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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)
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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

Israel Urges All Vessels to Evacuate South Lebanon Maritime Area up to Tyre

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Qlaile as pictured from nearby Tyre in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Qlaile as pictured from nearby Tyre in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Urges All Vessels to Evacuate South Lebanon Maritime Area up to Tyre

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Qlaile as pictured from nearby Tyre in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Qlaile as pictured from nearby Tyre in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military on Tuesday urged all vessels in the maritime zone off the coast of southern Lebanon to immediately head north of the city of Tyre, warning that it would operate in the area.

"Hezbollah's activities expose naval vessels in the maritime area between Tyre and Ras al-Naqoura to danger, which compels the Israeli army to take action against it in the maritime domain," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.

"To ensure your safety, all anchored or sailing naval vessels in the specified maritime area shown on the navigation map must immediately proceed north of the Tyre area," he added.

Arab World

Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah Says It Will Release American Journalist Shelly Kittleson

US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah Says It Will Release American Journalist Shelly Kittleson

US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement on Tuesday that it will release American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad streetcorner last week.

The group said its decision came “in appreciation of the patriotic stances of the outgoing prime minister," Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, without giving more details. It added that “this initiative will not be repeated in the future.” The statement added that Kittleson must “leave the country immediately” upon her release.

Kataib Hezbollah had not previously acknowledged that it was the one responsible for Kittleson’s abduction, although both US and Iraqi officials had pointed fingers at the group.

Two officials within the faction, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told The Associated Press that in exchange for freeing Kittleson, several members of the group who had previously been detained by Iraqi authorities would be released.

Kittleson, 49, a freelance journalist, had lived abroad for years before the kidnapping, using Rome as her base for a time and building a respected journalism career across the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Like many freelancers, she often worked on a shoestring budget and without the protections afforded by large news organizations to staff.

She had entered Iraq again shortly before her abduction. US officials have said that they warned her multiple times of threats against her, but that she did not want to leave.

Iraqi officials have said that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed while being pursued near the town of al-Haswa in Babil province, southwest of Baghdad. The journalist was then transferred to a second car that fled the scene.

Three Iraqi officials said earlier Tuesday that attempts to negotiate her release had run into obstacles.

The two Iraqi security officials and one official from the pro-Iran Coordination Framework political bloc spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the sensitive case publicly.

One of the security officials said that an official with the Popular Mobilization Forces had been tasked with communicating with the abductors to secure Kittleson’s release but had run into difficulties in communicating with the Kataib Hezbollah leadership.

“The primary challenge is that the leaders of the Kataib militia — specifically, the commanders of the battalions — are nowhere to be found. No one knows their whereabouts, and the process of establishing contact with them is extremely complex,” they said. “These leaders have gone underground, maintaining no active lines of communication, out of fear of being targeted.”

The political official said a message had been sent to the Kataib leadership to determine their demands in exchange for releasing the kidnapped journalist. Iraqi authorities were willing to release six Kataib Hezbollah members who are currently detained, most of them in connection with attacks on a US base in Syria, they said.

The second security official said that to further complicate matters, the Iraqi official in charge of the case had not yet received the go-ahead from US officials to proceed with negotiations.

US officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The State Department previously said that it is working with the FBI to secure Kittleson's release.

Journalist advocacy groups had urged the US government to formally designate Kittleson a hostage, or “wrongful detainee,” a designation that triggers an elevated level of response.

Arab World

Israel Military Says Completed Forward Deployment in South Lebanon

An Israeli Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aircraft flies over the area of Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
An Israeli Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aircraft flies over the area of Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Military Says Completed Forward Deployment in South Lebanon

An Israeli Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aircraft flies over the area of Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
An Israeli Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aircraft flies over the area of Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had completed the deployment of ground troops along a "defense line" in southern Lebanon, where it is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The military has not given any geographical details on the furthest point to which its soldiers have advanced into Lebanese territory.

Israeli media reported that the military did not intend at this stage to push troops deeper than around 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border.

"At this stage, soldiers have completed their deployment along the anti-tank missile defense line and continue to operate in the area in order to strengthen the forward defensive posture and remove threats to the residents and communities of northern Israel," a military statement said.

Defense minister Israel Katz has said on several occasions in recent weeks that Israel intends to establish a "security zone" in southern Lebanon extending to the Litani river, which flows as much as 30 kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border, in order to prevent rocket, drone or missile fire at northern Israeli communities.

The Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported that the military was expected to present to the government "an operational plan for controlling the first line of (Lebanese) villages as a deep security zone up to the anti-tank line".

Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing military sources, reported that the military was "preparing to boost its forces in southern Lebanon, but there are currently no plans to advance deeper into the country".

"The sources said the forces have reached what has been defined as the 'front line' outlined in the approved operational plans," Haaretz reported, adding that "this line includes southern villages located roughly 10 kilometers from the Litani River, an area under Israeli military control".

Haaretz reported that the current deployment was aimed at preventing anti-tank missile fire on northern Israeli communities.

These anti-tank missiles have an estimated range of around 10 kilometers.