CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has stressed the importance of reducing emissions, building resilience, and boosting climate finance for developing countries.
He was speaking at the closed-door meeting of heads of state and government on climate change, organized in partnership with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The meeting, co-chaired by Guterres and El-Sisi, was advertised in advance as a “frank and informal exchange” of views between leaders and an opportunity to discuss key issues ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, to take place in Sharm El-Sheikh in November.
El-Sisi said: “We participated together in this meeting, in preparation for the climate summit in the UK, and today, we are a few weeks away from the 27th climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.”
The meeting comes in light of events over the past year which have caused political crises and challenges in food, energy, and supply chains, affecting all parts of the world, said El-Sisi.
These challenges represent additional burdens on all countries, especially the developing ones, he added.
“But we must always rely on objective scientific reports, which unequivocally confirm that climate change remains the most dangerous existential challenge,” said the president.
As a result of rising temperatures, El-Sisi pointed to the recent floods that struck Pakistan and the unprecedented forest fires witnessed in Europe and the US, and called for immediate measures to put climate pledges into practice.
“As an international community, aside from any global condition or political dispute, we will not renege on the commitments we have taken on, the pledges we have made,” said the president.
“The policies we have adopted have already made significant gains in the face of climate change.”
Guterres said after the meeting that he had discussed the “triple global crisis” of food, energy, and finance with global leaders, as well as the climate.
He urged the leaders of the world’s major economies to cease their “fossil fuel addiction,” phase out coal use, and increase investment in renewable energy sources.
The fossil fuel industry “is killing us,” he added.
Four pressing problems were covered during the informal discussions: Loss and damage, adaptation, climate finance, and emissions reduction.
El-Sisi attends key meeting on climate change
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El-Sisi attends key meeting on climate change
- The meeting was advertised in advance as a “frank and informal exchange” of views between leaders
- Guterres said after the meeting that he had discussed the “triple global crisis” of food, energy, and finance with global leaders
Israel frees Gaza medic detained since ambulance attack: Red Crescent
“The occupation forces have just released medic Asaad Al-Nsasrah, who was detained on March 23, 2025, while performing his humanitarian duty during the massacre of medical teams in the Tal Al-Sultan area of Rafah Governorate,” the PRCS said in a statement.
Eight staff members from the Red Crescent, six from the Gaza civil defense agency and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were killed in the attack by Israeli forces, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA.
The killings sparked international condemnation, including concern about possible “war crimes” from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk.
The PRCS said weeks after the incident that Nsasrah was in Israeli custody after being “forcibly abducted” when Israeli soldiers had opened fire on the ambulances.
An Israeli military investigation released this month “found no evidence to support claims of execution” or “indiscriminate fire” by its troops, but admitted to operational failures and said it was firing a field commander.
It said six of those killed were militants, revising an earlier claim that nine were fighters.
The PRCS and Gaza’s civil defense agency rejected those findings, with the PRCS denouncing the report as “full of lies.”
The medics and other rescue workers were killed when responding to distress calls near Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on March 23, days into Israel’s renewed offensive in the Hamas-run territory.
Their bodies were found about a week later, buried in the sand alongside their crushed vehicles near the shooting scene. OCHA described it as a mass grave.
Days later, the army said its soldiers fired on “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious vehicles,” with a spokesman later adding that the vehicles had their lights off.
But a video recovered from the cellphone of one of the slain aid workers, released by the Red Crescent, appeared to contradict the Israeli military’s account.
The footage shows ambulances traveling with their headlights on and emergency lights flashing.
In its probe, the military acknowledged operational failure on the part of its troops to fully report the incident, but reiterated their earlier statements that Israeli troops buried the bodies and vehicles “to prevent further harm.”
Lebanese president calls for lifting Syria sanctions to facilitate refugee return
- Joseph Aoun warned that Lebanon has reached its limit in hosting the displaced
- He called on Washington to support Lebanese security institutions, particularly the army
DUBAI: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday urged the international community to lift sanctions on Syria.
This would revitalize Syria’s economy and create the necessary conditions for the return of displaced Syrians to their home country, he said.
In a meeting with a delegation from the Middle East Institute in Washington, led by retired US Gen. Joseph Votel, Aoun said that Lebanon has reached its limit in hosting the large number of displaced people residing in the country.
He added that the political and security conditions that once justified the presence of displaced people in Lebanon have significantly changed, making their return both possible and essential.
“We are committed to the return of these displaced persons to their country,” Aoun said, adding that many now remain in Lebanon purely as “economic migrants.”
He described the return of refugees as a humanitarian necessity and crucial for Lebanon’s long-term stability.
The Lebanese president said that removing sanctions on Syria would revitalize the country’s economy and create the necessary conditions for Syrian refugees to return.
This would help alleviate the pressures Lebanon faces, both economically and in terms of its strained infrastructure and resources, he said.
Aoun also called on Washington to support Lebanon’s security institutions, particularly the army, which he described as urgently needing assistance to maintain national stability and carry out its responsibilities under UN Resolution 1701.
On the broader issue of Lebanon’s economic recovery, Aoun discussed the reforms being carried out in the country.
Lebanon’s political unity and the consistent implementation of reforms are critical for restoring the country’s economic and financial health, he said.
“We must remain focused on the reform process, as only through internal unity and consistent progress will we be able to gain back the trust of the international community, and attract much-needed support,” Aoun added.
Lacking aid, Syrians do what they can to rebuild devastated Aleppo
- Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city and a UNESCO World Heritage site, was deeply scarred by more than a decade of war
- While Syria lobbies for sanctions relief, the grassroots reconstruction drive is gaining momentum and providing work opportunities
ALEPPO: Moussa Hajj Khalil is among many Syrians rebuilding their homes from the rubble of the historic and economically important city of Aleppo, as Syria’s new leaders struggle to kick-start large-scale reconstruction efforts.
Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city and a UNESCO World Heritage site, was deeply scarred by more than a decade of war between government and rebel forces, suffering battles, a siege, Russian air strikes and barrel bomb attacks.
Now, its people are trying to restore their lives with their own means, unwilling to wait and see if the efforts of Syria’s new Islamist-led government to secure international funding come to fruition.
“Nobody is helping us, no states, no organizations,” said Khalil, 65, who spent seven years in a displacement camp in Al-Haramain on the Syrian-Turkish border.
Impoverished residents have “come and tried to restore a room to stay in with their children, which is better than life in camps,” he said, as he observed workers repairing his destroyed home in Ratyan, a suburb in northwestern Aleppo.
Khalil returned alone a month ago to rebuild the house so he can bring his family back from the camp.
Aleppo was the first major city seized by the rebels when they launched an offensive to topple then-leader Bashar Assad in late November.
Assad was ousted less than two weeks later, ending a 14-year war that killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions and left much of Syria in ruins.
’Doing what we can’
While Syria lobbies for sanctions relief, the grassroots reconstruction drive is gaining momentum and providing work opportunities.
Contractors labor around the clock to meet the growing demand, salvaging materials like broken blocks and cement found between the rubble to repair homes.
“There is building activity now. We are working lots, thank God!” Syrian contractor Maher Rajoub said.
But the scale of the task is huge.
The United Nations Development Programme is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure, its assistant secretary-general told Reuters earlier this month.
Other financial institutions and Gulf countries like Qatar have made pledges to help Syria, but are hampered by US sanctions.
The United States and other Western countries have set conditions for lifting sanctions, insisting that Syria’s new rulers, led by a faction formerly affiliated to Al-Qaeda, demonstrate a commitment to peaceful and inclusive rule.
A temporary suspension of some US sanctions to encourage aid has had limited effect, leaving Aleppo’s residents largely fending for themselves.
“We lived in the camps under the sun and the heat,” said Mustafa Marouch, a 50-year-old vegetable shop owner. “We returned and are doing what we can to fix our situation.”
Syrian Druze leaders slam ‘unjustified armed attack’ near Damascus
- The clashes reportedly left at least four Druze fighters dead
DAMASCUS: Syrian Druze leaders on Tuesday condemned an “unjustified armed attack” overnight on the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, after clashes with security forces that a war monitor said killed at least four Druze fighters.
Jaramana’s Druze religious leadership in a statement condemned “the unjustified armed attack” that “targeted innocent civilians and terrorized” residents, adding that the Syrian authorities bore “full responsibility for the incident and for any further developments or worsening of the crisis.”
Tunisia’s Saied slams ‘blatant interference’ after international criticism
- Tunisian President Kais Saied rejected foreign criticism of opposition trials, calling it unacceptable interference in internal affairs
TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday lashed out at “comments and statements by foreign parties” following sharp international criticism of a mass trial targeting opposition figures.
“The comments and statements by foreign parties are unacceptable... and constitute blatant interference in Tunisia’s internal affairs,” he said in a statement posted on the presidency’s Facebook page.
“While some have expressed regret over the exclusion of international observers, Tunisia could also send observers to these parties, who have expressed their concerns... and also demand that they change their legislation and amend their procedures,” he added.
Earlier this month, a Tunisian court handed down sentences of between 13 and 66 years to defendants accused of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group.”
The trial involved about 40 defendants, including well-known opposition figures, lawyers and business people, with some already in prison for two years and others in exile or still free.
Those abroad were tried in absentia, including French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy who received a 33-year jail term, lawyers said.
The United Nations and Western countries including France and Germany criticized the trial.
“The process was marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights, raising serious concerns about political motivations,” said the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk.
In a statement on Thursday, Turk urged “Tunisia to refrain from using broad national security and counterterrorism legislation to silence dissent and curb civic space.”
Germany meanwhile said it regretted the “exclusion of international observers from the final day of the trial,” including representatives from the German embassy in Tunis.
Since Saied launched a power grab in the summer of 2021 and assumed total control, rights advocates and opposition figures have decried a rollback of freedoms in the North African country where the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings began.
