UAE, Benin, India-China.
Today's three stories you should know.
UAE
The United Arab Emirates has named the head of its state-run oil company to lead a major UN climate summit in December, drawing derision and dismay from many observers. Sultan al-Jaber, who is close to UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is also the country’s minister of industry and technology. The host country of the COP, or Conference of Parties, summit each year gets to nominate a chairperson, a decision that is usually ratified without objection. “He cannot preside over a process that is tasked to address the climate crisis with such a conflict of interest, heading an industry that is responsible for the crisis itself,” Tasneem Essop, the executive director of Climate Action Network International, said of the decision.
More from Context here.
Benin
Benin’s main opposition party has rejected the results of this week’s parliamentary elections, accusing the winning parties of fraud. Eric Houndete, leader of the Democrats party, told a news conference that there had been ballot box stuffing, rigging and vote buying. The Republican Bloc and Progressive Union for Renewal parties, who support President Patrice Talon, won 81 seats in the 109-member parliament with the Democrats securing 28 seats. Talon has jailed many of his significant opponents since coming to power in 2016, and the opposition was effectively barred from taking part in the country’s last election in 2019.
More from France 24 here.
India-China
India’s army chief, Gen. Manoj Pande, said today that tensions on the border with China were “stable and under control, yet unpredictable.” The giant neighbors have had a long-running territorial dispute, with India saying China occupies 38,000 square kilometers of its territory in the Aksai Chin Plateau, which India considers part of its Ladakh region. Tens of thousands of troops from both sides have been involved in a two-and-a-half-year standoff in the eastern Ladakh area with occasional skirmishes breaking out. India and China fought a war over the border in 1962.
More from AP here.