Business and Qatar mix in London

Qatar's Emir was famously young when he took power in 2013. But when he met one of the world's longest serving statesmen – Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore – the two were able to share how fundamental an English boarding school education had been to their upbringing. "We agreed," Sheikh Tamim remarked during the state visit.

He relayed the anecdote while addressing parliamentarians in London as the UK and Qatari leaders spoke of a close relationship, stretching back to the 19th century. Sheikh Tamim spoke in the Royal Robing Room of the House of Lords, where the virtues of Mercy, Generosity, Courtesy and Hospitality are etched beneath the great paintings on the walls.

During the address, the Emir spoke of his country's efforts to end the violence in Gaza, saying the strip had suffered "near-total destruction".

The UK and Qatar boast an array of initiatives that have strengthened their strategic co-operation – the Gulf country and Britain operate a joint squadron of Typhoon fighter jets. Joint development action includes efforts to tackle key global challenges such as migration and displacement, conflict resolution, education, and scientific research. The governments have doubled humanitarian funding to $100 million (￡79.4 million) in shared programmes.

On the cards today is a ￡1 billion “clean energy partnership” between the two states. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will promote financial services growth in sectors such as fintech and green finance.??

For the record trade between the UK and Qatar stood at ￡6.6 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024, and total UK-GCC trade reached ￡57.4bn in 2023.

As well as his speech to the Lords and MPs, Sheikh Tamim was at the state banquet at Buckingham Palace, where the former footballer David Beckham – the Emir was said by Speaker Lindsay Hoyle to have a fondness for Manchester United – was among the guests at the glittering event.

Two-state solution

Emmanuel Macron is also on his travels, making his way to Riyadh this week. There he announced that he would co-chair a two-state solution conference in June with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He said opposing the possible annexation was a “priority” for France, which would not give up on the idea of a Palestinian state. He was speaking to reporters at a water summit in Riyadh.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must clarify settlements on Israel's policy in the West Bank after a minister said he was preparing for annexation, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday during a state visit to Saudi Arabia.

“I think it supposes a political clarification in particular in Israel because today, some people have taken a very hard line and give the impression of acting in an uninhibited manner,” he said in Riyadh.

There are concerns that US president-elect Donald Trump will do little to stop Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose department is in charge of settlements, from ordering them to prepare for the annexation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Mr Netanyahu, who rejects the idea of a Palestinian state, has yet to comment on Mr Smotrich's ideas.

Cold as Greenland

An ice-free Arctic is possible by the summer of 2027, even earlier than previous pessimistic predictions by climate scientists.

Arctic ice is shrinking at an unprecedented rate of 12 per cent every 10 years due to greenhouse gas emissions, potentially leading to its first ice-free day before the end of the decade. Such an event is expected to significantly alter the Earth's ecosystem and lead to more extreme weather.

Scientists at the University of Boulder Colorado in the US and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden used computer modelling to predict when the first ice-free day could occur. They carried out hundreds of computer simulations and found that, while still unlikely, an ice-free day was possible in the next three to six years as global air temperatures rise.

The findings were published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.