Current World Issues

How Gaza's only escape turned deadly Owing to the power crisis, coastal pollution worsens, causing death and disease.   By Belal Dabour and by Ahmed Abdelal On a hot summer day in mid-July,  Ahmed al-Sayis, a Palestinian from Gaza's al-Zaytoon neighbourhood, decided to take his four daughters and five-year-old son Mohammed to the Sheikh Ejlin beach west of the city, to cool off.  Temperatures were nearing 40 degrees Celsius and electric fans were paralyzed by the unprecedent power shortage.  As the sun blazed over the desert-bordering Gaza, the beach seemed like the only escape.  "The new school semester was approaching and the heat was unbearable. The children needed a breather so we tried to find a clean spot in which to swim and cool off," al-Sayis told Al Jazeera. Everything seemed fine when the family got back home. Later that night, Mohammed began to show symptoms of illness. "He became sick and vomited several times. The next morning, h...

Will Germany's new law kill free speech online? By Patrick EvansBBC News 18 September 2017 Lawyer Joachim Steinhoefel is one of the most vocal critics of a new German online speech law In October a new law comes into force in Germany that will impose huge fines on social networks if they don't delete illegal content including hate speech. It's touched off a huge debate over freedom of expression and has attracted an unusual collection of opponents. The law is called Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz - NetzDG for short. It obliges the biggest social networks - those with more than two million German users - to take down "blatantly illegal" hate speech within 24 hours of it being reported. For material that's less obviously violating the law, networks such as Facebook and Instagram will have seven days to consider and, if appropriate, delete posts. Failure to meet these deadlines could lead to fines of up to €50m. Critics argue the short timeframes coupled with the ...

Iraq holding 1,400 foreign 'ISIL wives, children' Wives and children of suspected ISIL fighters held in camp after group's expulsion from former stronghold in Mosul. Iraqi authorities are holding about 1,400 foreign wives and children of suspected ISIL fighters in a camp after government forces expelled the group from one of its last remaining strongholds in Iraq, security and aid officials said. Many of them say they are from Russia, Turkey and Central Asia, but there are also some from European countries, the officials said. They have mostly arrived at the camp south of Mosul since August 30. An Iraqi intelligence officer said they were in the process of verifying the nationalities of the wives and children with their home countries since many of the women no longer had their original documents. It is the largest group of foreigners linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group to be held by Iraqi forces since they s...

Kenya election: Kenyatta vows to 'fix' court as win quashed 2 September 2017 The president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, has said his country has "a problem" with its judiciary after the Supreme Court cancelled his victory in last month's presidential election. Speaking on live television, he vowed to "fix" the court if re-elected. It comes a day after the Supreme Court cited irregularities in the vote and ordered a new one within 60 days. Mr Kenyatta has said he will respect the ruling and called for calm amid fears of unrest. But at a rally in Nairobi on Friday he branded the Supreme Court judges "crooks". The 8 August poll raised fears of major violence similar to that following a disputed vote in 2007. Deputy President William Ruto has called on the electoral commission to set a date for fresh presidential elections, saying the governing Jubilee Party is ready. But opposition candidate Raila Odinga wants the commission replaced, say...