Paris The IEA trimmed its forecast for 2023 oil demand for the first time this year as macroeconomic headwinds including higher interest rates bite, but still sees it reaching a record level thanks to Chinas thirst for fuel.

The International Energy Agency now sees oil demand rising by 2.2 million barrels per days (mbd) this year, down from its previous forecast of an increase of 2.4 mbd.

Nevertheless, the Paris-based organisation which unites energy consuming nations, expects global demand to hit a record 102.1 mbd this year.

China will account for 70 percent of the global demand increase even though the rebound in its economy has appeared to falter.

Chinas oil demand remained robust despite rising unemployment, renewed property market stress and a general slump in business and consumer sentiment, said the IEA in its regular monthly report on oil markets.

But it warned overall world oil demand is coming under pressure from the challenging economic environment, not least because of the dramatic tightening of monetary policy in many advanced and developing countries over the past twelve months.

Central banks in leading industrial nations have jacked up interest rates in an effort to bring down inflation, but the higher borrowing costs suppress economic activity and risk provoking recessions that would lead to a drop in oil demand.

Such concerns have kept crude prices in check even though Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC cartel nations along with their allies have limited or even cut output for the past year.

Their cuts have been largely offset by higher output from other producers, with oil supply still outpacing demand.

But the IEA warned the oil market may soon see renewed volatility as demand outpaces supply.

It noted global supply could tumble by more than 1 mbd this month as Saudi Arabia implements steeper cuts.

An IEA graph forecasts the oil market shifting from balance in the second quarter to demand outstripping supply for the rest of the year, with the draw on stocks hitting roughly two million barrels per day in the coming months.

The post IEA trims demand forecast as interest rates weigh on growth appeared first on Iraqi News.

London Hospital doctors in England on Thursday staged the biggest walkout in the history of the UKs state-funded National Health Service, prompting fears for patient safety.

The unprecedented five-day stoppage over pay and staff retention is the latest in eight months of industrial action across the NHS, which is already reeling from a vast pandemic backlog.

The NHS has been running on goodwill and now this is the last chance to change that, said 27-year-old junior doctor Arjan Singh, on a picket line outside Londons University College Hospital.

Colleagues were planning to leave for countries that care about their doctors, he said.

Nearly 7,000 doctors requested documents for an overseas job application last year, according to the British Medical Association (BMA) union, a record high.

Doctors have realised they work in a global market, said Singh. Theyre not restricted to this country.

Nurses, ambulance staff and other medical workers have all joined picket lines in recent months, adding to pressures on patient appointments.

The industrial action by junior doctors those below consultant level is scheduled to run until 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on Tuesday. 

It comes against a wider backdrop of walk-outs across the economy from train drivers to lawyers over the past year as the UK battles a crippling cost-of-living crisis.

Senior hospital doctors, known as consultants, in England will begin a 48-hour strike on July 20, with radiographers following suit from July 25.

Destructive

The BMAs Junior Doctors Committee says medics have effectively had a 26-percent pay cut in real terms in the last 15 years, as salaries have failed to keep pace with soaring inflation. 

The government claims that backdating their pay to reflect increases in the cost of living since 2008 is too costly and has instead offered an extra five percent, as it battles to reduce inflation.

Today marks the start of the longest single walkout by doctors in the NHSs history, but this is still not a record that needs to go into the history books, BMA leaders Robert Laurenson and Vivek Trivedi said.

We can call this strike off today if the UK government will simply follow the example of the government in Scotland and drop their nonsensical precondition of not talking whilst strikes are announced and produce an offer which is credible to the doctors they are speaking with.

Similar stoppages in June and April resulted in massive disruption with hundreds of thousands of hospital appointments and operations rescheduled.

The complete inflexibility we see from the UK government today is baffling, frustrating, and ultimately destructive for everyone who wants waiting lists to go down and NHS staffing numbers to...

Dubai As much of the world swelters in record temperatures, spare a thought for Issam Genedi, who ekes out a living washing cars in one of the planets hottest regions, the Gulf.

Pausing from his work at an outdoor carpark in Dubai, the Egyptian migrant says the United Arab Emirates furnace-like summer feels even hotter this year. 

This summer is a little more difficult than other years, says Genedi, who shines cars for about 25 dirhams ($6.80) a time in temperatures that pass 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) each day. 

Between noon and 3pm or 3:30pm, we simply cannot work.

The oil-rich UAE host of this years COP28 United Nations climate talks, where the world will try to sharpen its response to global warming is no stranger to unbearable summers.

In the blistering summer months, those who can decamp to cooler climes, or stay cocooned inside air-conditioned homes, offices and shopping malls.

The streets are largely deserted, apart from labourers hired cheaply from abroad. Many manual workers have a compulsory rest period in the hottest hours of the day.

Its a similar story all around the energy-rich desert region. In Bahrain, an island nation off Saudi Arabia, July average temperatures threaten to beat the record of 42.1C (107.8F) set in 2017.

Two weeks ago, more than 1.8 million Muslims battled through a days-long hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in temperatures up to 48C (118F), with thousands treated for heat stress.

And in Kuwait, which regularly records some of the worlds highest temperatures, experts warn the mercury could pass a formidable 50C (122F) in the coming weeks.

Where real feel is 60C

Genedi is right that this summer seems unusually hot. Apart from last week being identified as the hottest ever recorded worldwide, a wave of humidity has been suffocating the Gulf.

People have been left wondering if the temperatures are even higher than usual, Ahmed Habib of the UAEs National Centre of Meteorology told AFP. 

An increase in relative humidity combined with already high temperatures, makes the temperature seem higher than it really is, he said, adding that real-feel temperatures have ranged between 55-60C (131-140 F) in some areas.

The Gulfs extreme heat and high humidity are a dangerous mix as in such conditions the human body struggles to cool itself by evaporating sweat on the skin.

The combination is measured by a thermometer wrapped in a wet cloth to calculate the wet bulb temperature the lowest possible through evaporative cooling.

The Gulf is one of the few places to have repeatedly measured wet bulb temperatures above 35C (95F), the threshold of human survivability beyond which heat stress can...

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi expected on Thursday that Iraqs exports of black oil would be more than 10 million tons in 2023, according to Alsumaria News.

Iraq exported more than 7.627 million tons of black oil in 2022, with a total value of $4 billion, Al-Marsoumi said via Twitter.

The Iraqi economist added that black oil exports from Iraq are expected to exceed 10 million tons in 2023 after the operation of the Karbala and Qayyarah refineries, which will facilitate the Iraqi-Iranian agreement to barter Iraqi oil for Iranian gas.

Iraq and Iran signed a new agreement on Tuesday related to Tehrans gas exports to Baghdad to avoid the US sanctions imposed on Iran and to provide gas to solve the electricity crisis Iraq has been facing for years.

Black oil is a traditional crude oil containing alkane liquids. Black oils consist of a wide variety of chemical species, including large, heavy and nonvolatile molecules.

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, announced on Tuesday that Iraq had reached an agreement with Iran regarding gas imports, which Iraq needs to operate power plants.

During a meeting with Iraqi officials in the energy sector, Al-Sudani noted that the US sanctions and non-compliance with the gas dues payment mechanism agreed upon in 2018 caused a 50 percent reduction in gas supplies from Iran, which negatively affected electricity production in Iraq.

Iraq imports electricity and gas from Iran, which together constitute between 33 and 40 percent of the countrys energy supplies, especially in the scorching summer months, when temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius and energy consumption reaches its peak.

The post Iraq expected to increase black oil exports appeared first on Iraqi News.

Donetsk Region From their boltholes in the trenches in the frontlines of Ukraines battle to resist the Russian forces, Kyivs troops expressed frustration that they could not join NATO immediately.

Who else is going to fight here? No one! said one. 

They argue that they are all that stands between the Russian aggressors and the rest of Europe.

In a room of a small house in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a soldier monitored half a dozen screens showing images relayed by drones.

Major Vladislav, deputy commander of an infantry battalion, searched the landscapes flickering on the screens for the slightest hint of Russian troop movement.

Through an audio link, he liaised with the drone operators hiding out in shelters just a few kilometres away.

Even on the frontline, the officer followed the latest developments from Tuesday and Wednesdays NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. It was crucial, important for Ukraine and for Europe that the alliance admit his country, he said.

For the moment, they deliver us NATO weapons, said the soldier, who goes by the nom-de-guerre Oscar.

On the other hand, we are already acting as NATOs shield, so NATO membership would simply be official acknowledgment of that role, he argued.

The more of our Ukrainian soil we lose, the more the Russians get closer to the borders of Europe.

At the end of the NATO summit Ukraine came away with a pledge of long-term military support but without a fast-track to membership of the alliance.

NATO disappoints me

From a deep covered trench, part of a network of trenches near the front line, several drone pilots concentrated as they operated the aerial vehicles above.

One of them, trainee pilot Gummi, 28, was bitter about the outcome of the summit.

Ukraine will be accepted into NATO but not now. It will only be after the end of the war, he said.

If a NATO country is attacked, it is considered as an attack against another country, he added, referring to Article 5 of the NATO treaty stating an attack against one member is an attack against them all.

Who will come and fight here? Nobody. We are doing it all with our own hands, he said.

We expect our allies to express their sympathy and their concern, and they say: We will help you and will do everything we can to ensure Ukraine wins but you have to do it yourself, he said.

Iaroslav, 23, sitting beside him, was just as frustrated.

NATO really disappoints me, he said. I expected more more weapons to be supplied: tanks, aviation, long-range systems, missiles.

Ukraines forces may be counter-attacking he argued, but if they ha...

Paris Google launched its AI chatbot Bard in the European Union, Brazil and a dozen other countries on Thursday and unveiled new features as it expands access to its answer to Microsoft-backed ChatGPT.

The US tech giant unveiled Bard in February but delayed its release in the European Union as the bloc plans to regulate artificial intelligence amid concerns about risks associated with the rapidly growing technology.

Google has raced to catch up with rival Microsoft, which has rushed to integrate ChatGPT-like powers in a wide array of its products, including the Bing search engine.

Bard is now available in most of the world, and in the most widely spoken languages, Bards product lead Jack Krawczyk and vice president Amarnag Subramanya wrote in a blog.

As part of our bold and responsible approach to AI, weve proactively engaged with experts, policymakers and privacy regulators on this expansion, they said.

The company said it would incorporate user feedback and take steps to protect peoples privacy and data as it broadens access to Bard.

The AI tool can now be used in over 40 languages including Arabic, Chinese, German, Hindi and Spanish. It was previously available in three languages English, Japanese and Korean.

Google also announced new features, including receiving audio responses from Bard or answers in five different styles: simple, long, short, professional or casual. 

Another new feature allows users to upload photos that Bard can analyse for information.

The rise of AI has raised both excitement and concerns about its potential to improve or replace tasks done by humans.

AI tools have shown in recent months the ability to generate essays, create realistic images, mimic voices of famous singers and even pass medical exams, among a slew of uses.

Common worries include the possibility that chatbots could flood the web with disinformation, that biased algorithms will churn out racist material, or that AI-powered automation could lay waste to entire industries.

Extinction fears

Experts even the founder of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Sam Altman have warned about the potential existential risks that the technology poses to humanity.

Altman and dozens of other specialists signed a statement in May urging global leaders to reduce the risk of extinction from AI.

But the warnings have not stopped the rapid development of AI.

Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk, who has issued his own warnings about the risks, launched an AI company named xAI on Wednesday.

The xAI website said Musk would run the company separately from his other companies but that the technology developed would benefit those businesses, including Twitter.

Last month, the European Parliament backed a draft law that will be the basis for the wor...

Helsinki US President Joe Biden will meet the leader of newest NATO member Finland on Thursday, after G7 powers vowed to back Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia.

Biden will meet with Sauli Niinisto, the president of the Nordic country, which shares a 1,300 kilometres (800-mile) border with Russia and which ended its historic military non-alignment following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The trip comes after NATO leaders dashed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskys hopes for a clear timeline to join the military alliance, saying they would offer an invite only when conditions are met. 

G7 nations later offered Ukraine a package of long-term security commitments and vowed to stand with Kyiv for as long as it takes to defeat Russia.

Besides Niinisto and the Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, Biden will meet Swedens Ulf Kristersson, Norways Jonas Gahr Store, Denmarks Mette Frederiksen and Icelands Katrin Jakobsdottir.

The topic of the discussions is cooperation between the Nordic countries and the United States on security, environmental and technology issues.

Biden will be the first US president to visit Helsinki since Donald Trumps summit five years ago with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine said early Thursday it had destroyed 20 Russian attack drones and two cruise missiles in the latest aerial assault on the country. 

Most of the drones were destroyed around Kyiv, whose mayor said one person was found dead and at least four people were wounded.

Russia has launched waves of drone and missile strikes across Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion. 

Ukraine has bolstered its air defence systems with Western-supplied weapons and the number of Russian missiles and drones breaking through has diminished.

But the spokesman for Ukraines air forces, Yuriy Ignat, recently said that newly supplied systems were still insufficient to cover the whole country.

We do not have means to destroy ballistic missiles, Ignat told national television on Thursday morning.

Ukraines air force said it still seeking information on the consequences of an Iskander-M ballistic missile launch by Russia from occupied Crimea.

Subhead

In their statement Wednesday, G7 powers embraced the strategic objective of a free, independent, democratic, and sovereign Ukraine, within its internationally recognised borders.

The G7 plan provides a framework under which individual nations will agree bilateral deals with Kyiv detailing the weapons they will give and their response if Russia ups the ante.

We will not waver, Biden said in a speech in Vilnius aimed at showing resolve after meeting Zelensky at the NATO summit. 

Putin still doubts our staying power. Hes s...

Beijing Chinese exports tumbled more than expected in June, official data showed Thursday, putting fresh pressure on Beijing to unveil more stimulus measures to kickstart the flagging recovery.

Overseas shipments are a key pillar of growth in the worlds second-largest economy but apart from a brief rebound in March and April, they have declined since October owing to weak demand in key markets.

The 12.4 percent drop released by the General Administration of Customs was an acceleration from Mays 7.5 percent and worse than the 10 percent fall predicted in a survey of economists by Bloomberg.

Imports also fell 6.8 percent over the same period, reinforcing concerns about softening domestic demand, which has seen inflation plateau and force the central bank to ease monetary policy, putting pressure on the yuan.

Customs spokesman Lyu Daliang also pointed to outside forces having a direct impact on Chinese trade, with Beijing engaged in a long-running stand-off with the United States on a number of issues including trade and technology.

The risks linked to unilateralism, protectionism, and geopolitics are on the rise, he said in a statement with the figures.

The threat of recession in the United States and Europe has led to lukewarm demand for Chinese products.

And weak economic data in developed countries will put more pressure on Chinese exports in the coming months, warned economist Zhiwei Zhang of Pinpoint Asset Management.

Chinas trade surplus reached $70.2 billion last month, against $65.81 billion a month earlier.

Thursdays figures are the latest in a series of grim indicators reflecting a loss of steam in Chinas post-Covid recovery, with factory activity contracting and growth in the services industry slowing, while industrial production remains tepid.

That comes as the countrys crucial property sector, which accounts for a vast proportion of the economy, struggles under the weight of mammoth debts.

The country is due to release growth figures for the second quarter on Monday.

Premier Li Qiang has admitted that the countrys five percent growth target for the year will not be easy to achieve.

He has suggested possible policy measures to boost demand and support the private sector, but few concrete measures have been announced.

While the Peoples Bank of China has cut borrowing costs, officials have been reluctant to launch a vast recovery plan, which would deepen debt, despite growing calls for more ambitious stimulus.

The big question in the next few months is whether domestic demand can rebound without much stimulus from the government, Pinpoint Asset Managements Zhang said.

The post China export...

Chibayish Mohammed Hamid Nour is only 23, but he is already nostalgic for how Iraqs Mesopotamian marshes once were before drought dried them up, decimating his herd of water buffaloes.

Even at their centre in Chibayish, only a few expanses of the ancient waterways home to a Marsh Arab culture that goes back millennia survive, linked by channels that snake through the reeds.

Pull back further and the water gives way to a parched landscape of bald and cracked earth.

Mohammed has lost three-quarters of his herd to the drought that is now ravaging the marshes for a fourth-consecutive year. It is the worst in 40 years, the United Nations said this week, describing the situation as alarming, with 70 percent of the marshes devoid of water.

I beg you Allah, have mercy! Mohammed implored, keffiyah on his head as he contemplated the disaster under the unforgiving blue of a cloudless sky.

The buffaloes of the marshes produce the milk for the thick clotted geymar cream Iraqis love to have with honey for breakfast.

As the marshes dry out, the water gets salty until it starts killing the buffaloes. Many of Mohammeds herd died like this, others he was forced to sell before they too perished.

If the drought continues and the government doesnt help us, the others will also die, said the young herder, who has no other income.

Both the Mesopotamian marshes, and the culture of the Marsh Arabs or Maadan like Mohammed who live in them, have UNESCO world heritage status. The Maadan have hunted and fished there for 5,000 years, building houses from woven reeds on floating reed islands where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers come together before pouring into the Gulf.

Even their beautifully intricate mosques were made of reeds.

But the marshlands have shrunk from 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 square miles) in the early 1990s to 4,000 (1,500 square miles) by latest estimates choked by dams on the great rivers upstream in Turkey and Syria and the soaring temperatures of climate change. Only a few thousand of the quarter million Maadan who lived in the marshes in the early 1990s remain.

Experts say that Iraqs management of the waters has not helped.

Los Angeles NBA star LeBron James ended speculation over his future on Wednesday, saying that he is not yet ready to retire and maintains his love for basketball.

James responded to his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, losing the Western Conference final to eventual champions Denver in May, by saying he had a lot to think about amid reports he was considering walking away from the sport.

But in a speech at the ESPY awards ceremony on Wednesday, James settled any fears he may be ready to quit.

I dont care how many more points I score, or what I can or cannot do on the floor, James said after receiving the award for Best Record-Breaking Performance for passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the leagues all-time leading scorer.

The real question for me is: Can I play without cheating this game? The day I cant give everything on the floor is the day Ill be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today, he said.

In my 20 years playing this game and all the years before, Ive never, ever cheated the game and I will never take it for granted, he added.

James, who will be 39 in December, dismissed suggestions that he wanted to continue playing in the NBA with one or both of his sons his eldest son Bronny James, who will play college basketball next season at the University of Southern California, and could conceivably enter the NBA in time for the 2024-2025 campaign.

But he said that coaching his sons has helped to maintain his enthusiasm.

You know what brings me back every year? Its watching and coaching my boys and their teammates, he said.

I see those kids and it brings me right back to why I play. Those kids get me back to where I need to be, just the pure love of this beautiful game.

So, yeah, I still got something left. A lot left, he added.

James explained his reflection after the loss to the Nuggets saying he had often had such questions for himself.

When the season ended, I said I wasnt sure if I was going to keep playing and I know a lot of experts told you guys what I said but Im here now speaking for myself.

In that moment, Im asking myself if I can still play without cheating the game can I give everything to the game still? The truth is, Ive been asking myself this question at the end of the season for a couple years now. I just never openly talked about it, he said.

James signed a two-year contract extension with the Lakers last August that would keep him at the club through the 2024-2025 season.

The post LeBron James says no intention of retiring yet appeared first on Iraqi N...

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Ministry of Transport announced on Wednesday that a meeting was held with officials from the UAE to discuss steps to carry out the strategic project of the Development Road, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The Iraqi ministry mentioned in a statement that the Minister of Transport, Razzaq Muhaibis Al-Saadawi, chaired a meeting that included delegations from Abu Dhabi Ports Group and Etihad Rail, as well as Iraqi officials and experts.

The meeting aimed to review the work plan, cooperation and investments in the giant Iraqi transport project, according to the statement.

During the meeting, representatives of the Italian consulting company, Progetti Europa & Global (PEG), made a detailed presentation on the projects of the Development Road and the Al-Faw Grand Port, the statement clarified.

Representatives of Abu Dhabi Ports Group gave a presentation on the UAEs ports and the companys working mechanisms, the statement added.

The meeting also addressed the economic feasibility of the Al-Faw Grand Port and the Development Road, in addition to possible openness to the economies of other countries.

The Development Road is the name given by the Iraqi government to what was known as the dry canal that connects the Al-Faw Grand Port in southern Iraq with the Turkish territories through railway networks and roads.

The Development Road includes a railway where electric trains will pass through 10 Iraqi governorates.

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, illustrated earlier that the project includes a railway to transport goods, with a capacity of 3.5 million tons in its first phase that will be increased to 7.5 million tons in the second phase.

Al-Sudani elaborated that the project will also include a highway for land transport and pipelines to transport energy, in addition to the Al-Faw Grand Port and the industrial city, which is expected to be one of the largest cities in the Middle East.

The post Iraq, UAE discuss steps to carry out Development Road project appeared first on Iraqi News.

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The United States welcomed on Tuesday the agreement Iraq concluded one day earlier with TotalEnergies to boost production of oil, gas and renewable energy.

The White House national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, mentioned in a statement that the massive agreement signed this week in which regional and US companies are participating represents an Iraqi major step towards achieving energy self-sufficiency and meeting its climate goals.

TotalEnergies signed on Monday the long-awaited $27 billion energy deal expected to increase oil production and Iraqs capacity to produce energy through oil, gas and renewable energy projects, according to Reuters.

The deal was signed in 2021 to build four oil, gas, and renewable energy projects with an initial investment of $10 billion in southern Iraq over 25 years, but several setbacks amid disputes between Iraqi politicians over the terms hindered the deal.

The first of these projects involves the use of seawater to support oil extraction operations.

The second project is the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), which aims to improve Iraqs electricity supply by recovering flared gas at three oilfields and using the gas to supply power plants, helping to reduce the countrys import bill, according to Reuters.

The third project is to develop the Artawi oilfield to increase its production capacity to more than 210,000 barrels per day.

The fourth project is to develop a 1-gigawatt solar power plant to supply southern Iraq with electricity.

The post Washington welcomes Iraqs huge energy deal with TotalEnergies appeared first on Iraqi News.

Geneva The UN Human Rights Council voted Wednesday to condemn recent Quran burning incidents, but many countries declined to back the measure, fearing it encroached too much on free speech.

Despite overwhelming condemnation of the Muslim holy book being desecrated, the vote brought more division than unity as Western nations said that more negotiation could have resulted in a unanimous consensus.

Pakistan and other Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries brought forward a resolution after an Iraqi refugee burnt pages from the Quran outside Stockholms main mosque last month, triggering a diplomatic backlash across the Muslim world.

The United Nations top rights body backed the resolution by 28 votes in favour, with 12 against and seven abstentions.

Despite the vote passing to applause, there was little cheer in the chamber in Geneva.

US ambassador Michele Taylor said that with more time and open discussion, a consensus could have been reached.

Unfortunately our concerns were not taken seriously, she said.

Im truly heartbroken that this council was unable to speak with a unanimous voice today in condemning what we all agree are deplorable acts of anti-Muslim hatred while also respecting freedom of expression.

Lack of courage claim

There was scant sense of triumph in Pakistan ambassador Khalil Hashmis speech after the vote.

Speaking for the OIC, Hashmi said the resolution did not seek to curtail free speech, but was instead aimed at striking a prudent balance.

Regrettably, some states have chosen to abdicate their responsibility to prevent and counter the scourge of religious hatred, he said.

A message has been sent to billions of people of faith across the world that their commitment to prevent religious hatred is merely a lip service.

The opposition of a few in the room has emanated from their unwillingness to condemn the public desecration of the holy Quran.

They lack political, legal and moral courage.

The wording of the resolution condemns all manifestations of religious hatred, including public and premeditated acts of desecration of the Holy Quran, and underscores the need to hold those responsible to account.

It urges states to adopt laws to address, prevent and prosecute acts and advocacy of religious hatred that constitute incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.

It also wants the UN rights chief Volker Turk to identify gaps in countries laws in light of the resolution.

Britain, the United States, the European Union countries including France and Germany, Costa Rica and Montenegro voted against the resolution.

Benin, Chile, Mexico and Nepal were among the abstentions.

Argentina, China, Cuba, India, South Africa, Ukraine a...

Jenin Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is due Wednesday to visit the northern West Bank city of Jenin for the first time in over a decade, a week after the largest Israeli raid there in years.

Twelve Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed in the two-day raid on Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp, a regular site of fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups.

The raid on the camp, which Israel views as a terrorism hub, employed hundreds of troops as well as drone strikes and army bulldozers that tore up streets and damaged scores of houses.

Soon after the raid, several top officials of Abbass Fatah party, including deputy chairman Mahmoud Aloul, had visited the camp only to be heckled by crowds of angry residents.

On Wednesday, Abbas was expected to visit the city as well as the camp, along with the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

He was due to review progress of work in the reconstruction of the camp and the city, his office said in a statement.

Ahead of Abbass arrival, hundreds of soldiers from the presidential guard were seen patrolling the streets of the camp, an AFP journalist said.

The Jenin camp was established in 1953 to house some of those among the 760,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in 1948 when Israel was created, an event Palestinians call the Nakba or catastrophe.

Over time, the camps original tents have been replaced by concrete, and it now resembles something closer to a neighbourhood.

The camp, which houses some 18,000 people, was also a hotbed of activity during the second intifada or uprising of the early 2000s.

Over the past 18 months, the security situation in the camp has deteriorated, with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority having little real presence there.

Abbas, 87, last visited Jenin in 2012 but had not toured the camp at the time.

While the PA remains somewhat present in the city, it has largely abandoned the camp to local armed groups such as the Jenin Brigade, which Israel alleges is backed by Iran.

Abbas had previously visited the camp itself in 2004 while running for the Palestinian presidential election after the death of leader Yasser Arafat.

During that trip Abbas was famously embraced by Zakaria Zubeidi, a senior militant in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, who for years was on Israels most wanted list. 

Experts were however sceptical of Abbass visit on Wednesday.

Through his made-for-camera visit, Abbas wants to show that he and his Palestinian Authority are firmly in control of Jenin, Hugh Lovatt, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP.

In reality, making a rare visit outside of his Ramallah fiefdom will do little to r...

Nairobi The leaders of Iran and Kenya pledged to strengthen ties as their governments signed a raft of trade agreements Wednesday during Iranian President Ebrahim Raisis maiden visit to the East African nation.

The visit comes as the Islamic republic tries to shore up diplomatic support to ease its international isolation, with Raisi also due to travel to Uganda and Zimbabwe this week on the first Africa tour by an Iranian leader in 11 years.

In addition to meeting Kenyan President William Ruto, Raisi will head to Uganda later Wednesday for talks with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni and see Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday. 

Africa has emerged as a diplomatic battleground in recent months, with Russia and the West also trying to court support over Moscows invasion of Ukraine, which has had a devastating economic impact on the continent, sending food prices soaring.

Western powers have also sought to deepen trade ties with the continent, along with India and China, which has been on an infrastructure spending spree in Africa.

Raisi described his visit to Kenya as a turning point in the development of relations between (the) two countries.

He said his talks with Ruto reflected the determination and resolve of both countries for expansion of economic and trade cooperation, political cooperation, cultural cooperation.

Ruto described Iran as a critical strategic partner for Kenya and said the two governments had signed five MoUs (memoranda of understanding) focusing on areas including information technology, investment promotion and fisheries.

These memoranda will enhance and further deepen our bilateral relations for sustainable growth and development between our two countries.

Ruto told reporters that Raisi had also shared plans for Iran to set up a plant in the port city of Mombasa to manufacture an indigenous Iranian vehicle that has now been given the Kiswahili name, Kifaru, meaning rhino.

Common political views

According to Irans official IRNA news agency, Raisi is heading a delegation that includes the foreign minister as well as senior businesspeople. 

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani earlier expressed optimism that the three-day trip could help bolster economic and trade ties with African nations. 

He also said on Monday that Tehran and the African continent share common political views, without elaborating further.

Iran has stepped up its diplomacy in recent months to reduce its isolation and offset the impact of crippling sanctions reimposed since the 2018 withdrawal of the United States from a painstakingly negotiated nuclear deal.

On Saturday, Raisi welcomed Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf in a bid to boost ties with Algiers.

Los Angeles Hollywood actors on Wednesday anxiously awaited their unions decision on whether to strike, right at the peak of the film industrys key summer blockbuster season.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) has already agreed to one extension of talks with the likes of Netflix and Disney, who have now called in federal mediators to help resolve the deadlock over pay and other conditions.

If the latest deadline of midnight Wednesday (0700 GMT Thursday) passes without a deal, or another prolongation, actors will hit the picket line, joining writers who have already been marching outside studios for more than two months.

A double strike, not seen in Hollywood since 1960, would bring nearly all US film and television productions to a halt.

It would also prevent A-listers from promoting some of the years biggest releases such as Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer due to have its US premiere in New York on Monday just as the industry attempts to rebound from the lean pandemic years.

The massive annual Comic-Con pop culture gathering in San Diego next week could be shorn of its stars, while a scheduled red-carpet launch this weekend at Disneyland for the new Haunted Mansion movie may be stripped back to a private fan event.

Such is the concern in Hollywood that powerful agency chiefs who act as gatekeepers to Tinseltowns starriest talent  have reached out to SAG leaders, offering to help smooth negotiations.

SAGs 160,000 actors and performers have pre-approved industrial action if a deal is not struck.

While the writers strike has already dramatically reduced the number of movies and shows in production, an actors walkout would shutter almost everything.

Some reality TV, animation and talk shows could continue. 

Fox on Tuesday unveiled a fall television schedule full of unscripted series such as Kitchen Nightmares and Lego Masters.

But popular series set to return to television this year face lengthy delays. And, if strikes continue, future blockbuster films would be postponed too.

An actors strike would mean a boycott of the ceremony by stars.

Time is running out

SAG-AFTRA said Tuesday that it had agreed to the studios last-minute request for federal mediation, while voicing skepticism about good-faith efforts on the other side.

We are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement, the union said in a statement.

Time is running out.

Should negotiat...

Nairobi Iran President Ebrahim Raisi held talks with his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto on Wednesday as he kicked off the first Africa tour by an Iranian leader in 11 years.

The visit, which was delayed by a day, comes as the Islamic republic tries to shore up diplomatic support to ease its international isolation, with Raisi also due to travel to Uganda and Zimbabwe this week.

In addition to meeting Ruto, Raisi will hold talks with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Africa has emerged as a diplomatic battleground in recent months, with Russia and the West also trying to court support over Moscows invasion of Ukraine, which has had a devastating economic impact on the continent, sending food prices soaring.

Western powers have also sought to deepen trade ties with the continent, along with India and China, which has been on an infrastructure spending spree in Africa.

According to Irans official IRNA news agency, Raisi is heading a delegation that includes the foreign minister as well as senior businesspeople. 

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani has described the three-day trip as a new turning point which could bolster economic and trade ties with African nations. 

He also said on Monday that Tehran and the three African countries share common political views. 

Iran has stepped up its diplomacy in recent months to reduce its isolation and offset the impact of crippling sanctions reimposed since the 2018 withdrawal of the United States from a painstakingly negotiated nuclear deal.

On Saturday, Raisi welcomed Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf in a bid to boost ties with Algiers.

Last week, Iran became a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which includes Russia, China and India. 

In March, Tehran agreed to restore ties with regional rival Saudi Arabia under a China-mediated deal. It has since been looking to re-establish relations with other countries in the region including Egypt and Morocco. 

In June, Raisi undertook a Latin American tour that included Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba before a trip to Indonesia. 

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Jakarta The war in Ukraine will not end until the West stops trying to defeat Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Indonesian media on Wednesday.

His comments came ahead of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskys symbolic talks with NATO leaders at their summit in Lithuania on Wednesday.

In an interview with the Indonesian newspaper Kompas ahead of meetings with his Southeast Asian counterparts in Jakarta this week, Lavrov lambasted the United States and its allies for supporting Ukraine.

It will continue until the West abandons its plans to maintain dominance and its obsession with inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia through the hands of its puppet, Kyiv, he said of the Ukraine conflict.

There has been no sign of a change in their position and we are seeing how America and its accomplices are continuously pumping weapons into Ukraine and pushing (Zelensky) to continue fighting.

Lavrov is due to attend the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum foreign ministers meetings on Friday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The pair last met briefly in March at a G20 meeting in India.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the biggest attack on a European country since World War II when he ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed and wounded on both sides, according to Western estimates.

Turning to Indonesia, Lavrov praised what he called Jakartas independent foreign policy on the conflict.

President Joko Widodo was the first Asian leader to visit both Moscow and Kyiv after the invasion began.

Lavrov said Western nations were ignoring initiatives coming from developing countries after Kyiv did not take up Widodos offer to mediate or a controversial proposal from Indonesias defence minister that referendums be held in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine.

Western backers of Ukraine have sent weapons worth tens of billions of dollars to help it fight back against Russias invasion. 

NATO leaders vowed after the first day of their summit that Ukraines future is in NATO, and shortened the eventual process Kyiv would have to go through to enter the alliance.

But they did not offer a timeline on Ukraines prospective membership, reflecting concerns in Washington about being dragged into a nuclear conflict with Russia.

In a bid to reassure Zelensky, G7 nations are expected to issue a declaration on how they will help Ukraine defeat Russia and deter any new aggression in the coming years.

The post Lavrov says no end to Ukraine war until West stops trying to defeat Russia appeared first on...

Chilpancingo Mexican authorities on Tuesday secured the release of 13 security personnel who had been taken captive the previous day by protesters allegedly infiltrated by a criminal group, a senior official said.

Several thousand demonstrators had overrun the city of Chilpancingo in the crime-plagued southern state of Guerrero on Monday, demanding the release of two suspected members of a drug gang, according to the government.

After negotiations with the authorities, the protesters also agreed to stop blocking the highway to the nearby resort city of Acapulco, Guerrero state governor Evelyn Salgado said on Twitter.

Without repression or confrontation, we achieved the release of 13 detained public servants, who are already being provided with medical attention to ensure their good physical condition, Salgado said.

The protesters also returned an armored police vehicle that they had used to smash open an entrance to the governors palace in Chilpancingo.

Salgado did not say if any concessions had been made to secure the release of the 13 captives, who included five members of the National Guard, five police officers and three officials, including a federal agent.

According to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the protesters had demanded the release of two members of the Los Ardillos drug trafficking group who were arrested last week.

We wont be hostages to anyone, he told reporters.

Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said that the government had chosen the path of dialogue with the demonstrators.

Guerrero, one of Mexicos poorest states, has endured years of violence linked to turf wars between drug cartels.

Chilpancingo was shaken over the weekend by the murder of five taxi drivers.

Violence in the city escalated after a video leaked on July 5 showed the citys mayor, Norma Otilia Hernandez, who is affiliated with Lopez Obradors party, meeting with a Los Ardillos gang leader.

Lopez Obrador ordered an investigation into the meeting, which Hernandez described as a chance encounter. 

The president has struggled to curb the brutal violence plaguing Mexico since taking office in 2018.

The leftwing populist championed a hugs not bullets strategy to tackle violent crime at its roots by fighting poverty and inequality with social programs, rather than with the army.

His critics argue that the approach has left swathes of the country under the control of organized crime.

Evil cannot be confronted with evil, Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday, arguing that the cartels flourished in states like Guerrero because previous governments had allowed them to build support by giving out gifts.

Mexico has registered more than 350,000 murders and some 110,000 disappearances most attributed to criminal groups since the...

Seoul North Korea has fired a long-range ballistic missile, the South Korean military said Wednesday, days after Pyongyang threatened to down US spy planes that violated its airspace.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points ever, with diplomacy stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for increased weapons development, including tactical nukes.

In response, Seoul and Washington have ramped up security cooperation, vowing that Pyongyang would face a nuclear response and the end of its current government were it to ever use its nuclear weapons against the allies.

South Koreas military said it had detected the launch of a long-range ballistic missile fired from the Pyongyang area around 10 am (0100 GMT).

The ballistic missile was fired on a lofted trajectory and flew 1,000 km (620 miles) before splashing down in the East Sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

A lofted trajectory involves firing a missile up and not out, a method Pyongyang has previously said it employs in some weapons tests to avoid flying over neighbouring countries.

The launch is a grave provocation that damages the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and violates UN sanctions on Pyongyang, the JCS said, calling on North Korea to stop such actions.

Pyongyang last fired one of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles in April the purportedly solid-fuelled Hwasong-18 and in February launched a Hwasong-15, which flew a similar 989 km.

The flight time of around 70 minutes is also similar to some of North Koreas previous ICBM launches, experts said.

Given what we have at this point, its about 90 percent certain that it was an ICBM launch, Choi Gi-il, a professor of military studies at Sangji University, told AFP.

He added that it could also have been North Korea attempting to re-test its satellite launch technology to prepare for another attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit, after a May launch failed.

Provocative US actions

Wednesdays launch came after North Korea on Monday accused a US spy plane of violating its airspace and condemned Washingtons plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula.

A spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of National Defence said the United States had intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level, citing provocative spy plane flights over eight straight days this month.

There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea, the spokesperson added.

Kims powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said that a US spy airc...