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Arab World

Egypt Launches Initiative to Encourage Investment in Climate Action

The first regional forum organized by the Egyptian presidency for the upcoming UN climate change conference will kick off in Ethiopia on Tuesday. (Twitter)
The first regional forum organized by the Egyptian presidency for the upcoming UN climate change conference will kick off in Ethiopia on Tuesday. (Twitter)
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Egypt Launches Initiative to Encourage Investment in Climate Action

The first regional forum organized by the Egyptian presidency for the upcoming UN climate change conference will kick off in Ethiopia on Tuesday. (Twitter)
The first regional forum organized by the Egyptian presidency for the upcoming UN climate change conference will kick off in Ethiopia on Tuesday. (Twitter)

The first regional forum organized by the Egyptian presidency for the upcoming UN climate change conference will kick off in Ethiopia on Tuesday.

Egypt will host the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022 at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

It will organize five major regional forums related to climate. The first, on Africa, will be held in Addis Ababa, the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, on August 2-4. The second will be held in Bangkok, the headquarters of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, on August 25. Santiago, the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, will host the third forum on September 1-2. Beirut, the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, will host the fourth forum on Arab countries on September 15.

The fifth will be held in Geneva, the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Europe on September 20.

The outcomes of the five meetings will be presented at the COP27 summit in November.

According to the presidency of COP27, the forums aim to encourage investment in areas related to climate action.

They seek to propose climate projects and investment opportunities to investors, international financing organizations, development banks and other actors to start implementing projects that would achieve climate action goals.

UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin said the initiative aims to discuss investment opportunities in various sectors, including food, water, irrigation, increasing agricultural productivity, new and renewable sources of energy and its infrastructure.

Additionally, they will tackle the digital transformation of those sectors in a way that helps in the actual implementation of climate projects, the achievement of climate goals and the provision of job opportunities in the five regions.

The forum in Addis Ababa, “Towards COP27: African Regional Forum on Climate Initiatives to Finance Climate Action and the Sustainable Development Goals,” will witness high-level participation by Egyptian officials, including Sameh Shoukry, Foreign Minister and COP27 President Designate; Yasmine Fouad, Environment Minister and COP27 Ministerial Coordinator and Envoy; Rania al-Mashat, International Cooperation Minister; and Mohamed Farid, EGX Chairman.

Several African ministers, UN officials, business leaders, investors and representatives of financing organizations and development banks from Africa and abroad will also take part.

The forum will discuss tools for a fair financial transition, upscaling investment to adapt to the effects of climate change, ecosystem mechanisms and reducing the risks caused by natural disasters and the losses and damages resulting from climate change and investing in means to address them.

Ways to transform into green economy in Africa and mobilize and unify the private sector on climate action will also be tackled.

According to the agenda, six roundtables will be held to address energy access and just energy transition and transport, food security, climate smart agriculture and building resilience and ecosystem based approaches, digital transformation, the development of African carbon credit markets, the Blue Economy and supporting water access for different cities.

According to an Egyptian statement, the forum aims to “mobilize financing and ensure the flow of investments to build an ecosystem in Africa that is resilient in the face of climate change, in addition to advancing Africa’s development agendas 2030 and 2063.”

It also seeks to find environmentally friendly climate and economic solutions to contribute to achieving sustainable development goals in Africa and increasing the benefits of the African carbon market.

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Arab World

Sudan PM Announces Govt Return to Khartoum from Wartime Capital

File Photo: Some shops reopen despite extensive damage (Asharq Al-Awsat)
File Photo: Some shops reopen despite extensive damage (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Sudan PM Announces Govt Return to Khartoum from Wartime Capital

File Photo: Some shops reopen despite extensive damage (Asharq Al-Awsat)
File Photo: Some shops reopen despite extensive damage (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris announced on Sunday the government's return to Khartoum, after nearly three years of operating from wartime capital of Port Sudan, AFP reported.

"Today, we return, and the Government of Hope returns to the national capital," Idris told reporters in Khartoum, ravaged by the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

"We promise you better services, better healthcare and the reconstruction of hospitals, the development of educational services... and to improve electricity, water and sanitation services," he said.

Arab World

Iran Protest Death Toll Rises as Alarm Grows over Crackdown 'Massacre'

Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, released on January 10, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, released on January 10, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
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Iran Protest Death Toll Rises as Alarm Grows over Crackdown 'Massacre'

Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, released on January 10, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, released on January 10, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS

At least 192 protesters have been killed in Iran's biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years, a rights group said Sunday, as warnings grew that authorities were committing a "massacre" to quell the demonstrations.

The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have now become a movement against the theocratic system in place in Iran since the 1979 revolution and have already lasted two weeks.

The mass rallies are one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, 86, coming in the wake of Israel's 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States.

Protests have swelled in recent days despite an internet blackout that has lasted more than 60 hours, according to monitor Netblocks, with activists warning the shutdown was limiting the flow of information and the actual toll risks being far higher.

"Since the start of the protests, Iran Human Rights has confirmed the killing of at least 192 protesters," the Norway-based non-governmental organization said, warning that the deaths "may be even more extensive than we currently imagine".

Videos of large demonstrations in the capital Tehran and other cities over the past three nights have filtered out despite the internet cut that has rendered impossible normal communication with the outside world via messaging apps or even phone lines.

Video verified by AFP showed large crowds taking to the streets in new protests on Saturday night in several Iranian cities including Tehran and Mashhad in the east, where images showed vehicles set on fire.

Several circulating videos, which have not been verified by AFP, allegedly showed relatives in a Tehran morgue identifying bodies of protesters killed in the crackdown.

The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received "eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown".

"A massacre is unfolding in Iran. The world must act now to prevent further loss of life," it said.

It said hospitals were "overwhelmed", blood supplies were running low and that many protesters had been shot in the eyes in a deliberate tactic.

 

- 'Significant arrests' -

 

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of 116 people in connection with the protests, including 37 members of the security forces or other officials.

State TV on Sunday broadcast images of funeral processions for security forces killed in recent days, as authorities condemned "riots" and "vandalism".

National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said authorities made "significant" arrests of protest figures on Saturday night, without giving details on the number or identities of those arrested, according to state TV.

Iran's security chief Ali Larijani drew a line between protests over economic hardship, which he called "completely understandable", and "riots", accusing them of actions "very similar to the methods of terrorist groups", Tasnim news agency reported.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said "rioters" must not distrupt Iranian society.

"The people (of Iran) should not allow rioters to disrupt society. The people should believe that we (the government) want to establish justice," he told state broadcaster IRIB.

In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis.

The price of meat has nearly doubled since the start of the protests, and while some shops are open, many others are not.

Those that do open must close at around 4:00 or 5:00 pm, when security forces deploy in force.

 

- 'Legitimate targets' -

 

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the ousted shah, who has played a prominent role in calling for the protests, called for new actions later Sunday.

"Do not abandon the streets. My heart is with you. I know that I will soon be by your side," he said.

US President Donald Trump has spoken out in support of the protests and threatened military action against Iranian authorities "if they start killing people".

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged the European Union on Sunday to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps as a "terrorist organization" over the suspected violence against protesters.

He also said Israel supports the Iranian people's "struggle for freedom".

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran would hit back if the US launched military action.

"In the event of a military attack by the United States, both the occupied territory and centers of the US military and shipping will be our legitimate targets," he said in comments broadcast by state TV.

He was apparently also referring to Israel, which the Islamic republic does not recognize and considers occupied Palestinian territory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arab World

Israeli Fire Kills Three People in Gaza, Tension Rises

Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)
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Israeli Fire Kills Three People in Gaza, Tension Rises

Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP)

Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in two separate incidents across ​the enclave, local health authorities said, as tension rises over continued violence.

Medics said one Palestinian was killed in the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, in an area under ‌Palestinian control, while ‌two others ‌were ⁠killed ​in ‌the town of Bani Suhaila east of Khan Younis, an area Israel still occupies, Reuters reported.

There was no comment from the Israeli military on the two incidents.

Fighting ⁠has largely abated since Israel and ‌Palestinian militant group Hamas ‍agreed to ‍a ceasefire in October, two ‍years into the war, but it has not stopped entirely. Israel and Hamas have traded blame over ​the violations of the deal.

A Hamas official told Reuters ⁠on Sunday that the group urged mediators to intervene to stop "daily Israeli killings that aim to derail the ceasefire deal."

More than 440 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to Gaza health officials, have been killed since the truce, ‌as well as three Israeli soldiers.