According to a report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), existing technologies and major policy changes could reduce plastic pollution by 80% globally by 2040. This would be accomplished through strategic change in reorientation from recycling to alternative packaging. Measures supported by UNEP include reuse, recycling and reorientation of packaging materials with the report estimating government promotion of systems using refillable bottles could reduce plastic waste by 30% over the next 22 years. While some campaigners have said that the UNEP blueprint doesn’t go far enough, a second round of discussions in Paris next week on the subject are aiming for global agreements on production cuts and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies.
The number of recorded executions around the world has surged by a third over the past year, according to Amnesty International. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were accused of carrying out state-sanctioned “killing sprees”, while Iran executed 576 people, up from 314 in 2021. Saudi Arabia carried out 196 executions, including 81 in a single day, its highest rate in 30 years. China is believed to be the world’s leading executioner, but its statistics are secret. However, Amnesty said that nearly 40% of recorded executions were for drug-related offences. Six countries abolished the death penalty either partially or fully last year.
The United Nations Development Programme has helped to establish a small solar power plant in the town of Abs, Yemen, with an all-female crew. The move has enabled local women to set up businesses, including one woman who set up her own clothing firm. The plant ensures a steady supply of cheaper power, while renewables have wider benefits including resilience in times of conflict, local economic development and the potential for better governance. International donors are being encouraged to invest in renewables technologies in conflict-affected areas to prevent vested interests from profiting from electricity crises.
China’s decision to send envoy Li Hui to Europe indicates a change in the country’s position on the war in Ukraine that the US and its allies should aim to exploit. As a direct and deadly threat to Europe, Xi Jinping and his foreign policy advisers have found that the war has damaged Chinese interests, leading to strained ties between Brussels and Beijing. Creating peace could repair some of the damage that China has faced and ensure Europe remains strategically neutral in its rivalry with the US. The West should be encouraging deeper Chinese engagement in Ukraine and keeping China involved with peace efforts.
The Biden administration intends to prioritize a “precise, limited” approach to decoupling from China that will protect US interests in key areas while keeping the larger economic bonds between the two nations mostly intact. Washington will deploy financial sanctions and export controls to reshape the economic relationship if necessary, acting with key partners and allies if possible, but it will apply these tools narrowly to limit spillover into non-strategic areas. Some American lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration’s approach. China is also moving to reduce its vulnerability to US sanctions by establishing dominance in areas ranging from critical minerals to telecommunications.
China is attempting to persuade both sides of the Ukraine conflict to resume negotiations, casting itself as a neutral and helpful global leader. This move comes as China becomes increasingly pessimistic it can prevent the deteriorating US-China relations. While Beijing wishes to preserve its relationship with Russia, it fears that its position viewed as pro-Russia will poison its reputation in Europe, further harming its security environment. As a result, China has attempted to be neutral and offer its good offices to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
The Ukrainian conflict presents complicated challenges for China, potentially strengthening US alliances in Europe and beyond. As a result, Beijing has begun to offer its good offices to resolve the crisis, articulating a vision for global security and becoming more involved diplomatically. China aims to position itself as neutral and limit its support for Russia, even as it prioritizes its partnership with its closest strategic partner.
Recent remarks by the Chinese ambassador to France that the status of Crimea depends on how the problem is perceived provoked widespread condemnation, and 80 European lawmakers urged the French government to expel the ambassador. The Chinese government tried to downplay the situation, stating that the ambassador was only expressing his personal views. China is likely to do just enough to cast itself as a helpful and responsible global leader but not enough to be held accountable for achieving an end to the Ukraine conflict on terms that would be fair and acceptable to both sides.
According to Amnesty International, executions across the world rose to their highest number in five years in 2022 despite growing moves to ban the death penalty. The annual report recorded 883 executions globally, up from 579 in 2021. Including information from countries such as China, where high levels of secrecy make it difficult to determine numbers, could mean that thousands more people were executed globally. Such information means the true scale of executions across the world could be even higher. Approximately 90% of the documented executions were carried out in Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The report found that non-lethal crimes such as drug offences were common in Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is in violation of international law. Executions in the Middle East and North Africa rose by 59% in 2022. In total four countries, Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, abolished the death penalty for all crimes, however. Also, public support for the death penalty decreased in certain countries.
Gulf stock markets rose in early trading despite concerns around the US government's debt-ceiling negotiations. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index added 0.2%, and Dubai's main share index advanced 0.7%. Family-owned businesses contribute 60% to the United Arab Emirates Gross Domestic Product and 80% of its workforce. The Qatari benchmark climbed 1.3%, with most stocks on the index reporting positive returns.
Ukraine claims to have shot down six Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, although details of which defence system was used are not disclosed. Last week the US confirmed that Ukraine had used their Patriot missile system to down a Kinzhal missile in a separate incident. The Patriot system is considered one of the most advanced air defence systems in the US arsenal, with a mobile battery comprised of radar, a control station, launch stations, power generator and other support vehicles. The system functions in different ways according to its interceptor, with earlier PAC-2 interceptors and more advanced PAC-3 using hit-to-kill technology. Costing $1bn per battery unit, with missiles costing $690m, the Patriot system is currently used by 18 countries, including the US, and over 240 have been produced by Raytheon Technologies Corp.
Ukraine has claimed it downed six Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in one night, using an air defence system that remains unnamed. However, last week the US military confirmed that Ukraine used the US-made Patriot system to bring down a Kinzhal missile. The Patriot, short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a theatre-wide surface-to-air missile defence system that has capabilities to shoot down hypersonic missiles at speeds averaging five times the speed of sound. Raytheon Technologies, which built the Patriot, has declined to confirm whether it is also effective in intercepting missiles when they exceed Mach 5.
India's Russian oil buying hits record high, slashes Mideast, Africa share
Reuters
23-05-17 12:38
India's oil imports from Russia reached a new monthly record high in April, according to data sources, as the country increasingly shuns Middle Eastern and African grades. The Indian state and private refiners bought 4.4% more Russian oil than the previous month, with 1.9 million bpd imported in April alone. Overall, imports from the C.I.S. countries, which include Russia, now make up 43.6% of India's purchases, with Middle Eastern grades accounting for about 44% and African oil at a meagre 3.4%.
Arab foreign ministers meet ahead of Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia
The Toronto Star
23-05-17 12:01
Arab foreign ministers have gathered in Saudi Arabia ahead of the annual summit in Jeddah. The summit will see Syria return to the 22-member league after a 12-year suspension caused by President Bashar Assad's brutal crackdown on the 2011 mass protests against his rule. Despite the move, a number of Arab countries remain skeptical of Syria’s return to the league, primarily Qatar. The summit also takes place as Arab governments are attempting to resolve the conflict between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, which has left over 600 people dead.
Sudan’s military chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has ordered the freezing of all bank accounts belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as peace talks continue in Saudi Arabia. Al-Burhan’s move is likely an attempt to undercut the independence of the RSF’s leader and suppress the force, as the talks move towards less of an army-favourable outcome. However, analysts claim that the freeze may not be impactful, as RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo has amassed wealth and power through independent foreign policy, gold mines and deployment of forces abroad. Much of the RSF’s wealth is offshore.
More than half of Sudan's population now requires help due to the violent power struggle in the country, according the United Nations. The situation has cut power, food and drinking water supply and is entering its second month, despite international attempts to mediate. Conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continues to escalate with anti-aircraft fire and drones heard in the capital this week. The conflict is believed to result in around 1 million people being displaced and has killed hundreds. International aid agencies are appealing for $2.6 billion of aid.
Russian crude oil producers are reducing the market share of their energy rivals across West Africa and the Middle East by finding oil customers in Asia. The shift was triggered when consumers in China and India began buying large quantities of cheaper Russian crude after European buyers were blocked by sanctions related to Moscow's war in Ukraine. Russia's exports of seaborne crude to Asia have risen to a post-invasion record in recent weeks, with India breaking records by importing a total of 1.9 million barrels a day of Russian crude in April, compared to 65,000 barrels a day in January last year. China's imports of Russian crude rose by 80% to around 1.5 million barrels a day since early 2022.
The Arab League, a largely impotent body, will welcome back Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad on 29 March, at the first annual meeting of Arab leaders since Syria’s suspension 12 years ago. Despite Western retaliation aimed at isolating Assad, most Arab states are now welcoming him back, leaving the US and Europe to staunchly enforce sanctions against the regime in order to avoid full normalisation. Despite this, there are no simple solutions available to stymie the plight of Syrians suffering in the country. As leader of a country hounded by civil war, Assad has given no indication of feeling remorse or even changing his behavior. The Syrian leader has tortured, imprisoned, bombed, gassed, and besieged his own people, leaving around 300,000 dead and many displaced. By accepting him back into the fold Arab diplomacy signals to victims of the regime’s atrocities, that Assad may continue with impunity.
Fashion retailer Asos’ shares hit their lowest since 2010 as brokerages predicted a cash call for the firm, which revealed interim results last week. Betaville, a fashion M&A gossip site run by high paywall, revealed that the international mooted as a suitor for Asos is a Turkish company believed to be talking with Bestseller, the company's largest shareholder. On Monday, Mike Ashley raised his already high stake in the company. Meanwhile, the FT's Alphaville blog paints an anonymously written picture of the highs and lows of City life, offering insight into whispered conversations outside coffee shops and in lifts.
Doctors and activists are reportedly being targeted and silenced during the ongoing war in Sudan that has seen over one million people flee their homes. Both sides of the conflict, the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, have reportedly broken promises to humanitarian law, instigated lootings, rapes and forced evictions. The fighting which erupted on 14 April has resulted in up to 556 deaths in the town of Geneina alone, according to unnamed activists. Witnesses report that members of the Rapid Support Forces government militias have commandeered medical supplies and taken doctors hostage, while fires and explosives have hit multiple hospitals. The United Nations has described over 25 million of Sudan's population as being in need of help and called for $2.6bn in aid from the international community.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said oil cuts were necessary to ensure a specific prices, a statement that runs counter to earlier claims from the OPEC+ group that they were not seeking to influence the oil market in this way. The US and Europe have accused Russia of weaponising energy to try and counteract their efforts to weaken its military presence in Ukraine, while Moscow has accused the US of manipulating financial systems. Turkey and Iraq, meanwhile, have stated they will increase oil output, with Turkey switching to Libyan oil from the Gulf, after Iran's Parliament said that countries cause inflation through their reliance on US dollars.
India has been significantly expanding its military-security and defense cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, according to an analysis from The Diplomat. The cooperation has included joint military exercises, counterterrorism operations, intelligence sharing, and cybersecurity cooperation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has emphasized transfer of technology and joint collaborations as part of the “Make in India” initiative, and India’s defense exports reached approximately $2 billion in the financial year 2022-2023. The GCC countries are also aiming to establish defense industry partnerships for security, economic, technological, and political reasons.
India’s defense engagements with the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular have gained momentum recently, and Oman is considered to be New Delhi’s closest defense partner in the region. India is also working closely with Bahraini and Qatari partners to increase cooperation in maritime security and anti-piracy operations. West Asia remains an untapped yet potentially lucrative market for India’s locally designed and developed defense products. While the United States, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom are established arms exporters to the region, India is viewed as a promising potential supplier of such equipment.
China and Israel have also been eyeing opportunities to make inroads into the GCC. China is viewed as a potential competitor to India’s state-run and private stakeholders in the region, and Israel’s normalization of relations with the UAE and Bahrain in 2020 could encourage India and these states to explore opportunities for joint defense collaborations. The article concludes that India’s military diplomacy with the GCC will see more progress in the future, as both India and the GCC member-states are embarking on rapid military industrialization programs and seeking out alternative defense vendors.
