Hamas frees first hostages, several Palestinian prisoners released as Gaza truce begins - CNA

Israel is set to free three times as many Palestinian prisoners - women and teenage boys - under a deal that followed weeks of talks involving Israel, Palestinian militant groups, Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Key mediator Qatar confirmed Hamas had on Friday released a total of 24 hostages and that Israel had freed 39 women and children from its prisons.

"Those released include 13 Israeli citizens, some of whom are dual citizens, in addition to 10 Thai citizens and a Filipino citizen," its foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said.

A White House official said, "we do not expect Americans to be among the first group released today but remain hopeful that there will be Americans among the 50 released".

Pictures released earlier by the Israeli army showed bright pink and blue headphones sitting on the seats of a helicopter ready for the released hostages to use, along with toys and teddy bears waiting at a reception centre where they were being taken.

Hamas broke through Gaza's militarised border with Israel on Oct 7 to kill, according to Israeli officials, about 1,200 people and seize around 240 Israeli and foreign hostages.

During a four-day truce, at least 50 hostages are expected to be freed.

In exchange, 150 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released.

Of the 39 released on Friday, 28 were freed in the occupied West Bank, an AFP correspondent saw, while the other 11 were on their way to annexed east Jerusalem.

Israeli forces used tear gas to disperse a crowd of Palestinians gathered near an Israeli prison in the West Bank, where two coaches were later seen leaving watched by armoured vehicles.

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2023-11-24 19:20:00Z
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Malaysia PM's Rival Muhyiddin to Step Down as Party President - Bloomberg

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1. Malaysia PM's Rival Muhyiddin to Step Down as Party President  Bloomberg
2. Malaysia opposition leader Muhyiddin to step down as Bersatu party president  CNA
3. Malaysia’s Muhyiddin Yassin to step down as opposition party president  South China Morning Post
4. Malaysia opposition party Bersatu rejects Muhyiddin's decision to step down as president  The Straits Times
5. Malaysia opposition leader to step down as party president  CNA
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-11-24 06:55:47Z
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Taiwan opposition rushes to register candidates after talks implode on live TV - CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan's opposition parties rushed to register their candidates for president on Friday (Nov 24) with hours to go before a deadline, after talks on running a joint ticket collapsed in dramatic fashion on live television amid bitter arguments.

The Jan 13 election is taking place as China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, steps up military and political pressure to force the island to accept its sovereignty claims.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and much smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP), both campaigning to forge better ties with China, had previously agreed to work together against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) but had made no progress on plans for a united presidential ticket.

Late Thursday, the KMT walked out of last-ditch talks held in front of reporters at a hotel conference room and shown live on television with the TPP, after failing to reach an agreement.

The talks were brokered by the billionaire founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn, Terry Gou who is standing as an independent candidate.

In one of the most dramatic moments, the KMT's presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih read out a private text message from TPP candidate Ko Wen-je in which Ko said Gou needed to "find a reason" to drop out of the presidential race.

Hou and Ko will on Friday morning go to the election commission to register their separate presidential runs, ahead of a 0930GMT registration deadline. It is unclear who they will announce as their running mates.

Gou, who has trailed far behind in the polls, has not said whether he will also register.

By contrast, a united DPP has been charging ahead in its election campaign, having registered its presidential and vice presidential candidates on Tuesday.

The DPP's Lai Ching-te, currently Taiwan's vice president, has consistently led in the polls.

Speaking at a campaign event late Thursday, Lai talked about his team's busy schedule, discussing policy with voters and the media, and poured scorn on the opposition's disunity.

"Should we dare to hand over the business of running the country to these people?" Lai said. "Of course this is not OK."

Taiwan's stock market mostly brushed off the impact of the ongoing political drama, though travel-related plays dropped on concerns that relations with China would not improve and Chinese tourists would not return to Taiwan.

The tourism and hospitality sub-index was down more than 2 per cent on early Friday trade. The benchmark index was up 0.1 per cent.

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2023-11-24 02:43:10Z
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Taiwan opposition rushes to register candidates after talks implode on live TV - CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan's opposition parties rushed to register their candidates for president on Friday (Nov 24) with hours to go before a deadline, after talks on running a joint ticket collapsed in dramatic fashion on live television amid bitter arguments.

The Jan 13 election is taking place as China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, steps up military and political pressure to force the island to accept its sovereignty claims.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and much smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP), both campaigning to forge better ties with China, had previously agreed to work together against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) but had made no progress on plans for a united presidential ticket.

Late Thursday, the KMT walked out of last-ditch talks held in front of reporters at a hotel conference room and shown live on television with the TPP, after failing to reach an agreement.

The talks were brokered by the billionaire founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn, Terry Gou who is standing as an independent candidate.

In one of the most dramatic moments, the KMT's presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih read out a private text message from TPP candidate Ko Wen-je in which Ko said Gou needed to "find a reason" to drop out of the presidential race.

Hou and Ko will on Friday morning go to the election commission to register their separate presidential runs, ahead of a 0930GMT registration deadline. It is unclear who they will announce as their running mates.

Gou, who has trailed far behind in the polls, has not said whether he will also register.

By contrast, a united DPP has been charging ahead in its election campaign, having registered its presidential and vice presidential candidates on Tuesday.

The DPP's Lai Ching-te, currently Taiwan's vice president, has consistently led in the polls.

Speaking at a campaign event late Thursday, Lai talked about his team's busy schedule, discussing policy with voters and the media, and poured scorn on the opposition's disunity.

"Should we dare to hand over the business of running the country to these people?" Lai said. "Of course this is not OK."

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2023-11-24 00:52:49Z
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Muslims in shock over anti-Islam party's Dutch poll win - CNA

Mehdi Koc, a 41-year-old insulation installer, said he was shocked by the swing to the PVV, while Taheri said the vote sent different messages to Muslims, although the overwhelming emotion was of disappointment.

"In part, the message is that many people are xenophobic and don't want foreigners or Muslims. But another message is that people are very disappointed in 13 years of Rutte," he said.

However, Taheri, a member of the Labour party, said he could not really separate that from all the "nasty things" Wilders had said about banning headscarves and closing mosques.

After his surprise win, Wilders said he wanted to be prime minister for all Dutch people, but that appeared to do little to assuage concerns about what he might do later.

"If you say yes to Wilders now, then you will have to say yes later when he closes down all the mosques because then you cannot go back," Koc said, warning that Wilders will not lose sight of his eventual goals.

Some in the Netherlands think that the Dutch system of coalition government means Wilders will have to compromise on his most radical views, as political analysts also predict.

"He will not make the laws alone (other parties) will join and they have to cooperate," Kemal Yildiz, 54, said.

"It will be fine," Yildiz added.

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2023-11-23 20:44:43Z
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India orders safety audit of tunnels after collapse in Himalayas - CNA

NHAI officials along with others from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will inspect ongoing tunnel projects and submit a report in seven days, it added.

These would include 12 tunnels in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, six in the Jammu and Kashmir region, and the rest in other states including Uttarakhand.

CONTROVERSIAL PROJECT

The collapsed tunnel is located on the Char Dham pilgrimage route, one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

It aims to connect four important Hindu pilgrimage sites of North India through 890km of a two-lane road being built at a cost of US$1.5 billion.

Environmentalists and residents have blamed rapid construction, including work on the Char Dham project, for land subsidence incidents in the region.

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2023-11-22 14:04:00Z
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Hamas, Israel agree to deal for release of 50 hostages in exchange for 4-day truce - The Straits Times

Qatar’s chief negotiator, Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, told Reuters the truce meant there would be “no attack whatsoever. No military movements, no expansion, nothing”.

Qatar hopes the deal “will be a seed to a bigger agreement and a permanent cease of fire, and that’s our intention”, he said.

There was no let-up in fighting, pending the start of the truce.

As morning broke on Nov 22, smoke from explosions could be seen rising above northern Gaza in live Reuters video from across the fence.

Israel’s military released footage of soldiers shooting in narrow alleyways and said it had carried out air strikes. It said its “forces continue to operate within the Strip’s territory to destroy terrorist infrastructure, eliminate terrorists and locate weaponry”.

At least 14,000 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory action. About two-thirds of the coastal enclave’s 2.3 million people are homeless.

Both Israel and Hamas said the truce would not halt their broader missions.

“We are at war, and we will continue the war until we achieve all our goals. To destroy Hamas, return all our hostages and ensure that no entity in Gaza can threaten Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said in a recorded message.

Hamas said in its statement: “As we announce the striking of a truce agreement, we affirm that our fingers remain on the trigger, and our victorious fighters will remain on the look-out to defend our people and defeat the occupation.”

Still, there was some hope of a step towards broader peace.

“We hope the truce will happen, and there will be good solutions, and we hope people will live peacefully, return to their homes and workplaces with stability,” said Mr Abu Jihad Shameya, who fled from northern Gaza and had taken refuge in the main southern city Khan Younis.

“May God not prolong this hardship,” he said.

Release to begin on Thursday

US President Joe Biden said he welcomed the deal.

“Today’s deal should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all released,” he said in a statement.

Three Americans, including a three-year-old girl whose parents were among those killed during the Oct 7 attack, are expected to be among the hostages to be released, a senior US official said.

In addition to Israeli citizens, more than half the hostages hold foreign and dual citizenship from some 40 countries. These include Thailand, Britain, France, Argentina and Chile, Israel’s government has said.

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2023-11-22 11:35:29Z
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