DUBAI: For much of the past year, climate change had been high on the global policy agenda as extreme weather events, including floods, dust storms, heatwaves, droughts and blizzards, were reported from different parts of the world.

At the same time, governments pledged to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, move toward cleaner, renewable sources of energy, take steps to increase resilience and advance the cause of environmental justice. But are these commitments bold enough or too little too late?

JERUSALEM: When Israel struck an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to open diplomatic ties in 2020, it brought an electrifying sense of achievement to a country long ostracized in the Middle East.
Officials insisted that Israel’s new ties with the UAE, and soon after with Bahrain, would go beyond governments and become society-wide pacts, stoking mass tourism and friendly exchanges between people long at odds.

RAMALLAH: Saudi Arabia has led a chorus of condemnation following a visit on Tuesday by Israel’s far-right national security minister to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The move, by firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir, has enraged Palestinians, while the US warned of steps that may harm the status quo.

The Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it denounced the “provocative action” by the Israeli official.

LONDON: A woman imprisoned in Iran since 2009 has shared a letter from inside her “hell-like” prison, it was reported on Monday.

Maryam Akbari Monfared, 47, who is a mother to three daughters, was detained more than 13 years ago on charges of supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran.

She has been separated from her children since her arrest, and her three brothers and sister were killed by the regime, the Independent reported.

RIYADH: The Joint Incidents Assessment Team conducted a field visit to Yemen during the past week, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
The inspection tour included a number of visits within the cities of Aden, Mansoura, and Abyan, where a number of sites were inspected, including the central security building in Zinjibar — a coastal town in south-central Yemen, the capital of Zinjibar District and the Abyan Governorate, and May 22 stadium in Sheikh Othman, the report said.