Institutional investors holding assets worth USD 11 trillion have now pledged to divest from fossil fuel assets, a significant jump in the number committing to clean energy, a report said on Monday.
A growing number of investment and wealth funds have been looking to pull away from fossil fuels and shift to renewables, especially since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
The USD 11 trillion figure was released in a report as part of the "Financing the Future" summit in Cape Town for advocates for investment in clean energy transition.
More than 1,000 institutional investors are committed to dropping fossil fuel assets, including wealth funds, banks, insurance firms as well as scores of city councils, universities, and religious organisations.
By comparison, institutional investors with holdings of USD 52 billion in assets had made the same commitment in 2014.
"We are seeing a clear shift away from fossil fuel investments in every sector," said Clara Vondrich, Director of ...

Investors with USD 11 trn in assets pledge shift from fossil fuels: report

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At least 17 people were killed in Morocco when flood waters overturned their bus in the kingdom's southeast, authorities said Monday.
Rescuers have been searching for bodies since the accident Sunday, when the bus flipped on a bridge in a valley near the city of Errachidia, authorities said.
They said a further 29 passengers, with various injuries but in "stable" condition, had been transferred to a hospital in Errachidia.
Rescue workers were continuing their search, after six dead passengers were initially found at the site and another 11 in the relief operation.
The bus driver, who had at first had been counted among the missing, turned up Monday at the hospital and was being treated under police guard ahead of questioning, local officials said.
Wounded passengers, interviewed by Medi1TV from their hospital beds, told of their ordeal.
"We were on the road when, all of a sudden, we were surrounded by water," a woman said, while another said: "The bus couldn't go forwards or backwards 

Death toll of Morocco flood-hit bus rises to 17

Jihadist violence in Burkina Faso has forced nearly 300,000 people to flee their homes and stopped half a million getting access to health care, the UN and the Red Cross said Monday.
A former French colony that ranks among the world's poorest countries, Burkina Faso has been struggling with an Islamist militant revolt since 2015.
It spilled over from neighbouring Mali, beginning in the north of the country before spreading to the east. Since 2015, more than 500 people have died in attacks that have become increasingly violent, according to a toll compiled by AFP.
"Nearly 289,000 displaced people are living in shelters," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement, adding that the number of displaced had more than tripled this year from 82,000 in January.
The International Committee of the Red Cross in a separate statement warned that "500,000 people have been deprived of health care since January due to jihadist violence."
The violence ...

Nearly 300,000 have fled jihadist violence in Burkina Faso: UN

North Korea said Monday it is willing to hold working-level talks with the United States in late September amid stalled denuclearisation dialogue.
Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been gridlocked since a second summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in February ended without a deal.
The pair agreed to restart working-level dialogue during an impromptu meeting at the Demilitarised Zone dividing North and South Korea in June, but those talks have yet to begin.
"We are willing to sit face-to-face with the US around late September at a time and place that we can agree on," said Choe Son Hui, the North's vice foreign minister in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Choe repeated Pyongyang's call for the US to come up with an "acceptable calculation" or risk jeopardising the entire diplomatic process.
North Korea has carried out a series of weapons tests since late July in protest at joint military exercises between Seoul and the ...

N Korea says willing to hold talks with US in September

Pro-Kremlin candidates suffered major losses in a Moscow city election, results showed Monday, following a police crackdown on a wave of anti-government protests over the summer.
But President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the losses, pointing to other local and regional elections across Russia on Sunday in which the ruling party was "very successful".
Demonstrations broke out in the capital after top opposition figures were barred from standing in the city vote.
The protests widened in scope after a harsh response from authorities.
Kremlin-backed candidates previously held 38 of the Moscow assembly's 45 seats, but after voting that figure is down to 25.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who called the first summer protests after his allies were kept off the ballot paper, put the pro-Kremlin losses down to his "Smart Voting" plan.
The campaign called on Muscovites to back the politician most likely to beat a pro-Kremlin candidate, whatever their affiliation.
The 

Kremlin suffers losses in Moscow city vote after protests

Videos posted online by an Egyptian construction contractor accusing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the military of corruption have gone viral, sparking a rare debate about the army's growing economic empire.
Mohamed Aly, 45, a fledgling actor alongside his construction business, claims that authorities have misappropriated millions of Egyptian pounds in public funds.
He also alleges the military owes him hundreds of millions of pounds for projects his company Amlaak Group was commissioned to build, including palatial residences for Sisi.
Aly -- who says he has fled to Spain -- did not however provide any evidence to back up his claims and the Egyptian armed forces declined an AFP request to comment.
The videos, posted from Spain and viewed by millions, have triggered a swift public backlash from Sisi supporters, with one lawyer lodging a complaint with the attorney general accusing Aly of high treason.
The military's economic interests are considered a sensitive topic.
But since .

Videos accusing Egypt's Sisi, military of graft go viral

John Bercow, the speaker of Britain's House of Commons, announced Monday that he would step down within weeks, amid criticism by Brexit hardliners who say he has twisted parliamentary rules to undermine them.
Bercow said he would not stand again if MPs vote later Monday in favour of an early general election -- and if they do not, as seems likely, he would resign on October 31: the scheduled date for Brexit.
Bercow has served as speaker of parliament's lower chamber for 10 years, overseeing heated debates on Brexit and making decisions as to what the house should do, based on centuries of precedent.
"If the house votes tonight for an early general election, my tenure as speaker and MP will end when this parliament ends," Bercow told the chamber.
"If the house does not so vote, I have concluded that the least disruptive and most democratic course of action would be for me to stand down at the close of business on Thursday, October 31."
Bercow is best known for presiding over debates, ..

UK parliament speaker says will step down by Oct 31

British Airways on Monday cancelled almost all flights departing and arriving into the UK, as the airline's first-ever pilots' strike began, sparking travel chaos for tens of thousands of passengers.
The industrial action over pay due also Tuesday by members of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) trade union follows around nine months of failed talks.
The carrier, owned by London-listed International Airlines Group (IAG) and which operates about 850 flights per day in Britain, said it had no option but to cancel nearly all scheduled flights.
On the first day of the strike, 145,000 passengers faced cancelled international and domestic flights mainly at London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
BA chief executive Alex Cruz called for talks to continue.
"We urge the union to please sit down with us as quickly as we can so that we can reach an agreement," he told the BBC.
There were very few passengers milling around the departure area at Heathrow airport Terminal 5 in west ...

BA cancels almost all UK flights in historic strike

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday condemned weekend violence in Johannesburg that claimed two lives after security forces clashed with looters involved in fresh xenophobic attacks.
At least ten people have been killed since the start of the month in a surge in attacks targeting foreign-owned businesses in and around South Africa's largest city.
Riot police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets on Sunday to disperse crowds targeting shops in Johannesburg's gritty central business district and other neighbourhoods.
Ramaphosa "has condemned in the strongest terms a resurgence in public violence that claimed two lives in
Johannesburg yesterday," the presidency said in a statement.
One person was stabbed and another victim shot dead in an incident involving a large group of armed attackers, it said.
Many shops remained closed on Monday morning in the central business district, an AFP reporter said. Shops were set alight and burned on Sunday in the neighbouring Malvern ...

S African leader condemns Johannesburg violence after two killed

Authorities in the Bahamas have updated the death toll from Hurricane Dorian to 45, with police calling for the public to register details of the many people still missing.
One week after Dorian flattened homes and buildings, a major relief operation is working to deliver supplies to desperate residents seeking food, water and shelter.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said that they had found 37 bodies on Abaco island and eight on Grand Bahama island.  "We anticipate the discovery of more bodies," police said in a statement late Sunday.
"There are many more persons presumed missing and we are appealing to the public to file Missing Persons reports.
"Every effort is being made along with our local and international law enforcement partners." With survivors being evacuated from the worst-hit areas, officials have said that hundreds or even thousands of people are still missing.
After progressing up the US east coast, Dorian, downgraded to a post-tropical storm, caused severe damage in ...

Bahamas hurricane toll up to 45, many more missing

Ten Sri Lankan players, including T20 skipper Lasith Malinga and former captains Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, have pulled out of an upcoming tour of Pakistan citing security concerns, officials said Monday.
Following a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus during a Test match in Lahore in March 2009, a majority of international teams have refused to tour the South Asian country.
The Sri Lanka Cricket board said in a statement that players in a preliminary squad were briefed on security arrangements for the six-match limited over series, and given the freedom to decide if they wanted to travel.
Following the briefing, ten players "chose to stay away" from the series of three One-Day Internationals and three T20 games, scheduled to begin on September 27 in Karachi, it said.
The other seven who opted out were Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne.
The tour was seen as another step towards 

Ten Sri Lankans opt out of Pakistan cricket tour over security fears

The speaker of Britain's House of Commons John Bercow said on Monday he would step down within weeks, amid criticism by Brexit hardliners who say he has twisted parliamentary rules to undermine them.
Bercow said he would not stand for re-election if MPs vote in favour of an early election later on Monday and would in any case resign on October 31 even if they did not.

UK parliament speaker says will step down

A top executive at the World Bank faces no opposition in her candidacy to lead the International Monetary Fund, the fund announced Monday.
Kristalina Georgieva of Bulgaria, currently the bank's chief executive officer, is all but guaranteed to replace former Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who has been named to lead the European Central Bank.

World Bank CEO Georgieva sole candidate to lead IMF

Queen Elizabeth II has given her formal approval to a law that would force the government to delay Brexit if it is not able to strike a divorce deal with Brussels, the House of Lords said on Monday.
"EUWithdrawal6Bill receives Royal Assent," the upper chamber said on Twitter, referring to the newly-passed law.

Queen approves Brexit delay law: House of Lords

Ten Sri Lankan players, including T20 skipper Lasith Malinga and former captains Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, pulled out of the upcoming tour of Pakistan citing security concerns, officials said Monday.
The Sri Lanka Cricket board said players in a preliminary squad were briefed on security arrangements for the six-match limited over series starting September 27 and the 10 players "chose to stay away".

Ten Sri Lankans opt out of Pakistan tour over security fears

Saudi Arabia's new energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Monday that oil production cuts would benefit all exporting nations, in an indication he will support further reductions to address an oversupplied market and sagging prices.
In his first comments since being appointed by his father King Salman on Sunday, the minister signalled no major change in approach in Saudi Arabia, the de facto OPEC leader which pumps about a third of the cartel's oil.
"The pillars of our oil policy are pre-determined and will not change," he told Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya.
The prince was in Abu Dhabi to attend the World Energy Congress, followed by a meeting on Thursday of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the OPEC+ alliance for a supply cut deal reached last year.
The ministers will consider fresh reductions, even though analysts are doubtful such a move would succeed in bolstering crude prices which have been badly dented by the US-China trade war.
Crude prices are ...

New Saudi oil minister endorses production cuts

The focus of NATO's mission in Afghanistan is "unchanged", the alliance said Monday after a weekend of dramatic developments in the US effort to reach a peace deal with the Taliban.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled an imminent and then secret summit with Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on a draft accord that would see the US withdraw thousands of troops.
The move appeared to end a year of negotiations between Washington and the insurgents, although US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later left the door open for a return to talks.
NATO, which has some 16,000 troops in Afghanistan to train and advise local forces, insisted it would remain in the country as long as needed.
"NATO's focus remains unchanged: to make the Afghan security forces stronger so that they can fight international terrorism and create the conditions for peace," an alliance official told AFP.
"NATO will stay in Afghanistan for as long as necessary to ensure the country never ...

NATO's Afghan focus 'unchanged' despite US deal upheaval

Bangladesh mobile operators have on government orders stopped selling new SIM cards to Rohingya refugees, officials said Monday, in a further sign of Dhaka's impatience following the latest failed repatriation move.
Bangladesh has been hosting around a million Rohingya refugees in vast camps in the south-east since a military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar prompted a huge exodus in August 2017.
In late August a repatriation initiative fell flat with the long-oppressed minority refugees refusing to return to Myanmar without guarantees for their safety and for citizenship.
Adding to frustration in Dhaka, this was followed by a protest by some 200,000 Rohingya to mark two years since their arrival.
There has also been a spike in violence and a rise in tensions with locals, and authorities fear internet and telephone access could contribute to further unrest.
Bangladeshi security forces have shot dead at least 34 Rohingya over the past two years, mostly for alleged methamphetamines ...

Bangladesh halts new SIM card sale in Rohingya camps

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said America's economy was unscathed after more than a year of entrenched trade conflict with China and Europe.
The remarks brushed aside concerns prompted by recent economic data showing slower employment growth, falling business investment and a weakening manufacturing sector, which have intensified recession warnings.
"I don't see in any way a recession," Mnuchin told Fox Business.
"There's no question there's been a considerable slowdown in the world economy both in China and in Europe but as you look at the US, we continued to be the bright spot."
"We have not seen any impact on the US economy," he added.
High-level trade negotiations are due to take place in Washington next month after a summer of acrimony and deteriorating US-China trade relations.
Months of negotiations have so far failed to achieve a bargain after talks verged on collapse in May, prompting observers to speculate the trade conflict may drag on far longer than ...

US economy untouched by trade war: Mnuchin

Nissan's CEO said Monday he will step down next week, deepening the crisis at the Japanese car giant still reeling from the arrest and ouster of former chief Carlos Ghosn's over alleged financial misconduct.
It is yet another blow for the firm that has seen sales plunge and been forced to slash jobs since Ghosn's stunning arrest for allegedly hiding part of his salary from official documents to shareholders.
Hiroto Saikawa said he would leave the company on September 16, following the results of an investigation into excess pay he received after altering the terms of a bonus.
Saikawa is suspected of improperly adding 47 million yen (USD 440,000) to his compensation under a scheme in which directors can earn a bonus if their company's share price rises above a certain level in a set period.
Nissan officials were keen to stress that there was no illegality but that he should not have delegated the task to a junior executive.
"At the end of the day, the operation which should have been ..

Crisis-hit Nissan CEO resigns amid pay probe

China's data centres -- the backbone of the country's fast-growing digital economy -- are on track to guzzle more electricity by 2023 than all of Australia last year, said a Greenpeace report published Monday.
While China leads the world in renewable energy capacity, data centres in the country remain dependent on coal.
Nearly three-quarters of the electricity used by data centres was sourced from coal in 2018, according to research by Greenpeace East Asia and the North China Electric Power University -- emitting 99 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
By 2023, that number could jump to 163 million tonnes.
The appetite for data storage and transmission in China has skyrocketed in recent years, with 800 million online users and a booming tech industry churning out photos, videos, and online transactions.
"While China's data centre industry has made significant improvements in terms of energy efficiency, the industry's massive carbon footprint is proof that much more action is needed," ..

AFP

AFP

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