Author: ALJAZEERA

The Taliban has set unacceptable conditions for attending a United Nations-sponsored meeting about Afghanistan in the Qatari capital, Doha, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says. “I received a letter [from the Taliban] with a set of conditions to be present in this meeting that were not acceptable,” Guterres said at a news conference on Monday. “These conditions denied us the right to talk to other representatives of Afghan society and demanded a treatment that would, to a large extent, be similar to recognition,” the UN chief added. The two-day meeting which ended on Monday in Doha brought together member states and…

PM’s office says Israel will impose some restrictions on access to Old City site during Islamic holy month.Israel will impose some restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan according to “security needs”,  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says. The Al-Aqsa compound, the third holiest site in the world for Muslims, sits atop a hill in the Old City. The site is also revered by Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. Restrictions on access to the site have long caused friction, particularly around religious…

Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki urges judges at the International Court of Justice to order an end to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.Representatives for Palestine have called for an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories and the system of apartheid enforced by Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Palestine’s United Nations envoy Riyad Mansour, along with several academic and legal experts, represented Palestine at the hearings that began in The Hague on Monday and will last through February 26. The case, which is separate from the genocide case by South Africa…

Hebron, occupied West Bank – Sari al-Jabari has shown up early to work at Hebron’s Tikkiyya Ibrahimiyya, a refuge for the poor and the needy since its founding in 1279, one of the oldest in the region. A tikkiyya is a charitable foundation in the Islamic tradition, set up to offer shelter, food and help to those most in need. The 37-year-old oversees the Tikkiyya’s cold storage, a vital part of the supply chain, he explains, if thousands of meals are to be prepared a day. Al-Jabari believes fervently in the mission he volunteered in for three years before being…

The latest ship struck by the Houthis has reportedly taken significant damage, with crew abandoning the cargo vessel.The Houthi group says it hit a British cargo ship that is believed to be significantly damaged and shot down a US drone over its territory as the Yemeni group continued to target ships in the Red Sea demanding an end to Israel’s war on Gaza. The Houthi claims of attacks come as the United States carried out five strikes in Yemen late on Saturday night as part of Washington’s military campaign after Houthi targeting of Israeli-linked vessels disrupted global trade passing through…

Israel has been withholding tax revenues earmarked for the PA amid Tel Aviv’s brutal war on Gaza since October 7.Norway says it will help facilitate the transfer of tax revenues, collected by Israel and bound for the Palestinian Authority (PA), in order to prevent the financial collapse of the authority that partially governs the occupied West Bank. “The Palestinian Authority will be able to pay salaries, thus making it possible to continue to provide essential services to the Palestinian population, keep schools open, and ensure that health workers are paid,” the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement…

Palestine will be the first of 52 countries to speak as the ICJ begins six days of hearings looking into the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation.Here’s how things stand on Monday, February 19, 2024: Fighting and humanitarian crisis Gaza’s Ministry of Health said another patient died at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, taking the number of deaths to eight since the Israeli military cut electricity and oxygen supplies. Footage verified by Al Jazeera shows hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City rushing towards aid trucks before fleeing after Israeli forces open fire at them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off…

China last year narrowly beat its economic growth target of 5 percent, one of its lowest benchmarks in decades. Looking ahead, analysts expect the economy to face stiff headwinds in the Year of the Dragon. Against the backdrop of a crisis-stricken property market, subdued export earnings and crackdowns on private industry, international investors are pulling out of Chinese stocks at record rates. With business sentiment faltering, economists broadly agree that Beijing needs to roll out measures to stimulate more domestic consumption. While some analysts are calling for radical measures to jolt China’s economy, expectations are subdued owing to Beijing’s aversion…

The International Court of Justice will begin hearings on Monday in a case against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, barely a month after it issued a series of directions to Tel Aviv in a separate case where it is accused of genocidal acts in the Gaza Strip. In a first-of-its-kind case, at least 52 countries will present arguments on controversial Israeli policies in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and occupied East Jerusalem. It’s the largest number of parties to participate in any single ICJ case since the court was established in 1945. Israeli authorities, since 1967, have illegally occupied…

Source link