Author: ALJAZEERA

Bamako, Mali – It’s been a week since Mali’s military government announced its decision to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) but Bamako, the country’s capital, is still buzzing with energy. In the early hours of the morning, the roads are bustling with city buses pushing through traffic jams, while market vendors walk hastily to their stalls to get the day started. But beneath that layer of normality are mounting concerns about leaving the 15-member regional bloc which Mali joined in 1975. “It has become harder to get by and provide for my family,” Djadjie Camara,…

EXPLAINERA US drone strike in Iraq killed a high-ranking Kataib Hezbollah commander as Israeli bombing of Gaza enters fifth month.Here’s how things stand on Thursday, February 8, 2024: Humanitarian crisis in Gaza Reports from the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA show that the Palestinian casualties in Gaza between Tuesday and Wednesday were 123, taking the total number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza to 27,708 as of Wednesday. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that a paramedic was killed and two others were injured after Israeli forces opened fire directly at them in an area between Ahli Arab Hospital and…

A United States security bill that would curtail funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees is raising alarm, as rights advocates say a years-long effort to dismantle the agency is gaining steam amid Israel’s war on Gaza. The proposed $118bn legislation, a draft of which (PDF) was blocked in the US Senate on Wednesday, includes a provision prohibiting Washington from allocating any funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Seth Binder, advocacy director at the Middle East Democracy Center, said this would apply to humanitarian assistance included in the bill as well as any previously…

From the first minute of a breathless match, Qatar and Iran went directly at each other when in possession and they delivered a treat to watch. Iran opened the scoring in the third minute with Sardar Azmoun producing a brilliant overhead kick, leaving the Qatari goalkeeper and the defence as spectators. Jassam Gaber got the equaliser on 17 minutes and Akram Afif gave Qatar a 2-1 lead minutes before half time, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. Iran’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh drew Iran level with a penalty after Qatar’s Ahmed Fathy was penalised for a handball. Local hero Almoez Ali…

Al Thumama Stadium, Qatar – Qatar’s dream of winning a second successive Asian title, and doing it in front of their home crowd, has reached its final destination after the hosts fought their way past Asian giants Iran in the second semifinal of the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Qatar came back from conceding a goal in the fourth minute to finish the game 3-2 on top in a closely-contested game of end-to-end action and high drama at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Wednesday. It was the end of the road for Iran’s golden generation of footballers, who had brushed…

NewsFeedGaza is on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations as Israelis continue to prevent aid from crossing the border. UNRWA is also warning it will be forced to close unless donors who suspended funding resume contributions.Published On 7 Feb 20247 Feb 2024 Source link

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Abu Baqir al-Saadi of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah group has been killed in eastern Baghdad, officials say.A senior commander from Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group in Iraq that the Pentagon linked to an attack that killed three US troops, died in a drone strike on a vehicle in eastern Baghdad, according to security sources and media reports. One of the sources said three people were killed and that the vehicle targeted on Wednesday night was used by Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a state security agency composed of dozens of armed groups, many of them close to Iran. Two…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said “a lot” of work remained to secure a deal on an extended truce in Israel’s war on Gaza and a captive-prisoner exchange after the Palestinian group Hamas responded to a truce proposal with its own plan. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but we are very much focused on doing that work, and hopefully being able to resume releasing hostages that was interrupted,” Blinken told reporters on Wednesday at the start of a meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The top United States diplomat earlier met Prime Minister…

All three of Sudan’s main internet providers are offline as the United Nations appeals for aid funds.All three of Sudan’s main internet operators were offline on Wednesday, internet observatory NetBlocks has said, cutting communications for millions of people stuck in conflict zones or fleeing for their safety. The network blackout could also freeze e-wallets that many people depend upon amid a widespread cash shortage. A source from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary has denied responsibility, the Reuters news agency reported, and the companies have not publicly blamed anyone for the outages. Two of the networks had been offline since…