Author: ALJAZEERA

NewsFeedIsraeli human rights group B’Tselem has released a new report detailing the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in which it says Israeli jails have been turned into ‘torture camps.’Published On 6 Aug 20246 Aug 2024

The unexpected rise in the unemployment rate in the United States has left economists divided: Is the US on the brink of a recession or not? The unemployment rate jumped to a nearly three-year high of 4.3 percent in July, as per data released Friday. The increase – up from 4.1 percent in June, and up from a five-decade low of 3.4 percent in April last year – sets the stage, more than ever, for a cut in interest rates in the next Federal Reserve meeting in September. Which raises the question: Is it too late? The jump in the…

In 2023, a few months before the start of the current Israel-Gaza conflagration, renowned American scholar Noam Chomsky was asked about the state of the relationship between the United States and Israel. Chomsky indicated that a shift is taking place. Historically, he said, “when the United States demanded that [Israel] do something, it would do it.” Chomsky observed that things have changed in recent years as Israeli political leaders have become outspoken about asserting Israel’s independence from the US. “It’s the first time the confrontation [between the US and Israel] has been this clear, and it’s not clear how the…

Fears about the health of the US economy are hitting Japan’s stock market and share indices around Asia.Japanese stocks have recorded their biggest losses since October 1987, extending last week’s sell-off spurred by concerns the United States’ economy may be weaker than previously thought. The Nikkei share average was down 10.01 percent or 3,595.30 points to 32,314.40 in the early afternoon, its lowest in months. The index has dropped sharply from its peak in July, and is on course for its biggest two day plunge ever. “Domestic equities tanked purely because of the worries that the US economy may be…

Benchmark Nikkei 225 index closes 5.81 percent lower after tumble in Wall Street shares.Japanese stocks have taken a dramatic plunge after Wall Street shares tumbled over concerns about the US economy and a stronger yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 5.81 percent on Friday, or 2,216.63 points, at 35,909.70 – the second-biggest points drop in history, and the largest fall in percentage terms since March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. The broader Topix index lost 6.14 percent, or 166.09 points, to 2,537.60. “The chain of stock market declines did not stop,” IwaiCosmo Securities said following US…

In recent weeks, Israel has been on an assassination spree, killing several high-profile Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in quick succession. Yet there is reason to believe these killings, widely celebrated as a show of power now, will serve to embolden these groups and prove harmful to Israel’s security and the region’s stability in the long term. The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Wednesday, for example, silenced a moderating voice in the Hamas leadership and likely pushed the group to assume an even harder, less compromising stance against Israel. The head of the group’s political wing, Haniyeh…

Californian-based chip maker adds $330bn to market value in a single day, blasting past previous record.Nvidia has recorded the biggest daily jump in market value in the history of Wall Street. The California-based chip maker on Wednesday added $330bn to its market capitalisation – blasting past the previous record it set in February with a $277bn single-day gain. Shares of Nvidia soared nearly 13 percent, buoyed by expectations that demand for its chips will remain strong after Microsoft on Tuesday announced that AI-related capital spending in the 2024 fiscal year rose 60 percent to $69bn. Nvidia’s latest stock rally takes…

Google has come under fire from conservatives in the United States amid claims that the tech giant is suppressing information about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in order to influence the presidential election. Trump, who is running for a second term in the White House on the Republican Party ticket, narrowly escaped being killed when a lone gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. The attack, which killed one rally attendee, injured two others, and bloodied the former president’s ear, has spawned a number of unsubstantiated claims and conspiracy theories. The latest revolves around…

The Palestinian group that governs Gaza has blamed Israel for the assassination of its political chief.This is a translation of a statement issued by Palestinian group Hamas after the killing of its political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital, Tehran. “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. [And do not think that those who are killed in the way of God are dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision.] The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas mourns our great Palestinian people, the Arab and Islamic nation, and all the free people of the world: brother,…

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski says low-income consumers eating at home and finding other ways to economise.McDonald’s has reported its first drop in global sales in over three years as inflation-weary consumers seek out cheaper options and cut back on eating out. McDonald’s worldwide sales fell 1 percent in the April-June period, the fast food giant said on Monday, the first drop since the last quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic and government restrictions closed businesses and kept millions of people at home. Outlets in so-called international developmental licensed markets, which are operated by licensees, saw a steeper decline, with…