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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 …

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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.

US tech giant Nvidia announced Tuesday it will resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports.The California-based company produces some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to concerns that Beijing could use …

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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Tuesday said the bloc was leaving the door open to action against Israel over the war in Gaza if the humanitarian situation does not improve.Kallas has put forward 10 potential options after Israel was found to have breached a cooperation deal between the two sides on human rights grounds.The measures range from suspending the entire accord or curbing trade ties to sanctioning Israeli ministers, imposing an arms embargo and halting visa-free travel.Despite growing anger over the devastation in Gaza, EU states remain divided over how to tackle Israel and there was no critical mass for taking any of the moves at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.”We will keep these options on the table and stand ready to act if Israel does not live up to its pledges,” Kallas told journalists.”The aim is not to punish Israel. The aim is to really improve the situation in Gaza.”That comes after Kallas on Thursday announced a deal with Israel to open more entry points and allow in more food.Gaza’s two million residents face dire humanitarian conditions as Israel has severely limited aid during its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas.”We see some positive signs when it comes to opening border crossings, we see some positive signs of them reconstructing the electricity lines, providing water, also more trucks of humanitarian aid coming in,” Kallas said Monday.But she said the situation in Gaza remained “catastrophic”. “Of course, we need to see more in order to see real improvement for the people on the ground,” she said. – ‘Use our leverage’ -Irish minister Thomas Byrne, whose country has been one of the toughest in the EU on Israel, said Kallas had committed to updating member states every two weeks on the progress of humanitarian access to Gaza.”So far, we haven’t really seen the implementation of it, maybe some very small actions, but there’s still slaughter going on,” he said.”So we need to see action and we need to use our leverage.”While the EU appears unable to take further moves against Israel, just getting to this stage has been a considerable step.The bloc only agreed to review the cooperation deal after Israel relaunched military operations in Gaza following the collapse of a ceasefire in March.Until then, deep divisions between countries backing Israel and those more favourable to the Palestinians had hamstrung any move.But the splits within the bloc mean that it has struggled to have a major impact on the war in Gaza and Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar had predicted confidently that the bloc wouldn’t take any further action on Monday.The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which led to 1,219 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Of 251 people taken hostage by Hamas, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry says that at least 58,386 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign. The UN considers those figures reliable.Israel and Hamas have been in indirect talks for two weeks over a new ceasefire deal, but talks appear to be deadlocked. 

Thousands of Afghans who worked with the UK and their families were brought to Britain in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk, the British government revealed on Tuesday.Defence Minister John Healey unveiled the scheme to parliament after the UK High Court on Tuesday lifted a super-gag order banning any reports of the events.In February 2022, a spreadsheet containing the names and details of almost 19,000 Afghans who had asked to be relocated to Britain was accidentally leaked by a UK official just six months after Taliban fighters seized Kabul, Healey said.”This was a serious departmental error,” Healey said, adding: “Lives may have been at stake.”The previous Conservative government put in place a secret programme in April 2024 to help those “judged to be at the highest risk of reprisals by the Taliban”, he said.Some 900 Afghans and 3,600 family members have now been brought to Britain or are in transit under the programme known as the Afghan Response Route, at a cost of around £400 million ($535 million), Healey said. Applications from 600 more people have also been accepted, bringing the estimated total cost of the scheme to £850 million.They are among some 36,000 Afghans who have been accepted by Britain under different schemes since the August 2021 fall of Kabul.As Labour’s opposition defence spokesman, Healey was briefed on the scheme in December 2023 but the Conservative government asked a court to impose a “super-injunction” banning any mention of it in parliament or by the press.When Labour came to power in July 2024, the scheme was in full swing but Healey said he had been “deeply uncomfortable to be constrained from reporting” to parliament. “Ministers decided not to tell parliamentarians at an earlier stage about the data incident, as the widespread publicity would increase the risk of the Taliban obtaining the dataset,” he explained.- ‘No retribution’ -Healey set up a review of the scheme when he became defence minister in the new Labour government. This concluded there was “very little evidence of intent by the Taliban to conduct a campaign of retribution”.The Afghan Response Route has now been closed, the minister said, apologising for the data breach which “should never have happened”. He estimated the total cost of relocating people from Afghanistan to Britain at between £5.5 billion to £6 billion.Conservative party defence spokesman James Cartlidge also apologised for the leak which happened under the previous Tory government. But he defended the decision to keep it secret, saying the aim had been to avoid “an error by an official of the British state leading to torture or even murder of persons in the dataset at the hands of what remains a brutal Taliban regime”.Healey said all those brought to the UK from Afghanistan had been accounted for in the country’s immigration figures. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to cut the number of migrants arriving in Britain.In 2023, the UK defence ministry was fined £350,000 by a data watchdog for disclosing personal information of 265 Afghans seeking to flee Taliban fighters in the chaotic fall of Kabul two years earlier.Britain’s Afghanistan evacuation plan was widely criticised, with the government accused by MPs of “systemic failures of leadership, planning and preparation”.Hundreds of Afghans eligible for relocation were left behind, many with their lives potentially at risk after details of staff and job applicants were left at the abandoned British embassy in Kabul.