Gaza is increasingly common. But can it succeed?Direct action – the use of economic or physical power to achieve specific goals – has come to define the tactics of a new generation of advocates for the Palestinian cause. As people become more frustrated with their government’s failure to confront Israel’s assault on Gaza, direct action is becoming increasingly common. This episode looks at the people behind direct action and why it is their preferred mode of protest. Presenter: Myriam Francois Guests:Medea Benjamin – Codepink co-founderLowkey – Hip-hop artist and activistAshish Prashar…

Statistics agency says economy has made ‘good start’ to the year under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping.China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year, a boost for policymakers grappling with a property-sector crisis, weak consumer demand and mounting government debt. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.3 percent in the first quarter, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday, comfortably above forecasts and up from a 5.2 percent expansion in the previous quarter. By sector, industrial production and agriculture grew by 6.1 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively,…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled over the country for nearly two and a half decades, undefeated. In that time, elections have largely followed a similar trajectory, each strengthening his popularity and position of authority. But a few years ago, warning signs emerged. In the 2019 local elections, Erdogan’s AK Party lost the mayoral race in four of Turkey’s largest cities, including the biggest city, Istanbul – where Erdogan made his name as mayor in the 1990s. Then, in the most recent local elections at the end of March, the results were even worse, with the opposition Republican People’s…

Baidu CEO Robin Li says number of users has doubled since December.China’s Baidu has announced that “Ernie Bot”, its rival to ChatGPT, has racked up more than 200 million users, roughly double as many as in December. Baidu CEO Robin Li also said Ernie Bot’s application programming interface (API) is being used 200 million times every day, meaning the chatbot was requested by its user to conduct tasks that many times a day. The number of enterprise clients for the chatbot reached 85,000, Li said at a conference in Shenzhen on Tuesday. In February, he told analysts that Baidu was…

Washington, DC – Ninety lawmakers in the United States Congress have urged House Speaker Mike Johnson in a letter to immediately advance a foreign funding bill that includes $14bn in assistance to Israel. The letter, sent on Sunday and made public on Monday, followed Iran’s unprecedented attack over the weekend, in which it fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel to retaliate for a deadly attack early this month on its consulate in Syria’s capital, Damascus. “Time is of the essence, and we must ensure critical aid is delivered to Israel and our other democratic allies facing threats from…

CEO Elon Musk says in memo that job cuts will leave firm ‘lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle’.Electric carmaker Tesla plans to lay off more than 10 percent of its global workforce, according to a memo sent to employees by CEO Elon Musk. Musk told staff in an email on Monday that the cuts were necessary due to the “duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas”, which had followed the company’s rapid global expansion. “As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect…