AFP Asia Business

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund said Monday that it had divested from US construction equipment firm Caterpillar over purported involvement in rights violations in the Israel-Hamas war.Fuelled by Norway’s vast energy revenues, the fund is the world’s biggest, with a value of nearly $2 trillion and investments in more than 8,600 companies across the globe.The fund had held a 1.2 percent stake in Caterpillar, valued at 24.4 billion krone ($2.4 billion), as of the end of last year.The Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said it had decided to exclude Caterpillar as it posed “an unacceptable risk… to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war and conflict”.The fund said it had based its decision on a recommendation by its council on ethics.In a statement, the council said that “bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar are being used by Israeli authorities in the widespread unlawful destruction of Palestinian property”.”There is no doubt that Caterpillar’s products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law,” the body said.It added that the company had “not implemented any measures to prevent such use”.AFP has contacted Caterpillar for comment.The fund said it had also withdrawn from five Israeli firms for financing the construction of illegal settlements in the Israel-occupied West Bank.They included First International Bank of Israel, FIBI Holdings, Bank Leumi Le-Israel, Mizrahi Tefahot and Bank Hapoalim.Earlier this month, the fund said it was selling out of 11 Israeli companies following reports that it had invested in an Israeli jet engine maker even as the war in Gaza raged.The revelations led Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to ask Finance Minister and former NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg for a review.

Bolivian right-wing presidential hopeful Jorge Quiroga on Monday vowed to scrap billion-dollar lithium extraction deals struck by the outgoing government with Russia and China if elected leader.”We don’t recognize (outgoing President Luis) Arce’s contracts… Let’s stop them, they won’t be approved,” the US-educated Quiroga, who has vowed a major shake-up in Bolivia’s alliances if elected …

Bolivia candidate vows to scrap China, Russia lithium deals Read More »

Stocks mostly edged downwards on Monday, after rallies in Europe and the United States fueled by comments from the US central bank chief last week where he indicated the possibility of lower interest rates.Investors were also keenly awaiting an earnings report from dominant AI chip company Nvidia due on Wednesday. The firm’s stock fell sharply …

Stocks edge downwards after rallying on US rate hopes Read More »

A diplomatic row between the United States and France escalated on Monday when Washington decided to stand firmly behind its ambassador’s criticism of the French response to a rising tide of antisemitism.   US ambassador Charles Kushner, the father of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was ordered to report to the French foreign ministry on Monday. But, as Kushner was absent, the US embassy’s charge d’affaires went in his place, and was received by two French foreign ministry directors, a French diplomatic source said.The row erupted amid concerns about an increase in antisemitic acts and hate crimes in France as international tensions mount over the conflict in Gaza. Kushner, in a public letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, has accused France of a “lack of sufficient action”.France retorted that “the allegations from the ambassador are unacceptable” and the rift deepened on Monday when Kushner was summoned to the ministry and the Trump administration doubled down on his critique.   “We stand by his comments,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. “Ambassador Kushner is our US government representative in France and is doing a great job advancing our national interests in that role.” In July, Macron said France would formally recognise a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, sparking irritation in Israel and the United States.In a letter to Macron that was released to the news media at the weekend, Kushner alleged that such gestures “embolden extremists, fuel violence, and endanger Jewish life in France”. “President Trump and I have Jewish children and share Jewish grandchildren. I know how he feels about antisemitism, as do all Americans,” he wrote.Kushner, whose son Jared is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, was confirmed as France’s ambassador by the Senate in May.France condemned the ambassador’s letter, but noted: “The rise in anti-Semitic acts in France since 7 October 2023 is a reality that we deplore and to which the French authorities are responding with total commitment, as these acts are completely unacceptable.” – ‘Intolerable levels’ -Members of France’s Jewish community have said the number of antisemitic acts has surged following the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 which triggered Israel’s military response.Last week, a group of 150 young Israeli tourists was refused entry to a leisure park in the south of France. Prosecutors said they had placed the manager of the park under investigation on suspicion of discrimination based on ethnic origin or nationality.In another incident this month, an olive tree planted in memory of a young Jewish man tortured to death in 2006 was felled outside Paris. The cutting down of the memorial tree stirred outrage in France, with Macron vowing punishment over an act of antisemitic “hatred”.Between January and June 2025, 646 antisemitic acts were recorded in France, compared to 891 acts in the same period last year, according to figures released by the interior ministry on Monday.However, this is more than double the 304 acts recorded between January and June 2023.France is home to western Europe’s largest Jewish population at around half a million people, as well as a significant Muslim community sensitive to the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza.Kushner’s remarks tally with those made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has accused Macron of fomenting antisemitism.On Monday, Equality Minister Aurore Berge defended the French government.”The French government’s fight against antisemitism is unambiguous,” Berge told broadcaster Europe 1-CNews. “The issue is too serious. In my opinion, it is too important to be used as a diplomatic bargaining chip.”She also acknowledged the rise in antisemitic incidents in the West.”I think we have reached levels that are absolutely intolerable,” Berge said.Patrick Klugman, a lawyer for several French victims of the October 7 attacks, said antisemitism in France had reached historic levels but defended the government.”Over the past six years, no antisemitic murder has been committed in France, while sadly several have occurred in the United States. The contrast is striking,” he said on X.”No country is in a position to lecture others, and all must revise their approach.”ito-dab-mra-as/rmb/giv

Gaza’s civil defence agency said five journalists were among at least 20 people killed Monday when Israeli strikes hit a hospital in the south, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing regret over the “tragic mishap”.Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera all issued statements mourning their slain contributors, while the Israeli military said it would investigate the incident.The ongoing war in Gaza has been one of the deadliest for journalists, with around 200 media workers killed over the course of the nearly two-year Israeli assault, according to media watchdogs.Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said “the toll so far is 20 martyrs, including five journalists and one member of the civil defence”, after strikes hit Khan Yunis’s Nasser Hospital — a large medical complex that has been targeted several times by Israel since the start of the war.In a statement, the Israeli military said its troops had “carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital”.”The Chief of the General Staff instructed to conduct an initial inquiry as soon as possible,” it said, adding it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such”.Bassal said an Israeli explosive drone hit a building at the hospital, followed by an air strike as the wounded were being evacuated.Netanyahu said in a statement Monday evening that his country “deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital”.”Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians,” he added. Reuters reported that video journalist Hussam al-Masri — a contractor who was working for the agency — was operating a live feed at the hospital, “which suddenly shut down at the moment of the initial strike”.  – ‘Devastated’ -A Reuters spokesperson said the agency was “devastated” to learn of Masri’s death “and injuries to another of our contractors, Hatem Khaled” in the strikes.”We are urgently seeking more information and have asked authorities in Gaza and Israel to help us get urgent medical assistance for Hatem,” the statement added.A spokesperson for Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera said one of its photojournalists and cameramen, Mohammad Salama, was also killed in the attack.”Al Jazeera Media Network condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this horrific crime committed by the Israeli occupation forces, who have directly targeted and assassinated journalists as part of a systematic campaign to silence the truth,” the broadcaster said in a statement. The Associated Press said in a statement that it was “shocked and saddened” to learn of the death of Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist who had freelanced for the agency since the start of the war.The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate named two other victims as Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz.Later Monday, a sixth journalist, Hassan Douhan, was killed by Israeli fire in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and Nasser Hospital. – Smoke, bloodied bodies -Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.AFP footage from the immediate aftermath of the attack showed smoke filling the air and debris from the blast on the floor outside the hospital.Palestinians rushed to help the victims, carrying bloodied corpses and severed body parts into the medical complex. One body could be seen dangling from the top floor of the targeted building as a man screamed below.A woman wearing medical scrubs and a white coat was among the injured, carried into the hospital on a stretcher with a heavily bandaged leg and blood all over her clothes. Nasser Hospital is one of the last remaining health facilities in the Gaza Strip that is at least partially functioning.Later in the day, a crowd carried the bodies of some of the slain journalists at a funeral in Khan Yunis, with the dead wrapped in white burial shrouds and their press flak jackets resting on top. “We will not stop walking this path, and the coverage will continue, God willing,” said Masri’s brother Mahmoud. – ‘Immediate explanation’ -The strike was condemned by a range of voices, including the UN, media outlets, rights groups and the Israel-based Foreign Press Association. Earlier this month, four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers were killed in an Israeli air strike outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, prompting widespread condemnation.The Israeli military alleged that Anas al-Sharif — a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent killed in the strike — headed a Hamas “terrorist cell” and was “responsible for advancing rocket attacks” against Israelis.The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 62,744 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

An expected United Nations Security Council vote on the future of the blue helmet peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, which has faced US and Israeli opposition, was pushed back on Monday as negotiations continued.The Council is debating a French-drafted compromise that would keep the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed in 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon, in place for one more year while it prepares to withdraw.Talks began last week and it had been thought a vote could come as soon as Monday, but diplomatic sources indicated that a vote would now come by the end of the week. The force’s mandate ends Sunday.In the latest draft text seen by AFP, the Council would signal “its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon.”Under a truce that ended a recent war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, Beirut’s army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group’s infrastructure there.Lebanon has been grappling with the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah, with the cabinet this month tasking the army with developing a plan to do so by the end of the year. The Iran-backed militant group has pushed back.Under the truce, Israel was meant to completely withdraw from Lebanon, though it has kept forces in several areas it deems strategic and continues to conduct strikes across Lebanon. The resolution would extend until August 31, 2026 the mandate of the 10,800-strong force made up of Indonesian, Indian, Italian, Ghanaian, Nepalese and other nationalities.It was not clear if Washington, which wields a veto on the Security Council, would accept the compromise language, with a State Department spokesman previously telling AFP it would not comment on Council deliberations.The text also contained language “condemning the incidents that affected United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon premises and forces, injuring several peacekeepers” — a reference to strikes by US ally Israel on UNIFIL positions that have caused injuries and damage. Israel was not specifically named.Ahead of the vote, a senior UN official warned that “to completely eliminate (UNIFIL’s) capacity at this point, or very quickly, would not serve anybody in the region,” calling any abrupt withdrawal risky.The official said UNIFIL had facilitated the deployment of 8,300 Lebanese armed forces troops to 120 locations, assisting with logistics, funds and even fuel as well as training support.UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric last week called the force’s support of Lebanon’s army “critical,” adding “we have always felt and known that UNIFIL is a presence of stability along the blue line.”