AFP Asia Business

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the formation of a Gaza “board of peace,” a key phase two element of a US-backed plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory.”It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that the members of the body will be announced “shortly.””I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place,” Trump said.The board’s creation comes shortly after the announcement of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee, charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza.The committee will work under the supervision of the board of peace, which Trump said Thursday he will lead as its chair.The plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilisation Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units.”The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement on Thursday.The US-backed Gaza peace plan first came into force on October 10, facilitating the return of all the hostages held by Hamas and an end to the fighting between the Palestinian militant group and Israel in the besieged territory.The plan’s second phase is now underway, though clouded by ongoing allegations of aid shortages and violence. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has said Israeli forces have killed 451 people since the ceasefire ostensibly took effect.For Palestinians, the central issue remains Israel’s full military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — a step included in the plan’s framework but for which no detailed timetable has been announced.Hamas, meanwhile, has refused to publicly commit to a full disarmament, a non-negotiable demand from Israel.In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington expects Hamas to “comply fully with its obligations.” Hamas is preparing to hold internal elections to rebuild its leadership, which has been decimated by Israeli killings during the war in Gaza. That vote is expected “in the first months of 2026,” a Hamas leader told AFP Monday.Trump shared Witkoff’s post Thursday, adding “These Palestinian leaders are unwaveringly committed to a PEACEFUL future!” in reference to the transitional government he selects.”With the support of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, we will secure a COMPREHENSIVE Demilitarization Agreement with Hamas, including the surrender of ALL weapons, and the dismantling of EVERY tunnel,” Trump said.

A senior UN official warned on Thursday that threats of military action against Iran, like those made by US President Donald Trump, increased “volatility” in the protest-torn country.Iran was shaken over the last week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished in the face of repression and a week-long internet blackout. Until Wednesday, the United States was threatening military action against Iran should it carry out the death penalty against people arrested over the protests — and Washington’s envoy to the UN said Thursday all options were still “on the table.””We note with alarm various public statements suggesting possible military strikes on Iran. This external dimension adds volatility to an already combustible situation,” UN Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told the UN Security Council.”All efforts must be undertaken to prevent any further deterioration.”Iran’s representative at the meeting Gholamhossein Darzi accused Washington of “exploitation of peaceful protests for geopolitical purposes.”Trump’s statements were “aimed at reigniting unrest,” he said.Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, invited to address the Council by Washington, said “all Iranians are united” against the clerical system in Iran. “Millions of Iranians flooded into the streets demanding that their money stop being stolen and sending to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to Houthi” fighters, she said referring to Tehran-backed armed groups.In October a US judge jailed two men for 25 years each Wednesday for a plot to murder Alinejad allegedly hatched by Tehran.Iranians “welcomed when President Trump offered to rescue unarmed people being shot in their heart, in their chest by the security forces inside Iran,” said Alinejad who was become a prominent face of criticism of the Iranian government in the United States.US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the United States “stands by the brave people of Iran period.””The level of repression that the Iranian regime has unleashed on its own citizens, its own people, has repercussions for international peace and security,” he added.

A Greek court on Thursday acquitted Syrian competitive swimmer and activist Sarah Mardini, whose rescue of her sister inspired a hit Netflix film, and 23 others of migrant trafficking in a decision applauded by top rights groups.The verdict came almost a month after the start of their trial at a court on Lesbos, ending a legal ordeal for the activists since 2018.They had been charged in the Greek island with “forming a criminal organisation” and “illegally facilitating the entry of third-country nationals into Greece”.”All defendants are acquitted of the charges” because their aim was “not to commit criminal acts but to provide humanitarian aid”, presiding judge Vassilis Papathanassiou told the court.Prosecutor Dimitris Smyrnis had earlier recommended their acquittal, emphasising that “no independent basis establishing the criminal liability of the defendants has been demonstrated”.Mardini, a 30-year-old Syrian who sought refuge in Germany in 2015, was present at the court along with her Irish-German co-defendant Sean Binder, AFP said.”Saving human lives is not a crime,” an emotional Mardini said after the verdict. “We never did anything illegal because if helping people is a crime, then we are all criminals.” – ‘Unacceptable’ -The 2022 Netflix film “The Swimmers” is inspired by the story of Mardini and her sister Yusra, who was one of 10 athletes who competed in the Rio Olympics for a Refugee Team.Their family made the perilous journey across the Aegean Sea in 2015, and the sisters saved other people from drowning along the way.”These charges should never have been brought to trial in the first place,” Amnesty International said after the acquittal.”The EU must also take note of today’s decision and introduce stronger safeguards against the criminalisation of humanitarian assistance under EU law, no one should be punished for trying to help,” it said.Human Rights Watch echoed Amnesty.”Two dozen people were subjected to a seven-year legal ordeal on baseless charges for saving lives. These abusive prosecutions have virtually shut down lifesaving work even as people continue to drown in the Aegean,” it said.This is the second time Greece has brought criminal charges against the volunteers.In 2023, they were acquitted in another case involving offences related to their humanitarian work, including “espionage”.In 2018, Mardini was part of a group of volunteer activists with the NGO ERCI trying to help migrants reach the island of Lesbos from Turkey.She was arrested at the time and spent three months in prison in Greece. Her lawyer, Zaharias Kesses, said it was “unacceptable” for such high-profile cases to drag on for so long.The aim, he argued, “was to criminalise humanitarian aid and eliminate humanitarian organisations. Before this case, thousands of volunteers were on Lesbos, whereas afterwards they were reduced to a few dozen.”

The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from President Donald Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on demonstrations.Iran was shaken over the last week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and a week-long internet blackout.While Washington has stepped back from military action, the White House said Thursday that “all options remain on the table for the president”. “The president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She said Trump had warned Tehran of “grave consequences” if the killing of demonstrators continued.The Treasury also announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials on Thursday, with Tehran already under crippling restrictions over its nuclear programme that contributed to the economic woes that sparked protests.The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO said on Wednesday that Iranian security forces had killed at least 3,428 protesters, warning that the final toll would be far higher.Trump had said Wednesday he had received assurances from “very important sources on the other side” that executions would not go ahead, as Gulf allies scrambled to pull him back from military action.With the belligerent rhetoric on all sides appearing to tone down for now, a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk Trump out of an attack, fearing “grave blowbacks in the region”.The Gulf trio “led a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention”, the official said on condition of anonymity.A second Gulf official confirmed the talks, adding that a message was also conveyed to Iran that attacking US regional facilities would “have consequences”.Asked about a New York Times report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Trump against strikes, Leavitt said: “Look, it’s true that the president spoke with (him), but I would never give details about their conversation without… the express approval by the president himself.”Iranian authorities have lashed out at “rioters” who they claim were backed by Israel and the US, vowing fast-track justice that activists fear will translate into a spree of executions.- ‘No hanging today’ -In telephone talks on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan that Iran would defend itself “against any foreign threat”, according to a statement.On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia informed Iran it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to attack the country, two sources close to the kingdom’s government told AFP.The Swiss foreign ministry, which represents US interests in Iran, said Iranian security chief Ali Larijani spoke by phone on Wednesday to senior Swiss diplomat Gabriel Luechinger.Bern offered to “contribute to the de-escalation of the current situation”, the ministry said.Later on Thursday the country summoned Iran’s ambassador to voice its “greatest concern” over the crackdown on nationwide protests, a foreign ministry official said.The developments came hours ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Iran later on Thursday, which was requested by the US.Up until Wednesday, the United States was threatening military action against Iran should it carry out the death penalty against people arrested over the protests.Attention had focused on protester Erfan Soltani, 26, in prison in Karaj outside Tehran since his arrest, and who rights groups said was due to be executed on Wednesday.On Thursday, the Iranian judiciary said Soltani has “not been sentenced to death” and was facing charges of propaganda against Iran’s Islamic system.If he is convicted, “the punishment, according to the law, will be imprisonment”.In an interview with US network Fox News, Araghchi said there would be “no hanging today or tomorrow”.Commenting on Truth Social, Trump said: “This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!”- ‘Significant cost’ -Araghchi said the Iranian government was “in full control” and reported an atmosphere of calm after what he called three days of “terrorist operation”.Despite the internet shutdown, new videos from the height of the protests, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up in the Kahrizak morgue south of Tehran, as distraught relatives searched for loved ones.Another video circulating on social media, said to be from Wednesday, showed people gathered for the funeral of a labourer killed during the protests chanting “Death to Khamenei” and “this year Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) will be overthrown”.AFP was able to verify the location of the video as Abdanan in the western province of Ilam, but not its date.Meanwhile, the Canadian government confirmed on Thursday that one of its citizens was killed in the protest.The unnamed Canadian “died at the hands of the Iranian authorities”, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said.