Israel announces new settlement construction on stolen Palestinian land
Human rights groups have warned that the new construction will end the territorial continuity between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, which is important for any future Palestinian state in a two-state solution
Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah re-arrested after court revokes release order
A criminal court in Cairo revoked its own order for the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah and two other activists. Alaa Abdel Fattah, one of the prominent faces of the 2011 uprising against the Hosni Mubarak regime, has been in jail for nearly 6 years since 2013
Chelsea Manning’s legal team files new motion for release
The whistleblower who brought to light US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq has been in judicial remand for refusing to testify in the indictment of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange
US and UK are among the safest tax havens in the world
According to the Financial Secrecy Index 2020 published by the Tax Justice Network, the US has emerged as the second safest tax haven. The British overseas territory of the Cayman Islands is the “safest tax haven” in the world
In Germany, tens of thousands take part in multiple demonstrations against far-right
The largest demonstration took place on February 15 in the State of Thuringia against the deal struck between the German liberals, center-right and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the election of the premier on February 5
Palestine to sue Amazon over discriminatory delivery policy
The e-commerce company is offering free delivery to Israeli customers in the illegal settlements, while charging Palestinians in the same area USD 24 or more, unless they select Israel as their country of location
Ashraf Ghani is declared winner of Afghanistan’s presidential polls but crisis continues
The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan declared president Ashraf Ghani the winner with 50.64% of the votes but his main rival Abdullah Abdullah rejected the results and said he would form his own government
Number of daily new Novel Coronavirus cases falls below 2000
The number of new infections was 1,886 on February 18 as opposed to 2,050 on the previous day. The daily death toll too has come down substantially and is below 100.