Author: ALJAZEERA

In May, a shocking CNN report based on whistleblower testimony placed Israel’s Sde Teiman military base in the Negev desert under the global spotlight and led to it being compared to the notorious US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where I was imprisoned for more than a decade. Three Israelis who worked at the desert camp doubling as a detention centre since the beginning of the Gaza war told CNN that they witnessed systemic physical and psychological abuse of Palestinian detainees at the facility. They said the Palestinians imprisoned there, who are held without charge or legal representation, are…

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United States President Joe Biden has slapped down calls to end his faltering re-election bid, insisting he is “not going anywhere”. Biden, 81, has been under growing pressure to assuage doubts about his physical and mental fitness following a stumbling debate performance last week against his Republican challenger, Donald Trump. Three elected Democrats have publicly called on Biden to step aside since Thursday’s debate, during which the president stumbled over his words and lost his train of thought on several occasions. Several other Democratic lawmakers have publicly warned that they expect him to lose to Trump in November’s presidential election.…

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Global streaming companies have said they were challenging new Canadian rules that oblige them to help pay for local news, saying Canada’s federal government had acted unreasonably and provided no legal basis for the demand. The Motion Picture Association-Canada, which represents Netflix, Walt Disney Co and other companies, said on Thursday that it has filed applications in a federal court for leave to appeal the rules and ask for a judicial review. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the national broadcasting regulator, said in June that major online streaming services must contribute 5 percent of their Canadian revenues to support…

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Mraihi joins a growing list of President Saied’s political opponents who are in jail or facing prosecution.The head of Tunisia’s Republican Union Party, Lotfi Mraihi, who has announced his intention to run in a presidential election set for October, has been arrested on suspicion of money laundering. According to politicians and local media reports, the arrest took place on Wednesday in Nabeul province in northeastern Tunisia. A Tunis court spokesman said earlier this week that Mraihi, one of President Kais Saied’s most prominent critics, faces charges of money laundering and opening bank accounts abroad without a licence from the central…

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Israel’s government has approved 5,295 new housing units in a host of illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, as well as recognising three new settlement outposts in the Palestinian territory, according to a watchdog group. Israeli NGO Peace Now reported the move on Thursday, a day after the group said Israel’s government has approved the largest West Bank land seizure in more than three decades. The construction of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory is illegal under international law and settlement expansion is seen as a major hindrance to the viability of a future Palestinian state. The new approvals are…

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Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, warns extra duties will not strengthen Europe’s auto industry.The European Union has imposed extra duties of up to 37.6 percent on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) made in China, the bloc announced, despite Beijing’s warnings the move would unleash a trade war. The European Commission said on Thursday that the tariffs were put in place because of “unfair” state subsidies and will kick off on Friday. There is, however, a four-month window during which the tariffs are only provisional and talks are expected to continue between the two sides. The Commission, the EU’s executive, launched an…

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