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Thousands of protesters massed in Jerusalem on Wednesday, chanting slogans against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who they accuse of undermining democracy and resuming Gaza strikes without regard for hostages.Protesters shouted “You are the head, and you’re to blame” as well as “The blood is on your hands” at the demonstration near parliament, the largest to take place in Jerusalem for months.The demonstration was organised by anti-Netanyahu opposition groups protesting the premier’s move to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency.Following Netanyahu’s announcement to dismiss Bar, which threatened to trigger political crisis, Israel launched a wave of overnight strikes on Gaza, by far the deadliest since the start of a fragile ceasefire in January.Relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza joined the rally outside the parliament in Jerusalem.”We hope all people from Israel will join this movement and we will not stop until we restore democracy and freedom for the hostages,” said Zeev Berar, 68, from Tel Aviv.”At this rate we won’t have a country left, not a democratic one. It will be a dictatorship,” student Roni Sharon, 18, told AFP.Some in the crowd brandished banners reading: “We are all hostages”.Relatives of the hostages in the Gaza Strip have said the decision to resume strikes could “sacrifice” their loved ones.Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.The demonstrators in Jerusalem also accuse Netanyahu of using the war against Hamas to distract from domestic political concerns. The prime minister has so far refused to set up a national commission of inquiry into Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, while his bid to dismiss Bar threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis.Netanyahu’s government recently also moved to oust Israel’s attorney general and government judiciary adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary’s independence.A 2023 judicial reform project aimed at curbing the supreme court’s powers fractured the country and sparked major protests — before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas’s October 7 attack.”The last two years have been a nightmare for us,” said Yael Baron, 55, from the city of Modiin.”I feel as though we are in the 99th minute and time is running out to save the country, the oxygen is running out for us, like democracy is running out.”

Chinese internet and gaming giant Tencent said on Wednesday that profits in the fourth quarter of 2024 surged 90 percent as the firm accelerates a push into artificial intelligence (AI).The publication of quarterly and annual results came after weeks of robust investor confidence in Chinese technology stocks, and in AI in particular, following January’s shock …

China’s Tencent sees profits surge as AI drive accelerates Read More »

Hamas said it remained open to negotiations while calling for pressure on Israel Wednesday to implement a Gaza truce after its deadliest bombing since the fragile ceasefire began in January.Israel carried out fresh air strikes on Gaza on Wednesday, killing 13 people according to the territory’s civil defence agency, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday’s raids were “only the beginning”.The United Nations and countries around the world condemned the high civilian death toll in the renewed strikes, which have killed more than 400 people, according to Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.Hamas is open to talks on getting the ceasefire back on track but will not renegotiate the agreement that took effect on January 19, an official from the militant group said.”Hamas has not closed the door on negotiations but we insist there is no need for new agreements,” Taher al-Nunu told AFP.”We have no conditions, but we demand that the occupation be compelled to immediately halt its aggression and war of extermination, and begin the second phase of negotiations.”Negotiations have stalled over how to proceed with a ceasefire whose first phase expired in early March, with Israel and Hamas disagreeing on whether to move to a new phase intended to bring the war to an end.Instead, Israel and the United States have sought to change the terms of the deal by extending stage one.That would delay the start of phase two, which was meant to establish a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and was swiftly rejected by Hamas, which demanded full implementation of the original deal.”There is no need for new agreements in light of the existing agreement signed by all parties,” Nunu said.- ‘Only the beginning’ -Israel and the United States have portrayed Hamas’s rejection of an extended stage one as a refusal to release more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.Netanyahu’s office said he ordered the renewed strikes on Gaza after “Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages”.In a televised address late Tuesday, the premier said: “From now on, negotiations will take place only under fire… Military pressure is essential for the release of additional hostages.”Hamas has already felt the strength of our arm in the past 24 hours. And I want to promise you –- and them –- this is only the beginning.”The White House said Israel consulted US President Donald Trump’s administration before launching the strikes, while Israel said the return to fighting was “fully coordinated” with Washington.The intense Israeli bombardment sent a stream of new casualties to the few hospitals still functioning in Gaza and triggered fears of a return to full-blown war after two months of relative calm.The roads were once again filled with Palestinian civilians on the move as families responded to evacuation warnings from the Israeli army.”Today I felt that Gaza is a real hell,” said Jihan Nahhal, a 43-year-old from Gaza City, adding some of her relatives were wounded or killed in the strikes.”Suddenly there were huge explosions, as if it were the first day of the war.”The Gaza health ministry said the bodies of 413 people had been received by hospitals, adding people were still under the rubble.A spokeswoman for the UN children’s agency UNICEF said medical facilities that “have already been decimated” by the war were now “overwhelmed”.- ‘Shattering’ hopes -Governments in the Middle East, Europe and beyond called for the renewed hostilities to end.German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Israel’s raids on Gaza “are shattering the tangible hopes of so many Israelis and Palestinians of an end to suffering on all sides”.European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she told her Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar that the new strikes on Gaza were “unacceptable”.Both Egypt and Qatar, which brokered the Gaza ceasefire alongside the United States, condemned Israel’s resort to military action.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the strikes were part of “deliberate efforts to make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable and force the Palestinians into displacement”.Trump has floated a proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza, an idea rejected by Palestinians and governments in the region and beyond, but embraced by some Israeli politicians.Israel’s resumption of military operations in Gaza, after it already halted all humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza this month, drew an immediate political dividend for Netanyahu.The far-right Otzma Yehudit party, which quit his ruling coalition in January in protest at the Gaza ceasefire, rejoined its ranks with its firebrand leader Itamar Ben Gvir again becoming national security minister.The war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,577 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry.Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 58 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.burs/kir/dv

Turkish police detained Istanbul’s powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu early Wednesday as part of a corruption probe, a move his opposition CHP party slammed as a “coup”.A key figure within the CHP, Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, and his detention comes just days before he was to be named the party’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election.Widely seen as the strongest challenger to Erdogan, Imamoglu has faced a string of what critics say are politically motivated legal cases.As reports of his detention emerged, Turkey briefly shut down access to social networks and hundreds of police surrounded City Hall and closed off Taksim Square, with the authorities banning all demonstrations for the next four days. Even so, several hundred people gathered near the Istanbul police headquarters where Imamoglu was taken, angrily chanting “Government resign!” an AFP correspondent said. The move also sparked chaos on financial markets, with the Turkish lira plunging to a historic low of 39 liras against the dollar and the benchmark BIST 100 stock exchange reportedly shedding 6.9 percent. With the exchange website offline, it was not possible for AFP to immediately verify the figures. – ‘Nothing short of a coup’ -“Using force to usurp the will of the people or to obstruct it is a coup,” CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said on X, his words echoed by many other observers. “What happened this morning was nothing short of a coup against the main opposition party, with far-reaching consequences for Turkey’s political trajectory,” political scientist Berk Esen at Istanbul’s Sabanci University told AFP. The raid occurred just hours after Istanbul University revoked Imamoglu’s degree, amid claims it was falsely obtained. In Turkey, presidential candidates must have a higher education qualification.Imamoglu’s wife Dilek said police officers turned up around 3:00 am (0000 GMT) and took him away several hours later. “Police officers came right after the sahur and he started to get ready,” she said in a video released by the municipality, referring to the meal before the Ramadan fast resumes at dawn.”They left the house around 7:30 am,” she said. A statement from the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office cited charges including bribery and extortion, alleging that Imamoglu was the leader of a “criminal organisation” and that 100 suspects had been rounded up. The move appeared to be in connection with a probe into alleged “tender rigging” by Imamoglu that was opened in 2023. But local reports, including from state news agency Anadolu, said it was also linked to a separate probe for allegedly aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), saying he was one of seven people detained.- ‘They panic’ -On the streets of Istanbul, few were willing to comment and those that did refused to give their names. “Whenever this guy and his dirty team see someone strong, they panic and do something illegal to him,” said an Istanbul shopkeeper, referring to Erdogan and his governing AKP party.”They are evil, but amateurs,” he added.Shortly after the police raid, access to social media platforms was restricted, the London-based Internet watchdog NetBlocks said. “Live metrics show #Turkey has restricted access to multiple social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok; the incident comes as Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and dozens of others are detained in events described by the opposition as a ‘coup’,” it said. The governor’s office immediately issued a ban on all protests until March 23. The CHP had planned several protests including one for Wednesday afternoon over the revocation of Imamoglu’s degree, which the mayor vowed to contest in court. The party was also due to hold a primary on Sunday at which Imamoglu was to have been formally named its candidate for the 2028 elections. The 53-year-old, who was resoundingly re-elected as mayor of Turkey’s largest city last year, has been named in several legal probes, with three new cases opened this year alone. In 2022, he was handed two years and seven months in jail and banned from political activities for “insulting” election officials in Istanbul, a sentence that he has appealed. 

Distraught Myanmar relief camp dwellers received final handouts from the World Food Programme on Wednesday as the UN agency begins halting aid to a million people in the country because funding has dried up.President Donald Trump’s slashing of the US aid budget has contributed to “critical funding shortfalls” for WFP, forcing it to make sweeping …

Myanmar relief camps receive last WFP aid as cuts begin Read More »

The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday and warned about the economic outlook amid global uncertainty fuelled by Donald Trump’s trade war.Officials began lifting borrowing costs last year after nearly two decades of ultra-loose monetary policies aimed at kickstarting torpid growth in the world’s number four economy.But since coming to office …

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Istanbul’s powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest political rival who has faced a growing barrage of legal challenges aimed at stopping his bid to win Turkey’s top job.After a sensational entry into politics in 2019 when he was elected mayor of Turkey’s economic powerhouse, Imamoglu quickly became a key figure within the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).But his career has been overshadowed by a string of what critics say are politically-motivated legal cases designed to cripple his plans to contest Turkey’s 2028 presidential election.In the latest blow, police raided his house early Wednesday, detaining him on alleged corruption charges in a move swiftly denounced by the CHP leader Ozgur Ozel as “a coup attempt against our next president”.Media reports also spoke of a second probe into allegedly aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The move came a day after Istanbul University revoked his degree — a high-stakes move as Turkish presidential candidates must have a higher education diploma.Berk Esen, a political scientist at Istanbul’s Sabanci University, said Imamoglu’s detention was “nothing short of a coup against the main opposition party, with far-reaching consequences for Turkey’s political trajectory.”Widely seen as best placed to challenge Erdogan in 2023, Imamoglu didn’t run after being hamstrung by an unresolved defamation conviction. Since then, his legal woes have multiplied with three new probes targeting him this year alone. He decried them as “the highest level of judicial harassment”.His re-election as mayor last year despite Erdogan’s best efforts to unseat him has cemented the popularity of the football-loving 53-year-old, who had been due to be formally named as CHP’s presidential candidate on Sunday.- From businessman to mayor -Born in Akcaabat, a seaside town on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, Imamoglu moved to Istanbul as a teenager.He studied business, then went to work in the construction industry. He was a political unknown until he managed to oust Erdogan’s AKP and its allies in 2019 from their 25-year dominance of the city of 16 million where the president was once himself mayor.As Erdogan’s own career path has shown, running the megalopolis is a tried-and-tested route to national power.Initially stripped of victory when the vote was annulled, he won by an even bigger margin in a re-run three months later.”You have opened the door to a new future. From now, Turkey will be a different country,” he told his ecstatic followers at the time.His emergence in 2019 came as a wave of anti-Erdogan sentiment ushered in a fresh generation of leaders from the staunchly secular CHP, including a new mayor of the capital Ankara.- Legal cases stack up -In 2022, Imamoglu was convicted of defamation for calling Istanbul election officials “idiots” and sentenced to two years and seven months in jail. He appealed, but the outcome remains pending, with the ever-present jail threat prompting the CHP not to field him as a candidate for the 2023 presidential poll. Another investigation opened in 2023 named him in another corruption case allegedly linked to rigging tenders while mayor of Beylikduzu, an Istanbul district.  In November, Erdogan sued Imamoglu for slander, raising the prospect he could be prosecuted for insulting the president — an offence carrying up to four years in jail which has been widely used to silence rivals, journalists, human rights defenders and members of the public. In January, prosecutors opened two new probes over his remarks about Istanbul’s chief prosecutor and a court-appointed expert used in cases against CHP-run municipalities. – Widespread appeal -“Imamoglu is an effective political operator… (who) represents one of the very few glimmers of hope for constituents who oppose Erdogan and the AKP,” said Anthony Skinner, director of research at geopolitical advisory firm Marlow Global.A practising Muslim in a secular party, the smooth-talking politician has won support from a wide spectrum of voters.”He can attract all segments of the opposition electorate, whether it’s Turkish or Kurdish, Sunni or Alevi, young or old,” said political scientist Esen.And he has trodden a careful line on sensitive issues, such as same-sex marriage which is illegal in Turkey.”I’m a person who respects freedoms… But our society is not yet ready to allow same-sex marriage,” he said in a 2020 TV interview. “Imamoglu communicates well with the public — he gives sincere answers and can easily connect with people,” Sukru Kucuksahin, who worked with him on the 2019 election campaign, told AFP. But like Erdogan, Imamoglu also has something of a “Black Sea temperament”, he said, referring to people known for being blunt and often very stubborn.Imamoglu has not been embraced by all of the opposition, with some saying he’s a careerist.

Turkish police raided the home of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday, detaining him over a corruption probe in a move denounced by the main opposition CHP party as a “coup”.A popular and powerful figure within the CHP, Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, and his detention came days before he was to be named the party’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election. Widely seen as the strongest candidate to challenge Erdogan, Imamoglu’s career has been overshadowed by a string of what critics say are politically motivated legal cases.The police raid occurred just hours after Istanbul University revoked his degree, amid claims it was falsely obtained.The revocation is a high-stakes move as presidential candidates in Turkey need to have a higher education qualification. Imamoglu “was detained and is now at police headquarters”, said a press aide, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the press and was unable to say why he had been detained. “Hundreds of police officers have arrived at my door. I entrust myself to the people,” the mayor said in a video posted on X. A statement from the Istanbul public prosecutor’s office cited charges including bribery and extortion, saying that Imamoglu was the leader of a “criminal organisation” and that 100 suspects had been rounded up. The move appeared to be in connection with a probe into alleged “tender rigging” by Imamoglu that was opened in 2023. But local media reports, including from state news agency Anadolu, said his detention was also linked to a separate probe for allegedly aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), saying he was one of seven people who had been detained. – Social media blocked, protests banned -CHP leader Ozgur Ozel condemned what he called a “coup attempt against our next president”. “Making decisions on behalf of the people, using force to replace the will of the people or to obstruct it is a coup,” Ozel said on X. “We will not give in. In the end, the people’s will shall prevail and Turkey will win,” he added.Shortly after the police raid, access to social media platforms was restricted, the Netblocks internet access monitor said. “Live metrics show #Turkey has restricted access to multiple social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok; the incident comes as Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and dozens of others are detained in events described by the opposition as a ‘coup’,” it said. And the Istanbul governor’s office immediately issued a ban on all protests until March 23 — several demonstrations had been announced by the CHP late Tuesday over the revocation of Imamoglu’s degree, which the mayor vowed to contest in court. “We will fight this illegitimate decision in court,” said the 53-year-old mayor, who was resoundingly re-elected as mayor of Turkey’s largest city last year.”We will build a system that will erase injustice from this country’s memory.”Erdogan has repeatedly rejected claims that he himself never graduated from university and was not constitutionally able to hold the office of president.In a statement on X, Istanbul University said the degrees of 28 people, including Imamoglu, would be “withdrawn and cancelled on the grounds of… obvious error”. It did not elaborate further. The mayor’s office had previously published a copy of the business management diploma Imamoglu received from Istanbul University in 1995 after a journalist claimed he did not have one.In recent years, Imamoglu has been named in multiple legal probes, with three new cases opened this year alone. In 2022, he was handed two years and seven months in jail and banned from political activities for “insulting” election officials in Istanbul, in a sentence that he has appealed, the outcome of which is still pending.