The UAE has launched many initiatives and projects to support this trend, Sharif Salim Al Olama noted…reports Asian Lite News
Sharif Salim Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, affirmed the UAE’s commitment to constructive collaboration with the international community to confront challenges facing the global energy sector with the aim of advancing efforts to realise international stability.
”The UAE is also keen to continue its efforts to develop the energy sector, especially the clean energy, and invest in the future through a realistic vision that drives global prosperity, Al Olma told the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting in Bali under Indonesia’s first G20 Presidency on Friday. The theme of Indonesia’s G20 chairmanship is “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.
”We in the UAE are keen to maintain constructive cooperation and engagement with our international partners to obtain the proper energy mix in alignment with environment protection objectives and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The UAE is ready to share its experiences in clean energy sector and work together with regional and international partners to entrench its position in the industry and get ready for the next 50 years as it considers this sector a vital enabler and driver for sustainable development and a major attraction for foreign investment,” he said.
The UAE, he added, is at the forefront in efforts of energy diversification and adoption of sustainability-driven technology to achieve climate neutrality as a key priority for the UAE government.
The UAE has launched many initiatives and projects to support this trend, he noted.
During the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting, G20 Energy Ministers and major international energy organisations discussed key issues such as progress in implementation of the G20 Energy Transition Action Plan, the G20 Presidency Road Map, securing energy access, scaling up energy technologies, advancing energy financing and laying the path toward net-zero emissions (NZEs) or carbon neutrality.
Al Olma met separately with Rob Jetten, Minister for Climate and Energy Policy of the Netherlands, and David Turk, United States Deputy Secretary of Energy, to discuss prospects for joint cooperation in sustainable development and preparations for 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) which the UAE will host in 2023.
For his part, the UAE President conveyed his greetings to the Prime Minister, wishing India and its people further development and prosperity….writes Shaneer N Siddiqui
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a letter from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding strengthening the strategic relations between the two countries and the prospects of developing them to serve their common interests.
Sheikh Mohamed received the letter during a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who is currently on a visit to the United Arab Emirate to attend the meetings of the 14th session of the UAE-India Joint Committee and the third session of the UAE-India Strategic Dialogue.
At the beginning of Friday’s meeting, which took place at the Al Shati Palace, Jaishankar conveyed the Modi’s greetings to Sheikh Mohamed and his wishes for further progress and prosperity for the UAE and its people.
For his part, the UAE President conveyed his greetings to the Prime Minister, wishing India and its people further development and prosperity.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed various aspects of their bilateral relations and the importance of cooperating to enhance and advance them within the framework of their comprehensive strategic partnership and the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in addition to a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.
The meeting was also attended by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs; Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation; and Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President.
The delegation accompanying Jaishankar was also present.
On the same day, Sheikh Abdullah chaired the third session of the UAE-India Strategic Dialogue, which was held in Abu Dhabi.
The Indian side was headed by Jaishankar.
During the session, the two sides discussed issues of common interest and prospects for enhancing bilateral cooperation, in line with the CEPA.
They also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.
The jab targeting two coronavirus variants has been approved for use in individuals aged 12 years and above…reports Asian Lite News
Health authorities have approved a second bivalent vaccine to be used as a booster vaccine to target both the Omicron and original strain of COVID-19.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the updated booster vaccine made by Pfizer/BioNTech was found to meet its standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
The jab targeting two coronavirus variants has been approved for use in individuals aged 12 years and above. In each dose of the booster vaccine called Comirnaty bivalent Original/Omicron, half of the vaccine (15 micrograms) targets the original virus strain and the other half (15 micrograms) targets Omicron (BA.1).
The clinical trial of the Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent vaccine showed a strong immune response against the Omicron BA.1 variant as well as the original strain, said Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive.
Bivalent vaccines are helping us to meet the challenge of an ever-evolving virus, to help protect people against COVID-19 variants. We have in place a comprehensive safety surveillance strategy for all UK-approved COVID-19 vaccines, and this will include the updated booster we approved today, she said.
This decision has been endorsed by the UK’s Commission on Human Medicines and follows the MHRA’s approval of the Spikevax bivalent Original/Omicron by Moderna last month.
As with any medicinal product, including vaccines, it is important to continually monitor effectiveness and safety when it is deployed, and we have the relevant processes and expertise in this country to do that, said Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Chair of the Commission on Human Medicines.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will advise on how this vaccine should be offered as part of the deployment programme, he said.
The MHRA said its decision is based on data from a clinical trial which showed that a booster dose with the bivalent Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine triggers a strong immune response against both Omicron and the original strain.
Safety monitoring showed that the side effects observed were the same as those seen for the original Pfizer/BioNTech booster dose and were typically mild and self-resolving, and no new serious safety concerns were identified.
It comes as the National Health Service (NHS) announced its autumn vaccine booster rollout this weekend, with care home residents and staff set to be among the first in the world to receive the new, variant-tackling jabs from Monday.
Around 4 million people who are at highest risk, including the over 75s and those with weakened immune systems, will also be eligible to book a vaccine through the NHS National Booking Service next week, with the first appointments available from the following week.
Our autumn booster programme kicks off from Monday, with care home residents, staff and the housebound the first to receive their jabs, said UK Health Secretary Steve Barclay.
An autumn booster will top up the immunity of those most vulnerable to COVID ahead of the winter to help us continue to live with this virus without restrictions. Please come forward for your booster and flu vaccine when invited, he said.
As with previous campaigns, the oldest and most vulnerable will be called forward for boosters first.
The precision and speed of the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme allowed us to get back to a pre-pandemic way of life and doing the things that we love, said NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard.
While we know that this winter will be challenging with a likely resurgence in both COVID and flu for the first time since before the pandemic, the best way to protect yourselves and your loved ones from serious illness is to get the newly approved, next generation COVID vaccine when invited to do so, as well as your annual flu jab, to ensure you have maximum protection, she said.
Around 26 million people across England will be eligible for an autumn booster over the coming weeks, which includes over 50s, those with a weakened immune system, health and social care workers and care home residents and housebound people, in line with guidance set out by the JCVI.
The DEC has 11 charitable organizations working in Pakistan — including Cafod, Oxfam, and the Red Cross — in tandem with the government and the UN….reports Asian Lite News
A major British charity group has raised £13.5 million to support relief efforts for Pakistan amid the devastating floods.
The Disaster Emergency Committee — a collection of 15 leading charities in Britain — gathered most of the funding from British Muslims across the UK, who dug deep into their pay packets and savings to support the Pakistani people after the committee issued an emergency appeal.
DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed told Sky News that the funds were raised in just over two days, thanking the “hard efforts” from his teams.
The DEC has 11 charitable organizations working in Pakistan — including Cafod, Oxfam, and the Red Cross — in tandem with the government and the UN.
British Muslims have led from the front when supporting the DEC’s relief efforts. Islamic Relief, one of the main charities supported by the DEC, has deployed fundraisers to every other mosque in the country.
In Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, around £6,000 was raised in less than an hour. The rapid fundraising has been all the more extraordinary as Britain braces for its worst cost of living crisis in a generation.
The mosque’s imam, Jamal Abdinasir, told Sky News that empathy and charity should motivate every Muslim.
He said: “Allah tests different people in different ways. Tomorrow it could be us going through a flood, famine, drought, hunger… any difficulty.
“We don’t want that to be us. And should that be us, we are going to find rest in the fact that there are our brothers and sisters across the globe who are going to help.”
Azizur Rahman, one of the Islamic Relief fundraisers, told Sky News: “Our collection is going to help provide emergency aid to those that are vulnerable now. From food packs to emergency hygiene kits, and putting people in shelter.
“A lot of people have lost their homes, so we are setting up temporary accommodation for people, to give them a safe space to stay.”
Even young children dipped into their pocket money to support charity efforts, with Selina Khaider telling Sky News about the importance of compassion.
“Some of them don’t have food. They are suffering. We should help them. It would be very kind to.”
If Truss wins, she would become Britain’s third woman prime minister. She has forged her image in homage to the first, Margaret Thatcher…reports Asian Lite News
Britain’s foreign secretary has emerged as the top contender to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and prime minister. Some 200,000 party members were asked to choose either Truss or former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, with the winner set to be announced on September 5 at 12:30pm local time.
While, Sunak came out on top in the early days of the race, more recently, not only has Truss closed the gap, but, polling suggests, appears to be looking at him in the rear view mirror.
If Truss wins, she would become Britain’s third woman prime minister. She has forged her image in homage to the first, Margaret Thatcher.
Truss has posed in a British Army tank in Eastern Europe, evoking an image of Thatcher during the Cold War. In a televised leadership debate this week, Britain’s top diplomat sported a pussy-bow blouse eerily similar to one the late prime minister used to wear.
Truss, 46, is a favourite among many Conservatives, who revere Thatcher above all other leaders. But critics say it’s an empty homage and believe Truss lacks the gravitas to lead the country amid economic turbulence and a European war.
If it’s not the pictures of her standing atop a tank, it’s the meme-defining moment when she vented her anger over cheese imports into Britain that made Liz Truss something of a household name.
For many, she was a figure of fun, but for those in the governing Conservative Party choosing who should replace Johnson, it is her conversion to passionate Brexit supporter and her offer of tax cuts that have propelled her to within touching distance of becoming Britain’s next prime minister.
It also helps that she is not former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who some in the governing Conservative Party blame for triggering the rebellion against his boss, Johnson, and fear cannot beat the opposition Labour Party in the next election.
As foreign secretary, Truss has been front and centre in Britain’s support for Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia over the invasion of its neighbour. She also has figured prominently in the UK’s feud with the European Union over post-Brexit trade arrangements.
Her pugnacious approach – along with her promises to slash taxes and boost defence spending – have made her the favourite of the party’s strongly Eurosceptic right wing.
Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak Spring Statement. Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak on his way to the Cabinet room for the Prime Minister’s weekly Cabinet meeting before delivering his Spring Statement in the House of Commons . Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Truss said she was “the only person who can deliver the change we need on the economy – in line with true Conservative principles – and the only person capable of stepping up and leading the response to Ukraine and the increased security threat that the free world faces”.
Supportive lawmakers say Truss can govern from day one, with a plan to revive the economy by cutting 30 billion pounds ($36 billion) in taxes.
Saying she is a true Conservative, she has dismissed Sunak, a long-term party member and former Goldman Sachs banker, as being a “socialist”. “Now is the time for boldness, not a business-as-usual approach,” she said in a pointed reference to Sunak who has said he would not reduce taxes immediately.
But opponents criticise her as a dogmatist and a wooden public speaker, and note that she has not always been a true-blue Tory.
Truss’s ascent to the top of the Conservative Party has been anything but straightforward.
Born in Oxford in 1975, Truss is the daughter of a maths professor and a nurse who took her on anti-nuclear and anti-Thatcher protests as a child, where she recalled shouting: “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie – out, out out!”
Truss attended a public high school in Leeds, northern England, and then studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University, where she briefly belonged to the centrist Liberal Democrats and called for the abolition of the monarchy.
She worked as an economist for energy giant Shell and telecommunications firm Cable and Wireless, and for a right-of-centre think tank while becoming involved in Conservative politics and espousing free-market Thatcherite views. She ran unsuccessfully for parliament twice before being elected to represent the eastern England seat of Southwest Norfolk in 2010.
Her early ministerial career was all but defined by a bizarre 2014 speech at the Conservative Party conference.
Stating that Britain imported two thirds of its cheese, she then declared angrily: “That. Is. A. Disgrace.”
A dramatic pause was met with a ripple of applause and the clip has become a much-used GIF and meme in Westminister and beyond.
Since entering the foreign office in September last year, Truss has been prolific in posting pictures of her endeavours – from standing in Moscow’s Red Square in a fur hat despite it being relatively warm to standing atop the tank in Estonia.
She has modelled herself as a strident critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but some fear her robust stance on Russia’s war could ratchet up tensions to perilous levels.
At an encounter with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov just before Moscow invaded Ukraine, Truss was left embarrassed when he got her to deny Russian sovereignty over Rostov and Voronezh, two regions in the south of Russia, the Kommersant newspaper reported.
A British source said Truss had misheard during the meeting, calling it “classic Russian propaganda”.
Truss has also warned China to learn lessons from the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said Beijing would face consequences if it did not “play by the rules”.
Her record as foreign secretary has drawn mixed reviews. Many praise her firm response to the invasion of Ukraine, and she secured the release of two British nationals jailed in Iran where her predecessors had failed. But EU leaders and officials hoping she would bring a softer tone to the UK’s relations with the bloc have been disappointed.
Even her supporters fear she could be too quick with opinions to be an effective diplomat, but for the contest, most Conservatives are more focused on matters closer to home.
Her appeal, even her most reluctant supporters say, is that she is dynamic, a workaholic who is across the detail of policy. Others believe she can steady the ship after Johnson’s turbulent three years in power.
Beyond tax cuts funded by more borrowing, Truss has said the debt incurred from the Covid-19 pandemic should be treated like a “war debt” and should be paid back over a longer period.
Sunak has criticised her plan as “a fairytale”. Truss replied: “You cannot tax your way to growth.”
But it is perhaps her stance on Brexit that had the biggest impact.
In Britain’s 2016 referendum on whether to leave the European Union, Truss backed the losing “remain” side. But she has served in Johnson’s staunchly pro-Brexit government as trade secretary and then foreign secretary, and has won the support of the Conservative Party’s most fervent Brexiteers.
She was already sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment for these offences, and now faces 20 years in jail…reports Asian Lite News
Two days after Myanmar’s former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to three years in jail for electoral fraud in 2020, increasing her total prison term to 20 years, the Information Team of Myanmar’s State Administration Council confirmed.
She, along with former President U Win Myint and former Union Minister of Union Government Office, U Min Thu, was found guilty of electoral fraud, said the information team on Saturday.
Before this, Aung San Suu Kyi has been convicted of multiple charges, including corruption, incitement, breaching the Natural Disaster Management Law, breaching the Export and Import Law and breaching the Communications Law.
She was already sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment for these offences, and now faces 20 years in jail, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Feb. 1, 2021, U Win Myint, Suu Kyi and some senior officials of the National League for Democracy were detained by the military.
Trials over more charges against Suu Kyi will follow.
Putin and Erdogan reaffirmed their commitment to expanding trade and economic relations between the two countries…reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchanged views on bilateral ties during a phone call.
Putin and Erdogan reaffirmed their commitment to expanding trade and economic relations between the two countries, including promoting joint strategic projects in the energy sector, the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday.
According to the statement, when discussing the situation in Ukraine, the Turkish President stressed Russia’s constructive role in organising an International Atomic Energy Agency mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Xinhua news agency reported.
India had surpassed UK as the 5th largest economy as early as December 2021 itself and not recently as is being claimed, reports Asian Lite News
India is expected to become world’s third largest economy by 2029 due to the path taken by the country since 2014, SBI Ecowrap report said. The share of India’s GDP is now at 3.5 per cent, as against 2.6 per cent in 2014 and is likely to cross 4 per cent in 2027, the current share of Germany in global GDP.
India has undergone a large structural shift since 2014 and is now the 5th largest economy.
Interestingly, India had surpassed UK as the 5th largest economy as early as December 2021 itself and not recently as is being claimed.
“The path taken by India since 2014 reveals India is likely to get the tag of 3rd largest economy in 2029, a movement of 7 places upwards since 2014 when India was ranked 10th. India should surpass Germany in 2027 and most likely Japan by 2029 at the current rate of growth,” the report said.
“In coming days India is likely to be the beneficiary as China slows down in terms of new investment intentions,” the report added.
India’s GDP growth in Q1FY23 was 13.5 per cent. At this rate, India is likely to be the fastest growing economy in the current fiscal. Interestingly, even as estimates of India’s GDP growth rate for FY23 currently range from 6.7 per cent to 7.7 per cent, we firmly believe that it is immaterial.
“In a world that is ravaged by uncertainties, we believe 6 to 6.5 per cent growth is the new normal. Nevertheless, we make a passionate urge to update the IIP basket that is composed of a 2012 set of products and is hopelessly outdated.”
After being revised upwards by $4.6 billion, Pakistan owes a debt of $30 billion to China, from $25.1 billion in February
Pakistan owes 30 per cent of its foreign debt to China, the latest report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said, which includes state-owned commercial banks, local media reported.
Bloomberg, citing the global money lender’s document, reported that the debt is now 3% up as compared to February’s statistics – when it was at 27 per cent.
After being revised upwards by $4.6 billion, Pakistan owes a debt of $30 billion to China, from $25.1 billion in February, Geo News reported quoting the IMF report.
Chinese assistance to Pakistan is three times greater than IMF debt and exceeds both World Bank and Asian Development Bank funds combined, it said.
The latest figures show that, unlike the World Bank-style concessionary-project financing, Beijing is now playing a role similar to the global money lender by providing funds during a balance of payments crisis.
Islamabad managed to secure a much-needed bailout package from the IMF this week when the Fund’s executive board approved the release of $1.1 billion to Pakistan – averting the threat of imminent default.
For the ongoing fiscal year, the IMF report mentioned that official financing includes $7 billion as rollovers of existing and $4 billion in additional financing commitments, including from China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and IFIs – such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank.
“Pakistan’s external debt is low, predominantly held by the public sector and mainly sourced from concessional multilateral and bilateral sources, the central bank said in a presentation it made in July,” Bloomberg said.
Macron acknowledged that the United States is an ally, but warned that “we do not want to depend on it”, reports Asian Lite News
France must stick to an independent foreign policy and build more balanced partnerships for multi-lateralism, President Emmanuel Macron said during an ambassadors’ conference.
In recent years, there were many unpredictable incidents including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, he told the diplomats, adding that France alone does not have the means to resolve these crises, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
Its interest is therefore to “build more and more balanced, equal, bilateral and regional partnerships”, Macron said.
The President said he aims to form a “stronger, more influential, more independent” France, and keep the country as a “balancing power” that builds peace and stability.
Speaking of European strategic autonomy, Macron told the French diplomats that the idea has become widespread across Europe.
“Above all, we have acted together, built a stronger Europe of defence, brick by brick. We have done so multilaterally and bilaterally. We have strengthened this European Union.
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron (Credit twitter @POTUS)
“It is indeed our independence that we are strengthening and consolidating. It is this same desire for independence that I also want at the geopolitical level,” he said, adding that Europe is “more and more autonomous”.
Macron acknowledged that the United States is an ally, but warned that “we do not want to depend on it”.
“France and Europe must therefore build this independence, which is also geopolitical. We do not have to be asked to choose how to guide our policy.”
Macron also said that France’s foreign policy aims to continue to build an effective multi-lateralism.
He said that France should multiply efforts in multi-lateralism, especially in public health, climate change and biodiversity.
For public health, Macron highlighted “the usefulness of international health cooperation” through the World Health Organization.
“I think our role should be to consolidate the World Health Organization as the bedrock of a useful multilateral institution. We absolutely must consolidate the principles of information sharing, transparency and scientific independence,” he noted.
Macron also highlighted the importance of multi-lateralism on climate change and biodiversity.
French President Emmanuel Macron
“For several years, it has been at the heart of our diplomatic action and our diplomatic successes,” he said.
In order to achieve the Paris Agreement, France should “convince our major partners among the developed countries, within the framework of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), to make maximum emissions commitments per capita”, he said.
But “in the same logic of fair distribution of effort,” developing countries “must be able to find financing agreements for the energy transition in our common interest and on terms that are less costly than in developed countries”, Macron noted.
“We cannot ask emerging countries to move faster and to make the choice between development and climate, with financing conditions that are much harsher than in our country.”
