- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.41% | 24.6 | $ | |
AZN | -0.75% | 76.895 | $ | |
BP | 0.96% | 33.2 | $ | |
RIO | -0.32% | 69.48 | $ | |
BTI | -0.2% | 35.22 | $ | |
NGG | -1.54% | 65.49 | $ | |
GSK | -0.37% | 38.675 | $ | |
RELX | -0.51% | 46.055 | $ | |
VOD | 0.05% | 9.665 | $ | |
SCS | -0.46% | 12.91 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.19% | 24.765 | $ | |
JRI | -0.72% | 13.185 | $ | |
BCE | -0.49% | 33.545 | $ | |
BCC | 1.11% | 140.465 | $ |
Tensions high ahead of Al Jazeera journalist's funeral in Jerusalem
Israel bolstered security in Jerusalem ahead of the funeral on Friday of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, two days after she was killed during an Israeli army raid.
Israel and the Palestinians have traded blame over the fatal shooting of the 51-year-old Palestinian-American during clashes in the Jenin refugee camp.
The body of Abu Akleh, a Palestinian Christian born in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, was transferred to the holy city from the occupied West Bank.
The funeral procession would begin at a hospital in east Jerusalem, and last respects would be paid at a church in the Old City, Al Jazeera said, with her body set to be buried alongside her parents in a nearby cemetery.
Thousands of mourners are expected to attend the funeral, an Israeli police spokeswoman told AFP.
Roads would be closed for the procession, the spokeswoman said, with extra forces deployed to "ensure the funeral takes place safely and without violence that could endanger participants or others".
In a sign of Abu Akleh's prominence, she was given what was described as a full state memorial on Thursday at Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's compound in Ramallah.
Thousands lined the route as her coffin, draped in the Palestinian flag, was driven through the West Bank city, where a street is to be renamed in her honour.
Many held flowers, wreaths and pictures of the journalist, who has been widely hailed for her bravery and professionalism.
"Her voice entered every home, and her loss is a wound in our hearts," said mourner Hadil Hamdan.
- 'Sister of all Palestinians' -
The United States, European Union and United Nations have backed calls for a full investigation into what Al Jazeera labelled a deliberate killing "in cold blood", but the Palestinian Authority has rejected holding a joint probe with Israel.
Immediately after the shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had said it was "likely" Abu Akleh was killed by stray Palestinian gunfire.
But hours later, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said it could have been "the Palestinians who shot her" or fire from "our side".
While reporting in Jenin, Abu Akleh was wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest emblazoned with the word "Press".
She "was the sister of all Palestinians," her brother Antoun Abu Akleh told AFP.
Israel has also issued a public call for a joint probe, stressing the need for Palestinian authorities to hand over the fatal bullet for forensic examination.
But Abbas said the proposal had been rejected.
"This crime should not go unpunished," he said during the Ramallah memorial, adding the Palestinian Authority held Israel "completely responsible" for her death.
- New violence -
PA official Hussein al-Sheikh, a close Abbas confidant, said the Palestinian "investigation would be completed independently".
An initial autopsy and forensic examination were conducted in Nablus in the West Bank hours after her death.
Fresh violence erupted on Friday in the northern West Bank during an Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp.
The Palestinian health ministry said 13 Palestinians were wounded in the clashes, one of them seriously.
An AFP photographer at the scene said Israeli forces had surrounded the home of a suspect, besieging two men inside and firing anti-tank grenades at the house in an effort to flush them out.
As the standoff continued, loudspeakers in the camp could be heard calling on others to "go out and stand up to occupation forces", the photographer added.
The Israeli army said its forces were acting to "apprehend terrorist suspects", circulating a video of what it said was "Palestinian gunmen near Jenin (firing) recklessly and indiscriminately" during the operation.
In a separate incident near Ramallah, soldiers "identified a suspect throwing a brick at an Israeli car and trying to open its doors near Beit El" settlement, the army said.
"The force called on him to stop and eventually opened fire at the suspect, who was wounded and taken to a hospital," the army said, noting "a knife and bottle of acid were found on his person."
Tensions had already risen with a wave of attacks that have killed at least 18 people in Israel since March 22, including an Arab-Israeli police officer and two Ukrainians.
A total of 31 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs have died during the same period, according to an AFP tally, among them perpetrators of attacks and those killed by Israeli security forces in West Bank operations.
F.Pedersen--AMWN