Qatar to Pay for Syria to Get More Piped Gas From Azerbaijan
Qatar, which is already providing funding to get gas to Syria's power plants, will roughly double the amount from next month, the official said, asking not to be named as the information isn't yet public.
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Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel's left and right are both making Jewish state a global pariah
Israel's international standing is being battered from both ends of its political spectrum. The far Right undermines it with reckless belligerence; the far Left corrodes it with moral preening. It's a story that could be written even before it unfolds. On Tisha B'Av, the fast day marking the destruction of the two ancient Temples in Jerusalem, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir will go up to the Temple Mount. Once there, he will make some provocative statement that will be beamed worldwide. Shortly afterward, the Prime Minister's Office will issue a statement walking it back. On Sunday, that script — predictably — played itself out yet again. Ben-Gvir ascended the Temple Mount, led prayers there — in violation of the status quo that forbids public Jewish prayer — and said the following: 'I say this precisely from here - from the Temple Mount, where we've proven sovereignty is possible - that a clear message must be sent: The entire Gaza Strip must be conquered, sovereignty declared, every Hamas member taken down, and voluntary emigration promoted. Only then will we return the hostages and win the war.' The furious reaction from Jordan and Saudi Arabia quickly followed. As did this clarification from the Prime Minister's Office: 'Israel's policy of preserving the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed, nor will it change.' Another predictable part of the ritual followed as well: people asking themselves, or their friends, why Ben-Gvir doesn't just keep quiet already, why Netanyahu doesn't muzzle him, and whether they both don't realize the damage these comments cause to Israel's standing internationally. Words that harm Israel's image Ben-Gvir is not the only far-right minister whose careless words irreparably harm Israel's image. Just last week, Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, responding to an interviewer who noted Israel was racing toward a hostage deal, said that Israel was instead racing ahead 'for Gaza to be wiped out.' He added that all of Gaza will be Jewish, and that — unlike Israel's prior settlements in Gush Katif — 'there will not be settlements inside cantons, closed up behind a fence.' At a time when Israel is facing a diplomatic backlash of the kind it has rarely experienced — when it is being accused of starving the Gazan population, committing ethnic cleansing and even genocide — statements like these are seized upon by the country's harshest critics to validate their claims. The harm is real and lasting. In the torrent of commentary last week from politicians and pundits trying to understand and explain the West's growing hostility toward Israel — in the avalanche of countries announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state and essentially reward Hamas — many pointed directly to statements like these. Not just isolated comments by Ben-Gvir or Eliyahu, but a steady stream of similar remarks over recent months from figures like Bezalel Smotrich, Orit Struck, and others. So much so that some diplomatic officials are urging Netanyahu to freeze all Gaza-related media appearances by government ministers — whether to international or domestic outlets — because even a seemingly minor interview with an obscure local radio station can and will be translated, circulated, and weaponized abroad. But here's the rub: it's not only the extreme Right that's damaging Israel's standing. Just look at the far Left. The international media is now running wild with an interview that author David Grossman gave to an Italian daily in which he described Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide. In a Friday interview with La Repubblica, Grossman said he was leveling the genocide accusation with 'intense pain and a broken heart.' 'For many years I refused to use this word,' he said. 'But now, after the images I've seen, what I've read, and what I've heard from people who were there, I can't help but use it.' Do you think Eliyahu's rhetoric was damaging? It pales in comparison to Grossman accusing Israel of genocide. As a celebrated author who lost his son in Lebanon, Grossman's words carry tremendous moral weight abroad. If he says Israel is committing genocide, then who are La Repubblica's readers — or anyone else — to argue? Grossman's defenders will say that it's the statements from Eliyahu, Ben-Gvir, and Smotrich that are isolating Israel internationally. But so are Grossman's. He may believe that by saying what he did, he's presenting the moral, compassionate face of Israel. But many abroad will simply take his words and use them — deliberately and gleefully — to portray Israel as an irredeemable villain, as a perpetrator of genocide. And Grossman is far from alone. Worried that Ben-Gvir is turning Israel into a pariah state? Consider this editorial last week by Yuli Novak, head of B'Tselem, published in the ever-hostile Guardian. The headline: 'I lead a top Israeli human rights group. Our country is committing genocide.' That headline is an echo of a recent New York Times op-ed written by an Israeli academic who has taught in the US since 1989 — Omer Bartov — titled: 'I am a genocide scholar. I know it when I see it.' His conclusion: Israel is committing genocide. All this is to say nothing of the Ehud Olmerts and Moshe Ya'alons -- the former accusing Israel of war crimes, the latter of ethnic cleansing. Their harsh words are picked up with enthusiasm by the international press, often stripped of context. Context, like Ya'alon's personal grudge as a frustrated former defense minister pushed out by Netanyahu, or Olmert's bitterness as a disgraced former prime minister who served 16 months in prison. In May, Olmert wrote in Haaretz: 'What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians. We're not doing this due to loss of control in any specific sector, not due to some disproportionate outburst by some soldiers in some unit. Rather, it's the result of government policy — knowingly, evilly, maliciously, irresponsibly dictated. Yes, Israel is committing war crimes.' That op-ed has been cited and quoted repeatedly since its publication, used by critics as authoritative evidence to support the most vile charges being leveled against the Jewish state. So what's the point? The point is simple: Israel's international standing is being battered from both ends of its political spectrum. The far Right undermines it with reckless belligerence; the far Left corrodes it with sanctimonious moral preening. One declares that Gaza should be wiped out, the other accuses Israel of genocide. One shouts, the other indicts. Both hands of ammunition to those eager to delegitimize the country. Both feed the same narrative: that Israel is evil. And left to pay the price and bear the consequences for these over-the-top and irresponsible remarks are the millions of Israelis in the middle — the vast majority — who are being defined in the eyes of the world by the rhetoric and portrayals of those on the country's extremes. Solve the daily Crossword
Wall Street Journal
44 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
AI's Overlooked $97 Billion Contribution to the Economy
The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3% in the second quarter, which is great news. Does that mean artificial intelligence is delivering on its long-promised benefits? No, because gross domestic product isn't the best place to look for AI's contribution. Yet the official government numbers substantially underestimate the benefits of AI. First-quarter 2025 GDP was down an annualized 0.5%. Labor productivity growth ticked up a respectable but hardly transformative 2.3% in 2024, following a few lean years of gains and losses. Is AI overhyped?
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
After a blown deadline, what next for US-Canada trade?
A self-imposed deadline for a new US-Canada trade deal came and went on Friday. So what happens next for these two deeply entwined neighbours? Canada and the US have been locked in a tariff war for six months and, despite talk of "intense" negotiations in recent weeks, a trade agreement remains elusive. Both President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney have poured cold water on the idea they will reach a quick, and tariff-free, deal. And Trump's open criticism of Canada's move to recognise a Palestinian state dashed hopes for a last-minute agreement earlier this week. The pessimism marks a shift in tone from as recently as June's G7 meeting, when the two leaders set themselves the summer deadline. Canadian negotiators have come to the conclusion that "it's not the end of the world" if a quick deal isn't reached and "that quality over speed and a rushed agreement matters a lot", said Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa. Carney - who has been tight-lipped about the negotiation details - has said as much himself, repeating that just "any deal" won't do. Still, there are pressures on both sides to give businesses a reprieve. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said on Friday he shares "Canadians' disappointment" that a deal was not reached by the deadline. He urged Carney's Liberals to do more to "take back control of our economic future". Canada is now facing a 35% tariff rate, though there is a carve out for goods compliant under a current free trade deal. American global tariffs on steel, aluminium, autos and auto parts are hurting, as the US is a top market for those sectors. On Sunday, Canada's minister for US-Canada trade Dominic LeBlanc told the BBC's US partner CBS News that trade talks will continue, and that negotiations so far have been "informative, constructive and cordial." LeBlanc added he expects Carney and Trump to speak again in the coming days. "We think there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down some of these tariffs, and provide greater certainty to investment," he said. The Trump administration has justified those tariffs by claiming a lack of co-operation on stemming the flow of illicit drugs like fentanyl. Canada denies that, noting about 1% of US fentanyl imports originate in Canada. It has also brought in new border protections and a "fentanyl czar" in recent months in an effort to address Trump's concerns. Threatened tariffs on copper and the expected end of a global tariff exemption used by shoppers of goods under $800 could also pinch. Canada has responded with C$60bn ($43.3bn; £32.3bn) in counter tariffs on various American goods - the only country along with China to directly retaliate against Trump. "It comes as no surprise that businesses are craving certainty after months and months of tumultuous announcements," said Catherine Fortin-Lefaivre, vice-president of international policy and global partnership at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "But at the same time, they're not craving certainty at the expense of a really bad deal." A few factors give Canada some breathing room. On paper, it looks like the country is facing a severe tariff rate from the US, but trade is currently more free than the levies suggest at first glance. In March, Trump announced a tariffs reprieve on goods compliant with the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement, known in Canada as CUSMA and the US as the USMCA. That deal - negotiated during Trump's first term in office - came into force five years ago. Almost 90% of Canadian exports to the US are ultimately able to cross the border duty free, if firms file out necessary paperwork, under that agreement. "That has given us a buffer, no question about it, that other countries don't have right now," said Prof Hampson. It means Canada is overall paying a much lower tariff rate than many of the deals already inked with the US, like the EU, South Korea and Japan at 15%, or Indonesia and the Philippines at 19%. Ottawa has also brought in some relief programmes for affected industries and has also collected about C$1.5bn more in import duties than in the same period last year, due to the counter tariffs. Why Trump's global tariffs 'victory' may well come at a high price See the Trump tariffs list by country Five things now pricier in Canada due to tariffs 'In business, indecision is killer' - Canadian firms seek certainty And while in the US consumer confidence is up and prices there have remained contained, it helps Canada's negotiating position if they can wait for Americans to start feeling the pain of tariffs. "It's Americans who are going to squawk," said Prof Hampson. Ms Fortin-Lefaivre predicts US businesses, especially smaller firms that don't have the same resources to withstand them, will be pressuring political leaders. "So that pressure could play to our advantage," she said. Canadians also appear willing to give the new prime minister some leeway. Opinion polls suggest they are generally satisfied with his handling of trade. Carney "understands that doing what's best for the economy right now is actually what's best for him politically", Martha Hall Findlay, director of the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy and a former Liberal MP, told the BBC. Trump has said he is imposing tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing, open overseas markets and raise money for the government. He is also using them to push countries like Canada on a range of non-trade issues, including military spending. In the last few weeks, Ottawa has significantly ramped up its defence spending, boosted security at the shared border and killed a digital tax opposed by American tech firms. Those moves show Canada is "doing what the Americans wanted us to do", said Ms Fortin-Lefaivre. She hopes Canadian negotiators are pushing for tariffs to be as low as possible, as well as working to ensure the two deeply integrated supply chains are able to continue working together. Canada is pressing for relief on the 50% steel and aluminium tariffs, which are squeezing US automakers. And on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signalled in an interview with CNBC that is an option on the table. Trump meanwhile, has raised a number of longstanding trade irritants besides fentanyl, including Canada's protections around its dairy industry. Ottawa has previously warned of more countermeasures to come if talks collapse, though political appetite for that may be waning. Retaliatory tariffs "haven't seemed to have had the kind of impact that we would hope for", British Columbia Premier David Eby recently told Bloomberg. On retaliation, Prof Hampson said: "The Americans have escalation dominance here. So you want to be smart about it." A spokesperson for Carney declined to say whether more countermeasures remained on the table. Meanwhile, Canadian negotiators have been in Washington most of this week and keep pushing talks forward, with the minister responsible for Canada-US trade saying on Friday an acceptable agreement "was not yet in sight". "We all crave the certainty of a deal," said Ms Fortin-Lefaivre. But research by her business group suggests firms are making contingency plans. Almost 40% of goods exporters have already diversified suppliers outside the US, and 28% have diversified buyers. They are also looking ahead to what may be more challenging talks with CUSMA, which has proven a critical backstop, as it is up for review next year. It is all part of a wider push by the country to diversify trade away from the US, pull down barriers that have hindered trade between provinces, and press forward more quickly on major projects. The economic links between the two countries will stay strong - Canada will still be one of the largest trading partners and economic and security allies of the US. But the irony is that Trump's threats may be "forcing Canada to understand we have to get our own economic house in order," said Ms Hall Findlay. "It's going to take some really tough decisions. And I do think our current government gets this." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
