President Joe Biden sought to show his determination to stand up to Russia in announcing fresh sanctions on Friday, but his resolve only went so far over concerns that the toughest measures left in the US arsenal risk roiling the global economy. A 200-page list of targets based in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, China … Read more
South Africa’s foreign minister said Saudi Arabia and four other countries have accepted the invitation to join the BRICS club of nations that was extended during a summit last year. Minister Naledi Pandor said that Russia, who takes over as chair of the bloc this year from South Africa, has received written interest from 34 … Read more
Five Arab nations are quietly touting a settlement for postwar Gaza for which they’ve secured the backing of the US. The problem is that the Israelis on whom the agreement depends aren’t buying it. That means the proposal, which its authors are calling the most plausible solution for long-term security in the region, is out … Read more
French police detained two passengers on an aeroplane carrying about 300 Indian citizens, including unaccompanied minors, on suspicion of human trafficking following an anonymous tip. ADVERTISEMENT French police have arrested two people after grounding a flight carrying about 300 Indian citizens, including 13 unaccompanied minors, the authorities said. The Airbus A340 flying from the United … Read more
Like his immediate predecessor, Kuwait’s new ruler is taking over in his 80s and will be confronted with the same economy-hobbling political dysfunction that has for years doomed reforms. But there are differences in this succession as well as similarities, and how they play out will help dictate whether 83-year-old Emir Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber … Read more
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The climate negotiations that just finished in Dubai hit upon the essence of compromise, finding common language that nearly 200 countries accepted, at times grudgingly. For the first time in nearly three decades of such talks, the final agreement mentioned fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas — … Read more
COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber speaks during the Transforming Food Systems in the Face of Climate Change event on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit at Dubai Expo on December 1, 2023. Ludovic Marin | Afp | Getty Images “We delivered world first after world first,” the UAE summit presidency said in a … Read more
The COP28 climate summit in Dubai entered its final two days as Sultan Al Jaber, the Emirati oil executive who’s presiding over this year’s talks, sought to produce a text that would include a commitment to reduce the world’s consumption of oil and gas for the first time. Early on Monday, negotiators were awaiting a … Read more
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Veteran negotiators at the United Nations climate talks Saturday said that the push to wean the world from dirty fossil fuels had gained so much momentum that they had poked a powerful enemy: the oil industry. Late Friday, multiple news sources reported that the leader of OPEC, the powerful … Read more
A report published Tuesday by the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition found that at least 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists registered to attend the two-week long summit. Campaigners say the number of fossil fuel lobbyists attending the talks is “beyond justification” and signals that polluting industries are seeking to advance a fossil fuel agenda at the … Read more