China’s economic growth likely fell fractionally short of the government’s five percent target last year, according to an AFP survey, as leaders head into 2025 steeling for the second presidency of Donald Trump amid fears of another painful trade standoff.The reading would be the weakest the country has seen since 1990 — outside of the …
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Stock markets moved in different directions Tuesday with traders’ attention fixed on President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff plans, earnings updates and inflation data.A report suggesting Trump could impose import tariffs more slowly than initially feared provided support and put a cap on the dollar’s latest surge.However, traders remain concerned that his pledges to cut taxes, regulations …
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday proposed international security forces and temporary UN leadership to stabilize post-war Gaza where he warned that Hamas has recruited as many fighters as it has lost.With talks in Qatar closing in on a ceasefire to the devastating 15-month war and days before he leaves office, Blinken laid out his long-awaited roadmap for post-war Gaza and warned that it required Israel accepting a path to a Palestinian state.Blinken acknowledged the misgivings of Israel — where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a far-right government and expects even stronger US support under President-elect Donald Trump — but pleaded for a new approach.”Without a clear alternative, a post-conflict plan and a credible political horizon for the Palestinians, Hamas — or something just as abhorrent and dangerous — will grow back,” Blinken said at the Atlantic Council in Washington.Pointing to the void left as Israel relentlessly bombards Gaza, Blinken said: “We assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost.”  “That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war.”In line with his calls since the start of the war, Blinken said that Gaza should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority — which now holds shaky, partial control of the West Bank and has been repeatedly undermined by Israel.Acknowledging the limitations of the Palestinian Authority, Blinken said an unstated number of countries have offered to send troops and police to post-war Gaza.He said that the “interim security mission” would include both foreign forces and “vetted Palestinian personnel.””We believe that the Palestinian Authority should invite international partners to help establish and run an interim administration with responsibility for key civil sectors in Gaza, like banking, water, energy, health,” Blinken said.The Palestinian Authority would coordinate with Israel and the rest of the international community, which would be asked to provide funding.A senior UN official would oversee the effort, which would be enshrined by a United Nations Security Council resolution, Blinken said.The interim administration would include Palestinian representatives from Gaza selected after “meaningful consultation” and hand over complete control to the Palestinian Authority “as soon as it’s feasible,” Blinken said.- Longer-term -The post-war deal would take shape in negotiations after an initial ceasefire, which both Blinken and President Joe Biden said was on the “brink” of acceptance.Trump has backed efforts to end the war but is also expected to ally himself firmly with Israel, to which Biden authorized billions in weapons but occasionally criticized over civilian deaths.Netanyahu has long fought the idea of a Palestinian state, and his allies have described the renewed push for statehood as a reward for the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest in Israel’s history.Blinken rejected the argument, saying: “Far from rewarding Hamas, accepting a political horizon would be the ultimate rebuke to its nihilistic agenda of death and destruction.”Blinken, who was repeatedly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, also criticized Israel over actions during the conflict.”Israel’s government has systematically undermined the capacity and legitimacy of the only viable alternative to Hamas, the Palestinian Authority.”Blinken said he still hoped that a normalization accord between Israel and Saudi Arabia — which he negotiated but did not complete — would encourage moderation.Normalization remains “the best incentive to get the parties to make tough decisions necessary to fully realize the aspirations both of Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 46,645 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures that the UN considers reliable.
Lebanon’s new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that he was reaching out to all political persuasions to help “rescue” his crisis-hit country ahead of talks aimed at forming a government.After two years of a caretaker administration, Salam faces the difficult task of assembling a cabinet to pull the Mediterranean country out of an economic collapse.The new government will also need to oversee the implementation of a fragile ceasefire, as well as reconstruction, after a war between Israel and Shiite militant group Hezbollah that ended in November.After flying back from abroad to take up his post, Salam appeared to appeal to the Iran-backed group and its allies after they declined to back his nomination.”My hands are extended to all to set off together on this mission of rescue, reform and rebuilding,” he said in his first speech.”I am not one of those who exclude, but those who unite,” said the former presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.He spoke ahead of two days of parliamentary consultations starting Wednesday, and a visit from France’s President Emmanuel Macron at the end of the week.New President Joseph Aoun tasked Salam with forming a government on Monday, after a majority of members of parliament gave him their endorsement.Hezbollah has long objected to any suggestion of Salam as premier, but the group was left weakened by its bruising war with Israel.Analysts say this allowed for Aoun’s election last week after a two-year vacancy in the presidency, as well as Salam’s swift nomination on Monday.- ‘Productive economy’ -Speaking just over a month after the end of the war in the country’s south, a traditional stronghold of Hezbollah, Salam pledged to “extend the authority of the Lebanese state across all its territory”.He said he would “work seriously to completely implement UN Resolution 1701”, which calls for Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon and which formed the basis for the ceasefire.Referring to Israel, he declared his commitment to imposing “the complete withdrawal of the enemy from the last occupied inch of our land”, another stipulation of the truce deal and Resolution 1701.He said the ceasefire should be fully implemented to facilitate rebuilding conflict-ravaged areas in the south and east, as well as in Beirut.”The most important challenge we face today is confronting the results of the last aggression” by Israel, he said.In a country that has been grappling with financial ruin for the past five years, he vowed to work towards a government that could “build a modern and productive economy”.He also promised “justice for the victims of the Beirut port blast” in 2020, which killed more than 220 people, injured at least 6,500 and devastated swathes of the capital. Protesters have demanded accountability for the explosion, but an investigation has stalled, mired in legal and political wrangling. – ‘New chapter’ -Salam became prime minister after a short tenure as ICJ president that began in February last year.He was also Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations from 2007 to 2017.Salam’s supporters include those who see him as the right man to move away from the crony politics that have ruled the country since the 1975-1991 civil war.As the country’s economy plummeted in late 2019, mass protests erupted against the ruling class, which demonstrators accused of corruption, but they petered out as the Covid pandemic hit.In multi-confessional Lebanon, drawing up a list of ministers approved by all sides can take weeks or even months due to deep political divisions and horse-trading.Aoun’s election on Thursday came amid international pressure, especially from the United States and Saudi Arabia, to finally choose a head of state and pull the country out of crisis.Salam called for a “new chapter” in Lebanon without foreign interference.”We have all bet on outside (powers), but it has taught us that the only thing worth betting on is our unity and cooperation with each other,” he said.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met Tuesday with his UK counterpart Keir Starmer, securing a £12.3 billion ($15 billion) trade and investment package during a UK visit hailed as a “new era” in ties.The Iraqi leader’s trip to London, during which he also met King Charles III, focused on security, migration and infrastructure, with the two leaders agreeing a strategic “defence relationship” to deepen cooperation.It comes more than 20 years after Britain took part in the US-led invasion which left the country reeling from conflict for years.Starmer — who entered Downing Street last July — is eager to reset ties with a host of capitals, from Beijing to Brussels, and keen to seal any deals to boost Britain’s ailing economy.”The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the vision of a prosperous, sovereign Iraq through a new partnership focused on trade and investment,” a UK-Iraq joint statement said after Tuesday’s meeting.”The prime ministers signed a landmark Partnership & Cooperation Agreement (PCA), a wide-ranging treaty on trade and strategic cooperation and agreed a trade package worth up to £12.3 billion,” it added.That is more than 10 times the total value of UK-Iraq bilateral trade last year.It contained UK-led mega infrastructure projects such as removing mines across Iraq left after decades of war and unrest, water and sewerage improvements and desalination in areas such as southern Basra as well as interconnecting the Iraqi and Saudi power grids.A desperate lack of fresh water due to drought and climate change and frequent power blackouts, especially in the summer, have been major sources of discontent among the Iraqi population.- Migration focus -The three-day visit comes amid a complicated situation in the Middle East fuelled by the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, as well as a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and the Lebanese pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah.Donald Trump’s move back into the White House next week, and expectations he will resume his hardline stance towards Iran, also loom large over the region’s geopolitics.Oil-rich Iraq, which is an ally of Iran as well as a strategic partner for Washington, has for decades practised a delicate balancing act, while also seeking to deepen its ties to wealthy Gulf countries.Sudani — brought to power in 2022 by a coalition of pro-Iran parties — met Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as recently as last week.Starmer and Sudani also agreed on the principles for the return of Iraqi irregular migrants in the UK and discussed the next practical steps, the joint statement said.Coinciding with Sudani’s visit, Britain’s National Crime Agency announced the arrest of three men suspected of smuggling migrants from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) to Britain, in a “ground-breaking” joint operation.Involving the Kurdistan Region Security Council and Kurdistan Region Security Agency, those detained are allegedly linked to a smuggling network run by a UK-based facilitator jailed for 17 years last November. Migration — regular and irregular — is a key issue for Starmer as he faces domestic pressure to curb arrivals.The number of migrants arriving in Britain on small boats after crossing the English Channel soared to over 36,800 in 2024, according to official data.At least 76 deaths were recorded, making it the deadliest year for migrants who are taking ever greater risks to evade Britain’s border controls.- Border security -Both leaders “agreed that the increasingly global nature of organised immigration crime underscores the need to stop people smuggling gangs from putting so many lives at risk”, their statement said.”Strengthening the border security of our nations is a key part of this effort,” it added.The £12.3 billion package also included the reconstruction of the Al-Qayyarah airbase.Sudani likewise met with business leaders including from oil giant BP, which recently announced long-term investment in Iraq.Tuesday’s talks come as Sudani said his country was preparing for the end of the military presence in Iraq of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.The United States maintains about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 more in Syria seeking to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State jihadist group.President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed with Iraq to end the coalition’s role by September 2025, but stopped short of a complete withdrawal of US forces, whose presence has been opposed by Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq.
