AFP Asia Business

A committee formed by Syria’s new authorities to investigate a wave of deadly violence said on Tuesday the country was determined to “prevent unlawful revenge”.A wave of violence broke out last Thursday, mainly in the Mediterranean heartland of the Alawite minority, the deadliest since longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December.Security forces and allied groups have killed at least 1,225 civilians since Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.The UN Human Rights Office said it had documented “summary executions” that appeared “to have been carried out on a sectarian basis”.”In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families — including women, children and individuals hors de combat — were killed, with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular,” it said.At a press conference in Damascus, committee spokesman Yasser al-Farhan said: “The new Syria is determined to enshrine justice and the rule of law, protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens, prevent unlawful revenge and guarantee that there is no impunity.”Farhan said the committee was working on “gathering and reviewing evidence” related to the wave of violence.He added the committee would “listen to the eyewitnesses” and establish mechanisms for people to contact the investigators, as well as gather and verify video evidence.The findings will be submitted to the presidency and the judiciary, Farhan said.In the coastal town of Jableh, a resident told AFP he had been terrorised by armed groups.”More than 50 people from among my family and friends have been killed,” he said, speaking anonymously for his safety. “They gathered bodies with bulldozers and buried them in mass graves.”The Observatory said that thousands of Alawite civilians from Jableh and the surrounding area had fled to Russia’s Hmeimim airbase, since Friday.The town’s mayor, Amjad Sultan, told AFP he had visited the displaced to tell them that security forces were restoring control and “outside is now safe”.An AFP photographer saw groups of Alawites fleeing across a river into northern Lebanon. – Seven arrests -The presidency announced on Sunday that it was forming a committee to “investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible”.It said it would present its findings within 30 days and that those found responsible would be referred to the courts.The violence began on Thursday, after the attempted arrest of a wanted suspect, with an attack by Assad loyalists on security forces spiralling into clashes.The ensuing killings, mainly targeting members of Assad’s Alawite minority, have been described as a massacre by the Observatory, local Christian leaders and US officials.Farhan said the committee would investigate events that occurred between Thursday and Saturday.The Britain-based Observatory, however, has reported more killings since, including on Monday.The authorities have announced the arrest of at least seven individuals since Monday accused of having committed violations against civilians, according to SANA.- ‘Summary executions’ -“There are a huge number of people who have been suffering in Syria, in the coastal areas, for five days — and this needs to stop,” UN human rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters.”According to many testimonies collected by our office, perpetrators raided houses, asking residents whether they were Alawite or Sunni before proceeding to either kill or spare them accordingly. Some survivors told us that many men were shot dead in front of their families.”Human Rights Watch called on Syria’s new authorities to ensure accountability for the mass killings.”Syria’s new leaders promised to break with the horrors of the past, but grave abuses on a staggering scale are being reported against predominantly Alawite Syrians in the coastal region and elsewhere in Syria,” its deputy regional director Adam Coogle said.”Government action to protect civilians and prosecute perpetrators of indiscriminate shootings, summary executions, and other grave crimes must be swift and unequivocal,” he said.The latest violence has marked the gravest threat to Syria’s new authorities, calling into question their ability to govern following repeated vows that they would respect the country’s various minorities.The new authorities announced a surprise deal with the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast on Monday to integrate its forces into the state security apparatus — a move analysts say benefits both sides at a critical juncture.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the deal on Tuesday, saying Washington “welcomes” the agreement to “integrate the northeast into a unified Syria”.

Global stock markets extended losses on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump waffled on the size of tariffs he will levy on Canadian steel, aggravating concerns his trade policies could push the United States toward recession.In New York, the Dow index of blue-chip stocks closed down 1.1 percent while the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.8 percent.The tech-heavy Nasdaq …

Stock markets extend losses over US tariffs, recession fears Read More »

Pope Francis remains stable after almost four weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday, declining to speculate on when he might go home, the day after doctors indicated he was no longer in danger.The 88-year-old head of the world Catholic Church has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14 with pneumonia in both lungs, suffering several respiratory crises that sparked real fear for his life.But on Tuesday evening — a day after indicating that he was out of imminent danger — the Holy See said that the pope’s condition continued to be stable. “It is clear that the situation remains stable… and with these slight improvements within a framework for doctors that remains complex,” the Vatican said.On Monday, following a week of steady improvements in Francis’s condition, the Vatican said his prognosis was no longer considered “reserved”, or uncertain, meaning his life is no longer at imminent risk.But his condition remained complex and he would require hospital treatment for “several more days”, it said on Monday — with the implication that afterwards, he could go home to the Vatican.A Vatican source on Monday said that Francis still had pneumonia but confirmed there was “no imminent danger” to his life.Despite the improving scenario, the Vatican on Tuesday said that it was still unknown when exactly Francis might be released from hospital. The source denied reports that preparations were under way for Francis’s return to the Santa Marta residence.Francis missed the start of the Lent religious period last week but there are hopes he might be able to participate in celebrations for Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, which culminates on April 20.- Prayers and meditation -Outside the Gemelli hospital, an employee of the Santa Marta, Simonetta Maronge, urged the pope to come home soon.”May he return to Santa Marta soon. We love him deeply and Santa Marta is empty without him,” she told AFP.The Vatican source said on Tuesday that the pope’s spirits were “good”. The press office said he had that morning prayed in the private chapel next to the papal suite on the 10th floor of the hospital, and that he had taken part remotely in Vatican prayers and meditation.”The improvements recorded in the previous days have been further consolidated, as confirmed by blood tests and clinical objectivity and the good response to pharmacological therapy,” the Vatican said in a statement on Monday evening.”For these reasons, the doctors have decided today to lift their reserved prognosis,” it added, although the Vatican said Francis still would need “pharmacological treatment in a hospital setting for several more days”.- Video games -The pontiff has been doing some work off and on during his hospital stay, making calls and having occasional visitors, according to the Vatican.Several of the children being treated in Rome’s Bambino Gesu hospital, which is also run by the Vatican, sent Francis messages and drawings offering other ideas for passing the time.”Dear Pope, I suggest you get someone to give you a PlayStation,” young Alex wrote, according to the artwork released by Bambino Gesu.Pilgrims visiting Rome for the 2025 Jubilee holy year celebrations have been praying every night for the pope, while special services have been held in churches around the world.”We are praying for the pope, for his recovery and that he will soon be with us, safe and well, so he can bless us all,” Jose Ochoa, 69, from Mexico, told AFP at the Vatican.Mimmo Laundando, an Italian pensioner praying outside the Gemelli hospital, said: “I am hopeful.”Laundando added that he had always dreamt of being the pontiff’s chauffeur.Pope Francis will on Thursday mark 12 years as leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics.Despite his incipient recovery, his hospital stay — the longest and most serious of his papacy — has revived questions about his future.The Jesuit pontiff has always held open the possibility of resigning like his predecessor, the German Benedict XVI, although he also insisted he has no intention of quitting.

Israel said Tuesday it killed a senior Hezbollah militant responsible for drones and missiles, even as it freed Lebanese prisoners as a “goodwill” gesture to the country’s new president.Despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has continued to carry out air strikes in Lebanon, claiming they are necessary to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from rearming or re-establishing a presence along its northern border.”Earlier today, the IAF (air force) conducted a precise intelligence-based strike in the area of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, eliminating Hassan Abbas Ezzedine, the head of Hezbollah’s aerial array in the Bader regional unit,” the military said in a statement.It said it carried out a second strike on Tuesday in the Froun area, targeting several militants.”Several terrorists were identified in a site used by Hezbollah in the area of Froun in southern Lebanon,” the military said. “An IAF aircraft struck the suspects.”Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that two people were killed in the Israeli strikes.”An enemy Israeli drone strike targeting a car on the Deir El-Zahrani road resulted in one fatality,” the news agency said, citing the health ministry.It later reported that a second person was killed in an Israeli air strike on a vehicle in the Froun area.Although a truce reached on November 27 largely ended more than a year of hostilities — including two months of full-scale war in which Israeli ground troops crossed the border — Israel has continued to launch periodic strikes in Lebanese territory.Israel was initially expected to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18, after missing a January deadline, but it has maintained a presence in five strategic locations.The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.- Border disputes -In a separate development on Tuesday, Israel announced it had agreed to release five Lebanese citizens detained during its war with Hezbollah.”In coordination with the United States and as a gesture to Lebanon’s new president, Israel has agreed to release five Lebanese detainees,” a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said four of the prisoners had been freed on Tuesday and the fifth would follow on Wednesday.Their release followed a meeting earlier Tuesday in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura, attended by representatives of Israel, Lebanon and mediators France and the United States.”During the meeting, it was agreed to establish three joint working groups aimed at stabilising the region,” the prime minister’s statement said. “These groups will focus on the five points controlled by Israel in southern Lebanon, discussions on the Blue Line and remaining disputed areas, and the issue of Lebanese detainees held by Israel.”The Blue Line is the UN-patrolled demarcation line that has served as de facto border since 2000.In an interview with Lebanese news channel Al Jadeed, US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus emphasised Washington’s efforts to resolve the border issue.”We want to get a political resolution, finally, to the border disputes,” Ortagus said.”When it comes to the border agreement, the land border agreement, there are 13 points — I think that six are still problematic,” she said.Ortagus said Israel had “withdrawn from over 99 percent of the territory”.”I feel fairly confident that… we can have final resolution on the five points and ultimately on the remaining issues related to the Blue Line”.burs-jd/kir

The EU’s foreign affairs chief on Tuesday told the UN Security Council that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was just one of a rising number of cases where the “rule of force” has replaced international law.Russia’s UN ambassador in turn questioned whether the United Nations needed to talk with the EU that he accused of “pontificating” and being “Russophobic.”Eighty years after its creation the United Nations now faces “unprecedented pressure,” EU high representative for foreign affairs Kaja Kallas told a Security Council meeting on relations with the European Union.”We see blatant violations of the UN Charter. We see attempts to replace the rule of law by the rule of force,” the former Estonian prime minister said.Kallas called for the respect of international law and human rights, saying “in every context they are at risk or actively violated. Be it in Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Haiti or Ukraine.”Amid intense US pressure on Ukraine to make a deal to end fighting with Russia, Kallas reaffirmed EU support for Kyiv and its demands for a “just and lasting peace.””Europe has learnt from its own history that giving in to aggressors’ demands leads to more violence,” the official told envoys including from the United States and Russia, two of the Security Council’s permanent members.”This war can end instantly if Russia -– the only one responsible -– withdraws its troops and stops bombing Ukraine. Russia can stop this war any time –- but it has chosen not to,” Kallas said.Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia hit back saying that the European Union which used to cooperate with Russia had become “a fossilized, aggressive, Russophobic bloc.””I’d like to call on you to think long and hard about whether the UN needs to engage in dialogue with such a body which itself flagrantly violates human rights,” the Russian envoy told the council.The EU backed “pocket dictatorships” and imposed “harsh sanctions” on anyone who disagrees with it, he added.Kallas also called on Israel to let aid into Gaza.”It is imperative that the delivery of humanitarian aid is not politicized or conditional. Any and all blockades to delivery of aid at scale must be lifted,” Kallas said.Israel started a new blockade on aid entering Gaza on March 2, demanding that Palestinian militants Hamas accept its terms for extending a ceasefire that came into force in January.