Israel deported to Jordan yesterday seven of those who were on board the Rachel Corrie aid ship that tried to run the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
A Cuban and six Malaysians — Member of Parliament Mohd Nizar Zakaria, two TV3 television journalists and three staff of the Perdana Global Peace organization — crossed the Allenby Bridge into the kingdom and were received by Jordanian officials.
“We are very disappointed because the whole idea was to get to Gaza. We should emphasize that we came with a message of hope and peace,” Mattias Chang of Perdana said. “They did not use force with us. There was no necessity to use force against us.”
Chang said the organization, chaired by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, will try to go to Gaza again.
“We will not stop. We will try to have another mission to bring aid to Gaza and break the siege. Israelis, Palestinians, all must come together and stop the violence,” he said.
Eleven others detained on board the aid ship by Israeli troops were to fly out of Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.
Israeli forces intercepted and seized control of the Rachel Corrie on Saturday as it tried to reach the Gaza Strip, without use of force like that on last Monday when nine people were killed as commandos stormed an aid flotilla.
Israel deported an Indonesian journalist yesterday who had been among the passengers wounded in the interception of that flotilla.
The Irish-owned 1,200-tonne Rachel Corrie was escorted into the Israeli port of Ashdod, and the activists and crew taken to Holon immigration center near Tel Aviv for questioning before being deported.
Meanwhile, Britain announced yesterday it was donating £19 million (US$27 million) for refugees in Gaza and repeated calls for Israel to lift its blockade of the territory.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is both unacceptable and unsustainable,” British International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said announcing the funds, which will help support schools and health clinics for Gazan refugees.
The money is part of a five-year, £100 million (US$145 million) agreement signed with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees in 2006.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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