European and Asian stock markets mostly slid Monday and Wall Street was forecast to open sharply lower on talk that a cheaper Chinese generative AI programme can outperform big-name rivals, notably in the United States.President Donald Trump’s threat to impose huge tariffs on Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights from the …
Indebted Chinese property giant Vanke warned Monday of a major loss last year amid a continuing market slump, while also saying its CEO was resigning due to “health reasons”.Beijing has in recent years grappled with a prolonged crisis in the country’s vast real estate sector, once a key pillar of the economy but now beset …
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An unending stream of people marched up the coast of Gaza on Monday, carrying their belongings in plastic bags and repurposed flour sacks through the central city of Nuseirat after Israel reopened access to the territory’s north.Thousands walked up the main coastal road, while hundreds more moved along the nearby beach on the shore of the eastern Mediterranean.More than a week after a ceasefire took effect in the Gaza Strip, Israel reopened access to the north after striking an agreement for more hostage releases, with Gazans overjoyed at the opportunity to return after being forced from their homes by the fighting. “This day feels like a holiday,” Shadi Adas told AFP, describing hundreds of people chanting “God is greatest” and slogans associated with Eid al-Adha celebrations.”Thousands of people” had gathered along the road to welcome back the displaced returnees, said Adas, who was returning to his home in Gaza City.An Israeli drone could still be heard buzzing in the sky overhead, but it was mostly drowned out by the excited chatter of the crowd.Even after the ceasefire brought a pause to 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip, residents displaced from the territory’s devastated north had found themselves unable to return.Israel said it would not allow access through the so-called Netzarim corridor until Hamas released Arbel Yehud, a hostage held in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.But after Hamas agreed to free Yehud and two other hostages before Friday — in addition to the three scheduled for Saturday — Israel opened passage to the north on Monday morning.- ‘We will rebuild’ -Lamees al-Iwady, a 22-year-old resident of Gaza City who was displaced several times to Gaza’s centre and south, returned to her hometown Monday.”This is the happiest day of my life,” she told AFP. “I feel as though my soul and life have returned to me,” she continued, insisting that her neighbourhood’s destruction was not permanent.”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 governorates in the first two hours”.He said that authorities were still waiting for the green light to allow the displaced to cross in their vehicles via Salah al-Din road, Gaza’s main passageway between the north and south.Gaza’s government media office said that “more than 5,500 government employees” were working “to facilitate the return of displaced people” from the territory’s centre and south to Gaza City and the north.Many who manage to return will be greeted by little more than rubble after months of bombing destroyed much of northern Gaza.The government media office said Monday that people in Gaza City and the north needed 135,000 tents and caravans.”The scale and extent of destruction caused by the occupation army in Gaza and North Gaza governorates have exceeded 90 percent,” the office said.Meanwhile, the threat of renewed fighting and bombardments has not disappeared.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Monday that the military would continue to strictly enforce the terms of the ceasefire. “Anyone who breaks the rules or threatens (Israeli) forces will pay a heavy price,” he wrote on X.
Indebted Chinese property giant Vanke said Monday that its CEO had resigned due to “health reasons”, after state-backed media reported he had been taken away by authorities.The company also warned on Monday of a net loss of approximately 45 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) last year.Chinese outlet the Economic Reporter this month cited sources as saying …
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An Indian state announced Monday it had begun implementing a common civil code to replace religious laws, stoking fear among minority Muslims of a looming nationwide rollout by the Hindu-nationalist ruling party.Introduction of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to replace India’s patchwork of laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance has been a longstanding goal of Prime …
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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she expected the bloc to agree Monday to begin easing sanctions on Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.”It is a step for step approach,” Kallas said at the start of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels to discuss the move. Europe is keen to help the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country and build bridges with its new leadership after the end of the Assad family’s five-decade rule.But some EU countries worry about moving too fast to embrace the new Islamist-led rulers in Damascus.The 27-nation EU imposed wide-ranging sanctions on the Assad government and Syria’s economy during its civil war.Brussels says it is now willing to ease sanctions on the expectation the new authorities make good on commitments to form an inclusive transition.”If they are doing the right steps, then we are willing to do the steps on our behalf as well,” Kallas said.France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the EU could start by suspending sanctions on the energy, transport and banking sectors.Diplomats say the EU will only suspend the sanctions and not lift them definitively to maintain leverage over the Syrian leadership. Syria’s new de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the Islamist group he led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, remain under EU sanctions. Diplomats said there was still no discussion about lifting those designations, as with others on the Assad regime.Â
Asian markets mostly fell Monday on fresh trade fears after Donald Trump’s threat to impose huge tariffs on Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States.Traders were also assessing the impact of a new, cheaper Chinese generative AI programme amid claims it can outperform big-name rivals and worries that …
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