AFP Asia Business

The UN’s unflinching expert on Palestinian affairs Francesca Albanese said Tuesday that Washington’s sanctions following her criticism of the White House’s stance on Gaza are a “violation” of her immunity.The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories made the comments while visiting Bogota, nearly a week after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions, calling her work “biased and malicious.””It’s a very serious measure. It’s unprecedented. And I take it very seriously,” Albanese told an audience in the Colombian capital. Albanese was in Bogota to attend an international summit initiated by leftist President Gustavo Petro to find solutions to the Gaza conflict.The Italian legal scholar and human rights expert has faced harsh criticism for her long-standing accusations that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza.  “It’s clear violation of the UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities that protect UN officials, including independent experts, from words and actions taken in the exercise of their functions,” Albanese said.Rubio on July 9 announced that Washington was sanctioning Albanese “for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (ICC) action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives.”The sanctions are “a warning to anyone who dares to defend international law and human rights, justice and freedom,” Albanese said.On Thursday, the UN urged the United States to reverse the sanctions against Albanese, along with sanctions against judges of the International Criminal Court, with UN chief Antonio Guterres’s spokesman calling the move “a dangerous precedent.”On Friday, the European Union also spoke out against the sanctions facing Albanese, adding that it “strongly supports the United Nations human rights system.”Albanese, who assumed her mandate in 2022, released a damning report this month denouncing companies — many of them American — that she said “profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide” in the occupied Palestinian territories.The report provoked a furious Israeli response, while some of the companies also raised objections.Washington last month slapped sanctions on four ICC judges, in part over the court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, barring them from the United States.UN special rapporteurs like Albanese are independent experts who are appointed by the UN human rights council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.The war in Gaza was triggered on October 7, 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,219 people in Israel and took hostages, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.More than 58,479 Palestinians have been killed in ongoing retaliation operations, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas government, considered reliable by the UN.Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence has surged in the territory since October 2023.

Most US and European share indices slid on Tuesday, as US inflation data indicated President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be feeding into his country’s economy.In New York, the Nasdaq edged higher to close at another record, propelled by buoyant news from tech darling Nvidia. But the blue-chip Dow and broader S&P 500 both retreated.The US …

Nasdaq gains while Dow, S&P 500 fall as US inflation ticks higher Read More »

The US ambassador to Israel on Tuesday demanded an aggressive investigation and consequences after settlers beat to death a Palestinian-American, in rare public pressure against the ally by President Donald Trump’s administration.Ambassador Mike Huckabee, an outspoken supporter for years of Jewish settlement in the Palestinian territories, spoke out after an initial muted US official reaction to the death of Saif al-Din Abdul Karim Musalat.”I have asked Israel to aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Mussallet, an American citizen who was visiting family in Sinjil when he was beaten to death,” Huckabee wrote on X, using an alternative spelling.”There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act. Saif was just 20 yrs old,” Huckabee wrote.Musalat, who was born and raised in Florida and ran an ice cream parlor in Tampa, had planned to spend the summer in an area of the West Bank known for residents from the Palestinian diaspora in North America.Israeli settlers beat him to death on Friday, according to the Palestinian health ministry, amid a surge in violence by extremists in the West Bank in parallel to the Israeli offensive in Gaza.Musalat’s family said he was “protecting his family’s land from settlers who were attempting to steal it” and that settlers blocked an ambulance, with the young man dying before he could reach a hospital.Trump has staunchly supported Israel and in his first term the United States walked away from the international consensus that settlements on occupied land were illegal.Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas and evangelical Christian, has previously rejected the idea of an occupation and had voiced support for settlements.Huckabee has said that Israel has “title deed to Judea and Samaria,” using a biblical term for the West Bank.Hakeem Jeffries, the top House lawmaker from the rival Democratic Party, early Tuesday also demanded action from Israel over the death of Musalat and called for a tougher response from Trump.”The Trump administration cannot continue to turn a blind eye to what is happening in the West Bank if it is truly committed to finding a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people,” Jeffries said in a statement.

Syrian authorities were accused on Tuesday of carrying out summary executions of civilians in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida, where Israel said it had launched strikes against government forces in defence of the religious minority.Damascus deployed troops to the area after clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes killed scores of people, with Syria’s defence minister declaring a ceasefire Tuesday in Sweida city, which government forces entered in the morning.Residents, however, told AFP the announcement had little discernible effect on the ground, accusing government troops and their allies of rampaging through Druze neighbourhoods.The interior ministry acknowledged clashes had continued into the evening.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday that Syrian government forces and their allies had executed 21 Druze civilians in and around Sweida.They were among at least 203 people killed in the violence since early Sunday, including 93 members of the security forces, 71 other Druze and 18 Bedouin, according to the war monitor.Forces from the “defence and interior ministries carried out field executions of 12 civilians after storming the Radwan family guest house in the city of Sweida”, the Observatory said earlier.Armed groups affiliated with the government were also responsible for gunning down three siblings in front of their mother in Sweida province, according to the monitor.Rayan Maarouf, editor in chief of the Suwayda 24 news website, said security forces had engaged in “savage practices”, adding there had been reports of civilians killed, “dozens of them… but we don’t have precise figures”.- Israeli strikes -While most Druze religious leaders had earlier said they supported the government’s deployment after the clashes with the Bedouin, at least one senior figure urged armed resistance, having previously called for “international protection”.Neighbouring Israel, which has its own Druze minority, has sought to portray itself as a defender of the community, while also warning the Syrian government against maintaining any military presence south of Damascus, which Israel considers a security threat.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced strikes Tuesday on “regime forces and weaponry” that they said were intended for use against the Druze.”We are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them and to ensure the demilitarisation of the area adjacent to our border with Syria,” the pair said in a joint statement.Shortly after, the Israeli military said it had begun hitting military vehicles in the area. Syrian state media also reported strikes.Syria’s Islamist-led government, which on Saturday sent an emissary to Azerbaijan for a first face-to-face meeting with an Israeli official, condemned “in the strongest terms the treacherous Israeli aggression”, and warned it had the right to defend itself.The attacks killed a number of security personnel, the foreign ministry said, as well as “several innocent civilians”.US special envoy Tom Barrack — whose government is closely allied with Israel and has been trying to reboot its relationship with Syria — called the violence “worrisome”.Washington was seeking “a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces”, he added.- ‘Complete ceasefire’ -Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra declared just before midday (0900 GMT) Tuesday “a complete ceasefire” in Sweida city after talks with local representatives.Druze representatives, meanwhile, gathered at the residence of key leader Sheikh Youssef Jarbouh to discuss implementing the ceasefire, a source close to the participants said.But on Tuesday evening, the interior ministry said “clashes are still ongoing in some neighbourhoods”, adding efforts were underway “to fully restore control”.Earlier understandings reached with local representatives, it added, “were soon violated as the armed outlaw groups resumed attacks, targeting police and security personnel”.A curfew was to be imposed in a bid to halt the violence, which erupted between Druze and Bedouin fighters at the weekend and has since spread across Sweida province.Government forces said they intervened to separate the two sides, but they ended up taking control of several Druze areas around Sweida, an AFP correspondent reported.- ‘Not against the state’ -The Observatory, Druze leaders and witnesses said the government troops had entered the city accompanied by Bedouin fighters, and joined with them in attacking the Druze.An AFP correspondent who entered Sweida shortly after the troops reported dead bodies lying on deserted streets and sporadic gunfire.”I’m in the centre of Sweida. There are executions, houses and shops that have been torched, and robberies and looting,” one Sweida resident holed up in his home told AFP by phone.The situation echoes past instances of sectarian violence, and underscores the security challenges facing interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa since his forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December after nearly 14 years of civil war.Amal, a 46-year-old resident, said she feared a repeat of massacres in Syria’s northwest in March that saw more than 1,700 mostly Alawite civilians killed, allegedly by groups affiliated with the government.”We are not against the state, but we are against surrendering our weapons without a state that treats everyone the same,” she said.

The mainly Druze residents of the Syrian city of Sweida had hoped the arrival of government forces on Tuesday would spell an end to deadly sectarian clashes with local Bedouin tribes.Instead they spoke of executions, looting and arson as government troops and their allies rampaged through Druze neighbourhoods, prompting thousands from the religious minority to flee.”Government forces entered the city on the pretext of restoring order… but unfortunately they indulged in savage practices,” said Rayan Maarouf, editor in chief of the Suwayda 24 news website.”There have been cases of civilians being killed… dozens of them… but we don’t have precise figures,” he added, blaming government fighters and their allies.According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government forces executed 12 civilians in a guesthouse in the city, in just one incident among many said to have taken place in the area.Syria’s defence minister had declared a “complete ceasefire” in the city late Tuesday morning, but locals said the announcement had little effect on the ground.An AFP correspondent who entered Sweida shortly after government forces reported dead bodies left lying on deserted streets as sporadic gunfire rang out.”I’m in the centre of Sweida. There are executions, houses and shops that have been torched, and robberies and looting,” one Sweida resident holed up in his home told AFP by phone.”One of my friends who lives in the west of the city told me that they entered his home, chased out his family after taking their mobile phones and then set fire to it,” added the resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.AFP correspondents saw smoke rising over several areas of the city of some 150,000 people.Another resident said he had seen armed men in civilian clothes “looting shops and setting fire to them”.”They’re firing indiscriminately, I am afraid to leave the house,” he said, adding that he regretted “not leaving before they arrived”.- Civilians killed -It is a scenario that has played out multiple times since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels in December.In each case, former rebels recruited into the new Syrian army were joined by fighters without any clear uniform, and violence against civilians ensued.The worst episode was in March, when more than 1,700 civilians were killed along Syria’s Mediterranean coast — most of them members of the ousted president’s Alawite community — in attacks carried out by government forces and their allies.On Tuesday, government forces entered Sweida with the stated aim of ending the sectarian violence that had claimed more than 100 lives earlier this week.But the Observatory, Druze leaders and witnesses said they entered the city accompanied by Bedouin fighters, and joined with them in attacking the Druze.One AFP video showed Bedouin fighters riding through the streets on a government tank, brandishing their weapons in celebration.- Statues destroyed -The fighters toppled several statues in public squares, AFP images showed. Hardline Islamists believe such representations of the human form to be idolatrous.Unverified video footage circulating on social media showed armed men forcibly shaving off the moustache of an elderly Druze, a grave insult in the community.The Israeli military said it had carried out several air strikes on the forces that entered Sweida.An AFP correspondent saw one Syrian army vehicle in the city centre that had taken a direct hit. Several bodies were left dangling over its sides.The Israeli military said it was acting to protect the Druze, although some analysts have said that was a pretext for pursuing its own military goals.Thousands of the city’s residents fled, seeking safety nearer the Jordanian border, Maarouf said.In the nearby village of Walgha, an AFP correspondent found a group of displaced civilians sheltering in a mosque.