King Charles is set to host a reception at Buckingham Palace next Friday before November’s Cop27 climate conference begins.
Bringing together 200 business leaders, politicians and campaigners, the gathering in London will be held on November 4, a couple of days before the summit begins in Egypt.
During Liz Truss’s premiership, it was announced the king would not attend the climate conference, a position that has not changed under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Mr Sunak will not attend Cop27 either, but will attend the Buckingham Palace reception.
He is expected to speak alongside guests discussing practical measures to tackle climate change.
The pre-conference event will mark the end of the UK's role as host of Cop26, Buckingham Palace said.
US climate envoy John Kerry and Alok Sharma, president of Cop26, will also attend the event before the annual climate conference moves on to Sharm El Sheikh.
Sharm El Sheikh's preparations for Cop27 - in pictures
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A billboard in Sharm El Sheikh ahead of the climate summit. All photos: Mahmoud Nasr / The National -

Electric car chargers have been installed in petrol stations in Sharm El Sheikh to help the city go green. -

Egypt's first electric bus charging station has started working ahead of Cop27. -

Buses charge up at the station. -

Solar panel power stations will provide energy for the city during Cop27. -

Panel power in the sunlit desert.
As a longstanding campaigner on environmental issues, King Charles has warned of the dangers of climate change.
Last year, he gave an impassioned speech about the urgency of facing the climate challenge at Cop26 and called for the global response to be put on a "war-like footing".
Cop27 baton relay - in pictures
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Running Out of Time's operations director Hetty Key with support crew member Mike Borgen, who is travelling with the baton the whole way from Scotland to Egypt. Photo: Running Out Of Time -

Schoolchildren in Glasgow kicked off the start of the baton relay on Sept 30. Photo: Running Out Of Time -

In front of the London Bridge during the UK portion of the relay. Photo: Running Out Of Time -

Participants can run, cycle or sail their stage, with the number of people per stage varying from one to 25. Photo: Running Out Of Time -
The baton was carried by sailboat across the English Channel from the UK to France on Oct 9. Photo: Running Out Of Time -

Out of the 38 days of the relay, six are on water. Photo: Running Out Of Time -
A stage in Belgium on Oct 11. The baton has traveled non-stop, day and night. Photo: Running Out Of Time
He is said to not be disappointed about missing Cop27 and accepts that as monarch he has to consider the advice of government ministers.
It was confirmed on Friday that the king’s decision not to attend the event remains unchanged under the new prime minister.
It has not been ruled out that he could still make an online contribution to the event, such as a video message.
Access limited for Cop27 climate activists — in pictures
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The Cop27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh is the first annual UN climate conference to be held after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Campaigners see it as a crucial venue for raising the alarm over climate change and putting pressure on governments to act. All photos: Reuters -
But they say voicing their concerns through rallies and protests as they have done in past host countries or cities will be more challenging in Egypt, where public demonstrations are effectively banned and activists have struggled to operate legally. -

Limits on accreditation and attendance badges for activists, especially from poorer nations, have also been a point of contention at previous UN climate summits. -
Egypt, which has only one NGO permanently accredited to attend the annual summits, says the inclusion of civil society is a priority, and it has helped to add more NGOs, including 35 Egyptian groups, through a single-year admission valid only for Cop27. -
That was a positive step but the process was not publicly announced and did not give some groups a fair chance to apply, said Hossam Bahgat, head of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and one of Egypt's best known campaigners. -

A representative of Egypt's Cop presidency said there had been a 'fully transparent' selection process approved by the UN after consultation with regional organisations and national negotiating teams. Egyptian groups were recommended based on their environment and climate change expertise, the representative said. A UN climate change spokesman said there had been about 10,000 registrations from close to 2,000 admitted observer organisations for Cop27, which was similar to Cop26 in Glasgow. -

Another concern among activists is the difficulty ordinary citizens may face in visiting Sharm El Sheikh. The city, situated at the southern tip of Egypt's Sinai peninsula, is bordered by the sea on one side and a concrete and wire barrier in the desert on the other. -

Some of those hoping to travel from outside Egypt have been put off by hotel prices that ran into hundreds of dollars a night earlier in the year. After lobbying from civil society, the government negotiated a $120 price cap for two-star hotels and announced cheaper accommodation in recent weeks. That included rooms for 400 young people at about $30 to $40 a night, and was designed to help African groups overcome long-standing obstacles to having access to Cop summits, said Omnia El-Omrani, Cop27's youth envoy.
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
MATCH INFO
Fulham 0
Aston Villa 3 (Grealish 4', Hourihane 15', Mings 48')
Man of the match: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Quick%20facts
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
While you're here
Chris Blackhurst: Football fans can't have it both ways
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
South Africa v India schedule
Tests: 1st Test Jan 5-9, Cape Town; 2nd Test Jan 13-17, Centurion; 3rd Test Jan 24-28, Johannesburg
ODIs: 1st ODI Feb 1, Durban; 2nd ODI Feb 4, Centurion; 3rd ODI Feb 7, Cape Town; 4th ODI Feb 10, Johannesburg; 5th ODI Feb 13, Port Elizabeth; 6th ODI Feb 16, Centurion
T20Is: 1st T20I Feb 18, Johannesburg; 2nd T20I Feb 21, Centurion; 3rd T20I Feb 24, Cape Town
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now



