At least 70 Palestinians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, reported the state-run Palestine TV. Ashraf Al-Qedra, spokesman for the Gaza-based Health Ministry, said in a statement that the death toll is likely to rise as the airstrike hit a crowded residential area. He added that Israeli forces are bombing the central region’s main roads between camps, which obstructs ambulances and civil vehicles from reaching targeted locations. Local…

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, has vowed to collaborate with the international community to stop Israeli “genocide” against Palestinian people. He has also called on Israel to end the siege on Gaza and allow a humanitarian corridor in the Strip.  Addressing the African National Congress (ANC) post-national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Monday, Ramaphosa said the governing party is angered by the Zionist state’s indiscriminate shelling and blockade of the Gaza Strip.  He said the ANC will push for a…

The African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (ARETA) has urged all South Africans to take part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, saying Hamas attacks were “legitimate retaliation against Israel”. Party president Carl Niehaus also called on all left-wing political parties and civil society organizations to rally behind Palestine on Monday in the same way the Palestine Liberation Authority (PLO) supported South Africa’s struggle against apartheid. Under the PLO’s former leader, Yasser Arafat, Palestine threw its weight…

JERUSALEM, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) — Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian group ruling the Gaza Strip, launched a massive surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, which included firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating militants into southern Israel. In response, the Israeli military conducted tens of airstrikes targeting Hamas sites and headquarters in the coastal enclave. The new round of conflict has led to hundreds of people killed on both sides, with thousands injured. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country “at…

GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) —  Israel’s cabinet declared a “state of war” on Sunday after a massive surprise attack launched by Hamas has so far killed at least 700 in Israel while retaliatory Israeli airstrikes killed at least 413 in Gaza. The Israeli army continued its extensive airstrikes on targets in Gaza on Sunday as Hamas militants are fighting with Israeli soldiers on Israeli territories. Hamas militants remained in control of several communities in southern Israel on Sunday evening, as the Israel…

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — Ahead of the United Nations (UN) general debate next week, developing countries at the Summit of the Group of 77 (G77) and China urged strengthening solidarity and cooperation to champion multilateralism. In the face of some countries’ practices such as unilateral sanctions, decoupling, and disruptions of industrial and supply chains, developing countries widely expect to enhance solidarity and cooperation and make efforts to make global governance more just and equitable.  After the two-day summit in…

NEW DELHI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — The African Union (AU) celebrated its founding anniversary Saturday, marking its creation in 1999. This year, the joy was doubled as the AU became a new Group of 20 (G20) member on the same day. “It’s finally Africa’s time,” many Africans said on social media, echoing “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” the official song of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It’s a dreams-come-true moment for the AU, which has long strived…

CAIRO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — The Arab League (AL) on Sunday welcomed the admission of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member to the Group of 20 (G20), expressing hope that the pan-Arab organization would enjoy the same status. In a statement, AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit welcomed the G20 leaders’ decision on AU’s entry into the group. On Saturday, G20 members agreed to grant permanent membership to the AU in an effort to make the group more representative.  The agreement…

BRICS leaders have invited six new members to join the powerful economic alliance of developing nations, marking the rise of the Global South in geopolitics and the world’s new political and financial architecture.  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and Argentina officially join BRICS in January next year – in a paradigm shift that would rearrange international politics, dent the petro-dollar system and expedite the demise of the United States of America’s (U.S) empire.   The move…

The leaders of the BRICS countries approved the final declaration of the 15th summit of the association, called “Johannesburg-2”, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, which paved the way for Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE to join the economic alliance.  The text of the Johannesburg Declaration is published on the official website of the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation. “As five BRICS countries, we have reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria…