Skip to main content

Israeli occupier attacks threaten historic Christian presence in West Bank town

In Taybeh, one of the few Palestinian communities with a Christian majority in the occupied West Bank, fears are growing that Israeli occupier attacks on farmland and property could push more families to emigrate, threatening the town’s demographic character and historic Christian presence. Local officials and clergy warned of the impact of rising violence by Israeli occupiers, which has coincided with worsening living and economic conditions in the town. Taybeh, east of Ramallah, is one of the few Palestinian towns in the West Bank that still has a Christian majority, according to church and local accounts. Residents say the town’s Christian roots go back thousands of years. Residents say the attacks have deepened fears in the town, even as they stress their determination to remain on their land. Also Read: Pakistan raises red flag over illegal settlements in West Bank, calls for Israel accountability In recent years, Israeli occupiers have established several ill...

Oil dips from seven-week high on cautious outlook

Oil prices edged down on Thursday, retreating from the previous session's seven-week high, as some investors took profits after US stocks closed lower and in anticipation of slower winter demand as well as the return of Kurdish supplies. Brent futures were down 49 cents, or 0.7%, to $68.82 a barrel at 0825 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were down 54 cents, or 0.8%, to $64.45 a barrel. Both benchmarks gained 2.5% on Wednesday to reach their highest since August 1, driven by a surprise drop in US weekly crude inventories and concerns that Ukraine's attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure could disrupt supplies. "We have a generally risk-off market," said Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS. Two consecutive down days for US stocks are putting pressure on oil prices, he added. Bearish expectations on supply fundamentals, with more oil expected soon from Iraq and Kurdistan, weighed further. "The return of Kurdish supplies adds back fears of an oversupply narrative, propelling a pullback in prices that hover near a seven-week high," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. Oil flows from Iraqi Kurdistan were expected to restart in days after eight oil firms struck a deal on Wednesday with Iraq's federal and Kurdish regional governments to resume exports. While some market concerns remain on Russian supply disruptions, Haitong Securities said in a report that another factor behind oil's resilience was the lack of significant downward pressure from supply–demand fundamentals in recent weeks. As the peak demand season gradually ends, prices have yet to reflect expectations of mounting oversupply pressures, it added. Underscoring investor cautiousness on demand, J.P. Morgan analysts said on Wednesday that US air passenger throughput for September indicated only a modest annual increase of 0.2%, a slowdown from growth of 1% in each of the two prior months. "Likewise, US gasoline demand has started to pull back, mirroring the broader moderation in travel trends," the analysts said in a report.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/2gY7V56

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...

Indian opposition supporters detained ahead of protest at Modi's home

Police in the Indian capital detained dozens of opposition supporters on Tuesday as they attempted to march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence to protest against last week's arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal, a key opposition leader whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has governed the national capital territory for a decade, was arrested by the financial crime-fighting agency on corruption charges relating to the city's liquor policy, weeks before India begins voting in general elections on April 19. He was remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate until March 28, with the lawyer for the agency arguing he was the "kingpin" in the case and needed to be interrogated. Kejriwal's party, all of whose main leaders are now imprisoned in connection with the case, says he has been "falsely arrested" in a "fabricated case". The federal government and Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deny political interfere...