Author: News Desk

A UAE delegation of climate diplomats called for progressive climate action as an enabler for global stability, low-carbon economic progress and inclusive prosperity. The call went out during the Bonn Climate Change Conference for the 56th session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) subsidiary bodies from June 6-16. At the conference, countries that are parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have begun discussions to reinvigorate momentum for climate action and set the stage for the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt this November. The Bonn Climate…

U.N. member nations elected five countries to join the powerful U.N. Security Council on Thursday with no suspense or drama because all were unopposed — Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland. Winning a seat on the 15-member Security Council is considered a pinnacle of achievement for many countries because it gives them a strong voice on issues of international peace and security, reports AP. The results of the secret ballot vote in the 193-member General Assembly were Ecuador 190, Japan 184, Malta 185, Mozambique 192, and Switzerland 187. Even if a country is running unopposed, it must obtain the votes…

Japan’s government and central bank said on Friday they were concerned by recent sharp falls in the yen in a rare joint statement, the strongest warning to date that Tokyo could intervene to support the currency as it plumbs 20-year lows. The statement underscores growing concern among policymakers over the damage that sharp yen depreciation could inflict on Japan’s fragile economy by hurting business activity and consumers. But many market players doubt that G7 member Japan will step in soon to directly prop up the yen, a diplomatically fraught and potentially costly course of action that last occurred 20 years…

NATO’s deputy chief sees no immediate military threat to Sweden and Finland from Russia and is confident that the aspiring NATO members will join the alliance despite Turkey’s objections, he told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Friday. Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO last month in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but face opposition from Turkey, which accuses them of supporting and harbouring Kurdish militants and other groups it deems terrorists. “We are confident that Sweden and Finland will join our ranks,” Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana said. “Allies have concerns. And Turkey has some concerns that are legitimate…

Ukrainian forces were holding their positions in intense street fighting and under day and night shelling in Sievierodonetsk, officials said, as Russia pushes to control the bombed-out city, key to its objective of controlling eastern Ukraine. Sievierodonetsk and its twin city Lysychansk, on the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets river, are the last Ukrainian-controlled parts of Luhansk province, which Russia is determined to seize as one of its principal war objectives. Ukraine’s Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on Thursday the situation in Sievierodonetsk was “extremely complicated” and Russian forces were focusing all of their might in the area.…

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday the European Union should offer the integration of all six nations of the Western Balkans into the EU by 2033 in what he called a “bold but necessary step”. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has lent a new sense of urgency to the need to tie Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Kosovo closer to the 27-member EU, in part to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region. The link could entail full membership or an alternative community. In an article published in Politico ahead of a summit in Greece…

China’s U.N. envoy said on Thursday that Beijing does not want to see North Korea carry out a new nuclear test, which is partly why China vetoed a U.S.-led bid to impose new U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang over renewed ballistic missiles launches. But Ambassador Zhang Jun warned against making presumptions on how Beijing might react at the United Nations if North Korea goes ahead with its first nuclear test since 2017. Washington has warned such a test could happen at “any time” and it would again push for more U.N. sanctions. “Let’s see what will happen, but I think we…

The Nasser bin Hamad Premier League 2022-2023 will kick off officially on September 11. Meanwhile, the first round of the Second Football Division Championship will be given the go-ahead on September 8. Bahrain Football Association (BFA) has also announced that the preliminary phase of His Majesty King’s Cup will be held on September 19. The BFA Cup competition will be organized at the beginning of September 2022. According to the BFA announcement, the first registration window for the new season will be held from June 16 to September 6. First and second divisions clubs are allowed to sign four foreigners,…

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has granted  USD 30 million to support the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund (AHTF), which operates under the umbrella of the Islamic Development Fund (IsDB), in coordination with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The grant comes in line with Saudi  humanitarian and relief efforts and assistance to brotherly and friendly countries through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). The move aims at  alleviating the suffering of the Afghan people and limiting the risks of deteriorating the critical humanitarian conditions and possible economic collapse in Afghanistan, which…

Two Britons and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine were sentenced to death on Thursday by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), one of Russia’s proxies in eastern Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported. The court found the three men – Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun – guilty of “mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the DPR”, the Interfax news agency quoted a court official as saying. The three men were captured while fighting for Ukraine against Russia and Russian-backed forces…