In Africa, companies across sectors and markets have an acute need for frictionless payments. Ongoing challenges in moving goods, managing import cycles and distributing products with certainty have made effective Payments, Working Capital and Trade Finance solutions a priority.
Businesses need speed, flexibility, visibility and control of their payment flows. In response, Standard Bank’s OneHub business platform harnesses Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, Cloud-based computing and application programming interfaces (APIs) to integrate payment features within client Apps, systems and architecture.
“Leveraging our deep insights and knowledge about our clients and the sectors and industries within which they operate, we spend a lot of time innovating for bespoke Payments, Working Capital and Trade Finance solutions,” said Crosby.
Giving customers what they need
The OneHub business platform provides more than what Standard Bank alone can deliver. Not only does it enable access to all the bank’s solutions and the bank’s partners’ solutions, it also offers important features that help clients with their Working Capital and Payment cycles.
“We partner with fintechs and other organisations to deliver holistic, best-in-class solutions,” said Crosby. “We find that works very well in staying ahead and being competitive.
This approach reflects his view that in such a competitive landscape, the bank’s strategy should be shaped by client engagement and knowing the customer, which are key components to innovation.
Standard Bank is well-positioned for this, with a footprint in many markets throughout the continent. “We understand the risk very well. We understand the logistics and various mechanisms of the underlying Working Capital cycles. And we play a strong role in financing,” Crosby explained.
Swift and smooth
Digital innovation has become key to complementing this physical presence. For example, it has helped Standard Bank deliver bespoke Payment solutions for the healthcare industry in Ghana to ports authorities in Kenya and across East Africa.
More specifically, the technology architecture and systems the bank uses, play a critical role in creating frictionless Payment solutions that are fast, efficient, reliable and secure – essentials for Transaction Banking.
“We leverage the Cloud because the hyperscalers give us significant computing power as well as other out-of-the-box solutions. When appropriately deployed, it’s a strategy that lowers operating costs, requiring only the purchase of Cloud capacity.”
Crosby Mkhwanazi, Head of Transaction Banking at Standard Bank
Modularised services have also proved effective in keeping the technology architecture dynamic, so the bank can innovate quickly and deliver the right solutions.
Further, Mkhwanazi points to connectivity via APIs and automation – at both the front- and back-end – as other core components for frictionless Payments. This applies either through pre-populating information for efficient web-based Payments or by integrating directly into a client’s system. “That enables clients to lower costs and to achieve near real-time Payments, to the extent possible within the bounds of applicable regulations.”
New partners, new solutions
Understanding what clients need also informs Standard Bank’s future digital transformation agenda within Transaction Banking, driving its innovation cycle.
As a result, solutions for telecom companies are on the horizon, for example. “We are working with telcos around accessing banking infrastructure to deliver Payments to allow for better access into the areas where perhaps, as banks, we haven’t reached before,” said Crosby.
Remittances have swiftly become a cornerstone of foreign currency inflows for many African nations. For Standard Bank, this represents a pivotal opportunity by: reimagining the remittance experience, Standard Bank aims to empower communities and drive broader economic inclusion across the continent. “Not only is it about enhancing accessibility and expanding distribution, but also about ensuring seamless foreign exchange availability and reducing the overall cost of sending money home.” Crosby explained.
Such an ambition reinforces Standard Bank’s broader focus: being a trusted partner in a continent where it has pioneered change for over 160 years, crafting bespoke agile, relevant and market-leading products and services, tailored for clients’ growth and success.
Moscow says Israeli troops did not intervene as settlers attacked a Russian diplomatic vehicle and verbally threatened diplomats.
Moscow has lodged a formal complaint with Israel over an attack by Israeli settlers on a Russian diplomatic vehicle near an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday that Moscow considered the attack a “gross violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961”, and expressed “bewilderment and disapproval” that the attack “occurred with the connivance of Israeli military personnel”.
According to Zakharova, the vehicle belonging to Russia’s representation to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and bearing diplomatic registration plates was attacked on July 30 near the “illegal Israeli settlement of Giv’at Asaf”, located east of Ramallah and some 20km (12 miles) north of Jerusalem, by a group of settlers.
“The vehicle sustained mechanical damage. The attack was accompanied by verbal threats directed at the Russian diplomats,” the spokeswoman said, adding that Israeli soldiers present “did not even bother to stop the aggressive actions of the attackers”.
According to reports in Russian media, the vehicle came under attack while carrying members of Russia’s diplomatic mission to the PA, who are also accredited with Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
The Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv has sent a demarche letter to Israeli authorities, Zakharova added.
Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, raised the attack on the diplomatic vehicle at a UN Security Council session on Tuesday focused on Israeli captives in Gaza.
Polyansky said the attack on Russia’s vehicle in the occupied West Bank comes at a time when “Israeli authorities have embraced the policy of cleansing and colonising” the Palestinian territory.
“It is ordinary Palestinians and even foreigners who every day become victims of relentless raids by security forces and settler violence,” Russia’s UN representative said.
The “attack on an official vehicle of the Russian Mission to the Palestinian Authority” was carried out “under the lenient eye of the Israeli military”, he said.
“It is clear that a systematic policy of exiling Palestinians – whether from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank – is fraught with new risks and dangers for stability and security in the Middle East and could once again bring the region to the brink of a major war,” he added.
Violent attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied West Bank have surged since October 2023, with the UN reporting that almost 650 Palestinians – including 121 children – have been killed in the territory by Israeli forces and settlers between January 1, 2024 and the start of July 2025.
A further 5,269 Palestinians were injured during that period, including 1,029 children. Settler attacks alone accounted for more than 2,200 casualties and cases of damage to property, the UN said.
Mike Johnson, the top legislator in the United States Congress, has visited an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, drawing condemnation from Palestinians.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the trip by the speaker of the US House of Representatives on Monday a “blatant violation of international law”.
Johnson, who is next in line for the US presidency after the president and vice president, is the highest-ranking US official to visit a West Bank Israeli settlement.
His trip comes amid escalating settler violence against Palestinian communities that killed two US citizens in July.
The Israeli military has also been intensifying its deadly raids, home demolitions and displacement campaigns in the West Bank as it carries out its brutal assault and blockade on Gaza.
Johnson’s visit contradicts Arab and US efforts to “end the cycle of violence” as well as Washington’s public stance against settlers’ “aggressions”, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said.
“The ministry affirms that all settlement activity is invalid and illegal and undermines the opportunity to implement the two-state solution and achieve peace,” it added.
According to Israeli media reports, Johnson visited the settlement of Ariel, north of Ramallah, on Monday.
“Judea and Samaria are the front lines of the state of Israel and must remain an integral part of it,” Johnson was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post newspaper, using a biblical name for the West Bank.
“Even if the world thinks otherwise, we stand with you.”
The House speaker’s comments appear to be in reference to recent moves by some Western countries – including close allies of the US and Israel – to recognise a Palestinian state.
‘Illegal under international law’
Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law. The International Court of Justice, the top United Nations tribunal, reaffirmed that position last year, saying that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end “as rapidly as possible”.
Asked about Johnson’s visit, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters on Monday: “Our standpoint on the settlements, as you know, is that they are illegal under international law.”
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, and annexed the entire holy city in 1980.
Successive Israeli governments have been building Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank on land that would be the home of a Palestinian state if a two-state solution were to materialise.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers now live in the occupied West Bank.
The Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory, bans the occupying power from transferring “parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.
While the Oslo Accords granted the Palestinian Authority some municipal powers over parts of the West Bank, the entire area remains under full Israeli security control.
Israel also controls the airspace and ports of entry in the territory.
Israeli settlers in the West Bank have full citizenship rights, while Palestinians live under Israel’s military rule, where they can be detained indefinitely without charges.
Leading rights groups have accused Israel of imposing a system of apartheid on Palestinians.
‘It’s a matter of faith for us’
For decades, the US has publicly rejected West Bank settlements and called for a two-state solution despite providing Israel with billions of dollars in military aid.
However, US President Donald Trump has taken US policy further in favour of Israel, refusing to criticise settlement expansion or commit to backing a Palestinian state.
Many Republicans, meanwhile, have long expressed support for Israel from a theological perspective, arguing that it is a Christian religious duty to back the US ally.
“Our prayer is that America will always stand with Israel. We pray for the preservation and the peace of Jerusalem. That’s what scripture tells us to do. It’s a matter of faith for us,” Johnson said on Sunday during a visit to the Western Wall.
In a social media post, Marc Zell, chair of the US Republicans Overseas Israel, cited Johnson as saying on Monday that the mountains of the West Bank are “the rightful property of the Jewish People”.
More than 60 Palestinian women are staging a hunger strike to demand the release of the body of Palestinian activist and English teacher Awdah Hathaleen, who was shot dead last week in the village of Umm al-Kheir, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
Two women have received medical treatment as a result of the collective action, which started on Thursday.
The group is demanding the unconditional release of the body of the 31-year-old community leader who co-directed No Other Land, a documentary film that won an Oscar award this year. Israeli police set several conditions, including holding a quick and quiet burial at night outside the village, with no more than 15 people in attendance.
The protesters are also demanding the release of seven Umm al-Kheir residents arrested by Israeli forces who remain in administrative detention – a quasi-judicial process under which Palestinians are held without charge or trial.
Umm al-Kheir is part of Masafer Yatta, a string of Palestinian hamlets located on the hills south of Hebron, where residents have fought for decades to remain in their homes after Israel declared the area an Israeli military “firing” or training zone.
Iman Hathaleen, Awdah’s cousin, said women aged 13 to 70 were taking part in the hunger strike. “Now, as I’m talking, I am starving and I am breastfeeding,” she told Al Jazeera. “We will continue this until they release the body, so that we can honour him with the right Islamic tradition. We have to grieve him as our religion told us to.”
Awdah was taken by an ambulance to Soroka hospital in Beer Sheva on July 28, where he was pronounced dead after having been shot by an Israeli settler. The police transferred his body to the Abu Kabir National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Jaffa for an autopsy, which was completed on Wednesday. They then refused to return the body unless the family agreed to restrictive conditions on the funeral and burial.
‘A tactic to break their spirit’
Fathi Nimer, a researcher at the Al-Shabaka think tank, said Israel’s policy of withholding the body of a Palestinian was common practice. “This is not an isolated incident; there are hundreds of Palestinians whose bodies are used as bargaining chips so that their families stop any kind of activism or resistance or to break the spirit of resistance,” Nimer told Al Jazeera.
“Awdah was very loved in the village, so this is a tactic to break their spirit,” he added.
Meanwhile, Yinon Levi, the Israeli settler accused of firing the deadly shots, was released after spending a few days on house arrest. A video of the incident filmed by local activists shows Levi opening fire on Awdah, who died from a gunshot wound to his chest.
An Israeli settler just shot Odeh Hadalin in the lungs, a remarkable activist who helped us film No Other Land in Masafer Yatta. Residents identified Yinon Levi, sanctioned by the EU and US, as the shooter. This is him in the video firing like crazy. pic.twitter.com/xH1Uo6L1wN
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) July 28, 2025
Residents in Umm al-Kheir on Monday documented Levi’s return to the area. Pictures shared on social media groups depicted him overseeing bulldozing work alongside army officers at the nearby Carmel settlement.
Levi is among several Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank who were previously sanctioned under the former administration of United States President Joe Biden for perpetrating violence against Palestinians.
US President Donald Trump reversed those sanctions in an executive order shortly after taking office for a second term in January. The United Kingdom and the European Union, however, maintain sanctions against Levi.
Nimer said sanctions against individuals do little to stop settler violence and the expansion of Israel’s illegal outposts. “It’s not just individuals – there needs to be real international action to sanction Israel and to stop any of this kind of behaviour,” he said.
A ‘continuous trauma’
Iman, Awdah’s cousin, said Levi’s return makes her worried about her family’s safety. “Today, we are afraid that he’s back and can do this again, maybe he will shoot someone else,” she told Al Jazeera. Her father, Suleiman Hathaleen, was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2022.
Oneg Ben Dror, a Jaffa-based activist and friend of the Hathaleen family, said the hunger strike was a desperate gesture for a community that has lost all hope of obtaining justice via legal means.
“The women feel that it’s their way to protest, it’s a last resort to bring back the body,” she said. “The community needs the possibility to mourn and… start the recovery from this horrible murder.”
She added that the presence of Levi and other settlers on the ground in Umm al-Kheir was a “continuous trauma and a nightmare for the community and for his wife”, who has been widowed while caring for three young children.
Dozens of left-wing Israeli and international activists on Sunday took part in a march in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to echo the demands voiced by the hunger strikers. Four activists were arrested during the demonstrations.
The United Nations office has reported 757 settler attacks on Palestinians since January, up 13 percent from 2024, as deaths since January near 1,000.
The Israeli army has also intensified raids across the occupied West Bank and the demolition of hundreds of homes. On Monday, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin. The Israeli municipality also issued a demolition order targeting the home of Palestinian residents in Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem.
Palestinian authorities say 198 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, while 538 were killed in 2024. At least 188 bodies are still being withheld by Israeli authorities.
On June 25, Mutawakil al-Mohamad and his family woke up to the sound of Israeli soldiers pounding on their door with their rifles.
It would be the last time they woke up in their family home in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Israeli forces arrived at 7am in military convoys with two heavy bulldozers, and al-Mohamad was terrified the soldiers would raid his house and arrest him or his loved ones.
Instead, the soldiers told the family their home was in a designated “military zone” and ordered them to vacate immediately so they could bulldoze it to the ground.
“When I opened the door, I told the soldiers: ‘My young children are scared.’ I asked them to give me 10 minutes, then we will all be out of the house,” al-Mohamed said. The soldiers obliged, he recalled from Ramallah, the administrative capital of the occupied West Bank, where he now lives.
Demolitions and displacement
Israel is demolishing more Palestinian homes across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, at a higher rate in 2025 than any previous year since the occupation began in 1967.
Israeli authorities have already destroyed 783 structures – a figure that does not include the large-scale destruction in refugee camps – leading to the forced displacement of 1,119 people, according to the United Nations.
In the Palestinian refugee camps, Israel has destroyed about 600 structures in the Jenin camp and a combined 300 structures in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps as part of military raids it launched at the start of this year, according to figures that Al Jazeera obtained from the Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq.
Human rights groups, civilians and analysts said the real aim of Israel’s tactics – systematic home demolitions and forced displacement – is to make life unbearable for Palestinians so more will consider leaving if they can.
“Israel’s goal in the West Bank is the same as its goal in Gaza. … It wants to target all Palestinians,” said Murad Jadallah, a human rights researcher with Al-Haq.
Jadallah argued that Israel’s war in Gaza, which many experts have called a genocide, has shocked the world and distracted many from its unprecedented destruction in the West Bank.
“Israel is benefiting from the images of destruction it has created in Gaza in order to push its agenda in the West Bank,” he told Al Jazeera.
[Al Jazeera]
Little support
Since the start of this year, about 40,000 Palestinians have fled Israeli military operations in West Bank refugee camps.
Many have struggled to find affordable replacement accommodations, renting instead in whatever villages where they find room, staying with relatives in overcrowded homes or languishing in public buildings converted into shelters for displaced people, Jadallah said.
Ahmed Gaeem, 60, recalled Israeli soldiers evicting him, his wife, five children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews from their building in the Tulkarem refugee camp in March.
The family was also told by Israeli soldiers that Tulkarem had been designated a “military zone” and they would not be allowed to return for some time.
“We left with the clothes on our backs and nothing else. We didn’t have time to pack anything,” Gaeem told Al Jazeera.
A few weeks into Israel’s military campaign, one of Gaeem’s sons managed to return briefly to assess the damage to their home from a distance.
Their home – like countless others – was destroyed. Its windows were shattered, the door hinges blown off and walls caved in.
Gaeem’s family is currently renting three homes in Iktaba village, a few kilometres from Tulkarem city, for a combined rent of about $1,300 – a fortune for a family surviving on meagre savings.
Gaeem noted that while his salary as a Palestinian Authority (PA) civil servant is $500 a month, he hasn’t been paid in months because of the PA’s ongoing economic crisis.
Over the past several years, the PA has cut salaries and struggled to pay its staff as a result of dwindling donor support and Israel’s refusal to hand over tax revenue it collects on the PA’s behalf, an arrangement laid out in the Oslo Accords.
The PA itself was born out of the Oslo peace agreements of 1993 and 1995, which were signed by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The accords ostensibly aimed to bring about a Palestinian state in the years that followed.
Unprecedented crisis
The Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three zones.
The PA was tasked with overseeing security and executive functions in Area A and executive functions in Area B while Israel remained in total control of Area C.
This control allowed Israel to quietly and gradually expand illegal settlements – after encircling and then demolishing Palestinian homes and communities – in Area C, a largely agricultural region that makes up about 60 percent of the West Bank.
In July, the Israeli army issued two orders that gave it an additional legal pretext to demolish homes in Area B – a power previously held only by the PA under the Oslo Accords. The orders enabled Israel to assume control over building and planning laws and laws pertaining to agricultural sites.
[Al Jazeera]
Before these measures, most demolitions in Areas A and B were carried out during military operations or as reprisals against Palestinians who resisted the occupation. Israel now has an additional legal basis to destroy Palestinian homes by claiming the owners do not have building permits.
Israel systematically denies building permits to Palestinians as part of a broader policy of confiscating Palestinian homes and land, according to human rights groups.
Among the record number of demolitions carried out across the West Bank this year, the UN documented the destruction of 49 structures in Areas A and B.
Under international law, Israel is prohibited from destroying private property anywhere in occupied Palestinian territory and from establishing settlements or outposts.
“The extension of demolitions in Area A and B and the way Israel is changing the legal status in Area B are unprecedented,” said Tahani Mustafa, an expert on the West Bank with the International Crisis Group think tank.
She added that Israel appears to be trying to confine Palestinians to ever smaller pockets of land in Area A. Israel’s ultimate plan, she fears, is to make life increasingly unbearable for Palestinians in urban centres, likely by imposing more checkpoints and barriers to restrict movement and carrying out more raids
Israel’s intensifying assault on Palestinians across the West Bank already has people like al-Mohamed fearing that his family could be evicted again.
He said most Palestinians predict that Israel will turn its attention to the West Bank’s cities after it finishes its military raids in the nearby camps.
“It’s hard for us to go anywhere else other than the West Bank,” he told Al Jazeera.
“This is our land. It’s where we want to live and where we want to die.”
A WARNING has been issued to savers missing out on hundreds of pounds ahead of a key Bank of England (BoE) decision this week.
People risk the cash blow because they’re leaving money in low-paying easy access accounts.
The latest data from Moneyfactscompare.co.uk reveals someone with £10,000 in savings could earn an extra £300 by switching to an account with a higher interest rate.
Adam French, from the comparison site, said savers were in danger of their hard-earned cash “languishing” by making the mistake.
“Simply switching a £10,000 savings pot away from a high street bank’s easy access account to a market-leading one-year fix can leave you £300 better off in 12 months’ time.
“Not a bad return for a few minutes’ work, if you aren’t going to need access to the money sooner.”
The warning comes ahead of the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday (August 7) where it will decide what to do with the base rate.
The base rate is charged to high street banks and other lenders and usually reflected in savings and mortgage rates.
Any fall is good news for mortgage holders who tend to see rates plummet, but it spells bad news for those with savings accounts.
The bank is widely expected to cut the base rate, which currently sits at 4.25%.
Six members voted to keep rates at the existing level while three members voted for a cut to 4%.
What is the Bank of England base rate and how does it affect me?
The BoE uses the base rate to control inflation, with a hike designed to discourage spending and keep prices in check.
The current Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation is 3.6%, over the BoE’s 2% target.
However, the MPC is under pressure to lower interest rates to get the stagnating economy growing.
How to make your savings work harder
You can’t do anything to control what the BoE does with the base rate, but you can make your savings work harder.
One way to do this is by locking your savings into a fixed-term account.
These accounts pay out an interest rate for a set period of time, from anywhere between six months and five years.
Fixed-rate savings accounts generally offer better interest rates in exchange for you not being to withdraw any cash.
Just bear in mind you may have to pay a charge for any early withdrawals.
Second, it’s worth making the most of ISAs which allow you to save money without having to pay tax on any interest earned.
You can spread a total of £20,000 across various ISA types including Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISAs.
And of course, shop around for the best deals so you’re not left with a low-paying savings account.
Comparison sites like moneyfactscompare.co.uk and moneysavingexpert.com can help you find the best account suited to you.
How you can find the best savings rates
If you are trying to find the best savings rate there are websites you can use that can show you the best rates available.
Doing some research on websites such as MoneyFacts and price comparison sites including Compare the Market and Go Compare will quickly show you what’s out there.
These websites let you tailor your searches to an account type that suits you.
There are three types of savings accounts fixed, easy access, and regular saver.
A fixed-rate savings account offers some of the highest interest rates but comes at the cost of being unable to withdraw your cash within the agreed term.
This means that your money is locked in, so even if interest rates increase you are unable to move your money and switch to a better account.
Some providers give the option to withdraw but it comes with a hefty fee.
An easy-access account does what it says on the tin and usually allow unlimited cash withdrawals.
These accounts do tend to come with lower returns but are a good option if you want the freedom to move your money without being charged a penalty fee.
Lastly is a regular saver account, these accounts generate decent returns but only on the basis that you pay a set amount in each month.
A MAJOR high street bank has become the latest British lender to quit the Net Zero Banking Alliance, the bank said on Friday.
Barclays argued that the departure of several global lenders has left it no longer fit to support the bank’s green transition.
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Barclays has become the latest British lender to quit the Net Zero Banking Alliance
Barclays’ decision to quit the foremost banking alliance focused on tackling climate change follows on from HSBC and several major US banks.
It also raises questions about the ability of the group to influence change in the sector going forward.
The bank said in a statement on its website: “After consideration, we have decided to withdraw from the Net Zero Banking Alliance.”
It added that its commitment to be net zero by 2050 remained unchanged and that it still saw a commercial opportunity for itself and its clients in the energy transition.
Earlier this week Barclays published the first update on its sustainability strategy in several years.
It said the bank made £500 million in revenue from sustainable and low-carbon transition finance in 2024.
Jeanne Martin, co-director of corporate engagement at responsible investment NGO ShareAction called the decision to leave the Net Zero Banking Alliance “incredibly disappointing and a step in the wrong direction at a time when the dangers of climate change are rapidly mounting.”
Barclays said the alliance was no longer fit for its purpose: “With the departure of most of the global banks, the organisation no longer has the membership to support our transition.”
The Net Zero Banking Alliance, a global initiative launched by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, lists more than 100 members on its website – including leading international financial institutions.
A spokesperson for the alliance said it remains focused on “supporting its members to lead on climate by addressing the barriers preventing their clients from investing in the net-zero transition.”
In February, the rate dropped to 4.87%, followed by another cut in April to 4.61%.
In February, the bank reduced the rate to 4.87%, followed by another cut in April to 4.61%.
Now, just months later, rates are set to drop again, leaving savers questioning whether to stick with the account or explore better options elsewhere.
How Barclay Card Changes Could Affect You
ANALYSIS by Consumer Reporter, James Flanders:
Barclaycard’s change to its credit card repayment structure sounds great if you don’t dig into the details.
After all, Barclaycard says it’s “making the changes to give you greater flexibility each month”.
In practice, it means that if you can’t afford to pay off your balance in full at the end of each statement period, you can repay much less under the minimum repayment option than you have done previously.
If you only pay the minimum amounts on occasion, this is super useful.
But if you rely on this type of repayment plan in the long term, it could will cost you hundreds of pounds extra in interest.
It could also negatively affect your credit file as it’ll take you much longer to clear your debt.
More interest will be applied to your outstanding balance, too, as less is paid down each month.
For example, if you have a balance of £5,000 on a Barclaycard at 24% interest, where you only make the minimum payments and don’t spend on the card.
Under the old “2.5% of the balance plus the interest charged” rule, it would take around 14 years to clear the balance.
In total, you’d expect to pay about £3,500 in interest.
But with the new “1% of the balance plus the interest charged” calculation, it will take over 30 years to clear the same balance.
You’d then end up paying a whopping £8,500 in interest.
Before taking out a new credit card or increasing the amount you borrow, it’s vital to consider the consequences.
You should only borrow money if you can afford to pay it back.
It’s always vital to ask yourself if you actually need to borrow before committing to a new credit card, personal loan or overdraft.
If you use a credit card, I’d recommend that you always pay off your balance in full at the end of each statement period.
Lenders have a responsibility to help customers who are in debt.
If you’re in a debt crisis, your first point of call should be your lender.
They might help you out by offering you a reduced interest rate or a temporary payment holiday – so check in with your lender if you’re struggling.
Unlike bulkier battery packs, this one is designed with portability front and centre.
It weighs just 192g, so it’s lighter than most out there and easy to slip into a handbag, backpack, or carry-on.
With a 10000mAh capacity, it’s got more than enough power to get you through a full day, and then some.
And because it’s well under the TSA’s 27,000mAh limit, you can safely pop it in your hand luggage for a mid-flight top-up.
It’s not just the size that makes it handy. It supports 3A fast charging, twice as fast as your average power bank, so you won’t be stuck waiting forever to recharge.
It also has smart safety tech built in to protect your devices from overheating or battery damage, which is always reassuring.
There’s a USB-C IN & OUT port, a USB-A port, and a built-in USB-C cable, so you can charge three devices at once.
Whether it’s your phone, wireless earbuds, or even a mate’s device, this little power bank can handle it.
There’s also a clever little design touch: the micro cable doubles as a lanyard, so you can clip it to your bag and keep it handy while you’re out and about.
There’s no guessing games when it comes to battery life, the LED power display shows you exactly how much juice you’ve got left.
“Compact, powerful, and perfect for on-the-go,” writes one shopper. “It’s honestly become a lifesaver for my on-the-go lifestyle.”
“A solid battery pack,” says another customer. “The in-built USB-C cable is extremely convenient, snug fitting in my phone and provides a nice, fast charge. “
Another buyer writes: “The wireless charging works flawlessly with my phone… The battery level indicator is a nice touch.
Amazon’s been rolling out a string of similar deals lately, with popular picks like the TRKOY and Matast Magsafe portable chargers flying off the shelves.
If you’re looking for more top-rated options, check out my tried and tested guide to the best power banks UK buyers love.
Hosgubo Fast-Charging Power Bank, £159.99 £12.99 (Prime member exclusive)
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral for 40-year-old Khamis Ayyad, who died from smoke inhalation after an Israeli settler arson attack in the occupied West Bank. His death follows a surge in settler violence this year.
The family of a United States citizen who was killed in a settler attack in the occupied West Bank is calling on the administration of President Donald Trump to open its own investigation into the incident.
Relatives of Khamis Ayyad, 40, who died in the town of Silwad, north of Ramallah, on Thursday, confirmed on Friday that he was an American citizen and called for justice in the case.
Ayyad — a father of five and a former Chicago resident — was the second US citizen to be killed in the West Bank in July. Earlier that month, Israeli settlers beat 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet to death in Sinjil, a town that neighbours Silwad.
Standing alongside Ayyad’s relatives, William Asfour, the operations coordinator for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), described the killing as “murder”.
“We demand a full investigation from the Department of Justice,” Asfour said. “An American citizen was killed. Where’s the accountability?”
According to Mahmoud Issa, the slain 40-year-old’s cousin, settlers torched cars outside Ayyad’s home around dawn on Thursday.
Ayyad woke up to put out the fire, but then the Israeli army showed up at the scene and started firing tear gas in his direction.
The family believes that Ayyad died from inhaling tear gas and smoke from the burning vehicles.
‘How many more?’
Settler attacks against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, which US officials have described as “terrorism”, have been escalating for months, particularly since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.
The Israeli residents of illegal settlements have descended on Palestinian communities, ransacked neighbourhoods and set cars and homes ablaze.
The settlers, protected by the Israeli military, are often armed and fire at will against Palestinians who try to stop them.
The Israeli military has also been intensifying its deadly raids, home demolitions and displacement campaigns in the West Bank.
Just this past month, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, approved a non-binding motion to annex the West Bank.
And on Thursday, two top Israeli ministers, Yariv Levin and Israel Katz, called the present circumstances “a moment of opportunity” to assert “Israeli sovereignty” over the area.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to carry out a brutal assault in Gaza, which rights groups have said amounts to a genocide.
CAIR-Chicago’s Asfour stressed on Friday that Ayyad’s killing is not an isolated incident.
“Another American was killed in the West Bank just weeks ago,” he said, referring to Musallet.
“How many more before the US takes action to protect its citizens abroad? Settlers burn homes, soldiers back them up, and our government sends billions to fund all of this.”
The US Department of State did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.
No arrests in Musallet’s case
Last month, Musallet’s family also urged a US investigation into his killing.
But Washington has resisted calls to probe Israel’s abuses against American citizens, arguing that Israeli authorities are best equipped to investigate their own military forces and settlers.
Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, called on Israel to “aggressively investigate the murder” of Musallet in July.
“There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act,” he wrote in a social media post.
But more than 21 days after the incident, there has been no arrest in the case. Since 2022, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 10 US citizens. None of the cases have resulted in criminal charges.
Ayyad was killed as Israeli forces continue to detain US teenager Mohammed Ibrahim without trial or access to his family.
Mohammed, 16, has been jailed since February, and his family says it has received reports that he is drastically losing weight and suffering from a skin infection.
On Friday, Illinois State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid called Ayyad’s death part of an “ugly pattern of settler colonial violence” in Palestine.
He called for repealing an Illinois state law that penalises boycotts of Israeli firms.
“We need action. Here in Illinois, we have a law that punishes companies that choose to do the right thing by boycotting Israel,” Rashid told reporters.
“This shameful state law helps shield Israel’s violence and brutality from consequences.”
Khamis Ayyad, 40, died of smoke inhalation after settlers set fire to vehicles in town of Silwad, Health Ministry says.
A Palestinian man has been killed after Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and homes in a town in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says.
The ministry said on Thursday that Khamis Ayyad, 40, died due to smoke inhalation after settlers attacked Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, around dawn. Ayyad and others had been trying to extinguish the fires, local residents said.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the settlers also attacked the nearby villages of Khirbet Abu Falah and Rammun, setting fire to more vehicles.
A relative of Ayyad’s, and a resident of Silwad, said they woke up at 2am (23:00 GMT) to see “flames devouring vehicles across the neighbourhood”.
“The townspeople panicked and rushed to extinguish the fires engulfing the cars and buildings,” they said, explaining that Ayyad had been trying to put out a fire burning his brother’s car.
Ayyad’s death comes amid burgeoning Israeli settler and military violence across the West Bank in tandem with Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
Settlers have been attacking Palestinians and their property with impunity, backed by the Israeli army.
Earlier this week, Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian from Masafer Yatta, the community whose resistance to Israeli settler violence was documented in the Oscar-winning film No Other Land, with which he helped, was killed by an Israeli settler.
The suspect, identified as Yinon Levi, was placed under house arrest on Tuesday after a Magistrate Court in Jerusalem declined to keep him in custody.
People gather next to a burned car after the Israeli settler attack in Silwad [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
According to the latest data from the UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA), at least 159 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank between January 1 and July 21 of this year.
Hundreds of Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians have also been reported so far in 2025, including at least 27 incidents that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both, between July 15 and 21, OCHA said.
Observers have warned that the uptick in Israeli violence aims to forcibly displace Palestinians and pave the way for Israel to formally annex the territory, as tens of thousands have been forced out of their homes in recent months across the West Bank.
Earlier this month, the Israeli parliament – the Knesset – overwhelmingly voted in favour of a symbolic motion calling for Israel to annex the West Bank.
On Thursday, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that “there is a moment of opportunity that must not be missed” to exert Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, according to a Times of Israel report.
“Ministers Katz and Levin have been working for many years to implement Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” the statement said, using a term used by Israeli settlers and their supporters to refer to the occupied Palestinian territory.
Haleema Ayyad holds her son’s photo after he was killed in the attack [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
Back in Silwad, Raafat Hussein Hamed, a resident whose house was torched in Thursday’s attack, said that the settlers “burned whatever they could and then ran away”.
Hamed told the AFP news agency that the attackers “come from an outpost”, referring to an Israeli settlement that, in addition to violating international law, is also illegal under Israeli law.
The Israeli military told AFP that “several suspects … set fire to property and vehicles in the Silwad area”, but forces dispatched to the scene were unable to identify them. It added that Israeli police had launched an investigation.
Odeh Hadalin, an activist, football player and participant in the Academy Award-winning documentary No Other Land, has been shot in the chest and killed by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank. The suspect, Yinon Levi, has been under sanctions by the EU and the US.
Global Finance (GF): What are NMB Bank’s recent milestones in driving digital transformation?
Kwame Makundi (KM): In 2024, NMB Bank showed its commitment to technological advancement by launching over 20 initiatives that support growth and improve its offering in terms of customer experience, financial inclusion and operational efficiency. The NMB Pesa Account is a good example. This digital and cardless account-opening solution was designed for low-income households to advance financial inclusion in rural areas. Requiring a small initial deposit, the bank onboarded over 354,000 accounts in 2024.
Another successful initiative was Mshiko Fasta, a digital micro-loan product that reduced turnaround time from around five days to under 10 minutes for non-collateralised loans. These cater mainly to small- and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs and are accessible from mobile devices.
NMB Kikundi is an affordable and accessible digital solution enabling customers to open group accounts instantly via their phones through NMB Mkononi and USSD services with no debit restrictions and zero transfer charges. Last year, 40,000 group accounts were onboarded.
We also created FlexMalipo, a tailored payment and bill management solution for schools and religious institutions. By helping to control payment cycles, reconciliation and real-time transaction visibility – at no cost – we onboarded more than 830 schools.
GF: How has this journey of innovation enhanced NMB Bank’s performance?
KM: Our digital transformation efforts have led to significant efficiency gains. For example, in 2024 branch transactions decreased by 10%, and we improved our cost-to-income ratio by 100 basis points, from 39% the year before. More specifically, our strategic investment in loan management and enhanced IFRS 9 systems led to a reduction in our loan loss ratio to 0.97% and non-performing loan ratio to 2.9% by the end of 2024.
GF: What are the key features of the NMB Mkononi app that also differentiate the bank?
KM: This app is distinctive from all other mobile banking apps in several ways. Firstly, it offers a personalised user interface and overall improved customer experience that allows for smooth navigation through a wide range of functions. Secondly, the app provides access to apply for and manage unsecured digital micro loans, including Mshiko Fasta and Salary Advance. The app also has enhanced security features, such as strengthened biometric authentication, for a safer experience. Lastly, the app offers several value-added services, from local and international fund transfers, to savings solutions, to paying bills and making withdrawals.
GF: What inspired NMB to develop digital loans for the local market?
KM: In response to evolving customer needs, we leveraged NMB Bank’s innovation strategy to offer instant, collateral-free credit solutions that are easily accessible anytime, anywhere. In addition to reducing turnaround times, eliminating paperwork and improving customer satisfaction, we can tailor loan amounts based on real-time data, which ensures customers receive credit that matches their financial capacity, therefore fostering trust and repeat usage.
GF: How has this digital lending proposition impacted Tanzania’s banking landscape?
KM: Through our digital loans, credit decisions are made by using multiple data sources, allowing underserved individuals to access formal credit for the first time. For customers, this has expanded access to formal financial services, reducing the reliance on informal lenders while supporting broader financial inclusion across Tanzania. Since NMB Bank launched the solution in 2022, we have disbursed over three million loans to one million previously underserved customers nationwide – from entrepreneurs and women, to food vendors and motorbike and taxi drivers.
GF: What’s next on your digital banking agenda?
KM: NMB Bank is exploring emerging technologies to maintain our competitive edge in an increasingly digitised market. Current initiatives include the strategic modernisation of our core banking system. This aims to spur business growth, enhance operational efficiency, foster innovation and strengthen IT risk management. We want to bring new products to markets faster.
We are also investing in AI and machine learning capabilities to drive faster and more informed decision-making, as well as greater personalisation and real-time analytics. Talent development is also a strategic goal, making the right hires in key IT and digital roles aligned with our long-term transformation agenda.
With these and other initiatives, NMB is addressing evolving customer needs by leveraging digital channels to deliver convenience, efficiency, enhanced customer satisfaction and greater financial inclusion.
Downing Street has no plans for a bank holiday to mark the Lionesses’ Euro 2025 win, the BBC understands.
England made history on Sunday as they retained their title against World Champions Spain after a dramatic penalty shootout in Basel.
A homecoming parade will be held in central London on Tuesday, with an open-top bus tour culminating in a ceremony outside Buckingham Palace.
But the government appears set to confirm there will be no bank holiday to mark the occasion, in line with what happened when England won the same tournament three years ago.
Calls for a bank holiday after a major football success are not new, but none were held when England’s men’s team won the World Cup in 1966, nor when the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022.
Sir Keir has previously suggested he would be open to giving people a day off work to celebrate an England win, saying at the time that the 2022 victory should be “marked with a proper day of celebration”.
When the Lionesses reached the World Cup final against Spain in 2023, Sir Keir said “there should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home”.
Downing Street will likely have an eye on the economic cost of announcing an extra bank holiday.
Government modelling has previously put the cost at £1.36bn, while accountancy firm PwC estimated the figure would be closer to £831m.
Sir Keir watched on from the stands as England clinched a win on penalties, after the two sides held each other at 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time.
Spot kicks from Alex Greenwood, Niamh Charles andChloe Kelly, as well as two huge saves from goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, were enough to see England emerge from the tense match victorious.
The prime minister described the team as “history makers” after the full-time whistle, adding: “You dug deep when it mattered most and you’ve made the nation proud.”
Two Palestinian teenage boys have been killed by Israeli forces in the town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency, in the latest deadly violence in the territory continuing in tandem with Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
The bodies of 15-year-old Ahmad Ali Asaad Ashira al-Salah and 17-year-old Muhammad Khaled Alian Issa, who were killed at dawn, were withheld by the Israeli army, the report said, adding that two more children were also injured in the gunfire.
The deadly incident came as Israeli forces arrested at least 25 Palestinians in multiple raids across the occupied West Bank, according to Wafa.
The arrests include 10 Palestinians in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron; two in the town of Idhna, west of Hebron; three in the town of Dura al-Qari, north of Ramallah; one in the city of Ramallah; five in the village of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah; and four in the city of Nablus.
‘Making Palestinian lives impossible’
Since the start of the war on Gaza, Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank has escalated dramatically, with near-daily reports of mass arrests, killings and Israeli settler attacks, often supported by Israeli soldiers. Settlers have been rampaging with impunity, attacking and killing Palestinian civilians and burning their properties and olive groves.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 948 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli soldiers since October 7, 2023. Of that figure, at least 204 are children.
Meanwhile, from the beginning of 2024 until the end of June 2025, more than 2,200 Israeli settler attacks were reported, resulting in more than 5,200 Palestinian injuries, according to OCHA figures. In that same period, nearly 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced across the occupied West Bank due to Israeli military operations, settler violence or home demolitions carried out by the Israeli government.
The Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank is part of the Israeli government’s strategy for preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, according to Amjad Abu El Ezz, a lecturer of international relations at the Arab American University.
The increased number of killings, and the destruction of Palestinian homes and vehicles by Israeli settlers in coordination with the Israeli army, aim to encourage Palestinians to leave their land, Abu El Ezz told Al Jazeera from Ramallah.
Israel is weakening the governing Palestinian Authority, “making Palestinian lives impossible”, while at the same time “building Israeli facts on the ground” to prevent the Palestinians from building their own state, he added.
“We are talking about more than 700,000 Israeli settlers. They have weapons, they are acting as an army in parallel to the Israeli army,” Abu El Ezz said.
On Wednesday, Israel’s parliament approved a symbolic measure calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Knesset lawmakers voted 71-13 in favour of the motion on Wednesday, a non-binding vote which calls for “applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley” – the Israeli terms for the area.
The motion, advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, is declarative and has no direct legal implications, though it could place the issue of annexation on the agenda of future debates in the parliament.
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement has called the Israeli parliament’s non-binding vote on the annexation of the occupied West Bank a “dangerous escalation”.
In a statement on Telegram, the group said the move was a “clear disregard for the international community” and a way for Israel to implement “its criminal plans targeting the land of Palestine and its people”.
The West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Since then, Israeli settlements have expanded exponentially, despite being illegal under international law and, in the case of settlement outposts, Israeli law.
Knesset lawmakers vote 71-13 in favour of annexation, raising questions about the future of a Palestinian state.
Israel’s parliament has approved a symbolic measure calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Knesset lawmakers voted 71-13 in favour of the motion on Wednesday, a non-binding vote which calls for “applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley” – the Israeli terms for the area.
It said that annexing the West Bank “will strengthen the state of Israel, its security and prevent any questioning of the fundamental right of the Jewish people to peace and security in their homeland”.
The motion, advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is declarative and has no direct legal implications, though it could place the issue of annexation on the agenda of future debates in the parliament.
The idea was initially brought forward last year by Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who himself lives in an illegal Israeli settlement and holds a position within Israel’s Ministry of Defence, where he oversees the administration of the West Bank and its settlements.
The West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Since then, Israeli settlements have expanded, despite being illegal under international law and, in the case of settlement outposts, Israeli law.
Palestinian leaders want all three territories for a future state. Some 3 million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers currently reside in the West Bank.
Annexation of the West Bank could make it impossible to create a viable Palestinian state, which is seen internationally as the most realistic way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Last year, the Israeli parliament approved a similar symbolic motion declaring opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Hussein al-Sheikh, deputy to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said the motion was “a direct assault on the rights of the Palestinian people”, which “undermines the prospects for peace, stability and the two-state solution”.
“These unilateral Israeli actions blatantly violate international law and the ongoing international consensus regarding the status of the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank,” he wrote in a post on X.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement that it strongly rejects any motion for annexation.
The ministry stressed that the “colonial measures” reinforce a system of apartheid in the West Bank and reflect a “blatant disregard” for many United Nations resolutions and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was issued in July 2024.
The statement, carried by the official Palestinian Wafa news agency, also warned that such actions deliberately undermine the prospects of implementing a two-state solution.
The ministry added that while settlement expansion continues, de facto annexation is already occurring on a daily basis.
Following Israel’s deadly war on Gaza, Israeli forces have intensified attacks on Palestinian towns and villages in the occupied West Bank, displacing thousands of Palestinians and killing hundreds. Settlers, often backed by Israeli soldiers, have also escalated assaults on Palestinians, their land, and property.
Sayfollah Musallet, a Palestinian American, was killed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on July 11, just days before his 21st birthday. His death is one of nearly 1,000 killings involving settlers this year, and his US citizenship has helped draw rare calls for a US investigation. Could this case shift how Washington responds to settler violence in the occupied West Bank?
Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian child in the occupied West Bank amid more violent raids by soldiers and settlers, and as Israeli authorities position to confiscate more land.
Local Palestinian sources reported on Friday that 13-year-old Amr Ali Qabha was hit with live ammunition in a street in Yabad, located south of Jenin, and was denied medical treatment as soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching him.
Qabha’s father also tried to reach him, but was severely beaten and detained by Israeli soldiers, according to the Wafa news agency, which said the child was pronounced dead at the hospital after an ambulance was finally able to get him there.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed across the occupied West Bank since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023. Of that figure, at least 204 were children.
The United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) said on Friday that at least 14 Palestinian deaths and 355 injuries were recorded in the West Bank last month, while there were at least 129 Israeli settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage.
According to OCHA figures, between the beginning of 2024 and the end of June 2025, more than 2,200 Israeli settler attacks were reported, resulting in more than 5,200 Palestinian injuries.
In that same period, nearly 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced across the West Bank due to Israeli military operations, settler violence or home demolitions carried out by the Israeli government.
Ongoing raids and harassment
The deadly incident on Friday came as Israeli soldiers continued their raids across the occupied territory that were accompanied by arrests, and assisted settlers in their attacks aimed at driving Palestinians from their lands.
In Jenin’s village of Raba, Israeli forces fired tear gas at Palestinians, including children, who were protesting against the confiscation of their land and property.
Israeli forces fire tear gas at Palestinians who demonstrated against the confiscation of their land in Raba, near Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025 [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]
In the town of Dura, located south of Hebron, five Palestinians were detained after a raid that included the ransacking of several homes.
Six more were arrested in Qalqiliya’s village of Kafr Laqif, with another two taken from the village of Sir in the same district.
A Palestinian man was arrested in Bethlehem after being summoned by Israeli intelligence to the Gush Etzion settlement. Two people were taken during a raid on Nablus, with one shot and wounded before his arrest. Another arrest was reported in the Askar refugee camp.
In the village of Umm Safa near Ramallah, Israeli soldiers destroyed a main water pipeline, which left about 1,000 residents without water.
In the neighbourhood of Beit Hanina in occupied East Jerusalem, families living in a residential building were forced to leave in preparation for the demolition of their homes. The Palestinian families were among those forced to demolish the buildings themselves after an order by Israeli authorities, because the municipality would fine them more if it demolishes the building.
Armed Israeli settlers launched a violent attack earlier on Friday in the village of al-Malih in the northern Jordan Valley, located northeast of the occupied territory. They killed at least 117 sheep belonging to Palestinians, stole more livestock and vandalised tents and other property, according to Wafa.
Israel’s plan to divide future Palestinian state
Israeli authorities are planning to illegally confiscate more Palestinian land as well, despite international criticism.
The United Kingdom on Friday opposed Israel’s announcement of its intention to renew plans for construction in the E1 area in the occupied West Bank, a move that would split the Palestinian territory.
“The UK strongly opposes the announcement by the central planning bureau of Israel’s Civil Administration to reintroduce the E1 settlement plan, frozen since 2021,” said a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson.
The plan would include the construction of more than 3,000 houses to the east of Jerusalem, dividing a future Palestinian state in two, read the statement, and “marking a flagrant breach of international law”.
A Palestinian man inspects burned cars, after Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles in the Palestinian town of Burqa, near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 15, 2025 [Mohammed Torokman/Reuters]
US Democratic Senators Bernie Sanders, Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley and Chris Van Hollen issued a joint statement on Friday condemning Israel’s longstanding plan to destroy and force out Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta, in the South Hebron Hills.
Amid frequent attacks by settlers and troops in the area, Israeli authorities are advancing with plans to turn the Masafer Yatta area into an “open fire” zone for their military.
Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI)
Global Finance announces its selections for the World’s Best Banks 2025, including its honoree for the World’s Best Consumer Bank, which is being revealed here for the first time. The 2025 World’s Best Consumer Bank is State Bank of India.
“Focused on customer engagement, digital transformation, and expanding accessibility, the State Bank of India has secured its leadership role in consumer banking. Investments in mobile banking, new offices, and cutting-edge technology have only fueled the bank’s strong revenue and significant profitability growth,” said Joseph Giarraputo, founder and editorial director of Global Finance. “For more than three decades, corporate and banking leaders have used Global Finance’s Best Bank Awards to identify financial partners that provide the most robust products and services and comprehensive industry expertise.”
Also being revealed here for the first time are the following global honorees: World’s Best Bank – Societe Generale, World’s Best Corporate Bank – BBVA, World’s Best Emerging Market Bank – J.P. Morgan, World’s Best Frontier Market Bank – Societe Generale and World’s Best Sub-Custodian Bank – CIBC Mellon.
Editorial Coverage of State Bank of India
Japan’s SMBC Buying Stake In Yes Bank
Interview with C.S. Setty, Chairman of State Bank of India
The full World’s Best Banks report will be featured in Global Finance’s October print and digital editions, as well as online at GFMag.com.
Global Finance will honor the World’s Best Banks 2025 on the morning of October 18 at the annual World’s Best Bank Awards Ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, DC during the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.
Winners were selected based on performance over the past year and other criteria including reputation and management excellence. Global Finance’s editorial board made the selections with input from corporate financial executives, analysts and bankers throughout the world. The editors also used entries submitted by banks for Global Finance’s 2025 awards programs, in addition to independent research, to evaluate a series of objective and subjective factors.
State Bank of India latest recognitions
World’s Best Bank for Trade Finance in Emerging Markets—Global Winners
Safest Bank in India in 2024—Country Winners
Best Bank in India in 2024—Country Winners
Logo Use Rights
To obtain rights to use Global Finance’s Award Logos, please contact Chris Giarraputo at: [email protected]. The unauthorized use of Global Finance Logos is strictly prohibited.
Sayfollah Musallet was a brother, a son and an ambitious young man who was just at the beginning of his life.
That is the message his family has repeated since July 11, when the 20-year-old United States citizen was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the village of Sinjil in the occupied West Bank.
That message, they hope, will prevent the Florida-born Sayfollah from becoming “just another number” in the growing list of Palestinian Americans whose killings never find justice.
That’s why his cousin, Fatmah Muhammad, took a moment amid her grief on Wednesday to remember the things she loved about Sayfollah.
The two united over a passion for food, and Muhammad, a professional baker, remembers how carefully Sayfollah would serve the delicate knafeh pastry she sold through the ice cream shop he ran in Tampa.
“Just in the way he plated my dessert, he made it look so good,” Muhammad, 43, recalled. “I even told him he did a better job than me.”
“That really showed the type of person he was,” she added. “He wanted to do things with excellence.”
‘The love he gave all of us’
Born and raised in Port Charlotte, a coastal community in south central Florida, Sayfollah – nicknamed Saif – maintained a deep connection to his ancestral roots abroad.
He spent a large portion of his teenage years in the occupied West Bank, where his two brothers and sister also lived. There, his parents, who own a home near Sinjil, hoped he could better connect with his culture and language.
But after finishing high school, Sayfollah was eager to return to the US to try his hand at entrepreneurship. Last year, he, his father and his cousins opened the dessert shop in Tampa, Florida, playfully named Ice Screamin.
Sayfollah Musallet poses for a family photo with his grandmother and uncle [Photo courtesy of family]
But the ice cream shop was just the beginning. Sayfollah’s ambition left a deep impression on Muhammad.
“He had his vision to expand the business, to multiply it by many,” she said, her voice at times shaking with grief. “This at 20, when most kids are playing video games.”
“And the crazy thing is, any goal that he set his mind to, he always did it,” she added. “He always exceeded everyone’s expectations, especially with the love he gave all of us.”
Sayfollah’s aunt, 58-year-old Samera Musallet, also remembers his dedication to his family. She described Sayfollah as a loving young man who never let his aunts pay for anything in his presence – and who always insisted on bringing dessert when he came for dinner.
At the same time, Samera said he was still youthful and fun-loving: He liked to watch comedy movies, shop for clothes and make late-night trips to the WaWa convenience store.
One of her fondest memories came when Sayfollah was only 14, and they went together to a baseball game featuring the Kansas City Royals.
“When we got there, he could smell the popcorn and all the hot dogs. He bought everything he could see and said, ‘We’re going to share!’” she told Al Jazeera.
“After he ate all that junk food, we turned around, and he was sleeping. I woke him up when the game was over, and he goes: ‘Who won?’”
‘I really want to get married’
Another one of his aunts, 52-year-old Katie Salameh, remembers that Sayfollah’s mind had turned to marriage in the final months of his young life
As the Florida spring gave way to summer, Sayfollah had announced plans to return to the West Bank to see his mother and siblings. But he confided to Salameh that he had another reason for returning.
“The last time I saw him was we had a family wedding, and that was the weekend of Memorial Day [in May],” Salameh told Al Jazeera.
“I asked him: ‘Are you so excited to see your siblings and your mom?’ He said, ‘Oh my god, I’m so excited.’ Then he goes, ‘I really want to get married. I’m going to look for a bride when I’m there.’”
To keep the ice cream shop running smoothly, Sayfollah had arranged a switch with his father: He would return to the West Bank while his father would travel to Tampa to mind the business.
But that decision would unwittingly put Sayfollah’s father more than 10,000 kilometres away from his son when violent Israeli settlers surrounded him, as witnesses and his family would later recount.
Israeli authorities said the attack in Sinjil began with rock-throwing and “violent clashes … between Palestinians and Israeli civilians”, a claim Sayfollah’s family and witnesses have rejected.
Instead, they said Sayfollah was trying to protect his family’s land when he was encircled by a “mob of settlers” who beat him.
Even when an ambulance was called, Sayfollah’s family said the settlers blocked the paramedics from reaching his broken body. Sayfollah’s younger brother would ultimately help carry his dying brother to emergency responders.
The settlers also fatally shot Mohammed al-Shalabi, a 23-year-old Palestinian man, who witnesses said was left bleeding for hours.
“His phone was on, and he wasn’t responding,” his mother, Joumana al-Shalabi, told reporters. “He was missing for six hours. They found him martyred under the tree. They beat him and shot him with bullets.”
Palestinians cannot legally possess firearms in the occupied West Bank, but Israeli settlers can. The Israeli government itself has encouraged the settlers to bear arms, including through the distribution of rifles to civilians.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded the killings of at least 964 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023.
And the violence appears to be on the rise. The OHCHR noted that there was a 13-percent increase in the number of killings during the first six months of 2025, compared with the same period last year.
‘Pain I can’t even describe’
An Al Jazeera analysis also found that Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least nine US citizens since 2022, including veteran reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
None of those deaths have resulted in criminal charges, with Washington typically relying on Israel to conduct its own investigations.
So far, US President Donald Trump has not directly addressed Sayfollah’s killing. When asked in the Oval Office about the fatal beating, Trump deferred to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We protect all American citizens anywhere in the world, especially if they’re unjustly murdered or killed,” Rubio replied on Trump’s behalf. “We’re gathering more information.”
Rubio also pointed to a statement issued a day earlier from the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. The ambassador called on Israel to “aggressively investigate” the attack, saying “there must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act”.
It was a particularly jarring sentiment from Huckabee, who has been a vocal supporter of Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank and has even denied the very existence of a Palestinian people.
Nevertheless, no independent, US-led investigation has been announced.
Mourners cover the graves of Mohammed al-Shalabi and Sayfollah Musallet in al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya [Leo Correa/AP Photo]
According to Israeli media, three Israeli settlers, including a military reservist, were taken into custody following the deadly attack, but all were subsequently released.
It has only been four days since Sayfollah’s killing, and his family told Al Jazeera the initial shock has only now begun to dissipate.
But in its place has come a flood of grief and anger. Muhammad still struggles to accept that he “died because he was on his own land”. She sees Sayfollah’s death as part of a broader pattern of abuses, whether in the West Bank or in Gaza, where Israel has led a war since 2023.
“I see it on the news all the time with other people in the West Bank. I see it in Gaza – the indiscriminate killing of anybody in their way,” she said.
“But when it happens to you, it’s just so hard to even fathom,” she added. “It’s pain I can’t even describe.”
