Kuwait and saudi arabia

NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia is restarting preparations for a potential initial public offering (IPO) of oil giant Aramco, months after putting the planned listing on hold, people familiar with the matter said. Aramco, the world’s most profitable company, recently held talks with a select group of investment banks to discuss potential roles on the offering, according to the people. Detailed work on the IPO may pick up speed later this year or early next year, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The revived IPO plan will still face significant hurdles, including the ability of the kingdom to achieve the $2 trillion valuation it’s been seeking for the company. Demand for the share sale would also likely be affected by lower oil prices as well as growing concerns among top institutional investors about pouring money into fossil-fuel companies that contribute to climate change. … [Read more...] about Saudi Aramco to restart IPO process

Madrid: A UN climate summit ground towards a delayed close on Sunday with a handful of major states resisting pressure to ramp up efforts to combat global warming, prompting sharp criticism from smaller countries and environmental activists. The Madrid talks were viewed as a test of governments' collective will to heed the advice of scientists to cut greenhouse gas emissions more rapidly in order to prevent rising global temperatures from hitting irreversible tipping points. But the conference was expected to endorse only a modest declaration on the "urgent need" to close the gap between existing emissions pledges and the temperature goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to tackle climate change. Many developing countries and campaigners had wanted to see much more explicit language spelling out the importance of countries submitting bolder pledges on emissions as the Paris process enters a crucial implementation phase next year. "These talks reflect how disconnected country leaders are … [Read more...] about Major states snub calls for climate action as UN summit grinds to close

NEW DELHI: With Iran still detaining its tanker carrying crude from Iraq citing environmental concerns, India on Friday asserted that the vessel has not violated any pollution norms. Iranians, meanwhile, conducted a second round of inspection of MT Desh Shanti, which was detained by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Tuesday in the Persian Gulf and took it to Bandar Abbas Port. "Maritime authorities and International surveyors have inspected the ship, which is only nine years old, built in 2004. It was alleged that it caused pollution on July 30th but the fact remains that the tanker was not carrying crude on that date," a senior Shipping Ministry official told PTI. The tanker belonging to the country's largest ocean liner Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) was detained while carrying crude from Bashra in Iraq. India, through its mission in Tehran, is engaged in hectic negotiations for release of the tanker. Meanwhile, an SCI official said contacts were made with the … [Read more...] about No violation of pollution norms by our tanker in Iran: Shipping Ministry

DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday accused Myanmar of being reluctant in repatriating their over a million Rohingya nationals defying its promise and alleged that some international aid agencies want to keep the refugee crisis alive. Bangladesh hosts over a million Rohingyas in makeshift refugee camps in its southeastern Cox's Bazar district as the fled a Myanmar military crackdown in August 2017 generating the worst refugee crisis in the recent history. In January 2018, a deal was signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar to repatriate Rohingya refugees. Myanmar had agreed to accept 1,500 Rohingyas each week, Bangladesh said at the time, adding that it aimed to return all of them to Myanmar within two years. "The problem lies with Myanmar as they don't want Rohingya to return by any means though it signed an agreement with Bangladesh promising to repatriate them," she told a press conference at her Ganabhaban official residence. The premier feared that some … [Read more...] about Hasina accuses Myanmar of defying promise over repatriation of Rohingyas

NEW DELHI: "The death penalty has no place in the 21st century." The quote by UN Secretary General António Guterres seems convincing, but over 50 countries still allow capital punishment and gruesome crimes such as the Nirbhaya gang rape-and-murder case serve as a reminder that the issue of doing away with death penalty is not a settled one. The 50 countries that still allow death penalty include India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, the US, Iran, Japan, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Iraq, Indonesia and the UAE, according to information in public domain. The US-based Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit organization, states that there are 146 countries that have totally abolished it in law and practice. India executes criminals only in extreme cases and only 26 executions have taken place in India since 1991, the last being 1993 bomb blast case convict Yakub Memon in 2015. Before that, India had executed 2001 Indian Parliament attack Afzal Guru. Death penalty is in focus in … [Read more...] about Death penalty debate rages on as court considers plea of Nirbhaya convict