AFP Asia Business

The Australian government said Thursday it will fork out hundreds of millions of dollars to settle the country’s largest class action in history over a scheme that sent false debt repayment demands to welfare recipients.The “robodebt” scandal, which ran from 2015 to 2019, caused such distress to job seekers, pensioners, students and carers that some …

Australia settles largest-ever class action over ‘robodebt’ scandal Read More »

Colombia’s coal exports fell by almost half in July compared to the same month last year, official figures showed Wednesday, amid a global price crisis and days after President Gustavo Petro’s ban on sales to Israel.Colombia is Latin America’s leading coal producer but the sector has contracted for five consecutive quarters due to the collapse …

Colombia coal exports plummet after ban on Israel sales Read More »

Colombia’s coal exports fell by almost half in July compared to the same month last year, official figures showed Wednesday, amid a global price crisis and days after President Gustavo Petro’s ban on sales to Israel.Colombia is Latin America’s leading coal producer but the sector has contracted for five consecutive quarters due to the collapse of international prices and domestic policies. The country exported $479.8 million worth of coal in July, a 45.8 percent drop from the $885.8 million sold during July 2024, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics.Local mining unions blame increased production in Indonesia that has driven down global prices.Last month, Petro issued a second decree for Colombia to halt coal exports to Israel in protest against its deadly war in Gaza, renewing a June 2024 edict. Colombia was previously Israel’s top coal supplier. In a broader push for sustainability, the leftist president has imposed higher taxes on coal with a view to moving his country toward renewable energies.  Since coming to power in 2022, Petro has also halted several mining projects and instead promoted agriculture and tourism as alternative sectors for the roughly 350,000 people employed in mineral exploration. But some miners have told AFP they fear losing their jobs, while towns whose economies depend on the industry are also feeling the impact.”The government wants to end mining … but they don’t think about us,” said Jorge Noriega, a 60-year-old worker at a coal mine in Tausa, a town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from capital Bogota. El Cerrejon, Colombia’s largest coal mine operated by Anglo-Swiss firm Glencore, said in March it would reduce its production by 50 percent due to high operating costs. 

European and US equities mostly rebounded Wednesday as a global bond selloff eased, with shares in Google parent Alphabet jumping after a favorable court ruling.Nevertheless gold struck a new record high as investors continued to worry over mounting government debt, with Japanese bond yields hitting a new high.Wall Street stocks were mostly higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq …

Stocks bounce as global bond selloff eases Read More »

Israel estimates that its imminent offensive on Gaza City would displace one million Palestinians, a senior military official said Wednesday, as Gaza’s civil defence reported dozens killed across the territory.In Jerusalem, meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli protestors took to the streets to call for a truce and hostage release deal after nearly two years of war.Israel’s military has been building up its forces for the planned operation to seize Gaza City, the Palestinian territory’s largest urban centre located in its northern part, despite mounting global concern for Palestinian civilians suffering dire humanitarian conditions.Military chief Eyal Zamir said troops were already “intensifying our combat operations”, according to an army statement.The senior official from COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said “approximately 70,000” Palestinians had already left Gaza’s north in recent days, fleeing the Israeli advance.Briefing journalists on condition of anonymity, the official said Israeli authorities expected “a million people” to flee south, without giving a specific timeframe.The vast majority of Gaza’s more than two million people have been displaced at least once during nearly two years of war.According to UN estimates, nearly a million people currently live in and around Gaza City, where famine has been declared.In late August, an Israeli military spokesman said the evacuation of Gaza City was “inevitable”, while the Red Cross has warned that any Israeli attempt to do so would be impossible in a safe and dignified manner.- ‘Waiting 700 days’-Families of hostages held in Gaza and Israeli anti-war groups called for a three-day protest in Jerusalem, culminating on Friday — day 700 since the Palestinian group Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel in October 2023.The mother of soldier Matan Angrest, who is held in Gaza, appealed to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a news conference.”I have been waiting 700 days for you to get my child out of hell, and it is in your hands. I could see Matan again tomorrow, with a single decision on your part,” said Anat Angrest.Of the 251 hostages seized during the Hamas attack, 47 are still in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.Last month Hamas said it had accepted a new truce proposal that would include phased hostage release.But as mediators have awaited a formal Israeli response, Netanyahu said the war would only end on Israel’s terms as he pushed ahead with plans for the Gaza City offensive.”Instead of seizing the agreement on the table to reach a comprehensive deal, you choose to continue sacrificing them, abandoning them,” Angrest said.Nira Sharabi, whose husband Yossi was killed in captivity, called for an end to the war.”Military pressure endangers the lives of the hostages” and “jeopardises the possibility of bringing back the dead” for burial, she said.During the protests in Jerusalem, a bin was set ablaze near the prime minister’s residence, and the fire spread and destroyed a car belonging to a reservist.Police called it “a red line that has been crossed”, while Justice Minister Yariv Levin denounced “terror” on the part of the demonstrators.- Deadly strikes -On the ground, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 62 people on Wednesday.Umm Abd Abu Al-Jubain told AFP she lost her daughter, son-in-law and several other relatives in a strike on Gaza City.The bodies were “in pieces, and we pulled this boy out” from under the rubble, she said of her grandson, who survived the strike.”Your father and mother have gone and left you, my dear,” Abu al-Jubain told the bruised boy, holding him in her arms.As Israel prepares for Gaza City’s evacuation, the COGAT official said a planned “humanitarian area” would be set up, extending from a cluster of refugee camps in central Gaza to the southern area of Al-Mawasi and eastwards.Israel had designated the coastal area of Al-Mawasi a humanitarian zone in the early days of the war, but has repeatedly struck it since.In mid-August, UN human rights office spokesman Thameen al-Kheetan said Palestinians in Al-Mawasi had “little or no access to essential services and supplies, including food, water, electricity and tents”.Hamas’s 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 63,746 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

The Metropolitan Opera in New York announced Wednesday an agreement to perform in Saudi Arabia and provide artistic training in the oil-rich kingdom as it works to shore up a creaky financial outlook.The prestigious cultural institution, which received a Moody’s credit downgrade just days ago, will travel to Riyadh for five years to perform during the opera house’s winter break under an agreement with the Saudi Music Commission.The performances will be at the Royal Diriyah Opera House, which is expected to open in 2028.The agreement commits Met creative staff to provide training to Saudi opera singers, composers, directors and other artisans. The collaboration also envisions the commissioning of a new opera, according to a joint press release by the Met and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture.”Music is a universal language that transcends borders, uniting people through creativity,” said a statement from Paul Pacifico, the CEO of the Saudi Music Commission.”This collaboration is more than a cultural exchange; it is an opportunity to forge new connections, share our stories through music, and contribute to a vibrant global arts community.” The venture reflects the “increasingly challenging” economics of producing Grand Opera, Met General Manager Peter Gelb told AFP.”The Met cannot survive based on the earned revenue sources and the annual fundraising,” said Gelb, who declined to provide financial details about the venture. “This agreement with the Saudi government helps us meet our financial needs.”On August 27, Moody’s Ratings downgraded the Met two notches to “B3,” placing the institution more deeply into the non-investment grade category, reflecting “persistent and increasing deterioration in the operating performance.”A note from Moody’s emphasized Met moves to tap its endowment to cover deficits, noting a $70 million draw in 2023 and 2024 and another $50 million authorized in 2025.”These draws will reduce future support to budgetary operations as regular draws decline in line with lower reserves,” Moody’s said.Gelb said the Met is actively exploring other sources of raising funds. These include licensing agreements of its intellectual property, as well as naming rights to the Met building at Lincoln Center.