- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
Activists slam appointment of UAE oil boss to lead climate talks
Hundreds of campaign groups on Thursday condemned the appointment of an oil boss to lead UN climate talks in the United Arab Emirate, saying it threatened the meeting's "legitimacy".
The UAE named Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), to head the crucial COP28 climate meeting in November, sparking an outcry from activists.
He is the first CEO to take the role at the UN summit.
NGOs and civil society organisations from around the world said in an open letter Thursday the "decision threatens the legitimacy and efficacy of COP28.
"This is no cause for celebration," it added in the letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres and Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), under which all climate negotiations are held.
"If we have any hope of addressing the climate crisis, every COP must be free from the polluting influence of the fossil fuel industry," the letter added.
Experts have repeatedly warned that the world is not on track to limit warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius set out in the Paris agreement. If that target is to be met, they say, no new fossil fuel projects can come online.
- 'Corporate trade show' -
The UAE, a leading crude producer and one of the world's biggest polluters per capita, argues that oil remains indispensable to the global economy.
It is pushing the merits of carbon capture -- removing carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, as fuel is burned or from the air.
"The UAE's track record demonstrates it is not serious about phasing out fossil fuel use and keeping global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius," the letter Thursday said.
"It is central to causing the climate crisis, not solving it."
The signatories called on the UNFCCC not to allow "big polluters" to influence climate policymaking or sponsor climate talks.
They said "world governments continue to treat the UNFCCC as an industry PR stunt and corporate trade show", despite increasing climate impacts.
The UAE had one of the largest contingents of oil and gas lobbyists at the last COP held in Egypt in November.
That meeting concluded with a landmark agreement to create a "loss and damage" fund to cover the costs that developing countries face from climate-linked natural disasters and slower impacts like sea level rise.
But observers left disappointed that little progress had been made on reducing the planet-heating emissions from fossil fuels.
A.Motta--PC