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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, March 25
JAKARTA -- One was killed and nine others, including children, went missing after a landslide struck a village in the Indonesian province of West Java on Sunday, a local official said Monday. The disaster took place in Cibenda village in West Bandung regency on Sunday after torrential rain reportedly poured over the area for around two hours. (Indonesia-Landslide) - - - - SYDNEY -- Local media repo.....»»
SMC OK to add MPTC Indonesia in joint venture
Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is open to including the Indonesian segment of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) in the planned merger of the toll road operators......»»
Official teaser ng pinagbibidahang K-Drama ni Julia Barretto ibinandera na
FINALLY! Ni-reveal na ang kaabang-abang na official trailer ng K-Drama na pinagbibidahan ni Julia Barretto – ang “Secret Ingredient.” Exciting ang ilang mga eksena ni Julia kasama ang Korean star na si Sang Heon Lee at Indonesian actor na si Nicholas Saputra. Nakaka-proud panoorin ang Pinay actress at talaga namang pinatunayan niya na ibang level.....»»
First poster ng ‘Secret Ingredient’ ni Julia, 2 Asian actors ibinandera na
HUMANDA na sa nakakatakam na upcoming romantic series! Ipinasilip na ang first poster para sa K-Drama na “Secret Ingredient” na pinagbibidahan ng Pinay actress na si Julia Barretto, kasama ang Korean star na si Sang Heon Lee at Indonesian actor na si Nicholas Saputra. Ang serye ang kauna-unahang collaboration ng Viu Philippines at Unilever Nutrition.....»»
Hamas drugged hostages before releasing them, Knesset told
Tel Aviv [Israel], December 5 (ANI/TPS): Hamas drugged Israeli hostages before freeing them, "to make them look happy," a Health Ministry official told a Knesset panel on Tuesday. Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Health Ministry's medical division, testified to the Knesset Health Committee that the captives were given a tranquilizer which she identified as Clonazepam sometime before they were handed over to Red Cross custody. C.....»»
Hamas drugged hostages before releasing them, Knesset told
Tel Aviv [Israel], December 5 (ANI/TPS): Hamas drugged Israeli hostages before freeing them, "to make them look happy," a Health Ministry official told a Knesset panel on Tuesday. Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Health Ministry's medical division, testified to the Knesset Health Committee that the captives were given a tranquilizer which she identified as Clonazepam sometime before they were handed over to Red Cross custody. C.....»»
Freed Pinoy now out of hospital — DFA
The Israel-based Filipino caregiver who was among those freed by the Hamas extremist group has been discharged from the hospital, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday. DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo de Vega said Gelienor “Jimmy” Pacheco received medical evaluations at Shamir Medical Center, one of the largest government hospitals in Israel. “[He is] out of the hospital and staying at a hotel near the embassy,” De Vega told Daily Tribune. Pacheco, a 33-year-old caregiver, was among the first batch of hostages freed by Hamas following its surprise cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October. His release was a result of the Qatar-mediated deal for a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The deal includes the release of 50 captives held in the enclave, as well as the release of around 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails. Pacheco was one of the two Filipinos missing since the 7 October surprise attack. The other Filipino has been identified as Noralyn Babadilla. Like Pacheco, Babadilla is believed to have also been taken hostage by Hamas along with over 200 individuals from Israel. De Vega said Pacheco was not physically hurt by his captors. He, however, was traumatized by the incident. “He was traumatized by what he experienced. He said he did not have any wounds or anything,” De Vega said in a separate interview. Despite his traumatic experience in the Middle East, Pacheco said he does not have any plans to return to the Philippines for good. He, however, intends to visit the Philippines next month. “Coming home next month. In December shortly before Christmas. No exact date [yet],” De Vega said. Over the weekend, Hamas released 17 hostages held in Gaza, including a 4-year-old American girl in the third batch of hostages. For its part, the Israeli government freed 39 Palestinian prisoners......»»
Envoy: Fate of 2 Pinoy captives of Hamas uncertain
The Israeli government has approved a deal that will see the release of 50 hostages held by Hamas during a four-day “pause” in fighting, even as Ambassador Ilan Fluss said there is still no information on two missing Filipinos believed among those held hostage......»»
Netanyahu says Israel ‘preparing’ Gaza ground war
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel is readying a ground war in Gaza, pressing ahead with plans that have troubled allies and threaten to worsen an already cascading humanitarian crisis. Facing ever-louder international calls to temper Israel's ferocious 19-day bombing campaign in the Hamas-controlled territory, Netanyahu delivered a nationally televised address. He told fellow Israelis still grieving and angry after Hamas's bloody attacks: "We are in the midst of a campaign for our existence," while insisting Israel will decide how the war is prosecuted. On 7 October, throngs of Hamas gunmen poured from Gaza into Israel, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 222 more, according to official tallies. US President Joe Biden is among the foreign leaders stepping up public calls for Israel to "protect innocent civilians" and to follow the "laws of war" as it pursues Hamas targets. Thousands of Gazans are already believed to have died in Israel's aerial assault, with the toll expected to rise substantially if tens of thousands of Israeli troops massed around Gaza move in. Biden on Wednesday said he had privately suggested Israel should get hostages out if possible before any ground invasion. "It's their decision, but I did not demand it", Biden said, as he called on Congress to allocate more money for Israeli defense. Speaking in Cairo, French President Emmanuel Macron warned: "A massive intervention that would put civilian lives at risk would be an error." But boasting of "raining down hellfire on Hamas" and killing "thousands of terrorists", Netanyahu said his war cabinet and the military would determine the timing of a "ground offensive" to "eliminate Hamas" and "bring our captives home." "I will not detail when, how, or how many," he said. 'It's a massacre' Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry puts the number of Palestinian deaths at 6,500, including many children and 700 people killed in a single 24-hour window this week. AFP could not independently verify the ministry's claims, and US President Biden has stated he has "no confidence" in the Hamas ministry figures. While the exact toll from the war in Gaza is unclear, the depth of the suffering is not in question. Entire neighborhoods have been razed, overflowing hospitals carry out procedures without anesthetic, and residents have been forced to use ice cream trucks as makeshift morgues. "They're not waging war on Hamas, they're waging war on children," raged Abu Ali Zaarab, after his family home was bombed in the southern town of Rafah. "It's a massacre." About 1.4 million people -- more than half the population -- have been displaced, according to the United Nations. The UN says 12 of the territory's 35 hospitals have closed due to damage or insufficient fuel, and a key UN aid agency serving almost 600,000 Palestinians "began to significantly reduce its operations." Israel has cut off Gaza's normal supply corridors for water, food, and other necessities, and fewer than 70 relief trucks have entered the impoverished territory since the war began. None contained fuel, which Israel fears Hamas will use for rockets and explosives. Aid agencies have warned that more people will die if medical equipment, water desalination plants, and ambulances stop operating because of a lack of fuel. Once the generators stop, hospitals will "turn into morgues", the Red Cross has warned. Hospitals are also struggling with a shortage of medicines and equipment. "There's not enough anesthetic," said Ahmad Abdul Hadi, an orthopedic surgeon working at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. "The wounded are in severe pain but we can't wait for the procedure, so we're forced to do the operation. We performed a number of surgeries without anesthetic. It's tough and painful, but with the lack of resources, what can we do?" A regional 'explosion' The war has sparked fears of a regional conflagration if it draws in more of Israel's enemies. Since October 7, Israel has launched thousands of reprisal strikes in Gaza, but it has also hit targets in Lebanon and Syria. Late Wednesday, Lebanon-based Hezbollah fired what Israel said was a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli drone. Israel's military said it had intercepted the missile and "struck the source of the launch" in retaliation. Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria's government are backed by Iran, which denies Israel's right to exist. Tehran's top diplomat on Wednesday accused Israel of carrying out "genocide" in Gaza. Jordan's King Abdullah became the latest leader to warn that ongoing violence could "lead to an explosion" in the region. His wife Queen Rania accused Western leaders of a "glaring double standard" for not condemning Israel's killing of Palestinian civilians in its bombardment of Gaza. Violence has also risen sharply in the occupied West Bank, where health officials said more than 100 Palestinians had been killed, mostly in raids by Israeli troops or in clashes with Israeli settlers. The post Netanyahu says Israel ‘preparing’ Gaza ground war appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hamas frees two Israeli women as US advises delaying ground war to allow talks on captives
Hamas frees two Israeli women as US advises delaying ground war to allow talks on captives.....»»
2 American hostages freed
Gaza’s Hamas rulers freed two Americans among the 200 hostages they kidnapped in the deadly 7 October attacks in Israel. More hostages may be released, the group hinted. According to the Israeli government, Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter, Natalie Shoshana Raanan, were returned to Israel late Friday. There was no word on their condition, but US President Joe Biden was “overjoyed” by the news. Biden called the two women after they were released. Hamas also announced it was working with Qatar and Egypt to free its “civilian” hostages, implying that more could be released. An Israeli emissary met the couple at the Gaza border and took them to a military base in central Israel “where their families are waiting to meet them.” The Ranaan family, like many of the captives, had begun a worldwide campaign to pressure Hamas to release them. Hamas said the “al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens for humanitarian reasons” after being approached by Qatar and Egypt. The Islamist rulers of Gaza said they were “working with all mediators to implement the movement’s decision to close the civilian (hostage) file if appropriate security conditions permit.” It provided no specifics about its demands. Israel claims that Hamas militants took 203 people during the bloodiest attacks in Israel’s 75-year history, including Israelis, dual nationals and foreigners. According to the authorities, at least 1,400 individuals were killed, mostly civilians. Relentless bombing Israel has retaliated with a continuous bombing campaign against Gaza, killing at least 4,137 people, mostly civilians. The hostages have become a massive problem in Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stating that the government will use “any means available to locate all those missing and bring all those kidnapped home.” The International Committee of the Red Cross said it helped transport the freed Americans to Israel. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for more releases “immediately and unconditionally.” “Every single one of them should be released,” said Blinken, adding that a team from the US Embassy would visit the two freed women. Qatar is a major aid donor to Gaza, and two Hamas leaders are based in the Gulf state. A Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said the country had mediated between Hamas and the United States and that the release followed “many days of continuous communication between all the parties involved.” The Israeli military said earlier Friday that most of those abducted to Gaza were still alive even though some dead bodies have been found on incursions into Gaza. The military said more than 20 hostages were minors, while between 10 and 20 were over the age of 60. Saudi factor Biden said Friday he believed Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel two weeks ago aimed to disrupt the warming ties between the country and Saudi Arabia. “One of the reasons they acted like they did... why Hamas moved on Israel... (was) because they knew I was about to sit down with the Saudis,” Biden told guests at a campaign fundraiser. “The Saudis want to recognize Israel... unite the Middle East,” he said. The momentum toward a landmark US-brokered deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia — the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites — was shattered by the 7 October attack by Hamas militants on Israel. A bombing campaign launched in response by Israel has leveled entire city blocks in Gaza, so far killing 4,137 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Saudi officials announced on 14 October during a visit to Riyadh by US Secretary Blinken that the country had suspended talks with Israel on the normalization of relations. Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had spoken of progress with Israel but also insisted on movement on the Palestinian cause. The Gulf kingdom has never recognized Israel and did not join the 2020 Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States, which led neighboring Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Morocco, to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. With AFP The post 2 American hostages freed appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gazans await ‘life and death’ aid, Israel readies invasion
Thousands of tonnes of "life and death" aid for Gaza should be delivered soon, the United Nations said Friday, to relieve a "beyond catastrophic" situation after unrelenting Israeli bombing in response to an unprecedented Hamas attack. Some 175 lorries stuffed with vital medicines, food, and water stretched into the distance at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which has removed concrete roadblocks and is scrambling to repair the route into besieged Gaza -- the only one not controlled by Israel. Overseeing operations personally, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters: "These trucks are not just trucks, they are a lifeline, they are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza." Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group launched a shock raid from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians shot, mutilated or burned to death, according to Israeli officials. Hamas gunmen also kidnapped some 200 hostages including foreigners from around two dozen countries. The Islamist group said Friday that its armed wing had released two Americans among the captives, a mother and her daughter, the first fruit of mediation efforts by the Gulf state of Qatar. The Islamist group did not detail how or when the hostages were released. The Israeli military said earlier Friday that most of those abducted to Gaza were still alive. It said more than 20 were minors. In response to the Hamas attack, Israeli bombers have levelled entire city blocks in Gaza in preparation for a ground invasion they say is coming soon. The Hamas-run health ministry said 4,137 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in the onslaught. Israeli jets pounded more than 100 Hamas targets in Gaza overnight, the army said, with AFP reporters hearing loud explosions and witnessing plumes of smoke billowing from the northern Gaza Strip. Embracing front-line soldiers and clad in body armour, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to "fight like lions" and "win with full force". Fists clenched and voice raised, Netanyahu told cheering troops: "We will deal harsh blows to our enemies in order to achieve victory." Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told some of the tens of thousands of personnel preparing the ground invasion that "the order will come soon". 'Beyond catastrophic' US President Joe Biden said Friday he expected the first aid for Gaza to pass through the Rafah crossing from Egypt within the next two days, under a deal he clinched to allow in 20 trucks of supplies for civilians. Medicine, water purifiers and blankets were being unloaded at El Arish airport near Gaza, an AFP reporter saw, with Ahmed Ali, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, saying he was getting "two to three planes of aid a day". But World Health Organization emergencies director Michael Ryan said Biden's 20-truck deal was "a drop in the ocean of need" and that 2,000 trucks were required. The UN says more than one million of Gaza's 2.4 million people are displaced, with the humanitarian situation "beyond catastrophic" and deteriorating daily. Refugees from northern Gaza told harrowing tales of bombs, profiteering and extreme temperatures as whole families trekked on foot to flee the violence. Mother of seven Fadwa Al-Najjar walked for 10 hours with her family from northern Gaza to reach a UN camp in the southern city of Khan Yunis, saying she saw cars hit by a strike just in front of them. "We saw bodies and limbs torn off and we just started praying, thinking we were going to die," she said. 'It's unimaginable' On the other side of the conflict, the full horror of what Israel suffered on October 7 and following days was still emerging, as traumatised residents recounted their stories. Shachar Butler, a security chief at the Nir Oz kibbutz, where Hamas militants killed or kidnapped a quarter of the 400 residents, recalls more than a dozen gunmen spraying bullets indiscriminately and lobbing grenades at homes. "It's unimaginable," the 40-year-old told AFP as part of a trip organised by the Israeli military. "Anytime someone tried to touch my window, I shot him," he said. "The people who came out got kidnapped, killed, executed, slaughtered." Butler estimated as many as 200 militants attacked the kibbutz, entering from three sides before going house-to-house. Homes there were still charred with burnt personal belongings strewn everywhere. Israel says around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control. 'No safe place' Biden requested a massive $105 billion security package Friday, including $14 billion for Israel, but paralysis in the still speakerless Congress means it will hit an immediate wall. Fresh from a whirlwind trip to Israel this week, Biden is hoping to staunch the possibility of a wider Middle East war. The United States has moved two aircraft carriers into the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran or Lebanon's Hezbollah, both Hamas allies, from getting involved. After days of clashes with Hezbollah fighters along the Lebanese border, Israeli authorities announced the evacuation of Kiryat Shmona, a nearby town which is home to some 25,000 residents, many of whom have already left. The conflict has inflamed passions across the region, with protests held in several countries. Thousands flooded into Egypt's iconic Tahrir Square in support of Gaza, an AFP correspondent said. Protests were also held outside the French and US embassies in Tunis. Following a strike at a church compound late Thursday, the Hamas-controlled interior ministry said several people sheltering at the church were killed and wounded, blaming an Israeli strike. The Israeli army acknowledged a church wall had been damaged in one of its air strikes targeting a "command and control centre belonging to a Hamas terrorist". "This place is dedicated for praying, a place of love and peace," said witness Abu Khalil Jahshan. "There is no safe place here in Gaza." The post Gazans await ‘life and death’ aid, Israel readies invasion appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hundreds dead in Israel-Gaza war as Hezbollah launches attacks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned of a "long and difficult" war, as fighting with Hamas left hundreds dead on both sides after a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group. The conflict's bloodiest escalation in decades saw Hamas carry out a massive rocket barrage and ground, air and sea offensive Saturday that Israel's army said had killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded 1,000, while soldiers and civilians were taken hostage. Gaza officials said intense Israeli air strikes on the coastal enclave had brought the Palestinian death toll to at least 256, with nearly 1,788 wounded. As fighting raged Sunday, Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it had fired "large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles" at Israeli positions in a contested border areas "in solidarity" with Hamas. Israel's army had earlier said it fired artillery on southern Lebanon in response to a shot from the area without identifying the attackers. "We are embarking on a long and difficult war that was forced on us by a murderous Hamas attack," Netanyahu said on X, formerly Twitter, early Sunday. "The first stage is ending at this time by the destruction of the vast majority of the enemy forces that infiltrated our territory," he added, pledging no "respite" until victory. Overnight Israel battered the Gaza Strip with air strikes as rockets from the blockaded Palestinians territory rained on Israel. Sunday morning gun still battles raged between Israeli forces and hundreds of Hamas fighters in multiple locations, including at the Sderot police station across the border from Gaza. Police and Israeli army special forces "neutralized 10 armed terrorists" who were holed up inside the station, a police statement said. The bloody air, sea and land attack launched Saturday by Hamas came half a century after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, taking Israel and the world by surprise. As the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting for Sunday, President Joe Biden voiced "rock solid and unwavering" support for the US ally and warned "against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation". - Hostages and 'so many bodies' - The Israeli army said overnight its forces were still engaged in gun battles in a string of Israel locations, in an operation labelled "Swords of Iron", as reservists were being called up. Hamas earlier released images of several Israelis taken captive, and another army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, confirmed that soldiers and civilians had been kidnapped. "I can't give figures about them at the moment," he said late Saturday, adding there was also a "severe hostage situation" in the Negev desert communities of Beeri and Ofakim east of Gaza. According to Ynet Israeli news website "dozens of Israeli captives, including numerous women, children and elders, are believed to have been taken into the Gaza Strip". The fighting prompted Israel to cut off Gaza's electricity, fuel and goods supplies, Netanyahu said. The Islamist group started the multi-pronged attack around 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Saturday with thousands of rockets aimed as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, some bypassing the Iron Dome defense system and hitting buildings. Hamas fighters -- traveling in ground vehicles, motorized paragliders and boats -- breached Gaza's security barrier and attacked nearby Israeli towns and military posts, opening fire on residents and passersby. "Send help, please!" one Israeli woman sheltering with her two-year-old child pleaded as militants outside opened fire and tried to break into their safe room, Israeli media reported. Bodies were strewn on the streets of the Israeli town of Sderot near Gaza and inside cars, the windscreens shattered by a hail of bullets. "I saw many bodies, of terrorists and civilians," one man told AFP, standing beside covered corpses on a road near Gevim Kibbutz in southern Israel. "So many bodies, so many bodies." AFP journalists witnessed Palestinian armed men gather around a burning Israeli tank, and others driving a seized Israeli military Humvee vehicle back into Gaza, where they were met by cheering crowds. - 'Gates of hell' - Israeli army Major General Ghasan Alyan warned Hamas had "opened the gates of hell". An AFP journalist in Gaza saw clouds of dust from the remains of bombed residential towers which Gaza's interior ministry said contained 100 apartments. Israel's military said it had warned residents to evacuate before targeting the multi-story buildings used by Hamas. The escalation follows months of rising violence, mostly in the occupied West Bank, and tensions around Gaza's border and at contested holy sites in Jerusalem. Before Saturday, at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners had been killed this year, including combatants and civilians, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hamas labeled its attack "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" and called on "resistance fighters in the West Bank" as well as in "Arab and Islamic nations" to join the battle. Its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed to have fired more than 5,000 rockets, while Hecht said Israel had counted more than 3,000 incoming rockets. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the group was on the "verge of a great victory", vowing to press ahead with "the battle to liberate our land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons must be completed". - 'Dangerous precipice' - Air raid sirens wailed across southern and central Israel, as well as in Jerusalem on Saturday, and there were major disruptions at Tel Aviv airport where many carriers canceled flights. Israel said schools would remain closed on Sunday which marks the start of the week. Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, leading to Israel's crippling blockade of the impoverished enclave of 2.3 million people. Israel and Hamas have since fought several wars. The last major military exchange, in May, killed 34 Palestinians and one Israeli. Violence also erupted across the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, with five Palestinians killed and 120 wounded in clashes with Israeli forces and settlers, Palestinian medical services said. Countries around the world condemned the wave of attacks by Hamas, which Israel, the United States and European Union consider a terrorist group. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attack "terrorism in its most despicable form". But Hamas drew support from other foes of Israel, with Iran's supreme leader declaring he was "proud". UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland warned of "a dangerous precipice" and called on all sides to "pull back from the brink". (Rosie Scammell with Adel Zaanoun in Gaza) az-rsc-jd/hkb © Agence France-Presse The post Hundreds dead in Israel-Gaza war as Hezbollah launches attacks appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Nigeria bandits raid university, kidnap 24 students, 8 others
Dozens of gunmen raided a university in northwestern Nigeria at predawn Friday, kidnapping 24 female students and eight other people while holding pursuing troops at bay. Six of the abducted students were rescued while one of six kidnapped welders escaped, a military officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the rescue operation, said on Saturday. The bandits broke through the windows of three female hostels of a Federal University near Sabon Gida village outside the state capital Gusau and took the occupants away, residents told Agence France-Presse. “They took away at least 24 female students from the hostels along with two male neighbors, one of whom is a staff (member) of the university,” Sabon Gida resident Sahabi Musa said. The attackers went into the university and seized nine welders working on a new building while they were sleeping, Shehu Hashimu, another resident who corroborated Musa’s account, said. “The attackers had a field day. They operated in the village from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. unchallenged before troops arrived,” Hashimu said. Troops deployed from Gusau, 20 kilometers away and engaged the attackers in a gunfight but a group of the kidnappers herded the hostages away while another group faced the soldiers, the two sources said. Yazid Abubakar, Zamfara state police spokesperson, confirmed the attack but declined to provide details, saying security personnel were working to free the captives in a forest close to the nearby town of Tsafe. WITH AFP The post Nigeria bandits raid university, kidnap 24 students, 8 others appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
History scholars: Filipinos remain captives of poverty, oppression
Filipinos continue to suffer from “all forms of systematic oppression” and threats to national sovereignty remain, a historians’ group said......»»
Arab nations call for ‘leadership role’ to solve Syria crisis
Diplomats meeting in Saudi Arabia agreed Saturday that the Arab world must play a leading role in efforts to broker a solution to Syria's war, following talks aimed at easing Damascus's isolation. Top diplomats from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- plus Egypt, Iraq and Jordan met in Saudi Arabia at the kingdom's request. They stressed the "importance of having an Arab leadership role in efforts to end the crisis", according to a statement released by the Saudi foreign ministry early Saturday. They also discussed "the necessary mechanisms for this role" and agreed to intensify "consultations among Arab countries to ensure the success of these efforts". Backed by Iran and Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been shunned by many Middle Eastern countries and is a Western pariah over the war -- which has killed more than half a million people and forced about half of Syria's pre-war population from their homes. Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad's brutal crackdown of pro-democracy protests. But on Wednesday, in the latest sign of an easing in tensions with Damascus, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Jeddah, the first such visit since the war began. Mekdad and his Saudi counterpart discussed "the necessary steps" to end Damascus's isolation, according to a Saudi statement on Wednesday. And following the latest foreign minister meeting, top Arab diplomats "agreed on the importance of resolving the humanitarian crisis" in Syria and securing conditions that would allow for refugee returns, the Saudi foreign ministry said Saturday. Syria's rehabilitation sends "a message to the opposition that Assad will triumph in the end and that their foreign backers will betray them", Aron Lund of the Century International think tank told AFP earlier before Saudi Arabia's statement. Inhabitants of rebel-held Idlib, in northern Syria, said they felt "betrayed" by the moves to rehabilitate Assad's government. "We, the people who live in northern Syria, felt extremely betrayed when we heard about the normalisation with Assad," Rama Sifu, 32, who lives in Idlib, told AFP. "How come after 12 years of struggle and revolution, they come today and tell him: here is your seat back at the Arab League? This is unacceptable, we really felt let down." But late Thursday, the prime minister of Qatar -- an opponent of Assad's government -- poured cold water on talk of Syria's possible return to the Arab League. "There is nothing proposed, it is all speculation," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said in a television interview. The Jeddah meeting is one of a flurry of initiatives following Saudi Arabia and Iran's landmark, Chinese-brokered announcement on March 10 that they would resume ties, seven years after an acrimonious split. On Friday, an exchange of nearly 900 prisoners from Yemen's civil war between the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition got underway when flights carrying captives travelled between rebel- and government-controlled areas. The Saudi ambassador to Yemen this week held talks with Huthi forces aimed at ending the devastating civil war that has raged since the Saudi-led military intervention started in 2015. And late on Wednesday, gas-rich Qatar and its tiny but strategic Gulf neighbour Bahrain agreed to re-establish relations, putting aside a long-running diplomatic feud. Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, and Shiite theocracy Iran have long been vying for influence around the region, with Yemen and previously Syria among their proxy conflicts. But analysts say Saudi Arabia is now trying to calm the region to allow it to focus on ambitious domestic projects aimed at diversifying its energy-dependent economy. Although the Arab League takes decisions by consensus, unanimous agreement is unlikely, said a Riyadh-based diplomat who declined to be identified. "The meeting aims to overcome the Gulf differences over Syria as much as possible," the diplomat told AFP, singling out Qatar. "The Saudis are trying at least to ensure that Qatar does not object to Syria's return to the Arab League if the issue is put to any vote," the diplomat added. The post Arab nations call for ‘leadership role’ to solve Syria crisis appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»