US Democrats urge Israel-Hamas ceasefire after dead hostages recovered

A man takes cover behind a column as an explosion propagates smoke and dust during an Israeli strike which reportedly targeted a school in the Zeitoun district on the outskirts of Gaza City, on September 1, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
1 / 4
A man takes cover behind a column as an explosion propagates smoke and dust during an Israeli strike which reportedly targeted a school in the Zeitoun district on the outskirts of Gaza City, on September 1, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
US Democrats urge Israel-Hamas ceasefire after dead hostages recovered
2 / 4
People and a journalist rush toward the scene of an explosion following an Israeli strike which reportedly targeted a school in the Zeitoun district on the outskirts of Gaza City, on September 1, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
US Democrats urge Israel-Hamas ceasefire after dead hostages recovered
3 / 4
Palestinians sit amidst the rubble of buildings destroyed after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip September 1, 2024. (REUTERS)
US Democrats urge Israel-Hamas ceasefire after dead hostages recovered
4 / 4
A Palestinian sits amidst the rubble of buildings destroyed after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip September 1, 2024. (REUTERS)
Short Url
Updated 02 September 2024
Follow

US Democrats urge Israel-Hamas ceasefire after dead hostages recovered

US Democrats urge Israel-Hamas ceasefire after dead hostages recovered
  • Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is another hostage with American citizenship, said the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to engage in negotiations with Hamas to bring hostages home and time was running out

WASHINGTON: Several US Democratic lawmakers renewed calls for an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire on Sunday in reaction to the killing of six hostages in a tunnel under Gaza, while Republicans criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for not giving stronger support to Israel.
Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza where they were apparently killed shortly before its troops reached them, triggering Israeli protests on Sunday and planned strikes over the failure to save them.
The military said the bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who is an Israeli-American citizen, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino have been returned to Israel.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, who appeared at the Democratic National Convention last month, to offer condolences, a White House official said.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held a virtual meeting on Sunday with the families of the American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Sullivan discussed the ongoing diplomatic push to drive toward a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages, the White House said.
Democratic US Senator Dick Durbin said in a post on X that he was “heartbroken and devastated” by the news of Goldberg-Polin’s death, echoing sentiments of other US officials and lawmakers.
“A ceasefire must be reached immediately that allows all remaining hostages to be released, humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, and an elusive and neglected long-term vision for peace and stability to become a reality,” said Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is another hostage with American citizenship, said the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to engage in negotiations with Hamas to bring hostages home and time was running out.
He said the “entire senior military establishment and intelligence community has been saying publicly and openly for weeks and months that the time has come to end the fighting in Gaza, get our hostages home, as many alive as possible,” Dekel-Chen told the CBS “Face the Nation” program.”

BLAMING BIDEN
Republican lawmakers on Sunday did not urge a stronger push for ceasefire negotiations, with some blaming the Biden-Harris administration for not supporting Israel strongly enough.
“They continue to encourage and embolden Hamas,” with calls for a ceasefire, said Republican Senator Tom Cotton.
Asked what Netanyahu’s government should do in the face of growing protests in Israel, Cotton said: “I would urge him to finish the job against Hamas, which is exactly what Kamala Harris and Joe Biden should have done from the very beginning.”
In a statement released by the White House just before midnight on Saturday, Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, did not call for a ceasefire and condemned Hamas for the deaths.
“Hamas is an evil terrorist organization. With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world,” Harris said.
Harris later posted on X that she and her husband Doug Emhoff spoke to Goldberg-Polin’s parents “to express our condolences following the brutal murder of their son by Hamas terrorists.”
Republican senator Lindsey Graham called for more pressure on Iran, Hamas’ main sponsor, telling ABC’s “This Week” that the Biden administration and Israel “should hold Iran accountable for the fate of remaining hostages and put on the target list oil refineries in Iran if the hostages are not released.”

 


India’s Modi invited to meet with Trump next week — White House official

India’s Modi invited to meet with Trump next week — White House official
Updated 20 sec ago
Follow

India’s Modi invited to meet with Trump next week — White House official

India’s Modi invited to meet with Trump next week — White House official
  • Invitation reportedly came hours after a US military plane departed to return deported migrants to India
  • New Delhi keen to avoid tariffs that Trump has threatened in the past, citing India’s high tariffs on US goods

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the White House next week, a White House official said, hours after a US military plane departed to return deported migrants to the country.

Trump spoke with Modi on Jan. 27, when he discussed immigration and stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trading ties.

India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the US and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas.

It is also keen to avoid tariffs that Trump has threatened in the past, citing India’s high tariffs on US products.

The United States is India’s largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion. 


Philippines, US joint air patrol exercises underway over South China Sea

Philippines, US joint air patrol exercises underway over South China Sea
Updated 5 min 42 sec ago
Follow

Philippines, US joint air patrol exercises underway over South China Sea

Philippines, US joint air patrol exercises underway over South China Sea
  • The one-day exercise was being carried out in the West Philippine Sea
  • Two of the Philippines’ FA-50 fighter aircrafts participating, along with two US B1-B bombers

MANILA: The air forces of the Philippines and the United States were holding joint patrols over the South China Sea on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Philippine Air Force said.
The one-day exercise was being carried out in the West Philippine Sea, Philippine air force spokesperson Maria Consuelo Castillo said, using Manila’s term for waters in the South China Sea that fall within its exclusive economic zone.
Castillo said the two of the Philippines’ FA-50 fighter aircrafts were participating, along with two US B1-B bombers.


How China could respond to Trump’s new tariffs

How China could respond to Trump’s new tariffs
Updated 36 min 40 sec ago
Follow

How China could respond to Trump’s new tariffs

How China could respond to Trump’s new tariffs
  • Exports of Chinese goods to the US in 2024 exceeded $400 billion, as against US exports to China at $130 billion
  • Trump has ordered an in-depth review of Chinese trade practices, the results of which are due by April 1

BEIJING: From retaliatory tariffs on US goods like car parts and soy beans to controls on raw minerals essential for American manufacturing — analysts say China has plenty of options if it wants to reply to fresh US levies.
US President Donald Trump over the weekend announced 10 percent tariffs on Chinese products, upping the stakes in a trade confrontation between the global superpowers that started eight years ago in his first term.
Beijing in response warned there were “no winners” in a trade war and vowed as yet unspecified countermeasures.
News that Canada and Mexico had agreed a deal with Trump to delay 25 percent tariffs on their goods was followed by his announcement that he would be holding talks with China “probably in the next 24 hours” to try for an agreement.
But, as the threat of new measures continues to hang over Beijing, eyes are on what officials there have lined up as a response.
With its economy still struggling with sluggish consumption and slow growth, observers expect China to keep its powder dry for now — at least until another round of tariffs that could do greater damage.
“We expect China not to jump to immediate retaliation following the 10 percent tariff hike, but will keep the doors of negotiation and cooperation open,” UBS bank analysts wrote in a note.
“We do not expect China to follow the same strategy as in the first round of tariff hikes in 2018-19.”
Bilateral trade totalled more than $530 billion in 2024, according to US data, with exports of Chinese goods to the United States exceeding $400 billion. That was second only to Mexico.
But that yawning trade imbalance — $270.4 billion in January-November last year — has long raised hackles in Washington.

Key US demands in the first trade war were greater access to China’s markets, broad reform of a business playing field that heavily favors Chinese firms, and a loosening of heavy state controls.
This time around Washington has also called for China to crack down on exports to Mexico of chemical components used to make the synthetic opioid fentanyl, responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths a year.
After long, fraught negotiations during Trump’s first term the two agreed what became known as the “phase one” deal — a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old trade war.
Beijing was quick to retaliate throughout that standoff — imposing tariffs of its own on everything from cars to soybeans, designed to inflict harm on Trump’s voting base in rural America.
It also floated restrictions on exports of rare earth metals, of which China dominates global supplies and on which the United States remains heavily dependent.
And should a new trade war escalate, “measures could include tariffs, export controls on critical minerals essential for US manufacturing, restricted market access to US firms operating in China, or the depreciation of the yuan,” Harry Murphy Cruise, head of China and Australia economics at Moody’s Analytics, told AFP.
But he added Beijing may have learned its lesson from the first standoff.
“The tit-for-tat trade war in Trump’s first term benefited no one; it made trade more costly and hindered growth in both countries,” Murphy Cruise said.

For now, analysts believe the latest measures won’t bite too hard.
“The 10 percent tariff is not a big shock to China’s economy,” Zhang Zhiwei at Pinpoint Asset Management said in a note.
“It’s unlikely to change the market expectation on China’s macro outlook this year, which already factored in higher tariffs from the US,” he added.
And that could allow China to keep its powder dry in the event Trump’s first wave of tariffs are the prelude to a bigger showdown.
The US president has ordered an in-depth review of Chinese trade practices, the results of which are due by April 1.
That could serve as a “catalyst for more tariffs,” said Murphy Cruise, pushing Beijing to shift tactics.
“This strategy of no retaliation may change if the US imposes additional significant tariffs later on,” UBS economists said.
“In such a case, we think China may retaliate on a targeted basis and in a restrained manner, imposing tariffs on selected agricultural products, auto parts, energy,” they said.
Experts added that China could also let the value of its currency devalue, increasing the competitiveness of its exports.
Trump’s flagged talks with Beijing offer the two sides a chance to step back from the brink of a trade war that could hit hundreds of billions’ worth of goods.
“China is looking to diffuse tensions,” Murphy Cruise said.
“China’s economy is in a much weaker position this time around; it will be substantially harder to withstand a barrage of tariffs.”
 


Greece suggests disciplinary charges over 2023 migrant shipwreck that killed over 250 Pakistanis

Greece suggests disciplinary charges over 2023 migrant shipwreck that killed over 250 Pakistanis
Updated 11 min 29 sec ago
Follow

Greece suggests disciplinary charges over 2023 migrant shipwreck that killed over 250 Pakistanis

Greece suggests disciplinary charges over 2023 migrant shipwreck that killed over 250 Pakistanis
  • Boat sank off southwestern coastal town of Pylos on June 14, 2023 with about 750 people on board
  • Trawler had left Libya for Italy and was monitored by Greek coast guard for nearly 12 hours before capsizing

ATHENS: A Greek Ombudsman has recommended disciplinary action against eight coast guard officers for alleged dereliction of duty in one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks off Greece in which hundreds died in 2023.

The inquiry is the first to conclude on the circumstances surrounding the shipwreck off the southwestern coastal town of Pylos on June 14, 2023, which sank in plain sight of Greek coast guard authorities with about 750 people on board.

The trawler, named Adriana, had left Libya for Italy and was monitored by the Greek coast guard for nearly 12 hours before capsizing and sinking in international waters. Only 104 people are known to have survived.

In a report released Monday, Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis said there were “clear indications” that eight senior coast guard officers had a case to answer for dereliction of search and rescue duties, and which resulted in endangering lives of those aboard the Ariana.

The Greek coast guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Coast Guard authorities have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over the handling of the case that raised questions about the European Union’s tactics on migration.

The inquiry was launched by the Ombudsman in June 2023 after the Greek coast guard rejected his calls to launch an internal investigation into the incident.

About 10 officers were called to testify as suspects, including the Commandant.

Pottakis’s findings have been forwarded to Greece’s Shipping Minister for further action, the Ombudsman’s office said.

“The transparency of administrative action and the attribution of responsibilities, where applicable, for the deadly shipwreck of Pylos is an elementary legal demand, inextricably linked to respect of rule of law, as is the thorough investigation of any other incident related to violation of the right to life, health and physical integrity,” a statement from Pottakis’s office said.

A local naval court, which opened a criminal investigation last year, has concluded a preliminary investigation and referred the case to a chief prosecutor, lawyers representing the survivors and victims said last month, after reviewing the legal files of the case.

They said a preliminary investigation failed to shed light on the incident and more evidence had to be examined by the court.


Malaysia PM says will build trade relations, not wait for US tariffs

Malaysia PM says will build trade relations, not wait for US tariffs
Updated 32 min 12 sec ago
Follow

Malaysia PM says will build trade relations, not wait for US tariffs

Malaysia PM says will build trade relations, not wait for US tariffs

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will actively build trade relations with other countries, such as China, Russia and Brazil, instead of waiting for the impact of potential US trade tariffs, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday.
Anwar told parliament waiting for United States’ tariffs would have a negative impact on Malaysia, adding there was uncertainty following US President Donald Trump’s 30-day pause on tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
US tariffs on China are still due to take effect.
Anwar said Malaysia could not act hastily in countering tariffs as there remained many geopolitical uncertainties.
“On our part, we must take proactive steps... to aggressively open a wider network of trading partners,” Anwar said.