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☆ Five Dead After Soldier Opens Fire at Military Base in Mogadishu
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) -Five people, including Somali military officials and a United Arab Emirates (UAE) soldier, were killed on Saturday after a soldier opened fire at a military base in the capital Mogadishu, an army officer and hospital staff told Reuters. The gun man, a newly-trained Somali soldier, was also shot dead in the Gordon military base managed by the UAE, the officer, who gave his name only as Ahmed, said. "The soldier opened fire on the UAE trainers and Somali military officials when they started praying. Al Shabaab, linked to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack via a statement on its Radio al Andalus and said its fighters had killed 17 soldiers. Al Shabaab has waged an insurgency against the Somali government since 2006 to try to establish its own rule.

Persons: Gordon, Ahmed, Al Shabaab, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Abdi Sheikh, Elias Biryabarema, Surbhi Misra, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, United, United Arab Emirates, UAE, Erdogan, Surbhi Locations: United Arab, UAE, Mogadishu, Somali, Israel, Gaza, al Shabaab, Somalia, Al, al Qaeda, Andalus, Nairobi, Bengaluru

☆ U.N. Peacekeeping Mission Says Staff, Vehicles Attacked in Congolese Capital
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo said its staff and vehicles were attacked in the capital Kinshasa on Saturday as a worsening eastern security crisis fuels a backlash against the mission. Crowds on motorbikes gathered in the riverside Gombe district, where the U.N. mission known as MONUSCO and many embassies are located. A number of the mission's vehicles were torched, said MONUSCO head Bintou Keita in an online post. Photos You Should See View All 21 ImagesKinshasa police and the government did not respond to a request for comment. The fighting "could compromise food security and economic activities in Goma and the region.

Persons: Bintou Keita, OCHA, MONUSCO, Ange Kasongo, Justin Makangara, Ange Aboa, Alessandra Prentice, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Democratic, Kinshasa Locations: KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, Gombe, Ivorian, Goma, North Kivu, Congo, Congolese, Abidjan

☆ Ecuador to Begin Cutting Fuel Subsidies in Q2
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

Noboa wants the measures to help finance his military offensive against criminal gangs, which he has designated as terrorist groups. "We agree with targeting subsidies," Noboa said in an interview with Ecuavisa, a local television channel. Subsidies will be removed gradually from gasoline, he said, adding that domestic gas and diesel will not be affected by the change. Last year Ecuador expected to allocate more than $2.6 billion of its budget to fuel subsidies. The government is looking for foreign investment to build a diesel refining system in Ecuador and improve the electrical grid to make eliminating the subsidies sustainable, Noboa said.

Persons: Alexandra Valencia, Daniel Noboa, Noboa, Ecuavisa, Oliver Griffin, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Alexandra Valencia QUITO, National Assembly, ITT Locations: Ecuador

☆ Seeking Western Support, Zelenskiy Voices World War Risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy voiced the danger of the Ukraine conflict escalating into World War Three, as he pressed his case for support from nations from Germany to the United States in an interview with German state broadcaster ARD on Sunday. "It seems to me that the Chancellor (Olaf Scholz) is aware of this risk," Zelenskiy said, adding that if Russia hit a NATO country, it would be "the beginning of the Third World War." "It's not just about Olaf Scholz," he said. "It concerns European leaders and the U.S."In the U.S., Zelenskiy said Ukraine has support from across the political divide. "There are individual Republicans who do not support Ukraine, but the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans support Ukraine," he said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Olaf Scholz, Zelenskiy, It's, Donald Trump, Maria Martinez, Barbara Lewis Organizations: BERLIN, ARD, NATO, Taurus, Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Germany, United States, Russia, Crimea, U.S

☆ Climate Change Activists Aim Soup at 'Mona Lisa' in Paris Louvre
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS (Reuters) - Two climate change activists hurled soup at the protective glass in front of the world-famous "Mona Lisa" painting in Paris' Louvre museum on Sunday. Video footage showed two women flinging red soup at Leonard da Vinci's masterpiece, to gasps from onlookers. They had ducked under a security barrier to get as close as they could to the painting and were led away by Louvre security guards. In recent years, many activists have targeted art to raise awareness about climate change. The glass in front of the "Mona Lisa" was smothered in cream in a protest in May 2022.

Persons: Mona Lisa, Leonard da, Vincent Van, Goya, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Manuel Ausloos, Barbara Lewis Organizations: PARIS Locations: Paris, Madrid's Prado

☆ UN Rights Chief Deplores US Nitrogen Gas Execution
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights chief on Friday condemned the execution of a prisoner in the U.S. state of Alabama by nitrogen gas, saying the method could amount to torture. Kenneth Smith, convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire, was executed on Thursday with nitrogen gas, the first use of a new method of capital punishment since lethal injections began in the U.S. four decades ago. "I deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama despite serious concerns this novel and untested method of suffocation by nitrogen gas may amount to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said. I urge all states to put in place a moratorium on its use, as a step towards universal abolition." In November 2022, Alabama officials aborted his execution by lethal injection after struggling for hours to insert an intravenous line's needle in his body.

Persons: Kenneth Smith, Kenneth Eugene Smith, Volker Turk, Smith, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Barbara Lewis Organizations: United Nations, Human Rights Locations: GENEVA, U.S ., Alabama

☆ EU clears up to 1.2 bln euros of aid for cloud computing
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

European flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The European Commission approved on Tuesday up to 1.2 billion euros ($1.30 billion) of state aid for a European cloud computing project to try to boost the involvement of EU business in a field dominated by U.S. companies. Those countries will provide up to 1.2 billion euros in public funding, which in turn is expected to unlock 1.4 billion euros in private investments, the European Commission said. The European cloud technology project features 19 companies, including French companies Atos (ATOS.PA) and Orange (ORAN.PA), Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) and Germany's SAP (SAPG.DE), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and Telefonica Espana (TEF.MC). The three biggest players in cloud computing are Amazon (AMZN.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Google (GOOGL.O).

Persons: Yves Herman, Didier Reynders, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Piotr Lipinski, Philip Blenkinsop, Barbara Lewis Organizations: European Commission, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Infrastructure, Services, IPCEI CIS, Union, Deutsche Telekom, SAP, Telecom Italia, Telefonica Espana, Microsoft, Google, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain

Signage is seen for British utility company Thames Water at a repair site in London, Britain, June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Thames Water, Britain's biggest water utility, is proceeding with a three-year turnaround plan, it said on Tuesday, adding it had a high level of liquidity and the support of investors, as it seeks to ease concern over its financial stability. Thames Water's environment record has also come under scrutiny. "Our shareholders support this much needed investment, underscoring their commitment to delivering Thames' turnaround." Robert Goodwill, chairman of Britain's environment, food and rural affairs committee, said that he may need to ask Thames Water bosses further questions.

Persons: Toby Melville, Cathryn Ross, Alastair Cochran, Robert Goodwill, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Thames, REUTERS, Media, Thames Water, Ontario, China Investment Corp, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Thames

Britain's Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer attends television interviews on the final day of the party's annual conference in Liverpool, Britain, October 11, 2023. It is not unusual for opposition leaders to receive summit invitations, but COP28 is particularly resonant. Ireland's climate minister, Eamon Ryan, hailed Britain's climate leadership, but also said Sunak's reset of some measures had not gone down well when the news was reported while he was in New York for the U.N. General Assembly. Britain's development minister Andrew Mitchell, at COP28, told Reuters what Sunak did "was very good government". But the Conservatives' former finance minister George Osborne questioned whether Sunak had been angered that Kitsotakis had met Starmer before him.

Persons: Keir Starmer, Phil Noble, Starmer, King, Jordan, John Kerry, General Antonio Guterres, Rishi Sunak, COP28, Sunak, Espen Barth Eide, Eamon Ryan, Andrew Mitchell, we're, Kyriakos, Sunak's, George Osborne, Kitsotakis, Elizabeth Piper, Kate Abnett, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Britain's Labour, REUTERS, Labour Party, UN, Labour, General, Reuters, Greek, Elgin, British, Conservatives, Thomson Locations: Liverpool, Britain, DUBAI, Dubai, Israel, Gaza, Qatar, Brazil, London, COP28, Norwegian, New York

☆ US officials to visit Taiwan to explain chip curbs, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua speaks during an interview with Reuters in Taipei, Taiwan, September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTAIPEI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - U.S. officials plan to visit Taiwan to explain to companies details of new curbs, primarily aimed at China, on advanced chip exports, the island's economy minister said on Monday. Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said some details of the extremely long new U.S. rules needed explanation. Given the concentration of chip making in Taiwan it was "advantageous" for Taiwanese companies to hear the details of the new controls from the U.S. officials, Wang said. Taiwan's official Central News Agency said the U.S. officials, who it did not name, would visit Taiwan next month and hold events in the chip hubs of Hsinchu and Tainan.

Persons: Wang Mei, Ann Wang, Biden, chipmaker TSMC, Wang, Ben Blanchard, Jeanny, Bernadette Baum, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Nvidia, Beijing, U.S, Central News Agency, The U.S . Commerce Department, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, Taipei, Rights TAIPEI, China, U.S, Hsinchu, Tainan, The

REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil production set a record for the second month running in September, highlighting the challenge to Saudi Arabia and its OPEC⁺ partners as they cut their own production to boost prices. Lower 48 production climbed to a record of 10.8 million b/d, surpassing the pre-pandemic peak of 10.5 million b/d set in December 2019. Drilling activity usually turns down around 4-5 months after prices and production turns down 10-12 months after prices fall. Production growth has slowed consistently since the middle of 2022 in response to the sharp fall in prices. Related columns:- U.S. oil output hits record as producers boost drilling efficiency (November 1, 2023)- U.S. oil producers reprieved by Saudi output cut (October 3, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: Mike Segar, OPEC’s, John Kemp, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Bayway, REUTERS, OPEC, U.S . Energy Information Administration, Cooperation, Energy Information Administration, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Phillips, Linden , New Jersey, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, OPEC, United Kingdom, Russia, Soviet, Vienna, Brazil, Guyana, El, Saudi

☆ Global regulators propose tougher scrutiny of voluntary carbon markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A global securities watchdog proposed 21 safety measures on Sunday to improve integrity, transparency and enforcement in voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) in a sector of growing importance to efforts to combat climate change. VCMs cover pollution-reducing projects, such as reforestation, renewable energy, biogas and solar power, that generate carbon credits companies buy to offset their emissions and meet net-zero targets. National regulators could require companies to disclose their use of carbon credits, and platforms that trade credits to have better anti-fraud and market manipulation safeguards, IOSCO said. VCMs are separate from government-regulated carbon markets, such as the emissions trading scheme in the European Union, the world's largest. Good practice could include "comprehensive disclosures on the project development process, verification and auditing methodologies, and the entities responsible for measurement, reporting, and verification," IOSCO said.

Persons: Rodrigo Buenaventura, IOSCO, Morgan Stanley, Huw Jones, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Sunday, European Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Asia, Europe, Latin America, United States, Dubai

An agent of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) inspects a tree extracted from the Amazon rainforest, in a sawmill during an operation to combat deforestation, in Placas, Para State, Brazil January 20, 2023. "Our current knowledge of the functioning of the Congo Basin ecosystem is really very, very limited." The Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to most of the forest, had the second highest rate of tree cover loss in the world last year after Brazil, according to Global Forest Watch. The scientific effort is modelled on the Science Panel for the Amazon that in 2021 issued a roughly 1,300 page report summarising the scientific consensus on the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest. More than 300 scientists are expected to contribute to the Congo report, Tshimanga said.

Persons: Ueslei Marcelino, Raphaël Tshimanga, Tshimanga, Jake Spring, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Brazilian Institute for, Environment, Natural Resources, REUTERS, SAO PAULO, United, Sunday, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions, University of Kinshasa, Democratic, Global Forest Watch, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Placas, Para State, Brazil, United Nations, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

☆ Scientists Launch Research Effort at COP28 for Congo Rainforest
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Jake SpringSAO PAULO (Reuters) - Hundreds of scientists at the United Nations COP28 climate summit on Sunday launched a research coalition aimed at correcting a historic lack of information about the Congo River basin and its rainforest, the second largest in the world. The Science Panel for the Congo Basin, backed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, aims to issue a report in 2025 that offers the most detailed scientific assessment to date about the Congo Basin. "Our current knowledge of the functioning of the Congo Basin ecosystem is really very, very limited." The Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to most of the forest, had the second highest rate of tree cover loss in the world last year after Brazil, according to Global Forest Watch. More than 300 scientists are expected to contribute to the Congo report, Tshimanga said.

Persons: Jake Spring, Raphaël Tshimanga, Tshimanga, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Jake Spring SAO PAULO, Reuters, United, Sunday, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions, University of Kinshasa, Democratic, Global Forest Watch Locations: United Nations, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil

EU flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Chinese conglomerate ByteDance's TikTok has asked Europe's second highest court to suspend its designation as a gatekeeper under onerous new EU tech rules until judges rule on its challenge against the label. TikTok last month challenged the EU decision at the Luxembourg-based General Court, saying its designation risks undermining the DMA goal of protecting gatekeepers from newer competitors like itself. "We have applied for interim measures," a spokesperson said. The bar for the court to approve interim measures is very high.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, TikTok, Europe's, Foo Yun Chee, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Markets, Google, Apple, Microsoft, EU, Companies, Commission, Thomson Locations: Luxembourg

REUTERS/Mike Blake//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A United Nations-led effort to use space satellites to detect methane leaks from fossil fuel infrastructure has alerted governments to 127 major methane plumes across four continents since its launch at the start of this year. Environment Programme's (UNEP) Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) was created to support a 2021 global pledge by more than 150 countries to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. "Every kilogram of methane matters, but what we can see from our satellites is only the most outrageous of those emissions," said Manfredi Caltagirone, head of UNEP's International Methane Emissions Observatory. While satellites picked up more than 127 major plumes in 2023, some appeared short-lived and therefore too hard to trace, he said. Super-emitting events such as these are responsible for between 8% and 12% of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

Persons: Mike Blake, Manfredi Caltagirone, Caltagirone, Gloria Dickie, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Programme's, UNEP, MARS, Thomson Locations: Pixley , California, U.S, Argentina, Dubai

☆ China's Xi tells coast guard to enforce maritime law
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

China's President Xi Jinping attends the Leaders Retreat at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping has said the country's coast guard must enforce maritime law and crack down on "criminal activities" to defend China's territorial sovereignty, state media reported on Friday. Xi made the comments as he inspected the China Coast Guard's command office for the East China Sea area and the performance of the coast guard's ships by video, Xinhua news agency reported. "It is necessary to establish and improve the coordination and cooperation mechanism of maritime law enforcement, severely crack down on illegal and criminal activities at sea," Xi said. The Chinese coast guard has had several confrontations with vessels from the Philippines in disputed territorial waters in the South China Sea.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Carlos Barria, Xi, Ella Cao, Bernard Orr, Christina Fincher, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, Rights, East, Thomson Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, U.S, Rights BEIJING, East China, Xinhua, Philippines, South China

☆ Uncertain 2024 makes US companies refinance debt sooner, not later
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Matt Tracy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Doubts that debt issuance conditions will be as strong in 2024 as they are now, with markets still divided on the direction of interest rates and the economy, have also driven the interest in doing deals now. Credit spreads are underpricing recession risk, said Nate Thooft, senior portfolio manager for Manulife Investment Management. Even if companies waited for rate cuts in 2024, declines in all-in funding costs may not necessarily follow, as credit spreads could then widen, said Amol Dhargalkar, managing partner at Chatham Financial. But Natalie Trevithick, head of investment grade credit strategy at Payden & Rygel, said economic data was too strong for cuts. Some $770 billion of investment-grade rated bonds mature in 2024 and over $900 billion in both 2025 and 2026, according to data by Morgan Stanley (MS.N).

Persons: Joshua Roberts, Maureen O'Connor, Edward Marrinan, Nate Thooft, Amol Dhargalkar, Natalie Trevithick, Morgan Stanley, Steven Oh, Matt Tracy, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Davide Barbuscia, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Federal Reserve, REUTERS, ICE, BMO Capital Markets, Investment, Informa Global, Treasury, Federal, Nikko Securities America, Manulife Investment Management, Chatham Financial, Deutsche Bank, PineBridge Investments, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Wells, U.S

☆ Britain's King Charles in UAE to Urge Action on Climate at COP28
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Alexander CornwellDUBAI (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles began a visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, during which he will advocate for greater global action and accountability on climate change at the COP28 summit. It will be his first major speech on climate change since he became monarch in September 2022. Other world leaders including India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are also expected to attend the talks. After a year of record temperatures, the pressure is on for this year's summit to accelerate action to limit climate change. Countries, however, are divided over the future of fossil fuel - the burning of which is the main cause of climate change.

Persons: Alexander Cornwell DUBAI, Britain's King Charles, Narendra Modi, Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, King Charles, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Nahyan, Simon Stiell, Bola Tinubu, Irfaan Ali, Watt, Alexander Cornwell, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, United Arab Emirates, India's, Britain's, U.S, United Arab, Organization of, Petroleum, UAE Prime Minister, First Nations, Scottish, Heriot Locations: Gulf, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, United Nations, British, UAE

Traders work on the floor of the London Metal Exchange in London, Britain, September 27, 2018. Both explicitly allow for the cancellation of trades "in exceptional cases", which would be a fair description of last year's nickel market meltdown and the resulting threat of multiple member defaults. This is a case of "knowing one when you see one" or "the elephant test" in legal precedent, the judges said. Nor would it have affected Chamberlain's assessment that nickel trading had become irrational and disorderly on the morning of March 8. LME trading has been transformed by the crisis in the form of permanent caps on time-spreads and limits on intraday price movements.

Persons: Simon Dawson, Elliott, Jonathan Swift, Robert Bright, Matthew Chamberlain, Jane Street, Chamberlain, China's, Xiang Guangda, Oliver Wyman, Tsingshan, Barbara Lewis Organizations: London Metal Exchange, REUTERS, London High, Elliott Associates, Jane, Global Trading, Financial, Authority, China's Tsingshan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, U.S

☆ Robinhood opens in UK with low-cost US trading to woo clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Robinhood Markets, Inc. is seen at a pop-up event on Wall Street after the company's IPO in New York City, U.S., July 29, 2021. Since then, trading activity has shrunk as people grapple with a cost-of-living crisis caused by high interest rates and inflation. Robinhood said UK customers will have access to commission-free trading of more than 6,000 US-listed stocks and American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), without foreign exchange fees and no account minimums. "For too long, UK investors have incurred high fees to invest in the U.S. markets and earned low returns on their uninvested cash," said Jordan Sinclair, president of Robinhood UK. The online brokerage missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue earlier this month after a slowdown in trading activity.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Robinhood, Vlad Tenev, Jordan Sinclair, Sinead Cruise, Kirstin Ridley, Jane Merriman, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Inc, REUTERS, Authority, Robinhood, U.S . Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Britain, United States

Chartbook: India electricity generationTotal electricity demand met increased by 24 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) (+21%) in October compared with the same month a year earlier. Wind increased by 0.3 billion kWh (+10%) while solar was up 1.3 billion kWh (+16%). Instead the electricity system turned to gas (1.6 billion kWh, +103%) and especially coal (28 billion kWh, +33%) to meet demand. Coal-fired generators produced a seasonal record of 111 billion kWh in October 2023 up from 84 billion kWh in October 2022. Over the same period, coal generation capacity has increased by just 9 million kilowatts (1% per year) and gas-fired capacity has been essentially unchanged.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, John Kemp, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, UN, Central Water Commission, Thomson, Reuters Locations: New Delhi, India, Dubai, Himalayas, Tibet, baseload

☆ Britain's King Charles in UAE to urge action on climate at COP28
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Alexander Cornwell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles began a visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, during which he will advocate for greater global action and accountability on climate change at the COP28 summit. It will be his first major speech on climate change since he became monarch in September 2022. After a year of record temperatures, the pressure is on for this year's summit to accelerate action to limit climate change. Countries, however, are divided over the future of fossil fuel - the burning of which is the main cause of climate change. [1/6]Britain’s King Charles arrives to meet the students at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, during the COP28 summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2023.

Persons: Britain's King Charles, Narendra Modi, Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, King Charles, Alexander Cornwell, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Nahyan, Simon Stiell, Bola Tinubu, Irfaan Ali, Watt, Barbara Lewis Organizations: United Arab Emirates, India's, Britain's, U.S, United Arab, Organization of, Petroleum, Heriot, Watt University Dubai, REUTERS, UAE Prime Minister, First Nations, Scottish, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Gulf, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, United Nations, British, UAE

☆ Emerging world needs climate finance and to burn coal, India says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Emerging economies need climate finance, help with technology and the right to pursue development, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday before leaving for the UN climate summit in Dubai. The COP28 summit opened in Dubai on Thursday for two weeks of talks. Emerging powers, including India and China, often blame the developed world for having used more than its share of the available carbon resources. Earlier on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said coal would remain India's main source of energy for years to come. "Coal is, and would, remain an important part of India's energy needs," he told reporters.

Persons: Mukesh Gupta, Narendra Modi, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Kwatra, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Jacqueline Wong, Miral Fahmy, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, India's, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Jammu, DELHI, Dubai, India, China, France, United States, COP28

DUBAI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Sultan Al Jaber, the incoming president of the United Arab Emirates-hosted COP28 climate summit, on Wednesday rejected accusations the host country planned to discuss natural gas and other commercial deals in meetings linked to the U.N. talks. The BBC and the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) on Monday said leaked briefing documents prepared for Jaber showed plans to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 countries. And it's an attempt to undermine the work of the COP28 presidency," Jaber told a news conference, his first public remarks following the BBC report. "I promise you, never ever did I see these talking points that they refer to or that I ever even used such talking points in my discussions." Jaber has presented himself as a mediator between both sides of the fossil fuel divide, with a healthy desire to include the oil and gas industry in the climate debate.

Persons: Sultan Al Jaber, Jaber, Yousef Saba, Barbara Lewis Organizations: United Arab, BBC, Climate Reporting, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Organization of, Petroleum, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, UAE

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