South Africa urges UN’s top court to order cease-fire in Gaza to shield citizens in Rafah
The Hague: South Africa urged the United Nations’ top court on Thursday to order a cease-fire in Gaza during hearings over emergency measures to halt Israel’s military operation in the enclave’s southern city of Rafah. It was the third time the International Court of Justice held hearings on the conflict in Gaza since South Africa […]
French police fatally shoot a man suspected of planning to set fire to a synagogue
Paris: French police shot and killed a man armed with a knife and a metal bar who is suspected of having set fire to a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen early on Friday, authorities said. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin posted on the social media site X that the armed individual was “neutralised”. “In […]
Hezbollah introduces new weapons and tactics against Israel as war in Gaza drags on
Beirut: The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah this week struck a military post in northern Israel using a drone that fired two missiles. The attack wounded three soldiers, one of them seriously, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah has regularly fired missiles across the border with Israel over the past seven months, but the one on […]
UN reports improved prospects for the world economy and forecasts 2.7% growth in 2024
United Nations: The United Nations reported improved prospects for the world economy since its January forecast on Thursday, pointing to a better outlook in the United States and several large emerging economies including Brazil, India and Russia. According to its mid-2024 report, the world economy is now projected to grow by 2.7 per cent this […]
The top UN court is holding hearings on the Israeli military’s incursion into Rafah
The Hague: The United Nations’ top court opens two days of hearings on Thursday into a request from South Africa to make sure Israel halts its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has sought shelter. It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the […]
France imposes emergency in Pacific territory of New Caledonia as violent unrest turns deadly
Paris: France imposed an emergency Wednesday in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia for at least 12 days, boosting security forces’ powers to quell deadly unrest in the archipelago where indigenous people have long sought independence. Armed clashes and other violence that erupted Monday following protests over voting reforms have left four people dead, […]
Palestinians across the Middle East mark their original ‘catastrophe’ with eyes on the war in Gaza
Jerusalem: Palestinians across the Middle East on Wednesday are marking the anniversary of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel with protests and other events across the region at a time of mounting concern over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. The Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” refers to the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were […]
Blinken announces USD 2B arms package arms deal for Ukraine; mostly from package approved earlier
Kyiv: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced a USD 2 billion arms package arms deal for Ukraine — most of the money coming from a package approved last month. The announcement came Wednesday as Blinken was in Kyiv to reassure Ukraine of the US support as it attempts to fight off a new […]
Massive manhunt in France for prison-break gang that gunned down officers
Paris: A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injured three others to spring an inmate they were escorting. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said “unprecedented” efforts were deployed, with hundreds of officers mobilized in the search for the escaped convict, Mohamed Amra, […]
Palestinians mark 76 years of dispossession as a potentially even larger catastrophe unfolds in Gaza
Jerusalem: Palestinians on Wednesday will mark the 76th year of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel, an event that is at the core of their national struggle. But in many ways, that experience pales in comparison to the calamity now unfolding in Gaza. Palestinians refer to it as the “Nakba,” Arabic for “catastrophe.” […]
