Selasa, 27 Februari 2024

Biden says Israel agrees to stop Gaza attacks for Ramadan as Hamas mulls draft truce proposal - CNA

US and Israeli officials discussed a ceasefire proposal last week with Qatari and Egyptian mediators at a meeting in Paris. Delegations from Hamas and Israel are both in Qatar this week for so-called proximity talks, held in the same city through mediators.

Biden, who is running for re-election, told NBC there was an agreement in principle for a ceasefire between the two sides while hostages were released, adding that he hoped to have a ceasefire in the conflict by the following Monday.

"There are too many innocent people that are being killed. And Israel has slowed down the attacks in Rafah," Biden said, adding that Israel had committed to make it possible for Palestinians to evacuate from Rafah in Gaza's south before intensifying its campaign there to destroy Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected as "delusional" Hamas' last offer for a ceasefire, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from Gaza and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war.

On NBC, Biden said that a temporary ceasefire would jumpstart a process for Palestinians to have their own state. Netanyahu, however, has rejected a two-state solution.

The new proposal now being weighed by Hamas included some of Hamas' initial demands for a ceasefire, and limited the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages to a ratio of 10 to one, the senior source close to the talks said.

The draft states Hamas would free 40 Israeli hostages including women, children under 19, elderly over 50 and the sick, while Israel would release around 400 Palestinian prisoners and will not re-arrest them, the source told Reuters.

Mediators have ramped up efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, in the hope of heading off an Israeli assault on the Gaza city of Rafah where more than a million displaced people are sheltering at the southern edge of the enclave.

After Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured 253 hostages on Oct 7, Israel launched a ground assault on Gaza, with nearly 30,000 people confirmed killed, according to Gaza health authorities.

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2024-02-27 08:33:12Z
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Senin, 26 Februari 2024

Woman in her 60s dies after bungee jump in South Korea mall - The Star Online

SEOUL: A woman in her 60s went into cardiac arrest and died after falling from a bungee jumping platform on Monday (Feb 26), officials said.

The victim, whose name and exact age were withheld, jumped from the platform, only to plummet 8m below onto a concrete floor at a sports facility at around 4.20pm, according to Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.

The facility, located at Starfield Anseong Mall in Gyeonggi Province, just south of Seoul, offers various experience facilities such as bungee jumping and climbing.

The woman was taken to hospital after emergency services performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her, but she did not survive.

Police believe the bungee rope sprang loose due to a faulty carabiner clip, which connects the cord with a beam or a crane. They plan to further investigate the matter.

The bungee jumping platform has become one of the most popular attractions since the mall opened in 2020. - The Korea Herald/ANN

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2024-02-27 02:40:00Z
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South Korea gives protesting doctors Feb 29 deadline to return to work - CNA

Many South Koreans support the plan, which has been spearheaded by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

A recent Gallup Korea poll showed about 76 per cent of respondents approved of the plan, regardless of their political affiliation and a separate opinion poll by Realmeter released on Monday showed that Yoon's approval rating had risen to 41.9 per cent, the first time in eight months it has topped the 40 per cent level.

In a package of policy plans to improve medical services, the government said it will increase the number of new medical students by 2,000 a year and expand legal protection against malpractice suits and prosecution.

It also plans to give incentives for doctors to practice in essential disciplines such as paediatrics and general surgery and in regional areas where shortage of doctors is more serious.

Some doctors, however, say the government's plan is aimed at winning more votes in the April general election. In a statement, medical professors at Seoul National University, which runs one of the top medical schools in the country, called on the authorities to postpone discussing the plan until after the elections.

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2024-02-26 08:51:00Z
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'What's happened to the human soul?': Former president Halimah on Gaza crisis as death toll nears 30000 - The Straits Times

Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has spiralled since the war began, with the UN World Food Programme reporting “unprecedented levels of desperation”. PHOTO: AFP

SINGAPORE - Former president Halimah Yacob on Feb 26 called for the world to “stand on the side of humanity”, questioning the morality of the ongoing situation in Gaza as the Palestinian death toll reaches almost 30,000.

In a Facebook post, Madam Halimah highlighted the dithering on efforts to reach a ceasefire, stating that “international laws and international bodies are rendered irrelevant”.

“The consensus built after the horrors of WW 2 (World War II), to protect the innocents during wars, has been severely compromised. The world is forever changed,” she said.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam shared Madam Halimah’s post on his Facebook page with a single sentence: “Our ex-president Madam Halimah has spoken powerfully, and I agree with her.”

Madam Halimah had previously published similar posts on Facebook calling for intervention, and questioned the effectiveness of international law in months prior.

In her Feb 26 post, she also noted the death toll – made up mostly of women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry – as well as the destruction of hospitals, homes, power grids, schools, roads and other civilian infrastructure.

“There’s nowhere to go. They are bombed from the land, sea and air in Rafah in southern Gaza. Earlier, they were told to leave northern Gaza, which they did, only to be killed later.”

Madam Halimah lamented the “degradation of the human soul”, listing anecdotes of Israel Defence Forces soldiers revelling amid the destruction, and proud public declarations of “grandmothers and mothers” that they would not allow aid to reach those in need, which include many children.

“Our natural instincts are to protect the weakest and most vulnerable amongst us. What’s happened to the human soul?” she asked.

“After this is over, will the same people be able to live with their consciences knowing that they contributed to the deaths and destruction of thousands of innocent lives?”

The post had garnered nearly 800 reactions and over 300 shares and comments at the time of publication of this article.

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Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has spiralled in the five months since the war began, with the United Nations World Food Programme reporting “unprecedented levels of desperation” – some residents have resorted to eating scavenged scraps of rotten corn, animal fodder, the meat of slaughtered horses, and even leaves from trees.

The flow of aid entering Gaza from Egypt has almost dried up, and a collapse in security has made it increasingly difficult to distribute the food that does get through.

At the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting on Feb 21 and 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman reiterated Singapore’s support for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to facilitate the urgent delivery of aid to affected civilians, and called for the safe, immediate and unconditional release of all civilian hostages.

On Feb 16, the UN’s International Court of Justice said it did not see the need for additional emergency measures to protect Palestinians’ rights.

The court said the “perilous situation” in the Gaza Strip and in Rafah particularly “demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures” per its order on Jan 26, and “does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures”.

It will be hearing arguments from more than 50 states following a request by the UN General Assembly in 2022 to issue a non-binding opinion on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The hearings are part of a Palestinian push to get international legal institutions to examine Israel’s conduct.

Singapore has made several humanitarian aid contributions to Gaza, including sending a medical team to treat civilian casualties who have been taken to Egypt, and supplies such as medicine, sanitation items and food for civilians.

Humanitarian aid organisations such as the Singapore Red Cross and Humanity Matters have also sent relief supplies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to humanitarian workers who are helping civilians caught in the war. A fund raiser to provide aid for communities in Gaza raised more than $4 million in November 2023.

An attack by Hamas militants against Israel on Oct 7 killed 1,400 people and saw more than 200 others taken hostage, with Israel launching a series of retaliatory strikes and imposing a blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is about half the size of Singapore.

The Palestinian death toll has since reached almost 30,000, according to a Reuters report citing Gaza medical officials.

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2024-02-26 05:53:18Z
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Minggu, 25 Februari 2024

How Trump defeated Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina - CNA

The former president employed similar tactics to try to force Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, out of the race. Trump highlighted his overwhelming advantage in endorsements in Florida to fuel the narrative that he was the runaway favorite to win the nomination. DeSantis ended his campaign in January.

"DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT"

A much sought-after endorsement was that of Tim Scott, one of South Carolina's US senators and a onetime presidential rival to Trump who dropped out of the race in November.

Scott had been appointed to his Senate seat in 2013 by Haley when she was governor, so securing his endorsement over the woman who sent him to the US Senate was a big prize, several donors and operatives close to both Trump and Haley said.

Trump had maintained a relationship with Scott for some time. In 2020, he called Scott's mother on her birthday, a source close to Scott said. Towards the end of his presidency, Trump invited Scott and his mother to ride aboard Air Force One.

Trump called Scott shortly after the senator dropped out of the race, a person close to Trump said, while Trump allies kept talking to Scott about an endorsement.

One person close to Haley said she exchanged text messages with Scott after he dropped out, but never verbally discussed an endorsement. It is unclear why they never directly discussed the matter, but Scott and Haley's relationship deteriorated over the course of a campaign during which both camps took jabs at one another, said the person.

At a rally in New Hampshire on Jan 19, four days before the primary election there, Scott endorsed Trump, a big blow to Haley and her hopes in South Carolina.

Trump's team made sure Scott was standing prominently alongside the former president at his New Hampshire victory rally on Jan 23. Trump appeared triumphant, suggesting to Scott he "must really hate" Haley. Scott replied: "I just love you!"

Haley was not deterred.

Fueled by donor money she persisted with her insurgent campaign even as she seemed to acknowledge she faced certain defeat to Trump in her home state.

Trump and his allies hoped that a loss on home ground would finally persuade Haley to quit the race, but she said on Saturday night she was not giving up and would continue her presidential campaign.

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2024-02-25 17:32:00Z
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Nikki Haley fails to beat Trump even in her home town. Is it game over for her? - The Straits Times

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Nikki Haley fails to beat Trump even in her home town. Is it game over for her?

Analysts see no path ahead for Mrs Nikki Haley. PHOTO: AFP

BAMBERG, South Carolina - Forget her home state, Mrs Nikki Haley could not even keep her home town in her corner.

Republican Party front runner Donald Trump scored a convincing win on Feb 24 in the party’s nominating contest in South Carolina, where Mrs Haley served as governor for nearly six years until 2017.

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2024-02-25 09:30:00Z
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Sabtu, 24 Februari 2024

Trump notches easy win over Haley in march to Republican nomination - CNA

CHARLESTON: Donald Trump cruised to a decisive victory on Saturday (Feb 24) in the South Carolina Republican primary, blitzing rival Nikki Haley in her home state and continuing his march to the nomination and a White House rematch with Joe Biden.

Trump completed a sweep of the first four major nominating contests, converting a year of blockbuster polls into a likely insurmountable lead going into the "Super Tuesday" 15-state voting bonanza in 10 days.

While Haley repeatedly questioned the 77-year-old former president's mental fitness and warned another Trump presidency would bring "chaos", her efforts appeared to do little to damage his standing among Republicans.

The margin of victory was not immediately clear but it was expected to be significant, with major US networks calling the race within seconds of the polls closing.

Haley, a popular governor of South Carolina in the 2010s and the only woman to have entered the Republican contest, was looking to outperform expectations in her own backyard and ride into Super Tuesday with wind her sails.

But she was never able to compete in a battleground that preferred Trump's brand of right-wing "America first" populism and personal grievance over the four indictments and multiple civil lawsuits he faces.

Trump had already won Iowa by 30 points and New Hampshire by 10, while a dispute in Nevada led to the real estate tycoon running unopposed in the official contest.

The margin of Trump's victory was always the main question in South Carolina, with analysts arguing that Haley managing to whittle the gap to 15 points or less would have counted as a good night.

Trump aides have been clear however that they want to see off Haley long before the Republican National Convention in July - and are expecting the party to coalesce around the front-runner ahead of the first of his criminal trials on Mar 25.

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2024-02-25 00:45:29Z
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