“In the beginning, it was very unusual to see all the stores closed in the mall. But I am now buying the same brands online,” Guzel, a resident of the central Russian city of Kazan, told Al Jazeera.
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that his country could “apply sanctions” against Israelis unless the government in Tel Aviv responds to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.Speaking during a visit to Singapore on Friday, Macron said the international community could not remain passive while Palestinians in Gaza face a deepening hunger crisis. The comments raise further the international pressure building on Israel, which has blockaded the Palestinian enclave for close to three months, with aid agencies warning of famine.
“The humanitarian blockade is creating a situation that is untenable on the ground,” Macron said at a joint news conference alongside Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.“If there is no response in the coming hours and days in line with the humanitarian situation, we will have to harden our collective position,” he added, suggesting that France may consider applying sanctions against Israeli settlers.Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lashed out later in the day, saying, “The facts do not interest Macron.”
The ministry claimed that there was no humanitarian blockade on Gaza and that asserting the contrary was “a blatant lie”, despite UN top officials and international organisations having repeatedly stated that Israel has blockaded all entry of aid since March 2.Israel recently said it was bowing to international pressure and would allow “minimal” supplies of food and medicine into Gaza, on which it continues to wage an intense military assault.
However, the trickle of aid entering the strip under the control of a new, shadowy NGO backed by Israel and the United States has been accompanied by intensive bombardment and the shooting of Palestinians desperately trying to reach aid distribution points.
In his comments, Macron called for an end to assumptions that Israel is respecting human rights., which power AI systems, have long been a source of tension between the US and China.
China’s Commerce Ministry spokesperson fired back against the guidance last week, accusing Washington of “undermining” the consensus reached in Geneva and describing the measures as “typical unilateral bullying and protectionism”.Then, on May 28, the US government ramped up the row by ordering US companies which make software used to design semiconductors to
their goods and services to Chinese groups, The Financial Times reported.Design automation software makers, including Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA, were told via letters from the US Commerce Department to stop supplying their technology to China.