Tag: z.aljazeera

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first federal limit on so-called “forever chemicals” in the country’s drinking water, a move officials said will save lives.

The proposal announced will limit per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS.

The substances have been linked to a range of health issues, including low birth weight and kidney cancer. They do not naturally degrade in the environment and are expensive to remove from water.

ilicon Valley Bank’s parent company and two senior executives are facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States, where shareholders have accused the financial institution of failing to disclose the risks that anticipated interest rate hikes would have on its business.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California on Monday, is seeking unspecified damages from SVB Financial Group and its Chief Financial Officer Daniel Beck, as well as the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Becker.

The bank collapsed and its assets were seized by the US government late last week after a mass withdrawal of funds by customers.

Economists see Lehman Brothers-style crisis as unlikely despite jitters following collapse of California-based lender.

The pharmaceutical giant says it will pay $229 in cash for each share of Seagen.

Panel says the UN, the Syrian government and others are responsible for delays in getting emergency aid to Syrians.

Did China interfere in Canada’s elections? We don’t know. But journalists must not rely on friendly leaks for the truth.

Hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in cities across Israel for a 10th consecutive week, protesting against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government to curb the Supreme Court’s powers.

Organisers said a record 500,000 people attended Saturday’s rallies, making them the “biggest in Israeli history”.

Media in Israel put the turnout at 250,000 to 300,000 people.

The demonstrations come as Netanyahu’s government prepares to press on with its legislative agenda next week, shunning calls for a pause to allow for negotiations on the divisive judicial reforms.

As they work to unleash greater violence on the Palestinians, its rulers are turning Israel into a fascist garrison. Israeli headlines read like guidelines for future autocracy, with the justice minister working to strip power away from the judiciary, the communications minister threatening to defund Israel’s public broadcaster to funnel money to a channel favourable to the government, and the minister of heritage accusing organisations representing Reform Jews of endangering Jewish identity.

Fearing a tailspin into turmoil, President Isaac Herzog stepped in, with tacit support from President Joe Biden, to facilitate a compromise between the government and the protesters. But what seems like a well-intentioned effort to build consensus, is, in fact, an ill-advised attempt at appeasing fascists and pandering to evil.

Any compromise offered by Herzog would be skewed towards the ruling majority, which holds the power to interpret its articles at will. A compromise will also whitewash and empower the ruling fascists, presenting them as responsible and pragmatic actors, as they pursue their extremist agenda, and as the street opposition loses momentum and disintegrates, slowly but surely.

The United States has imposed sanctions on 39 entities, including many based in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, that Washington said facilitate Iran’s access to the global financial system, describing them as a “shadow banking” network that moves billions of dollars.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Thursday that those included in the sanctions had granted companies previously slapped with Iran-related sanctions – such as Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co (PGPICC) and Triliance Petrochemical Co Ltd – access to the international financial system and helped them hide their trade with foreign customers.

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been charged with abuse of power and money laundering in connection with the awarding of government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Muhyiddin, who led the country from March 2020 through the worst of the pandemic, pleaded not guilty to the charges at a Kuala Lumpur court on Friday morning. He has previously called the investigation politically motivated.

The veteran politician faces as many as 15 years in jail if found guilty of money laundering, and up to 20 years for abuse of power. He could also be fined.

Muhyiddin was granted bail of 2 million Malaysian ringgit ($442,674) by the judge and asked to surrender his passport.

A judge in Peru has lengthened the duration of former President Pedro Castillo‘s pre-trial detention from 18 months to 36, as the disgraced head of state faces charges stemming from his attempt to dissolve Congress and rule by decree in December. On Thursday, Judge Juan Carlos Checkley handed down the decision in the wake of an additional investigation announced in February. Prosecutors at the time formalised plans to probe Castillo’s short tenure in office, on charges of influence peddling, organised crime and acting as an accomplice to collusion.

Ukrainian troops eased out of their most precarious defences in Bakhmut. Russian President Vladimir Putin has set the conquest of the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, known collectively as the Donbas region, as one of his goals – and Bakhmut in Donetsk is key to that. “We understand that after Bakhmut, they could go farther,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN. “They could go to Kramatorsk. They could go to Sloviansk. It would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine in the Donetsk direction.”

Submarines are part of the AUKUS pact with the UK, which may also jointly develop a vessel with Australia.

The new intelligence reviewed by US officials suggested the perpetrators behind the sabotage were “opponents of President Vladimir V Putin of Russia”, the Times reported, but did not specify the members of the group and who organised and paid for the operation, which would have required skilled divers and explosives experts.

At wide-ranging press conference, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also describes Taiwan as a ‘red line’ in relations with US.

Defence minister says Taiwan prepared to ‘fire the first shot’ if Chinese forces enter its territorial space.