AFP Asia Business

At least four people were killed and 27 injured in a fire at a major telecomms centre in Egypt’s capital that caused widespread disruptions, the health ministry said on Tuesday.Internet and phone connections were still heavily disrupted in Cairo on Tuesday, with the Egyptian stock exchange suspending operations.Flights into and out of the capital had also been affected by the fire, which began on Monday evening, although by the following morning the civil aviation ministry said all flights had resumed following delays caused by the blaze.Gas and electricity outages were also reported on Monday by Cairo governor Ibrahim Saber.”Civil defence forces recovered four bodies from the scene of the incident,” the healthy ministry said in a statement.The authorities are yet to announce a cause for the fire, nor has any information been given about the 27 injured. Local media reported that the fire at the Ramses Exchange, the former communications ministry headquarters, was extinguished on Monday night.

Qatar said Tuesday more time was needed for negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about a possible breakthrough.”I don’t think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this,” Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said as indirect negotiations continued into a third day in Doha.Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington, meanwhile, on his third visit to the White House since Trump returned to power.Trump, who is pushing for a ceasefire, expressed confidence a deal could be reached, saying: “I don’t think there is a hold-up. I think things are going along very well.”Qatar, a mediator along with the United States and Egypt, said the meetings in Doha were focused on a framework for the talks, while a Palestinian official close to the negotiations said no breakthrough had been achieved so far.Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was set to join the talks in Doha this week.On the ground, five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza — one of the deadliest days this year for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory.Gaza’s civil defence meanwhile reported 29 killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday.Israel and Hamas began the latest round of negotiations on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building.At the White House, sitting across from Netanyahu, Trump said Hamas was willing to end the Gaza conflict, now in its 22nd month.”They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,” Trump said when asked if ongoing clashes would derail talks.- ‘Suddenly, an explosion’ -An Israeli official accompanying Netanyahu to Washington said the proposal under discussion was “80-90 percent of what Israel wanted.””I believe that with military and political pressure, all the hostages can be returned,” the official told Israeli media.According to Ariel Kahana of Israel Hayom daily, “President Trump and his advisers are currently exerting considerable effort to reach an agreement that would lead to the release of the hostages and could even end the war in Gaza”.However, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir opposed negotiations with Hamas, saying that “there is no need to negotiate with those who murder our fighters; they must be torn to shreds”.Netanyahu described the loss of five soldiers in Gaza as a “difficult morning” and mourned “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 due to improvised explosive devices near Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.According to the Israeli military, 450 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza military campaign since the start of the ground offensive on October 27, 2023.Gaza’s civil defence agency reported 29 people killed in Israeli strikes across the territory, including three children.Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, said nine of those were killed in a drone strike on a camp for displaced people in southern Gaza.”I was in front of my tent preparing breakfast for my four children — beans and a bit of dry bread. Suddenly, there was an explosion,” said Shaimaa Al-Shaer, 30, who lives in the camp.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.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military when contacted by AFP.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 believed there was 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.- 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.Hamas 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 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 57,575 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.burs-ser/jsa

Indirect Gaza ceasefire talks resumed Tuesday in Qatar, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington to meet US President Donald Trump, who expressed optimism about a possible breakthrough.Qatar, a mediator along with the United States and Egypt, said the meetings were focused on a “framework” for the talks.”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 AFP.”No breakthrough has been achieved so far, and the negotiations are ongoing,” another Palestinian official said.On the ground, five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in northern Gaza — one of the deadliest days this year for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory.Israel and Hamas began the latest round of negotiations on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building.Netanyahu’s trip to Washington is his third visit since Trump’s return to office. On Monday, Trump expressed confidence a deal could be reached.”I don’t think there is a hold-up. I think things are going along very well,” Trump told reporters when asked what was preventing an agreement.Sitting across from Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said Hamas was willing to end the Gaza conflict, now entering its 22nd month.”They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,” Trump said when asked if ongoing clashes would derail talks.Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was set to join the talks in Doha this week.- ‘Suddenly, an explosion’ -An Israeli official accompanying Netanyahu to Washington said the proposal under discussion was “80-90 percent of what Israel wanted.””I believe that with military and political pressure, all the hostages can be returned,” the official told Israeli media.According to Ariel Kahana of Israel Hayom daily, “President Trump and his advisers are currently exerting considerable effort to reach an agreement that would lead to the release of the hostages and could even end the war in Gaza.”However, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir opposed negotiations with Hamas, saying that “there is no need to negotiate with those who murder our fighters; they must be torn to shreds.”Netanyahu described the loss of five soldiers in Gaza as a “difficult morning” and mourned “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 due to improvised explosive devices near Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.According to the Israeli military, 450 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza military campaign since the start of the ground offensive on October 27, 2023.Gaza’s civil defence agency reported 29 people killed in Israeli strikes across the territory, including three children.Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, said nine people were killed in a drone strike on a camp for displaced people in southern Gaza.”I was in front of my tent preparing breakfast for my four children — beans and a bit of dry bread. Suddenly, there was an explosion,” said Shaimaa Al-Shaer, 30, who lives in the camp.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.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military when contacted by AFP.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.- 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.burs-ser/dv

Gaza’s civil defence agency on Tuesday said that 29 people were killed in Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory devastated by 21 months of war.Among those were nine people killed in a drone strike on a camp for displaced people near Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, according to civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.Shaimaa Al-Shaer, 30, a resident of the Al-Sanabel camp, told AFP: “I was in front of my tent preparing breakfast for my four children — beans and a bit of dry bread. Suddenly, there was an explosion.”Smoke and dust filled the area. Debris and stones flew in all directions and hit our tent,” she added.”Four children who were playing in front of the neighbouring tent were injured. I saw people carrying martyrs. We don’t know where death comes from, the bombings continue.” Bassal said that 20 other people, including at least three children and two women, were killed in six other strikes on Tuesday across the Gaza Strip.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military when contacted by AFP.The military earlier announced that five of its soldiers were killed in northern Gaza and two others were severely wounded.Due to restrictions imposed on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties accessing the area, AFP is unable to independently verify the death tolls and details shared by the parties involved.The war was triggered by Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.The attack resulted in 1,219 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.Of the 251 people abducted that day, 49 are still hostages in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli army.At least 57,523 Gazans, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign, according to data from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.The figures are deemed reliable by the UN.

As Cambodian garment workers took breaks from toiling in sweltering factories on Tuesday, they feared for their jobs after US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 36 percent tariff.”I beg the US to reduce the tariff for the sake of workers in Cambodia,” 38-year-old Im Sothearin told AFP as she rested from her work …

Cambodian garment workers fret Trump’s new tariff threat Read More »

Bangladesh, the world’s second-biggest garment manufacturer, holds hope to reduce the 35 percent tariff that US President Donald Trump said he will impose, the country’s top commerce official told AFP on Tuesday.Textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of exports in Bangladesh and the industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard …

Major garment producer Bangladesh seeks deal after 35% US tariff Read More »