NETHERLANDS
Shell wins court appeal
An appeals court yesterday overturned a landmark ruling that ordered energy company Shell to cut its carbon emissions by a net 45 percent by 2030 from 2019 levels. The decision was a defeat for the Dutch arm of environmental group Friends of the Earth, which hailed the original 2021 ruling as a victory for the climate. Yesterday’s civil ruling can be appealed to the Supreme Court. Presiding Judge Carla Joustra said that Shell already has targets for climate-warming carbon emissions that are in line with demands of Friends of the Earth — both for what it directly produces and for emissions produced by energy the company purchase from others. She added that an order for Shell to cut emissions by people and businesses who buy its products would be unlikely to have an effect as the products could be sold by another company.
MAURITIUS
Opposition in landslide win
An opposition coalition has won the elections by a landslide, taking all seats in parliament in a major rejection of the current government. Results released at various constituencies across the nation throughout Monday showed that the governing coalition, led by Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, failed to get any of the 62 seats up for election. Jagnauth conceded defeat before all results were announced, saying his Militant Socialist Movement coalition was headed for a huge defeat, as it became clear that the opposition was winning in all of the nation’s 21 constituencies. The Alliance for Change coalition’s win would see the return of Navin Ramgoolam as prime minister. He served from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014. Jugnauth had been seeking another five-year term, but his government faced corruption allegations after recordings of politicians and business people were leaked online. Official results that would include two seats from Rodrigues Island were expected yesterday, but the opposition has already won all 60 seats that have been announced. Another eight lawmakers are to be nominated by the Electoral Supervisory Council.
JAPAN
Hunt on for missing sailor
Tokyo yesterday canceled a joint naval training exercise with the US as it searches for a sailor missing after a minesweeping ship caught fire and sank. Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani said a search was under way for a 33-year-old after the Ukushima went up in flames on Sunday in waters off southwestern Fukuoka. The ship’s other crew members, about 40 people, were rescued, including one injured person, officials said. A dozen naval ships joined coastguard vessels and dive teams to look for the missing sailor, Nakatani said. Officials believe the fire started in the ship’s engine room.
UNITED STATES
Saks changing display
Dazzling displays of synchronized lights on the facade of Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store in midtown Manhattan have thrilled holiday visitors for years — but the store’s holiday display will look a bit different this year, a spokesperson said on Monday. “In our 100th year, which also marks the anniversary of the flagship, we are celebrating the season by honoring the architectural significance of this iconic building, elegantly illuminating the facade and framing the holiday windows, as well as highlighting the fashion for which Saks Fifth Avenue is known,” the spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement. The holiday windows will be on display later this month. The flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store is across from Rockefeller Plaza and its towering Christmas tree.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
‘HARD-HEADED’: Some people did not evacuate to protect their property or because they were skeptical of the warnings, a disaster agency official said Typhoon Man-yi yesterday slammed into the Philippines’ most populous island, with the national weather service warning of flooding, landslides and huge waves as the storm sweeps across the archipelago nation. Man-yi was still packing maximum sustained winds of 185kph after making its first landfall late on Saturday on lightly populated Catanduanes island. More than 1.2 million people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi as the weather forecaster warned of a “life-threatening” effect from the powerful storm, which follows an unusual streak of violent weather. Man-yi uprooted trees, brought down power lines and smashed flimsy houses to pieces after hitting Catanduanes in the typhoon-prone
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un renewed his call for a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program to counter US-led threats in comments reported yesterday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since US president-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory on Oct. 6. At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the US for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an “Asian NATO” that was escalating tensions and instability in the region. Kim also criticized the US over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion.
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