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Brazil guarantees affordable rooms for COP30 participants in Amazon
Brazil guarantees affordable rooms for COP30 participants in Amazon

First Post

time3 hours ago

  • First Post

Brazil guarantees affordable rooms for COP30 participants in Amazon

At least 40,000 people are expected to attend the November 10-21 event in Belem, known as the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, according to government estimates from the start of the year read more People watch the sunset over the Rio Negro in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil on July 6, 2025. AFP/Representational image Brazil insisted Wednesday it will have enough rooms for the tens of thousands of people expected to attend the COP30 UN climate conference in the Amazonian city of Belem in November. After complaints about sky-high room prices in the far-flung destination, organizers said they would guarantee affordable accommodation for delegates and participants from poor least 40,000 people are expected to attend the November 10-21 event in Belem, known as the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, according to government estimates from the start of the year. Around 30,000 potential rooms have been 'identified' for use during the conference, the event's secretary Valter Correia said, including 3,900 on two cruise ships. There will also be rooms in hotels, private homes, and at universities and schools to be converted for the first-ever climate COP to be held in the Amazon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They will include 1,500 rooms priced at no more than $220 per night for delegates from 98 developing and island nations, Correia said. Another 1,000 rooms will be priced at no more than $600 per night, and the government was negotiating with the private sector to set 'reasonable prices' for other accommodation, said Correia. 'We will have sufficient accommodations for everyone, have no doubt about that. We just need to set appropriate prices,' Correia told journalists. At a preparatory meeting in June, several countries raised concerns over eye-watering lodging prices in Belem, a northern city of 1.3 million inhabitants with limited hotel capacity. More than 50,000 people attended the last COP, held in Azerbaijan in 2024, some 30,000 fewer than COP28 in Dubai. In recent months, some hotels have been offering rooms at $1,400 per night. jss/rsr/mlr/aks © Agence France-Presse

Tajikistan's apricot farmers grapple with climate change
Tajikistan's apricot farmers grapple with climate change

Gulf Today

time12 hours ago

  • Business
  • Gulf Today

Tajikistan's apricot farmers grapple with climate change

Bruno Kalouaz, Agence France-Presse Tajik apricot farmer Uktam Kuziev is worried about the future now that climate change is threatening Central Asia's vital fruit harvest. This is one of the world's most exposed regions to the effects of climate change and its poor, rural farming communities are particularly vulnerable. Kuziev is one of more than 100,000 people employed in Tajikistan's apricot industry, a historic occupation across the mountains and valleys in the north of the landlocked country. Ten percent of all the world's orchards are located here, according to United Nations data. But mild winters, melting glaciers, late frosts and water scarcity all pose challenges to cultivation in Tajikistan's apricot capital of Isfara. "Last year, some land turned desert-like due to lack of water and the soil cracked into pieces," Kuziev told AFP. "The apricot trees dried up because they weren't watered," the 72-year-old farmer said, standing in front of stubby apricot trees swaying in the wind. The fruit is "especially vulnerable" to climate change, according to the World Bank, due to "escalating temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns and increased frequency of extreme weather events". At street markets in Isfara, vendors sell buckets of fresh apricots next to piles of glistening red cherries, while on roadsides dried fruits are sold from giant sandbags. Tajikistan classifies the fruit as a "strategic product" with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. "Apricot cultivation in northern Tajikistan is very important economically and socially... It creates jobs and improves the standard of living of the population," Muminjon Makhmajonov, deputy director of Isfara Food, a major dried fruit producer, told AFP. So important is the furry orange fruit to the local economy that a giant monument to it has been erected in the middle of Isfara city. But chronic water shortages and shrinking levels in the Isfara river — shared by Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan — are disrupting both the industry and a way of life. "The effects of climate change and the melting of the glaciers are already being felt. In spring the water level in the Isfara river is low," Bakhtior Jalilov, the city's chief agriculture specialist, told AFP. Facing water shortages every spring, Kuziev has previously sacrificed wheat crops to "save the essentials — the apricot trees". A lack of water is not the only problem faced by farmers. Paradoxically, bouts of heavy rainfall are also an issue, causing the fruit to grow with thorns or spots on its skin, which reduces its market value. "We are sad when it rains a lot because it spoils the product," said Muborak Isoeva, 61, who sells apricots in the neighbouring village of Kulkand. Drastic temperature swings pose another problem. The devastation of Turkey's 2025 apricot harvest by cold weather has worried Tajikistan's farmers. "When the temperature rises or falls sharply, even for a day or two, you won't get the harvest you want," Makhmajonov said. He buys supplies in the markets around Isfara, where small-scale farmers sell apricots grown in their gardens to make a living. Whereas before locals had no idea of the concept of a late frost, "over the last 20 years, the trees have frozen over five or six times during or after blooming", city specialist Jalilov said. Producers and the local administration are trying to adapt. Orchards are being planted more intensively, while some 1,500 hectares of soil on low-yielding plots of land has been regenerated over the last five years. Some are switching to growing plums, more resilient to the changing climate. "Unlike apricots, plums bloom a little later and tolerate heat and cold better... so when the apricot harvest is poor, we can still export prunes," said Isfara Food's Makhmajonov. He has installed a water-efficient dip irrigation system to grow the sweet purple fruit. But not everybody has that option. Water fees were hiked 150 per cent last year — something Tajikistan said was necessary to improve infrastructure and balance usage from the river across the three countries. With an average national salary of just $260 a month, adaptation is both costly and complex for family farmers, who have for decades relied on the fruit to boost their incomes. "Regardless of their standard of living or social status, if they need money, they could go and sell them at the market," Makhmajonov said. Climate change is now making that safety net look increasingly fragile.

Israeli strikes near Syrian army headquarters
Israeli strikes near Syrian army headquarters

Gulf Today

time12 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Gulf Today

Israeli strikes near Syrian army headquarters

The Israeli army launched a new round of strikes near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters on Wednesday, state-run television said, after Israel warned Damascus against targeting the Druze community. Syrian government forces had deployed in Sweida city in the country's south on Tuesday, clashing with Druze fighters who previously controlled the area. State television reported on Wednesday afternoon "a new aggression by the Israeli occupation air force in Umayyad Square, near the (military) headquarters building in central Damascus". A live broadcast by the Qatari channel Al Jazeera showed a series of air strikes on the headquarters, with smoke billowing into the sky and parts of the building damaged. State television had reported an earlier strike near the headquarters, which Israel's military said it had attacked. The Syrian health ministry said in a preliminary toll that nine people were wounded by the strikes. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had warned on Wednesday that his country would start launching major attacks against Syria. "The signals to Damascus are over -- now come the painful blows," he said. The Israeli military would "operate forcefully" in Syria's southern Sweida region "to eliminate the forces that attacked the Druze until their full withdrawal", he added. Agence France-Presse

Albanese Says U.S. Sanctions Are 'Violation' of Her Immunity
Albanese Says U.S. Sanctions Are 'Violation' of Her Immunity

Saba Yemen

time17 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Saba Yemen

Albanese Says U.S. Sanctions Are 'Violation' of Her Immunity

Bogota - Saba: Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said that the sanctions imposed on her by Washington following her criticism of the U.S. administration's stance on Gaza constitute a "violation" of her immunity. According to Agence France-Presse, Albanese made the statement during her visit to Bogotá, nearly a week after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared her work "biased and malicious." Albanese said, "This is a very serious and unprecedented measure, and I am taking it very seriously." She is visiting Bogotá to attend a global summit initiated by Colombian President Gustavo Petro aimed at finding solutions to the conflict in Gaza. The Italian lawyer and human rights expert has faced strong criticism over her repeated accusations that "Israel" is committing "genocide" in Gaza. Albanese stressed, "This is a clear violation of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which protects UN officials, including independent experts, for statements and actions made while performing their duties." On July 9, Rubio announced that Washington had imposed sanctions on Albanese "for her illegitimate and disgraceful efforts to push the International Criminal Court to act against U.S. and Israeli officials and companies." Albanese said the sanctions are "a warning to anyone who dares to stand up for international law, human rights, justice, and freedom." Whatsapp Telegram Email Print

Hamas denies progress in Gaza ceasefire negotiations
Hamas denies progress in Gaza ceasefire negotiations

Roya News

time17 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Roya News

Hamas denies progress in Gaza ceasefire negotiations

A senior Hamas figure dismissed reports of progress in ongoing ceasefire negotiations for Gaza, insisting the group has not received any official plans detailing an 'Israeli' withdrawal from the territory. '(Israel) has not yet delivered any new or revised maps regarding military withdrawals from the Gaza Strip,' Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday. He accused 'Israel' of seeking to 'prolong military control' over Gaza indefinitely.

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