Raised on oil: Azerbaijan takes the driver’s seat in global climate talks but will ‘black gold’ legacy threaten its green transition?

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Even though that would improve Azerbaijan’s individual national emissions of greenhouse gases, it only raises the issue of polluters purchasing its gas exports. &nbsp,

Export emissions are generally not included in climate finance, leaving nations that buy and use power with a burden of pollution.

It is why there should be increased attention on the overall energy network, from producer to seller to buyer, much of which has a strong American footprint, said Ms Kate Watters, director of Crude Accountability, a animal rights and economic watchdog for the Persian Basin.

She has serious concerns about the allegations of Azerbaijan’s weak human rights history, lack of transparency on key issues and rooted levels of corruption, byproducts of a resource-heavy, generally state-controlled business.

She cited the significant investments made by companies like BP, Total, and ExxonMobil, Europe’s growing dependence on its energy exports, and the international green funding flowing to solar power projects that are truly substituting in place of the national gas that supplies Azerbaijan’s oil sector.” I think one of the most important things to understand is our responsibility as Western consumers of fossil fuels in what’s happening in Azerbaijan best then,” she said.

Are they simply exporting their carbon pollution to Europe if we examine the entire supply chain from beginning to end? Does that actually address the concerns about how to achieve a more green coming and less carbon emissions? No, it merely pushes the bits around”, she said.

According to the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, published by Transparency International, Azerbaijan ranks 154th out of 180 locations with a score of 23 out of 100, making it one of the most crooked countries in the world.

In October, members of the German parliament highly condemned the” Azerbaijan regime’s historic home and extraterritorial repression of activists, journalists, opposition leaders, and people” and even labelled its “ongoing human rights abuses… incompatible with its hosting of the climate event”.

They requested that the EU-Azerbaijani strategic energy partnership be suspended.

The UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review Working Group also reviewed Azerbaijan’s human rights record for the fourth time in late 2023, and 319 recommendations were made.

The government agreed to adopt 185 of those, including measures related to civil and political rights, anti-corruption and national human rights legislation.

In order to “discredit the image of Azerbaijan and undermine its position,” President Ilham Aliyev has previously referred to allegations of corruption by his family and government as “insinuations or half truths.”

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1 in 4 upper primary school students have been bullied: Singapore study

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VERBAL Taunts, GOSSIPING

According to the CNA spoke with, abuse is not limited to physical works and is under-reported by child welfare organizations.

Personal or transactional harassment can occur everywhere, such as online, and can include non-stop racist comment, name-calling, or verbal accusations.

” What we do notice more of is actually the more subtle ones, but in terms of like gossiping, spreading rumours, consciously excluding somebody from the team chat, or in terms of like interpersonal group activities”, said Ms Vivyan Chee, deputy director and top counsellor at the Singapore Children’s Society.

Children and youth who view being accepted as crucial at the evolutionary stage, she continued, are especially affected by this.

An anti-bully line for the organization is in place, which answers four calls on average each month. About 40 % of the students they work with have reported being bullied, according to Ms. Chee.

According to researchers, technology makes the issue worse, allowing online and deep-fakes-using jerks.

Welfare organizations claim that the number of circumstances may be higher because of these untold forms of bullying. They argued that these inglorious torments may receive more attention because of their long-term effects.

” When I do n’t have battle scars, how can I come out and say that I was bullied?” And is it a matter of me not being adaptable, or am I truly being bullied”? Andrea Chan, the deputy chairman of TOUCH Community Services, was mentioned.

They may have been experiencing it for a while, which makes it difficult for them to tell whether it is bullying or whether it is a lack of endurance on their element.

Although bullying has been “quite firm” over the past decade, Asst. Prof. Cheung claimed that because of increased mobile device access for children, it is more commonplace.

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Room for growth in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce space, says Shopee’s billionaire founder Forrest Li

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SEA’S FINTECH JOURNEY

The banking sector, a fairly new room for Sea, is an interesting growth opportunity, said Mr Li, &nbsp, who is among Singapore’s richest men with a net worth of about US$ 6 billion.

The business, which is supported by Chinese Internet tycoon Tencent, began with e-wallet support businesses in Vietnam and Thailand in 2014, before branching out into consumer and small- and medium-sized enterprise ( SME) credit loans, tapping into the Shopee ecosystem. &nbsp,

His company has been providing credit loans in markets like Indonesia because it is difficult for the less well-off to use when they need it the most, according to Mr. Li. &nbsp,

He noted that there are few credit cards penetration and lending services in the country’s fourth-largest country, where people typically borrow from his firm for a few hundred dollars. &nbsp,

” It’s a very, very small number, but this can make a big difference in their life. Payment services will help a lot of people to do things better, to enjoy their life much”, he said. &nbsp,

On the other hand, he made note of the differences in the needs of people in Singapore, where Sea runs a online bank.

” We realise a lot of Singaporeans have the desire to invest, but ( they are ) really short of investment products, and they do n’t know what to do”, he said, adding that many of them are first-time investors who are digitally savvy.

His company launched an investment product that promotes itself as accessible to everyone, with a minimal investment value of just S$ 1 ( US$ 76 ). To fill this void, his company launched an investment product to address this gap.

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Max Maeder makes good on promise to serve curry puffs after Young World Sailor of the Year win

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Foo Zee Zou, 15, reported to CNA that she had visited Maeder specifically because of his Olympian success.

It’s a little strange to see an Olympic medalist engaging in something so simple that people you do. It makes me feel like we’re not that unique, actually”, she said. ” As an athlete myself, I feel very inspired by his efforts, and how he’s achieved so much for Singapore. I feel inspired to force myself to my limitations and work even harder in my activity so that I can do wonderful things as well.

It was “nice to see how young people ( want ) to be a part of the culture here,” said another customer who chose not to be identified.

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CNA wins international award for scoops on Malaysia’s anti-corruption efforts

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The anti-graft agency’s recent arrest of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin’s premier Ilham Tower was one of the posts he won the award for. One of the largest buildings in the money is the multi-million dollars business building in Kuala Lumpur City.

Mr. Lopez spoke with former politician’s close contacts in funding, who had a sizable amount of authority during Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s two terms as top. Following Mr. Daim’s refusal to submit petitions from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission ( MACC ) to reveal his and his family’s financial holdings, they informed Mr. Lopez that the seizure occurred on December 21.

The splitting news article, published that evening, made CNA the first to take the information to visitors. &nbsp,

Another post covered how a royal pardon helped to reduce Najib Razak’s 12-year prison sentence. &nbsp,

Najib started serving his prison sentence in August 2022 after being found guilty in 2020 of corruption-related 1MDB fees. &nbsp,

Mr. Lopez spoke with established sources, including top state figures, to make sure CNA was once more on the record with the account. &nbsp,

These two exclusives were included in Mr. Lopez’s estimated ten research pieces and features on Malaysia’s anti-corruption efforts and their effects on its social environment, business field, and investment environment.

Mr Lopez is based in Kuala Lumpur. Since the mid-1980s, he has covered a lot of political and economic issues in the area.

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Singtel detected and ‘eradicated’ malware said to be from Chinese hacking group

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SINGAPORE: &nbsp, Singtel said it had detected and&nbsp, “eradicated” ransomware that was apparently from Chinese state-sponsored thieves.

It was responding to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday ( Nov 5 ) that claimed Singtel had been “breached” by a hacking organization known as Volt Typhoon. &nbsp,

The report stated that the incident was reported in June and that it was a part of a wider campaign against telecom companies and other important facilities around the world by quoting two people with knowledge of the situation. &nbsp,

When questioned about the Bloomberg record, Singtel responded to CNA on Tuesday, saying,” We are constantly probed, like any other big organization and key network support company around the world.

The malware was discovered by our safe and detachable steps, which were then reported to the appropriate authorities.

Singtel is the largest telecommunication operator in Singapore. Its company Optus is the second-largest controller in Australia.

US officials announced in May that they had spoken with the Chinese government about a massive computer spy operation involving Volt Typhoon.

According to officials, the activity targeted&nbsp, crucial American network organizations that range from transport hubs to communications networks, and could be used against the country in a potential political crisis.

China’s attempts were to&nbsp, utilize the exposure it has gained into US companies in the event of a conflict or conflict, according to American leaders. The Chinese have denied these complaints. &nbsp,

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Chinese thieves had hacked into US broadband providers ‘ systems and hacked into provincial government networks for investigations.

Singtel stated on Tuesday that system resilience is essential to its company, adding that it collaborates with security partners to track and tackle the risks it encounters everyday.

The company added,” We also regularly review and improve our security abilities and position to protect our critical resources from evolving challenges.

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