AFP Asia Business

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Donald Trump Tuesday to discuss the truce with Hamas, as the US president’s Middle East envoy said war-battered Gaza would remain uninhabitable for years.After Trump claimed credit for securing the Israel-Hamas truce after more than 15 months of fighting and bombing, he was likely to urge his ally Netanyahu to stick to the deal — parts of which have yet to be finalised.Israel said hours ahead of the White House talks it was sending a team to mediator Qatar to discuss the second phase of the agreement, which could lead to a more permanent end to the war.Palestinian group Hamas said Tuesday negotiations for the second phase had begun, with spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou saying the focus was on “shelter, relief and reconstruction”.Trump has touted a plan to “clean out” Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to Egypt or Jordan.Both countries have flatly rejected this, and on Tuesday their leaders stressed “the need to commit to the united Arab position” that would help achieve peace, according to the Egyptian presidency.Gazans have also denounced Trump’s idea.”Trump thinks Gaza is a pile of garbage — absolutely not,” said 34-year-old Hatem Azzam, a resident of the southern city of Rafah.”Trump and Netanyahu must understand… we will not leave.”Before the leaders’ meeting, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters that “when the president talks about ‘cleaning it out,’ he talks about making it habitable”.Witkoff said it was “unfair” and “preposterous” to suggest Gaza can be rebuilt and made habitable within five years of the war’s end.- ‘Redrawn the map’ -Under the ceasefire, Palestinian militants and Israel have begun exchanging hostages held in Gaza for prisoners in Israeli custody.The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, taking into Gaza 251 hostages, 76 of whom are still held in the Palestinian territory including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.Families of the Israeli hostages have been urging all sides to ensure the agreement is maintained so their loved ones can be freed.Relatives of the youngest hostages, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, pleaded Monday for information on the two boys and their mother, Shiri, after their father Yarden Bibas was released in the latest swap.”We miss you so much and are waiting for you,” said Ofri Bibas, Yarden’s sister.Netanyahu, the first foreign leader hosted by Trump since his return to office, said before leaving for Washington that Israel had “redrawn the map” of the Middle East since the war began and drew in regional allies of Hamas.”I believe that working closely with President Trump we can redraw it even further, and for the better,” he said.Trump may seek to offer Netanyahu incentives to stick to the truce, such as reviving efforts towards a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia which froze with the Gaza war.Trump said Sunday talks with Israel and other Middle Eastern countries were “progressing” — before warning that he had “no assurances” that the Gaza truce would hold.- West Bank violence -Since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, Israel has launched a deadly operation against militants in the occupied West Bank’s north.UN aid agency UNRWA — now banned in Israel — warned that the heavily impacted refugee camp of Jenin was “going into a catastrophic direction”.”Parts of the camp were completely destroyed in a series of detonations by the Israeli forces,” said UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma.UN and Palestinian officials said Israel’s operations have pushed more than 5,000 families out of Jenin and another refugee camp in the northern West Bank since December.On Tuesday, the Israeli army said a gunman killed two soldiers before being shot dead in an attack south of Jenin.Asked how he viewed a possible annexation of the West Bank, Trump did not rule this out, telling reporters that Israel was “a small country in terms of land”.Under the Gaza truce’s ongoing 42-day first phase, 18 hostages have been freed so far in exchange for some 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.The truce has also led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into Gaza, and allowed people displaced by the war to return to the north of the Palestinian territory.Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people on Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory response has killed at least 47,518 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN considers these figures as reliable.burs-ser/ami/srm

US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to hold direct talks after announcing tit-for-tat tariffs in an escalating trade war, US officials said Tuesday.Beijing said it was imposing levies on imports of US energy, vehicles and equipment in a return salvo minutes after Trump’s threatened tariffs on Chinese goods came into …

Trump, China’s Xi set to speak on tariff battle Read More »

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday hailed Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa for his “strong commitment” to fighting terror as the newly installed interim president made his first visit to Turkey.Sharaa flew to Ankara from Saudi Arabia where he had sought Riyadh’s support to fund Syria’s reconstruction and revive its economy after 13 years of civil war.”I would like to express our satisfaction for the strong commitment my brother Ahmed al-Sharaa has shown in the fight against terrorism,” Erdogan said after the pair held talks. Ankara has had a years-long connection with Sharaa and was a key backer of the push by his Islamist-led rebels that ended up toppling Bashar al-Assad on December 8. Since then, Turkey has extended its full support for his new administration, offering operational and military help in fighting “terror groups” still active in Syria.It has repeatedly called for action to root out both Islamic State (IS) group militants as well as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).The SDF is seen by many in the West as crucial to keeping jihadists at bay, but Turkey views it as a terrorist outfit and has threatened military action against it if it does not disband. “I told (Sharaa) we are ready to provide the necessary support to Syria in the fight against all kinds of terrorism, whether it be Daesh or the PKK,” Erdogan said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. He also reiterated Turkey’s offer to help run prisons holding IS fighters in northeastern Syria, which are currently run by the SDF. – ‘Join forces’ -Ankara accuses the SDF of having ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.”For the safety of our countries and our region, we have no other option than to join forces towards the same goal,” he said.Sharaa said Turkey and Syria were “working together on … a joint strategy to confront security threats in the region” to ensure the safety of both countries. He also said they had discussed “threats that prevent territorial unity in northeastern Syria” in a clear reference to the SDF, which runs a semi-autonomous Kurdish-led administration that controls swathes of the northeast.Damascus’ new rulers have rejected any form of Kurdish self-rule and urged the SDF to hand over their weapons.Inviting Erdogan to visit Syria “at the earliest opportunity”, Sharaa hailed Turkey for its willingness to take in millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war, saying his nation would “never forget (Turkey’s) historic stance”.”That significant support is still tangible through Turkey’s ongoing efforts to ensure the success of the current leadership in Syria politically and economically,” he said. Last month, Syria’s top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani pledged that Damascus would never allow its territory to be used as a staging ground for threats against Turkey, saying the new leadership would “work on removing these threats”. 

Amena Mohamed can’t stop smiling as she prepares to board a bus home to Wad Madani, in Sudan’s central Al-Jazira state, more than a year after she fled brutal fighting there.”I can’t describe the feeling, we’re so happy,” she told AFP in the southeastern state of Gedaref, where over a million people sought shelter from the battles between the regular Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at war since April 2023.Wrapped in a vibrant orange headscarf, she said she did not care that “there’s still problems with the water and electricity”, as long as she could return to her sons.In December 2023, they stayed behind with their ailing father, sending the family’s women off to escape as the RSF descended on Wad Madani.In the months that followed, over a million people fled brutal paramilitary violence documented by local monitors, including summary executions, systematic sexual violence and sieges laid to entire villages.When in January the military recaptured Wad Madani, celebratory chants of “we’re going back” erupted in displacement centres across the country, including the de facto capital on the Red Sea, Port Sudan.On Monday, an AFP correspondent in Port Sudan reported around 70 buses, carrying an estimated 3,500 displaced people, leaving for Wad Madani.By Tuesday, state governor Al-Taher Ibrahim had “received hundreds of returnees” to the city from western Al-Jazira alone, the official state news agency reported.Thousands more departed from the southeastern cities of Gedaref and Kassala, local officials told AFP.- ‘God protect us’ -Ruqayya Ibrahim, also preparing for the 250-kilometre (155 mile) trip from Gedaref, told AFP she had “grown so tired of displacement”.Asked whether she knew what state her home in Wad Madani was in, she said “it’s been looted”, but that hadn’t dulled her desire to return.In addition to killing tens of thousands of people and causing mass atrocities against civilians, the war in Sudan has created the world’s largest internal displacement crisis — with 11.5 million people currently having fled their homes.Even in relatively safe areas controlled by the army — namely the country’s east and north — infrastructure collapse and insufficient services have caused a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis.In Gedaref alone, far from any fighting, nearly a million people are facing crisis levels of hunger, according to the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.Mary Lupul, humanitarian director at aid group Save the Children, told AFP she had seen “some of the skinniest children” she has ever encountered in Gedaref.”Parents are making heart-wrenching decisions, deciding which of their children to feed,” she said.Cradling her baby — born in displacement — in a star-speckled blanket, Tamador al-Sayed told AFP she had fled to safety by foot, tuktuk and truck nearly all the way to the border with South Sudan, before making it to Gedaref.Now, her family could finally “relax”, she said.”We’re happy for our homes and our families and our loved ones and our neighbours,” she told AFP.But despite the long-awaited homecoming, all is not yet well in Al-Jazira.Communication services have not been fully restored, and most of the state has been without electricity for over a year.In the wake of Wad Madani’s recapture, local monitors and the UN reported minority communities were being targeted and civilians accused of collaborating with the RSF, by militias allied with the army.Still, many are anxious to return.”God protect us,” Sayed said, praying the same joy of return would soon be felt by all Sudanese.

The trial of the man accused of attempting to kill Salman Rushdie in 2022, leaving the famed author blind in one eye, opened Tuesday with jury selection.Hadi Matar, an American of Lebanese descent, entered the small courtroom in upstate New York wearing a light blue shirt and closely cropped hair, flanked by security officers, video of the proceedings showed.He separately faces federal terrorism charges for allegedly conducting the attack on behalf of militant group Hezbollah.Rushdie was attacked in August 2022 by a knife-wielding assailant, who jumped on stage at an arts gathering in western New York and stabbed him about 10 times, leaving him in grave condition and without sight in his right eye.The Indian-born writer, a naturalized American based in New York, has faced death threats since his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” was declared blasphemous by Iran’s supreme leader.Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 1989 calling on Muslims anywhere in the world to kill Rushdie.Hezbollah endorsed the fatwa, the FBI has said.Matar had told the New York Post newspaper that he had only read two pages of Rushdie’s novel but believed he had “attacked Islam.”Rushdie, now 77, suffered stab wounds in the neck and abdomen before attendees and guards subdued the attacker, later identified as Matar.Matar appeared before judge David Foley in Chautauqua County Court on Tuesday, according to a New York state case listing index.The charges against him in the case are attempted murder and assault.- ‘I just stood there’ -Rushdie had lived in seclusion in London for the first decade after the fatwa was issued, but for the past 20 years he has lived a relatively normal life in New York.Last year, he published a memoir called “Knife” in which he recounted the near-death experience.”Why didn’t I fight? Why didn’t I run? I just stood there like a pinata and let him smash me,” Rushdie wrote.”It didn’t feel dramatic, or particularly awful. It just felt probable… matter-of-fact.”Tehran denied any link with the attacker — but said only Rushdie was to blame for the incident. The suspect, now 27, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.Rushdie explained in “Knife” that the attack has not changed his view on his most famous work. “I am proud of the work I’ve done, and that very much includes ‘The Satanic Verses.’ If anyone’s looking for remorse, you can stop reading right here,” he said.Rushdie has said that he did not want to attend the talk, and two days before the incident, he had a dream of being attacked by a gladiator with a spear in a Roman amphitheater.”And then I thought, ‘Don’t be silly. It’s a dream,'” he told CBS.

Stock markets managed to push higher on Tuesday but investors braced for volatility in the coming weeks as President Donald Trump pressed on with tariffs against China after delaying duties on Mexican and Canadian imports.The hesitant trading came after heavy selling Monday following Trump’s weekend announcement of the tariffs, before later offering a reprieve for …

Stocks recover but US tariff threats keep gains in check Read More »

Like most Palestinians, Hatem Azzam, a resident of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, was incensed by US President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting Gazans should relocate to Egypt or Jordan.”Trump thinks Gaza is a pile of garbage — absolutely not,” the 34-year-old said, attacking Trump’s choice of words when he told reporters last week of his plan to “clean out the whole thing”.Calling him “delusional”, Azzam said that Trump “wants to force Egypt and Jordan to take in migrants, as if they were his personal farm”.Both Egypt and Jordan have flatly rejected Trump’s idea, as have Gazans and other neighbouring countries.Azzam’s outrage comes as Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet in Washington later Tuesday and discuss plans for the Palestinian territory ravaged by more than 15 months of war.”Trump and Netanyahu must understand the reality of the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza. This is a people deeply rooted in their land — we will not leave,” Azzam told AFP.Ihab Ahmed, another Rafah resident, deplored that Trump and Netanyahu “still don’t understand the Palestinian people” and their attachment to the land.”We will remain on this land no matter what. Even if we have to live in tents and on the streets, we will stay rooted in this land,” the 30-year-old said.Ahmed told AFP that Palestinians had learned lessons from the 1948 war that followed the British mandate, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were chased from their homes at the creation of Israel, and never allowed to return.”The world must understand this message: we will not leave, as happened in 1948.”-‘Owners of this land’-Standing near crumbling buildings blocks destroyed by war in the northern Gaza city of Jabalia, Raafat Kalob is concerned about the consequences that the Trump-Netanyahu meeting will have on his life.”I expect Netanyahu’s visit to Trump to reflect his future plans to forcibly displace the Palestinian people and redraw the Middle East,” he said.”I sincerely hope this plan does not succeed.”Behind him, rows of tents provided by charity organisations line a patch of land at the foot of concrete buildings whose facades still bear marks of war: bullet holes, blown away windows and facades stripped of their stone finishing.In Jabalia and Gaza’s north, areas that were particularly hard-hit by the war, displaced Palestinians who returned after a ceasefire took effect on January 19 have taken residence in tents next to their destroyed homes.Some were nevertheless optimistic, like Majid al-Zebda, a 50-year-old resident of Jabalia.Trump “will pressure Netanyahu to end this war” permanently, he said.The first phase of the ceasefire brought a fragile end to fighting in Gaza and started the process of a hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, but negotiations have yet to begin for a permanent end to war.Zebda, a father of six who lost his home in the war, said neither he nor any Gazan would leave the coastal territory.”We are the owners of this land; we have always been here, and will always be. The future is ours,” he said.

Stock markets wavered on Tuesday, with investors bracing for volatile trading in the coming weeks as President Donald Trump pressed on with tariffs against China after delaying duties on Mexican and Canadian imports.Oil prices retreated as Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs against US products, including hydrocarbons, shortly after US levies came into force on Tuesday.”Chinese imports …

Stocks fluctuate as Trump delays tariffs Read More »