Delegations including national leaders from across the region started arriving in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the day before the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh to discuss plans to mitigate climate change.
As well as figures from the region, UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed and US climate envoy John Kerry will attend.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to boost regional action on emissions through the Middle East Green Initiative Summit and work with neighbours to combat climate change beyond its borders through collective action.
In March, Saudi Arabia announced the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative — two programmes to tackle environmental degradation and reduce emissions in the kingdom and across the region.
The plan includes planting 50 billion trees in the Middle East, restoring 200 million hectares of degraded land and cutting emissions from hydrocarbon production by more than 60 per cent.
The initiatives unify Saudi Arabia’s sustainability efforts to combat climate change, increase reliance on clean energy and offset the impact of fossil fuels.
GCC Secretary General Nayef Al Hajraf praised the green initiatives, saying they represent a global contribution and a real response to the challenges of climate change. He called for regional and international co-operation to put them into practice with the aim of saving the planet.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will open the day laying out the kingdom’s vision before leaders discuss green plans and the impacts of climate change. Financial experts will lead talks on how to finance a green economy revolution before Mr Kerry and Ms Mohammed lay out the international outlook and the Crown Prince closes out the day.
Pakistani leader Imran Khan is in Saudi Arabia to attend the meeting, among others.
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, will lead the UAE's delegation.
On Saturday, the kingdom announced that it would commit itself to net-zero carbon emissions by 2060 at the Saudi Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh.
“These initiatives aim at modifying the Kingdom’s energy mix, rationing and increasing the efficiency of energy production and use and investing in new energy sources, including hydrogen,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told attendees.
“As a leading global oil producer, we are fully aware of our share of responsibility in advancing the fight against the climate crisis, and that, as in our pioneering role in stabilising energy markets during the oil and gas era, we will act to lead the next green era,” the Crown Prince said.
He also announced a plan to cut Riyadh’s carbon emissions by 50 per cent and make it “one of the most sustainable cities in the world.”
After the announcement that the kingdom plans to go carbon neutral, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres phoned King Salman on Saturday night and welcomed the new initiatives.
The UK’s Prince Charles said that Saudi Arabia's green initiatives contribute to building a sustainable and productive future, indicating that the kingdom's global leadership in the “transition to renewable energy is essential.”
The prince will be a leading voice at the UN Cop26 climate summit next week in Glasgow as world leaders meet to discuss progress with regard to the Paris Climate Agreement, that seeks to limit the rise in global temperatures to under 2°C.
Delegates will discuss the coming Cop26 during Monday’s meeting in the Saudi capital.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
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- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
