Region

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt — A pledge by G-20 leaders, whose countries account for most global CO2 emissions, to pursue the most ambitious target against global warming breathed new life into fraught UN climate talks in Egypt on Wednesday.

Analysts and campaigners welcomed the final communique from the G-20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, which comes as negotiators in Egypt are struggling to agree on key issues before COP27 is supposed to end on Friday.

“The positive signals from the G-20 summit should put wind in the sails of the climate talks in Egypt, which are entering their final days,” said Ani Dasgupta, CEO of the World Resources Institute.

The Group of 20 (G-20) text promises to “pursue efforts” to curb global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, a safer limit according to scientists.

“The outcome from Bali has been surprisingly positive,” said Fionna Smyth, head of global policy and advocacy at Christian Aid.

Give their share of global emissions, “what they do will play significant role in how we tackle the climate crisis,” she said.

The G-20 document also addresses the main source of tensions at COP27 talks: A debate on funding to help developing countries least responsible for global emissions cope with here-and-now impacts of climate change, or “loss and damage”.

The communique urges all parties to “make progress on loss and damage at COP27, which is being held in Africa”, without laying out a specific way forward for the contentious issue.

After dragging their feet for years over concerns it would create a reparations mechanism, the United States and the European Union agreed to have loss and damage on the formal agenda at COP27.

But Western powers and a major group of developing nations allied with China presented widely different views of how to achieve this at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

The G-77+China bloc of more than 130 developing nations presented a document saying the need for a special “loss and damage” fund was “urgent and immediate”.

The United States and the European Union have suggested that expanding current channels for climate finance might be a more efficient approach than creating a new one.

The G-20 statement also reiterated a commitment to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies over the medium term, while also saying the leaders recognise the importance of the transition to renewable energy and pledge “efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power”.

“Unabated” refers to emissions from coal-fired power plants that are not syphoned off to prevent them from entering the atmosphere.

The document gives countries “a clear mandate to make progress at COP27 on all issues, including loss and damage, and commit to accelerate the deployment of clean energy”, said Luca Bergamaschi, co-founder of Italian climate think tank ECCO.

Others, however, said the G-20’s statement did not amount to much progress.

Avinash Persaud, special envoy on climate finance to Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, said G-20 nations could unlock more financing from multilateral development banks and “prime the pump” for investments in energy transitions.

“They have missed the opportunity to deliver on that today, and we are running out of time,” Persaud said.

DOHA — In the deserts of northern Qatar, children with a falcon perched on gloves on their left arms show off their hunting birds in a bid to preserve an age-old tradition.

These "Little Falconers" have gathered in a tent ahead of the football World Cup in the gas-rich Gulf emirate, in a bid to introduce visitors to a practice inherited from their forefathers.

"This is my first participation in the competition," says 11-year-old Breik Al Marri, dressed in flowing white robes beside his falcon Gasham, a leather hood obstructing the bird's view.

"I love Gasham and I take care of him," Marri said, sliding his left arm into a thick leather gauntlet to protect him from the raptor's sharp talons.

Falconry was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in 2010, in countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"Originally a means of obtaining food, falconry... has been integrated into communities as a social and recreational practice and as a way of connecting with nature," the culture agency said.

'Strength of determination' 

"I learned this sport from my grandfathers, father and uncles," said Marri. "I learned from them the strength of determination and how to take care of the falcon."

Marri explains that the hood helps keep the bird of prey calm. As soon as the falcon regains sight, he says, the behaviour changes.

"Once, my brother came while the falcon didn't have the hood on, and he tried to pet the bird, but the falcon bit him," he said. "The falcon was scared!"

Marri recently participated with a dozen others in the "Promising Falconers" contest for 11-15 year olds.

The contest sees each young falconer choose the perfect moment to release their bird in order to snatch their prey, a lure waved about 200 metres away.

The winner of the contest is the falconer whose bird captures the prey the quickest.

‘Beautiful sport’ 

Also taking part in the contest was 15-year-old Saeed Al Jamila, who named his falcon Hayya, after the special fan passes for the FIFA World Cup, which runs from November 20 to December 18.

Expressing excitement at the more than one million fans expected to descend on his small nation for the tournament, he hopes to send a message encouraging them to try falconry themselves.

“They should try it, they won’t lose anything,” he said. “It’s a beautiful sport.”

But while excitement abounded for the young falconers in this division, it was undoubtedly the “Little Falconers” aged six to 10 who stole the show.

One by one, they trailed out in a row, each holding a hunting bag, while on their right arm they balanced the birds whose claws were bigger than the children’s hands.

Eight-year-old Hamad Al Nuaimi stepped out in front of the panel of judges, who began questioning on hunting tools, their uses and properties.

At one point, Nuaimi stumbled for a response to one of the questions, only to be helped along by one of the judges.

The purpose of the contest is to “preserve our heritage and that of our forefathers. We are passing this heritage to this generation”, says panel member Saad Al Muhannadi.

The little falconers are then tested on their ability to properly remove the birds’ hoods, then to successfully place them from their arm to a perch, securing their feet using a special knot.

“Hunting teaches a man perseverance and self-reliance,” said Muhannadi, as the strong scent of coffee wafted from nearby.

He hoped that the hosting of the World Cup would grant Qatar the opportunity to “spread our culture and national identity”.

Falconry “is an ancient sport, whether in Qatar or other Gulf countries, it is an authentic sport”, he said.

DOHA — Facing a storm of European criticism ahead of the start of the World Cup, Qatar on Tuesday stepped up its diplomatic and media riposte which has included threatening "legal" action to defend its name.

Five days from the opening game, Qatar's chief World Cup organiser said attacks on the Gulf state had been launched because it "competed as equals and snatched" the World Cup from rival bidders. A senior member of the Qatar Football Association called European critics "the enemy".

Qatar has said that everyone is "welcome" at the World Cup and that opponents were acting in bad faith.

The tone has changed in recent weeks, highlighted by comments by the emir, Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al-Thani, who told the national legislature on October 25 that Qatar had faced an "unprecedented" and growing campaign" that smacked of "double standards".

Three days later, the German ambassador to Doha was summoned over comments made by his country's interior minister casting doubt on whether Qatar should host the World Cup.

In an interview with AFP, Qatar's Labour Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri said "racism" was behind the onslaught on his country's record. "They don't want to allow a small country, an Arab country, an Islamic country, to organise the World Cup," he said.

Qatar's media has spoken of a "systematic conspiracy" by European rivals. Al Sharq newspaper slammed "the arrogance" of some European countries.

On a recent European tour, Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani said in the media interviews that there was "a lot of hypocrisy in these attacks".

“They are being peddled by a very small number of people, in 10 countries at most, who are not at all representative of the rest of the world,” he told Le Monde without naming those involved.

After a recent British media report on the hacking of opponents of Qatar’s World Cup hosting, a government official warned: “Qatar will not stand by when confronted by such baseless allegations and all our legal options at our disposal are being explored to ensure those responsible are held to account.”

The bitterness expressed in some newspaper editorials is starting to be seen in comments by some officials.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the Qatar Football Association executive, told Al Sharq in an interview published Tuesday: “For me, the presence of the enemy is a blessing and not a curse, because this may push you to do your work in the best possible way.”

Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of Qatar’s organising committee, told Al Jazeera television that the Gulf state’s unnamed opponents were jealous of its hosting.

“The campaigns are due to the fact that Qatar is an Arab country that was able to compete as equals and snatch the hosting of the tournament.”

He said the attacks were based on “the stereotyped image of the Arab world, which is one of the reasons we fought to host the World Cup, to change the stereotyped idea about Arabs”.

A European diplomat in Doha said the Qatar government had reached “the end of the line with the criticism”.

“They blame us even though very little is coming from governments,” added the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkey on Monday accused a Syrian woman of planting a bomb that killed six people in Istanbul, blaming the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of carrying out the attack.

Two girls, aged nine and 15, were among those killed when the bomb exploded shortly after 4:00 pm (13:00 GMT) on Sunday in Istiklal Avenue, home to smart boutiques and European consulates. More than 80 other people were wounded.

"The person who planted the bomb has been arrested," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a statement broadcast by the official Anadolu news agency early Monday.

"According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organisation is responsible," Soylu said.

The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, has waged a deadly insurgency for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s.

It denied any role in the latest attack.

"There is no relationship between the PKK and yesterday's explosion in Istanbul," the group's spokesman told AFP.

A Turkish official told AFP that initial findings point to "units within a youth organisation affiliated with the PKK".

Police, quoted by private NTV television, said the chief suspect is a Syrian woman working for Kurdish militants. Forty-six people were detained in total, police said.

Police footage shared with Turkish media showed a young woman in a purple sweatshirt being apprehended in an Istanbul flat.

Police, cited by NTV, named her as Alham Albashir and said she was arrested at 02:50 am in an Istanbul suburb. Local media said she was a trained PKK intelligence operative and 23 years old.

'Profoundly sad' 

Turkey buried the victims on Monday.

"Of course we are profoundly sad. A young teacher and her daughter being the victims of such a treacherous attack has upset us deeply," said Orhan Akkaya, a relative of a mother and her 15-year-old daughter killed in the attack.

The grieving father, Nurettin Ucar, was crying over his daughter's Turkish flag-wrapped coffin.

There has been no claim of responsibility.

"We believe that the order for the attack was given from Kobane," Soylu said, referring to a city in Syria near the Turkish border.

PKK-affiliated Kurdish militants control most of north-eastern Syria and, in 2015, Kurdish fighters drove Daesh extremists out of the city.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) also denied any role in the attack.

“Our forces have nothing to do with the Istanbul bombing,” said Mazloum Abdi, the chief commander of the US-allied SDF.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told A Haber television that a woman had been sitting on a bench for more than 40 minutes, “then she got up”, leaving a bag.

“One or two minutes later, an explosion occurred,” he said.

On Monday, all the benches had been removed from Istiklal Avenue, where residents laid red carnations at the scene of the blast, some wiping away tears and others speaking of their fear of further attacks in the run-up to elections next June.

“We need more security!” said Idris Cetinkaya, who works at a nearby hotel and who came to pay his respects.

“The police just searched my bag when I got here, but that’s the first time in a year. Millions of people come here, anything could happen at any second!”

Istiklal Avenue was previously targeted during a campaign of nationwide bombings in 2015-16 that were blamed mostly on the Islamic State group and outlawed Kurdish militants, killing nearly 500 people and wounding more than 2,000.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the “vile attack” that had the “smell of terror” shortly before leaving for the G-20 summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Kemal Ozturk, a shopkeeper, is among those who fear another explosion ahead of presidential and legislative elections in seven months’ time.

“In an election period it can happen,” the 42-year-old told AFP. “We live with fear”.

Regularly targeted by Turkish military operations, the PKK has also been at the heart of a tussle between Sweden and Turkey, which has blocked Stockholm’s bid to join NATO since May, accusing it of leniency towards the group.

Reject US condolences 

International condemnation flooded in from across the world, including from the United States, but on Monday, Turkey said it rejected US condolences over the attack.

Erdogan’s government has often accused Washington of supplying weapons to Kurdish fighters in northern Syria who Ankara labels as terror group linked to the PKK.

“We do not accept the US embassy’s message of condolences. We reject it,” Soylu said.

“We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our NATO ally Turkey in countering terrorism,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The US embassy tweeted it was “deeply saddened by the explosion”.

President Vladimir Putin on Monday added his own condolences in a message to Erdogan.

“We reaffirm our readiness for the closest interaction with our Turkish partners in the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism,” Putin said.

Istiklal Avenue reopened Monday to pedestrian traffic.

“My son was there. He called me and said an explosion happened,” said Mecit Bal, who runs a small shop a few metres from the scene.

“He will not go back to work today. He is psychologically affected,” he told AFP.

NAIROBI — The United States said on Monday it was increasing its reward for information about key leaders of Somalia's Al Shabaab to $10 million apiece, a move that follows a spate of deadly attacks by the terrorist group.

The US State Department also said it was for the first time offering a reward of up to $10 million for information "leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms" of the Al Qaeda affiliate.

Al Shabaab fighters have stepped up attacks in the Somali capital Mogadishu and other parts of the country in the face of a widescale offensive against the group by the new government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The US said it was offering up to $10 million each for information leading to the identification of Al Shabaab "emir" Ahmed Diriye, second-in-command Mahad Karate and Jehad Mostafa, a US citizen who it said had various roles in the group.

"These key leaders of Al Shabaab are responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in Somalia, Kenya and neighbouring countries that have killed thousands of people," said a poster issued by the US with pictures of the three men.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said earlier Monday that more than 600 civilians had been killed this year in attacks largely attributed to the group.

At least 613 civilians have been killed and 948 injured so far in 2022, according to the latest United Nations figures — the highest since 2017 and a more-than 30 per cent rise from last year.

In the deadliest attack in five years, twin bombings on October 29 claimed by Al Shabaab killed at least 121 people and injured 333 others in Mogadishu, the UN said, citing Somali figures.

'All-out war' 

The group, which was designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the State Department in March 2008, has been seeking to overthrow the fragile foreign-backed government in Mogadishu for about 15 years.

Its fighters were driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 by an African Union force, but the group still controls swathes of countryside and continues to wage deadly strikes on civilian, political and military targets.

In August, following a 30-hour siege on a Mogadishu hotel that killed at least 21 people, Mohamud declared "all-out war" on the terrorists, who espouse a strict version of sharia or Islamic law.

The US statement said Diriye, who has been leader since September 2014 after the killing of Ahmed Abdi Godane in a US strike, was designated by the US as a "specially designated global terrorist" in April 2015, and slapped with UN sanctions the same year.

Karate, who was also designated a terrorist in April 2015 and also faces UN sanctions, continues to lead some Al Shabaab operations, the US said.

He also "maintains some command responsibility over Amniyat, the group's intelligence and security wing, which oversees suicide attacks and assassinations in Somalia, Kenya, and other countries in the region, and provides logistics and support for Al Shabaab's terrorist activities".

Mostafa, a US citizen who once lived in California, has been a military instructor at Al Shabaab training camps, as well as a leader of foreign fighters, a leader in the group's media wing, an intermediary with other "terrorist organisations" and a leader in the use of explosives in attacks, the US said.

In December 2019, he was indicted in a US court on various charges linked to Al Shabaab.

"The FBI assesses Mostafa to be the highest-ranking terrorist with US citizenship fighting overseas."

In May, US President Joe Biden decided to restore a military presence in Somalia, approving a request from the Pentagon, which deemed his predecessor Donald Trump's rotation system too risky and ineffective.