Author: ALJAZEERA

Ayodhya, India – A 13-kilometre stretch around the controversial Ram temple in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya is lit up with sparkling lights, the walls in the area covered in murals as the city prepares for the January 22 inauguration ceremony by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But Rajesh Majhi has no time to enjoy the beauty of the city as he is working overtime to print banners to be used for roadside advertisements for the consecration ceremony. He is also behind on huge orders of wooden carved miniature replicas of the Ram temple, which is currently under construction. The 38-year-old…

NewsFeedPeople are using animal feed for food in Gaza, where one UN expert says a famine could already be happening because of Israel’s war and destruction of the food system.Published On 23 Jan 202423 Jan 2024 Source link

The structure of the global benchmark Brent crude futures market and some physical markets in Europe and Africa have been reflecting tighter supply partly over concerns about shipping delays as vessels avoid the Red Sea due to missile and drone attacks. The disruptions – which have been the largest to global trade since the COVID-19 pandemic – have combined with other factors such as rising Chinese demand to increase competition for crude supply that does not have to transit the Suez Canal, and analysts say this is most evident in European markets. In a sign of tighter supply, the market…

As the world anticipates a preliminary verdict from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, leaders in the European Union remain divided on how to interpret the decision. Shortly after the two-day hearing at the world’s top court in the Hague earlier this month, where South Africa told the ICJ that Israel’s actions in the Gaza strip violated the UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic – staunch allies of Israel – rejected these claims. Hungary condemned the case, while Berlin declared that it would intervene on Israel’s behalf at the…

Ayodhya, India: Ram Surat Verma regrets his decision to sell his land in 2019. A farmer in Takpura village in the Ayodhya district of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 155km (96 miles) from Lucknow, the state capital, he received 25 million rupees ($300,000) when he sold his 1.55 acre (0.6 hectares) patch of land to a local property dealer four years ago. The 65-year-old believes that he could have gotten at least 10 times that amount had he delayed his decision to now. “Land is costlier than the gold here, with prices surging since the verdict for…

PodcastPodcast, The TakeJournalists in Gaza are being killed nearly every day as the world stands by. More than 100 journalists have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza. The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate says 96 were targeted by Israel. Inside Gaza, journalists feel abandoned by the world they are informing. What’s happening to Gaza’s journalists and why? In this episode:  Anan Quzmar (@QuzmarAnan), volunteer at the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate Ismael al Dahdouh, journalist Akram Al Satarri, journalist Episode credits: This episode was produced by Amy Walters with our host Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode. Our sound designer is Alex…

Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh says ‘any deductions from our financial rights’ would be rejected.Taxes collected by Israel and bound for Gaza will be held in Norway, instead of being sent to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to a plan approved by Israeli officials. “The frozen funds will not be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, but will remain in the hands of a third country,” said a statement released on Sunday by the Israeli prime minister’s office. “The money or its consideration will not be transferred under any circumstances, except with…

Peace activists have taken part in a protest in Israel’s third-largest city, Haifa, demanding a ceasefire in the war on Gaza and the exchange of captives and prisoners between Hamas and Israel. “This is the first time we are seeing this protest happen in the north,” said Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Haifa on Saturday. “It’s a protest with Israeli Jews and Palestinian Israelis, and it is significant because of the two coming together. “The message here is to end the war and that they can only live peacefully side by side with a political solution for the Palestinians,”…

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan and Iran have agreed to de-escalate tensions after tit-for-tat military strikes on each other’s territory this week, but the episode reveals a lack of trust between the neighbours that will continue to plague relations even after the missiles and accusations have subsided, say analysts. On Friday evening Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani spoke to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian. “The two foreign ministers agreed that working level cooperation and close coordination on counter terrorism and other aspects of mutual concern should be strengthened. They also agreed to de-escalate the situation,” a Pakistan foreign ministry statement read.…

Swiss prosecutor confirmed the filing but would not reveal details about the nature and number of the complaints.Israeli President Isaac Herzog is the subject of criminal complaints during his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Swiss prosecutors have confirmed, as Israel finds itself accused of committing war crimes in Gaza. “The criminal complaints will be examined according to the usual procedure,” the Office of the Swiss Attorney General said, adding that it would contact the Swiss foreign ministry to examine the question of immunity of the individual concerned. In theory, third countries do not hold criminal jurisdiction over current…