Documents show industry-backed Air Pollution Foundation uncovered the severe harm climate change would wreak. The fossil fuel industry funded some of the world’s most foundational climate science as early as 1954, newly unearthed documents have shown, including the early research of Charles Keeling, famous for the so-called “Keeling curve” that has charted the upward march...
The Kremlin is intensifying attacks on anti-war Russian musicians and artists living abroad. At the beginning of the all-out war in Ukraine, the Kremlin faced anti-war resistance from many Russian popular artists. It responded with a media smear campaign against anti-war rappers, rock bands, and stand-up comedians. But since many anti-war artists chose exile rather...
Ugandan authorities are currently detaining Stephen Tarus, Kenya’s former Assistant Minister for Internal Security, on charges of smuggling gold into the country using counterfeit documents. Arrested last week, Mr. Tarus was brought before a Ugandan anti-corruption court on Wednesday to face accusations of falsifying export documents, as stated by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The...
Reporters would not be able to speak freely under proposed new Gulf state owners, says co-founder of the Art Newspaper. A journalist has revealed how she was sacked for criticising the royal family of the United Arab Emirates as she warned that Telegraph journalists would not be able to speak freely if a planned takeover...
The United Arab Emirates has dispatched an ambassador to Damascus for the first time since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Syria’s state media reported today, in a new signal of Syria’s warming ties with the Arab region, Reuters reports. Incoming Emirati envoy Hassan Al-Shehi presented his credentials to Syria’s Foreign Affair Minister Faysal Al-Meqdad at...
Can petrostates lead the world in the transition away from fossil fuels? The all-male committee panel for this year’s 29th summit of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan has included 12 women in response to international criticisms, which some perceive as a sign of the inexperienced climate leadership in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s success in...
China’s human rights record faced rare public scrutiny at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva last week, and while Beijing was able to lobby some countries from the Global South to praise human rights conditions in the country, analysts and advocates say its charm offensive has had a limited effect. “A lot of governments...
While December 2023 saw the global spotlight on Dubai for the COP28, Abu Dhabi discreetly conducted the second-largest political mass trial in the UAE’s history, known as the “UAE87” in a complete absence of media coverage. On December 7, 2023, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal held its first hearing of a new mass trial involving...
As the U.S. opioid crisis spirals further out of control, and threatens to engulf Europe, the U.S. government has been scrambling in recent weeks for solutions. Some are sensible, if misguided, such as the Biden administration’s “fentanyl strike force” within the Treasury Department to aggressively scrutinize the finances of suspected narcotics dealers. Others, such as...
Projects covering 10% of Zambia & Liberia’s land have been signed with a UAE-based company. Over the last year, the carbon offset industry has faced a barrage of investigations on instances of abuse and attracted disapproval from multiple quarters. The spotlight now is on the development of United Nations-based markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and new...