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The United Nations on Friday released a long-awaited update of its database of companies with activities in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories, listing 158 firms from 11 countries.UN rights chief Volker Turk has condemned as a war crime Israel’s policy of settlements on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.While several companies including Alstom and Opodo had been removed from the non-exhaustive database, major firms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Motorola Solutions and TripAdvisor remained on the list. Contacted by AFP for their reaction, the companies have not so far responded.While most of the companies were based in Israel, others were based in Canada, China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Britain and the United States.The report, from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), urged companies to “take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts” of their activities.Turk said in a statement: “This report underscores the due diligence responsibility of businesses working in contexts of conflict to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses.”Israel denounced the report as “a document with no legal ground and far beyond the scope of the OHCHR”.The country’s UN office in Geneva added: “The OHCHR continues to misuse UN resources to tarnish Israel, proving that it is not able to execute its mandate in any adequate way.”We call on friends not to yield to this ugly attempt to blacklist Israeli firms.”- Mostly Israeli firms -The list was first produced in 2020 after a UN Human Rights Council resolution called for a database of firms that profited from business in illegally occupied Palestinian territory. The UN rights office was asked to list companies found to be taking part in any of 10 activities, including construction, surveillance, demolitions and destruction of agricultural land in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.Listing companies in the database was “not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process”, it stressed.Despite a requirement for the database to be updated annually, it has been revised just once before, in 2023, when some companies named in the original list were removed.Friday’s release marks the first update that includes fresh names.”A total of 68 new companies were added to the list published in 2023, while seven of those… were removed as they were no longer involved in any of the activities concerned,” the rights office said.- Contentious -The list is not exhaustive, the rights office said, acknowledging that it had only had time to review 215 of the 596 companies about which it received submissions.For this latest update it said it had prioritised companies with a direct physical link in the settlements, in the fields of construction, real estate, mining and quarries.The remainder will be assessed in future updates, it said.The exercise has been contentious from the start.In 2020, Israel and the United States  condemned the creation of the database.The then Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz slammed it as “a shameful surrender to pressure from countries and organisations who want to harm Israel”.Today, nearly two years into the war raging in Gaza, where Israel faces growing accusations of committing genocide, the issue has become even more contentious.Israel has controlled the West Bank since 1967 in an occupation considered illegal under international law.Violence in the West Bank has also soared since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel at the start of the Gaza war, even as Israeli government ministers have ramped up their calls to annex the West Bank.

Donald Trump has shocked the global drug industry by announcing 100-percent tariffs on all branded, imported pharmaceutical products — unless companies are building manufacturing plants in the United States.With just five days left until the US president is set to impose the harshest measures yet in his global trade war, analysts have been racing to figure out which nations, firms and drugs could be affected.While plenty of uncertainty remains, there do appear to be some exemptions. Major exporter the European Union says a previous trade deal shields the bloc from the tariffs.- Which products will be hit? -Trump announced late Thursday he would impose a 100-percent tariff on “any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product” unless the company has started construction on a manufacturing plant by October 1.The statement indicates that generic medicines — cheaper versions of drugs produced once patents expire — are exempt.Neil Shearing, an economist at Capital Economics, said this exemption would have limited impact because while “90 percent of US drugs consumption volumes go toward generic drugs”, they account for “just 10 percent or so of spending values”.Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said that “most of the big pharma producers already produce their drugs for the American market in the US”.However there are many popular exceptions — such as the blockbuster weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro — as well as some cancer treatments that are all made in Europe, she added.Last year, the US imported nearly $252-billion worth of drugs and other pharma products, making it the second-largest import in value after vehicles, according to the Department of Commerce.- Which countries could be spared? -The EU said Friday that a trade deal sealed with the US in July shielded the bloc.”This clear all-inclusive 15 percent tariff ceiling for EU exports represents an insurance policy that no higher tariffs will emerge for European economic operators,” EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said.Tariffs on medicine “would create the worst of all worlds” by increasing costs, disrupting supply chains and preventing patients from getting life-saving treatment, Nathalie Moll of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations said in a statement to AFP.Macro Angel Talavera from Oxford Economics said the July trade deal should in principle protect EU companies– but it remains “far from clear”.Switzerland — which is home to pharma giants Roche, Novartis and AstraZeneca — was likely most at risk because the country is not a member of the EU, he said. Denmark, where Ozempic and Wegovy producer Novo Nordisk has a major impact on the national economy, was also under threat, he added.The pharma sector in Ireland — whose exports to the US represent roughly 12 percent of GDP, according to Shearing — was among the European groups calling for urgent talks to avert the looming tariffs. A British government spokesperson said the UK was “actively engaging with the US and will continue to do so over the coming days”.In Asia, Japan and South Korea are thought to be shielded by trade deals, while India mostly exports generic drugs, according to Louise Loo at Oxford Economics.”Singapore, focused on high-value patented drugs, faces the greatest risk,” she added.- What are pharma firms doing? -Trump had previously threatened even steeper tariffs of 200 percent on pharmaceuticals in July.Aiming to protect themselves from Trump’s protectionist policies, pharma giants have announced around $300 million in investments in the US in recent months. “Although many pharma companies have pledged to build plants in the US, construction may not have started yet, as these plants are complex to build,” Brooks said.However Trump was clear that he defined building as “breaking ground” on construction sites.Swiss pharma giant Novartis said on Friday that “we have ongoing construction and expect to announce five new sites to be under construction before end of year”.A spokesperson for Bayer said the German company was “assessing the situation”. Other major firms contacted by AFP have yet to respond.

European stocks rose Friday after losses in Asia, as traders awaited key US inflation data and digested President Donald Trump’s fresh tariffs set to impact pharmaceuticals and other sectors.The dollar dropped ahead of the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation — the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index — with traders keenly seeking clues on how much further the US central bank could cut interest rates this year.Official data Thursday showing faster-than-expected US economic growth in the second quarter dampened slightly expectations of a Fed cut next month, which would follow on from its September reduction, the first this year. “On the surface, strong GDP should be good news but the problem is, such strong growth doesn’t support further Federal Reserve rate cuts, and it could even boost inflation expectations on top of potential tariff-led pressures,” noted Swissquote Bank senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.Trump’s announcement Thursday of steep new tariffs on medicines and other goods drew pushback from some allies, with the European Union claiming immunity for its pharmaceutical industry under a bilateral trade deal.A 100-percent levy on pharmaceuticals, starting October 1, is the harshest trade policy by the president since April’s shock unveiling of “reciprocal” tariffs on virtually every US trading partner across the globe.In reaction, share prices of Asian pharma firms largely fared worse compared with European peers.Shanghai Fosun shed around six percent and South Korea’s Daewoong was off more than three percent. Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo and Astellas Pharma were also well in the red. Sydney-listed CSL shed nearly two percent, while Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was a major loser in India.Key industry player India “could be spared” from the levies for now, however, according to MUFG bank analyst Michael Wan.”It is still unclear how branded or patented pharmaceutical products will be defined, but our working assumption is that this will not incorporate generic drugs and pharmaceuticals shipped by the likes of India to the US,” he wrote in a client note.Shares prices of British pharma giants GSK and AstraZeneca were both rising in London midday deals, with both companies having recently announced major investment plans in the United States.- Key figures at around 1045 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,243.75 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,821.61Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 23,596.41Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 45,354.99 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,128.20 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,828.11 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 45,947.32 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1669 from $1.1658 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3347 from $1.3335Dollar/yen: UP at 149.89 yen from 149.81 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 87.41 pence from 87.42 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $68.52 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $64.90 per barrelburs-bcp/ajb/lth

US President Donald Trump’s announcement of steep new tariffs on medicines and other goods drew pushback from some allies on Friday, with the EU claiming immunity for its pharmaceutical industry under an earlier trade deal.The announcement late on Thursday evening, which included a 100 percent levy on pharmaceuticals, is the harshest trade policy by the president since last April’s shock unveiling of “reciprocal” tariffs on virtually every US trading partner across the globe.Starting October 1, “we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America,” the Republican wrote on his Truth Social platform.The European Union said on Friday a July deal with Washington shielded the bloc from tariffs higher than 15 percent on its drug exports.”This clear all-inclusive 15 percent tariff ceiling for EU exports represents an insurance policy that no higher tariffs will emerge for European economic operators,” EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said.A European pharmaceutical industry group also warned that tariffs on medicines would “create the worst of all worlds.””Tariffs increase costs, disrupt supply chains and prevent patients from getting life-saving treatments,” Nathalie Moll, director general of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, said on Friday.Trump’s latest move was also criticized by US ally Australia, which exported pharmaceutical products worth an estimated $1.35 billion to the United States in 2024, according to the UN’s Comtrade Database.Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said on Friday that the higher rates were “not in the American consumers’ interest… particularly given the degree to which their exporters to Australia benefit from that free trade as well.”- Big rigs -In a separate post, Trump wrote of a 25 percent tariff on “all ‘Heavy (Big) Trucks’ made in other parts of the world” to support US manufacturers such as “Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks and others.”Foreign companies that compete with these manufacturers in the US market include Sweden’s Volvo and Germany’s Daimler, which includes the Freightliner and Western Star brands.Shares in both companies were sharply lower in after-hours trading in Europe, although Volvo recovered when trading resumed.Trump said the truck tariffs were “for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!”The Trump administration launched a so-called Section 232 probe this year into imports of trucks to “determine the effects of national security,” setting the stage for Thursday’s announcement.Section 232 is a trade law provision that gives the president broad authority to impose tariffs or other restrictions on imports when they’re deemed a threat to national security.Trump has made extensive use of Section 232 to initiate investigations and impose tariffs on imported goods as part of his efforts to bolster US manufacturing and punish countries that he says are taking advantage of the US.The real-estate tycoon also targeted home renovation materials, writing “We will be imposing a 50% Tariff on all Kitchen Cabinets, Bathroom Vanities and associated products,” from October 1.”Additionally, we will be charging a 30% Tariff on Upholstered Furniture,” he added.According to the United States International Trade Commission, imports in 2022, mainly from Asia, represented 60 percent of all furniture sold, including 86 percent of all wood furniture and 42 percent of all upholstered furniture.Shares in home furniture retailers Wayfair and Williams Sonoma, which depend on these imported goods, tumbled in after-hours trading following the announcement.- Protectionist policies -The tariff onslaught will rekindle fears over inflation in the US economy, the world’s biggest.Trump is on a mission to rebuild manufacturing through protectionist policies that mark a complete reversal of modern US policy to maintain an open and import-dependent economy.His administration has imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on all countries, with higher individualized rates on nations where exports to the US far exceed imports.Trump has also used emergency powers to impose extra tariffs on trade deal partners Canada and Mexico, as well as on China, citing concerns over fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration.It was not yet clear how these new tariffs that kick in next week would factor into the existing measures.

Markets retreated on Friday as nagging uncertainty about the US interest rate outlook was compounded by data showing the world’s biggest economy faring much better than expected and fresh tariff warnings from President Donald Trump.Asian investors looked set to end a largely disappointing week on a negative note following the third loss in a row for Wall Street, with concerns that stocks are overvalued after a lengthy rally adding to the mix. Traders are also keeping a wary eye on Washington as lawmakers bicker over a funding package to keep the government running as a deadline approaches next week. Equity markets are seeing a pullback in buying after a months-long advance from April’s lows. The Federal Reserve cut rates last week, citing a weakening labour market but warning that more reductions were not nailed on.On top of that, the past week has seen top decision-makers at the bank offer varying views on the way forward, in light of stubbornly high inflation and soft jobs data, as well as concerns about the impact of Trump’s tariffs.Data on Thursday showed second-quarter US economic growth hit 3.8 percent — instead of the 3.3 percent first thought — as consumers spent more than expected. The reading marks the fastest quarterly expansion for nearly two years.The figures came ahead of Friday’s release of the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation — the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index — and next week’s nonfarm payrolls report.All three main indexes on Wall Street ended in the red, falling each day since hitting record highs on Monday.Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai, Singapore, Bangkok and Manila retreated, with Sydney and Jakarta edging up.The dollar held gains after surging on the growth figures.- Pharma takes a hit -Sentiment was also weighed by Trump’s new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, big-rig trucks, home renovation fixtures and furniture. From next Wednesday, “we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He also threatened 25 percent levies on “all ‘Heavy (Big) Trucks’ made in other parts of the world”, for reasons including “National Security”.Asian pharma firms retreated, with Shanghai Fosun shedding around six percent and South Korea’s Daewoong off more than three percent. Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo and Astellas Pharma were also well in the red. Sydney-listed CSL shed nearly two percent.Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was a major loser in India’s Nifty 50 index and was down three percent, with other pharmaceutical stocks Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Lupin and Biocon all lower.Key industry player India “could be spared” from the levies for now, according to MUFG analyst Michael Wan.”It is still unclear how branded or patented pharmaceutical products will be defined, but our working assumption is that this will not incorporate generic drugs and pharmaceuticals shipped by the likes of India to the US,” he wrote in a note.A lack of agreement in Washington on a bill to avert a government shutdown was also on traders’ radar, with Democrats and Trump’s Republicans at loggerheads over the spending plans.”Republicans are seeking short-term extensions to funding at current levels, while Democrats have demanded more healthcare spending,” National Australia Bank’s Taylor Nugent said.”There remains no obvious exit ramp as the 1 October deadline to avoid a US government shutdown approaches,” he said.London, Paris and Frankfurt all rose.- Key figures at around 0810 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 45,354.99 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,128.20 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,828.11 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,240.93 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1671 from $1.1658 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3350 from $1.3335Dollar/yen: UP at 149.87 yen from 149.81 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.43 pence from 87.42 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $65.23 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $69.56 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 45,947.32 (close)

Canada has signed a bilateral free trade agreement with Indonesia, which aims to eliminate or reduce tariffs on over 95 percent of Ottawa’s exports to its largest market in Southeast Asia.Several experts told AFP the strategic agreement is being made in the context of global economic turmoil, exacerbated by the protectionist policies of the United States.”This is the right deal at the right time with the right partner,” Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said, adding Indonesia is “Canada’s largest export market in Southeast Asia.”Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called it a “historic moment” during a visit to Ottawa, as the agreement is the first of its kind with an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member country. “I’m very lucky to be the Indonesian president who brings this back to Indonesia,” Prabowo said Wednesday. Canada’s exports include wheat, potash, timber and soybeans. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) allows Canada to strengthen its presence in the Pacific region, in line with the strategy that was unveiled by the previous administration under Justin Trudeau.The deal also provides for the elimination of more than 90 percent of tariffs on Indonesian imports, a boon to the export of garments and leather goods to the North American market.Simultaneously, a defense cooperation accord was signed aimed at strengthening collaboration in military training, maritime security, cyber defense and peacekeeping.The signing came just a few days after Jakarta and the European Union finalised a trade agreement after nearly a decade of talks.An analyst told AFP that signing two trade deals within a week would make Indonesia more resilient to volatility under tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.The agreements “signalled a partner diversification strategy to minimise the risk of global tariff volatility, but it doesn’t mean that Indonesia is abandoning the US market,” said Syafruddin Karimi, an economist from Andalas University.

US President Donald Trump announced Thursday punishing tariffs on pharmaceuticals, big-rig trucks, home renovation fixtures and furniture, reviving his global trade war.The late-evening announcement is the harshest trade policy by the president since last April’s shock unveiling of reciprocal tariffs on virtually every US trading partner across the globe.Starting October 1, “we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America,” the Republican wrote on his Truth Social platform.That move was criticised by American ally Australia, which exported pharmaceutical products worth an estimated $1.35 billion to the United States in 2024, according to the UN’s Comtrade Database.Australian health minister Mark Butler said Friday that the higher rates were “not in the American consumers’ interest… particularly given the degree to which their exporters to Australia benefit from that free trade as well.”In a separate post, Trump wrote of a 25 percent tariff on “all ‘Heavy (Big) Trucks’ made in other parts of the world” to support US manufacturers such as “Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks and others.”Foreign companies that compete with these manufacturers in the US market include Sweden’s Volvo and Germany’s Daimler, which includes the Freightliner and Western Star brands.Shares in both companies were sharply lower in after-hours trading in Europe.Trump said the truck tariffs were “for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!”Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched a so-called Section 232 probe into imports of trucks to “determine the effects of national security,” setting the stage for Thursday’s announcement.Section 232 is a trade law provision that gives the president broad authority to impose tariffs or other restrictions on imports when they’re deemed a threat to national security.Trump has made extensive use of Section 232 to initiate investigations and impose tariffs on imported goods as part of his efforts to bolster US manufacturing and punish countries that he says are taking advantage of the US.The real-estate tycoon also targeted home renovation materials, writing “We will be imposing a 50% Tariff on all Kitchen Cabinets, Bathroom Vanities and associated products,” as of October 1.”Additionally, we will be charging a 30% Tariff on Upholstered Furniture,” he added.According to the United States International Trade Commission, in 2022 imports, mainly from Asia, represented 60 percent of all furniture sold, including 86 percent of all wood furniture and 42 percent of all upholstered furniture.Shares in home furniture retailers Wayfair and Williams Sonoma, which depend on these imported goods, tumbled in after-hours trading following the announcement.- Protectionist policies -The tariff onslaught will rekindle fears over inflation in the US economy, the world’s biggest.Trump is on a mission to rebuild manufacturing through protectionist policies that mark a complete reversal of modern US policy to maintain an open and import-dependent economy.His administration has imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on all countries, with higher individualized rates on nations where exports to the US far exceed imports.Trump has also used emergency powers to impose extra tariffs on trade deal partners Canada and Mexico, as well as on China, citing concerns over fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration.It was not yet clear how these new tariffs that kick in next week would factor into the existing measures.

Stencilled just above the stairs, the red mark in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum is tantamount to an eviction notice for residents like Bipinkumar Padaya.”I was born here, my father was born here, my grandfather was born here,” sighed the 58-year-old government employee.”But we don’t have any choice, we have to vacate.”Soon, bulldozers are expected to rumble into Asia’s largest slum, in the heart of the Indian megalopolis of Mumbai, flattening its labyrinth of filthy alleyways for a brand-new neighbourhood.The redevelopment scheme, led by Mumbai authorities and billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani, reflects modern India — excessive, ambitious, and brutal.If it goes ahead, many of Dharavi’s million residents and workers will be uprooted.”They told us they will give us houses and then they will develop this area,” Padaya said.”But now they are building their own planned areas and trying to push us out. They are cheating us.”On the fringes of Dharavi, Padaya’s one-storey home is crammed into a tangle of alleys so narrow that sunlight barely filters through.- Engine room and underbelly -Padaya says his ancestors settled in the fishing village of Dharavi in the 19th century, fleeing hunger and floods in Gujarat, 600 kilometres (370 miles) to the north.Waves of migrants have since swelled the district until it was absorbed into Mumbai, now home to 22 million people.Today, the sprawl covers 240 hectares and has one of the highest population densities in the world — nearly 350,000 people per square kilometre.Homes, workshops and small factories adjoin each other, crammed between two railway lines and a rubbish-choked river.Over the decades, Dharavi has become both the engine room and the underbelly of India’s financial capital.Potters, tanners and recyclers labour to fire clay, treat hides or dismantle scrap, informal industries that generate an estimated $1 billion annually.British director Danny Boyle set his 2008 Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire” in Dharavi — a portrayal that residents call a caricature.For them, the district is unsanitary and poor — but full of life.”We live in a slum, but we’re very happy here. And we don’t want to leave,” said Padaya.- ‘City within a city’ -A five-minute walk from Padaya’s home, cranes tower above corrugated sheets shielding construction. The redevelopment of Dharavi is underway — and in his spacious city-centre office, SVR Srinivas insists the project will be exemplary.”This is the world’s largest urban renewal project,” said the chief executive of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). “We are building a city within a city. It is not just a slum development project.” Brochures show new buildings, paved streets, green spaces, and shopping centres.”Each single family will get a house,” Srinivas promised. “The idea is to resettle hundreds of thousands of people, as far as possible, in situ inside Dharavi itself.”Businesses will also remain, he added — though under strict conditions.Families who lived in Dharavi before 2000 will receive free housing; those who arrived between 2000 and 2011 will be able to buy at a “low” rate.Newer arrivals will have to rent homes elsewhere.- ‘A house for a house’ -But there is another crucial condition: only ground-floor owners qualify.Half of Dharavi’s people live or work in illegally built upper floors.Manda Sunil Bhave meets all requirements and beams at the prospect of leaving her cramped two-room flat, where there is not even space to unfold a bed.”My house is small, if any guest comes, it is embarrassing for us,” said the 50-year-old, immaculate in a blue sari.”We have been told that we will get a house in Dharavi, with a toilet… it has been my dream for many years.”But many of her neighbours will be forced to leave.Ullesh Gajakosh, leading the “Save Dharavi” campaign, demands “a house for a house, a shop for a shop”. “We want to get out of the slums… But we do not want them to push us out of Dharavi in the name of development. This is our land.”Gajakosh counts on the support of local businesses, among them 78-year-old leatherworker Wahaj Khan.”We employ 30 to 40 people,” he said, glancing around his workshop. “We are ready for development. But if they do not give us space in Dharavi, our business will be finished.”- ‘A new Dharavi’ – Abbas Zakaria Galwani, 46, shares the same concern.He and the 4,000 other potters in Dharavi even refused to take part in the census of their properties.”If Adani doesn’t give us as much space, or moves us somewhere from here, we will lose,” Galwani said.More than local authorities, it is Adani — the billionaire tycoon behind the conglomerate — who has become the lightning rod for criticism.His fortune has soared since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. So it was little surprise when his group won the Dharavi contract, pledging to invest around $5 billion.Adani holds an 80 percent stake in the project, with the state government controlling the rest. He estimates the overall cost at $7–8 billion and hopes to complete it within seven years.He has publicly vowed his “good intent” and promised to create “a new Dharavi of dignity, safety and inclusiveness”.Sceptics suspect he’s after lucrative real estate.Dharavi sits on prime land next to the Bandra-Kurla business district — home to luxury hotels, limousine showrooms and high-tech firms.”This project has nothing to do with the betterment of people’s lives,” said Shweta Damle, of the Habitat and Livelihood Welfare Association.”It has only to do with the betterment of the business of a few people.”She believes that “at best” three-quarters of Dharavi residents will be forced to leave.”An entire ecosystem will disappear,” she warned. “It’s going to be a disaster.”

The Trump administration is in talks to take an equity stake in Lithium Americas, which would insert the government into another private enterprise in the latest challenge to American free-market traditions.The move comes on the heels of Trump announcements establishing government holdings in struggling semiconductor giant Intel and the rare earth company MP Materials. Trump also secured a “golden share” for Washington in United States Steel as a condition of its sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel. Talks are still ongoing on the Lithium Americas stake, part of a renegotiation of a US Department of Energy loan held by the Canadian mining company and General Motors, said a Trump administration official.The White House has characterized the stock holding arrangements as a boon for taxpayers that points to Trump’s prowess as a dealmaker, while asserting that day-to-day management will be left to companies. But free-market advocates have reacted with various degrees of alarm to a trend they see as undermining the strength of the US system and stoking crony capitalism. In the US system, the government sets up the rules governing the private sector but generally stays out of it thereafter as firms respond to market signals.”It undermines competition,” said Fred Ashton, director of competition policy at American Action Forum, who believes inserting the state into private enterprise leads to inefficiency and benefits politically favored firms over those less connected.”We know the president likes to win so there’s no way the government lets these firms fail,” Ashton said.Trump administration officials recently made use of the US Steel golden share. The company had planned to keep paying 800 workers while idling an Illinois factory, but decided to keep the plant running after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick invoked the golden share, according to a Wall Street Journal report.”You need to let an executive of the company conclude the best use of the capital,” said governance expert Charles Elson of the University of Delaware, who criticized the White House intervention.”The government is not in the business of picking winners and losers in the capital system,” he said. “That’s why we have a capital system.”- Bipartisan consensus -It is not unprecedented for the US government to hold equity stakes. In response to the 2008 financial crisis, the US government amassed holdings in insurer AIG, General Motors and fellow automaker Chrysler as a condition of government support packages.But the Treasury Department sold off the shares after the crisis ended, reflecting a bipartisan consensus, according to Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute think tank, who said presidents from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama embraced the free market.”Obama would have laughed out of the room the suggestion that the government take an equity stake in a manufacturing company,” Strain said in a recent column that also criticized the White House’s tying of Nvidia and AMD export licenses to payments to the government.Obama “understood that in America’s system of democratic capitalism, the government does not own or shake down private companies,” Strain said in the piece headlined “Is Trump a State Capitalist?”Strain, in an interview, predicted a “massive amount of crony capitalism” under Trump compared with the norm, but said the shifts will be too limited to significantly tilt the US macroeconomy given its size and tradition.Ashton said he agrees that US status as a free market economy is not seriously in question. But he believes Trump’s conduct is distorting company behavior, noting reports that Apple may take a stake in Intel following Apple CEO Tim Cook’s August White House visit when he presented Trump with a 24-carat gold piece.”It’s become so murky,” Ashton said. “We don’t know whether it’s a business decision because it’s a business decision or whether it’s a business decision because they have to please the White House in some way.”

Canada has signed a bilateral free trade agreement with Indonesia, which aims to eliminate or reduce tariffs on over 95 percent of Ottawa’s exports to its largest market in Southeast Asia.Several experts told AFP the strategic agreement is being made in the context of global economic turmoil, exacerbated by the protectionist policies of the United States.”This is the right deal at the right time with the right partner,” Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said, adding Indonesia is “Canada’s largest export market in Southeast Asia.”Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto called the agreement a “historic moment” during an official visit to Ottawa Wednesday, as it is the first of its kind with an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member country. “I’m very lucky to be the Indonesian president who brings this back to Indonesia,” Subianto said.Canada’s exports include wheat, potash, timber and soybeans.The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) agreement allows Canada to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific region, in line with the strategy that was unveiled by the previous administration under Justin Trudeau.The agreement also provides for the elimination of more than 90 percent of tariffs on Indonesian imports, a boon to the export of garments and leather goods to the North American market.Simultaneously, a defense cooperation agreement was signed aimed at strengthening collaboration in military training, maritime security, cyber defense and peacekeeping.