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Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli fire killed two people Monday and wounded 17 others in the south, in a second day of violence as residents tried again to return to border villages.The bloodshed, which one analyst said was unlikely to re-spark war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, came hours after the extension of a Sunday deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from south Lebanon under a November ceasefire deal.The ministry said Israeli fire killed 24 returnees on Sunday.”Israeli enemy attacks as citizens attempt to return to their towns that are still occupied have led… to two dead and 17 wounded,” the health ministry said Monday in a statement, updating an earlier toll of one dead.It said the wounded included a child and a rescuer from the Risala Scouts association, affiliated with Hezbollah ally the Amal movement.Under the ceasefire deal that took effect on November 27, the Lebanese military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period, which ended on Sunday.Hezbollah was also to pull back its forces north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said earlier Monday that Lebanon had agreed to an extension of the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel until February 18, after the Israeli military missed Sunday’s deadline to withdraw.In south Lebanon, residents accompanied by the army were again trying to return to their villages, official media and AFP correspondents reported.In the village of Burj al-Muluk, an AFP photographer saw dozens of men, women and children gathering in the morning behind a dirt barrier, some holding yellow Hezbollah flags, hoping to reach the border town of Kfar Kila, where the Israeli military is still deployed.- ‘Bullets don’t scare us’ -In the city of Bint Jbeil, an access point for many border villages, Hezbollah supporters distributed sweets, water and images of former chief Hassan Nasrallah, who an Israeli air strike killed in September.Others handed out stickers celebrating the “victory from God” as women held pictures of slain Hezbollah fighters.”They think they are scaring us with their bullets, but we lived under the bombing and bullets don’t scare us,” said Mona Bazzi in Bint Jbeil.The official National News Agency (NNA) said Lebanese “army reinforcements” had arrived near the border town of Mais al-Jabal, where people had started to gather at “the entrance of the town” in preparation for entering alongside the military.It said the Israeli army had “opened fire in the direction of the Lebanese army” near the town, without reporting casualties there.”We waited in a long line for hours, but couldn’t enter,” said Mohammed Choukeir, 33, from Mais al-Jabal, adding that Israeli troops “were opening fire from time to time on civilians gathered at the entrance of the town”.In nearby Hula, the NNA said residents entered “after the deployment of the army in several neighbourhoods”.The truce has been marked by accusations of violations from both sides. It came after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war.- ‘Israel must withdraw’ -A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that “seven fighters from Hezbollah were taken prisoner” by Israel before the truce, while four other people were apprehended by the Israeli military on Sunday in south Lebanon border villages.In a televised speech later on Monday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem reiterated calls for the Israeli military to withdraw from the south.”Israel must withdraw… any consequences of a delay in the withdrawal rests on the United Nations, the United States, France and the Israeli entity,” Qassem said.The US and France are part of a mechanism that deals with any violations of the ceasefire.Qassem called for pressure on Israel to adhere to the original terms of the deal, hailing French President Emmanuel Macron’s appeal before the latest extension.Macron’s office on Saturday said he had called on all parties to honour their commitment to the ceasefire as soon as possible.Qassem warned that, “We are facing an occupation that is aggressive and refuses to withdraw, and the resistance has the right to act as it sees fit.” Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said he did not expect a return to major violence.”Hezbollah no longer wants any further confrontation with Israel. Its goal is to protect its achievements in Lebanon,” he told AFP.Lebanon’s army said Sunday that it had entered several border areas including Dhayra, Maroun al-Ras and Aita al-Shaab.Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee on Monday called again for south Lebanon residents to “wait” before returning.

The Israeli military and Hamas said Monday that an air strike killed two fighters from the Palestinian Islamist movement in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem.In a statement, the military said that “in a joint operation by the Israeli army and the Shin Bet (internal security agency), an air force aircraft launched an attack” in the Tulkarem area.Violence has soared throughout the West Bank since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out in Gaza on October 7, 2023.The official Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the two killed as Ramez Damiri and Ihab Abu Atwi, both residents of the Nur Shams refugee camp in the Tukaram area.According to the Israeli military, Abu Atwi was “the Hamas chief in Tulkarem”, responsible for “numerous armed attacks”.Hamas said two members of its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, were killed “after the enemy blew up a vehicle they were in” in Nur Shams refugee camp.Hamas did not say whether Abu Atwi was its leader in Tulkarem.The Palestinian health ministry said earlier that two dead and three injured arrived at Tulkarem’s Governmental Hospital “following the occupation’s targeting of a vehicle in Nur Shams refugee camp”.The health ministry also announced the death of a young man killed Sunday night by Israeli forces in Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem.The ministry reported one dead and two injured “by (Israeli) bullets near Qalandia camp”.Wafa identified the man killed as Adam Sab Laban, saying he was shot by Israeli forces who were stationed at a military tower by the Qalandia checkpoint into Jerusalem, and who “opened fire at a group of citizens”.Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 861 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the health ministry.At least 29 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids in the territory over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Saudi Arabia on Monday said foreigners are from now on allowed to invest in Saudi-listed companies that own property in Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities.The decision “aims to stimulate investment, enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of the capital market, and strengthen its regional and international competitiveness while supporting the local economy,” the kingdom’s Capital Market Authority said in a statement.It said foreign investment “in companies owning real estate within the boundaries of Mecca and Madinah will be limited to shares of these Saudi companies listed on the Saudi capital market, convertible debt instruments, or both.”However, non-Saudi ownership cannot exceed 49 percent, the authority said.Saudi Arabia is the Middle East’s largest economy and the world’s biggest exporter of crude oil.It has for years been engaged in a vast reform agenda aimed at diversifying the economy with tourism and investment.Mecca already receives millions of Muslim pilgrims each year but the city is undergoing massive development aimed at drawing 30 million faithful by 2030.A project dubbed Masar, financed by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, foresees 40,000 new hotel rooms in Mecca.The annual hajj and umrah pilgrimages brought in an estimated $12 million in revenue in 2019.Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the holy cities.

US chip-maker Nvidia led a rout in tech stocks Monday after the emergence of a low-cost Chinese generative AI model that could threaten US dominance in the fast-growing industry.The chatbot developed by DeepSeek, a startup based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, has apparently shown the ability to match the capacity of US AI …

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US President Donald Trump’s decision to re-designate Yemen’s Huthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organisation could have deep implications for aid and the peace process in the war-shattered country.The Iran-backed Huthis, who control much of Yemen, have fired on Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, prompting reprisal strikes from US, Israeli and British forces. Already the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country before the war broke out a decade ago, Yemen is now suffering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with about two-thirds of its 34 million people in need of aid.Former US president Joe Biden removed the Huthis from the foreign terrorist list after humanitarian groups protested that they could not get aid to Yemen’s needy without dealing with the rebels.Meanwhile, fighting has largely stopped since the United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 2022, but the peace process has stalled and risks disintegrating if tensions rise. AFP examines the US designation and its potential consequences. – What does the new designation mean? -Trump intends to return the Huthis to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), where he placed them during his first term. A year ago under Biden, they were placed on the less-severe list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) groups, which still had the effect of freezing their assets and cutting off sources of financing.The re-designation could take several weeks. Presuming it is successful, anyone who engages or works with the Huthis, whose territory is home to most of Yemen’s population, will risk being prosecuted by the United States. “Unlike SDGT, FTO restrictions encompass even indirect forms of contact or meetings with the group, which may be penalised if deemed supportive,” said Mohammed Al-Basha of the Basha Report, a US-based risk advisory. “This expanded and more punitive framework not only cuts off financial lifelines but also significantly undermines the group’s operational capabilities, international mobility, and legitimacy.”According to Elisabeth Kendall, director of Girton College at the University of Cambridge, Trump intends to adopt a “zero-tolerance policy regarding Huthi aggression, irrespective of the potential repercussions for civilians”.”The debate is not about whether the FTO designation is merited. Most Western analysts agree that it is,” Kendall told AFP.”The debate is about whether it will pressure the Huthis and ultimately help halt their attacks. This is less clear.”- How will it affect Yemen’s people? -Although Biden’s downgrade in the Huthis’ terror rating followed an outcry from aid agencies, humanitarian groups have so far remained quiet about Trump’s order. It is nonetheless likely that projects receiving US aid will be scaled down or suspended.Abdulghani al-Iryani, a researcher at the Sanaa Center For Strategic Studies, an independent think-tank, said: “It will cause immense difficulties in providing humanitarian assistance.”The punishment is not going to be just on areas that the Huthis control, while they are of course the majority of the Yemeni population, but it will even affect the others who are under government control.”Iryani said Sanaa’s banks would go bust, harming depositors all over the country, and that Yemen’s wheat suppliers were likely to suspend their contracts, as they did the first time the Huthis were placed on the FTO list.”It’s just a mess,” he said. “Maybe in the long term, this will break the backbone of the Huthis, but I think famine will set in well before the Huthis’ backbone is broken.” – What about the peace process? -The Huthis have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition that backs the ousted government, in a war that has been mainly on hold since the 2022 ceasefire. But after the warring parties committed to a peace process in December 2023, momentum has stalled, with the Huthis raising tensions by attacking Israel and harassing the Red Sea shipping corridor during the Gaza war.Iryani said the new designation “kills any prospect” of peace talks, adding that previously, “at least, there was the chance of starting again with a proper structure for negotiations. But now, we can’t even talk to them.” Basha concurred that the redesignation raises the risk of conflict reigniting in Yemen.”The Huthis are likely to interpret the FTO designation as a declaration of war, potentially resuming maritime attacks on US commercial and naval assets by March,” he said.”Should a US Navy warship be struck and sailors harmed, the situation could escalate rapidly, leading to a protracted conflict.”But Ibrahim Jalal, a non-resident scholar at the  Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, said the FTO listing could point to a new direction for Yemen.”If the decision… is part of a comprehensive strategy, the Yemeni government and its partners must seize the historic opportunity to impose a national project that strengthens the pillars of peace and stability,” he posted on X.

Residents of the Afghan capital have complained of rising food prices as the local currency lost value against the US dollar in recent days. The currency fell to around 80 Afghanis to the dollar on Monday after hovering around 70 in recent weeks.Kabul residents have reported rising prices of basic goods and are concerned they will …

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The tech-rich Nasdaq tumbled early Monday as traders around Wall Street and other global bourses reacted to the emergence of a low-cost Chinese generative AI venture that has apparently overtaken US companies.DeepSeek, which was developed by a start-up based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, has shown the ability to match the capacity of …

Nasdaq slumps on Chinese AI upstart, Nvidia loses some $400 bn in value Read More »

Masses of displaced Palestinians began streaming towards the north of the war-battered Gaza Strip on Monday after Israel and Hamas said they had reached a deal for the release of another six hostages.Also on Monday, the Israeli government said eight of the hostages held in Gaza who were due for release in the first phase of the truce are dead.The fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas is intended to bring an end to the more than 15-month war that began with the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.Israel had been preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday they would be allowed to pass after a new agreement was reached.Hamas had said blocking the returns amounted to a truce violation.Crowds began making their way north along a coastal road on foot Monday morning, carrying what belongings they could, AFPTV images showed.”This is the happiest day of my life,” said Lamees al-Iwady, a 22-year-old who returned to Gaza City on Monday after being displaced several times.”I feel as though my soul and life have returned to me,” she said. “We will rebuild our homes, even if it’s with mud and sand.”A Gaza security official told AFP that “more than 200,000 displaced people have returned to Gaza and North Gaza” in the first two hours of the day.With the joy of return came the shock of the extent of the destruction wrought by more than a year of war.According to the Hamas-run government media office, 135,000 tents and caravans are needed in Gaza City and the north to shelter returning families.Still, Hamas called the return “a victory” for Palestinians that “signals the failure and defeat of the plans for occupation and displacement”.The comments came after US President Donald Trump floated an idea to “clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt, drawing condemnation from regional leaders.President Mahmud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, issued a “strong rejection and condemnation of any projects” aimed at displacing Palestinians from Gaza, his office said.- Jordan, Egypt reject displacement -For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba”, or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.”We say to Trump and the whole world: we will not leave Palestine or Gaza, no matter what happens,” said displaced Gaza resident Rashad al-Naji.Trump had suggested the idea to reporters on Saturday: “You’re talking about probably a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”Moving Gaza’s inhabitants — who number 2.4 million — could be done “temporarily or could be long term”, he said.Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who opposed the truce and has voiced support for re-establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza — called Trump’s suggestion “a great idea”.The Arab League rejected it, warning against “attempts to uproot the Palestinian people from their land”, saying their forced displacement could “only be called ethnic cleansing”.Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said “our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians is firm and will not change. Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians.”Egypt’s foreign ministry said it rejected any infringement of Palestinians’ “inalienable rights”.- More exchanges -Israel had said it would prevent Palestinians’ passage to the north until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian woman hostage who it maintained should have been freed on Saturday.But Netanyahu’s office later said a deal had been reached for the release of three hostages on Thursday, including Yehud, as well as another three on Saturday.Hamas confirmed the agreement in its own statement Monday.During the first phase of the Gaza truce, 33 hostages are supposed to be freed in staggered releases over six weeks in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by the Israelis.The second such swap, on Saturday, saw four Israeli women hostages, all soldiers, exchanged for 200 prisoners, all Palestinian except for one Jordanian, during the truce which is now in its second week.”We want the agreement to continue and for them to bring our children back as quickly as possible — and all at once,” said Dani Miran, whose hostage son Omri is not slated for release during the first phase.On Monday, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said eight of the hostages due for release in the first phase of the truce are dead.”The families have been informed of the situation of their relatives,” he said, without disclosing their names.Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, 87 remain in Gaza, including 34 Israel says are dead.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 47,317 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.burs-ser/IT

Two Iranian men convicted of membership of the People’s Mujahedin opposition group, outlawed by the Islamic republic, are at imminent risk of execution after being transferred to a different prison, the organisation and activists said on Monday.The men, Behrouz Ehsani, 69, and Mehdi Hassani, 48, a father of three, were moved without prior notice on Sunday from Evin prison in Tehran to Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj outside the capital, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the political wing of the People’s Mujahedin, said in a statement.Inmates have in recent times rarely been executed inside Evin, but Ghezel Hesar has in recent years become notorious as a place of execution.The two men were convicted in September last year, in sentences upheld in January, of the capital crimes of “rebellion” and “corruption on earth” for membership of the People’s Mujahedin, collecting classified information and conspiring against national security.Rights groups have also highlighted the case, with Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) saying that after the transfer they were at risk of “imminent” execution and calling for an “urgent response from the international community to save their lives”.Amnesty International has said they were subjected to “torture and other ill-treatment” in jail and their trial by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran was “grossly unfair”.The hasty prison transfer raised fears “their executions could be implemented at any time,” Amnesty said on Monday.Rights groups are alarmed at a spike in executions in Iran they say is aimed at instilling fear throughout society, with the United Nations saying at least 901 people were executed in 2024 and at least 73 people executed so far in 2025, according to the IHR.The People’s Mujahedin (PMOI, also known by the Persian acronym MEK), initially supported the 1979 revolution that toppled the shah but rapidly fell out with the new leaders under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.Blamed for a string of attacks against officials in the early 1980s, it went underground inside Iran and thousands of its members were executed in 1988 mass hangings of prisoners.The concern over the risk the two men could be executed comes after two senior Iranian judges, Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghisseh, were shot dead on January 18 in Tehran by an assailant who later killed himself, according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.The NCRI has accused both men of being implicated in the 1988 prison massacres when they were senior prosecutors. But the group has not commented on their killing.Meanwhile, six other men convicted of PMOI membership are also a risk of execution after being sentenced to death in an initial verdict in November, according to the group and Amnesty.