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SEOUL, Jan 1, 2024 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his top military officers to use maximum force against South Korea and the United States if they initiate a military confrontation, state media reported Monday. Seoul and Washington have ramped up defence cooperation in the face of a record-breaking series of weapons tests by Pyongyang over the past year. At a meeting with North Korea’s major commanding officers in Pyongyang on New […]
SEOUL, Dec 28, 2023 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged his party to “accelerate” war preparations including its nuclear programme, state media said Thursday. The comments came just a week after Kim warned Pyongyang would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if “provoked” with nukes. Kim made the comments at the North’s ongoing year-end party meeting, where he is expected to unveil key policy decisions for 2024. Kim asked the party […]
JERUSALEM, Nov 22, 2023 (AFP) – Following the announcement that Gaza militant group Hamas will release at least 50 hostages as part of a deal with Israel, here is what we know about the captives. Based on interviews with relatives and Israeli media reports, AFP has confirmed the identities of 210 of the around 240 people abducted on October 7 during Hamas attacks on military posts, communities and a desert music festival. The hostages, who […]
JAKARTA, Nov 15, 2023 (AFP) – Southeast Asian defence ministers called for an end to the Myanmar crisis and to the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday as they gathered for talks that will include meetings with regional counterparts and the Pentagon chief. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Jakarta were dominated by issues ranging from the Myanmar crisis to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the […]
By Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, Nov 1, 2023 (AFP) – President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the first US citizens were able to leave the war-hit Gaza Strip after weeks of diplomacy and mounting frustration by hundreds of US citizens trapped in the conflict. Since Israel launched retaliatory strikes following a bloody assault by Hamas, the impoverished Gaza Strip has seen limited food, water and medicine, leading Palestinian-Americans to file lawsuits alleging double-standards on efforts to […]
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Oct 30, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas released Monday a video showing three of the more than 230 people Israel says were seized by Palestinian militants in massive October 7 raids which triggered all-out war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the anguished images of the three women as “cruel psychological propaganda” and vowed to “do everything to bring home all the kidnapped and missing people”. In a statement, Netanyahu […]
By Adel Zaanoun GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Oct 28, 2023 (AFP) – Battles were raging in Gaza early on Saturday, as Israel expanded its ground operations and cut communications to the Palestinian territory, three weeks after the deadliest attack in the country’s history. The United Nations warned of a looming “unprecedented avalanche of human suffering” inside the Gaza Strip, following weeks of relentless bombing by Israel, while the General Assembly pushed for an “immediate humanitarian […]
PARIS, France, Oct 27, 2023 (AFP) – Numerous foreigners were killed, taken hostage or listed as missing after the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas launched a major attack on Israel on October 7. More than 1,400 people, mainly civilians, were killed by Hamas militants during the attack launched from Gaza, many of them shot dead, burned alive or mutilated, Israeli authorities say. The militants have also taken nearly 230 people hostage, including Israelis, foreigners and dual […]
By Rosie Scammell in Jerusalem with Adel Zaanoun in Gaza JERUSALEM, Oct 26, 2023 (AFP) – 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 […]
By Max DELANY BRUSSELS, Oct 26, 2023 (AFP) – EU leaders will on Thursday debate calling for a “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s war with Hamas, as the bloc grapples with another conflict on its fringes alongside Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The European Union has struggled for both unity and influence in the face of the crisis that has engulfed the Middle East since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7. The surge […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed again to take action on the Israel-Hamas war, with Russia and China vetoing a US-led draft resolution and a text led by Moscow drawing insufficient support. The rival powers went ahead and put forward texts doomed to defeat despite what diplomats said was a last-ditch effort led by France to delay a vote and work toward consensus. The United […]
By Robbie COREY-BOULET RIYADH, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – The raging war between Israel and Hamas is already battering the economies of nearby countries, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund told a Saudi investor forum on Wednesday. Israel’s neighbours are feeling the effects, especially those that rely on tourism, Kristalina Georgieva said at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in the Saudi capital Riyadh. “You look at the neighbouring countries — Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan […]
