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Egypt Calls for African Coordination Meeting Ahead of COP-27

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a meeting organized on the occasion of the visit of Green America's Mission to Egypt on Sunday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a meeting organized on the occasion of the visit of Green America's Mission to Egypt on Sunday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Calls for African Coordination Meeting Ahead of COP-27

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a meeting organized on the occasion of the visit of Green America's Mission to Egypt on Sunday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a meeting organized on the occasion of the visit of Green America's Mission to Egypt on Sunday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt on Sunday urged the African states to hold a meeting to coordinate the continent’s stances in preparation for the COP27 Climate Summit, which it will host in Sharm el-Sheikh next November.

During a workshop held by Morocco via videoconference on “The challenges of mobilizing capital markets to finance the transition to a sustainable energy market,” Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union Mohamed Omar Gad said Cairo invited the African states to hold the consultative session on the issues related to climate and energy before the Climate Summit.

The workshop in Morocco comes on the sidelines of a conference for African ministers of finance, planning, and economic development, which will kick off Monday in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

The coordination session for which Egypt called comes to complete the meetings held during the latest African Union Summit in February in Addis Ababa to consolidate a unified African stance on climate issues and present it in COP27.

Egypt is seeking to increase its dependence on renewable energy from 18 percent to 45 percent by 2025, according to Gad, who urged the African states to focus on achieving just transition to renewable energy and providing sustainable energy to the green energy projects in Africa in addition to following up the implementation of commitments which Africa received in previous climate summits.

Also during the workshop, Jean-Paul Adam, Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said African countries still represent less than one percent of the share green bonds issued to finance renewable energy and green economy projects, according to Egypt’s official news agency, MENA.

In a related development, Green America's Mission to Egypt, a US delegation comprising representatives of various companies and financing bodies, is visiting Cairo to observe the chances of investing in the green energy domain in Egypt.

On the occasion of their visit, the office of the US special presidential climate envoy and the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo organized a meeting to discuss the green energy issue.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated on Sunday in the event, which he said is meant to enhance relations between the two countries at all levels and to build on the outcomes of the strategic dialogue between Egypt and the US.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.