The west is pulling back development financing to Southeast Asia and that's bad: Lowy Institute
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Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
A settler accused of killing a Palestinian activist is to be freed. Israel still holds the body
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli settler accused of killing a prominent Palestinian activist during a confrontation captured on video in the occupied West Bank will be released from house arrest, an Israeli court ruled Friday. The video shot by a Palestinian witness shows Yinon Levi brandishing a pistol and tussling with a group of unarmed Palestinians. He can be seen firing two shots, but the video does not show where the bullets hit. Witnesses said one of the shots killed Awdah Hathaleen, an English teacher and father of three, who was uninvolved and was standing nearby. The Israeli military is still holding Hathaleen's body and says it will only be returned if the family agrees to bury him in a nearby city. It said the measure was being taken to 'prevent public disorder.' The confrontation occurred on Monday in the village of Umm al-Khair, in an area of the West Bank featured in 'No Other Land,' an Oscar-winning documentary about settler violence and life under Israeli military rule. In a court decision obtained by The Associated Press, Judge Havi Toker wrote that there was 'no dispute' that Levi shot his gun in the village that day, but she said he may have been acting in self-defense and that the court could not establish that the shots killed Hathaleen. Israel's military and police did not respond to a request for comment on whether anyone else may have fired shots that day. Multiple calls placed to Levi and his lawyer have not been answered. The judge said Levi did not pose such a danger as to justify his continued house arrest but barred him from contact with the villagers for a month. Levi has been sanctioned by the United States and other Western countries over allegations of past violence toward Palestinians. President Donald Trump lifted the U.S. sanctions on Levi and other radical settlers shortly after returning to office. A total of 18 Palestinians from the village were arrested after the incident. Six remain in detention. Eitay Mack, an Israeli lawyer who has lobbied for sanctions against radical settlers, including Levi, said the court ruling did not come as a surprise. 'Automatically, Palestinian victims are considered suspects, while Jewish suspects are considered victims,' he said. Levi helped establish an settler outpost near Umm al-Khair that anti-settlement activists say is a bastion for violent settlers who have displaced hundreds since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Palestinians and rights groups have long accused Israeli authorities of turning a blind eye to settler violence, which has surged since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, along with attacks by Palestinians. In a 2024 interview, Levi said he was protecting his own land and denied using violence. Some 70 women in Umm al-Khair said they were beginning a hunger strike on Friday to call for Hathaleen's body to be returned and for the right of his family to bury him in the village. Israel's military said in a statement to the AP that it would return the body if the family agrees to bury him in the 'nearest authorized cemetery.' Hathaleen, 31, had written and spoke out against settler violence, and had helped produce the Oscar-winning film. Supporters have erected murals in his honor in Rome, held vigils in New York and have held signs bearing his name at anti-war protests in Tel Aviv.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Senegal PM unveils economic recovery plan based on domestic resources
Senegal's prime minster unveiled an economic recovery plan for the highly indebted nation on Friday, focused on reviving its economy with a shift towards greater domestic funding. The west African country faces a deteriorating economy, marked by a 14-percent budget deficit and outstanding public debt that represents 119 percent of GDP, said Senegal Economy Minister Abdourahmane Sarr. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko declared that under the new economic plan "90 percent of resources are expected to come from the mobilisation of internal resources and without external debt". The declaration received strong applause at the Grand Theatre de Dakar, where it was revealed in a ceremony before members of the government, including President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Faye took power more than a year ago promising economic and political sovereignty, including putting an end to economic dependence on foreign countries, notably former colonial ruler France. Sonko, a political mentor to Faye, was ineligible to run in the March 2024 election, pushing his mentee to the forefront instead. Together, the pair have presented themselves as left-wing pan-Africanists. Faye and Sonko claim to have inherited a heavy burden from their predecessor, president Macky Sall, whom they accuse of having presided over widespread financial mismanagement since he assumed power in 2012. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team that visited Senegal in March confirmed that officials had made false statements regarding budget deficits and public debt for the period 2019–2023. It said the 2023 budget deficit was 12.3 percent of GDP, when the last government said it was 4.9 percent. Sonko said that the new economic plan "reflects the strong commitment of reinforcing our country's sovereignty". The plan includes a reduction in government expenditures and increased taxation in the digital, land and mining sectors. It will focus on three main areas: reduction of public debt, mobilisation of domestic resources and additional internal financing that does not create debt. The proposal comes as the unemployment rate is estimated at 20 percent, while poverty affects 36 percent of the population, according to Sarr, the economy minister. The new economic plan was unveiled ahead of an IMF mission to Senegal expected later this month. The fund suspended planned disbursements to Senegal as it waits on the current government to take corrective measures following the previous misrepresentations. In unveiling the new plan, Sonko said it was based on principles including "respect for Senegal's international commitments", particularly debt repayment. But "we want to reverse this legacy situation without worsening public debt and without selling off our natural and land resources", he said. He added that the plan would be implemented "without imposing excessive additional taxes on investors, to the detriment of our country's attractiveness". mrb-lp/bfm/kjm Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
12 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Russia's China Ties Spur Boom in Learning Mandarin
A boom in learning Mandarin, including in President Vladimir Putin's family, has become a stark example of Russia's continued pivot toward China and away from ties with the West. Amid a rise in job postings requiring the language, a surge in Chinese classes and new study abroad opportunities, one unique strategy that's been employed by some of Russia's elite has been to hire nannies from China. In the last three years, demand for Mandarin-speaking nannies has spiked, well overtaking French- and German-speakers to fall second only to English, said Valentin Grogol, the head of English Nanny, a company that places foreign caregivers with Russian families.
