Latest news with #Agence-FrancePresse
Bangkok Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations resume as Trump pushes for deal
DOHA — Indirect negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas resumed in Qatar on Tuesday, as United States President Donald Trump pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a deal to end the war. "Indirect negotiations are continuing this morning in Doha, with a fourth meeting being held... the discussions are still focused on the mechanisms for implementation, particularly the clauses related to withdrawal and humanitarian aid," a Palestinian official close to the talks told Agence-France Presse (AFP). "No breakthrough has been achieved so far, and the negotiations are ongoing," another Palestinian official said. Israel and Hamas began their latest round of negotiations on Sunday, with representatives of the two sides seated in different rooms in the same building. With the talks underway, Netanyahu travelled to Washington for his third visit since Trump's return to power, where the US president on Monday voiced confidence a deal could be reached. "I don't think there is a hold-up. I think things are going along very well," the US leader told reporters when asked what was preventing a peace deal. Sitting on the opposite side of a long table from the Israeli leader, Trump also said Hamas was willing to end the conflict in Gaza, which is entering its 22nd month. "They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if clashes involving Israeli soldiers would derail talks. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was set to join the talks in Doha this week. 'We don't care' Netanyahu meanwhile ruled out a full Palestinian state, insisting Israel would "always" keep security control over the Gaza Strip. "Now, people will say it's not a complete state, it's not a state. We don't care," Netanyahu said. On the ground, five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza, the military said Tuesday, one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year. Netanyahu lamented a "difficult morning", saying: "All of Israel bows its head and mourns the fall of our heroic soldiers, who risked their lives in the battle to defeat Hamas and free all our hostages." Israeli military correspondents reported the deaths occurred when improvised explosive devices detonated in the area of Beit Hanun in the north of the territory. At least 445 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza, according to an AFP tally. On Monday, the civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 12 people in Gaza, including six in a clinic housing people displaced by the war. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency. The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza's more than two million people. While Israel has the full backing of the Trump administration, the US leader has increasingly pushed for an end to what he called the "hell" in Gaza and said on Sunday he believes there is a "good chance" of an agreement this coming week. "The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Leavitt said Trump wanted Hamas to agree to a US-brokered proposal "right now" after Israel backed the plan for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Envoy trip The US proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel, two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier told AFP. The group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system, they said. Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,523 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'I Was Bemused': Cyril Ramaphosa Recounts Explosive Oval Office Meeting With Trump
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday recalled his recent, chaotic sit-down with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, making light of an extraordinary moment in which the U.S. president promoted baseless conspiracy theories about his country's treatment of white farmers. As soon as Ramaphosa was about to begin speaking at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium in Cape Town, the lights were dimmed, echoing a now-viral part of his meeting with Trump. 'When I came in, I saw the room going a bit dark,' he said. 'They darkened the room. And for a moment I wondered, 'What is this! It's happening to me again!'' While their White House meeting last week started on a good note with Trump saying it was a 'great honor' to host Ramaphosa in Washington, shortly after, the U.S. president baselessly accused his guest of not doing enough to stop 'white genocide' in his country. About 20 minutes into the sit-down, Trump ordered his staff to turn the lights down in the room to play a video allegedly showing the families of white farmers displaying crosses to honor their dead loved ones. However, the video, which was filmed in September 2020, did not depict gravesites but was taken from a protest following the deaths of two farmers on their property, according to Reuters. Ramaphosa recalled the moment Tuesday, trying to make light of the situation he was confronted with. 'At that point I was seated very nicely. I was beginning to get into a groove of interacting with this man, and I suddenly hear him say, 'dim the lights,'' he said. 'A number of people have said, 'This was an ambush, this was an ambush.' I was bemused. I was saying, 'What's happening?'' Besides the video, Trump also held up printouts of articles he claimed depicted the mass killings of white South Africans. 'These are all white farmers that are being buried,' Trump said pointing to a picture that wasn't even taken in South Africa, according to the Agence-France Presse. Earlier this month, Trump welcomed 59 white Afrikaners to the U.S. as refugees, claiming they were being persecuted in their home country. Ramaphosa has disputed the allegations. Trump cited the debunked claims as the main reason for making major cuts to U.S. aid for South Africa in March. Why Trump Is So Obsessed With White South Africans Trump Claimed This Photo Proved 'Genocide' Of White South Africans, But There's 1 Big Problem Trump Hammers South African President Over Alleged Attacks On White Farmers
The Guardian
07-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
China says it will not bow to US pressure after Trump threatens additional 50% tariffs
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the global stock market response to Donald Trump's trade tariffs following the huge falls on Asian markets yesterday. Extreme volatility plagued global stock markets on Monday, with Wall Street swinging in and out of the red as Trump defied stark warnings that his worldwide trade assault will wreak widespread economic damage, comparing new US tariffs to medicine. A renewed sell-off began in Asia, before hitting European equities and reaching the US. It was briefly reversed amid hopes of a reprieve, only for Trump to threaten China with more steep tariffs, intensifying pressure on the market. China said Monday it would not cave in to threats after Trump vowed an additional 50% tariffs on its goods if Beijing did not retract planned countermeasures. 'We have stressed more than once that pressuring or threatening China is not a right way to engage with us,' Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for Beijing's embassy in the US, told Agence-France Presse. 'China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.' Market chart The US president later dampened hopes of a reprieve further when he told reporters in the Oval Office he was 'not looking at' pausing tariffs to allow for negotiations. During a bilateral meeting with Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump was asked if the tariffs were permanent or open to negotiations. Trump responded: 'They can both be true, there can be permanent tariffs and there can be negotiations.' 'There are things we need beyond tariffs, like open borders,' Trump insisted – once again hitting out at China, claiming 'China is a closed country' charging too high tariffs. He did confirm the US was talking to Beijing about the tariffs. It looks set to be another bumpy ride on the markets today. Follow along for the latest news, reaction and analysis. Share
The Guardian
01-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Gaza ceasefire talks have made no progress on second phase, Hamas says
The latest round of talks on the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has made no progress so far, and it was unclear whether they would resume on Saturday, a senior Hamas official has said. The ceasefire took effect on 19 January after more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country's history. During the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire, Gaza militants freed 25 living hostages and returned the bodies of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. A second phase of the fragile truce was supposed to secure the release of dozens of hostages still in Gaza and pave the way for a more permanent end to the war. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had sent a delegation to Cairo, and Egypt, which is mediating, said 'intensive talks' on the second phase had begun, with delegations from Israel and Egypt's fellow mediators Qatar and the US. But by early on Saturday, there was no sign of consensus, and a Hamas source accused Israel of delaying the second phase. 'The second phase of the ceasefire agreement is supposed to begin tomorrow morning, Sunday … but the occupation is still procrastinating and continuing to violate the agreement,' the source told Agence-France Presse. A Palestinian source close to the talks told AFP that, despite the absence of a Hamas delegation in Cairo, discussions were under way to find a way through the impasse. Max Rodenbeck, of the International Crisis Group thinktank, said the second phase could not be expected to start immediately. 'But I think the ceasefire probably won't collapse also,' he added. The preferred Israeli scenario is to free more hostages under an extension of the first phase, rather than a second phase, the defence minister, Israel Katz, said. Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's attack, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas, for its part, has pushed hard for phase two to begin, after it suffered staggering losses in the devastating war. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said on Friday that the Israel-Hamas ceasefire 'must hold'. 'The coming days are critical. The parties must spare no effort to avoid a breakdown of this deal,' Guterres said in New York. The truce enabled more aid to flow into the Gaza Strip, where more than 69% of buildings were damaged or destroyed, almost the entire population was displaced, and widespread hunger occurred because of the war, according to the UN. In Gaza and throughout much of the Muslim world, Saturday also marked the first day of the month of Ramadan, during which the faithful observe a dawn-to-dusk fast. Among the rubble of Gaza's war-wrecked neighbourhoods, traditional Ramadan lanterns hung and people performed nightly prayers on the eve of the holy month. 'Ramadan has come this year, and we are on the streets with no shelter, no work, no money, nothing,' said Ali Rajih, a resident of the hard-hit Jabaliya camp in north Gaza. 'My eight children and I are homeless, we're living on the streets of Jabaliya camp, with nothing but God's mercy.' The Gaza war began with Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The Israeli retaliation has killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the UN has deemed reliable. Though the truce has in effect held, there have been a number of Israeli strikes, including on Friday when the military said it targeted two 'suspects' approaching troops in southern Gaza. A hospital in Khan Younis said it had received the body of one person killed in a strike. In return for the release of the captives held in Gaza, Israel released nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners from its jails. Gaza militants also released five Thai hostages outside the truce deal's terms.
