Author: ALJAZEERA

‘System failure’ shutters some restaurants for hours, leading to complaints from customers on social media.Fast food giant McDonald’s has experienced systems failures in several countries that led to some of its restaurants being shuttered for hours, but ruled out cybersecurity issues as a potential cause of the problem. The United States-based chain said the “technology outage” on Friday affected operations in outlets around the world, including Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. McDonald’s in Japan wrote on X that “operations are temporarily out at many of our stores nationwide” and called the incident a “system failure”. Patrik Hjelte, owner of…

Israeli authorities have blocked thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank from reaching the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for prayer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, adding to mounting tensions. Despite tight Israeli restrictions on access to Al Aqsa Mosque, 80,000 worshippers made it to the holy site for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, the Quds News Network reported, citing the Islamic Waqf that manages the mosque compound. But thousands more Palestinians from the occupied West Bank were denied entry to occupied East Jerusalem, where a heavy Israeli security presence surrounds the mosque. Only men…

Turkish officials say they have found the bodies of 22 people, including seven children, off Gokceada island.At least 22 people, including several children, have died after the rubber dinghy they were travelling on capsized off the Turkish island of Gokceada in the Aegean Sea. “The Turkish coastguard found the bodies of 22 people including seven children,” the local governor’s office said in a statement on Friday. Information on the victims’ nationalities has not yet been released. Governor Ilhami Aktas told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the Turkish coastguard rescued two people from the sea off the town of Eceabat in…

Japanese carmakers have struggled to keep up with their Chinese rivals in the fast-growing EV market.Japan’s Nissan and Honda have agreed to study the possibility of a partnership focused on electric vehicles, as the carmakers struggle to challenge the dominance of Chinese manufacturers. Nissan and Honda’s potential partnership will focus on technology that helps accelerate efforts towards “carbon neutrality and zero traffic-accident fatalities,” the carmakers said on Friday. The feasibility study will include components related to EVs and automotive software platforms, the companies said. “It is important to prepare for the increasing pace of transformation in mobility in the mid-to-long-term,…

PodcastPodcast, The TakeWhy should Syria’s war matter 13 years on? Thirteen years ago, Syrians took to the streets to stand up against the government of Bashar al-Assad. The war that followed has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 12 million. Today, al-Assad is still in power. Has the world abandoned Syria? In this episode:  Alia Malek (@AliaMalek), journalist, lawyer and author of The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria Episode credits: This episode was produced by David Enders, Chloe K Li, Negin Owliaei and Amy Walters with our host, Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan…

Russia’s success in evading Western sanctions has helped its economy far outperform expectations ahead of Vladimir Putin’s all but certain re-election on Sunday. Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian economy has consistently defied the dire predictions of critics. That resilience appears to be holding firm as Russians head to the polls between Friday and Sunday for a presidential election that is set to ensure Putin’s rule until at least 2030. At the start of the war, the International Monetary Fund expected a prolonged recession, forecasting the economy to contract by 8.5 percent in 2022 and 2.3 percent…

An Israeli strike has killed five Palestinians and injured 22 after it hit a UN aid distribution centre in Rafah.Here’s how things stand on Wednesday, March 14, 2024: Fighting and humanitarian crisis An Israeli strike on a United Nations aid distribution centre in Rafah killed five Palestinians and injured 22 people on Wednesday. The facility is one of the last operating food distribution centres in the enclave, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is now calling for an independent inquiry. Separately, on Thursday morning, Israeli forces killed at least nine Palestinians…

US president’s remarks come as he is seeking to shore up support in key swing state of Pennsylvania.United States President Joe Biden has opposed the proposed sale of a Pittsburgh-based steel manufacturer to Japan’s largest steel producer, insisting on the need for “strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers”. Biden’s opposition to US Steel’s acquisition by Nippon Steel comes as the Democrat is looking to shore up support among unions and blue-collar workers in the key swing state of Pennsylvania ahead of November’s presidential election. Biden won Pennsylvania by fewer than 100,000 votes in 2020, after former President Donald…

Marrakesh, Morocco – Like everyone in Marrakesh, 39-year-old Zakaria Lamnichri was surprised when the earthquake hit six months ago. Speaking from his stall in the centre of the city, the easy flow of his conversation interrupted by queries from browsing tourists, he recalls the tremors he experienced as the magnitude 6.9 earthquake ripped through the nearby mountains, claiming the lives of about 3,000 people. “The moment, for those who lived it, was horrifying. My wife and son were away in the mountains. I was here. I was terrified for them. For them, that terror lasted for days,” he said, describing how…

Tokyo, Japan – For foreigners in Japan, permanent residency has long been a much sought-after assurance of security in a country that has historically shunned mass immigration. But proposals by Tokyo to cancel the permanent residence (PR) status for those who fail to pay their taxes and social insurance contributions are now calling that security into question, stirring unease among some longtime foreign residents. Ben Shearon, a British native who has lived in Japan for almost 24 years, is among those questioning the rationale behind the proposed changes to immigration law. A permanent resident, Shearon retired in 2022 and now…