HANOI — The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will deploy a team of experts to assess possible risks for the conservation of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam as it is worried about development projects that may threaten the heritage-listed tourist attraction, the United Nations agency told Reuters.

The bay and the adjoining Cat Ba archipelago of limestone islets celebrates this year the 30^th anniversary of inscription on the UNESCO world heritage list, being considered by the agency “the most extensive and best known example of marine-invaded tower karst.”

The UNESCO designation contributed to the site becoming a massive tourist destination, drawing millions of visitors every year and boosting Vietnam’s revenue from tourism.

However, the United Nations’ education, scientific and cultural agency, in a statement attributed to its World Heritage Centre, said there were long-standing concerns that “multiple development projects for new tourism and urban residential areas along the coastline in Ha Long City had been approved and implemented” without a proper assessment of their impact.

The assessment mission, if it led to sanctions or even removal from the heritage list, could have a significant impact on Vietnam’s tourism sector, which accounted for 8% of the gross domestic product last year according to official estimates.

“If threats are identified which jeopardize the integrity of the property and the reasons for which it was inscribed on the World Heritage List, the Committee may request corrective measures to strengthen the protection of the site,” UNESCO said.

The mission, which will include experts from UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, will be deployed in the coming months, UNESCO said.

Nuno Ribeiro, senior lecturer on tourism at RMIT University Vietnam, said overbuilding “threatens the bay’s unique natural beauty, biodiversity, and ecological balance, which are the very attributes that earned it the UNESCO listing.”

“The threat of corrective measures should not be taken lightly,” he added.

Vietnam’s culture and foreign ministries did not immediately reply to requests for comment, nor did the provincial authority responsible for Ha Long Bay. — Reuters

PARIS — France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF said, in the first addition to the country’s nuclear power network in 25 years.

The reactor, which began operating in September ahead of the grid connection, is going online 12 years later than originally planned and at a cost of around 13 billion euros — four times the original budget.

“EDF teams have achieved the first connection of the Flamanville EPR to the national grid at 11:48am (1048 GMT). The reactor is now generating electricity,” EDF said in a statement.

The Flamanville 3 European Pressurised Reactor is France’s largest at 1.6 gigawatts (GW) and one of the world’s biggest, along with China’s 1.75 GW Taishan reactor, which is based on a similar design, and Finland’s Olkiluoto.

It is the first to be connected to the grid since Civaux 2 in 1999 but is being brought into service at a time of sluggish consumption, with France exporting a record amount of electricity this year.

EDF is planning to build another six new reactors to fulfill a 2022 pledge made by President Emmanuel Macron as part of the country’s energy transition plans, although questions remain around the funding and timeline of the new projects. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — US President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Saturday he had selected the producer of his long-running reality television show, “The Apprentice,” to be his administration’s special envoy to the United Kingdom.

Mark Burnett, 64, created the show, which made Mr. Trump internationally famous for firing a succession of contestants vying for roles in his businesses. The British native also created or produced Survivor, Shark Tank and other shows and was the chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group.

Mr. Trump had previously selected businessman Warren Stephens to be his ambassador to the UK. Britain’s government on Friday named Peter Mandelson as its new ambassador to the US with a mission of wooing Mr. Trump, avoiding a trade war and keeping the two countries aligned over Ukraine.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr. Trump said Mr. Burnett will “work to enhance diplomatic relations” and would focus on “trade, investment opportunities and cultural exchanges.” — Reuters

QATAR will stop shipping gas to the European Union (EU) if member states strictly enforce a new law cracking down on forced labor and environmental damage, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times (FT) in an interview published on Sunday.

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, approved this year, requires larger companies operating in the EU to check whether their supply chains use forced labor or cause environmental damage and to take action if they do. Penalties include fines of up to 5% of global turnover.

“If the case is that I lose 5% of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe. I’m not bluffing, Mr. Kaabi told the newspaper, adding that “5% of generated revenue of QatarEnergy means 5% of generated revenue of the Qatar state. This is the people’s money,  so I cannot lose that kind of money — and nobody would accept losing that kind of money.”

Mr. Kaabi, the chief executive of state-owned QatarEnergy, has said the EU should thoroughly review the due diligence law. He has also said that his Gulf country has no concerns about US President-elect Donald J. Trump’s promise to lift a cap on liquefied natural gas exports.

Qatar, among the world’s top LNG exporters, is seeking to play a larger role in Asia and Europe as competition from top supplier the United Sates increases. It plans to expand its liquefaction capacity to 142 million tons per year by 2027 from 77 million. — Reuters