In the session rooms and halls, the World Economic Forum was quietly drawing to a close on Friday. Outside, in Davos, climate activist Greta Thunberg created ample noise with an outdoor demonstration demanding new policies to deal with climate change.
About 200 children and adults answered Thunberg's rallying cry to "strike" on Thursday.
This week, Thunberg gave a stirring address at the Forum, calling for the immediate halt to investment in fossil fuels. She was later criticised by US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin during his news conference with reporters.
When asked about Thunberg’s activism and her comments advocating divestment in fossil fuels, the US treasury secretary suggested that Thunberg shoukd learn economics before weighing in on such debates, while also insisting that US president Donald Trump cared deeply about a clean environment.
Mr Mnuchin also pointed out that Mr Trump recently endorsed the much touted Trillion Trees Project announced in Davos.
As for the Paris climate agreement Mr Trump pulled out of, Mnuchin stood his ground.
“The president thought it was an unfair agreement for the United States,” he said.
As Thunberg’s demonstration was under way on the final day of WEF, Mr Mnuchin was inside the Congress Center taking part in a ‘Global Economic Outlook’ panel discussion with European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva.
“The oceans are rising and so are we,” Chanted the crowd in the streets of Davos.
Rupert Read, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, said he spoke with Thunberg just before the demonstration started.
“She’s not incredibly well but she thought it was very important to be here.”
As Mr Read spoke to The National, chants from demonstrators continued.
“We’ve got about 200 children perhaps chanting away, children from all over Europe and all over the world,” he said.
“The message is simple, we’re in an emergency, it’s time to take action."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
The specs
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Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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Price: From Dh117,059
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.