Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Syria&rsquo;s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa sat for an interview with former&nbsp;Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)&nbsp;Director David Petraeus in New York earlier this week.&nbsp;Petraeus, who led US forces during the Iraq War, had once overseen the capture and imprisonment of al-Sharaa between 2006 and 2011.&nbsp;Once a militant leader opposing the US presence, Al-Sharaa founded the al-Nusra Front in 2012 to fight President Bashar al-Assad&rsquo;s regime. Initially aligned with al-Qaeda, the group severed ties in 2016 and merged into Hay&rsquo;at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2017, with Al-Sharaa as leader.&nbsp;HTS was designated a terrorist group by the US in 2018, but that designation was revoked in July 2025 following Assad&rsquo;s ouster and a shift in US policy. Al-Sharaa, who led the campaign that toppled Assad in late 2024, became Syria&rsquo;s interim president in January 2025. A $10 million US bounty on him was lifted in December 2024.&nbsp;A symbolic exchangeThe interview with Petraeus took place on the sidelines of the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit, a global affairs forum held in parallel with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The forum is known for convening political leaders, business executives, and civil society organizations to promote public-private collaboration and dialogue.&nbsp;Taking the stage together, both al-Sharaa and Petraeus acknowledged the unusual nature of their conversation.&nbsp;Petraeus concluded his interview with these remarks: &ldquo;We thank you for sharing your vision today. We wish you strength and wisdom in the difficult work ahead. We obviously hope for your success, inshallah, because at the end of the day, your success is our success.&rdquo;&nbsp;Al-Sharaa at UNAl-Sharaa&#39;s appearance at the UN General Assembly marked a historic moment: he is the first Syrian head of state to attend the assembly in nearly 60 years.&nbsp;His delegation arrived in New York on Sunday, and his schedule included meetings with various international representatives, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Monday, he addressed events held on the sidelines of the General Assembly.&nbsp;The Concordia Summit itself is a prominent event, having hosted more than 300 speakers and thousands of participants from over 100 countries in previous years. Past attendees include UN Secretary-General Ant&oacute;nio Guterres, former US President Joe Biden, and billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, former US Army General David Howell Petraeus

Middle East

Petraeus, who interviews Syrian President al-Sharaa, once commanded US forces during the Iraq War and oversaw his capture and imprisonment from 2006 to 2011.

Al-Sharaa interviewed by former CIA director who arrested him

LAHORE: Spinner Noman Ali grabbed four wickets to restrict South Africa to 216-6 at the close of play on day two of the first Test in Lahore on Monday, despite a fighting half-century from Tony de Zorzi.&nbsp;Spinners dominated on a turning Gaddafi Stadium pitch as all the day&#39;s 11 wickets went to slow bowlers, with South African left-armer Senuran Muthusamy taking a career-best 6-117 to dismiss Pakistan for 378.&nbsp;Zorzi was holding the fort at the close with 81 not out and Muthusamy on six as South Africa trail by 162 runs in the first innings.&nbsp;Zorzi batted with guts, knocking nine boundaries and a six, combating Noman, who claimed 4-85.&nbsp;South Africa started off well with 45-0 on the board when Noman removed touring skipper Aiden Markram for 20 and Wiaan Mulder for 17, both caught behind by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.&nbsp;Ryan Rickelton, who scored a punishing 71 with two sixes and nine boundaries, and Zorzi added 94 for the third wicket, taking on the spinners with some aggressive shots.&nbsp;It was part-timer Salman Agha who broke the stand by forcing an edge from Rickelton with Babar Azam taking a smart low catch in the slips.&nbsp;Noman returned for his third spell to get Tristan Stubbs caught behind for eight and Kyle Kyle Verreynne leg-before for two while Sajid Khan removed Dewald Brevis for a golden duck.&nbsp;Earlier, it was Noman&#39;s like-for-like left-armer Muthusamy who destroyed Pakistan after they resumed on 313-5, losing their last five wickets for just 16 runs.&nbsp;Agha hit five fours and three sixes in his 93 and was last man out, caught in the deep off spinner Prenelan Subrayen, who took 2-78.&nbsp;Agha added 49 with Rizwan to take their sixth-wicket stand to 163 before Muthusamy ripped out the middle order with three wickets in the 12th over of the day.&nbsp;Rizwan was the first to go, for 75, when he edged a sharply turning ball to wicketkeeper Verreynne after a knock containing two fours and two sixes.&nbsp;Two balls later Noman went without scoring, bowled when he played down the wrong line and then Sajid Khan followed first ball, caught in the slips.&nbsp;It became 378-9 when Muthusamy bowled Shaheen Shah Afridi, on seven, for his sixth wicket.&nbsp;His previous Test best was 4-45 against Bangladesh in Chattogram last year.

Cricket

Spinner Noman Ali’s four wickets reduced South Africa to 216-6 in reply to Pakistan’s 378 on day two of the Lahore Test, despite Tony de Zorzi’s unbeaten 81. Earlier, Muthusamy claimed a career-best 6-117.

Noman derails South Africa to 216-6 in first Pakistan Test

KHAN YUNIS: Several buses carrying prisoners released by Israel in exchange for hostages freed on Monday by Hamas arrived in the Gazan city of Khan Yunis, an AFP journalist saw. Thousands of people gathered to welcome the prisoners, cheering and waving Palestinian and Hamas flags in celebration

Buses carrying Palestinian prisoners arrive in Gaza's Khan Yunis

THE HAGUE: The Dutch government took effective control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, in what it said was a &ldquo;highly exceptional&rdquo; move over worries that corporate governance shortcomings pose a potential risk to European economic security. In a statement late Sunday, the Dutch ministry of economic affairs said it had invoked the rarely used Goods Availability Act to intervene in the business of Nexperia, which makes semiconductors used in the automotive and consumer technology industries.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1977462365701501128&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=79f3e8bbfb6998ee9f3d17259b8297858543e04e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 487px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1977462365701501128"></iframe></div></div>Nexperia based in the Dutch city of Nijmegen but owned by China&#39;s Wingtech Technology.&nbsp;Risk to economic security&nbsp;Concerns about Nexperia&rsquo;s governance &ldquo;posed a threat to the continuity and safeguarding on Dutch and European soil of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities,&quot; the ministry said. &ldquo;Losing these capabilities could pose a risk to Dutch and European economic security,&rdquo; it said, without elaborating. The government said it wanted to prevent a situation in which Nexperia&#39;s chips would &ldquo;become unavailable in an emergency.&rdquo; The government provided few details about its decision to invoke the act on September 30, but the move underscores wider geopolitical tensions between China and the West over the development and mastery of advanced technologies such as computer chips. Nexperia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. &lsquo;Politicization of commercial matters&rsquo;Wingtech said in a social media post that it &ldquo;firmly opposes the politicization of commercial matters.&quot; Wingtech called the Dutch government&#39;s move &ldquo;an excessive intervention based on geopolitical bias rather than a fact-based risk assessment&rdquo; that&#39;s based on the &ldquo;unfounded pretext of national security.&quot; Wingtech shares slumped 10% - the daily limit - on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Wingtech told the exchange that the decision &ldquo;temporarily restricts&quot; its control over Nexperia. The Dutch government said it wanted to prevent a situation in which Nexperia&rsquo;s chips would &ldquo;become unavailable in an emergency.&rdquo;Nexperia&rsquo;s &ldquo;regular production process can continue,&rdquo; it added. &lsquo;Legal remedies&rsquo;The company said it would pursue &ldquo;legal remedies,&rdquo; vowed to protect the rights and interests of the company and its shareholders; and is &ldquo;actively contacting relevant government departments to seek support.&rdquo; The Dutch government said its move to exert control means &ldquo;company decisions may be blocked or reversed by the Minister of Economic Affairs if they are (potentially) harmful to the interests of the company, to its future as a Dutch and European enterprise, and/or to the preservation of this critical value chain for Europe.&rdquo; Nexperia was spun off from Phillips Semiconductors two decades ago and then purchased in 2018 by Wingtech. In 2023, the British government blocked Nexperia&#39;s bid to acquire Wales-based chipmaker Newport Wafer Fab, citing national security risks. Late last year, the US Commerce Department included Wingtech in an expanded list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls. &lsquo;Risk to our national security&rsquo;&nbsp;Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the move was intended to impair China&rsquo;s ability to use advanced technologies that &ldquo;pose a risk to our national security.&rdquo; China &ldquo;consistently opposes the overstretching of national security concepts and discriminatory practices targeting companies from specific countries,&rdquo; Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian said Monday when asked about the issue. &ldquo;Relevant countries should genuinely uphold market principles and avoid politicizing economic and trade issues.&rdquo; The European Union has been in &ldquo;close contact&rdquo; with Dutch authorities and will now work with the Netherlands on &ldquo;next steps&rdquo; over securing crucial technological capabilities on the continent, European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said.

Artificial Intelligence

Dutch ministry of economic affairs says it invoked Goods Availability Act to intervene in the business of Nexperia, which makes semiconductors; Nexperia based in the Dutch city of Nijmegen is owned by China's Wingtech Technology.

Dutch govt takes control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia 

Syed Ahmed Raza

ISLAMABAD: Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deepened following a surge in cross-border terrorist attacks and retaliatory strikes by Pakistani forces, as Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists to operate freely from Afghan soil.&nbsp;Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, currently on a week-long visit to India has denied the presence of the TTP in Afghanistan. His remarks came just days after TTP terrorists ambushed a Pakistani military convoy in the northwestern Orakzai&nbsp;District, killing 11 soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel and a major.&nbsp;Soon after, the TTP launched coordinated cross-border assaults on Pakistani military posts, exposing what security analysts describe as a growing nexus between the Afghan Taliban and the TTP.&nbsp;In response, Pakistani forces carried out precision strikes targeting TTP and Daesh hideouts inside Afghanistan, reportedly eliminating more than 200 terrorists.&nbsp;Pakistan&rsquo;s consistent goodwill toward KabulPakistan has long supported the Taliban-led government in Kabul. Islamabad was one of the few countries to keep its embassy open after the Taliban&rsquo;s takeover in August 2021 and has consistently advocated for unfreezing Afghanistan&rsquo;s $9 billion in foreign assets.&nbsp;Through regional forums such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Pakistan repeatedly urged the international community to extend humanitarian and economic support to Afghanistan.&nbsp;Islamabad&rsquo;s approach has long been guided by the belief that a stable and friendly government in Kabul is essential for regional peace and the security of Pakistan&rsquo;s western borders.&nbsp;In this spirit, Pakistan even extended an invitation to Afghanistan to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), envisioning trilateral cooperation with China to bring investment, energy connectivity, and infrastructure development to the war-torn country.&nbsp;Goodwill met with denial and hostilityHowever, officials and observers say this goodwill has largely been met with mistrust and denial from the Afghan side.&nbsp;&ldquo;All Pakistan expected in return was for the Afghan Taliban to take concrete action against TTP terrorists using Afghan territory to attack Pakistan,&rdquo; said retired Air Commodore Khalid Chishti. &ldquo;But instead of cooperation, we are witnessing denial, deflection, and, increasingly, alignment with India.&rdquo;&nbsp;Chishti said the Afghan Taliban&rsquo;s outright denial of TTP&#39;s presence &ldquo;amounts to making fun of themselves.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;The whole world knows the TTP is operating from Afghanistan,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Either the Taliban are part of it or they are helpless. When they claim control over all of Afghanistan yet deny cross-border attacks, it shows either a lack of capacity or will.&rdquo;&nbsp;He added that Afghan Foreign Minister Muttaqi &ldquo;spent much of his youth in Pakistan and served as the Taliban&rsquo;s information minister during their first regime from 1996 to 2001,&rdquo; describing him as &ldquo;someone for whom Pakistan was like a second home.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;This is the same individual once listed as a terrorist&mdash;whom India accused of hijacking its plane&mdash;but now welcomed in New Delhi simply because he shares an anti-Pakistan stance,&rdquo; Chishti noted.&nbsp;India&rsquo;s expanding footprint in AfghanistanThe retired air commodore said India has long used Afghanistan as a strategic pressure point against Pakistan, pouring billions into infrastructure, education, and development projects to gain political leverage.&nbsp;&ldquo;India cannot compete with Pakistan on the eastern border,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So, it funds proxies across the western border&mdash;buying loyalty, outsourcing terrorism, and using the TTP as a rented force.&rdquo;&nbsp;Chishti also cited a 2016 statement attributed to India&rsquo;s current National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, in which he reportedly said India would use the Taliban &ldquo;the way we want,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;They are mercenaries. India is a much bigger economy. We will inject more funds, and they will be on our side.&rdquo;&nbsp;He said the statement reflects India&rsquo;s long-standing intent to exploit instability in Afghanistan to its advantage.&nbsp;During the US presence in Afghanistan, Chishti noted, &ldquo;around 2,700 contractors were told to pay protection money to the Taliban&mdash;nearly $47 million per week&mdash;which shows how the group learned to monetize conflict and power.&rdquo;&nbsp;Terrorism data paints grim pictureAccording to data from the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), terrorist attacks in Pakistan surged from 89 in 2021 to 262 in 2022, 306 in 2023, and 521 in 2024. In the first 10 months of 2025 alone, 585 attacks have been recorded&mdash;the highest escalation in recent years.&nbsp;The situation worsened during Pakistan&rsquo;s brief conflict with India in May 2025, when a 40-member TTP group&mdash;including the son of a Taliban official&mdash;reportedly attempted to open a western front against Pakistan. Analysts say this highlights a dangerous convergence between anti-Pakistan groups operating from Afghan territory and external actors seeking to destabilize the region.&nbsp;The latest escalation came after the October 8 attacks in Orakzai and Dera Ismail Khan, which killed 18 security personnel. Pakistan&rsquo;s retaliatory strikes were followed by a terrorist assault on the DI Khan Police Training School by a group linked to the Taliban, killing seven policemen and injuring several others.&nbsp;According to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Pakistan witnessed a 46% rise in violence in the third quarter of 2025, with at least 901 fatalities and 599 injuries in 329 incidents of terrorism and counterterror operations.&nbsp;A looming questionChishti said the growing threat underscores the need for a &ldquo;clearer regional strategy.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;We must protect our borders and people,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But continued tolerance for terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan endangers not just Pakistan&rsquo;s security&mdash;it threatens regional peace and stability as a whole.&rdquo;&nbsp;As Pakistan re-evaluates its policy toward Kabul, one question looms large: Are the Afghan Taliban truly living up to India&rsquo;s expectations&mdash;or merely playing into a dangerous regional game that could consume them next?

Security

Pakistan’s goodwill toward the Afghan Taliban government is straining as TTP attacks surge, fueling suspicions of Indian influence.

TTP resurgence strains Pakistan-Afghanistan ties, fuels suspicions of Indian hand

ISLAMABAD: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their work explaining how innovation drives sustained economic growth. The 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.156 million) prize was split half to Mokyr, half shared between Aghion and Howitt. Joel Mokyr Joel Mokyr was born in 1946 in Leiden, the Netherlands. He is a professor at Northwestern University, US. Awarded half of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, he identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress. Mokyr&rsquo;s research shows that for continuous innovation, societies need both knowledge that innovations work and scientific explanations of why. He also emphasized the importance of openness to new ideas and allowing change for growth to flourish. Philippe Aghion Philippe Aghion was born in 1956 in Paris, France. He shares half of the prize with Peter Howitt. He is a professor at Coll&egrave;ge de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics. Aghion co-developed a mathematical model explaining sustained growth through creative destruction, where new and better products replace older ones, driving economic progress but also disrupting existing companies. Peter Howitt Peter Howitt, born in 1946 in Canada, is a professor at Brown University, USA. He jointly received half the prize with Aghion for their theory of creative destruction. Howitt&rsquo;s work focuses on how firms innovate by developing better products and processes in a competitive rivalry that fuels economic growth, balanced by the social and economic effects of displaced businesses. Laureates&rsquo; research Over the past two centuries, economic growth fueled by technological progress has radically transformed societies. The laureates&rsquo; research uncovers why this sustained growth emerged and how the process of creative destruction underpins ongoing innovation and prosperity. Laureates recognized for explaining innovation-driven growth The Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences 2025 is divided with one half awarded to Joel Mokyr of Northwestern University, US, &ldquo;for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress.&rdquo; The other half is shared by Philippe Aghion of Coll&egrave;ge de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics, UK, and Peter Howitt of Brown University, US, &ldquo;for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.&rdquo; From centuries of stagnation to continuous growth For most of human history, economic growth was stagnant and irregular, despite occasional breakthroughs. Mokyr&rsquo;s historical research explains that sustained growth requires not only knowing that a technology works but understanding why it works scientifically. This connection between propositional knowledge (scientific explanation) and prescriptive knowledge (practical instruction) created a self-reinforcing cycle essential for continuous innovation. Mokyr also highlights society&rsquo;s openness to new ideas as vital, as during the Enlightenment in Europe, when institutions limited the blocking of innovation by privileged groups. The economic model of creative destruction Aghion and Howitt developed a 1992 mathematical model describing creative destruction, where companies with innovations outcompete older ones, leading to sustained progress. Their macroeconomic model captures the balance between research investment, market competition, and the monopoly profits that incentivise innovation. This process is &ldquo;creative&rdquo; because it fosters new technologies but also &ldquo;destructive&rdquo; as older technologies become obsolete. Economic growth beyond GDP The laureates stated that growth means more than a rise in GDP; it encompasses advances in education, healthcare, job opportunities, and overall quality of life. Since the Industrial Revolution, countries like Sweden and the UK have experienced steady annual growth rates of about 1.5% to 2%. Practical and social foundations for growth Mokyr&rsquo;s work stresses practical and commercial knowledge&rsquo;s importance in turning ideas into innovations. Britain&rsquo;s early growth benefited from skilled artisans and engineers who translated concepts into products. Sustained growth creates winners and losers, often provoking resistance from displaced groups. Managing these conflicts through social institutions is essential for ongoing innovation. Balancing innovation and its social costs Aghion and Howitt show that innovation benefits society but can impose losses on existing firms and their workers. This dual effect requires policies that balance encouraging research and development while addressing social impacts, such as supporting displaced workers through flexible labor arrangements. Insights for future economic policy Their research sheds light on recent challenges, like slowing growth and market dominance reducing competition. Encouraging social mobility and supporting innovators remain crucial.&nbsp;The laureates also warn sustained growth is not synonymous with sustainability, as well-designed policies are needed to address climate change, pollution, and inequality. John Hassler, chair of the Nobel committee, said: &ldquo;Economic growth cannot be taken for granted. We must uphold the mechanisms that underly creative destruction, so that we do not fall back into stagnation.&rdquo;

Professor John Hassler, from left, Hans Ellegren, Permanent Secretary of the Academy of Sciences and Professor Kerstin Enflo, announce Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt as the recipients of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics (AP)

Innovation’s role in economic growth wins Nobel Prize for Economics

BEITUNIA: Under a ceasefire deal many hope will finally turn the page on a two-year war, Israel has been preparing to exchange nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners for the 48 hostages &mdash; some alive, some dead &mdash; still held in the Gaza Strip. The releases have a powerful resonance on both sides. For Israelis, they&#39;re deeply painful, since some of those being released have been convicted over attacks that killed civilians and soldiers. For Palestinians, the issue of prisoners is among the most politically charged, with nearly every Palestinian having a friend or family member who has been jailed by Israel, particularly young men. While Israel views them as terrorists, many Palestinians consider the prisoners as freedom fighters resisting a decades-long Israeli military occupation. In previous exchanges, both sides have sought to tightly manage the releases &mdash; including the images, clothing and ceremonies &mdash; because of their political sensitivity. The 2,000 include some 1,700 of the several thousand Palestinians that Israeli troops seized from Gaza during the 2-year war and have held without charge. Those slated for release also include 250 Palestinians sentenced to prison terms, most of them convicted of murder and terrorism in deadly attacks on Israelis dating back decades, as well as others convicted on lesser charges, according to Israel&#39;s Justice Ministry. The longest serving among them has been imprisoned for nearly 40 years. How the Palestinians&#39; release is to play outIsrael&#39;s Prison Service said it has been preparing the prisoners held at two prisons &mdash; Ofer, near Jerusalem, and Ketziot, in the southern Negev desert. Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said Sunday the release would take place after the living hostages are freed. Those seized from Gaza during the war will be returned there. Some of the 250 convicted Palestinians will return home to East Jerusalem or the West Bank or Gaza, while a majority will be sent to Gaza or into exile abroad. Palestinians on Monday morning gathered at viewpoints on the hills overlooking Ofer Prison, from which some of the detainees and prisoners are expected to be freed. Eagerly awaiting their friends and relatives, they drank coffee and said they hoped the agreement could pave a path toward peace. An armored Israeli vehicle drove up the hill from the prison fired tear gas and rubber bullets at one side of the hill. As drones buzzed overhead, the crowd scattered. The tear gas followed the circulation of a flier warning that anyone supporting what it called &ldquo;terrorist organizations&rdquo; risked arrest. &ldquo;You have been warned,&rdquo; read the flier, which AP obtained on site. Israel has warned people in the West Bank against celebrating, as has frequently happened in past releases, a Palestinian Authority official and the family of a prisoner told AP. In neighborhoods where prisoners&rsquo; families live, Israeli forces distributed fliers warning that &ldquo;anyone who participates in such activities exposes himself to punishment and arrest,&rdquo; the official said. The Associated Press reviewed a copy of the flier. Israel&rsquo;s military did not respond to questions about the flier or restrictions. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press, and the family because they feared reprisals. Israel&rsquo;s military did not respond to questions about restrictions or warnings. Who is on the listThe rapid developments since last week&rsquo;s ceasefire agreement have left questions up to the last minute over who will be freed. Israel released a list of some 250 convicted prisoners it would free, but Hamas sought changes. Early Monday, Hamas published the names of just over 1,900 prisoners and detainees it said were slated for release, though Israel did not confirm the list. Israel has provided little information about the 1,700 from Gaza to be freed. Israeli forces detained thousands of Palestinians over the course of the war during raids on shelters and hospitals, and at checkpoints stopping families as they were fleeing their homes amid military operations. Hundreds have been released over the course of the war. Monday&#39;s release would still leave about 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza in Israeli custody, according to a count of detainees in September by the Israeli human rights group Hamoked. According to Hamas&#39;s list, the Gaza detainees to be freed include two women, six teenagers under 18, and around 30 men over 60. Most of the detainees have been held under new laws passed in Israel at the start of the war that allowed Palestinians to be detained for months as &ldquo;unlawful combatants&rdquo; without judicial review or access to lawyers. Rights groups, the UN, and detainees have reported routine abuse in the detention facilities, including beatings and insufficient food. Israel says it adheres to its prison standards under law and investigates any reports of violations. The list of 250 convicted prisoners to be freed, ranging in age from 19 to 64, includes 159 affiliated with Fatah, the political party that runs the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, and 63 associated with Hamas. The remainder are unaffiliated or belong to other groups. Many were arrested in the early 2000s, which saw the eruption of the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising fueled by anger over continued occupation despite years of peace talks. The uprising turned bloody, with Palestinian armed groups carrying out attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis, and the Israeli military killing several thousand Palestinians. Some were convicted in military trials that rights advocates say often lack due process. Others have been incarcerated for months or years without trial in what is known as administrative detention. Israel says the practice, widely criticized by Palestinians and human rights groups, is needed to prevent attacks and avoid sharing sensitive intelligence. The list does not include the roughly half dozen highest-profile prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, Hassan Salameh, Ahmed Saadat, and Abbas Al-Sayyed. Barghouti is widely seen as a potential successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel&#39;s list includes:Raed SheikhA 51-year-old Palestinian police officer and Fatah member, Sheikh was sentenced to multiple life terms in 2000 for his role in the killing of two Israeli soldiers who were attacked by a mob at a West Bank police station, including one thrown from the station&#39;s window. Mahmoud IssaA 57-year-old Hamas commander imprisoned for life in 1993 &mdash; before the Oslo interim peace accords &mdash; Issa was among those convicted of kidnapping and killing a 29-year-old Israeli border police officer that year. Much of his more than three decades behind bars were spent in solitary confinement, conditions that have made him a symbol among prisoners&rsquo; rights advocates. Shamasneh brothersThe two brothers &mdash; 56-year-old Mohammed and 62-year-old Abdel Jawad Shamasneh &mdash; were in 1993 sentenced to multiple life terms for their role in a stabbing attack that killed Israeli hitchhikers whose bodies were later found in a Jerusalem riverbed in 1990 during the first Palestinian intifada. Iyad FataftaA 47-year-old Fatah member serving a life sentence, Fatafta was one of two men convicted of murder for stabbing American tourist Kristine Luken and a friend who was hiking with her and survived.

Israel will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 48 Israeli hostages under a ceasefire deal, marking a tense, politically charged moment for both sides.

Who are the Palestinian hostages being freed in exchange for Israeli captives?

DAMASCUS: Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi has announced to AFP that he had reached a &quot;preliminary agreement&quot; with Damascus on the integration of his troops into Syria&#39;s military and security forces. Abdi, who heads the powerful Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), had met Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus last week, along with US envoy Tom Barrack and US commander Brad Cooper. While the Kurdish forces -- who control large swathes of Syria&#39;s oil-rich northeast -- had signed an agreement with the new Syrian authorities in March to merge their civil and military institutions, the deal&#39;s terms were not implemented. &quot;What is new in our recent talks in Damascus is the shared determination and strong will to accelerate the implementation of the terms&quot; of the agreement, Abdi told AFP in an interview at a military base in the northeastern city of Hasakeh on Sunday. &quot;The most important point is having reached a preliminary agreement regarding the mechanism for integrating the SDF and the (Kurdish) Internal Security Forces within the framework of defence and interior ministries,&quot; he added. The Washington-backed SDF and Kurdish security forces consist of around 100,000 male and female members, according to them. The SDF played a vital role in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, which ultimately led to the jihadist organisation&#39;s territorial defeat in the country in 2019. Abdi said that military and security delegations from his forces are currently in Damascus to discuss the mechanism for their integration. Disagreements After the fall of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December, Sharaa announced the dissolution of all armed groups, to be absorbed by state institutions.&nbsp;Abdi explained that &quot;the SDF will be restructured through its integration into the defence ministry&quot;, as part of several formations. However, some disagreements remain. &quot;We demand a decentralised system in Syria... we have not agreed on it,&quot; he added, as they are &quot;still discussing finding a common formula acceptable to all&quot;. He stressed that they &quot;agree on the territorial integrity of Syria, the unity of national symbols, the independence of political decision-making in the country, and the fight against terrorism&quot;. &quot;We all agree that Syria should not return to the era of war, and that there should be stability and security. I believe these factors are sufficient for us to reach a permanent agreement.&quot; During the last meeting with Sharaa, Abdi said he had called for &quot;modifying or adding some clauses to the existing constitutional declaration&quot; announced in March, particularly those related to &quot;guaranteeing the rights of the Kurdish people in the constitution&quot;. &quot;There was a positive response to this matter, and we hope this will happen soon,&quot; he added. Abdi also expressed his gratitude to the United States and France for facilitating negotiations with Damascus. Asked about Damascus&#39;s main backer Turkey, which has always been hostile to the SDF, Abdi said &quot;any success of the negotiations will certainly depend on Turkey&#39;s role&quot;, expressing hope that it will play a &quot;supportive and contributing role in the ongoing negotiation process&quot;. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the SDF on Wednesday to &quot;keep their word&quot; and &quot;complete their integration with Syria&quot;. When questioned on the region&#39;s fossil fuel reserves, Abdi noted they &quot;have not yet discussed the oil issue, but it will certainly be addressed in upcoming meetings&quot;.&nbsp; &quot;Oil and other underground resources in northeastern Syria to belong to all Syrians, and their revenues and revenues must be distributed fairly across all Syrian provinces&quot;.

Syrian men attend their noon prayer, left, as others play racket ball at a public beach on the Mediterranean sea, in the coastal city of Latakia, Syria. (AP)

While the Kurdish forces -- who control large swathes of Syria's oil-rich northeast -- had signed an agreement with the new Syrian authorities in March to merge their civil and military institutions, the deal's terms were not implemented.

Syrian Kurdish leader says reached first deal on merging forces with regular army

BRUSSELS: The European Union will Wednesday restart a civilian mission to monitor the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in support of a US-brokered ceasefire deal, the bloc&#39;s top diplomat said Monday. &quot;The EU stands ready to do its part,&quot; EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, posted on X after Hamas released a first group of Israeli hostages as part of the agreement.&nbsp; &quot;This mission can play an important role in supporting the ceasefire,&quot; she said. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 611px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1977624674449391943&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=79f3e8bbfb6998ee9f3d17259b8297858543e04e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>The 27-nation bloc set up a civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the Rafah crossing, but it was suspended two years later after Hamas took control of Gaza. Neutral, third-party presence&nbsp;The EUBAM monitoring mission aims to provide a neutral, third-party presence at the key crossing and involves police from Italy, Spain and France. It was briefly redeployed in January but suspended again in March. Welcoming Monday&#39;s hostage release, Kallas highlighted US President Donald Trump&#39;s role in this &quot;crucial milestone towards peace&quot;, saying the leader &quot;made this breakthrough possible&quot;. In a separate statement, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Monday&#39;s Gaza summit in Sharm el-Sheikh finalizing the agreement to end the war would be &quot;a historical milestone.&quot; Bloc fully supports peace plan&nbsp;The bloc &quot;fully supports the peace plan brokered by the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye,&quot; she wrote. &quot;We stand ready to contribute to its success with all tools at our disposal,&quot; she said, including by &quot;providing support on governance and for the reform of the Palestinian Authority&quot;. The EU is represented in Sharm el-Sheikh by Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council of the bloc&#39;s member states.

The EU will restart its Rafah border monitoring mission to support a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire. Officials praised recent hostage releases and pledged full support for the peace plan and Palestinian Authority reform.

EU to restart Gaza-Egypt border monitoring mission

JOHANNESBURG: A bus veered off a road and plunged down an embankment on a steep mountain pass in northern South Africa, killing at least 42 people and leaving another 49 passengers injured, authorities said Monday. The crash happened around 6 pm Sunday on the N1 highway near the town of Louis Trichardt, around 400 kilometers (248 miles) north of the capital, Pretoria. Seven children&nbsp;The Transport Ministry said in a statement that the victims included seven children, 17 men and 18 women. It said six people were critically injured and another 31 had serious injuries and had been taken to several hospitals.&nbsp;One critically injured child was airlifted to a hospital, the ministry said. Images released by authorities showed the blue bus lying upside down in the embankment with rescuers working underneath it to search for victims. The Limpopo provincial government said rescue operations continued late into Sunday night. The bus was traveling to Zimbabwe and was carrying Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals who were on their way to their home countries, the Transport Ministry said. It said the cause of the crash was not yet known. &lsquo;Deep condolences&rsquo;&nbsp;In a statement, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa offered &ldquo;his deep condolences to the nations of Zimbabwe and Malawi who have lost compatriots.&rdquo; &ldquo;This sadness is compounded by the fact that this incident has taken place during our annual transport month, where we place a special focus on the importance of safety on our roads,&quot; Ramaphosa said. Last year, 45 people were killed in a bus crash in the same Limpopo province when their vehicle veered off a bridge and into a ravine. An 8-year-old girl was the only survivor of that crash.&nbsp; That bus was carrying mainly Botswana nationals who were traveling to an Easter church gathering in South Africa.

Africa

A bus crash in northern South Africa killed at least 42 people and injured 49. The bus, carrying Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals, veered off a mountain pass. Authorities are still investigating the cause.

Bus crash in South Africa kills at least 42 people

BANGKOK: Asian shares tumbled on Monday as escalating trade tensions with China shattered a months&#39; long calm on Wall Street. US stocks skidded on Friday after President Donald Trump threatened to crank tariffs higher on China, signaling more trouble ahead between the two biggest economies. He was responding to restrictions Beijing is imposing on exports of rare earths, which are materials that are critical for the manufacturing of everything from consumer electronics to jet engines. But US futures advanced, with the contract for the S&amp;P 500 gaining 1.4% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1%. Strongest growth in six monthsChina reported its global exports rose 8.3% in September from a year earlier, the strongest growth in six months and further evidence that its manufacturers are shifting sales from the US to other markets. Exports to the US tumbled 27% year-on-year last month, customs data showed.&nbsp;In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng sank 2.2% to 25,700.07.&nbsp;Most other major regional markets logged losses of more than 1%.&nbsp; The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2% lower to 3,889.50 and the Kospi in South Korea gave up 0.7% to 3,584.55. Australia&rsquo;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 declined 0.8% to 8,882.80. Taiwan&#39;s Taiex shed 1.4% and India&#39;s Sensex was down 0.4%.&nbsp;Markets in Tokyo were closed for a holiday. Re-escalation of trade warOn Friday, the S&amp;P 500 sank 2.7% in its worst day since April, closing at 6,552.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9% to 45,479.60, and the Nasdaq composite lost 3.6% to 22,204.43. The setback reflected signs of a re-escalation of the trade war.&nbsp;&ldquo;We have been contacted by other Countries who are extremely angry at this great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere,&rdquo; Trump wrote on Truth Social, alluding to Beijing.&nbsp; He also said &ldquo;now there seems to be no reason&rdquo; to meet with China&rsquo;s leader, Xi Jinping, after earlier agreeing to do so as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea. Roughly six out of every seven stocks within the S&amp;P 500 fell. Nearly everything weakened, from Big Tech companies like Nvidia and Apple to stocks of smaller companies looking to get past uncertainty about tariffs and trade. The market may have been primed for a slide. US stocks were already facing criticism that their prices had shot too high following the S&amp;P 500&rsquo;s nearly relentless 35% run from a low in April.&nbsp; The index, which dictates the movements for many 401(k) accounts, is still near its all-time high set earlier in the week. Artificial-intelligence industryCritics say the market looks too expensive after prices rose much faster than corporate profits. Worries are particularly high about companies in the artificial-intelligence industry, where pessimists see echoes of the 2000 dot-com bubble that imploded.&nbsp; For stocks to look less expensive, either their prices need to fall, or companies&rsquo; profits need to rise. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.05% from 4.14% late Thursday. In the doldrums&nbsp;It had already been lower before Trump made his threats, as a report from the University of Michigan suggested that sentiment among US consumers remains in the doldrums. Some of Friday&rsquo;s strongest action was in the oil market, where the price of a barrel of benchmark US crude sank 4.2% to $58.90. It fell as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza. An end to the war could remove worries about disruptions to oil supplies, which had kept crude&rsquo;s price higher than it otherwise would have been. Losses accelerated following Trump&rsquo;s tariff threat, which could gum up global trade and lead the economy to burn less fuel. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 3.8% to $62.73 per barrel. However, early Monday it was trading 85 cents higher at $63.58 per barrel. US benchmark crude oil gained 72 cents to $59.62 per barrel. In other dealings early Monday, the dollar rose 152.22 Japanese yen from 151.89 yen late Friday. The euro fell to $1.1605 from $1.1614.

Business

The markets fell sharply after Wall Street’s worst day since April, triggered by renewed US-China trade tensions. Trump's tariff threats and China's export restrictions rattled investors, despite China's export growth outside the US.

Al-Sharaa interviewed by former CIA director who arrested him

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