Reappointing Denmark’s Inger Andersen to lead the organization’s environmental program could “politicize” global conservation efforts, Moscow claims
The UN's conservation efforts and climate change response may fall victim to pro-Western bias if current CEO Inger Andersen is reappointed to lead its environmental agency, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
The statement came in response to allegations that Russia had sought to stifle Andersen’s candidacy in an attempt to undermine Western support for Kiev during its military conflict with Moscow.
The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) is tasked with raising awareness and advocating for global solutions to combat climate change. Andersen, a Danish economist and conservation expert, currently serves as its executive director, but her term expires this year.
The Financial Times cited two UN sources last week as saying that Moscow was working to block Andersen’s reappointment. The report also cited unnamed diplomats as describing the move as “part of a broader effort by the country to exert influence on the world stage and undermine the objectives of Western nations that have condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Without specifying the publication, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman called the report “politically charged.”
Zakharova stated that prolonging Andersen’s tenure would “strengthen the discriminatory practice of almost exclusively appointing the representatives of Western countries to this high position.”
Such practice unavoidably leads to the dominance of Western staffers at UNEP and to the ignoring of rich national conservation experiences and priorities of developing countries.
Zakharova argued that Andersen’s reappointment could lead to the “politicization” of international environmental efforts. “We believe that the time has come to strengthen the geographical balance at UNEP and let a member from the non-Western world lead the organization,” she said.
UNEP’s leader is elected by the UN General Assembly after being nominated by the organization’s secretary general.
https://www.rt.com/russia/569865-russia-un-western-dominance/
China has suspended several 2025 export controls on strategic materials — including rare earths, superhard materials, and lithium batteries – for a year. Is this a concession to the US, or a move in a far more complex game?
"The first aim of China’s export controls was to consolidate its leverage in negotiations. The second was to establish a long-term framework for managing such controls," says Yana Leksyutina, deputy director at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
Сhina could activate this mechanism at any moment, and now everyone knows it’s a lever it holds, she explains to Sputnik.
Balancing the Mineral Market
"The moratorium on export bans to the US essentially resets the rare earth market to where it was previously," Jeff J. Brown, author of 'The China Trilogy' and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, tells Sputnik.
In the meantime, there will be a global rush by the US and its NATO allies to acquire as many rare earth ...
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The impact of the ongoing federal shutdown on the US economy is far worse than expected because it is lasting much longer than anticipated, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Friday.
"The impact on the economy is far worse than we expected, because it's gone on for so long," Hassett told Fox Business. "I think we were thinking that we could have at least 3% [GDP] growth in the fourth quarter. I think now we're expecting something like half that because of the harm [caused] by the Democrats' policy.".......more here
https://sputnikglobe.com/20251107/federal-shutdown-hitting-us-economy-harder-than-expected--white-house-1123074810.html
Dozens of Palestinians, foreign activists, and journalists have been wounded as Israeli army-backed settlers carried out coordinated assaults across the occupied West Bank.
The attacks took place on Saturday, with the biggest number of the casualties, namely 17 people, being caused after settlers raided the outskirts of the Abu Falah village, northeast of the city of Ramallah, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. Those injured included foreign activists.
According to the agency, settlers also torched a home, while Israeli forces attacked the area, targeting the residents, who had gathered near the scene. The latter incident, though, did not lead to any casualties.
In another wave of violence, settlers launched attacks on Palestinian farmers, journalists, and foreign activists participating in the annual olive harvest across several towns, leaving many with fractures and bruises.
The attacks were most severe in Beita, south of Nablus, where settlers descended from nearby outposts and ambushed ...
