Mayotte turns to bottled water in century's worst drought

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Bottled water will be delivered to all of Mayotte (Chafion MADI)

French island group Mayotte will begin distributing bottled water to its 310,000 inhabitants this month as the region faces its worst drought episode this century, the government said Thursday.

The Indian Ocean archipelago, the lowest-income region in France with most people below the poverty line, depends on rain for its drinking water, but rainfall has been at its lowest since 1997.

France's minister for overseas territories Philippe Vigier told reporters each inhabitant would be entitled to one litre of bottled drinking water per day starting on November 20.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, two litres of water per day are considered an adequate intake for women, and 2.5 litres for men.

The archipelago has been facing severe water restrictions since September, and the government has already been supplying bottled water daily to the 50,000 most vulnerable inhabitants.

Preschools and primary schools will be the first to benefit from the additional water deliveries.

Mayotte's daily water needs are estimated at around 43,000 cubic metres, but supply is currently down to 26,000 on average.

This will drop to or below 20,000 cubic metres per day once the remaining reserves in Mayotte's artificial lakes run out.

Oil-spill ferry towed to port in Sweden: coast guard

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

The passenger ferry Marco Polo was towed into the port of Karlshamn without leaking any more oil, the Swedish coast guard said (Ola TORKELSSON)

Sweden's coast guard said Thursday the passenger ferry that ran aground last month causing a large oil spill had been safely towed to port without further leaks.

The Marco Polo ferry, operated by TT-Line, ran aground south of the southern city of Karlshamn on October 22, with the vessel's 75 passengers safely evacuated.

It stayed still for days but then drifted off due to strong winds on Sunday and once again ran aground, causing further oil spills.

"The passenger ferry Marco Polo has been towed into the Stilleryd harbour in Karlshamn.... without complications or new oil spills," the Swedish Coast Guard said in a statement Thursday.

"The coast guard maintains a presence in Pukavik Bay in case previously leaked oil is found," it continued.

It added that once the ship had been moored in port, the municipal rescue service would take over.

Sweden on Friday fined two crew members for "recklessness in maritime traffic".

On Tuesday, the coastguard said some 50 cubic metres (50,000 litres or 13,000 gallons) of oil and oil waste had been collected.

Swedish authorities said last week it could take as long as a year to completely clean up the spill.

nzg/phy/rl

Lockdown caused ‘rapid’ decline in brain health for over-50s, study finds

Michael Searles
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Experts analysed the brain function of more than 3,000 Britons before and during the pandemic

Lockdown caused “rapid” and “lasting” deterioration in the brain health of over-50s, a landmark study has found.

Experts analysed the brain function of more than 3,000 Britons before and during the pandemic, with results published in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal.

In the latest revelation on the impact of lockdowns, the study found people’s cognitive functions, such as their memory and verbal reasoning skills (ability to understand and draw conclusions from information), declined 50 per cent faster during the first year of the pandemic than they had in the year before.

Researchers from the University of Exeter said consecutive lockdowns resulting in increased loneliness, depression and alcohol use, as well as reduced physical activity, were to blame.

Prof Anne Corbett, Protect study lead at the University of Exeter, said: “Our findings suggest that lockdowns and other restrictions we experienced during the pandemic have had a real lasting impact on brain health in people aged 50 or over, even after the lockdowns ended.”

The 3,142 participants from the Protect study had an average age of 67.

They were routinely tested on their ability to memorise sequences of numbers, search for a target among other objects, pair and associate words, and their ability to interpret phrases, among other brain-functioning metrics.
Deteriorating faster

It found that the speed that the participants’ cognitive functions deteriorated had become significantly faster between March 2020 and February 2021 than expected, and continued to do so, albeit at a slightly slower pace, in the second year after the pandemic.

The scientists said this was worse among those who already had some form of cognitive decline, and those who had previously contracted Covid-19, but had still accelerated faster than it should have among those without either.

The researchers said the brain’s executive function – ability to plan, manage, multi-task and think flexibly – and its working memory, had declined by an average of 0.61 and 0.64 per cent in the year before the pandemic, but this accelerated by 49 and 55 per cent respectively during the pandemic.

It means there is a significant increase in the risk of developing a condition caused by dementia, such as Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia.

Dr Susan Mitchell, head of policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said the study “demonstrates how the profound lifestyle shifts triggered by the lockdown restrictions might have influenced the nation’s brain health”.

“It underlines the fact that there are steps we can all take to protect the health of our brain. Our own analysis has shown that just 2 per cent of people say they’re doing all they can to optimise their brain health,” Dr Mitchell said.

“While our genetics play an important role in the health of our brains as we age, we know that a range of health and lifestyle factors can impact our brain health. This study found that some of these factors, such as less exercise, were worsened during the pandemic – with knock-on consequences.”
‘Self-harming and suicide’

It is the latest in a series of revelations on the longer-term impacts of lockdowns that have come to light through research and the Covid inquiry.

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK director, told the hearing last month that lockdowns had caused “much higher rates of depression and self-harming and suicide” among elderly people who had suffered “a great loss of confidence”.

Previous studies have also highlighted the increase in harm to children’s mental health and development, while also causing increased levels of obesity.

Prof Corbett said: “Our findings also highlight the need for policy-makers to consider the wider health impacts of restrictions like lockdowns when planning for a future pandemic response.”

Prof Dag Aarsland, head of department in old age psychiatry at King’s College London, said: “This study adds to the knowledge of the long-standing health-consequences of Covid-19, in particular for vulnerable people such as older people with mild memory problems. We know a great deal of the risks for further decline, and now can add Covid-19 to this list.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Jail for Indonesian drug manufacturers over cough syrup linked to 200 child deaths

Sarah Newey
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Riski Agri holds the bottle of cough syrup that hospitalised his five-year-old son Farrazka in Jakarta. The boy survived but was left with kidney damage

Four senior officials of a company that produced a cough syrup linked to the deaths of more than 200 children have been sentenced to jail in Indonesia.

The chief executive and three other senior employees of Afi Farma – which manufactured medicines containing excess quantities of a toxic substance – were given two-year prison sentences on Wednesday, and fined one billion Indonesian rupiah (£52,000).

Their products were linked to the deaths of more than 200 otherwise healthy children in Indonesia, who died from acute kidney injury after consuming ethylene glycol.

Since 2022, about 100 fatalities linked to other counterfeit medicines – mainly produced in India – have also been reported in Gambia and Uzbekistan, in what has become the biggest tainted medicine scandal since contaminated cough syrup killed 365 people in Panama in 2006.

In Indonesia, prosecutors in East Java found the four defendants guilty of producing pharmaceutical products that did not meet safety standards.

The ruling referred to events between October 2021 and February 2022, when Ali Farma received two batches of propylene glycol, which is used to make cough syrup.

But despite having the means to do so, the company “consciously” did not test the ingredients – which turned out to contain 96 to 99 per cent ethylene glycol, the prosecutor said.

Both substances can be used as additives to solvents, but while propylene glycol is non-toxic and widely included in medicines, cosmetics and food, ethylene glycol is an industrial solvent used in paint, pens and brake fluid – and very dangerous if ingested in high quantities.

The World Health Organization says the safe limit is no more than 0.10 per cent.

According to prosecutors, Ali Farma relied on quality and safety certificates from its supplier, instead of independently testing them.

The company’s lawyers denied negligence and told the BBC that rigorous testing of ingredients is not a requirement in Indonesia, adding that the firm is considering an appeal.

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security

Hong Kong gears up for first Gay Games in Asia despite pushback

The Gay Games will kick off in Hong Kong on Friday, the first time the international sporting event is held in Asia, despite some local opposition and fears over political freedoms.

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023

Thai singer Silvy Pavida Moriggi (C) attends a press conference ahead of the Gay Games in Hong Kong (Peter PARKS)

The event, which features both LGBTQ and heterosexual athletes, will see 2,381 people compete in sports including football and badminton -- as well as Hong Kong dragon boat racing and mahjong -- and aims to promote diversity through sport and culture.

"We all need this platform where it doesn't matter who you are, how you identify. We all come together in this culture of respect and acceptance," event co-chair Lisa Lam said at a press conference Thursday.

Hong Kong does not permit same-sex marriage and there is no law against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The city's top court in September rejected gay marriage but ordered the government to set up an "alternative framework" to recognise same-sex couples' rights.

"Hong Kong always says it's an international metropolis, but in some aspects, progress has been slow," event promoter Bu Chan told AFP.

The Chinese finance hub won the bid in 2017 to host the games, initially slated for last November but delayed due to strict pandemic curbs which were only lifted late last year.

Mexico's city of Guadalajara is co-hosting the event, with no overlap in sporting events between the two locations.

Lam said the Gay Games can show that Hong Kong is "open for business (and) everyone is welcome".

But while Hong Kong officials backed the organisers' initial bid to host the event, most have refrained from publicly expressing support in recent months.

- Security concerns -

Seven Hong Kong lawmakers spoke out on Wednesday against the Gay Games, with pro-Beijing firebrand Junius Ho accusing the event of "attempting to subvert national security".

Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, after the former British colony saw widespread and at times violent pro-democracy protests.

Lai Wen-wei, chair of the Taiwan Gay Sports and Movement Association, told AFP last month that his team of up to 12 athletes will head for Mexico.

"(Athletes) could risk arrest or detention if they wave Taiwan's national flags due to the national security law, so we still decided against sending a team to Hong Kong over personal safety concerns," Lai said.

Organisers say the Gay Games are "strictly non-partisan and non-political, and we ask all participants and visitors to respect and observe local laws and customs during their stay in Hong Kong."

Authorities said in August that Gay Games organisers have been reminded to "observe the city's laws and regulations".

Regina Ip, a top government advisor, is expected to be the lone pro-establishment figure to attend the Gay Games opening ceremony, according to organisers.

A survey this year found that 60 percent of Hongkongers supported same-sex marriage, compared to just 38 percent a decade ago.

Louis Ng, a Gay Games promoter, told AFP that he encountered people at a Hong Kong street corner handing out flyers opposing the event and tried to reason with them.

"I saw a horrible flyer that demonised gays... We should try to talk to them and explain what (the event) really is," Ng said.

hol/dhw

Colombian guerrilla group kidnapped Liverpool striker Diaz's parents: Bogota

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Luis Diaz is the first Indigenous Colombian to make it to the top echelons of football (HENRY NICHOLLS)

The Colombian government on Thursday accused the ELN guerrilla group, with which it is seeking to negotiate peace, of kidnapping Liverpool winger Luis Diaz's parents in their home town last weekend.

Diaz's mother Cilenis Marulanda was rescued hours after the abduction in Barrancas, but his father Luis Manuel Diaz has been missing ever since.

The crime "was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN," a government official said on X, formerly Twitter, adding: "we demand the ELN immediately free" the missing man, who local media say is 56 years old.


The ELN and the government of leftist President Gustavo Petro are in the midst of peace negotiations and a six-month ceasefire which entered into force in August.

The parents of Colombia and Liverpool player Diaz were abducted Saturday by armed men on motorcycles at a gas station in their home town of 38,000 people in the northern La Guajira department.

Marulanda was rescued hours later and a massive search operation was launched for her husband.

Colombian authorities have said there has been no ransom demand.

The ELN, or National Liberation Army, has not claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

"We demand the ELN immediately free Luis Manuel Diaz," said Thursday's statement signed by Otty Patino, the head of the government delegation in peace talks with the ELN.

He added it was the ELN's "responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity."

Attorney General Francisco Barbosa has said the older Diaz "could be" in Venezuela, without giving further details.

- Meteoric rise -

Luis Manuel Diaz was an amateur coach at the only football academy in Barrancas, a town near the Venezuelan border, where his son showed promise from a very young age.

Dissidents of the FARC guerrilla group that disarmed in 2017 are also known to be active in this remote part of Colombia, as are paramilitary fighters and criminal gangs.

Petro, a former urban guerrilla himself, took office last August with the stated goal of achieving "total peace" in a country ravaged by decades of fighting between the security forces, leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.

More than 38,000 people have been kidnapped in Colombia over the years, mainly by groups raising funds with ransom money.

The ELN, Colombia's last recognized guerrilla group, started as a leftist ideological movement in 1964 before turning to crime -- focusing on kidnapping, extortion, violent attacks and drug trafficking.

With some 5,800 combatants, the group is primarily active in the Pacific region and along the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border with Venezuela.

Official data shows the ELN has a presence in more than 200 municipalities where fighting has displaced communities caught up in the violence.

"We remind the ELN that kidnapping is a criminal practice, in violation of international humanitarian law, and that it is its duty (within the context of) the current peace process not only to stop the practice but also to eliminate it forever," said Patino.

The elder Diaz is credited with aiding the meteoric rise of the Liverpool and Colombia striker known as Lucho.

Acquaintances have told AFP that he sometimes sold food he cooked himself to pay for his son’s trips to Barranquilla, the city where he had his debut with the football club Junior.

The younger Diaz, who has not spoken publicly about the kidnapping, has played for his country 43 times and arrived at Liverpool last year from Portuguese club Porto.

He has played 11 games with Liverpool and scored three goals, and is the first Indigenous Colombian to make it to world football's top echelons.

Colombian police have offered a reward equivalent to about $48,000 for information that leads them to Diaz and his captors.

das/mlr/dw

Luis Diaz’s hometown prays for return of footballer’s kidnapped father

Matthew Charles
Thu, 2 November 2023 

The parents of Luis Diaz, pictured with their son, were abducted and threatened at gun point

It was about 5pm on Saturday afternoon when rumours began to spread that someone had been kidnapped. Barrancas in northern Colombia is a small town so news travels fast.

“My phone beeped, my wife’s phone beeped, my son’s phone beeped. All pretty much simultaneously,” local resident, José Hernández told the Telegraph. “So we knew something was up.”

The parents of Liverpool left-winger, Luis Diaz, had been abducted from a petrol station as they stopped to fill up their car. His mother was rescued hours later, but his father remains missing.


“Everyone’s in shock,” said Mr Hernández, a friend of the couple. “This just doesn’t happen here.”

That shock has reverberated across the country.

Almost a year since the government embarked on a controversial, soft-touch “total peace” gang-crime strategy, murder and kidnapping rates are once again on the rise.

The Colombian government has launched a major military search operation to find Luis Manuel Diaz, mobilising elite police officers, as well as more than a hundred soldiers specially trained in hostage rescue missions. Helicopters and planes equipped with heat-seeking cameras have also been deployed to scour the jungle for the footballer’s father.

Like most places in Colombia, Barrancas, a hot and dry place in the La Guajira desert region, has a painful past.

But more recently the town has enjoyed a sharp rise in tourism, not least because of its connection to the Liverpool star.

CCTV footage broadcast by local television shows men on motorbikes following his parent’s car just before they were abducted.

“Something like this is not spontaneous, it is planned,” Alejandro Zapata, deputy director of the national police, said in a press conference. “But we know who they are.”

The military fear Luis Manuel Diaz may be transported over the border into Venezuela - EyePress News/Shutterstock

On Monday, police confirmed they had identified a number of individuals linked to the kidnapping, but no names have been released for operational reasons and, so far, no warrants have been issued.

£40,000 reward for information

Security camera footage released by the police shows two of the suspects they believe to be responsible. Authorities are offering a £40,000 reward for information.

Eyewitnesses to the kidnapping told The Telegraph that Mr Diaz’s parents were threatened with guns. They were driven off in their own vehicle, which was found 90 minutes later, seven miles away. The kidnappers had swapped cars, taking Diaz’s father with them, but leaving his mother behind.

“She was in good health, but obviously very distraught,” said Emiro Bonilla, the acting mayor of Barrancas. “We think they left her behind in an attempt to keep the police off their tail.”

Luis Manuel Diaz and Celina Marulanda are well known and much loved in this small town of 40,000 people. Luis Manuel, affectionately called “Mane” by most people, trains young footballers.

Residents in Barrancas attend a candlelight vigil for the safe return of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz's father - Reuters

Eight-year-old Jesus Arbeláez is one of them.

“We want our teacher back,” he said, accompanied by his mother.

On Tuesday, residents of the town held a candlelight vigil to demand the safe return of Luis Manuel Diaz. Hundreds of people marched through the streets chanting “freedom”.

“Mane is a noble person,” said Mr Hernández. “He’s one of us. He’s helped the kids of this town. Now we need to help him.”

The geography of the region is hampering rescue efforts. Authorities say the kidnappers drove off through the Perijá mountains, which straddle the Colombia-Venezuela border. It is dense and difficult terrain, providing the perfect cover for criminal activity.

There are a number of organised criminal groups involved in smuggling and people-trafficking on both sides. A family friend told local media that the couple had received threatening calls demanding extortion before Saturday’s kidnapping.
Fears he may be taken across border

Military sources told The Telegraph that they were in a rush to find Mr Diaz because they feared he might be taken across the border.

The incident has stoked fears of increasing insecurity in Colombia, where such kidnappings were becoming less common until a surge in the past 12 months.

As part of its controversial “total peace” strategy, the Colombian state is negotiating with organised criminal structures and gangs in order to encourage their demobilisation.

But just more than a year into the programme, researchers say it has allowed Colombian criminal groups to grow in strength. Crimes such as murder and kidnapping have increased as a result.

“We’re at a critical crossroads,” said analyst, Maria Victoria Llorente. “The government’s ‘total peace’ strategy is not achieving the results it set out to achieve, so we need to reassess it.”

At the football club in Barrancas founded by Luis Manuel Diaz - and where his son played as a child - some 200 young footballers have suspended their training. The football pitch in the town’s Villa Luz neighbourhood has been taken over by helicopters from Colombian special forces.

The young players, clad in their football kits as a mark of respect, look on defiantly.

“Mane is like our dad,” says 10-year-old Rafel Pinto. “We won’t play again until he’s back with us.”

Nestle accused of 'sponsoring' Russian war effort

Our Foreign Staff
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Protesters carry 'Boycott Nestle' placards as they take part in a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine last March

 - LAURENT GILLIERON/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Kyiv has named Swiss food giant Nestle as a “sponsor of war” over the Kit Kat-maker’s continued operations in Russia.

Hundreds of Western firms quit the Russian market following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, and Kyiv has not shied away from publicly criticising those that have remained.

“Despite Russian aggression, Nestle continues to operate in Russia, supply goods to the aggressor and expand its Russian production base,” Ukraine’s national anti-corruption agency said on Thursday.

“This is the basis for the company being entered into the list of international sponsors of war,” it added.

When asked to comment on the move, Nestle referred it to a previous statement, in which the company said it had “drastically reduced” its portfolio in Russia.

The Swiss company owns dozens of food and drink brands including Nescafe - KONSTANTIN ZAVRAZHIN/GETTY

Those comments also said the company had cancelled all future investment, halted advertising and was “fully complying with all applicable international sanctions”.

Nestle owns dozens of household food and drink brands, from Nescafe and Nestea to Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Purina pet food.

“We stand with the people of Ukraine and our 5,500 employees there,” a statement on Nestle’s website reads.

It says its operations in Russia are “focused on providing essential and basic foods to the local people”.

Nestle employed around 7,000 people in Russia before the war and its 2022 annual report says it had six factories in the country.

DISPITE WINDFALL TAXES

Energy giant Shell announces rise in profits

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Energy majors are benefiting from elevated oil prices (Paul ELLIS)

British energy giant Shell on Thursday said net profit rose 4.5 percent to $7 billion in the third quarter from a year earlier, as it benefits from high oil prices.

"Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, capturing opportunities in volatile commodity markets," chief executive Wael Sawan said in a statement.

"We continue to simplify our portfolio while delivering more value with less emissions," he added in an earnings statement.


Energy majors are benefiting from elevated oil prices, which are being fuelled by concerns the Israel-Hamas conflict could widen across the crude-rich Middle East.

Shell also announced a fresh buyback of shares worth $3.5 billion.

Adjusted earnings in the third quarter stood at $6.2 billion, up compared with the second quarter, on "robust operational performance and higher oil prices and refining margins".

Over the first nine months of 2023 Shell's profit was however down sharply, reflecting lower oil prices year-on-year.

Crude futures had soared at the start of 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine by major oil producer Russia.

After later falling somewhat, they are once more on the rise owing to fears of escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

bcp/ach

Shell profits boosted by oil and gas amid green energy losses

Jonathan Leake
Thu, 2 November 2023 

shell

Shell’s profits hit $6.2bn (£5.1bn) in the third quarter, as the energy giant was boosted by its oil and gas production.

The company said the results were driven by rising oil prices, which cancelled out a drop-off in its renewables division where the company posted a $67m loss.

It comes as Shell doubles down on its fossil fuels strategy in a bid to increase profits.

The latest profits were higher than the $5.1bn (£4.2bn) recorded in the previous quarter but down on the $9.5bn earned over the same period last year.

Thursday’s figures also revealed a $3.5bn share buyback, which will take the total handed to investors in 2023 up to $23bn.

Shell’s latest results revealed $2.5bn profits from its gas operations and a further $2.2bn from its upstream oil plants. It also posted $1.4bn across its chemicals division.

Wael Sawan, Shell’s chief executive, said: “Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, capturing opportunities in volatile commodity markets.”

He also hailed the accelerated share buyback programme, which is linked to the belief that Shell’s shares are underpriced compared to American rivals.

Those tensions have been exacerbated by the recent mega-mergers in the US, such as last month’s deal between ExxonMobil and Pioneer Natural Resources and Chevron’s $60bn acquisition of Hess Corporation.

Shell also confirmed in Thursday’s announcement that it was cutting capital expenditure by about $2bn a year to release more money for dividends.

Sinead Gorman, Shell’s chief financial officer said: “We set out a path to increase shareholder value. We continue to maintain discipline and have taken the decision to further lower our 2023 cash capital expenditure outlook to $23bn-25bn.”

Ms Gorman said Shell was also striving to simplify the business, which comes after it recently axed 200 jobs across its low-carbon division and sold off its retail energy arm.

She said: “We have agreed to sell our home energy business in the UK and Germany.

“And following the strategic review we announced earlier this year, divestment is the priority focus for our Singapore refining and chemical assets at the moment.

“These have not been easy decisions. But these are necessary steps to further simplify and focus our portfolio.”

The company’s continued profits from oil and gas prompted criticism from environmental groups.

Jonathan Noronha-Gant, a campaigner at Global Witness, said: ‘’Shell’s shareholders remain some of the biggest winners of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine and ongoing global instability.


Shell posts $6.2 billion third-quarter profit, announces $3.5 billion share buyback

By Jenni Reid,CNBC • Published November 2, 2023

Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images


People pump gas into their vehicles at a Shell petrol station on October 2, 2023 in Alhambra, California.
Shell on Thursday reported $6.2 billion profit for the third quarter, roughly in line with estimates.
Profit was higher than the $5.1 billion of the second quarter, but marked a sharp decline from the $9.45 billion reported a year ago.

British oil giant Shell on Thursday reported $6.2 billion profit for the third quarter, roughly in line with estimates, as the company benefited from higher oil prices and refining margins.

Analysts expected adjusted earnings of $6.48 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.

Profit was higher than the $5.1 billion of the second quarter, but marked a sharp decline from the $9.45 billion reported a year ago, when the Russia-Ukraine conflict bolstered oil and gas prices.

The company also announced a $3.5 billion share buyback to be carried out over the next three months. Shell CEO Wael Sawan said the $6.5 billion set for the second half of the year was now "well in excess" of the $5 billion announced in June.

"Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, capturing opportunities in volatile commodity markets," Sawan said in a statement.

Free cash flow fell from $12.1 billion in the second quarter to $7.5 billion. Cash capital expenditure rose from $5.1 billion to $5.6 billion.

Energy majors are coming off the back of a record year for profits, which was fuelled by soaring fossil fuel prices.

Oil prices have again risen sharply through the third quarter 2023 on the back of factors including Saudi Arabian and Russian supply cuts, while the International Energy Agency has said oil markets will remain on edge amid the escalation in conflict in the Middle East.

BP on Tuesday posted a year-on-year fall in third-quarter profit from $8.15 billion to $3.293 billion, below analyst estimates, though France's TotalEnergies slightly outperformed last week.

While BP said its muted quarterly performance was partly due to weakness in gas marketing and trading, Shell said performance in its integrated gas division was steady, noting favorable trading.

Shell's renewables and energy solutions division meanwhile reported a $67 million loss, which it attributed to weaker margins due to seasonal effects and lower trading. Capital expenditure was $659 million.

The results come amid criticism over the pace of the company's decarbonization program, including from groups of its own shareholders.

Shell confirmed last week that it will cut 200 positions within its low-carbon solutions unit in 2024.

"Another share buyback should be good news for shareholders, but there is little said about its plans to achieve net zero in today's update – this remains a longer term concern for many, after the company announced its decision to focus on oil and gas production earlier this year," Stuart Lamont, investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said in a note.

"With the geopolitical environment still volatile, oil prices look likely to continue recent rises which should mean a strong final quarter for Shell."

London-listed shares of Shell were 1.1% higher at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Also on CNBC

FTSE 100: Shell launches $3.5bn share buyback as profits hit $6.2bn

Pedro Goncalves
·Finance Reporter, Yahoo Finance UK
Thu, 2 November 2023


Shell shareholder rewards hit $23bn for the year. Photo: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters (Sergei Karpukhin / reuters)

Shell (SHEL.L) will hand its shareholders $3.5bn (£2.9bn) in share buybacks as it reported quarterly profit of $6.2bn (£5.1bn), helped by oil prices rising again.

The London-listed oil and gas producer said its adjusted earnings fell 34% in the three months to September with a year earlier, landing at a little over 6.2bn (£5.1bn).

Shell said that while it would keep its dividend unchanged at $0.331 per share, it was to raise awards via share buybacks.

Shell plc (SHEL.L)
View quote details

Chief executive officer, Wael Sawan, said the oil company would hand shareholders $6.5bn in share buybacks over the second half of the year, “well in excess of the $5bn announced at Capital Markets Day in June”.

Read more: FTSE and European stocks higher ahead of BoE interest rate call

In total, the company’s shareholder payouts for 2023 stand at $23bn, he said.

"Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, capturing opportunities in volatile commodity markets,” Sawan said.

"We continue to simplify our portfolio while delivering more value with less emissions," he added.

The size of the payouts was criticised by Jonathan Noronha-Gant a campaigner at Global Witness.

“Shell’s shareholders remain some of the biggest winners of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine and ongoing global instability.

Read more: What are share repurchases?

“The turmoil in fossil fuel markets allows Shell to rake in enormous profits – but instead of investing in clean energy, the company has doubled down on oil, gas, and shareholder pay-outs.”

This summer Shell abandoned its target to reduce oil production by 1-2% every year until 2030, saying it had met the target early by selling off some of its assets meaning another company, not it, is responsible for the oil fields.

Read more: Bank of England set to keep UK interest rates on hold

The company has also confirmed that it will cut 200 positions within its low-carbon solutions unit in 2024.

“Another share buyback should be good news for shareholders, but there is little said about its plans to achieve net zero in today’s update – this remains a longer term concern for many, after the company announced its decision to focus on oil and gas production earlier this year,” Stuart Lamont, investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said in a note.

“With the geopolitical environment still volatile, oil prices look likely to continue recent rises which should mean a strong final quarter for Shell.”

BP (BP.L) on Tuesday posted a year-on-year fall in third-quarter profit from $8.15bn to $3.29bn.

Watch: Shell Accelerates Pace of Share Buybacks as 3Q Profit Rises


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Climate funding fall shows action 'stalling' as needs grows: UN

Kelly MACNAMARA
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Climate change is increasing the frequency and ferocity of weather extremes (Mamun Hossain)

International funding for climate resilience in developing countries slumped in 2021 despite increasingly ferocious impacts, the United Nations said Thursday, as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned action was "stalling" even as the need to protect people increases.

Many developing economies least to blame for the greenhouse gases that stoke global warming are among the most exposed to the costly and destructive effects of worsening weather extremes and rising seas.

But in its latest annual assessment of climate preparedness funding, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) found that public finance to developing countries fell 15 percent to around $21 billion in 2021 -- the most recent year for which figures are available.


Meanwhile, the overall annual funding that developing countries need to adapt to climate impacts this decade is projected to have increased to as much as $387 billion, UNEP said.

"Storms, fires, floods, drought and extreme temperatures are becoming more frequent and more ferocious, and they're on course to get far worse," Guterres said in a statement, adding that the need to protect people and nature was "more pressing than ever".

"Yet, as needs rise, action is stalling," he said.

World leaders meeting at this year's climate talks in the United Arab Emirates will face a tough reckoning over financial solidarity between rich polluters and vulnerable nations, as a failure to cut planet-heating emissions threatens the Paris deal's global warming limits.

"The world must urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions and increase adaptation efforts to protect vulnerable populations," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, in the foreword to the Adaptation Gap report.

"Neither is happening."

- Damage control -

As the world warms, climate change impacts increase and so too do the costs of preparing for them.

Richer countries promised in 2009 to provide $100 billion a year to finance both adaptation and emissions cuts in developing countries by 2020.

But it only reached $83 billion that year, according to the most recent figures available from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Failure to meet the target on time has damaged trust in international climate negotiations.

"Developing countries stand ready, awaiting the necessary funds to safeguard their people against imminent climate disasters," said Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at campaign consortium Climate Action Network International.

"Without timely adaptation, we are setting the stage for unimaginable loss of lives and livelihoods caused by relentless floods, raging wildfires, and surging seas."

UNEP said its analysis found that public financing for adaptation dropped to $21.3 billion in 2021, from $25.2 billion in 2020.

It said the fall set a "worrying precedent", particularly because it came in a year that saw wealthy nations pledge at UN climate talks in Glasgow to double annual adaptation funding by 2025, from 2019 levels, to $40 billion.

Report co-author Paul Watkiss said it was too soon to discern a trend, although international circumstances remain "challenging", going from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, to Russia's invasion of Ukraine the following year.

After a major update to its methods, UNEP said it now expects developing countries to need more funds to prepare for climate impacts, giving a range of between $215 billion to $387 billion per year this decade.

That is based on the difference between the costs of adaptation calculated using computer models and financing needs implied by countries' published national climate plans, if they have them.

UNEP said this amounts to roughly one percent of gross domestic product in developing countries on average, but in the least developed countries and vulnerable small islands it is around 2 percent of GDP.

Even if wealthy governments meet their promise of doubling adaptation finance by 2025, the gap between available funding and needs would still be vast, UNEP said, proposing a range of additional sources of money.

These include international and private sector finance, and reforms proposed by developing countries of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to align with climate priorities.

Adaptation is a good investment, the report stressed, citing research that every billion spent on adaptation against coastal flooding leads to a $14 billion reduction in economic damages.

The failure to cut emissions is already causing intensifying climate impacts, slamming communities and causing growing losses and damages.

This led to an agreement at last year's climate talks in Egypt for a new fund to help vulnerable nations.

Guterres said one stream of funding for this should come from a windfall tax on the fossil fuel industry.

"Fossil fuel barons and their enablers have helped create this mess; they must support those suffering as a result," he said.

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Climate experts warn of fossil fuel tactics at COP28

Bahira Amin
Wed, 1 November 2023 

The UAE has appointed Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the chief executive of its national oil company, as COP28 president. (Ryan LIM)

Oil-rich Gulf states have positioned themselves as both champions of climate innovation and guardians of fossil fuel interests -- a balancing act experts warn could derail action at COP28 in Dubai.

This year's United Nations climate summit is being chaired and hosted by the United Arab Emirates, a country dubbed "an oil company with a state attached" by one observer who requested anonymity so they could speak freely about the negotiations.

According to COP28 director general Majid Al Suwadi, "the UAE has been a leader when it comes to climate change".

"We have been doing our part," he said in September.

But one of the "inherent flaws of the COP system" is that national interests -- particularly the host's -- inevitably influence the outcome, said Ahmed El Droubi, international campaigns manager at Climate Action Network.

Indeed, the UAE has appointed Sultan Al Jaber, the head of state-owned oil company ADNOC, as COP president, drawing protests from environmentalists.

At COP27 in Egypt, where oil and gas lobbyists outnumbered most delegations, the final text included a last-minute provision to boost "low-emission energy".

That term includes natural gas, into which Egypt has invested billions of dollars in recent years.

In Dubai, activists expect the fight will be even harder, with the hydrocarbons industry intent on "not just delaying, denying, diverting meaningful climate action, but also greenwashing their polluting work", Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment at Syracuse University, told AFP.

With time running out, the stakes are higher than ever at COP28.

To keep global warming at an average of 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions must drop 43 percent by 2030 from 2019 levels, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN's climate body.

"At the moment, we're not cutting anything, and the situation gets more urgent every year," Karim Elgendy, associate fellow at Chatham House, told AFP.

- Delay the 'inevitable' -

Jaber, who is also the UAE's climate envoy and co-founder of state-owned renewable energy company Masdar, is not the only oil industry veteran on the front lines of the climate fight.

The European Union's COP28 delegation is led by Dutch former foreign minister and ex-Shell employee Wopke Hoekstra, an appointment that has also been controversial.

According to Droubi, despite Jaber's clear "conflict of interest" as ADNOC chief, he "has actually said the most progressive thing of any COP president: that phasing down fossil fuels is inevitable".

But "inevitable", Elgendy says, "is a very calculated word".

In the name of energy market stability, fossil fuel giants including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the United States have argued for continued new investments in hydrocarbons before an eventual transition.

In October, Jaber said "we cannot unplug the energy system of today before we build the new system of tomorrow", and encouraged activists to separate "reality from fantasies".

But "no one is saying turn it off immediately", Elgendy said.

"What they're saying is don't dig any more wells, don't expand capacity."

To stick to the 1.5C threshold, the International Energy Agency has called for an end to new investments in coal, oil and natural gas.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has slammed the IEA as a "political" body, and the industry is proceeding with vast expansion globally.

According to Elgendy, more attention should be given to the solutions that matter, including cutting oil and gas subsidies -- which according to the International Monetary Fund were $7 trillion in 2022, or seven percent of global GDP.

- De-link and keep drilling -

The UAE has long been diversifying its economy, and says 70 percent of its GDP comes from non-oil sectors. It has pledged tens of billions of dollars in renewable energy investments.

"But for them, that means expanding into renewables, not actually limiting fossil fuels," according to Droubi.

At COP28, many countries, and the EU, will argue for an unprecedented commitment to move away from "unabated" fossil fuels.

Droubi said what the UAE is pushing, and what activists "are pushing back on, is de-linking the phase-in of renewables from the phase-out of fossil fuels".

On one hand, Gulf states say there will always be the need for some oil. And because theirs is the world's "cheapest and cleanest", they should be "the last producers standing", Elgendy said.

On the other hand, they have adopted what he calls an "unorthodox" climate approach where the key is not to cut carbon -- as scientists insist is necessary -- but to "manage carbon; we'll reuse it and recycle it and ultimately we'll sequester it underground".

- Running out of time -

Instead of cutting fossil fuels outright, oil giants have touted several once-marginal technologies as promising solutions to cut emissions.

They include carbon capture and storage (CCS), direct air capture and carbon credit trading -- all carbon management mechanisms that amount to "false climate solutions", according to Sultana.

CCS prevents CO2 from entering the atmosphere by siphoning exhaust from power plants, while direct air capture pulls CO2 from thin air.

Both technologies have been demonstrated to work, but remain far from maturity and commercial scalability.

Carbon credit trading schemes -- which underpin much of the world's "net zero" ambitions -- have long been dogged by charges of deception, poor transparency, dodgy accounting practices and in-built conflicts of interest.

According to Elgendy, these solutions "need several years to be viable, and we simply don't have that time".

In September, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned: "We must make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels."

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