Fact-checking Trump’s claim that crime in Washington is ‘out of control’
US President Donald Trump said he is deploying 800 National Guard soldiers to Washington, DC, and taking control of its police department after claiming that crime was “out of control” in the capital city. The nation’s capital is “becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness,” Trump said at an August 11 news conference as he invoked the Home Rule Act to take federal control of the city. “Washington, DC, should be one of the safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world, and we’re going to make it that.” But many of the details Trump cited do not stand up to scrutiny. Trump’s actions are a step towards making good on his threat of a federal takeover of the district after carjackers severely beat a former Department of Government Efficiency employee. In a news briefing after Trump’s announcement, Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser said the district would cooperate with the federal government and added that she speaks with Trump often about the city’s progress on crime. “In fact, my first meeting with him after he was elected the second time, we went over the crime trends; we went over how we are seeing decreases, so the president is read in on our efforts,” she said. So why did Trump decide to take DC under federal control, and did he falsely claim that the crime rate had spiked in the capital city? Can Trump invoke a federal takeover of Washington, DC, under Section 740 of DC Home Rule Act? Trump cannot take over the city without congressional approval. He is using an emergency provision to temporarily oversee the district’s police force. Advertisement The US Constitution created the District of Columbia as a seat of the federal government. In 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Home Rule Act, enabling district residents to elect a mayor and city council. The law gives the district autonomy for local governance, but the city still answers to Congress on matters including budgetary oversight and the ability to overturn local legislation. Section 740 of the Home Rule Act allows the president to temporarily take control of the city’s police department during an emergency. In an August 11 executive order, Trump invoked Section 740, citing crime in the district as an emergency. The executive order says federal use of the district’s Metropolitan Police Department is needed to maintain law and order; protect federal buildings and monuments; and ensure “conditions necessary for the orderly functioning of the Federal Government.” Trump delegated operational control of the department to US Attorney General Pam Bondi. The emergency powers cannot extend past 48 hours, the law says, unless the president notifies Congress in writing about the reason and the time period needed. If he notifies Congress, Trump can extend the emergency for up to 30 days. Did Washington, DC, homicides reach the highest rate ever in 2023? Trump said, “Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate, probably ever. They say 25 years, but they don’t know what that means, because it just goes back 25 years. Can’t be worse.” The city’s Metropolitan Police Department data showed 274 homicides in 2023, the highest number over the past 20 years. Trump omitted that the department’s preliminary crime data shows homicides have declined 32 percent since 2023, to 187 in 2024. The homicide rate continues to decline. This year, through August 11, homicides decreased by 12 percent compared with the same time period in 2024. Jeff Asher, an analyst for AH Datalytics, told PolitiFact that the homicide rate increased substantially after 2020, peaking in 2023 at 39 per 100,000 people. That was the highest rate since 2003, but far below the 1991 peak of 81 per 100,000 people. The falling rate matches national trends, Asher said. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said on X that the city police statistics are not as they seem. Cheung attached a July WRC-TV story about a district police commander’s May suspension after he was accused of altering crime statistics. Fraternal Order of Police Chairman Gregg Pemberton told the TV station that union members and management said the command staff want to “make sure that these classifications of these reports are adjusted over time to make sure that the overall crime stats stay down.” Advertisement A police spokesperson told PolitiFact that Commander Michael Pulliam is on administrative leave and the department can’t comment on active internal investigations. The union did not respond to our request for comment. Have violent crimes such as carjacking increased in Washington, DC? Trump said, “The number of car thefts has doubled over the past five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled.” Trump is correct that the number of these crimes increased, but he did not mention a recent decline in carjackings. The city’s dashboard shows carjackings rose from 2020 through 2023 before declining in 2024. This year, through August 9, there have been 188 carjackings compared with 299 during the same time period in 2024, and compared with 607 in 2023, a police spokesperson told PolitiFact. The city’s preliminary car theft data shows a 25 percent drop from 2023 to 2024, and car thefts are essentially flat year to date in 2025 compared with the same period last year. “Auto theft increased a huge amount in DC after 2020 before surging again in 2023 following the video being posted showing how to steal certain models of Kia and Hyundai cars,” Asher said. The “Kia Boyz” phenomenon happened nationwide. Overall, the city’s data shows that, through August 11 this year, compared with 2024, violent crime in the district declined by 26 percent. Washington, DC’s violent crime decrease is part of a nationwide trend in major cities. Does implementing cashless bail affect crime rates? Trump said, “The radical left City Council adopted no cash bail. By the way, every place in the country where you have no cash bail is a disaster … Somebody murders somebody, and they’re out on no cash bail before the day is out.” “No cash bail” or “cashless bail” allows certain defendants awaiting trial to be released from custody without paying bail. Even with cashless bail laws in
The last will of Anas al-Sharif
NewsFeed Before his murder by Israeli forces in Gaza, Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif wrote a final message to be shared with the world in the event of his death. These are his words, narrated by a Palestinian colleague. Published On 12 Aug 202512 Aug 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Widow of slain Al Jazeera journalist demands justice
NewsFeed “Stop the killing of our spouses.” The widow of slain Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Qreiqeh says he was a kind, loving father and husband before he was assassinated by Israeli forces to silence his coverage on the Gaza war. Published On 12 Aug 202512 Aug 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Trump names conservative economist to lead labour statistics agency
US president’s nomination comes after firing of agency head raised concerns about integrity of US government statistics. United States President Donald Trump has tapped an economist from a conservative think tank to lead a key statistics agency after firing its previous head over her role in the release of weak employment figures. Trump said on Monday that he had nominated EJ Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). “Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE. I know E.J. Antoni will do an incredible job in this new role. Congratulations E.J.!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump’s nomination of Antoni, who requires confirmation by the US Senate, comes after his firing of Erika McEntarfer earlier this month raised concerns about US government statistics remaining credible and free of political influence. Trump justified McEntarfer’s dismissal by claiming, without evidence, that the latest jobs report, which showed sharply slower jobs growth for May and June than previously estimated, had been “rigged” to make him look bad. At the Heritage Foundation, Antoni, who had called for McEntarfer’s removal shortly before she was fired, has consistently showered Trump with praise. After Trump’s announcement of a trade deal with Japan last month, Antoni described the agreement as “darn close” to perfect and the US president and his Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, as “artistic masters”. Last week, Antoni said in a social media post that there were “better ways to collect, process, and disseminate” economic data, and that the next head of the BLS would need to deliver “accurate data in a timely manner” to rebuild trust in the agency. Advertisement Antoni and the Heritage Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Antoni’s nomination swiftly drew criticism from economists, who raised concerns about his qualifications and partisan leanings. Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard Kennedy School who served as an adviser to former US President Barack Obama, called Antoni “completely unqualified”. “He is an extreme partisan and does not have any relevant expertise. He would be a break from decades of nonpartisan technocrats,” Furman said in a post on X. Erica Groshen, who led the BLS under Obama, voiced similar concerns. “So far, what worries me is that the nominee and his work are not well known in the business, academic or public service communities,” Groshen told Al Jazeera. Adblock test (Why?)
Zelenskyy says Putin readying for ‘new offensive’ in Ukraine, not ceasefire
Russian President Putin ‘is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire’, says Zelenskyy, as US, and Russian leaders scheduled to meet in Alaska. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Vladimir Putin is not preparing for a ceasefire but is readying his troops for “new offensive operations” in Ukraine, even as the Russian leader is set to meet US President Donald Trump for peace talks in Alaska. Zelenskyy said reports from Ukrainian intelligence and military commanders indicate that Putin intends to present his meeting on Friday with Trump as “a personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before” in the war on Ukraine. “He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war,” Zelenskyy said in a video message posted to his social media account on Monday night. “There is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation,” he said. “On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations. If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does,” he added. Today, there was a report from the intelligence and military command on what Putin is counting on and what he is actually preparing for, including military preparations. He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. Putin is determined only to present a… pic.twitter.com/T3sqQg0ltT — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 11, 2025 Ukraine’s military spokesperson for the southern front-line sector, Vladyslav Voloshyn, told the Reuters news agency on Monday that Russia was moving some military units in the Zaporizhia region for further assaults. Advertisement Earlier on Monday, Zelenskyy warned that any concessions to Russia would not persuade it to stop fighting in Ukraine. “Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore, must not receive any rewards or benefits,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Concessions do not persuade a killer,” he said. The Ukrainian leader’s warnings come in advance of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, and after the US president said that Kyiv would have to cede land to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, a proposition that Ukraine has firmly rejected. “There’ll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody; to the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also, some bad stuff for both,” Trump told a news conference in Washington, DC, on Monday. Trump also said he would know “probably in the first two minutes” of meeting with Putin, whether progress was possible. “I’m going to be telling him, ‘You’ve got to end this war,’” Trump said, adding that a future meeting with Putin could include Zelenskyy. United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also said on Monday that a peace deal for Ukraine must involve Kyiv and not be imposed upon it. “Both leaders underscored that Ukraine’s future must be one of freedom, sovereignty, and self-determination,” a spokesperson for Starmer said. Zelenskyy also said he had spoken to Canada’s Carney and told him that the “Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war”. “The situation on the battlefield and Russia’s wicked strikes on civilian infrastructure and ordinary people prove this clearly,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media. US-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which monitors the conflict in Ukraine on a daily basis, said in a recent report that Moscow does not appear to be preparing the Russian public for accepting “a settlement short of a full victory in Ukraine”. That assessment, the ISW said, was based on “the lack of change in public Kremlin messaging, in combination with ongoing speculation that Putin is looking to ‘outplay’ the West”. European leaders and Zelenskyy plan to speak with Trump in advance of his meeting with Putin as fears mount that Washington may dictate unfavourable peace terms to Ukraine after the Alaska summit. Adblock test (Why?)
Why is Trump sending US National Guard to Washington, DC?
United States President Donald Trump has announced that he is temporarily taking control of the Washington, DC, police department, while deploying 800 National Guard troops to the city. Trump said his actions are needed to “rescue” the US capital from a surge in crime. While violent crime spiked in Washington, DC, in 2023, data shows it has been falling quickly since then. Here is what we know: What has Trump announced? During a 78-minute news conference, Trump announced that the federal government would take control of the District of Columbia (DC) Metropolitan Police Department to address surging crime. “I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse,” Trump said during the conference in which he was joined by US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who will oversee the city’s police force while it is under federal control. “This is Liberation Day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back. We’re taking it back,” Trump said. “Under the authorities vested in me as the President of the United States, I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act… and placing the DC Metropolitan and Police Department under direct federal control,” he said. He also announced the deployment of the National Guard. “I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC, and they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly,” he said. Trump also said that he intends to remove the capital’s homeless population, but did not provide details on how the plan would be carried out. What is the Home Rule Act of 1973? The Home Rule Act of 1973 is a US federal law that gave Washington, DC, a significant degree of self-government for the first time. Advertisement Washington, DC, is the seat of the federal government and the only US city that is not part of the 50 states. As a result, it has no voting representation in Congress. For about a century, up until 1973, the city was run by three presidentially appointed commissioners. That was until then-President Richard Nixon signed the Home Rule Act, enabling district residents to elect a mayor and city council. But the Home Rule Act also says the president can take control of the city’s police force if “special conditions of an emergency nature exist”. This is something Trump threatened to do in 2020, amid nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd. The city’s police can be used for “federal purposes”. The president can use the DC police force for 48 hours, or up to 30 days if he notifies Congress. Trump said he plans to keep the federal takeover of the force going past the first 48 hours, and will officially inform the appropriate parties. The mayor of Washington, DC, Muriel Bowser, is adamant that the city still has control: “Let me be clear. Chief Pamela Smith is the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, and its 3,100 members work under her direction.” “Nothing about our organisational chart has changed,” Bowser said. “And nothing in the executive order would indicate otherwise.” According to a report by the news outlet Politico, federal law enforcement officers will be tasked with protecting federal buildings and national monuments. What do we know about the National Guard deployment? According to a statement from the US Army, “between 100-200 soldiers will be supporting law enforcement at any given time”. “Their duties will include an array of tasks from administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement,” the army said. The National Guard will operate under Title 32 status, meaning they remain under local control but are funded by the federal government. In this status, they are not bound by the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars US service members from engaging in law enforcement activities. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the Guard would begin flowing into DC this week. According to a report by CNN, deployed troops are not expected to openly carry rifles as they patrol the streets. Instead, they will probably keep their weapons nearby, for example, in their trucks, so they can access them if necessary for self-defence, the official said. Hegseth said the Pentagon was “prepared to bring in other National Guard units – other specialised units”, but did not offer any further details. Advertisement When asked whether the military would assist with clearing homeless people from the city, Hegseth said that the soldiers would assist local law enforcement. “Our job is to stand alongside law enforcement,” he said. Why is Trump taking these measures? In the executive order, Trump states that rising violence in the capital has become an emergency. The “rising violence in the capital now urgently endangers public servants, citizens, and tourists, disrupts safe and secure transportation and the proper functioning of the Federal Government”, the order states. “The magnitude of the violent crime crisis places the District of Columbia among the most violent jurisdictions in the United States.” It also says that the attorney general shall regularly update the president “on the status of the special conditions of an emergency nature that exist in the District of Columbia”. MAKE D.C. SAFE AGAIN 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xJRIcgy4ld — The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 11, 2025 According to reports, the move seems to have been triggered by an assault involving Edward Coristine, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer and protege of Elon Musk, who previously led DOGE. Police say 10 teenagers attacked the 19-year-old and his partner early on August 3. Two 15-year-olds were later arrested and charged. “If DC doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, days after the attack, with an image showing a shirtless Coristine with what appeared to be blood spattered on his face, body and trousers. “Perhaps
EU holds talks amid fear that Trump-Putin meeting will sideline Ukraine
The talks come ahead of a landmark meeting between the presidents of the US and Russia in Alaska on Friday. European foreign ministers are holding emergency talks to discuss their next steps before a meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, as Europe fears Ukraine will be excluded and forced into unacceptable territorial compromises to end the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fourth year. In a pre-US-Russia summit push aimed at consensus, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the NATO secretary general and several European leaders to a virtual meeting on Wednesday. The European Union’s top diplomats held a meeting by video link on Monday with their Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha. “The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland, and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement ahead of the call. Zelenskyy said on Monday that concessions to Moscow would not persuade it to stop fighting and that there was a need to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin. “Concessions do not persuade a killer,” he said. Zelenskyy insists he will never consent to any Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory nor give up his country’s bid for NATO membership. European leaders have also underscored their commitment to the idea that international borders cannot be changed by force. The EU has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal. The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said “the US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously”, but “any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security.” Advertisement Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday said that the US had pledged to consult with Europe ahead of the summit. “I will wait… for the effects of the meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin – I have many fears and a lot of hope,” he said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also expressed support for Trump’s efforts to end the war with Ukraine, as long as the terms for ending the war are not dictated. “Any peace must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it, and we will not reward aggression or compromise sovereignty. Ukraine will decide its own future, and we will support it every step of the way,” he said. Trump announced last week that he would meet Putin in Alaska on Friday to try to resolve the ongoing conflict. The meeting will be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since 2021. The US president is reportedly open to inviting Zelenskyy to Alaska, but there has been no confirmation as of yet. Putin has insisted the conditions must be right for him and the Ukrainian leader to meet in person. Aerial assaults intensifying In the meantime, aerial exchanges have intensified with diplomatic momentum to end the war in play, with Ukraine claiming to have hit a facility that produces missile components in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region. Local authorities said one person was killed in the attack and two were wounded. An official told Reuters that at least four drones hit the Arzamas manufacturing plant producing control systems and other components for Russian X-32 and X-101 missiles. The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defence units destroyed a total of 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 12 over the Tula region, as well as over the Crimean Peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014. The ministry also said its forces had taken control of the settlement of Lunacharske in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, which Ukraine renamed Fedorivka in 2016. Russia carried out several deadly attacks in various Ukrainian locations over the weekend, including in the fiercely contested areas of Kherson and Zaporizhia. Adblock test (Why?)
Here are the names of the journalists Israel killed in Gaza
Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, 28, has been killed along with four of his colleagues in a deliberate Israeli attack on a media tent sheltering journalists outside the main gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital. Al Jazeera reporter Hani al-Shaer said an Israeli drone hit the tent about 11:35pm (20:35 GMT) on Sunday. In total, seven people were killed in the attack, including Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, 33, and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, 25; Mohammed Noufal, 29; and Moamen Aliwa, 23. [Al Jazeera] Israel deliberately kills Al Jazeera journalists This is not the first time Israel has targeted Al Jazeera journalists covering the war in Gaza. Before Sunday night’s attack, at least five Al Jazeera journalists had been killed by Israel. [Al Jazeera] On December 14, 2023, Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa was targeted by an Israeli air strike while reporting alongside Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh, who was injured in the same attack. Abudaqa was left to bleed to death at the Farhana school in Khan Younis, where they were filming, as emergency workers were blocked by the Israeli military from reaching the site. On January 7, 2024, Wael’s eldest son and fellow Al Jazeera journalist, Hamza Dahdouh, was killed in a missile strike on the vehicle he was travelling in in Khan Younis. On July 31, 2024, Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed in an Israeli attack on the Shati refugee camp despite their vehicle bearing clear media markings and both wearing vests identifying themselves as members of the news media. People inspect a vehicle in which Al Jazeera reporter Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed by an Israeli strike on July 31, 2024 [Ayman Al Hassi/Reuters] On December 15, Israel killed Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed al-Louh in an air strike in central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp. Mourners attend the funeral of Ahmed al-Louh, a video journalist for Al Jazeera, and members of the Palestinian Civil Defence who were killed in an Israeli strike on a civil emergency centre in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip [Ramadan Abed/Reuters] On March 24, Hossam Shabat, 23, was killed in an Israeli attack in the eastern part of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. [Al Jazeera] Gaza: The deadliest war for journalists Israel’s war on Gaza has been the single deadliest conflict for journalists. Advertisement According to Brown University’s Costs of War project, more journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023, than in the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, the wars in the former Yugoslavia and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan – combined. [Al Jazeera] According to Reporters Without Borders, known by its French acronym RSF, 2024 was the deadliest year for journalists with more than 120 killed. Since the start of this year, more than 50 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza. Targeting journalists is a war crime Al Jazeera has condemned the targeted killing of its correspondents as “yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom”, noting that al-Sharif and his colleagues were among the last voices reporting from inside Gaza as international media remained barred by Israel. The Palestinian mission to the United Nations accused Israel of “deliberately assassinating” al-Sharif and Qreiqeh, saying they “systematically exposed and documented Israel’s genocide and starvation”. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson called for an investigation and stressed that journalists everywhere must be allowed to work without fear of being targeted. Amnesty International condemned the killings as a war crime and honoured al-Sharif as a “brave and extraordinary” reporter, noting he received the Human Rights Defender Award in 2024 for his commitment to press freedom. Al Jazeera Media Network condemns the targeted assassination of its correspondents Anas Al Sharif and Mohammeel Qraiqea, along with photographers Ibrahim Al Thaher, and Mohamed Nofal, by Israeli forces.#JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/F3p9PbhGZF — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 11, 2025 Every month, 13 journalists are killed in Gaza Nearly 270 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza in 22 months of war – or about 13 journalists every month – according to a tally by Shireen.ps, a monitoring website named after Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in 2022. What makes this statistic even more stark is that Gaza is losing voices on the ground at a time when Israel has banned international media from entering the besieged enclave. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said the killings of journalists and their detentions since October 7, 2023, have created a news void that will cause potential war crimes to go undocumented. Advertisement In June, the RSF, CPJ and news organisations published an open letter stating that many Palestinian journalists who have been relied on by reporters outside Gaza have faced a plethora of threats and many “face constant threats to their lives for doing their jobs: bearing witness”. The targeting of reporters has continued ever since despite international condemnation of Israel’s actions. In a statement, Amnesty International said: “Israel isn’t just assassinating journalists but attacking journalism itself by preventing the documentation of genocide.” The names of the journalists and media workers killed in Israel’s war on Gaza are listed below: [Al Jazeera] Adblock test (Why?)
Norway wealth fund divests from several Israeli companies due to Gaza war
The world’s largest fund has divested its stakes in 11 Israeli companies and is reviewing more. Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund says it is terminating all contracts with asset managers handling its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio. The announcement on Monday came after an urgent review launched last week after media reports said the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel’s military, including the maintenance of fighter jets, as Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and the Palestinian population rages. The fund, an arm of Norway’s central bank and the world’s largest, held stakes in 61 Israeli companies as of June 30 but in recent days divested stakes in 11 of these, it said in a statement. “We have now completely sold out of these positions,” the fund said, adding that it is continuing to review Israeli companies for potential divestments. “These measures were taken in response to extraordinary circumstances. The situation in Gaza is a serious humanitarian crisis,” Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, said in a statement. “We are invested in companies that operate in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently worsened. In response, we will further strengthen our due diligence.” The fund stated that it has “long paid particular attention to companies associated with war and conflict”. “We constantly monitor companies’ risk management related to conflict zones and respect for human rights,” it said. The Norwegian government began its review after Aftenposten, the country’s leading newspaper, revealed that the fund had a stake in Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd (BSEL), which provides parts to Israeli fighter jets that are being deployed in the war on Gaza. Advertisement Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store had said at the time that the investment was “worrying”. The sovereign fund, which owns stakes in 8,700 companies worldwide, has sold its stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecommunications group in the past year. In June, Norway’s largest pension fund also decided to sever its ties with companies doing business with Israel. That same month, however, Norway’s parliament rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in occupied Palestinian territory. Several of Europe’s biggest financial firms have cut back their links to Israeli companies or those with ties to the country, according to an analysis of filings by the Reuters news agency, as pressure mounts from activists and governments to end the war in Gaza. Last month, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, called on countries to cut off all trade and financial ties with Israel, including a full arms embargo, and withdraw international support for what she termed an “economy of genocide”. In a report titled From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide, Albanese detailed “the corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory”. The report singled out companies – including arms manufacturers, technology giants, heavy machinery companies and financial institutions – for their “complicity” in Israel’s repression of Palestinians from sustaining Israeli expansions onto occupied land to enabling the surveillance and killings of Palestinians. Adblock test (Why?)
Nagasaki commemorates atomic bombing 80 years on
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Japan has marked 80 years since the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.