Author: ALJAZEERA

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…

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…