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Norway Refuses to Toughen Investment Rules in Israeli Companies

This picture shows the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background) on June 1, 2025. (AFP)
This picture shows the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background) on June 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Norway Refuses to Toughen Investment Rules in Israeli Companies

This picture shows the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background) on June 1, 2025. (AFP)
This picture shows the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank (foreground) and the Israeli settlement of Shilo (background) on June 1, 2025. (AFP)

The Norwegian parliament on Wednesday rejected moves to toughen rules on its sovereign wealth fund investing in companies operating in the occupied West Bank.

Lawmakers voted by 88 to 16 against a proposal to order the fund to withdraw from companies "that contribute to Israel's war crimes and the illegal occupation" of the West Bank.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, fueled by vast revenue from the country's oil and gas exports, is the biggest the world and has nearly $1.65 trillion invested around the globe.

The government though is under pressure to use its financial clout to influence Israeli policy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, where its settlement policy has been deemed illegal under international law.

In a letter signed by about 50 non-governmental organizations, Norway's main union LO called on the Labor government to ensure that the fund's investments were in line with the country's legal obligations.

The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories on May 20 urged Oslo to "fully and unconditionally divest from all entities linked to Israel's unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory".

Francesca Albanese said Norway's fund held $121.5 billion -- or 6.9 percent of its total value -- in companies "involved in supporting or enabling egregious violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories".

Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg in response called for an end to violence, the liberation of Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023 and the resumption of humanitarian aid.

But he said the fund's investments "do not violate Norway's obligations under international law".

The fund is regulated by a raft of ethical rules and has already divested from 11 companies because of their activities in the occupied West Bank.

In May, it withdrew its investment in Paz Retail and Energy, which distributes fuel in Israeli settlements.

Relations between Norway and Israel have soured since May 2024, when the country joined Spain and Ireland in recognizing the state of Palestine.

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World

China Slams US Pressure on North Korea on Trip to Pyongyang

This picture taken on April 9, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 10, 2026 shows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shaking hands with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Geumsusan Guesthouse in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)\
This picture taken on April 9, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 10, 2026 shows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shaking hands with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Geumsusan Guesthouse in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)\
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China Slams US Pressure on North Korea on Trip to Pyongyang

This picture taken on April 9, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 10, 2026 shows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shaking hands with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Geumsusan Guesthouse in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)\
This picture taken on April 9, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 10, 2026 shows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shaking hands with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at the Geumsusan Guesthouse in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)\

China's top diplomat criticized US pressure on North Korea, Pyongyang state media reported on Friday, after he vowed to deepen ties with the diplomatically isolated nuclear state during a visit.

The United States has for decades led efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program, but summits, sanctions and diplomatic pressure have had little impact.

Beijing is North Korea's top trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the secretive nation.

Wang Yi told a banquet at the Kumsusan State Guesthouse on Thursday that Pyongyang had made "new achievements in socialist construction", despite what he described as "intensifying schemes of isolation and strangulation" from the United States and Western powers, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The two-day official visit by Wang -- his first since 2019 -- comes shortly after the neighbors resumed transport links that had been halted since the Covid-19 pandemic.

He told North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui on Thursday that China was "willing to work with North Korea" to "enhance dialogue and practical cooperation at all levels and across various fields, (and) deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges," according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

The visit comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump mounts a push to revive high-level talks with Pyongyang, eyeing a potential summit this year, potentially during Trump's visit to Beijing in May.

Choe said it was Pyongyang's "consistent policy" to maintain friendly relations with Beijing, which have "overcome all kinds of historical storms and carried on a great tradition of unity and cooperation with socialism as their core."

World

Melania Trump Blasts ‘Lies’ Linking Her to Epstein

US First Lady Melania Trump speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 9, 2026, denying any links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his abuse. (AFP)
US First Lady Melania Trump speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 9, 2026, denying any links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his abuse. (AFP)
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Melania Trump Blasts ‘Lies’ Linking Her to Epstein

US First Lady Melania Trump speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 9, 2026, denying any links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his abuse. (AFP)
US First Lady Melania Trump speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 9, 2026, denying any links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his abuse. (AFP)

US First Lady Melania Trump made a surprise statement on Thursday denying any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse, or that she herself was a victim of the convicted sex offender.

The 55-year-old's rare on-camera remarks at the White House came out of the blue, in an extraordinary intervention in a scandal that has long haunted her husband President Donald Trump.

"The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," she said. "The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect."

It was not clear why the Slovenian-born former model decided to give the public statement, and she did not detail any specific allegations about her and the late, convicted sex offender.

Melania and Donald Trump had previously been photographed with Epstein, but she said that she had met her husband independently two years prior to meeting Epstein.

"I am not Epstein's victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump," Melania Trump said.

She said "fake images and statements about Epstein and me" had been circulating on social media "for years now. Be cautious about what you believe: these images and stories are completely false."

The first lady also urged Congress to hold a public hearing for survivors of Epstein's abuse to "give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath."

Two of Epstein's accusers, sisters Maria and Annie Farmer, reacted to the first lady's comments Thursday, and told US media in a statement: "We can't speak for other survivors, but what we want is accountability, transparency and justice."

The sisters also called for the release of "the remaining records held by the Department of Justice -- including my complete FBI records from 1996."

Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors, but the scandal has repeatedly overshadowed Trump's second presidency.

- 'Epstein's abuse' -

The US Justice Department has over the past year released huge tranches of files related to Epstein. Trump, 79, has also denied any link to Epstein's crimes.

One widely-seen picture in the files showed Donald and Melania Trump at their Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida along with Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

"I have never had any knowledge of Epstein's abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant. Was never on Epstein's plane, and never visited his private island," Melania Trump said.

"I have never been legally accused or convinced of a crime in connection with Epstein sex trafficking, abuse of minors and other repulsive behavior."

Speculation ran riot on social media about why the US first lady had decided to put the Epstein scandal back in the headlines after weeks of relative quiet.

It comes just two days after her husband announced a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran, which critics say has left the crucial Strait of Hormuz still largely shuttered by Tehran.

But Melania Trump has long been an elusive and often mysterious presence at the White House, who only rarely gives public remarks of the kind she delivered on Thursday.

The last time she was seen with her husband was at an Easter Egg Roll with hundreds of children on Monday.

World

People on Both Sides of the Strait Are Chinese, Xi Tells Taiwan Opposition Leader

A television shows the meeting between Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, at a restaurant in Taipei on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
A television shows the meeting between Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, at a restaurant in Taipei on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
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People on Both Sides of the Strait Are Chinese, Xi Tells Taiwan Opposition Leader

A television shows the meeting between Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, at a restaurant in Taipei on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
A television shows the meeting between Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, at a restaurant in Taipei on April 10, 2026. (AFP)

People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese and the future of relations lies in the hands of the Chinese people, President Xi Jinping told Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun on Friday.

Cheng, chairwoman of Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), is in China on what she has called a peace mission to reduce tensions at a time when Beijing has stepped up military pressure against the island it claims as its territory.

Meeting in the Great Hall of the People, Xi told Cheng that today's world is not entirely at peace, and peace is ‌precious.

"Compatriots on both ‌sides of the strait are all Chinese - people of one ‌family ⁠who want peace, ⁠development, exchange, and cooperation," he said, in comments carried by Taiwan television stations.

"This is the common voice of our people. The leaders of our two parties are meeting today in order to safeguard the peace and stability of our shared homeland, to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and to allow future generations to share in a bright and beautiful future."

Xi said China was willing, on the common political foundation of opposing Taiwan independence, to strengthen exchange and ⁠dialogue together with various political parties, including the KMT, "to firmly hold ‌the future of cross-strait relations in the hands of ‌the Chinese people themselves".

'CHESSBOARD'

The KMT once ruled all of China until the Republic of China government ‌it led fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao ‌Zedong's communists, who founded the People's Republic of China.

No peace treaty or armistice has ever been signed and to this day neither government formally recognizes the other.

Cheng told Xi that mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the public on both sides longs for, and that interactions and exchanges should ‌be reciprocal.

"I, Li-wun, sincerely hope that one day in the future, I will have the opportunity to be the host and ⁠welcome General Secretary Xi ⁠and all of you here present in Taiwan," she added, using Xi's title as head of the communist party.

Cheng said she hoped that through the efforts of both parties, the Taiwan Strait will no longer be a focal point of potential conflict, and will certainly not become a "chessboard for outside forces to intervene in".

Both sides of the strait should further plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation, she added.

The US is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties. Beijing has repeatedly demanded Washington stop arming Taipei. The US has backed the Taiwan government's plans to increase defense spending.

China refuses to talk to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a "separatist". Lai's administration has called on Cheng to tell China to stop its threats, and says Beijing should engage with the democratically elected government in Taipei.