ABU DHABI: The president of this year’s COP28 climate talks, who heads one of the world’s biggest oil companies, on Saturday urged a focus on lower emissions, warning global energy needs were set to accelerate.
Sultan Al-Jaber, the UAE’s special envoy for climate change and CEO of the ADNOC oil giant, said less-polluting fossil fuels would remain part of the energy mix, along with renewables and other solutions.

IRBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan: Fewer Syrians were killed in 2022 than in any other year since the civil war began in 2011. What is unclear is whether this represents the beginning of the end of this seemingly endless conflict or merely an interlude before another round of grinding violence.

An estimated 3,825 Syrians perished in 2022 — a small decrease from the 3,882 who lost their lives in 2021, but still a continuation of the observable downward trend in the overall deaths caused by the war since 2018.

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have abducted an outspoken tribesman as part of their assault on internet influencers and others who accuse the militia group of corruption and leaving people to starve.

The Houthis reportedly abducted Mohammed Salah Al-Houthi from his home in Sanaa’s Khawlan just days after he appeared on recordings condemning the militia’s leaders for enriching themselves and failing to tackle poverty and famine.

TEL AVIV, Israel: Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in central Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government to overhaul the legal system and weaken the Supreme Court.
The step, critics say will destroy the country’s democratic system of checks and balances.
The protest presented an early challenge to Netanyahu and his ultranationalist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has ordered police to take tough action if protesters block roads or display Palestinian flags.

LONDON: Friends of Al-Aqsa, a pro-Palestinian organization in the UK, has launched a campaign to persuade sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger to rethink its plans to open dozens of stores in Israel, organizers said on Friday.

The London-based company has entered into a 10-year, non-binding agreement with Israeli fashion chain Fox-Wizel and restaurant group Yarzin Sella to open and operate about 40 franchises in Israel in the next decade.