Britain said on Tuesday it would refer the UAE-led takeover of the Telegraph for a lengthy review, a move that will effectively kill the deal because a law banning foreign governments owning newspapers is due to come into force in coming months. Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI took control of the Telegraph titles and the Spectator...
Vladimir Putin’s gold strategy explains why sanctions against Russia have failed
There are more than 16,000 sanctions imposed against Russia. Yet the Russian economy and war machine grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to grow another 2.6 per cent in 2024. Nearly six per cent of Russia’s gross domestic product goes towards military spending. At a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is...
Fruit Chaos Is Coming
Climate change is threatening to turn sublime summer stone fruits disgusting, or rob us of their pleasures entirely. Summer, to me, is all about stone fruit: dark-purple plums, peaches you can smell from three feet away. But last summer, I struggled to find peaches at the farmers’ markets in New York City. A freak deep...
UN official says group moving on deep-sea mining regulations
A top U.N. regulator said Friday that mining of the world’s ocean floors should not move forward without rules in place, but that his agency cannot stop companies from trying to move ahead if countries can’t agree on a framework. Michael Lodge, secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority, told reporters at a news conference that...
How far does Gulf money go? An Abu Dhabi-backed newspaper buyout attempt is sparking panic in London
Mansions, university facilities, think tanks, sports teams — the U.K. is no stranger to Gulf money and multibillion-dollar investments streaming from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia into British institutions. But newspapers? That’s a hard stop, apparently. The latest investment pursuit flowing westward from one of the U.K.’s close Gulf allies, the UAE,...
UAE creating elite ‘Emirati Foreign Legion’ for combat operations abroad
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is commissioning the construction of a new elite mercenary force resembling the French Foreign Legion, a leaked job advertisement has revealed. According to the site Intelligence Online, an unnamed former French special forces officer is leading the initiative to construct an elite unit that would operate as part of the UAE’s...
Sanctions, What Sanctions?
Last September, I had argued why “a war of arms and a peace of commerce cannot co-exist”. This is a follow up to that and events of the last 2 years sadly reinforce the point. With Russia’s GDP (troublingly) growing by 3.6% in 2023, Putin is overseeing the fastest-growing G7 economy with unemployment at an...
BiH Foreign Minister denied a Connection with Drug Cartels, Avdic claims he has Evidence
Elmedin Konaković, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, denied allegations of ties to the “Tito and Dino” drug gang. He claims that he is the target of certain media close to the former regime, and that he will resign if any of the allegations incriminating his name are proven. The EUROPOL document is...
Not just polar bears — climate change could push African rhinos to extinction
New research is ringing alarm bells about how climate change may impact one of Africa’s most iconic and vulnerable animals: the rhinoceros. “Climate change has the potential of wiping out all of them in the blink of an eye,” says Hlelowenkhosi Mamba, an Eswatini native and Fulbright scholar. Read more: news.mongabay.com Photo: news.mongabay.com
Banana prices on the rise as climate change affects supply chain
Banana prices have risen by up to 18.5% since January and by 35% in the past year as climate change puts a squeeze on supply, new data has revealed. A five-pack of Asda’s Organic Fairtrade Bananas was subject to the biggest annual rise of 35% from £1 to £1.35, found analysis of Assosia data by The Grocer. The same line has...