Author: ALJAZEERA

Palestinians have witnessed devastation as they returned to the northern part of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza after the Israeli army withdrew. Palestinians inspected damaged homes and salvaged usable items from the rubble of demolished houses. Israel’s war on Gaza has displaced 85 percent of the territory’s population amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while most of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations. The health ministry in Gaza said on Thursday that at least 33,970 people have been killed in the territory during more than six months of war.…

The United States has vetoed a widely supported resolution at the UN Security Council that would have paved the way for the State of Palestine to gain full membership at the United Nations. Twelve countries voted in favour of the resolution, which was brought for a vote following an hours-long Security Council session in New York on Thursday, while two others — Britain and Switzerland — abstained. After vetoing the measure, the US deputy envoy to the UN, Robert Wood, said Washington believes there is no other path to Palestinian statehood than through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. “We also…

Gangtok, India — When a glacial lake burst through a major dam in India’s northeastern state of Sikkim last October, it destroyed the region’s largest hydro-electric project, the Teesta III. It also unleashed a torrent of political criticism around the 1200-megawatt (MW) power plant that its proponents had insisted would transform Sikkim’s economy, but for many has instead become emblematic of opacity and alleged corruption around the state’s infrastructure development. As India’s smallest state — with a population of less than 700,000 people — prepares to vote in national elections on April 19, the now-defunct Teesta III is at the…

The medical crisis in Gaza’s hospitals, or what remains of them, is catastrophic. Hospitals can barely treat patients, and staff don’t have the equipment, medicine or even beds necessary to take care of Palestinians in the enclave, who are struggling to survive under relentless Israeli bombing. The hospitals themselves have come under repeated attack, with several being partially or totally destroyed. A medical team sent to Gaza by three aid groups described the situation in the hospitals as having reached “unimaginable” levels. To understand the scale of the physical damage to the hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera’s Sanad…

Sanctions against Iran’s missile and drone programmes come as fears mount over the possibility of greater regional escalation.The administration of United States President Joe Biden has imposed new sanctions on Iran in response to its missile and drone attack on Israel, as tensions mount over the possibility of further escalation in the Middle East. In a statement on Thursday, Biden said the sanctions targeted “leaders and entities connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s Defense Ministry, and the Iranian government’s missile and drone program that enabled” the April 13 attack on Israel. “As I discussed with my fellow G7…

Iran warns Israel that if it goes ahead with a retaliation for last week’s attack, Tehran will respond in kind and also pursue a nuclear weapon.Tehran, Iran – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that it would attack Israel’s nuclear sites and may pursue a nuclear weapon if the country strikes at Iran’s nuclear facilities. The development came on Thursday, after Israeli officials promised a response to Iran’s unprecedented attacks on Israel last week, which were a retaliation for the Israeli military’s suspected targeting of Tehran’s consulate in Syria. “The nuclear facilities of the Zionist enemy have been…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was inundated with water on Tuesday after storms dumped more than a year and a half’s rain in just a few hours, flooding roads as well as the international airport based in the metropolis of Dubai. Neighbouring Oman also witnessed heavy rains and flooding that killed at least 20 people. Speculation was rife on social media, linking cloud seeding, which involves the manipulation of existing clouds to induce rain, to the unprecedented precipitation. But experts say the record rainfall was likely caused by climate change. Here is what we know about the reasons behind the…

The head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that Israel’s effort to dismantle it while a humanitarian disaster is unfolding in the bombarded and besieged Gaza Strip would have devastating consequences if successful. Addressing the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA’s work is now more crucial than ever and appealed for protection. “Today an insidious campaign to end UNRWA’s operations is under way, with serious implications for international peace and security”, he told the 15-member body during a session called by Jordan. This, Lazzarini said, is happening while Israel’s relentless bombing and…

The Middle East has been waiting with bated breath for Israel’s response to Iran’s attack last weekend as the spectre of regional conflict seems closer than ever. That spectre has waxed and waned since the war on Gaza began in October with the fear that it would spiral into a regional war, dragging in Iran and its allies as well as Western countries such as the United States. In the six months that have followed, there has been violence in the wider Middle East with tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran-backed forces, primarily the Lebanese group Hezbollah. These attacks have followed…

Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm says company believes in ‘big risks for the chance of big rewards’.Tesla has asked shareholders to reapprove a record-breaking $56bn pay package for CEO Elon Musk after a US judge rejected the deal. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm said the board of directors supported the original pay deal and believed in “big risks for the chance of big rewards”. “Elon has not been paid for any of his work for Tesla for the past six years that has helped to generate significant growth and stockholder value,”…