Egypt Urges Increase in Int'l Funds to Tackle Climate Change

Egypt's Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad. (Egyptian government)
Egypt's Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad. (Egyptian government)
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Egypt Urges Increase in Int'l Funds to Tackle Climate Change

Egypt's Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad. (Egyptian government)
Egypt's Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad. (Egyptian government)

Egypt requested on Thursday an increase in finances from developed countries to address climate change in countries that currently suffer from fires, high temperature and floods.

Egypt is hosting the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh in November.

Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad held a virtual meeting Thursday with Mary Robinson, the former head of the UNHCR and the chairperson of Elders, an independent group of global leaders working together for peace, justice and human rights.

They discussed preparations for COP27, especially the importance of increasing adaptation finance for countries suffering from climate change, said a statement from the Egyptian minister.

Fouad said speaking about financing adaptation to climate change would be addressed on Gender Day held during the COP27, and that the keynote speech on this day will be given by the President of the National Council for Women in Egypt.

For her part, Robinson stressed the importance of increasing adaptation finance for countries suffering from climate change in line with the outcomes of COP26 in Glasgow.

She said this should be achieved by 2025.



Netanyahu: Israel Retains Right to Resume Gaza Fighting

FILED - 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
FILED - 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
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Netanyahu: Israel Retains Right to Resume Gaza Fighting

FILED - 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
FILED - 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

Israel retains the right to resume war in Gaza with US backing should the second stage of the ceasefire prove pointless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

"If we must return to fighting we will do that in new, forceful ways," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

"President (Donald) Trump and President (Joe) Biden have given full backing to Israel's right to return to combat if Israel concludes that negotiations on Phase B are futile," he said.

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), mediator Qatar announced Saturday, as families of hostages held in Gaza braced for news of loved ones, Palestinians prepared to receive freed detainees and humanitarian groups rushed to set up a surge of aid.
The prime minister had warned earlier that a ceasefire wouldn’t go forward unless Israel received the names of hostages to be released, as had been agreed.

The pause in 15 months of war is a step toward ending the deadliest, most destructive fighting ever between Israel and the Hamas militant group — and comes more than a year after the only other ceasefire achieved. The deal was achieved under joint pressure from Trump and the outgoing administration of President Biden ahead of Monday's inauguration.
The first phase of the ceasefire will last 42 days, and negotiations on the far more difficult second phase are meant to begin just over two weeks in. After those six weeks, Israel’s security Cabinet will decide how to proceed.
Israeli airstrikes continued Saturday, and Gaza's Health Ministry said 23 bodies had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours.