India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing global leaders at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. AFP
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing global leaders at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. AFP
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing global leaders at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. AFP
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing global leaders at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. AFP

India begins talks with IEA for full membership


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Ministers from the International Energy Agency’s member countries have begun talks with India regarding its application to become a full member, the Paris-based agency said on Wednesday.

This in recognition of the country’s “strategic importance” in tackling global energy and climate challenges, the IEA said after ministerial meetings in Paris.

India, which joined the IEA as an association country in 2017, sent a formal request for full membership to IEA ministers in October 2023.

“India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Sustained growth needs energy security and sustainability,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We bring scale and speed, quantity and quality to every mission. I am sure that the IEA will benefit when India plays a bigger role in it.”

India, the world’s most populous country and its fifth-largest economy, aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and meet 50 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by the end of this decade.

The Indian government has estimated that the country’s shift to a low-carbon path will require more than $10 trillion in new investments by 2070.

The country is expected to be the largest source of oil demand growth between now and 2030, according to the IEA.

In the next three decades, India is poised to experience the “largest energy demand growth” of any country in the world as industrialisation and urbanisation surge, the agency said on Wednesday.

“This is a major milestone for international energy governance,” said IEA’s executive director Fatih Birol.

“India plays a crucial and growing role in the global energy economy. The world cannot plan for its energy future without India at the table.”

On Wednesday, the IEA’s ministers invited Latvia to become the agency’s 32nd member.

The IEA was created in 1974 to help co-ordinate a collective response to major disruptions in the supply of oil.

While oil security is a key focus area for the organisation, the IEA has also expanded into overall energy security, economic development and renewable energy.

Since 2015, the agency has opened its doors to major emerging countries to expand its global impact, and deepen co-operation in energy security, data and statistics, and the growing use of clean energy technologies.

Ovo's tips to find extra heat
  • Open your curtains when it’s sunny 
  • Keep your oven open after cooking  
  • Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy 
  • Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat 
  • Put on extra layers  
  • Do a few star jumps  
  • Avoid alcohol   
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The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

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Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November

UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi

Australia tour of Pakistan

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

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March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi

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Match info

Uefa Champions League Group B

Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
While you're here
Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

Updated: February 14, 2024, 2:23 PM`