AFP Asia Business

Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over Israeli woman soldier Agam Berger on Thursday as the third hostage-prisoner exchange of the Gaza ceasefire got under way.Three Israelis are slated for release Thursday under a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war and five Thai captives are also expected to be freed.Berger, dressed in military fatigues, was paraded by Hamas militants on a stage in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip before being handed over to International Committee of the Red Cross officials.The 20-year-old was handed a gift bag and certificate to mark the end of her ordeal.Footage of a sombre Berger before the handover showed her on a stage with masked Hamas members in distinctive green headbands, being prompted to wave to onlookers.Israel’s military said Berger was now back in Israel and would undergo “an initial medical assessment”.In devastated Khan Yunis, dense crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses ahead of their release near the childhood home of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in October. Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that five Thais held in Gaza would also be freed.Ahead of the release, Islamic Jihad aired video footage of Moses and Yehud hugging each other and smiling.On Wednesday, the Moses family said it had “received with great excitement the wonderful news of our beloved Gadi’s return”.A fourth exchange is scheduled for the weekend, but Hamas accused Israel on Wednesday of jeopardising the deal by holding up aid deliveries, an allegation Israel dismissed as “fake news”.The ceasefire that began on January 19 hinges on the release of Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, in exchange for 1,900 people — mostly Palestinians — in Israeli custody.Before Berger was handed over Thursday, Hamas had released seven hostages, with 290 prisoners freed in exchange. Israel is to release 110 prisoners, including 30 minors, in exchange for the three Israelis, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said.The next swap on Saturday will see three Israeli men released, according to Netanyahu’s office.- Aid trucks row -The truce deal has allowed truckloads of aid into the devastated Gaza Strip, where the war has created a long-running humanitarian crisis.However, senior Hamas officials accused Israel of slowing aid deliveries, with one citing key items such as fuel, tents, heavy machinery and other equipment.COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, called this “totally fake news”.As the text of the agreement — mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States — has not been made public, AFP was not able to verify its terms on aid.- Displacement ‘injustice’ -The ceasefire deal is currently in its first, 42-day phase, which should see 33 hostages freed. The Thai hostages are not included in that number.Next, the parties are due to start discussing a long-term end to the war. The third and final phase of the deal should see the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of any remaining dead hostages.US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing the agreement despite it taking effect before his inauguration, and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks, met Netanyahu in Israel on Wednesday.Trump has invited Netanyahu to the White House on February 4, according to the premier’s office.After the truce took effect, Trump touted a plan to “clean out” Gaza, calling for Palestinians to relocate to neighbouring countries such as Egypt or Jordan.However, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Wednesday the forced displacement of Palestinians was an “injustice that we cannot take part in”.Jordan’s King Abdullah II stressed “the need to keep the Palestinians on their land”.More than 376,000 displaced Palestinians have gone back to northern Gaza since Israel reopened access earlier this week, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA, with many returning to little more than rubble.”My house is destroyed,” 33-year-old Mohammed Al-Faleh told AFP. “This morning, we built a small room with two walls made from the remains of our home. There is no cement, so I used mud.”The biggest problem is that there is no water — all the water wells are destroyed,” he added.”Food aid is reaching Gaza… but there is no gas or electricity. We bake bread on a fire fuelled by wood and nylon.”Israel was to cut ties with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from Thursday following accusations it provided cover for Hamas militants, a move likely to hamper delivery of its vital services after 15 months of war in Gaza.UNRWA, which has long been the lead agency in coordinating aid to Gaza, will be banned from operating on Israeli soil, and contact between it and Israeli officials will also be forbidden.

European stock markets rose and the euro dipped Thursday, with the European Central Bank expected to cut interest rates as inflation eases and the eurozone economy stalls.The ECB announcement will follow the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep US borrowing costs on hold Wednesday as inflation, despite coming down, remains elevated in the United States.Asian stock …

European stock markets rise before ECB rate call Read More »

The Japanese government said Thursday it has pulled advertisements from Fuji Television in the wake of sexual assault allegations lodged against its celebrity host, as the company slashed profit forecasts.Dozens of companies have already scrapped advertising contracts with Fuji since the furore over J-pop megastar turned TV presenter Masahiro Nakai erupted last month.The government has …

Japan government pulls ads from Fuji TV after scandal Read More »

A man who repeatedly burnt the Koran in 2023 in Sweden, sparking outrage in Muslim countries, has been shot dead, media reported Thursday as police confirmed a man died in a shooting the day before.A Stockholm court was due to rule on Thursday whether Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Korans at a slew of protests, was guilty of inciting ethnic hatred. It postponed the ruling until February 3, saying that “because Salwan Momika has died, more time is needed.”Police said in a statement they had been alerted to a shooting in the city of Sodertalje, where Momika lived.The shooting occurred indoors and when police arrived they found a man who had been “hit by shots and the man was taken to hospital”, the statement said.In a later update, police said the man had died and a murder investigation had been opened.Several media outlets identified the deceased as Momika, and reported that the shooting may have been broadcast live on social media.In August, Momika, along with co-protester Salwan Najem, was charged with “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions in the summer of 2023.According to the charge sheet, the duo desecrated the Koran, including burning it, while making derogatory remarks about Muslims — on one occasion outside a Stockholm mosque.Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by the pair’s protests.Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.In August of that year, Sweden’s intelligence service Sapo raised its threat level to four on a scale of five after the Koran burnings had made the country a “prioritised target”.The Swedish government condemned the desecrations while noting the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.In October 2023, a Swedish court convicted a man of inciting ethnic hatred with a 2020 Koran burning, the first time the country’s court system had tried the charge for desecrating Islam’s holy book.Prosecutors have previously said that under Swedish law, the burning of a Koran can be seen as a critique of the book and the religion, and thus be protected under free speech.However, depending on the context and statements made at the time, it can also be considered “agitation against an ethnic group.”

Israel and Hamas were set to carry out their third hostage-prisoner exchange on Thursday, with three Israelis and five Thai captives slated for release as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.A fourth exchange is scheduled for the weekend, but Hamas accused Israel on Wednesday of jeopardising the deal by holding up aid deliveries, an allegation Israel dismissed as “fake news”.The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the three Israelis to be released on Thursday as Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger and Gadi Moses, adding that five Thais held in Gaza would also be freed.Ahead of the release, which sources in Hamas and allied militant group Islamic Jihad said would take place at Jabalia refugee camp and Khan Yunis at around 0900 GMT, Islamic jihad aired video footage of Moses and Yehud hugging each other and smiling.On Wednesday, a Moses family statement said it had “received with great excitement the wonderful news of our beloved Gadi’s return”.The ceasefire that began on January 19 hinges on the release of Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, in exchange for 1,900 people — mostly Palestinians — in Israeli custody.Hamas has so far released seven hostages, with 290 prisoners freed in exchange. Israel is to release 110 prisoners, including 30 minors, in exchange for the three Israelis, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said.The next swap on Saturday will see three Israeli men released, according to Netanyahu’s office.- Aid trucks row -The truce deal has allowed truckloads of aid into the devastated Gaza Strip, where the war has created a long-running humanitarian crisis.But two senior Hamas officials accused Israel of slowing aid deliveries, with one citing key items such as fuel, tents, heavy machinery and other equipment.”According to the agreement, these materials were supposed to enter during the first week of the ceasefire,” one official said.”We warn that continued delays and failure to address these points will affect the natural progression of the agreement, including the prisoner exchange.”Israel hit back, with a spokesman for COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, calling it “totally fake news”.Between Sunday and 1100 GMT on Wednesday, “3,000 trucks entered Gaza”, the spokesman said. “The agreement says it should be 4,200 in seven days,” he added.As the text of the agreement — mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States — has not been made public, AFP was not able to verify its terms on aid.Both Hamas officials said representatives of the group had raised the issue during a meeting with Egyptian officials on Wednesday.- Displacement ‘injustice’ -The ceasefire deal is currently in its first, 42-day phase, which should see 33 hostages freed.Next, the parties are due to start discussing a long-term end to the war. The third and final phase of the deal should see the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of any remaining dead hostages.US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing the agreement despite it taking effect just ahead of his inauguration, and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks, met Netanyahu in Israel on Wednesday.Trump has invited Netanyahu to the White House on February 4, according to the premier’s office.After the truce took effect, Trump touted a plan to “clean out” Gaza, calling for Palestinians to relocate to neighbouring countries such as Egypt or Jordan.The idea has faced strong backlash from both countries, and from European governments.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Wednesday the forced displacement of Palestinians was an “injustice that we cannot take part in”.Jordan’s King Abdullah II stressed “the need to keep the Palestinians on their land and to guarantee their legitimate rights, in accordance with the Israeli and Palestinian two-state solution”.More than 376,000 displaced Palestinians have gone back to northern Gaza since Israel reopened access earlier this week, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA, with many returning to little more than rubble.”My house is destroyed,” 33-year-old Mohammed Al-Faleh told AFP. “This morning, we built a small room with two walls made from the remains of our home. There is no cement, so I used mud.”The biggest problem is that there is no water — all the water wells are destroyed,” he added.”Food aid is reaching Gaza… but there is no gas or electricity. We bake bread on a fire fuelled by wood and nylon.”