US stock markets wobbled and gold hit fresh highs Tuesday as traders kept a nervous eye on US President Donald Trump’s next tariff moves and worried about inflation and interest rates.European markets rose, with both Frankfurt and London again setting records, while Asian equity markets struggled for direction.All three major US indices had opened lower, …
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President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his idea of exiling Palestinians and placing a rebuilt Gaza under “US authority” but faced pushback from visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II.”I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” Abdullah said on social media after the talks.However, he told Trump that Egypt was working on a plan for how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on his shock proposal.The Jordanian monarch also appeared to offer a sweetener to Trump, who the day before the visit floated the possibility of halting US aid to Jordan if it did not take in refugees.”One of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state. That is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.Trump replied that it was “really a beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.The US leader stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.Abdullah urged patience and said that Egypt was coming up with a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.”Let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of ourselves,” Abdullah said.Trump retreated from his previous talk of an aid halt to Jordan and Egypt, saying: “I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that.”- ‘Tough guy’ – Trump, however, kept pushing his plan to “own” Gaza and place it under “US authority,” despite the fact that it is home to more than two million Palestinians who want their own sovereign state.”We don’t have to buy. We’re going to have Gaza,” Trump said. “We’re going to take it, we’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it.”But Trump, who made his fortune as a real estate tycoon did however deny that he would seek to personally develop property in Gaza. “No. I’ve had a great career in real estate,” he said.The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that “all hell” would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.Trump said he doubted that the Palestinian militant group would abide by the ultimatum — but played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.”It’s not going to take a long time,” Trump said. “A bully is the weakest person, and they’re bullies. Hamas is bullies.” The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz.King Abdullah is a key US ally but last week rejected “any attempts” to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to visit the White House later this week, urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing Palestinians.”Analysts say the issue is an existential one for Jordan in particular.Half of Jordan’s population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin, and since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians have sought refuge there.In 1970 in what became known as “Black September,” clashes erupted between the Jordanian army and Palestinian groups led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).It resulted in the expulsion of those groups.But Jordan is also keenly aware of the economic pressure Trump could exercise. Every year, Jordan receives around $750 million in economic assistance from Washington and another $350 million in military aid.On social media after the Trump talks, Abdullah stressed that his “foremost commitment is to Jordan, to its stability and to the well-being of Jordanians.”
Canada, Mexico and the EU on Tuesday slammed US President Donald Trump’s “unjustified” decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which has raised fears of a broader trade war.Trump signed executive orders to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports of the metals starting March 12, triggering a flurry of angry reactions.The European Union …
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Israel threatened on Tuesday to resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.Under the terms of the ceasefire, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps.But the deal has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it and Hamas to say it was “committed to the ceasefire”.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated”.His threat echoed that of US President Donald Trump who said on Monday that “hell” would break out if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli hostages by Saturday.Tensions, which initially spiked after Trump proposed last month taking over Gaza and removing its more than two million inhabitants, have grown following his latest comments.”As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock… I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said.While hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, Trump was asked whether his deadline still held, and said “Yes”.Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s remark “further complicates matters”.”Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties,” he told AFP.Late on Tuesday, the militant group again insisted it was “committed to the ceasefire agreement” but said Israel “is the party that did not abide by its commitments and is responsible for any complications or delays”.King Abdullah, asked at the White House about Trump’s widely criticised proposal to displace Gazans, said only that Egypt was coming up with a response.Posting later on X, the king said he “reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians”, adding that it was “the unified Arab position”.- ‘No more phases’ –Â Hamas has said it would postpone the next hostage release, scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the deal and calling for it to fulfil its obligations.UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release and “avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza”.Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are aligned with Hamas and have launched attacks throughout the war in support of the Palestinians, said they were “ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza”.Netanyahu did not specify whether he was referring to all captives, but his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the premier to “open the gates of hell” if Israel doesn’t get back “all the hostages… by Saturday”.”No more phases, no more games,” far-right leader Smotrich said, calling to stop all humanitarian aid and demanding the “full occupation of the Gaza Strip”.The Israeli military said it had decided “to raise the level of readiness” of its forces near the Gaza Strip and “increase reinforcements with additional troops, including reservists”.Outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, families of hostages rallied with pictures of their loved ones, calling for the implementation of the agreement.”There is a deal. Go for it!” said Zahiro, whose uncle, Avraham Munder, died in captivity in Gaza.In Gaza, concerns over the fate of the ceasefire were prevalent.”I pray that the ceasefire holds, but… the ruling faction in Israel wants war, and I believe there is also a faction within Hamas that wants war,” said Adnan Qassem, 60, from Deir el-Balah.- ‘Humanitarian catastrophe’ -Trump’s latest threat came hours after Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said the hostage release scheduled for Saturday was postponed.It accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the agreement, including on aid, and cited the deaths of three Gazans at the weekend.But the group said “the door remains open” for the release to go ahead “once the occupation complies”.The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the war has killed at least 48,219 people in the territory, figures the UN considers reliable.A UN report issued on Tuesday said that more than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the devastated territory.
Israel threatened on Tuesday to resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if no hostages were released this weekend, echoing a warning from US President Donald Trump that has strained the fragile truce deal.Trump, who has taken credit for securing the agreement that went into effect last month, said that “hell” would break out if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli hostages by Saturday.Under the terms of the ceasefire, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, hostages were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps.But the agreement has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated”.Tensions, which initially spiked after Trump proposed last month taking over Gaza and removing its more than two million inhabitants, have grown following his latest comments.”As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock… I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said on Monday.While hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, Trump was asked whether his deadline still held, and said “Yes”.Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s remark “further complicates matters”.”Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties,” he told AFP.King Abdullah, asked about Trump’s widely criticised proposal to displace Gazans, said only that Egypt was coming up with a response.”The point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody,” he told reporters in Washington.- ‘No more phases’ –Â Hamas has said it would postpone the next hostage release, scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the deal and calling for it to fulfil its obligations.UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release and “avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza”.Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are aligned with Hamas and have launched attacks throughout the war in support of the Palestinians, said they were “ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza”.Netanyahu did not specify whether he was referring to all captives, but his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the premier to “open the gates of hell” if Israel doesn’t get back “all the hostages… by Saturday”.”No more phases, no more games,” far-right leader Smotrich said, calling to stop all humanitarian aid and demanding the “full occupation of the Gaza Strip”.The Israeli military said it had decided “to raise the level of readiness” of its forces near the Gaza Strip and “increase reinforcements with additional troops, including reservists”.Outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, families of hostages rallied with pictures of their loved ones, calling for the implementation of the agreement.”There is a deal. Go for it!” said Zahiro, whose uncle, Avraham Munder, died in captivity in Gaza.In Gaza, concerns over the fate of the ceasefire were prevalent.”I pray that the ceasefire holds, but… the ruling faction in Israel wants war, and I believe there is also a faction within Hamas that wants war,” said Adnan Qassem, 60, from Deir el-Balah.”The people are the ones who suffer and pay the price.”- ‘Humanitarian catastrophe’ -Trump’s latest threat came hours after Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said the hostage release scheduled for Saturday was postponed.It accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the agreement, including on aid, and cited the deaths of three Gazans at the weekend.But the group said “the door remains open” for the release to go ahead “once the occupation complies”.The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead. Earlier on Tuesday, officials announced the death of Shlomo Mansour, an elderly Israeli hostage whose body is still held in Gaza.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the war has killed at least 48,219 people in the territory, figures the UN considers reliable.A UN report issued on Tuesday said that more than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the devastated territory.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday told Donald Trump that his country would take in some 2,000 sick children from war-torn Gaza, as the US president pushed his plan to take over the territory and push out Palestinians.Speaking at the White House, Abdullah added that Egypt would present a proposal on how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on the plan, despite Arab nations and the Palestinians having rejected it outright. “I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state, that is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.Trump called it a “beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.The US president meanwhile backed down on a suggestion that he could withhold aid for Jordan and Egypt if they refused to take in more than two million Palestinians from Gaza.”I think we’ll do something. I don’t have to threaten that, I do believe we’re above that,” Trump said.Trump stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.Jordan’s Abdullah was repeatedly pressed by reporters on whether he supported the plan, but said only that Egypt was coming up with a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.”The president is looking at Egypt coming to present that plan… (then) we will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we should work with the president and with the United States,” Abdullah said.”The point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody.”- ‘Tough guy’ -The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that “all hell” would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if Hamas did not meet the deadline.Trump said he doubted that the Palestinian militant group would abide by the ultimatum.”I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline personally. I think they want to play a tough guy, but we’ll see how tough they are,” Trump said.But he played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.”It’s not going to take a long time when you know bullies,” he added, referring to Hamas.The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.King Abdullah is a key US ally but last week rejected “any attempts” to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people after Trump stunned the world with his proposal for Gaza.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to visit the White House later this week, urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing Palestinians.”Analysts say the issue is an existential one for Jordan in particular.Half of Jordan’s population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin, and since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians have sought refuge there.In 1970 in what became known as “Black September,” clashes erupted between the Jordanian army and Palestinian groups led by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).It resulted in the expulsion of those groups.But Jordan is also keenly aware of the economic pressure Trump could exercise. Every year, Jordan receives around $750 million in economic assistance from Washington and another $350 million in military aid.
More than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the “humanitarian catastrophe” that has gripped the war-ravaged territory, including $20 billion in the first three years alone, the United Nations said Tuesday.The global body said in a report that a “political and security framework” must also be put in place so that recovery and rebuilding can begin, and a groundwork can be laid for a political process to quickly end the Israeli occupation “and establish a viable two-State solution.”Much of Gaza — including schools, hospitals and other civic infrastructure — has been reduced to rubble by a withering Israeli military offensive following an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. “The interim assessment offers an early indication of the enormous scale of recovery and reconstruction needs in the Gaza Strip,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the document, cautioning that it was not a full assessment.”The report estimates the recovery and reconstruction needs in the short, medium and long term across the Gaza Strip at $53.142 billion. Of these, the near-term needs in the first three years are estimated to be around $20.568 billion,” he added. In a resolution adopted in December calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the UN General Assembly had asked Guterres to provide an assessment of the territory’s needs within two months. The report assessed that with “over 60 percent of homes” destroyed in the year-plus war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, the housing sector requires around $15.2 billion. The commerce and industry sector will need an estimated $6.9 billion, as will the health sector, according to the report. Reviving the agricultural industry will take around $4.2 billion, transport will require $2.9 billion, water and sanitation an estimated $2.7 billion and education $2.6 billion.The report also noted the particularly high costs of $1.9 billion anticipated for the environmental sector “as a result of the massive debris laced with unexploded ordnance and the high cost associated with removal of debris.”The United Nations has estimated that the war has generated more than 50 million tons of debris, including human remains, unexploded ordnance, asbestos and other hazardous substances.”Critically, the Palestinian Authority must be at the center of planning for and the implementation of recovery and reconstruction in Gaza,” Guterres said in the report, which was dated January 30. That was days before US President Donald Trump said he wanted to “take over” Gaza, redevelop the territory and oust the more than two million Palestinians living there. His plan has prompted a global backlash and has been rejected by Palestinians.
A suspension of US foreign aid and possible dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will have a major impact on some of the world’s poorest countries, the Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD) warned Tuesday.For more than 20 economies, a year-long pause on US aid could mean a loss of over one percent of their gross national income, the CGD said in a blog post.And eight economies including South Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan could face a hit of three percent or more, the group added.The impact is especially severe for those eight economies as more than a fifth of their foreign assistance comes from USAID.The value comes up to 35 percent for Afghanistan, 36 percent for South Sudan and 40 percent for Somalia, the post added.While “US support is too large to be fully replaced,” the CGD noted that other providers’ official development assistance could be refocused and this could alleviate some of the worst effects.The poorest countries are among the main beneficiaries of aid from the International Development Association under the World Bank, which provides loans and grants to low-income countries.Other countries such as Germany, Canada, Japan and Sweden could also step up, the CGD added.”While there’s still time to change course and mitigate some of the worst effects, countries around the world would be wise to act now in response to a less globally engaged United States,” said the CGD blog post’s authors Ian Mitchell and Sam Hughes.US President Donald Trump has ordered a 90-day review of USAID, which runs health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, including the world’s poorest.Less than a week after Trump returned to the White House, USAID told non-governmental groups they would have to cease operations immediately because the new administration had frozen its budgets.
