ISRAEL SAYS TRUCE WITH HAMAS BEGINS, AFTER DELAY

 JERUSALEM (UPDATED) -- Israel on Sunday said a truce with Hamas began in Gaza at 0915 GMT, nearly three hours after initially scheduled, following a last-minute delay on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the delay, Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed eight people. A statement from Netanyahu's office, issued less than an hour before the truce had been set to start at 8:30 am (0630 GMT), said he had "instructed the IDF (military) that the ceasefire... will not begin until Israel has received the list" of hostages to be freed.

Hamas attributed the delay to "technical reasons", as well as the "complexities of the field situation and the continued bombing", ultimately publishing at around 10:30 am the names of three Israeli women to be released on Sunday.

Israel confirmed it had received the list and was "checking the details", before confirming shortly afterwards that the truce would begin at 11:15 am local time. AFPTV live images from northeastern Gaza showed a plume of grey smoke about 30 minutes after the truce was earlier to take effect, and again around 30 minutes later.

The Israeli military confirmed it was continuing "to strike within the Gaza area" following Netanyahu's directive. Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said three people were killed in the north of the territory and five in Gaza City, with 25 wounded.

AFP images showed displaced Gazans streaming northwards from areas around Gaza City where they had been sheltering, some flashing the victory sign. But others saw their plans to return home thwarted by the delay of the ceasefire.

"I was on my way home with my family when we heard the sound of bombing," said Mohammed Baraka, 36.

"We can't reach our house; the situation is dangerous. I don't know what to do. I feel frustrated and devastated."

The initial exchange was to see three Israeli hostages released from captivity in return for a first group of Palestinian prisoners. A total of 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel will be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce.

Under the deal, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails.

The truce is intended to pave the way for an end to more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas's attack, the deadliest in Israeli history.

It follows a deal struck by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations, and takes effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as US president. In a televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu called the  42-day first phase a "temporary ceasefire" and said Israel had US support to return to war if necessary.

In Gaza City, shortly after the deal was initially meant to go into effect, people were already celebrating, waving Palestinian flags in the street. But as it became clear the hostilities were continuing, the joy gave way to desperation for some.

"I'm dying of despair," said Maha Abed, a 27-year-old displaced from Rafah who had been waiting since dawn for her husband to pick her up and take her home. "He called to tell me we won't be returning today. The drones are firing at civilians."

"Enough playing with our emotions -- we're exhausted," she added. "I don't want to spend another night in this tent." In Deir al-Balah, an AFP journalist observed dozens of Palestinians gathered in front of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital seeking information about the unfolding events, particularly whether or not they would be able to return to their homes.

The Israeli army warned Gaza residents early Sunday not to approach its forces or Israeli territory.

"We urge you not to head towards the buffer zone or IDF forces for your safety," military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram.

"At this stage, heading towards the buffer zone or moving from south to north via Gaza Valley puts you at risk." At a rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv the night before, attendees were guarded ahead of the scheduled exchanges.

"I'm really stressed because I don't know about the situation of Ofer, my cousin," said Ifat Kaldron, whose cousin is among the hostages. "I'm just going to be happy whenever I see the last hostage crossing the border."

Israel has prepared reception centres to provide medical treatment and counselling to the freed hostages before they return to their families after their long ordeal. Israel's justice ministry had previously said 737 Palestinian prisoners and detainees would be freed during the deal's first phase, starting from 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Sunday.

Egypt on Saturday said more than 1,890 Palestinian prisoners would be freed in the initial phase.

Hundreds of trucks waited at the Gaza border, poised to enter from Egypt as soon as they get the all-clear to deliver desperately needed aid. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said 600 trucks a day would enter Gaza after the ceasefire takes effect, including 50 carrying fuel.

There has been only one previous truce in the war, lasting for one week in November 2023.

That ceasefire also saw the release of hostages held by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

 'We want it to end' -

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Of the 251 people taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing at least 46,899 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

The truce was to take effect on the eve of Trump's inauguration for a second term as president of the United States. Trump, who claimed credit for the ceasefire deal, after months of effort by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, told US network NBC on Saturday that he had told Netanyahu that the war "has to end".

"We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done," he said. Brett McGurk, the pointman for outgoing President Joe Biden, was joined in the region by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in an unusual pairing to finalise the agreement, US officials said.

Under the deal, Israeli forces will withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", the Qatari prime minister said. Biden said an unfinalized second phase of the agreement would bring a "permanent end to the war".

China is “breaking precedent” by sending Vice President Han Zheng to Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration, making him the most senior leader in Chinese history to attend the event.

Analysts say he is a “safe choice”, senior enough to “show face” even though Trump’s invite was extended to President Xi Jinping who, as expected, will be absent.

Political watchers also note that it is rare for heads of state to attend US presidential inaugurations, largely considered domestic events. 

“We haven't had a senior Chinese envoy come to any of the inaugurations,” Dennis Wilder, a former White House China adviser and currently a professor at Georgetown University, told CNA, adding that it has "always been Chinese ambassadors" representing the country.

He adds: “We are breaking precedent with this. In that sense, it's quite interesting.”

SENIOR ENOUGH BUT NOT PART OF XI’S INNER CIRCLE 

Born in Shanghai in 1954, the 70-year-old Han has served as China’s vice president since 2023. 

He stood as the seventh-ranking member of China’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee between 2017 and 2022 and previously held top-ranking positions like China's vice premier and Communist Party chief of Shanghai. 

He will travel with a high-level envoy from Beijing to witness Trump’s swearing-in on Monday (Jan 20).

He’s considered familiar and capable enough to handle complex Sino-US conversations, but also not too close to President Xi’s personal network that a protocol miscue would tarnish the party’s prestige. 

Han fits the bill and is a “safer choice”, says Hoo Tiang Boon, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Social Sciences. 

“He is not somebody seen as being part of Xi’s inner circle at the present moment ... and certainly not somebody viewed as a threat by Xi, that's why he (holds) that particular position.”

It’s a “middle ground move” on Beijing’s part, Hoo adds - one that both addresses US “expectations” of receiving a “senior-level” figure from China for Trump’s big day, and at the same time “doesn’t give the Americans exactly what they want”.

“If things don't turn out (well) ... that's fine because he's the vice president, not somebody with any significant influence,” Hoo said. “Sometimes, when Xi’s confidants have been used for high-level positions and missions, they have been targeted by foreign powers in order to embarrass Xi personally,” said Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics at East China Normal University.

He also pointed to the likelihood of anti-China executive orders following Trump’s inauguration ceremony.

“It’s most likely a thankless mission, much less an opportunity to create goodwill,” Mahoney said of the upcoming inauguration. 

“(It’s) best to send someone who can show enough face but not risk losing too much face if bad things follow from the Trump side.” During Trump’s first term, Han remained vocal in conveying Beijing’s response to harsh tariff proposals and trade disputes.

Wilder likened Han’s role to that of his predecessor, Wang Qishan, who served as vice president from 2018 to 2023, often attending overseas functions when President Xi did not.  “Han Zheng stands in (for Xi) at international meetings that he decides not to attend - this is the role that the Chinese vice president plays in the leadership,” Wilder said. 

In China, the role of vice president is largely ceremonial and according to the constitution, “assists the president in his work” and also “exercises functions and powers the president may entrust to him”.  

The Singapore Housing and Development Board (HDB) has completed all 92 pandemic-delayed Build-to-Order (BTO) projects, finishing the final two this month. In the year ahead, HDB said on Monday (Jan 20) that it is on track to finish the construction of about 17,000 new flats across 27 projects.

Speaking after a visit to Punggol Point Cove, one of the delayed projects, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said while the pandemic may seem like a distant memory for many, the construction sector has endured a “long-COVID” due to unprecedented work closures, as well as the impact on supply chain, manpower and costs.

“With the hard work of everyone in the construction ecosystem, we've been able to finally complete all the COVID-delayed HDB BTO projects,” the minister said.

COMPLETION OF LAST TWO DELAYED PROJECTS

At phase two of Punggol Point Cove, five of its six blocks were completed in November and December last year, while the last block was completed earlier this month after a delay of 12 months from its original completion date.

The project comprises 1,179 units of two-room flexi, three-, four- and five-room flats across six residential blocks. As of Jan 15, a total of 657 households, or about 59 per cent of the 1,109 booked units, have collected their keys.

First launched for sale in September 2019, the BTO project was affected by pandemic-related disruptions, including the stoppage of construction work during the “circuit breaker” imposed in mid-2020, and a change in contractor.

CKR Contract Services was terminated by the HDB in July 2023 after the contractor “repeatedly failed to meet the necessary targets”, HDB said.  A month later, Qingjian International (South Pacific) Group Development Co was appointed to complete the remaining works.

This marks the competition of all the flats in the Punggol Point District, which includes phase one of Punggol Point Cove, Punggol Point Woods and Punggol Point Crown BTO projects. These three projects were completed in 2024.

India is bracing for possible disruptions to its pharmaceutical industry - where the American market accounts for almost a third of exports - during Donald Trump’s presidency. Among the firms that manufacture generic medicines and exports its products to the United States is Bangalore-based pharmaceutical company Bioplus Life Sciences.

It is a crucial part of its business that brings in a substantial chunk of the company’s annual revenue of nearly US$1 million. However, the firm’s chairman Sundeep Aurora is not discounting that its takings could be impacted by Trump’s tariffs.

“You're going to have a 10 to 20 per cent cost increase, perhaps into the US. And certainly, there's going to be a realignment of supply chains around the world,” he said. Made-in-India generic medicines made up nearly half of all prescription drugs in the US in 2022, according to the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. They accounted for about US$8.7 billion worth of pharma exports from India to the US in the previous financial year.

Trump, who will be sworn in as the US’ 47th president on Monday (Jan 20), has pledged to impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation for the high tariffs imposed by India on imports of some American products.

Indian drugmakers are also worried about Trump’s America First policy, which could see a boost in domestic manufacturing and less need for Indian exports.

POTENTIAL SHIFT TO HOLISTIC MEDICINE

The companies are also concerned about what the impending appointment of Robert F Kennedy Jr as health secretary would mean for them. Kennedy Jr has touted holistic healing over modern medicine. "Over here, we're going to see a collision. The suggestions and ideals of holistic healing - changing your diet versus getting medically treated. These are all wishful thinking in the modern world today,” Bioplus’ Aurora.

“This is a highly regulated industry so it takes a few years for any change to occur."

Amid the potential downsides for the Indian pharmaceutical sector, one silver lining could come from the Biden administration’s Biosecure Act of 2024.

The law requires US federal agencies to stop procurement from what it calls “companies of concern” by 2032. These include some of the world’s biggest generic drug makers - Chinese firms Wuxi and Wuxi Biologics.

BANKING ON US LAW

Some industry players believe this could lead the US to rely more on India's drugmakers. 

"In their own interest also, they’re looking for alternative supply. Definitely, India has resources, potential and capability to come as a replacement of China. We have huge technical manpower at our disposal, we have the wage (advantage) with us, we have economies of scale,” said Dr Ajay Sahai, director general and CEO of Federation of Indian Export Organisations.

Dr Sahai believes India’s drug exports globally could more than triple from US$27.8 billion currently to US$100 billion by 2030. However, this will hinge on Indian drug makers ramping up manufacturing substantially amid issues with quality control. 

India’s drug regulator shut down more than a third of the 400 drug manufacturing plants it inspected in 2024, after deaths linked to Indian-made cough syrups in Gambia and Uzbekistan prompted scrutiny.

Firms like Bioplus are banking instead on the need for new drugs like a therapeutic medicine for myopia in children. 

It hopes constant innovation will help it navigate the uncertainties to come from the US, the world's biggest drug market.