Author: gizamail.com

UNICEF launched a new climate finance initiative on Wednesday to support countries to cope with natural disasters and address the current impacts of climate change. For the first time, the Today and Tomorrow initiative combines funding for immediate resilience and risk prevention programmes for children to help them cope with future cyclones. This is combined with risk transfer financing provided by the insurance market to help them deal with these crises in the future. “We know more climate disasters are in the making. We just do not know where or when they will hit”, said Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Deputy Executive…

MENA Newswire: Canon Middle East and Turkey (CMET), successfully hosted its annual regional Partners’ Conference for the Middle East and Turkey region at the iconic Museum of the Future in Dubai on 10th November 2022. The 2023 event theme reiterated, strengthened, and further built upon the ‘New Customers, New World’ theme, with an approach to “RETHINK, REVIVE and REACH” which takes the company a step closer to the ‘Customer of Tomorrow’. The conference provided a framework for discussing the changing industry trends and addressed the new customer behaviors that are reflective of the “new normal” – a new reality that is also…

In Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, a multi-story residential building collapsed Tuesday. No official word on casualties was available immediately. The Associated Press reports that rescue operations have begun for construction workers trapped under the rubble. Local media reported that residents of Kasarani said the building showed signs of weakness, with visible cracks. According to the local Daily Nation newspaper, government officials inspected the construction site earlier on Tuesday and asked workers to leave. It was alleged that the site foreman told the workers to continue working. Witnesses say several injured people are being treated at a nearby hospital after the…

After authorities announced measures last week aimed at easing the impact of the country’s heavy Coronavirus curbs, COVID cases in China rose further, including in Beijing. As the latest in a string of dismal economic reports shows retail sales fell in October and factory output grew more slowly than expected, China is scrambling to limit the damage of its zero-COVID policy. Residents have expressed cautious optimism after Friday’s announcement that some of the stringent COVID policies would be loosened. However, worsening outbreaks are causing concerns, and some cities have halted or adjusted regular testing. In Guangzhou, a southern city of…

An outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu has been reported on a farm in the eastern part of South Africa, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday, citing local authorities. The report did not specify what kind of birds were found dead from the highly contagious virus, but 58 “domestic birds” were among 200 found dead. There have been several outbreaks of highly infectious avian influenza (H5N1) on poultry farms in South Africa. As a country already dealing with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, this came as a shock. As a result of the outbreak of…

In a landmark report released by Masdar and Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in 2022, the continent could capture as much as ten percent of the global green hydrogen market, creating 3.7 million jobs and adding as much as US$120 billion to the continent’s GDP. Using Africa’s abundant solar and wind resources, 30 to 60 million tonnes of green hydrogen (mtpa) can be produced by 2050, approximately 5 to 10% of global demand, according to the report “Africa’s Green Energy Revolution: Hydrogen’s role in unlocking Africa’s untapped renewables,” prepared with…

Beijing closed city parks and imposed other restrictions Friday amid a new wave of COVID-19 cases, even as millions of people in the west and south were under lockdown. According to AP, 10,729 newly reported cases were reported in the country on Friday, almost all of which showed no symptoms. Guangzhou, a manufacturing hub in the south, and Chongqing, a megacity in the west, were under lockdown on Friday. In the sprawling city, another 118 cases were reported despite the majority of Beijing’s 21 million residents being tested nearly every day. Schools switched to online classes, hospitals restricted services, and…

As forecasters warned of many months of contraction ahead, the British economy shrank in the three months to September, official statistics showed on Friday. Despite a smaller-than-expected contraction, gross domestic product fell by 0.2% between July and September, signaling the beginning of a long recession, according to the Office for National Statistics. According to the statistics office, GDP shrank by 0.6% in September and by 0.1% in August. Among the reasons for the decline were a decline in manufacturing output and an extra holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s death, which contributed to “a notable drop in retail.” As a…

The Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC) has welcomed Aldar Properties as a Partner member and will work closely with the organisation to improve energy efficiency. By connecting the public and private sectors, CEBC accelerates the transition towards clean energy in the MENA region. By reducing construction and operational emissions and working with communities to adopt more sustainable standards of living, the real estate industry can contribute greatly to decarbonisation. The Aldar Group recognizes its responsibility to support clean energy transition initiatives as one of the region’s largest real estate developers and managers. It has AED30 billion in assets under management.…

Trolls impersonating public figures are already abusing Twitter’s newly implemented verification system. People pretending to be LeBron James, George W. Bush, and O.J. Simpson are already out there. In the wake of Twitter’s launch of $8 verification on Wednesday, Elon Musk is the subject of jokes after users impersonated celebrities and parodied public figures almost immediately. An account claiming to represent former US president George W. Bush made a tasteless joke about the 43rd president’s role in the Iraq War, tweeting: “I miss killing Iraqis”. An account pretending to be Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister who was part…