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☆ How ISIS has Europe and the US in sights after deadly Moscow attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

ISIS claimed responsibility for the Moscow attack. Maxim Shemetov/ReutersHe regards the Moscow attack as a “breakthrough success” for the group, demonstrating a level of planning not previously seen beyond south Asia. Russia’s support for authoritarian regimes in central Asia – which ISIS-K has described as Russia’s “puppets” – has deepened the animus. The attitude of the Russian government, both pre- and post- the Moscow attack, may not help it confront the threat. For ISIS-K, the Moscow attack is a coup.

Persons: Erik Kurilla, “, Sanaullah Ghafari, Edmund Fitton, Brown, Fitton, Amira Jadoon, ” Jadoon, Hans, Jakob Schindler, Christine Abizaid, ” Fitton, Maxim Shemetov, –, Gabriel Attal, ”, Jadoon, Putin, Abu Bakr al, Sinai, Vladimir Putin, Assad, Shamsidin, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Yulia Morozova, Shamil Hukumatov, ” Putin, ” Schindler, Alexander Bortnikov, they’ll, Rita Katz Organizations: CNN, Analysts, ISIS, Islamic, US Central Command, UN, Taliban, Russian, Clemson University, Counter, ”, K, US National Counterterrorism Center, –, Crocus City, US Defense Department, Paris, Central, Crocus City Hall, St, City, Tajik, Kyiv, SITE Intelligence Locations: State, Ukraine, Gaza, Moscow, Khorasan, Afghanistan, Europe, Asia, Russia, ‘, Islamic State, Pakistan, Iran, Crocus, United States, West, New York, Tajik, Kabul, Afghan, Kandahar, Central Asia, Baujur, Pakistani, Baluchistan, Iranian, Kerman, Germany, al Qaeda, Turkey, France, America, Russian, Sharm el, St . Petersburg, Syria, Kaluga, St Petersburg, Istanbul, Washington

Theater CrisisAbout 40 Chechen militants on Oct. 23, 2002 stormed a Moscow theater where a popular musical was underway, taking some 850 people hostage and planting explosives in the auditorium. They demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. Two days later, a severe explosion shook the building and Russian forces rushed in. A suicide bomber killed 41 people on a Moscow subway train in February 2004. Suicide bombings of two Moscow subway trains about 40 minutes apart in March 2010 killed about 40 people.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Friday's, Putin, Shamil Basayev Organizations: Crocus City Hall, Islamic, Officials, Federal Security Service, Public Transport, Air Transport, Moscow's Domodedovo, Islamic State Locations: Moscow, Crocus, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Ryazan, Russian, Chechen, Beslan, Volgograd, St, Petersburg, Moscow's

☆ John Podesta will take over for John Kerry as top US climate diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —John Podesta, a senior White House adviser focused on clean energy and climate, will take over as US climate diplomat after John Kerry steps down this spring, according to a source familiar with the move. Podesta first came to the Biden White House in September 2022, when he was tasked with implementing the climate measures in the Inflation Reduction Act. Podesta also previously served as a top climate adviser to former President Barack Obama, where he was involved both in domestic and international climate policy. Podesta will inherit a more favorable international climate landscape than Kerry did when he took the role in 2021. And Kerry prioritized restarting international climate talks between the US and China, after China abruptly halted cooperation over other geopolitical issues.

Persons: CNN — John Podesta, John Kerry, Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s, Biden, Barack Obama, integrally, Kerry, Jeff Zients, John Podesta, ” Zients, “ John, –, ” Kerry, ”, “, “ We’ve, Biden’s, John, “ He’s, Donald Trump, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, White, Democratic, White House, State Department, Biden White House, Obama, Dubai . White, COP28 Locations: Paris, Dubai ., Glasgow, Sharm el, Dubai, China

☆ Falling Domestic Fares and an A.I. Arms Race: What Travelers Can Expect in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Christine Chung | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

Arms Race: What Travelers Can Expect in 2024 At the start of what promises to be a very busy year, we look ahead at what you’re likely to encounter. With 2023 in the rearview mirror, we look ahead at what travelers will face in 2024. At United Airlines, for example, smarter software can offer rebooking options and issue food and lodging vouchers when a flight is canceled, rather than just rebooking a flight. United Airlines has suspended its flights indefinitely, said Josh Freed, a United spokesman. This year, travelers are expected to choose faraway places and board small ships, according to Virtuoso, the consortium of luxury travel agencies.

Persons: Chanelle, Hayley Berg, ” Ms, Berg, “, Robert W, Mann Jr, ”, Chad Burt, Oren Etzioni, Gilbert Ott, Hopper, Greg Forbes, Delta’s, Neville Pattinson, Mr, Pattinson, biometrics, Laura Lindsay, Joshua Smith, Smith, Laurel Brunvoll, Michael Zeiler, Airbnb, We’ve, Jamie Lane, ‘, ’ ”, Jan Freitag, “ We’ve, David Whiteside, Brian Kelly, Guy, Leigh Rowan, “ There’s, Kelly, Rowan, ” Mr, James Thornton, Sharm el Sheikh, Khaled Ibrahim, Harry Rubenstein, Rubenstein, Eyal Carlin, Josh Freed, Jack Ezon, Tom Marchant, Beth McGroarty Organizations: World Tourism Organization, International Air Transport Association, Analysts, Express Global, ”, airfare, University of Washington, United Airlines, Transportation, Administration, Salt Lake, International Airport, Denver International Airport, Delta Air Lines, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, La Guardia Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, biometrics, Thales, Air, American Airlines, Global, “, —, MidX Studios, LivSmart Studios, Hilton, Hyatt Studios, Accor Hotels, Boston University, Visa, Mastercard, Walmart, Target, Savanti, Chase, Intrepid Travel, Amisol Travel, East Travel Alliance, United, Consumers, Ki’ama, Wellness, Global Wellness Institute Locations: United States, Point.me, Salt, North America, London, Rome, Tokyo, Cancún, Las Vegas, Cayman Islands, Polynesia, Europe, Norway, Denmark, Air Canada, Bergen, Flam, Scandinavia, Italy, France, Malta, Slovenia, Maryland, Spain, Portugal, Britain, Egypt, India, Mexico ; Cape Girardeau, Mo, Niagara Falls, N.Y . Texas, Burnet, Sulphur Springs, New York, Vienna, Marriott, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Oman —, Tunisia, Northern Africa, Sharm, Cairo, Amisol Travel Egypt, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramle, Kimberley, Western Australia, Mitre, Patagonia, Ki’ama Bahamas, Bahamas, South Africa, Hudson, Tuxedo Park, N.Y, Malibu , Calif, Mexico

On Monday, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, energy minister and the key climate negotiator, for the kingdom, was a no-show at the Saudi Green Initiative. "The climate finance that they have pledged at this COP28 is simply not enough," said Pakistani activist Zaigham Abbas, whose country was devastated last year by widespread flooding. Elsewhere, France and Japan said they would support a move by the African Development Bank to leverage IMF Special Drawing Rights for climate and development. This year also features the biggest-ever representation of business at the annual U.N. summit, amid hopes for more private investment toward climate causes. "The scale of the climate crisis demands urgent and game-changing solutions from every industry," COP28 President Ahmed Al-Jaber said.

Persons: COP28, Johanna Geron, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Nicholas Stern, Mia Mottley, Antonio Guterres, Zaigham Abbas, Abu Dhabi, Ahmed Al, Jaber, Simon Jessop, Maha El, Al Sayegh, Alexander Cornwell, Elizabeth Piper, David Stanway, Katy Daigle Organizations: of, European Union, REUTERS, Companies, Saudi, United, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Green Initiative, Crown, Grantham Research, Asian Peoples ' Movement, Development, African Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, BlackRock, HSBC, Finance, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Dubai, Brussels, Belgium, Companies UAE, DUBAI, COP28, United Arab, Saudi Arabia, Sharm el, Sheikh, Egypt, Paris, China, Grantham, Barbados, France, Japan, Copenhagen, Abu

☆ Big Oil Bets on Hot Air in Climate Talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The closing plenary at the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, last year. Photo: MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY/REUTERSOil-and-gas companies are banking on a glacial pace of progress on cutting fossil-fuel use in this year’s round of climate negotiations—and they may well get it. Climate Change Conference, COP28, begins Thursday with an oily twist. It is being hosted by the United Arab Emirates, which pumps more than 3 million barrels of oil a day. is a member, will have a pavilion at the climate summit for the first time.

Persons: Sharm El Sheikh, MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY Organizations: REUTERS, United Arab Emirates, of, Petroleum Locations: Sharm El, Egypt

☆ Are the COP climate summits working? These countries are going to the courts, instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“It is a recipe for permanent climate chaos and suffering.”Yet the UN climate summit, known as COP, is tedious. Even fierce climate advocates who agree COP should be more ambitious still believe the summit is a powerful and worthwhile endeavor. “There is a lot of questioning whether this process will deliver or not,” Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of international climate nonprofit World Resources Institute, told CNN. In this June 2017 photo, President Donald Trump after announcing his intention to abandon the Paris Agreement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. Doug Mills/The New York Times/ReduxStill, former and current US negotiators say climate diplomacy has helped keep the world’s temperature from reaching truly alarming highs.

Persons: António Guterres, ” Guterres, Paris, Payam Akhavan, ” Akhavan, ” Ani Dasgupta, ’ COP’s, ”, Sue Biniaz, John Kerry, Frances F, Denny, Biniaz, ” Biniaz, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Doug Mills, Jonathan Pershing, William, Flora Hewlett, Pershing, ” Pershing, “, Todd Stern, Jens Astrup, Stern, “ It’s, ” Stern, it’s, It’s, Margaretha Wewerinke, Singh, Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Peter Dejong, Hailey Campbell, ’ ”, Campbell Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Law, United, Resources Institute, Yale University, The New York Times, “, ”, White, New York Times, Kerry, Bella Center, Getty, US, Republicans, International Court of Justice Locations: Paris, Small, States, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Antigua, Barbuda, Dubai, COP28, United States, New Haven , Connecticut, Rose, Washington , DC, Copenhagen, AFP, Europe, Mississippi, Philippines, Sharm el, Sheikh, Egypt, Hawaii, Honolulu

The Gaza war on the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula comes after the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic exposed long-standing frailties in the Egyptian economy. "Foreign sentiment on Egypt is so weak, and now with this coming along it's last thing that Egypt needed. A foreign currency shortage has led to a $5 billion backlog of imports stuck at ports, and problems for foreign companies repatriating dividends, bankers say. So far, the Gaza war has affected the popular Sinai destinations of Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm el-Sheikh but left the rest of the country relatively unscathed. Egypt's tourism minister told Reuters this week that the impact of the war was contained to under 10% of bookings.

Persons: Mohamed Abd El Ghany, Monica Malik, Moataz, Sharm, Karim ElMinabawy, Siamak Adibi, Egypt's, Olumide Ajayi, Malik, Patrick Werr, Sarah El Safty, Aidan Lewis, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Abu, Tourism, Countrywide, Emeco, Middle East Gas, FGE, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Giza, Cairo, Egypt, CAIRO, Gaza, Ukraine, Dhabi, Taba, Dahab, Luxor, Aswan, Israel, Europe, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Gulf . Saudi

REUTERS/Ammar Awad/ Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Travelers are canceling or postponing planned vacations to the Middle East and North Africa due to fears of the Israel-Hamas conflict worsening, and as touring companies have also altered itineraries and canceled flights. Travel operators say the war is affecting demand for travel to nearby nations including Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. German airline Group Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said on Thursday their Middle East bookings have not been affected by the war, with only an initial dip when the conflict started. Spanish travel agency Essentialist said it has canceled 75% of trips to the extended Middle East and Northeast Africa region. The conflict's effect on travel demand to the Middle East may extend beyond the holidays and even just neighboring countries.

Persons: Ammar Awad, Israel, Todd Elliott, Konrad Waliszewski, Willie Walsh, Kathleen Oberg, Patrick Scholes, Essentialist, Matt Berna, Khaled Ibrahim, Doyinsola Oladipo, Joanna Plucińska, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Cruise Line Holdings, Royal Caribbean Group, International Air Transport Association, Group Lufthansa, AS OMAN, Marriott, Intrepid Travel, Americas, East Travel Alliance, Thomson Locations: Damascus, Jerusalem's Old City, East, North Africa, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Orlando , Florida, Israel . Washington, Cyprus, Lebanon, Valencia, Spain, Spanish, Northeast Africa, Australia, Norway, Sharm el Sheikh, Oman, UAE, New York, London, Chicago

☆ Pope says he will attend COP28 climate summit in Dubai, a first by a pontiff
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, October 18, 2023. The pope told Italy's state-run RAI television TG1 news in an interview that he expected to be in Dubai Dec. 1-3. In Dubai, the pope is expected to drive home his recent appeal for action to curb global warming. Francis, 86, has made protection of the environment one of the hallmarks of his papacy and met last month with COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber. Failure in Dubai, Francis said in the document, "will be a great disappointment and jeopardize whatever good has been achieved thus far".

Persons: Pope Francis, Italy's, Francis, Sultan al, Jaber, Deum, Joe Biden, Philip Pullella, Diane Craft, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, RAI, TG1, Thomson Locations: Saint Peter's, Dubai, el, Sheikh, Egypt, Glasgow, Scotland

☆ Missile strikes Egyptian Red Sea town on Israel border
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The missile hit a medical facility in Taba, injuring at least six people, Al Qahera TV reported. Taba straddles Egypt's border with Israel's Red Sea port of Eilat. Hamas said on Wednesday it had targeted Eilat with a missile, which the Israeli military said hit an outlying area. Al Qahera reported the missile strike on Friday hit a Taba ambulance facility and a residential building for the administration of the Taba Hospital. It is about a three-hour drive from Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Persons: Egypt's Al, Al Qahera, Taba, Israel, Yemen's, Emily Rose, Nafisa Eltahir, Ahmed Tolba, Hatem Maher, Yusri Mohamed, Rami Ayyub, Cynthia Osterman, Michael Perry Organizations: Egypt's Al Qahera News, Reuters, Hamas, Taba, Navy, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, JERUSALEM, Israel, Gaza, Taba, Egypt's, Eilat, Egypt, Egypt's Sinai, Red, Sharm el, The U.S, Iran, Jerusalem, Cairo, Ismailia

☆ Pope Francis may attend global climate talks in Dubai
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, October 18, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsVATICAN CITY, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Pope Francis may attend the COP28 climate conference starting next month in Dubai, Vatican sources say, to drive home his recent appeal for action to curb global warming. It would be the first time a pope has attended a U.N. climate change conference since they began in 1995. Other Vatican sources put the probability that the pope would go to the Nov. 30-Dec. 12 event as high as 90 percent. Failure in Dubai, Francis said in the document, "will be a great disappointment and jeopardize whatever good has been achieved thus far".

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Joe Biden, Sultan al, Jaber, Philip Pullella, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, CITY, State, Reuters, Catholic, Thomson Locations: Saint Peter's, Dubai, Vatican, Rome, el, Sheikh, Egypt, Glasgow, Scotland, Mongolia, French, Marseilles

☆ Egypt pushing Israel and Hamas to prevent escalation -Egyptian sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCAIRO, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Egypt has been in close contact with Israel and Hamas to try to prevent further escalation in fighting between them and ensure the protection of Israelis taken hostage by Palestinian militants, two Egyptian security sources said on Monday. Some 7,000 Israeli tourists have returned from Sinai to Israel since the fighting erupted, the Egyptian security sources said. On Sunday, two Israeli tourists and an Egyptian guide were shot dead at an archaeological site in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria. The Egyptian policeman accused of carrying out the killing has been referred to a military court, one of the security sources said.

Persons: Amir Cohen, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Abdelnasser, Aidan Lewis, Hugh Lawson, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, Gaza, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rights CAIRO, Egypt, Palestinian, Israeli, Cairo, Sinai, Rafah, Egyptian, Alexandria, Tel Aviv, South, Sharm

REUTERS/Emilie Madi/ Acquire Licensing RightsBOGOTA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Colombia was the deadliest country for environmentalists in 2022, with at least 60 environmental and land rights defenders killed there, British advocacy group Global Witness said in a report on Tuesday. Global Witness found at least 177 environmentalists were killed globally last year. The findings returned Colombia to the top of the list of deadliest countries for environmentalists after killings declined in 2021 compared to 2019 and 2020. Brazil and Mexico were the second and third most deadly countries for environmentalists in 2022, the report found, with at least 34 and 31 killings respectively. The only two countries not from Latin America to be included in the 10 most dangerous for environmentalists were the Philippines and Indonesia, Global Witness said.

Persons: Susana Muhamad, Emilie Madi, Laura Furones, Gustavo Petro, Muhamad, Oliver Griffin, Grant McCool Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Global, Environmental, Constitutional, Thomson Locations: Red, el, Sheikh, Egypt, Rights BOGOTA, Colombia, America, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Indonesia

The continent is rich in the commodities needed for the green energy transition and has abundant solar power, but many governments are also burdened with cripplingly high debts. "Eighty percent of the infrastructure Africa needs by 2050 has not yet been built," Gamboa said at the IMPACT conference. "They've come to a recognition that it is good development to leapfrog and go into the clean energy transition now." "We cannot and will not run away from doing fossil fuel-based investing because the development needs of the continent are so huge," the AFC's Gupta said. "The world still needs energy security, the world still needs energy source diversity.

Persons: John Muchucha, it's, Andrew Steer, Freddy, we've, Tom Mitchell, Sanjeev Gupta, Gupta, Cristina Gamboa, " Gamboa, ActionAid, Gloria Dickie, Jane Wardell, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Earth, Reuters IMPACT, International Institute for Environment, Development, London, African Finance Corporation, International Energy Agency, IMPACT, AFC, Thomson Locations: Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, London, Horn of Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sharm el, Sheikh, Lagos, Global South, Paris

☆ The world's largest floating wind farm is now officially open — and helping to power North Sea oil operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Floating offshore wind turbines are different from fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines, which are rooted to the seabed. One advantage of floating turbines is that they can be installed in far deeper waters than fixed-bottom ones. In recent years a range of companies and major economies like the U.S. have laid out goals to ramp up floating wind installations. Alongside Equinor, partners in the Hywind Tampen project include Vår Energi, INPEX Idemitsu, Petoro, Wintershall Dea and OMV. Back in 2017, it started operations at Hywind Scotland, a five-turbine, 30 MW facility it calls the planet's first floating wind farm.

Persons: Equinor, Tampen, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, INPEX, Wintershall, Equinor's Siri Kindem, General, Antonio Guterres Organizations: United Nations Locations: Norwegian, Norway, OMV, Hywind Scotland, North, Sharm el, Sheikh, Egypt

☆ $2 to cut a sandwich in half: The outrageous rip-offs targeting tourists in Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

– plate near Portofino in northern Italy, and 10 cents for a sprinkle of cocoa on a cappuccino at a Lake Como coffee bar. Easy targetsOutrageous charges, like 2 euros for slicing a ham sandwich, have been labeled "crazy receipts" by the Italian media. High fuel and energy prices have made it an incredibly expensive summer. Worst offendersSome of the highest price hikes in Europe have left a vacation at home too expensive for many Italians. “We had this trip planned before Covid and have been dreaming about it even though we read the headlines about expensive prices.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN —, Stefano Mazzola, Giorgia Meloni, ”, Furio, Truzzi, Francesca Volpi, Sharm el Sheik, ” Paolo Manca, Betsy, James Cramer, ” Betsy, “, Alberto Pizzoli, Antonio Coviello, Daniela Santanche Organizations: Rome CNN, CNN, Bloomberg, Getty, Italy’s National Research Center Locations: Italian, Lake Como, Ostia, Sardinia, Portofino, Italy, Como, Albania, Montenegro, Ukraine, Europe, Puglia, Egypt, Piazza Navona, Rome, AFP

During those COP27 climate talks last year in Egypt, China's top climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, made an unexpected appearance at a meeting of the Global Methane Partnership, a U.S.-EU led initiative aimed at slashing 2020-level methane emissions by 30% by the end of this decade. Xie said China had drafted a plan with concrete measures to curb methane emissions from energy, agriculture and waste. COAL GASTwo big sources of methane emissions growth in China are livestock and rice production, neither of which are included in the country's climate plans. China is the world's largest source of methane from coal mines, with 28% of the world's biggest methane emissions points, according to Antoine Halff, co-founder of the environmental research group Karryos. "When you look around at the sources of coal mine methane worldwide, China is three or four times bigger than the next country's coal mine methane emissions," Banks said.

Persons: John Kerry, Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Xie, Jonathan Banks, Joe Biden, Biden, Banks, Antoine Halff, Halff, Valerie Volcovici, David Stanway, Dominique Patton, Timothy Gardner, Katy Daigle, Will Dunham Organizations: Sunday, Methane Partnership, EU, Air Task Force, Program, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Task Force, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, U.S, China, Beijing, United States, Washington ., Glasgow, Sharm el, Egypt, Dubai, Shanxi, Boston, Singapore, Washington

☆ Thanks, From Your Newsletter Anchor
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Today, I wrap up my turn at helming this newsletter. It’s why I chose to anchor this newsletter for you. I wanted to show you, in short, bite-size pieces, not just the perils of global warming, but who is doing what to address it. I wanted to walk us through sometimes impenetrable debates and explain, simply, how it matters for everyday people in our everyday lives. I wrote from a place of neither hope nor despair, exactly, but from the perspective of an OK-now-what-do-we-do pragmatist.

Persons: Douglas Alteen, Manuela Andreoni, Claire O’Neill, Adam Pasick, Sharm el Sheikh, “ Locations: Sharm el

☆ A pledge to fight climate change is sending money to strange places
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

That failure has helped keep climate finance at the top of the agenda at annual U.N. climate conferences, such as last year’s COP27, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Some officials from potential recipient countries say that, before more money starts to flow, clearer definitions of what qualifies as climate finance and more transparency in reporting contributions are needed. A SIMEST official said that the agency’s work is not focused on climate change and that it is not involved in Italy's climate finance reporting. Source: Reuters analysis of climate finance data nations reported to the U.N. Japan’s foreign ministry, not JICA, is responsible for reporting climate finance to the U.N., Takeda said.

Persons: COP27, Matthew Samuda, Venchi, hasn’t, Fred Béliard, Nicolas Fierens Gevaert, Mohammad Hossain, Sachiko Takeda, Takeda, Hiroshi Onuma, Matarbari, “, ” Organizations: Jamaica's Ministry of Economic, Reuters, Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, United, Marriott, Fatima Group, U.S . State Department, Roja, French Development Agency, U.S, Power Cell, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Paris, Sharm el, Sheikh, Egypt, Dubai, Jamaica's, Japan, China, Indonesia, Asia, SIMEST, Italy, United States, Haitien, Haiti, Marriott, U.S, Belgium, Argentina, France, Mexico, Kenya, South Africa, Bangladesh, San Francisco, Germany, “ Japan

☆ Surprise resort trips and empty hotel rooms reveal how Russia's plan for an easy victory in Ukraine fell apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

While Russian intelligence services ramped up operations, the US intelligence community started declassifying intelligence about Russian plans. In an unprecedented move, the US revealed Russia's intentions and informed Kyiv about the Russian intelligence operations inside Ukraine. Once Russia's military secured the city, its special-operations forces would begin what the report calls "repressive operations." The Kremlin even compiled a target deck full of unwanted people to be "liquidated" once the Russian forces were in control of the country. Preparing the battlefieldA member of the Ukrainian military in front of a destroyed Antonov An-225 at the airport in Hostomel in July 2022.

JERUSALEM, March 24 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers flocked to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan for noon prayers, which passed peacefully amid tight security imposed after months of escalating tension and violence. "I cannot describe to you how happy I am to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque. I'm 50 years old and they only recently removed the security ban that had prevented me from coming here," said Nasser Abu Saleh, a resident of the West Bank city of Hebron. The Muslim Waqf, custodians who manage the site which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, said around 100,000 people had visited for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan. [1/5] Palestinians make their way through an Israeli checkpoint to attend the first Friday prayers of Ramadan in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 24, 2023.

☆ Israeli minister says "no such thing" as Palestinian people
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, March 20 (Reuters) - An Israeli minister with responsibility for the administration of the occupied West Bank drew condemnation on Monday after he said there was no Palestinian history or culture and no such thing as a Palestinian people. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned Smotrich's remarks, saying they amounted to incitement to violence. After two Jewish settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman near the West Bank town of Huwara last month, and settlers responded by torching homes and cars there, killing one Palestinian, Smotrich said Huwara should be "erased". The West Bank has seen a surge of confrontations over the past year, with near-daily Israeli military raids and escalating violence by Jewish settlers, amid a spate of attacks by Palestinians. Palestinians seek to establish a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war.

☆ Egypt hosts Israeli-Palestinian talks in push for pre-Ramadan calm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, March 19 (Reuters) - Egypt hosts Israeli and Palestinian officials on Sunday in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh in a U.S. and Jordanian backed effort to calm a surge of violence in the West Bank ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. The meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh "aims to support dialogue between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to work to stop unilateral actions and escalation, and break the existing cycle of violence and achieve calm", a statement from Egypt's foreign ministry said. This could "facilitate the creation of a climate suitable for the resumption of the peace process", it added. The Palestinians aim to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital - territories Israel captured in a 1967 war. But peace talks have been stalled since 2014 and Palestinians say Jewish settlement expansion has undermined the chances of a viable state being established.

Egypt desperately needs the proceeds from privatisation after a series of economic shocks. STAKE SALE DRIVEEgypt set a target in 2022 of raising $10 billion annually over four years through private investment in state assets. Egypt has established its own sovereign fund to bring in private investors to develop state assets, but the move appears designed to attract capital without relinquishing control, said Sayigh. "They want others to help the state with its financial burden, but it's still the state that determines priorities and investments," he said. MILITARY TAX BREAKSFuture asset sales will be complicated by an expansion under Sisi of the military's often opaque economic role, analysts say.

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