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Fresh gunbattles erupted on Wednesday in the Libyan capital between two powerful armed groups, a security official said, a day after authorities declared the fighting over.Clashes flared between the Radaa force and the 444 Brigade in key areas of the city, including the port, the source said.Fighting eased towards the end of the day, according to television reports and residents who spoke to AFP, with some bakeries opening but schools remaining shut.No official casualty figures were released, but the Libyan Red Crescent said it had recovered a dead body from a major street in Tripoli.On Monday night, heavy arms fire and explosions rocked several Tripoli districts, killing at least six people, according to authorities.The official described the fighting as “urban warfare”, with clashes in residential areas involving light and medium weapons. In other areas, heavy weapons were used.Libya has struggled to recover from the NATO-backed 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.The country remains split between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east, controlled by the Haftar family.The 444 Brigade controls parts of southern Tripoli and is aligned with Dbeibah. Radaa controls parts in the capital’s east and holds several key state facilities.Fighting extended in southern and western Tripoli as Radaa brought in reinforcements to fight the 444 Brigade, an interior ministry source said.More than 500 people on Wednesday rallied in the Souq el-Joumaa neighbourhood, a Radaa stronghold, chanting slogans against the Dbeibah government and denouncing the proposed dissolution of the 444 Brigade. Reports said Abdelghani al-Kikli, leader of the Support and Stability Apparatus which controls the southern district of Abu Salim, was killed this week at a facility controlled by the 444 Brigade.- ‘Territorial reshuffle’ -A source told AFP that groups were moving into the capital from neighbouring Zawiya in support of Radaa, which detains smugglers of drugs and alcohol as well as affiliates of the Islamic State group. Meanwhile, “more Misrata brigades may continue to join Dbeibah’s side”, said Libya expert Jalel Harchaoui.He described the latest conflict as some of the most dangerous for the capital in recent years, saying it meant a “territorial reshuffle” with more factions “seeking to insinuate themselves into downtown Tripoli”.Turkey, a supporter of the Tripoli-based government, called on “all parties to implement a full and lasting ceasefire without delay and to engage in dialogue to settle disputes,” its foreign ministry said.On Tuesday, the Tripoli-based government said the fighting had been controlled. Dbeibah thanked government forces “for restoring security and asserting the state’s authority in the capital”.Dbeibah also announced a string of executive orders including dissolving some bodies previously run by Tripoli armed groups other than the 444 Brigade.But a second night of fighting could mean “a more prolonged, destructive, and existential battle with a nationwide dimension” after what he said was Dbeibah’s “failure to secure a quick victory”.Authorities also announced a ceasefire, but gunshots were still heard in western parts of Tripoli.The embassies in Germany, France the United States, Britain and Italy on Wednesday evening expressed “their deep concern about the recent violence in Tripoli”, urging the “authorities to take all measures to protect civilians” in a statement.The United Nations mission in Libya said it was “deeply alarmed by escalating violence in densely populated neighbourhoods of Tripoli for the second night in a row”.In a statement, it called for “an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in all areas, allowing safe corridors for the evacuation of civilians trapped in intense conflict zones”.

Global stocks were mixed Wednesday as euphoria over easing US-China trade tensions petered out while markets looked ahead to key US economic data.While the April volatility stemming from President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz appears to have halted, analysts warned that Washington still needed to reach trade deals with countries to instil a sense of stability.The …

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US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Qatar Airways had placed a “record” order for 160 planes from Boeing, as he signed a raft of deals in Doha alongside Qatar’s emir.The order, Boeing’s largest ever for its wide-body jets, deepens ties between the US aerospace giant and the giant Middle East carrier.Qatar Airways will honour a “$96 billion agreement to acquire up to 210 American-made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines,” according to a White House fact sheet.”This is Boeing’s largest-ever widebody order and largest-ever 787 order,” it said.The order is comprised of 130 Dreamliner planes and 30 Boeing 777-9 jets, which are still being certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration. There are also options for 50 additional 787 and 777X planes, according to a Boeing news release. “We are deeply honored that Qatar Airways has placed this record-breaking order with Boeing, one that solidifies their future fleet,” Boeing commercial plane chief Stephanie Pope said.The order represents a win for new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, although analysts noted that the planes will not be delivered for at least five years due to industry backlogs.Both Boeing and rival Airbus, which has also sold extensively to Qatar Airways, have struggled in recent years with supply chain problems as they have taken thousands of plane orders amid strong airline demand. Boeing has also been beset with safety and labour problems that have limited output.Ortberg joined Trump for part of Wednesday’s signing ceremony that also included defence agreements and the purchase by Qatar of American MQ-9B drones, after about two hours of talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.”It’s over $200 billion but 160 in terms of the jets. That’s fantastic. So that’s a record,” Trump said, adding: “It’s the largest order of jets in the history of Boeing. That’s pretty good.”The list prices of the 777X and 787 Dreamliner suggest the total value of the Boeing deal is well under $200 billion. The $96 billion figure in the White House factsheet also appears to include some business for GE Aerospace.- Plane backlog -Trump’s Qatar visit is the second destination of his Gulf tour, after a first stop in Riyadh, where he made a surprise announcement lifting sanctions on Syria and met the country’s president.Relations between Washington and Doha have been in the spotlight over Qatar’s offer to Trump of a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One and then pass into his personal use.Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday he would hold up Trump’s Justice Department political appointees in protect, saying, “This is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat.”Since 2016, Boeing has received 118 gross orders from Qatar Airways and delivered 65 planes to the carrier, according to Boeing’s website.  Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens said the order represents “good news” for Boeing, but noted that it would be years before Boeing receives revenues for the jets in Wednesday’s order.”If you’re ordering a plane today it’s not going to be on your landing strip for at least five years,” Owens said.Owens said the announcement is also a “vote of confidence” in the much-delayed 777X, which is still to be certified, with Boeing pointing to first deliveries in 2026.A press release from Qatar Airways praised the new 777 planes for reducing fuel use and emission by 25 percent compared to the aeroplanes they will replace.Ortberg joined Boeing in August 2024 following a leadership shakeup after a series of safety and quality control problems. He has focused on upgrading Boeing’s operations under the close scrutiny of US air safety regulators, saying improving Boeing’s corporate culture will take time.Shares of Boeing rose 0.6 percent.

Gaza rescuers said at least 80 people were killed in Israeli bombardment across the Palestinian territory on Wednesday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to US envoy Steve Witkoff about the release of hostages.Negotiations for the release of the captives held in Gaza have been ongoing, with the latest talks taking place in the Qatari capital Doha, where US President Donald Trump was visiting on Wednesday.Netanyahu’s office said the premier had discussed with Witkoff and his negotiating team “the issue of the hostages and the missing”.Witkoff later said Trump had “a really productive conversation” with the Qatari emir about a Gaza deal, adding that “we are moving along and we have a good plan together”.Fighting meanwhile raged in Gaza, where civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir told AFP 80 people had been killed by Israeli bombardment since dawn, including 59 in the north.AFP footage from the aftermath of a strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza, showed mounds of rubble and twisted metal from collapsed buildings. Palestinians, including young children, picked through the debris in search of belongings.Footage of mourners in northern Gaza showed women in tears as they kneeled next to bodies wrapped in bloodstained white shrouds.”It’s a nine-month-old baby. What did he do?” one of them cried out.Hasan Moqbel, a Palestinian who lost relatives, told AFP: “Those who don’t die from air strikes die from hunger, and those who don’t die from hunger die from lack of medicine.”Israel’s military on Wednesday urged residents in part of a Gaza City neighbourhood to evacuate, warning that its forces would “attack the area with intense force”.- ‘Unjustifiable’ -From the occupied West Bank, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday he favoured a “ceasefire at any price” in Gaza, accusing Netanyahu of wanting to continue the war “for his own reasons”.In a letter addressed to Netanyahu and sent to Trump and Witkoff, 67 former hostages held by Hamas in Gaza urged for a “negotiated deal” for the return of all the captives still held there.”The majority of Israeli society wants the hostages home — even at the cost of halting military operations,” the letter said.Mohammad Awad, an emergency doctor in northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital, told AFP that supply shortages meant his department could not properly handle the flow of wounded and that “the bodies of the martyrs are lying on the ground in the hospital corridors”.”There are not enough beds, no medicine, and no means for surgical or medical treatment, which leaves doctors unable to save many of the injured who are dying due to lack of care”, he said.Israel imposed an aid blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2 after talks to prolong a January 19 ceasefire broke down.The resulting shortages of food and medicine have aggravated an already dire situation in the Palestinian territory, although Israel has dismissed UN warnings that a potential famine looms.Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday urged all sides to avert a famine in Gaza, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “ever more dramatic and unjustifiable”.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a ceasefire and “unimpeded humanitarian access” to the territory.A US-led initiative for aid distribution under Israeli military security drew international criticism as it appears to sideline the United Nations and existing aid organisations, and would overhaul current humanitarian structures in Gaza.- ‘Full force’ -Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said the plan would make “aid conditional on forced displacement”, adding that Israel was creating “conditions for the eradication of Palestinian lives in Gaza”.Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18, with officials later talking of retaining a long-term presence in the Palestinian territory.Following a short pause in air strikes during the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday, Israel resumed its pounding of Gaza.Netanyahu said on Monday that the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days.He added that his government was working to find countries willing to take in Gaza’s population.The Israeli government approved plans to expand the offensive earlier this month, and spoke of the “conquest” of Gaza.Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 2023 attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 52,928 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.

Palestinians on Wednesday commemorated their displacement during the creation of Israel, saying that history was being repeated today in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.Tens of thousands have been killed in Gaza and an aid blockade threatens famine, while Israeli leaders continue to express a desire to empty the territory of Palestinians as part of the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.In the West Bank, too, occupied since 1967, Israeli forces have displaced tens of thousands from refugee camps as part of a major military operation.This year marks the 77th anniversary of the Nakba — “catastrophe” in Arabic — which refers to the flight and expulsion of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian flags and black ones branded “return” flew at road intersections, while schoolchildren were bussed into the city centre to take part in the weeklong commemoration.At one event, young boys wearing Palestinian kuffiyeh scarves waved flags and carried a giant replica key, a symbol of the lost homes in what is now Israel that families hope to return to.No events were planned in Gaza, where more than 19 months of war and Israeli bombardment have left residents destitute.Moamen al-Sherbini, a resident of the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, told AFP that he felt history was repeating itself.”Our lives here in Gaza have become one long Nakba -— losing loved ones, our homes destroyed, our livelihoods gone”.Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once during the war between Israel and Hamas.In early May, Israel’s security cabinet approved plans for an expanded military offensive in Gaza, aimed at the “conquest” of the territory while displacing its people en masse, drawing international condemnation.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government is working to find third countries to take in Gaza’s population, months after US President Donald Trump suggested they be expelled and the territory redeveloped as a holiday destination.Speaking from Nuseirat in central Gaza, 36-year-old Malak Radwan said that “Nakba Day is no longer just a memory — it’s a daily reality we live in Gaza. My house was destroyed, now just a pile of stones, and we have no shelter.”- ‘New Nakba every day’ -“This is a miserable day in the lives of Palestinian refugees,” said 52-year-old Nael Nakhleh in Ramallah, whose family comes from the village of al-Majdal near Jaffa in what is now Israel.Palestinian refugees maintain their demand to return to the villages and cities they or their relatives left in 1948 that are now inside Israel.The “right of return” remains a core issue in the long-stalled negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.Nakhleh, who lives in the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah, made a point of joining the memorial activities in the city. “Despite the painful memories, we are still living through a new Nakba every day, through the Israeli attacks on Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank,” he said.Israel’s military launched a still ongoing large-scale operation in the West Bank in January that has displaced at least 38,000 people, according to the United Nations.The operation, which Israel says aims to eradicate Palestinian armed groups, has primarily targeted refugee camps in the northern West Bank and involved army evacuation orders and home demolitions.Wasel Abu Yusef, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s executive committee, told AFP that Palestinians “remain more committed than ever to their right of return.”

The United States and China slashed sweeping tariffs on each others’ goods for 90 days on Wednesday, marking a temporary de-escalation in a brutal trade war that roiled global markets and international supply chains.Washington and Beijing agreed to drastically lower sky-high tariffs in a deal that emerged from pivotal talks at the weekend in Geneva.US …

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US President Donald Trump voiced hope on Wednesday that diplomatic efforts would succeed on Iran’s nuclear programme, even as he vowed rigorous enforcement of sanctions.Trump, on his first visit to the Middle East since returning to the White House, said he spoke about Iran with the leader of Qatar, which maintains relations with both longtime adversaries.”It’s been really an interesting situation. I have a feeling it’s going to work out,” Trump said of Iran after talks with the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.The Trump administration has held four rounds of talks with Tehran, as the president seeks to avert a threatened Israeli military strike on the Iranian nuclear programme.”I want to make a deal with Iran. I want to do something, if it’s possible,” Trump told a summit of Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh earlier Wednesday.”But for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons.”I’m strongly urging all nations to join us in fully and totally enforcing the sanctions” imposed on Iran by the United States, he said.The Trump administration in recent weeks has imposed sanctions on a series of entities and individuals linked to Iran’s oil industry and nuclear programme.- ‘Very deceptive view’ -In 2018, Trump walked out of a landmark agreement between major powers and Iran that gave it sanctions relief in return for UN-monitored restrictions on its nuclear activities.He slapped sweeping sanctions on Iran, including secondary measures against any country that buys Iranian oil.Trump said that such secondary sanctions “are in certain ways even more devastating” than direct sanctions on Iran.Trump in a speech Tuesday in Riyadh also said he favoured diplomacy but harshly criticised Iran’s clerical leaders, saying they were “focused on stealing their people’s wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad”.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that he had listened to the remarks and “unfortunately a very deceptive view has been put forward”.Iranian officials and the Trump administration have both offered positive takes on the initial talks.But it is unclear whether they went in depth, including on the key issue of whether the US will insist on ending all Iranian uranium enrichment, including for civilian purposes.Asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether he was prepared to exert more pressure on Iran, Trump said: “Let’s see what happens over the next week.”Iran also said it would hold talks in Turkey on Friday with representatives of Britain, France and Germany.The three European powers were part of the 2015 agreement ripped up by Trump in his first term.”While we continue the dialogue with the United States, we are also ready to talk with the Europeans,” Araghchi said.burs-sct/ds/jsa

US President Donald Trump landed in Doha Wednesday after visiting Riyadh, where he urged Syria’s president to normalise with Israel after offering a major boost to the war-ravaged country by vowing to lift sanctions.Trump became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader — Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile Islamist guerrilla and onetime jihadist who had been on a US wanted list and led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December.The interim Syrian president and Trump, wearing matching suits, shook hands as they met jointly in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and, by video link, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — the key supporter of the new government in Damascus.While aboard Air Force One en route to Qatar, Trump poured praise on Sharaa, saying the meeting went “great” and describing the leader as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”Turkey and Saudi Arabia had both advocated reconciliation with Syria, but the move is the latest to put Trump at odds with Israel, which has expressed deep scepticism of Sharaa and ramped up its military strikes against Syria to degrade its longtime adversary’s military capabilities.When asked if Sharaa said he’d join the Abraham Accords and normalise relations with Israel, Trump said: “I told him, I hope you’re going to join once you’re straightened out and he said yes. But they have a lot of work to do.”Trump also asked Sharaa to deport Palestinian militants and tell foreign fighters to leave the country, as well as to take control of camps for captured Islamic State group fighters, currently run by Kurdish forces opposed by Turkey, the White House said.- Biggest applause -Syria’s foreign ministry hailed the meeting as “historic”, but did not mention the Abraham Accords. State media also did not mention normalisation.The ministry said the leaders discussed “avenues for Syrian-American partnership in counterterrorism efforts” and the importance of lifting sanctions and supporting reconstruction.After the longer-than-expected half-hour meeting, Trump said the Assad-era sanctions had been “really crippling”.”It’s not going to be easy anyway, so it gives them a good, strong chance, and it was my honour to do so,” Trump said, addressing Gulf Arab leaders.The former reality television host, always attuned to crowd sizes, took note of the rapturous reception when he announced the decision at a Riyadh investment forum Tuesday.”That was the thing that got the biggest applause from the room. We had a very crowded room with thousands of people,” Trump said.After the announcement, Syrians celebrated in cities across the country overnight.”These sanctions were imposed on Assad, but… now that Syria has been liberated, there will be a positive impact on industry, it’ll boost the economy and encourage people to return,” said soap factory owner Zain al-Jabali, 54, in Aleppo.Washington imposed sweeping restrictions on financial transactions with Syria during the brutal civil war and made clear it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction so long as Assad remained in power without accountability for atrocities.Trump gave no indication that the United States would remove Syria from its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism — a designation dating back to 1979 over support to Palestinian militants that severely impedes investment.- Qatar plane controversy -A senior envoy of the Joe Biden administration met Sharaa in Damascus in December and called for commitments, including on the protection of minorities.In recent weeks, Syria has seen a series of bloody attacks on minority groups, including Alawites — the sect of the largely secular Assad family — and the Druze.Rabha Seif Allam of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said easing US sanctions would help reintegrate Syria with the global economy by allowing bank transfers from investors and from millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war.”Lifting sanctions will give Syria a real opportunity to receive the funding needed to revive the economy, impose central state authority and launch reconstruction projects with clear Gulf support,” she said.Trump touched down at Hamad International Airport in Doha on Wednesday afternoon, where he was met by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.The president later boasted that Qatar Airways had placed a “record” order worth more than $200 billion in jet sales as he signed a raft of deals. “It’s over $200 billion but 160 in terms of the jets. That’s fantastic. So that’s a record,” Trump said, adding: “It’s the largest order of jets in the history of Boeing. That’s pretty good.”Qatar has stirred controversy by offering a $400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One and then go to Trump’s personal use.The move raises major constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about a foreign power donating the ultra-sensitive presidential jet.