DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Cross-border fire in Gaza after Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa mosque
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Israeli police entered Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound before dawn on Wednesday and clashed with worshippers, in what police said was a response to rioting that set off a furious reaction across the West Bank and cross border strikes in Gaza. Witnesses said Israeli tanks also shelled Hamas positions along the border fence in the southern part of the Gaza strip. Israeli police walk inside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, early on April 5, 2023 after clashes erupted during Islam's holy month of Ramadan. Ahmad Gharabli | Afp | Getty ImagesThe Palestinian Red Crescent said 12 Palestinians sustained wounds from rubber-tipped bullets and beatings in clashes with Israeli police. Videos circulating on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed fireworks going off and police beating people inside the mosque.

UNITED NATIONS/KABUL, April 5 (Reuters) - U.N. chief Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a ban by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities on Afghan women working for the United Nations, calling it "an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights" that should be immediately revoked. The United Nations has told some 3,300 Afghan staff - of which about 400 are female - not to report to their offices until further notice for security reasons. "Banning Afghan women from working with the U.N. in Afghanistan is an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights," Guterres posted on Twitter. Top U.N. officials in Kabul met with the Acting Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi on Wednesday after the Taliban authorities signaled on Tuesday that they would enforce a ban on Afghan women working for the world body. So far it is only 5% funded and the United Nations says nearly three-quarters of the country's 40 million people need help.

☆ Egypt's pound is among the worst performing currencies in 2023. And it's expected to plummet further
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A photo of one hundred Egyptian pound, one hundred U.S. dollars against the pyramids of Giza in Egypt on January 17, 2023. Fadel Dawod | Getty ImagesThe Egyptian pound has plunged almost 20% against the greenback since the start of the year — with some analysts predicting that the currency may still have room to plummet further. Egypt's pound currently ranks as the sixth worst performing currency since Jan. 1, extending a decline that saw it lose more than half its value during 2022. Egypt's embattled economyHowever, the economic woes plaguing the Middle East's most populous country means its pound still has a way to plummet, according to the experts. He expects Egypt's inflation to peak at around 36% in the third quarter, if there are no more devaluations.

☆ Factbox: Where is Al Aqsa mosque and why is it so important in Islam?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 5 (Reuters) - A Israeli police raid on Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque on Wednesday has triggered a furious reaction from Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and the wider Arab and Muslim world. WHERE AND WHAT IS THE AL-AQSA MOSQUE? The Al-Aqsa compound has long been a flashpoint for deadly violence over matters of sovereignty and religion in Jerusalem. Under the longstanding "status quo" arrangement governing the area, which Israel says it maintains, non-Muslims can visit but only Muslims are allowed to worship in the mosque compound. Palestinians protested, and there were violent clashes that quickly escalated into the second Palestinian uprising, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

☆ Canadian PM urges Israel to change its approach after raid, clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ammar AwadOTTAWA, April 5 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday criticised the Israeli government's "inflamed rhetoric" and urged it to change its approach to the Palestinians amid an upsurge in violence. He also condemned the rocket attacks by Palestinian militants from Gaza. "We're extremely concerned with the inflamed rhetoric coming out of the Israeli government, we're concerned about the judicial reforms ... we're concerned by the violence around the al-Aqsa mosque," Trudeau said. "We absolutely, unequivocally condemn the rocket attacks from militants in Gaza. We need to see a de-escalation of violence," Trudeau added.

☆ What crisis? U.S. bank-focused ETFs see strongest demand in months in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Exchange-traded funds tracking U.S. regional banks saw their strongest net inflows in months, with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF receiving $1.25 billion in the month to March 29, while the iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT.P) took in $258 million, according to Refinitiv Lipper data. March was the first month of net buying for the IAT fund in a year, and one of the best months on record in terms of flows for KRE. US Bank ETFs in 2023A swift response from regulators and central banks encouraged investors looking to "buy at the bottom," Islam said. "As markets continue to settle down ... banks generally and major banks especially will outperform the S&P 500."

Organizations: & $, & $

☆ The high-speed train in Saudi Arabia that connects Mecca and Medina
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia CNN —In the distant past, Muslim pilgrims came to the holy city of Mecca on foot. Haramain means “two sanctuaries” in Arabic, named for the holy cities of Mecca and Medina that sit on the line’s opposite ends. Business class passengers on the train can watch seat-back TVs. Even on a short journey like the one from Jeddah to KAEC, business class passengers are entitled to a full meal service. When it comes to high-speed railway, it seems as though the Haramain line is only the beginning in Saudi Arabia.

Persons: Tawfiq Al Rabiah, ” Al Rabiah, King Abdullah, King, Saudi riyals, Lilit Marcus, Foster, they’re, KAEC, isn’t, it’s, Umrah, Khalid al, Falih Organizations: CNN, Saudi Arabia CNN —, King Abdulaziz International Airport, King Abdullah Economic, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi, CNN Station, Foster + Partners, du Nord, Getty, Saudi Gazette, Bandar, Saudi Railway Polytechnic, Saudi Arabia’s Investment Locations: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Mecca, Hajj, Medina, Jeddah’s, Jeddah Al, New York, Paris, du, Sulimaniyah, Bandar Aldandani, AFP, KAEC, umrah, Islam, Riyadh

☆ Genetic study details complex ancestry of East Africa's Swahili people
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Radu Sigheti/File PhotoMarch 29 (Reuters) - A study of centuries-old DNA has deciphered the complex ancestry of coastal East Africa's Swahili people, revealing how a cosmopolitan and prosperous medieval civilization arose thanks in large part to women from Africa and men arriving from Persia. After around 1500 AD, the bulk of the Asian genetic contribution shifted to Arabian sources, the study showed. "However, in this case, because Bantu populations in East Africa often have more matrilineal tendencies, African women likely had more autonomy in choosing their partners for building a family. It may be, the researchers said, that the African women and their communities chose to form families with Persian princes or traders, reinforcing trade networks of African and Persian merchants. The evidence of Indian ancestry adds a surprising new layer to the history of the East African coast, Brielle added.

☆ U-20 World Cup draw in Bali postponed amid protest against Israel participation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Rohith Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 26 (Reuters) - The draw for the Under-20 FIFA World Cup that was scheduled to take place in Indonesia next week will be postponed, a source told Reuters after Bali's governor refused to host Israel's team. The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) said the draw that was to be held on Friday had been cancelled. "Previously, Bali governor Wayan Koster rejected the presence of the Israeli national team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup event... This can be a reason for FIFA to cancel the U-20 World Cup draw," the PSSI said in a statement. "The chairman will also report to Mr President at the first opportunity to find a solution to all this, both diplomacy and foreign policy... to save Indonesian football that we love," Sinulingga added.

☆ The Best Part of Group Tours? Meeting New People. It’s Also the Worst Part.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Kathleen Hughes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tourists gaze down at the ruins of Masada, an ancient mountaintop fortress in Israel, during the author’s tour of the Middle East. We were a group of 10 strangers on a two-week tour of the Middle East last year, and our social dynamic was, it’s fair to say, a bit rocky from the start. While the tour was fascinating, focusing on the ancient history of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, one guest interrupted frequently, criticizing the guides and the itinerary. “Why did you bring us here?” she asked on the streets of downtown Amman.

☆ 6 ways to support Muslim coworkers who are fasting during Ramadan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Allana Akhtar | Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For many Muslims, Ramadan means abstaining from food and drink while at work. So, how can non-Muslim colleagues be supportive, while also not accidentally making a micro-aggression toward someone who is observing Ramadan? At one office where Nasr worked, a boss privately asked her if she needed any special accommodations while observing Ramadan. Most Muslims use the Arabic phrase "Ramadan Mubarak," which translates to "have a blessed Ramadan" or "happy Ramadan, to greet each other. Plus, there are many other reasons why Muslims don't fast, like during illness or travel.

☆ A US veteran joined Ukraine's International Legion, then made a shock defection to Russia. Ex-comrades say he was incompetent and left behind a trail of chaos.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Alia Shoaib | Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Those who fought with him in Ukraine told Insider he was unstable and erratic on the battlefield. "Bama is a highly unstable character," Nance told Insider. The warning signs continued, as McIntyre told Smith that he was wanted by the FBI for threatening to kill personnel at the White House, Smith. "As time went on, he confided to me that he had converted to Islam and that he was planning to do a jihad," Smith told Insider. "When you screw up, a company gets rid of you, pulls you off the line, and sends you back to the battalion," Nance told Insider.

☆ Iraqi ambush of Americans made a mockery of 'Mission Accomplished'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michael Georgy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/5] FILE PHOTO: A U.S. soldier walks past Iraqi detainees standing behind a wired fence, at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, Iraq May 17, 2004. Arriving in the city an hour or so after the ambush on March 31, 2004, I was confronted by a crowd kicking the head of an incinerated body. I was taking notes, trying to make sense of the furore, when a boy, who was probably aged about nine, approached. HOTSPOTIn the two decades of turmoil since the invasion, Falluja repeatedly emerged as a hotspot. I saw an Iraqi douse one of the corpses with petrol, sending flames soaring into the air.

☆ Saudi sculptor steps into limelight as religious curbs ease
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mohammed Benmansour | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Awatif Al-Keneibit, a Saudi artist, shows her art in her studio, an art-form previously frowned upon in the country but now gaining more acceptance, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 9, 2023. Her exposition includes ceramic faces, some with hollow eyes, others wearing eye glasses, and figurines of Saudi Arabian women, displayed on red bricks and coloured to reflect traditional desert dresses. "Who could have imagined that one day, this exhibition, which was in a basement, could be displayed in Olaya (downtown Riyadh)?" said Keneibit, 60, who is blazing a trail for women in the arts in Saudi Arabia's conservative male-dominated society. U.S.-educated Keneibit said she resorted to creating a private gallery at the bottom of her house for friends and guests after a public exhibition was banned in 2009.

☆ U.S.-led Iraq war ushered in years of chaos and conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A general view of Tahrir square as demonstrators take part during the ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, Iraq November 5, 2019. Here is a look at some of the violence, including suicide bombings and beheadings, that has plagued Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer and key U.S. ally, since the 2003 war. * March 20, 2003 - U.S.-led forces invade Iraq from Kuwait to oust Saddam Hussein. * October 2004 - Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi starts waging bloody attacks designed to turn majority Shi’ite Muslims against minority Sunnis in a civil war. * January 2007 - Bush announces a new war strategy including a “surge” of U.S. troops into Iraq to combat the insurgency.

☆ UN warns of aid cuts over Taliban crackdown on women's rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States was the largest donor to the 2022 U.N. aid plan in Afghanistan, giving more than $1 billion. The Taliban administration, which seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law. "They systematically deprive women and girls of their fundamental human rights," United Arab Emirates U.N. "They say their elimination from public life is no better than fearing violent death," Otunbayeva told the Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, which coincided with International Women's Day. "Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women's rights," she said.

☆ Afghan broadcaster airs rare all-female panel to discuss rights on Women's Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, March 8 (Reuters) - Afghan broadcaster Tolo News on Wednesday aired an all-female panel in its studio with an audience of women to mark International Women's Day, a rare broadcast since the Taliban took over and many female journalists left the profession or started working off-air. A survey by Reporters Without Borders last year found that more than 75% of female journalists had lost their jobs since the Taliban took over as foreign forces withdrew in August 2021. The Taliban last year restricted most girls from high school, women from university and stopped most Afghan female NGO workers. Another panellist, former university professor Zakira Nabil said women would continue to find ways to learn and work. The United Nation's Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Wednesday called on the Taliban to reverse restrictions on the rights of girls and women, calling them "distressing."

☆ Iran's Khamenei calls girls' poisoning 'unforgivable' after public anger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Over 1,000 girls have suffered poisoning since November, according to state media and officials, with some politicians blaming religious groups opposed to girls' education. The poisonings have come at a critical time for Iran's clerical rulers after months of protests since the death of a young woman held by police for flouting hijab rules. "Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by state TV. "If it is proven deliberate, those perpetrators of this unforgivable crime should be sentenced to capital punishment." At least one boys' school has also been targeted in the city of Boroujerd, state media reported.

☆ Taliban's persecution of women could be 'crime against humanity' - UN report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 6 (Reuters) - The Taliban's treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan could amount to a crime against humanity, according to a U.N. report presented on Monday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. In a report covering July to December 2022, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, found that the Taliban's treatment of women and girls "may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity". "The Taliban's intentional and calculated policy is to repudiate the human rights of women and girls and to erase them from public life," Bennett told the United Nations Human Rights Council. "It may amount to the international crime of gender persecution for which the authorities can be held accountable." Bennett said the Human Rights Council should send a strong message to the Taliban that the "abysmal treatment of women and girls is intolerable and unjustifiable on any ground, including religion".

DHAKA, March 5 (Reuters) - A "major" fire that broke out at a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh on Sunday, destroying several homes, is now under control, police officials told Reuters, adding that there were no casualties. The blaze hit Camp 11 in Cox's Bazar, a border district where more than a million Rohingya refugees live, with most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017, Rafiqul Islam, additional police superintendent at Cox's Bazar told Reuters. Faruque Ahmed, a local police official, said the cause of the fire was not clear. The refugee camps in Cox's Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh are prone to such blazes. While the fire in 2022 only damaged homes, the massive blaze in 2021 killed at least 15 refugees and destroyed over 10,000 homes.

☆ Behind the Epic Dance Moves in ‘RRR’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ Opinion: Benjamin Netanyahu on the Iran Nuclear ThreatIn an interview with 'Global View' columnist Walter Russell Mead, the Prime Minister of Israel pointed to developments in Iran, then queried what might happen should it become the first nuclear power run by radical Islam. The answer, he says, is to "expand the circle of peace." Images: Reuters/AP/AFP via Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly

☆ Watch: Heavy Snowfall Shuts Down Parts of California
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Watch: Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty in Murders of His Wife and Son
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Austin has emerged as a hub for relocating tech talent during the pandemic. Investors in Austin closed 416 deals in 2022 worth $4.9 billion, according to PitchBook. For this list, we asked VCs from across the country about which Texas investors we need to know. To qualify, an investor needed to be a Texas resident, but their firms and portfolio companies could be anywhere. Check out Insider's list of 46 top investors in Texas.

☆ Wave of poison attacks on schoolgirls alarms Iranians
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The poison attacks at more than 30 schools in at least four cities started in November in Iran's Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Qom, prompting some parents to take their children out of school, state media reported. His deputy, Younes Panahi, said on Sunday "it was found that some people wanted schools, especially girls’ schools, to be closed", according to IRNA state news agency. One boys' school has been targeted in the city of Boroujerd, state media reported. Several senior clerics, lawmakers and politicians have criticised the government for failing to end the poison attacks and giving contradicting reasons for them, with some warning that frustration among families could ignite further protests. A judicial probe into the poisoning cases is under way, state media reported.

Search resuls for: "Islam"

25 mentions found