Author: ALJAZEERA

ISIL claimed responsibility for twin bombings in Kerman this year that had killed nearly 100 people.Iran says it has arrested members of the ISIL (ISIS) group who were planning an attack at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A concerned citizen called law enforcement in Mahdasht in the province of Alborz, about 60km (37 miles) west of the capital Tehran, which led to the arrest of “senior” ISIL member Mohammad “Ramesh” Zaker, police spokesman Saeed Montazerolmahdi said on Saturday. Zaker and two other ISIL members were taken into custody, he said, adding that eight people accompanying the…

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Montreal, Canada – “Unlivable.” That’s how Canada’s immigration minister, Marc Miller, described the situation in the Gaza Strip in late December. The Palestinian territory was under fierce Israeli bombardment at the time. At least 20,000 people had been killed, and hunger was spreading at an alarming rate as Israel blocked deliveries of food, water and other necessities. As conditions continued to deteriorate, Miller announced that the Canadian government was launching a special visa programme to allow citizens and permanent residents to bring extended family members from Gaza to Canada. “To be clear, today is about providing a humanitarian pathway to…

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Antonio Guterres says ‘nothing can justify the collective punishment’ in Gaza, and calls for more aid access to the enclave.Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has brought “relentless death and destruction” to Palestinians in the strip, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. In a speech marking six months since Israel’s war on Gaza began, the UN chief said that “nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” “Lives are shattered. Respect for international humanitarian law is in tatters,” he added. “During my visit to the Rafah crossing 10 days ago, I met veteran humanitarians who told me categorically…

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Bali and Jakarta, Indonesia – Late last year, Balinese woman Nih Lu Putu Rustini got the shock of her life when she tried to withdraw cash from an ATM to complete a renovation project at her ancestral home. Working as a cleaner during the day and a nanny by night, Rustini had saved 37 million Indonesian rupiahs ($2,340) in an account at Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Indonesia’s largest bank. But the ATM showed a balance of almost zero. When she visited her local BRI branch, a teller informed her that her money was gone. “They said a hacker had stolen my…

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US treasury secretary says market-based reforms will aid world’s second largest economy.United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that China is too large to try to export its way to rapid growth and would benefit by reducing excess industrial capacity that is pressuring other economies. Yellen said on Friday during a visit to China that she understands that Beijing’s direct and indirect government support for manufacturing is linked to domestic development objectives. But she told an American Chamber of Commerce in China-hosted gathering in Guangzhou that state subsidies were “leading to production capacity that significantly exceeds China’s domestic demand,…

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Eight out of 10 schools in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed, the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) says, but it is the psychological damage of Israel’s war on the territory’s nearly 1.2 million children that has experts worried. “To be able to learn, you need to be in a safe space. Most kids in Gaza at the moment have brains that are functioning under trauma,” said child psychiatrist Audrey McMahon of international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF). Younger children could develop lifelong cognitive disabilities from malnutrition, while teenagers are likely to feel anger…

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US space agency picks Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab to create designs for lunar rover.NASA has awarded contracts to three companies to develop vehicles for the first crewed missions to the Moon in more than five decades. Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab – based in Texas, Colorado and California, respectively – were chosen to create designs for the lunar rover under a contract worth up to $4.6bn, NASA said on Wednesday. NASA plans to pick one of the companies to carry out a test run for their Lunar Terrain Vehicle before the arrival of the crew…

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The Israeli army says it ‘strengthened the alertness of combat units’ after attack on Iranian consulate in Damascus.Israel’s military is strengthening its defences after a deadly air raid on the Iranian consulate in Damascus drew threats of retaliation, the military said, increasing manpower and drafting reserve soldiers to operate air defences. “We strengthened the alertness of combat units, where needed,” Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Thursday. “We have reinforced the defence systems and we have aircraft prepared for defence and ready to attack in a variety of scenarios.” The Israeli military also announced it had paused leave for…

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