Kuwait ranked fourth in the Gulf, fifth in the Arab world and 53 globally in the most expensive country brands index, according to the results of the “Brand Finance Nations Brands 2021” report, issued by Brand Finance, a brand research company, Al Rai reported

The report monitors the 100 most valuable brands for a country in the same year based on three main pillars: services and goods, investment, and society. The UAE ranked first in the Arab world and 17th globally, followed by Saudi Arabia in 19th place, then Qatar in 41st globally, and then Egypt in 45th globally.

Kuwait maintained its rank in the most expensive country brand index for this year, compared to its rank in last year’s edition of the index.

For its part, the United States of America retained its lead in the index, and the value of its brands increased in 2021 to 24.811 trillion dollars, compared to 23.738 trillion dollars in 2020, an increase of 4.5 percent.

The report said that the top 100 country brands recorded an increase of 7 percent since 2020, indicating a recovery from the pandemic, to reach $90.8 trillion.

  TIMESKUWAIT

The British government published on Tuesday its strategy to hit net zero by 2050.

Business Minister Greg Hands, who is also in charge of energy policy, made the announcement in the House of Commons, stressing that the government’s strategy will support up to 440,000 jobs.

The announcement came ahead of the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow that begins on Oct. 31.

Hands said the government’s plan was “not just an environmental transition, it represents an important economic change too”.

He added that by undergoing a green industrial revolution, the UK would “get to the front of the global race to go green”. The switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy will also “bring down costs down the line”, he said.

Hands continued in his statement to parliament: "We need to capitalise on this to ensure British industries and workers benefit."

"I can therefore announce that the strategy will support up to 440,000 jobs across sectors and across all parts of the UK in 2030," he said.

"There'll be more specialists in low carbon fuels in Northern Ireland and low carbon hydrogen in Sheffield.

"Electric vehicle battery production in the North East of England, engineers in Wales, green finance in London and offshore wind technicians in Scotland.

"This strategy will harness the power of the private sector, giving businesses and industry the certainty they need to invest and grow in the UK to make the UK home to new ambitious projects.

"The policies and spending brought forward in the strategy along with regulations will leverage up to £90 billion ($124.2 billion) of private investment by 2030 levelling up our former industrial heartlands."

- Fully decarbonizing power system by 2035

Among the proposals in the government’s strategy is the aim to fully decarbonize the power system by 2035, and for all heating appliances in homes and workplaces to be low carbon by the same date.

After 2035, the British government aims for no new gas boilers to be sold. To this end it will invest £450 million ($620.9 million) in a three-year Boiler Upgrade Scheme that will offer household grants for low-carbon heating system. It will also invest £60 million ($82.8 million) in the Heat Pump Ready program to help grow the electric heat pump market.

On nuclear power, the government will invest £120 million ($165.6 million) in small modular nuclear reactors, and to come to a decision on a large-scale nuclear plant by 2024.

The government also wants to generate 40GW of offshore wind by 2030, and by the same date reach 5GW of hydrogen production capacity – all while cutting oil and gas emissions by half.

The government will invest £620 million ($855 million) in zero emission vehicle grants with a view to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. By 2030, the government also aims for half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked with £2 billion ($2.8 billion) in investment.

The government will also invest £625 million ($862 million) in tree-planting.

A separate Treasury review published on Tuesday said that “the costs of global inaction significantly outweigh the costs of action" to tackle climate change.

It added, however, that it was not possible to forecast what the cost would be to individual households due to the net zero transition.

Greenpeace UK’s head of politics Rebecca Newsom was quoted by Sky News as saying the government’s proposals were “half-hearted” and “more like a pick and mix than the substantial meal that we need to reach net zero”.

"With just eight years left to halve global emissions, the government can't just keep dining out on its 'ambitious targets',” Newsom said.

“Until the policy and funding gaps are closed, Boris Johnson's plea to other countries to deliver on their promises at the global climate conference next month will be easy to ignore," she added./aa

All major indices in Europe closed Tuesday in positive territory, except France.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, rose 1.54 points, or 0.33%, to close at 468.58.

London's FTSE 100 increased 13 points, or 0.19%, to 7,217, while Germany's DAX 30 gained 41 points, or 0.27%, to 15,515.

France's CAC 40 was the only index that posted a decline as it fell 3 points, or 0.05%, to end the day at 6,669 points.

Italy's FTSE MIB 30 rose 64 points, or 0.25%, to 26,333.

Spain's IBEX 35 showed the largest gain of the day -- increasing 60, or 0.67%, to close at 8,996./aa

Turkey highly appreciates Togo’s support in the fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Togolese counterpart Faure Gnassingbe in the capital Lome, Erdogan said that steps can be taken in military security cooperation so that terrorism does not infiltrate the West African region.

"We will always continue to stand by Togo in this regard," he added.

"We want friendly countries to be cleansed of the scourge of FETO, I hope we will achieve this," Erdogan stressed.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Erdogan also underlined that Turkey and the Turkic Council will donate COVID-19 jabs to Togo, Burkina Faso, and Liberia as part of efforts in the fight against the pandemic.

The Turkic Council was established in 2009 as an intergovernmental organization with an overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic-speaking states. It consists of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan as member countries and Hungary as an observer state.

The Turkish president started a four-day tour of three African countries, including Angola, Togo, and Nigeria, on Sunday.

Erdogan's African tour, which also includes Nigeria, is considered significant for new cooperation opportunities in Africa./aa

Glaciers found on only three mountains in Africa – Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya, and the Rwenzori Mountains – are expected to melt entirely in the near future, according to a new UN-backed report released on Tuesday.

Changing rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and more extreme weather contributed to mounting food insecurity, poverty, and displacement in Africa in 2020, compounding the socioeconomic and health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, said a multiagency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The State of the Climate in Africa 2020 report provides a snapshot of climate change trends and impacts, highlighting the continent’s disproportionate vulnerability and showing how the benefits of investments in climate adaptation, weather and climate services, and early warning systems far outweigh the costs.

“The figures in it are for 2020, but we are obviously seeing those impacts of climate change of extreme weather continuing in 2021,” Clare Nullis, a WMO spokeswoman, said at the launch.

“At the moment, there are only three mountains in Africa that host glaciers … In contrast to places in other parts of the world, they are too small to act as significant water reservoirs, but obviously they are iconic. They’re very symbolic,” she said.

Climate indicators in Africa during 2020 “were characterized by continued warming temperatures, accelerating sea-level rise, extreme weather and climate events, such as floods and droughts, and associated devastating impacts,” WMO head Petteri Taalas said in the report.

“The rapid shrinking of the last remaining glaciers in eastern Africa, which are expected to melt entirely in the near future, signals the threat of imminent and irreversible change to the Earth system,” he warned, stressing that enhancing climate resilience is an urgent need along with the COVID-19 recovery.

He said investments are needed for capacity development and technology transfer, as well as enhancing countries’ early warning systems, including weather, water and climate observing mechanisms.

The WMO, the African Union Commission, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) through the Africa Climate Policy Center (ACPC), international and regional scientific organizations, and other UN agencies collaborated to produce the report, which has been released ahead of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).

“Africa is witnessing increased weather and climate variability, which leads to disasters and disruption of economic, ecological, and social systems,” Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, commissioner for rural economy and agriculture at the African Union Commission, said in the report.

“By 2030, it is estimated that up to 118 million extremely poor people (i.e. living on less than $1.90 a day) will be exposed to drought, floods, and extreme heat in Africa.”

Sacko warned that if adequate response measures are not put in place, there will be additional burdens on poverty alleviation efforts that will significantly hamper growth.​​​​​​​/aa

Turkey’s share in global exports has surpassed 1% for the first time in its history, the country’s trade minister announced on Tuesday.

“This figure was 0.14% in 1980 and 0.43% in 2000. Turkish products are now exported all over the world,” Mehmet Mus said on Twitter, citing data from the World Trade Organization and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

Turkey’s exports stood at nearly $55 billion in April-June this year, according to TurkStat figures.​​​​​/aa

The Russian foreign minister on Tuesday supported the idea of reforming the UN Security Council, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.

Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Sergey Lavrov said he agrees with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council cannot dictate the fate of the world, adding that they do not claim this right.

“The five claim exactly the powers that are written in the UN Charter, the Charter reflects the collective will of all members of the world community and the five bear special responsibility for the state of affairs in the world, primarily for avoiding global conflict. And for more than 75 years it has been possible to do this. I hope this situation will continue,” he said.

However, there is a need to adapt the UN and the Security Council to the new realities, the minister added.

“It is no longer just 50 countries in the world, as it was when the UN was created, and not 70, as it was when the Security Council was expanded from 12 to 15 members, but much more – 193 member states. And developing countries quite rightly insist that their representation in this UN body be increased,” he said.

Lavrov noted a misbalance in favor of Western countries in the Security Council – six of 15 members are represented by the West.

“And when Japan is elected from Asia, the seventh vote is in the piggy bank of Western policy, which is promoted through the UN Security Council. Therefore, of course, the West no longer needs to add seats in this body, and developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America definitely need to add,” he said.

In a separate statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said reforming the UNSC depends on the consensus of the five permanent members.

Peskov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken the initiative for the P5 to meet and discuss the challenges facing humanity.

“As for Russia, it has been, is, and remains a committed member of the organization, the Security Council, and maintains its commitment and loyalty to the Charter of the United Nations, where everything is written,” he said.

Addressing the TRT World Forum 2021, Erdogan reiterated the need for reforming the UN and other international organizations, saying the "institutions in charge of ensuring peace and justice in the world have failed once again."

In his book, A Fairer World is Possible, the Turkish president describes in detail Turkey’s quest for justice for all humanity, and underlines the need for comprehensive reform, especially in the UNSC.

He also draws attention to the problems of legitimacy, functionality, effectiveness, inclusiveness, representation and governance of the UN./aa

The number of children killed or maimed during the Yemen civil war has exceeded 10,000, a UNICEF official said Tuesday.

"The Yemen conflict has just hit another shameful milestone: 10,000 children have been killed or maimed since fighting started in March 2015. That's the equivalent of four children every day," UNICEF spokesman James Elder said at a UN press briefing.

He told journalists in Geneva that these are the cases the UN was able to verify.

"Many more child deaths and injuries go unrecorded," said Elder, who returned from a mission the day before in which he visited both the north and south of Yemen.

"I met scores of children, many inspiring; all suffering. I met pediatricians, teachers, nurses – all shared personal stories that mirror those of their country: they are on the brink of total collapse."

Yemen's humanitarian crisis is the world's worst, said Elder, adding that it is violent and protracted, has caused economic devastation, shattered services for every support system such as health, nutrition, water and sanitation, protection, and education.

In addition, Yemen is critically under-funded by UN response, said Elder.

11M children need assistance

"Four out of every five children need humanitarian assistance; that's more than 11 million children, and 400,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition," said the UNICEF spokesman.

He explained that more than two million children are out of school, and another four million are at risk of dropping out.

"Two-thirds of teachers – more than 170,000 – have not received a regular salary for more than four years," said Elder.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation and caused one of the world's worst human-made humanitarian crises, with 233,000 people killed.

According to UN estimates, nearly 80% of people in Yemen, or about 30 million, need humanitarian assistance and protection, and more than 13 million are in danger of starvation.

The Houthis have been in control of Sanaa and some regions since September 2014, while the coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia have been supporting the Yemeni government against the Houthis since March 2015./aa