France, Germany, Italy and Britain back Arab plan for Gaza reconstruction

According to Reuters, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Britain said on Saturday they supported an Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza that would cost US$53 billion and avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave.

"The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza," the ministers said in a joint statement.

The plan, which was drawn up by Egypt and adopted by Arab leaders on Tuesday, has been rejected by Israel and by US President Donald Trump, who has presented his own vision to turn the Gaza Strip into a "Middle East Riviera".

The Egyptian proposal envisages the creation of an administrative committee of independent, professional Palestinian technocrats entrusted with the governance of Gaza after the end of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

The committee would be responsible for the oversight of humanitarian aid and managing the Strip's affairs for a temporary period under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority.

The statement issued by the four European countries on Saturday said they were committed to working with the Arab initiative, and they appreciated the important signal the Arab states had sent by developing it.

The statement said Hamas "must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel any more" and that the four countries "support the central role for the Palestinian Authority and the implementation of its reform agenda.

 

 

Indians freed from slave like working conditions in Italy

Dozens of Indian nationals held in “slave-like” working conditions near Verona in northern Italy have been freed, a spokesperson for Italy’s financial police told CNN.

Thirty-three Indian farm workers were allegedly forced to work more than 10 hours a day, seven days a week, for wages of around US$4 an hour that were sometimes withheld, a statement from the police said.

The police spokesperson said they also confiscated more than US$500,000 in cash and other assets from two Indian nationals suspected of being gang-masters. The money is believed to be tied to the alleged sale of the workers as low-cost labor, they said.

This comes as Italian authorities were investigating the death of a 31-year-old Indian national who died after his arm was severed in an accident at a fruit farm in June.

The 33 freed workers were lured to Italy by Indian brokers who worked with traffickers in promising people legitimate jobs, the spokesperson said.

The workers had each paid more than 17,000 euros (around US$18,500) for travel and for what turned out to be fake seasonal work permits to enter the country, according to the spokesperson.

Many of the workers were charged an additional 13,000 euros (around US$14,100) in a promise of permanent work permits, according to the police statement.

“To guarantee their total silence and submission, the two Indian subjects took away the passports of the laborers as soon as they arrived in Italy and imposed on them an absolute ban on leaving the dilapidated houses in which they were forced to live under threat, several times implemented, of physical retaliation in case of refusal,” the police statement said.

The identities and genders of the freed workers have not been made public.

The financial police said they are now investigating the business relationships the suspected gang-masters had with other entities, including many companies who used the low-cost labor.

On Saturday, the Indian embassy in Rome said on X that it was aware of media reports about Indian nationals working in agricultural farms in Italy.

“We are in contact with Italian authorities and the Indian community to ensure safety and well-being of Indian nationals,” it added.

Italy has a complicated history with labor trafficking. In 2018, the financial police said that at least a quarter of all agriculture-related labor was tied to a gang-master system whereby farm and other labor workers are contracted out by individuals who “own” them. The practice has been illegal since 2016 after a female laborer working under slave-like conditions for little money died.

More than 11 percent of all workers in Italy work in the black market, meaning they are not documented even if they are Italian nationals, and neither they nor their employees pay taxes on their salaries, which serves to enable labor trafficking, according to the police spokesperson.

Iran Oil Show 2024 opens today

Despite all the propaganda against Iran oil industry's international successes and its energy diplomacy approach, the growing number of foreign oil companies’ presence at the 28th Oil Show is a clear sign of rising trust in Iran’s oil industry.

Director of the 28th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition, known as Iran’s Oil Show 2024, Gholamreza Jamali, made the remarks during a press conference on May 06 in Tehran adding the exhibition opens its doors to the public on May 08.

Jamali said that 1750 oil industry related companies, including 250 foreign companies from 12 countries including Russia, China, Germany, France, Japan, Belarus, India, Canada, Italy, Turkey, Austria and Argentina shows that Iran’s oil show is not only one of the largest oil exhibitions at home but also in the West Asia region.

The great achievements of Iran’s oil industry over the last two years, is due to the support of the Minister of Petroleum, Jamali said at the press conference.

A number of companies failed to take part in this year’s oil exhibition mainly due to lack of appropriate infrastructures expressing hope improvement in the facilities to provide proper conditions for participation of all companies in the next rounds of oil exhibitions.

Elsewhere in his remarks he said, a number of world high-ranking officials have been invited to participate at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

According to him, while during last year’s oil exhibition, just 2 thousand square meters had been allocated to accommodate foreign companies, this space has been expanded this year so that the foreign companies’ exclusive space reaches 5 thousand square meters.

 As far as it concerns allocating spaces, the organizers have decided to pay attention to the arrangement based on upstream, midstream and downstream activities and the halls and booths locations are somehow related to the subject of value chain in the oil industry

In order to support the technological innovations in the oil industry, an especial space has been allocated to the knowledge-based companies, technological companies, universities and start-ups, he also said.

Pointing out that numerous side events that will be held on the sidelines of the exhibition, the director of the Tehran Oil Show 2024 announced that many of these events would lead to the signing of contracts and memorandums of understanding in the oil industry, resulting in boosting production with economic results.

Jamali noted that providing appropriate conditions for direct connection between private and public sector activists is one of the main functions of the oil exhibition every year, which often faces some obstacles over the year due to the existence of administrative bureaucracy.

Announcing the slogan of this year's oil exhibition as "Oil industry, production leap, technological optimization", he said, "At this year’s exhibition we will reveal some equipment for the first time which is very important in view of meeting domestic needs and exporting to other countries."

The International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition as the main and most important oil event in Iran is held annually by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) with the support of the Petroleum Ministry.

The Petroleum Ministry’s subsidiaries including the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) and the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) have an active presence in the event.

Iran Oil Show 2024 is being held from May 08 to May 11 at Tehran International Permanent Fairground.

World powers oppose Israeli settlement authorization

Foreign ministers of four European countries and Canada joined Washington on Tuesday in opposing a decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to authorize nine Jewish settler outposts in the occupied West Bank.

The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States issued a joint statement voicing concern over the plans announced by Israel on Sunday.

"We strongly oppose unilateral actions which will only serve to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution," they said.

Later, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Ottawa also strongly opposed the expansion of settlements and added that such unilateral actions jeopardize efforts to achieve comprehensive, just and lasting peace.

On Sunday, Israel granted retroactive authorization to nine settler outposts in the West Bank and announced mass construction of new homes in established settlements, prompting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to say he was deeply troubled.

Israel's foreign ministry had no immediate comment but Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, from the hardliner religious nationalist bloc in Netanyahu's government, said he wanted to go further.

"This is our mission. This is our doctrine," Ben-Gvir said. "Nine settlements are nice but it's still not enough. We want much more," he said in a video message.

Most world powers view as illegal the settlements Israel has built on land it captured in a 1967 war with Arab powers.

Israel disputes that and cites biblical, historical and political links to the West Bank, as well as security interests.

Since the 1967 war, it has established 132 settlements on land Palestinians see as the core of a future state, according to the Peace Now watchdog group.

Besides the authorized settlements, groups of settlers have built scores of outposts without government permission. Some have been razed by police, others authorized retroactively. The nine granted approval on Sunday is the first for this Netanyahu government.

Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official, welcomed the joint statement but added, "We demand that words be turned to deeds."

With tensions in the West Bank already high, the move has alarmed world powers which fear an even greater escalation of violence. Israeli forces have conducted near daily raids in the West Bank, pursuing a crackdown begun last year in the wake of a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks.

This year more than 40 Palestinians, including both militant fighters and civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces. At the same time, 10 people have been killed in Israel in two attacks by Palestinians.

 

Joe Biden to ask G7 nations to ban import of Russian gold

US President, Joe Biden said Sunday that the Group of Seven (G7) nations will ban Russian gold imports to further impose financial costs on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.  

“The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deny him the revenue he needs to fund his war against Ukraine,” Biden tweeted on Sunday. “Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that rakes in tens of billions of dollars for Russia.” 

Biden’s announcement came on the first day of a G7 meeting in Germany; a formal announcement is expected later on during the summit.  

While it does not bring in as much money as energy, gold is a major source of revenue for the Russian economy. Restricting exports to G7 economies will cause more financial strain to Russia as it wages the war in Ukraine.  

The G7 includes the United States, France, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy.  

The US and its allies have been searching for more ways to punish Russia for the bloody war that recently entered its fifth month. Biden has announced waves of penalties coordinated with allies that range from sanctions on Russian officials and oligarchs to export controls to sanctions on major Russian banks.  

Still, Europeans are limited in what they can do because of their dependence on Russian energy imports. European countries have vowed to phase out Russian oil but have not taken steps like the US to do so immediately.  

Biden administration officials teased new announcements to squeeze Russia ahead of Biden’s trip to Europe and it is possible there will be more announcements beyond the plan to ban Russian gold imports.  

Biden embarked on the trip to Europe for the G7 meeting and, later, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit with the goal of demonstrating unity with allies on keeping up pressure on Russia even as the war roils the global economy. 

Biden spent Sunday morning meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and later participated in a working lunch with other leaders.  

A White House readout of Biden’s meeting with Scholz indicated Ukraine was a main topic of conversation.  

“The leaders underlined their commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as their continued provision of military, economic, humanitarian, and diplomatic support to help Ukraine defend its democracy against Russian aggression,” the White House readout said. “The leaders also discussed efforts to alleviate the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global food and energy security.” 

Biden also thanked Scholz for committing to boosting Germany’s defense spending above NATO’s 2% of gross domestic product target.  

A White House official characterized the meeting as “very warm and friendly” and said there was “very broad alignment on all of the issues that they discussed and all the common challenges that our countries are working on together.”

 

United States and allies getting ready to kick certain Russian banks out of SWIFT

The White House on Saturday announced that the United States and allies will kick certain Russian banks out of a major international banking system, a significant step in a bid to cripple the Russian economy in response to its invasion of Ukraine. 

The Biden administration and European allies agreed to cut Russia out of access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a rapid shift from just days ago when it appeared such a move was unlikely in the near future.

The US and European nations also committed to imposing measures to prevent the Russian Central Bank from using its reserves to undermine sanctions and boost the ruble.

The announcement came via a joint statement from the leaders of the United States, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada. The leaders called Russian attacks on Ukraine "an assault on fundamental international rules and norms that have prevailed since the Second World War, which we are committed to defending."

"We stand with the Ukrainian people in this dark hour. Even beyond the measures we are announcing today, we are prepared to take further measures to hold Russia to account for its attack on Ukraine," they said in the statement.

Banks across the world use SWIFT to finalize transactions and transfers. Cutting Russia off from SWIFT would make it incredibly difficult for its banks to operate efficiently but could also wreak economic havoc for European nations that depend on Russian oil and natural gas exports. 

If a Russian bank that has been removed from SWIFT wants to make a transaction with a bank located outside of Russia, it will need to use the telephone or a fax machine, a senior administration official told reporters.

Biden on Thursday had indicated kicking Russia out of SWIFT was not part of the initial rounds of sanctions because not all European allies were on board with the measure. But as fighting intensified in Ukraine in recent days and Russia moved close to the capital of Kyiv, pressure grew for Western nations to offer a tougher response.

Additional measures announced on Saturday included limitations on the use of so-called golden passports that allow wealthy Russians with connections to the Kremlin to become citizens of other countries and access their financial systems.

The US and its allies also said they would announce a task force to ensure the effective implementation of the coordinated sanctions being imposed on Russia.

The Biden administration and European allies have unveiled multiple rounds of sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began late Wednesday night. The US has sanctioned multiple Russian financial institutions to freeze their US assets as well as a list of several Russian oligarchs.

The White House on Friday announced additional sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and a dozen of his top advisers, freezing any of their assets in the United States.

Imposing sanctions on Russia's central bank could crush the country's economy and financial sector; depending on how severely Western allies restrict its assets.

With limited access to its foreign reserves, Russia could face serious challenges keeping targeted banks afloat and mitigating the economic impact of sanctions. A total freeze on foreign reserves would likely devastate the Russian economy, cause a domestic financial crisis and leave the ruble worthless.

The United States has targeted the central banks of only North Korea, Iran and Venezuela with sanctions — nations with limited leverage over the global economy. Taking action against the Russian central bank could pose its own economic risks for the US and allies. The Biden administration and western allies have been wary of any sanctions that could limit access to Russian petroleum or natural gas exports.

"Our calculus is we have two choices," the senior administration official told reporters on Saturday. "Either we continue to ratchet costs higher to make this a strategic failure for President Putin, or the alternative, which is unacceptable, and that would be allowing unchecked aggression in the core of Europe."

 

World powers creating ground for Israeli attack on Iran

The statement jointly issued by the world powers on Friday accusing Iran of attacking an Israeli ship reminds me of the saga of presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq.  The time proved it was a ‘hoax call’ aimed at creating justification for attack on Iraq.

It may be recalled that earlier Israel convened a meeting in Jerusalem of representatives of United Nations Security Council nations to discuss the possibility of a retaliatory military strike on Iran for its attack on the Mercer Street. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared, “Now is the time for deeds — words are not enough. It is time for diplomatic, economic and even military deeds — otherwise the attacks will continue.”

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and Foreign Ministers of Group of Seven (G-7) nations and the European Union on Friday issued a joint statement condemning Iran for carrying out a “deliberate and targeted attack” on an Israeli-owned vessel last week that killed two of its international crew.

The statement serves as a show of international unity against Iran’s actions in the region and assigns the Islamic Republic responsibility for the oil tanker attack off the coast of Oman, violating international law meant to guarantee freedom of navigation in the international waters. 

The G-7 nations — United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom — were joined in the statement by the high representative of the European Union. 

“We condemn the unlawful attack committed on a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on 29th July, which killed a British and a Romanian national. This was a deliberate and targeted attack, and a clear violation of international law. All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack,” the statement read. 

The G-7 nations and the EU further condemned Iran’s support for “proxy forces and non-state armed actors” as threatening international peace and security.

The statement follows the US, UK and Romania assigning blame to Iran for attacking the Israeli-owned Mercer Street vessel on July with an explosive drone. 

A report published Friday from US Central Command identified the drones recovered in the attack as Iranian-made.

Blinken on Wednesday spoke with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on “ongoing efforts to forge a coordinated response to Iran’s attack,” according to a readout of the call.