Long Beach (United States) (AFP) – On a boat off the coast of California, Sara Lesser gazes wistfully at dozens of dolphins playing in the vessel's wake. This summer, extreme heat is making such a scene increasingly rare.

On daily tourist boat trips, "the number of whales and dolphins we're seeing is less than we would on a normal year," Lesser, a 39-year-old naturalist at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, told AFP.

The warming of the ocean surface is forcing anchovies and sardines -- which the mammals eat -- to seek cooler waters, either at deeper levels or farther north.

Dolphins and whales "are going to follow their food, and so we're seeing less sightings," Lesser explained.

The educator aims to raise awareness among visitors about the plight of the animals, as fewer whale sightings is just a harbinger of larger negative changes to come to the marine ecosystem.

Surface water temperatures along the California coast are now three to four degrees C above normal, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The current heat wave has been ongoing for "about six months," said Andrew Leising, a research oceanographer at NOAA.

What makes it more worrying is that it coincides with the return of El Nino, the weather pattern that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean -- and periodically disrupts global climate.

This year, scientists are predicting that El Nino could rank among the largest ever recorded.

"Chances are this El Nino is going to be stronger than the 2015-2016 one," Leising said, noting that a decade ago, the oceanic heat wave was devastating for the Golden State.

At that time, conditions were much the same as they are now: El Nino aggravated a heat wave that had begun in 2014.

Ocean waters became so hot that thousands of birds died because they could not reliably get fish on the surface. The carcasses of malnourished sea lions and whales washed up on beaches.

In recent months, dozens of pelicans and cormorants were found dead near San Diego.

Leising fears the sea lions -- one of California's signature animals -- could soon suffer.

When temperatures rise, the females abandon their pups to hunt for food, he explained.

Heat also fuels toxic algae blooms containing domoic acid, which contaminate the anchovy and sardine populations. This makes the sea lions sick, and eventually they could wash up dead.

In Monterey Bay, south of San Francisco, harmful algae are so prevalent that two humpback whales were found dead ashore in early June.

Elliott Hazen, an adjunct professor in the ecology and evolutionary biology department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, says that hasn't happened in a decade.

"These are such large predators, it just highlights how much domoic acid there has to be in the ecosystem for it to affect them," Hazen told AFP.

The marine heat wave is also pushing great white sharks nearer to the shore -- a rare sight.

During the whale watching sail from the Aquarium of the Pacific, a shark briefly surfaced, its fin visible.

"It's not common for us to see them," said Lesser, the aquarium guide. "But younger sharks like to be in warmer waters, and so we're seeing sharks closer to shore."

That has frayed nerves more than once in the area.

This week, a Malibu resident posted a video of a white shark swimming just a few yards (meters) from children, who were totally unaware of its presence.

This past spring, swimming was banned three times at Huntington Beach due to sharks deemed to be aggressive.

All these anomalies could become more and more regular -- California has seen marine heat waves every year since 2019.

"We know that climate change is adding more fuel to the fire," Hazen said.

"If we have these marine heat waves over and over again, and we lose the ability to sustain the ecosystem the way we have in the past, we're going to lose some of the fish species that we rely on for food. So that's the big concern."

A few keywords in a search engine will bring up any number of strange laws involving animals in the United States. Many are urban myths: there is no law specifically prohibiting driving a car in Massachusetts with a gorilla in the back seat, although no one would dispute that would be a questionable idea. Others, however, are very real.

If you’re planning a trip to Atlanta, bear in mind you won’t be allowed to tie your giraffe to a lamp post.

This rule dates back to the early 20th century, when a giraffe named Elsie was tied to a telegraph pole in a small town in Georgia by workers from a travelling circus. Left to her own devices, Elsie broke free and set off up the high street.

The state subsequently decided legislation to prevent such a scenario was necessary.

Similarly, the city of San Francisco banned any processions along Market Street involving an elephant, unless the animal was kept on a lead – in order to regulate parades by the Ringling Brothers Circus, founded in 1871.

The company shut down in 2017 following decades of campaigning by Peta and other organisations over its abuse of animals, and reopened in 2023 with animal-free shows. The law regarding elephants on Market Street, however, remains in force.

Also in California, Section 2 of the state's Fish and Game Code states that any number of live frogs may be used in frog-jumping competitions.

However, should any of them die during the competition, "they must be disposed of as soon as possible and must not be eaten".

The frogs, it turns out, are kept in unsanitary conditions which could facilitate the spread of disease.

Since 1999, by order of the municipal authorities of New Orleans, Louisiana, "no reptiles shall be permitted within 200 yards of the route of a Mardi Gras parade for at least two hours before the parade’s scheduled and announced start time, nor within 200 yards of the parade’s actual end point for at least one hour after the parade has actually ended, measured from each of the parade’s end points".

It's a law that isn't always adhered to either: in 2024, the Miami Herald reported that local police had seized several snakes in public spaces during that year's carnival, including a boa constrictor more than 4 metres long.

Snakes are unwelcome at some churches as well as carnivals.

In Kentucky, it has been illegal since 1940 for anyone to "display, handle or use" any kind of reptile in connection with religious services, after this practice emerged in the mining towns of the Appalachian mountains within Pentecostal Christian movements in the early 20th century.

It stemmed from a somewhat literal interpretation of the Gospel of Mark, which states: "These are the signs that will accompany those who come to believe: in my name they will drive out evil spirits; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands."

Elsewhere in the realm of the supernatural, while it remains debatable whether the yeti exists, that didn't stop Skamania County in the State of Washington passing a law in 1969 that stated "any premeditated, wilful and senseless killing of this creature shall be deemed a crime".

In 1984, the same county established a "Sasquatch sanctuary" and on 11 June 1991, a neighbouring county declared itself a "yeti protection and sanctuary zone".

According to the minutes of the meeting at which the decision was made, the aim was in fact to protect people wearing a yeti costume – ahead of the following weekend's Bigfoot Festival.

While those who don yeti costumes are well protected in Washington, the town of Blythe in California has little truck with those who treat traditional dress as fancy dress.

It is illegal there to wear cowboy boots unless you own at least two cows.

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Brazil recalled its ambassador to Argentina for consultations Sunday following "insults" leveled by President Javier Milei against his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and others at a Sao Paulo political event, the foreign ministry said.

The libertarian leader of Argentina referred to Brazil's leftist incumbent president as a "convict" and a "thief," without naming him explicitly, during an event on Saturday formally nominating right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro to run in upcoming elections.

Milei also referred to -- without naming him directly -- Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes as "bald trash."

Milei "insulted two branches of government, the Brazilian people and Brazilian democracy," a Brazilian diplomatic source told AFP.

Later Sunday, Milei told Argentina's Radio Mitre that the country was the subject of a negative "campaign" financed by Brazil and Mexico -- Latin American countries with leftist leaders -- and the Democratic party in the United States.

"They're the progressive leaders who don't want the ideas of freedom to work," Milei said.

Milei, who provided no concrete evidence of such a campaign or its alleged funding, appeared to be referring in part to criticism directed at Argentina's national team during the World Cup.

Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the tournament final, in a foul-heavy match that ended with a brawl on the pitch and the Argentine squad turning its back during the trophy ceremony.

Critics dinged the Argentine squad for poor sportsmanship in the wake of the loss.

The Argentine president had flown to Brazil for the event with Bolsonaro and warned in a speech against a supposed "Lula risk" hanging over the country, urging Brazil to break free from "subjugation to the left."

Milei also said that Moraes had prevented him from visiting his "unjustly imprisoned friend" Jair Bolsonaro -- Flavio's father and the former president (2019–2022), who was convicted of plotting a coup in 2022.

Moraes, who oversaw the conviction of Bolsonaro, had previously denied Milei permission to visit the former president while he is under house arrest in Brasilia.

Brazil's ambassador, Julio Bitelli, is expected to arrive back home between Sunday and Monday, a diplomatic source said.

Comayagua (Honduras) (AFP) – Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez -- who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking until President Donald Trump pardoned him last year -- returned to his home country on Sunday.

After touching down in a private plane near the capital, Tegucigalpa, he traveled to a rally in the town of Comayagua.

Speaking at a farm in front of hundreds of supporters, Hernandez thanked Trump for the pardon.

"The most well-informed president in the world said: 'I reviewed it -- my team and I reviewed it in detail -- and a tremendous injustice has been committed here; it is a witch hunt, it is the use of the justice system as a political weapon,'" Hernandez said.

He is due to appear in court on August 3 to face fraud and money-laundering charges, which he denies, claiming to be the continued victim of "persecution."

He is accused of diverting $2 million in public funds to finance his first presidential campaign.

A judge suspended an arrest warrant against him after he agreed to appear voluntarily.

"The last thing I'm going to do is hang my head when the truth is on my side," he said.

...

Durban (South Africa) (AFP) – Zimbabwean farmworker Aaron Majatamhe was heading home at sunset after a shift in one of South Africa's top fruit-producing regions, where bushes laden with bright unpicked citrus stood in rows.

"I see a lot of farm owners who are crying now... people have to harvest those naartjies but there is no one," the 33-year-old told AFP.

The same shortage, he said, is looming in the vineyards. "It's time to cut off the grapes and there is no one."

Similar scenes are playing out across South Africa as factories, farms and even ordinary households scramble for labour after thousands of foreign workers left in a matter of weeks to escape deadly anti-migrant protests and intensified immigration enforcement.

Fringe anti-foreigner groups had set June 30 as an unofficial deadline for undocumented migrants to go home, triggering the exodus of more than 160,000 people, according to an AFP tally based on figures from African governments repatriating their citizens.

Zimbabwe, which accounted for the largest share of those returning, said many had worked in South Africa's farming, domestic work and construction sectors.

The first cracks were felt almost immediately in KwaZulu-Natal's sugar belt.

One farmer on the north coast said he lost up to 80 percent of his cane-cutting workforce virtually overnight.

"Production and supply have deteriorated to the point where it is going to be difficult for the mills to stay open," he said, speaking anonymously because he feared retaliation.

Another grower near Mid-Illovo, a region of rolling hills south of Durban, said most cane cutters in his area came from Lesotho, the tiny kingdom encircled by South Africa.

"There are fields we are supposed to be cutting, but there are just not enough people. Local people don't like this job because it is back‑breaking and physical," he said.

That argument is fiercely disputed.

With unemployment above 33 percent -- and far higher when discouraged job seekers are included -- labour unions and researchers argue there is no shortage of South Africans willing to work.

Instead, they say, many employers favour migrant workers because they are cheaper, more flexible and less likely to demand formal contracts, benefits or legal protections.

"They are making a profit out of foreign nations," said Patrick Williams, a local organiser with the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union.

Foreign farmworkers, he said, routinely worked seven days a week, skipped lunch breaks to maximise piece-rate earnings and were often paid below the national minimum wage.

For employers, the challenge is not only finding workers, but replacing years of experience.

In Durban's Chatsworth industrial area, a manager at a clothing factory said the departure of skilled machinists from Malawi and Mozambique had left factories struggling to meet orders.

"We can barely meet our targets because most were forced to go," she said on condition of anonymity, adding it would take time for local workers to master the job.

The government has sought to respond to public anger over migration by promoting a "locals first" approach, while acknowledging that some industries rely on foreign skills and labour.

This week it expanded its Trusted Employer Scheme that fast-tracks worker visas for companies that meet requirements including predominantly employing South Africans, investing in skills development and operating in priority sectors.

Industry groups are urging the government to create legal pathways for seasonal foreign labour, arguing that sectors such as agriculture have become dependent on migrant workers and cannot replace them overnight.

South Africa should consider a regulated seasonal worker programme similar to one in the United States, said Siyabonga Madlala, chief executive of the South African Farmers Development Association.

"There may be a need for a special dispensation allowing seasonal labour from SADC countries where local supply is insufficient," he told Newsroom Afrika, referring to the 16-member Southern African Development Community bloc.

More than 60 percent of South Africa's immigrants are estimated to come from SADC.

Yet for many who left, the debate over labour policy has been eclipsed by fears for their safety after at least four foreigners were killed, according to police data.

Wayne Chimbadzwa Mutasa, a Zimbabwean national who had lived in Robertson since 2014, said he left after foreign workers were targeted in door-to-door raids.

"The people who came into the houses of Zimbabweans were police officers saying that you are living here illegally," he told AFP as he prepared for repatriation.

His fellow national Majatamhe, the farm worker, has decided to remain for now.

"We are afraid to stay even in this place, but the problem is, we don't have enough money to go home," he said.

Tehran (AFP) – Iran passed another night without US airstrikes on Sunday, as Washington paused a war nearing its fifth month and reports emerged that concerns over dwindling munitions were restraining plans for further escalation.

The lull has revived hopes of a return to negotiations after nearly two weeks of consecutive nightly US bombardments, although US media reported the pause could also reflect pressure on stockpiles of Patriot interceptors and other defensive weapons.

Fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz derailed diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran, but the conflict then expanded beyond the vital energy corridor to include attacks on US bases, regional shipping and Gulf allies.

However, US operations against Iran were "on a hold", CNN reported, quoting an unidentified Pentagon source, even as US President Donald Trump threatened a "much higher level" of strikes on Friday.

Plans to escalate the campaign have been shelved in part because of those shrinking supplies, The New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on the matter.

Trump also faces the risk of a wider Middle East war, the estrangement of vulnerable Gulf allies and further shocks to the global economy, the newspaper said.

Vice President JD Vance and top US general Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalation at a White House meeting on Friday, CNN reported.

Caine told Trump the military could carry out the options available to him successfully but warned of the possible implications, according to the network.

...

Berlin (AFP)

Police told AFP the suspect's vehicle was found abandoned near the Tiergarten park. They launched a manhunt involving helicopters and officers from several German states across the capital.

The suspect was believed to have links to "Islamist circles", police spokesman Florian Nath said earlier.

The attack occurred shortly before 10:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday.

A vehicle like a mini-van or an SUV "entered the Tiergarten park and hit several people," police said.

One person died and 16 others were injured, including three with life-threatening injuries, according to Berlin fire department spokesman Dominik Pretz.

Around 30 more people were treated for shock at the scene.

One witness, who had been near the main Pride stage at the Brandenburg Gate, told AFP that celebrations abruptly ended when police instructed people to leave.

"Go home, please," officers told crowds as emergency crews rushed to treat victims.

The attack revived memories of a series of car rammings and attacks on markets that have shaken Germany in recent years and fuelled a fierce debate over security.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed that those responsible for the latest incident would face justice.

In a statement, Merz described the incident as a "horrific act" and said he and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt were being kept informed of developments.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned what he called a brutal attack on "a gathering for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin".

Police had deployed more than 2,000 officers to secure the event.

Following the attack, additional personnel from across Germany joined the search, supported by helicopters equipped with thermal-imaging cameras.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw numerous emergency vehicles lining a nearby road and a large tent erected as police combed the area.

...

Tell (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Tell on Saturday buried four men killed during a clash with Israeli settlers the previous day, local officials said.

[...]

Walid Zidan, head of the Tell village council, told AFP that "Families of the four martyrs held a common funeral early this morning ... but the army restricted who could attend and only about 30 people were able to be there."

On Friday, about 20 Israelis from a nearby settlement entered the village and clashed with residents, Zidan said.

A Palestinian villager seized an Israeli's weapon and shot dead one settler, leading an emergency response team from a nearby settlement to rush to the scene and more gunfire that left four Palestinians and a second Israeli dead, the Israeli military said.

Israeli forces closed gates and checkpoints throughout the West Bank, severely obstructing movement. Troops patrolled Tell, moving between different parts of the village, while residents offered condolences to the families of the four men killed, AFP journalists reported.

A group of settlers was also seen alongside soldiers at a house under construction in the village.

By the time of the funeral, movement was still restricted for villagers, and Zidan told AFP that the military was still present in the village Saturday morning, having detained 51 residents for questioning, and released just six.

"Every person who was brought in was assigned a number, which was written on their forehead," said Saif Hamza, who was released after questioning.

Zidan said he still struggled to comprehend what had happened in the village.

"I am in my own home, and someone comes and assaults me," he said.

"Under what law? Under what moral or legal authority? I am in my own home, on my own land. By what right you, as settlers, come here?"

Ghassan Daghlas, the governor of the Nablus region, which includes Tell, attended a funerary prayer at the Nabuls hospital where the bodies lay before the burial, his office said.

He was joined by crowds of mourners from Tell and across the Nablus governorate.

An AFP journalist at the hospital reported the four deceased Palestinians' bodies were laid on stretchers and wrapped in Palestinian flags while friends and relatives said their good-byes.

Ahmed Ramadan, father of one of the deceased, told AFP: "I was asked to go to the hospital... and when I arrived, I found my son had been killed."

Ismail al-Saifi, another resident of Tell, told AFP the settlers' presence in the village was not an isolated incident, and that locals had decided to fight back on Friday.

"The young men bravely confronted them to defend their homes and lands, which was only natural given the frequency of these attacks," Saifi said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, but in recent years the number of settlements in the Palestinian territory -- which are illegal under international law -- has soared.

...

Damascus (AFP) – A crash between two passenger buses in a central-eastern desert region of Syria on Saturday killed at least 35 people, state media said.

News agency SANA, quoting a health ministry official, also said 30 others were injured in the "collision between two passenger buses on the Damascus-Deir Ezzor road".

The interior ministry said the crash was between "a bus carrying a number of internal security forces personnel and a civilian bus", without specifying how many of the casualties were from its forces.

State media broadcast footage of the crash, including images of a bus on fire and with debris strewn along the highway, and reported that military helicopters had been deployed to airlift casualties from the scene.

Emergency and disaster management minister Raed Al Saleh described the crash as "one of the deadliest road accidents in Syria in recent years in terms of the number of victims".

He said it "places a shared national responsibility on all of us to work to prevent such painful incidents from recurring", according to SANA.

"It also underscores the urgent need to address the accumulated challenges facing the country's road infrastructure, which is burdened by years of neglect and the damage inflicted on various public service sectors."

Earlier this month, five people were killed and dozens of others injured, most of them Lebanese, when a bus carrying pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia overturned on a highway in southern Syria's Daraa province.

After years of civil war and neglect, Syria's infrastructure is crumbling and many of its roads are in need of repairs.

State television quoted the director of road transport in Damascus, Moaz Najjar, as saying that authorities "have directed that road maintenance in the eastern region be treated as a priority".

He added that "most roads are in a state of disrepair and have not undergone maintenance for the past 15 years".

Last year, at least 12 people were killed and several others injured when a bus collided with an oil tanker in northeastern Syria.

But Saturday's accident was one of the worst in recent years.

In 2020, at least 32 died when a fuel tanker crashed into two buses on a road between Damascus and Homs province.

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Brazil's right-wing Liberal Party on Saturday formally nominated Flavio Bolsonaro, a 45-year-old senator and son of imprisoned ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, as its candidate in the October presidential election.

He is set to face off against leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, who is seeking a fourth term and has gained momentum in recent weeks as the younger Bolsonaro faced a series of crises.

Far-right firebrand Jair Bolsonaro anointed his eldest son Flavio as his political heir after being sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula.

"I may be calmer, more cheerful, more composed and more moderate, but Bolsonaro blood flows here!" Flavio, touching his arm, declared to a cheering crowd in a Sao Paulo warehouse.

He warned that Brazil -- Latin America's largest country in population, area and economy -- "could take giant strides toward a dictatorship" if Lula wins reelection.

That alarmist rhetoric was echoed by Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei, who joined the convention in person to lend support to Flavio Bolsonaro.

"I firmly believe there is no one else capable of putting an end to the Lula risk hanging over Brazil," Milei said in a typically fiery speech.

Wearing Brazilian national team jerseys, which have become a symbol of the Bolsonaro movement, supporters beat drums and waved flags inside a warehouse next to Sao Paulo's Pacaembu Stadium.

"We would have liked our candidate to be Jair Bolsonaro, but today Flavio is the best choice," Fernando Moeno, a 50-year-old retired military police officer attending the convention, told AFP.

Flavio Bolsonaro teared up as he referenced his father, who appeared in an AI-generated video. Courts have barred the ex-president from making political statements while he serves his sentence under house arrest.

Promising to crack down on crime and inflation, Flavio was neck-and-neck with Lula in the polls until he was hit by a series of scandals: ties to a disgraced banker, a family feud, and new tariffs imposed by ally US President Donald Trump.

Pollster Datafolha published a survey Friday showing that in a runoff election, Lula would win 48 percent of votes to Flavio's 43 percent.

...

Moscow (AFP) – Ukrainian drones struck a Siberian oil refinery in a fresh wave of strikes Saturday, as Kazakhstan's president told Russia's Vladimir Putin the Ukraine war should end during a forum in Siberia's Omsk.

In occupied Ukraine, Russian-installed authorities said a Ukrainian strike had killed 12 people at a seaside "tourist camp", as well as one more in a Moscow-held town and two in Russian border villages.

Kyiv said Russian attacks had killed five people in eastern and southern Ukraine, and two crew members were missing after a Russian strike on a cargo ship carrying corn.

The deaths come as the UN has warned of civilians dying in larger numbers recently in the almost 4.5-year war.

Moscow said Ukraine -- which has intensified its retaliatory strikes -- launched more than 300 drones into Russia Saturday, including on far-flung regions.

The governor of Siberia's Tyumen region said a local oil refinery had been set ablaze. Russia's athletics federation said an all-Russian competition in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg had been halted over drone threats.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the Siberia strike and said Kyiv had hit a military factory in the Kirov region for a second day in a row, a day after local authorities said an attack there had killed five people.

Kyiv has said its retaliatory strikes are aimed at damaging Moscow's war effort and forcing the Kremlin to negotiate.

In Siberia's Omsk hours after the strikes, Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told Putin the Ukraine war should end as the pair met for a Russia-Kazakh summit.

"It is a shame, young people are dying... All this has to be stopped," Tokayev said sitting next to Putin in televised comments.

Putin is rarely confronted with officials publicly telling him the fighting should stop.

Tokayev said the conflict should be "frozen" and suggested a return to Istanbul talks before moving "to a long-awaited peace."

The Central Asian leader, who is a Moscow ally but who has never condoned Russia's offensive, said the roots of the war are "not understandable".

Putin responded that he would inform Tokayev on "the details" of the war.

...

Five NGOs on Wednesday filed a case before France’s highest administrative court, seeking a ruling that would oblige the French government to take measures preventing French companies and economic institutions from conducting commercial activities in Israeli settlements.

The legal action, which draws on an advisory opinion issued on 19 July, 2024 by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ highest judicial body, is being led by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Juristes pour le respect du droit international (JURDI), the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), the Ligue des droits humains (LDH), and Law for Palestine.

In its opinion, the ICJ found that “Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful” and stated in particular that UN member states must “take measures to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in maintaining” this “unlawful situation”.

According to the five organisations:“France has not translated these obligations into concrete regulatory or coercive measures."

They are asking the Conseil d’État to “declare the State’s inaction unlawful and to order measures ensuring compliance with international law, including restrictions on trade and investment linked to the occupation, safeguards for companies, as well as monitoring mechanisms”.

The applicants say they have identified several French companies operating in the settlements, including Egis and its subsidiary Egis Rail, both listed in a database compiled by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The two companies are said to be “involved in the construction of the Jerusalem light rail linking West Jerusalem to settlements established in East Jerusalem”.

They also refer to other French companies identified by the Israeli anti-settlement NGO Who Profits Research Center.

“The International Court of Justice left no room for doubt: states cannot remain bystanders in the face of their legal obligations,” said James Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, which is advising the applicants.

“International law has force only if states are willing to implement it in practice,” he added.

[...]

(with newswires)