World

Beirut, Jan 26 (IANS) The death toll from Israeli gunfire targeting crowds of Lebanese trying to return to their homes in southern Lebanon has risen to 11, with 83 others injured, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Sunday.

Ten of the eleven victims were civilians trying to return to their still-occupied hometowns along Lebanon's southern border with Israel, while the eleventh was a soldier killed in al-Dhahira, also in southern Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Conditions are not yet in place for the safe return of citizens to their villages along the Blue Line," Chief of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, and United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said on Sunday in a joint statement following the incident.

"Displaced communities, already facing a long road to recovery and reconstruction, are therefore once again being called on to exercise caution."

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged residents of southern Lebanon on Sunday to exercise restraint and trust the Lebanese Armed Forces to safeguard security and sovereignty.

"This is a day of triumph for justice, sovereignty, and national unity," he said in a statement released by Lebanon's Presidency, calling on citizens to remain composed and rely on the military to ensure their safe return to their homes and towns.

Sunday marks the end of a 60-day deadline for Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territories. Under a ceasefire agreement reached in late November after months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, the Lebanese army would take control of the areas south of the Litani River, ensuring its security and preventing any presence of weapons and militants.

Despite the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army has continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon, some of which have caused deaths and injuries in the border areas.

--IANS

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Washington, Jan 25 (IANS) Pete Hegseth on Saturday took the oath of office as secretary of defense saying his mission will be to rebuild the US military and establish deterrence.

Pete Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate on Friday in a 50-50 vote with Vice-President J.D. Vance breaking the tie with his vote.

Three Republican senators voted against Hegseth's confirmation, with all 47 Democrats.

Republicans control the 100-member Senate with a 53-47 majority.

Vance's tie-breaker vote put Hegseth over the finishing line, making him the third member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet to be confirmed, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA director John Radcliffe.

Rubio and Hegseth complete the US delegation for future 2+2 ministerial meetings with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

“We will bring peace through strength,” Hegseth said after being administered the oath of office by Vice President Vance.

"And the three principles I talked about are what we will bring to the Pentagon, restore the warrior ethos in everything that we do, rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence. We don't want to fight wars. We want to deter them, as you said, and we want to end them responsibly. But if we need to fight them, we're going to bring overwhelming and decisive force to close with and destroy the enemy," he added.

During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth had said the US will "work with allies to deter aggression in the Indo Pacific from the Communist Chinese. And finally, we will responsibly end wars to ensure that we prioritise our resources to reorient to larger threats".

During questioning by Senators, Hegseth said the threat from China will be "front and center" for him.

He was introduced at the hearing by Mike Waltz, who is Trump's National Security Adviser, a known anti-China hawk and a co-chair of the India Caucus of the House of Representatives.

Hegseth is a graduate of Princeton University, and has a Graduate Degree from Harvard University.

He served as an army combat veteran who served in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He was decorated with two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

--IANS

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Seoul, Jan 25 (IANS) The ill-fated Jeju Air plane in last month's deadly crash received a warning from air traffic control about bird activity just one minute before its black box recording stopped, the transport ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry briefed the preliminary findings to the bereaved families following its probe into the fatal crash of the low-cost carrier plane from Bangkok that killed 179 people on board and left two survivors, in South Korea's southwestern city of Muan on Dec. 29 of last year.

The government plans to release the preliminary report by Monday, which will be sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United States, France and Thailand, the ministry said, reports Yonhap news agency.

The investigation committee under the ministry said surveillance footage from the time of the accident at Muan International Airport confirmed that the plane attempted a go-around when it hit a flock of birds.

The plane first communicated with the air traffic control tower at 8:54:43 a.m. as it was approaching for landing. The control tower cleared it for landing on Runway 01, in the opposite direction of the runway where the accident happened.

At 8:57:50 a.m., the control tower issued a warning to the aircraft about a potential bird strike. At 8:58:11 a.m., the captain and first officer talked about a flock of birds flying below the aircraft.

The recording appears to have stopped at 8:58:50 a.m., suggesting that the plane probably lost power after both engines were shut down due to the bird strikes.

Feathers and blood, apparently of a type of winter migratory ducks, were found on both engines, the ministry said.

The pilot is believed to have declared the emergency "mayday" distress call at 8:58:56 a.m., but this is an estimate made through synchronisation with the control tower records, as no recording of it remains in the black box, the ministry said.

The plane flew for about four minutes before landing from the opposition direction without the landing gear deployed. It rammed into a concrete localiser mound and exploded in flames at 9:02:57 a.m.

The ministry said it will take several months to analyse flight data and cockpit voice recordings for verification.

Meanwhile, the group representing the victims' families said it decided to end the search for victims' remains at the accident site.

Authorities have sent the remains found from the site to the national forensics institute for identification.

—IANS

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Seoul, Jan 25 (IANS) Traffic on major highways continued to build up across South Korea on Saturday, marking the start of the Lunar New Year as people headed for their hometowns for one of the country's major traditional holidays.

This year's Lunar New Year holiday, known as Seol, has been extended to six days, lasting until Thursday, after the government designated Monday as a temporary national holiday.

As of 5 pm, a drive from Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan, 320 kilometres away, was expected to take approximately five hours and 10 minutes, according to the state-run Korea Expressway Corp, Yonhap news agency reported.

A trip eastward to Gangneung, some 160 kilometres from Seoul, was expected to take three hours.

Traffic congestion on outbound routes from Seoul peaked between 11 am and 12 pm, and it was expected to ease around 7 pm to 8 pm, according to the agency.

In contrast, travel times heading toward Seoul were relatively shorter, with the drive from Busan expected to take four hours and 30 minutes, and the trip from Gangneung estimated at two hours and 40 minutes.

The agency estimated that 5.05 million vehicles would travel nationwide on Saturday, including 460,000 cars leaving the greater Seoul area and 360,000 cars heading toward it.

The agency noted that traffic on major highways was relatively smooth in both directions, adding that the traditional exodus was somewhat eased this year due to the extended holiday period.

The South Korean stock and foreign exchange markets will also be closed January 27 for a temporary holiday, their operators said Friday.

The foreign exchange market and financial markets, including the main Korea Composite Stock Price Index and the secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ, as well as the ETF, derivatives and commodity markets, will be closed from the day through January 30 for an extended six-day holiday, according to market operators.

Seol, or Lunar New Year's Day, is one of the country's most celebrated traditional holidays. Many South Koreans travel to their hometowns during this time to perform ancestral rituals and spend time with their families.

--IANS

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Ramallah/Cairo, Jan 25 (IANS) The Israeli authorities on Saturday released 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of the second phase of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

Abdullah Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, said the prisoners were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Some prisoners were released into the West Bank from Ofer Prison while others bound for Gaza or deportation abroad were released from Negev Prison in southern Israel.

Palestinian officials in the Ramallah Governorate also coordinated the release.

According to eyewitnesses, the prisoners were transferred from the ICRC to a medical centre in Ramallah, where the Palestinian security forces were stationed in preparation for the release.

Among those released, 16 headed to Gaza. Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses told Xinhua news agency that the prisoners entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing southeast of the strip.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Authority, the 200 prisoners included 121 who had been serving life sentences and 79 others with long sentences.

Meanwhile, 70 prisoners will be deported abroad. Turkey, Tunisia, and Algeria have agreed to take in some prisoners, while others will stay in Egypt.

An informed Egyptian source said that Egyptian authorities are gearing up to receive the prisoners at the Rafah crossing.

The Palestinian prisoners were released following the earlier release of four Israeli female soldiers previously held in Gaza, who had arrived at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, in two helicopters.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Saturday that Israel will not allow Palestinian residents to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip for the time being.

The statement noted that the ban will apply until the release of Israeli civilian Arbel Yehud, who was scheduled to be freed on Saturday but was not among the four Israelis released by Hamas, is arranged.

Many residents of the northern Gaza Strip were forced to leave their homes during the fighting and moved to temporary places in the south.

They are supposed to return to their homes according to the ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

The statement mentioned that Yehud's release in the second swap of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners was part of the deal that went into effect last week.

--IANS

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Seoul, Jan 25 (IANS) The ill-fated Jeju Air plane in last month's deadly crash received a warning from air traffic control about bird activity just one minute before its black box recording stopped, the South Korean transport ministry said Saturday.

The ministry briefed the preliminary findings to the bereaved families following its probe into the fatal crash of the low-cost carrier plane from Bangkok that killed 179 people on board and left two survivors, in South Korea's southwestern city of Muan on December 29 of last year.

The government plans to release the preliminary report by Monday, which will be sent to the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the United States, France and Thailand, the ministry said.

The investigation committee under the ministry said surveillance footage from the time of the accident at Muan International Airport confirmed that the plane attempted a go-around when it hit a flock of birds.

The plane first communicated with the air traffic control tower at 8:54:43 am as it was approaching for landing. The control tower cleared it for landing on Runway 01, in the opposite direction of the runway where the accident happened.

At 8:57:50 am, the control tower issued a warning to the aircraft about a potential bird strike. At 8:58:11 am, the captain and first officer talked about a flock of birds flying below the aircraft.

The recording appears to have stopped at 8:58:50 am, suggesting that the plane probably lost power after both engines were shut down due to the bird strikes.

Feathers and blood, apparently of a type of winter migratory ducks, were found on both engines, the ministry said.

The pilot is believed to have declared the emergency "mayday" distress call at 8:58:56 am, but this is an estimate made through synchronization with the control tower records, as no recording of it remains in the black box, the ministry said.

The plane flew for about four minutes before landing from the opposition direction without the landing gear deployed. It rammed into a concrete localizer mound and exploded in flames at 9:02:57 am.

The ministry said it will take several months to analyse flight data and cockpit voice recordings for verification, Yonhap news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the group representing the victims' families said it decided to end the search for victims' remains at the accident site.

Authorities have sent the remains found from the site to the national forensics institute for identification.

--IANS

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Aden, Jan 24 (IANS) The United Nations announced on Friday that it has suspended all official operations in areas of Yemen under Houthi control following the detention of additional UN personnel.

In a statement, the UN said the suspension would remain in effect until further notice. It added that senior UN officials were in contact with Houthi leaders, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all detained UN staff and partners.

Houthi authorities, who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have not commented on the UN's decision or its demands.

A Yemeni government source, speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said the Houthis detained at least seven Yemeni employees working for international organizations on Thursday night. The detainees reportedly worked with agencies such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme.

In June 2024, the Houthi group conducted a mass detention campaign, targeting employees from UN, international, and local humanitarian organisations in Sanaa.

At the time, Houthi authorities claimed to have detained "key members of an American-Israeli spy network" allegedly linked to the US Central Intelligence Agency, Xinhua news agency reported.

The UN has consistently called for the release of those detained, including during a December 2024 visit to Sanaa by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, who sought to negotiate the freedom of UN staff held by the Houthis.

The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since late 2014, waging war against Yemeni government forces. The conflict has led to what the UN describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

--IANS

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Damascus, Jan 24 (IANS) Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud made his first visit on Friday to Damascus since the ousting of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

During a joint press conference with Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Faisal emphasised the urgent need for the swift removal of international sanctions on Syria. He argued that such a move is essential for the country's economic recovery and long-term stability.

Al-Shibani expressed deep appreciation for Saudi Arabia's "long history of supporting the Syrian people" and called on Arab nations to provide further assistance to Syria to help rejuvenate its economy.

"We aspire to be part of a shared Arab project that fosters economic diversity," he stated, highlighting the importance of lifting sanctions to address the nation's economic challenges.

Both ministers stressed the significance of Syria's reintegration into the Arab League, viewing it as a pivotal opportunity for expanding investment and fostering regional cooperation, Xinhua news agency reported.

Faisal reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's commitment to supporting Syria, asserting, "We must work together to lift sanctions in a way that encourages investment to flow back into Syria."

Faisal also met with Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria's de facto leader, during his trip. His last visit to Damascus, in April 2023, marked a historic meeting with Assad, signaling the end of over a decade of strained diplomatic relations.

Syria's change of government last month has spurred a flurry of diplomatic activity. Turkish and Qatari delegations have visited Damascus, while al-Shibani embarked on trips to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. These efforts aim to rebuild ties with regional powers and advocate for the lifting of Western sanctions.

--IANS

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Addis Ababa, Jan 24 (IANS) Ethiopia has disclosed that it earned 1.36 billion US dollars in revenue from gold exports over the past six months.

Speaking of an "impressive export performance" during the first half of the current Ethiopian 2024/2025 fiscal year, which started on July 8, Ethiopia's Minister of Trade and Regional Integration Kassahun Gofe said in a statement that the country has registered strong performance in major export commodities, including gold.

According to the minister, the country has generated some 3.28 billion dollars in export revenue during the past six months, in which gold exports secured the largest share of the total export revenue, generating 1.36 billion dollars during the reported period.

Data from the ministry also suggested that Ethiopia's overall export revenue for the reported period achieved about 145 per cent of the initial target.

Highlighting Ethiopia's abundant potential in key export commodities, the minister emphasised the importance of enhancing the country's capacity to increase productivity and boost export earnings.

With its agriculture-led economy, coffee is also a major export commodity for the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to recent data from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority, the country earned 908 million dollars in revenue from coffee exports over the past six months, with more than 200,000 tonnes of coffee exported to the international market.

Amid positive prospects in the agricultural, manufacturing, mining and other major economic sectors, the Ethiopian government in October 2024 announced an 8.4 percent economic growth target for the current fiscal year.

--IANS

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Nairobi, Jan 24 (IANS) The delivery of 12 million malaria vaccine doses in 17 African countries since 2023 has contributed to a significant drop in caseload and fatalities among high-risk demographics including children, according to the Gavi vaccine alliance.

About five million children in the 17 malaria-endemic African countries, which represents more than 70 per cent of the global malaria burden, have been protected from the disease after being inoculated, Gavi said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

Gavi Chief Executive Officer Sania Nishtar described the consistent rollout of the malaria vaccine as a game-changer in combating the mosquito-transmitted disease.

"This early data is a small indicator of the potential public health impact of a programme we hope to scale up dramatically by the end of this decade, protecting tens of millions of children around the world, and reducing the stress malaria imposes on African health systems," Nishtar said.

The successful implementation of pilot malaria vaccination programmes in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi from 2019 to 2023, which reached two million children and led to a 13 per cent drop in overall child mortality, has informed rollout in other high-burden countries on the continent, according to Gavi.

In addition to vaccines, other vital interventions like mass distribution of insecticide treated nets have been pivotal in reducing malaria transmission and deaths in Africa, Gavi said.

The introduction of malaria vaccine in African countries grappling with strife, including Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was hailed by the agency for revitalizing malaria fight, Gavi noted.

In 2025, Gavi plans to introduce malaria vaccines in six to eight new countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali and Burundi, protecting an additional 13 million children by the end of the year, Xinhua news agency reported.

Between 2026 and 2030, Gavi aims to help high-burden countries protect an additional 50 million children with four doses of the malaria vaccine upon availability of funding, it said.

--IANS

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